The Fly Brother Brand Soars to New Heights

Vacationer Magazine reached out to Ernest White II to talk about the successful trajectory of the Fly Brother brand, including his award-winning travel docu-series and diversifying his portfolio to offer guided immersive tours. 

Fifteen years ago, Ernest White II started his Fly Brother website as a blog to focus on his true loves: travel narratives, creative writing, and fiction. That passion eventually led to his published work in publications such as AFAR, USA Today, Ebony, and Matador Network as well as National Geographic Traveler’s Brazil and Bradt’s Tajikistan guidebooks.

Today, White is the founder and CEO of Presidio Pictures, a new film, television, and digital media studio dedicated to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and senior/elder narratives. He’s also the executive producer and host of the travel docu-series Fly Brother with Earnest White II, airing and/or streaming on PBS, Create TV, Revry, and KweliTV. 

Over the years, his success has been bolstered by his growth in self-confidence as well as a clear understanding of his self-worth, which he says still requires personal work, especially when pitching to potential investors. He shared his new ‘confidence’ mantra: “My assertion is no one’s negation” and “we all deserve to be the shit and to feel like the shit.”

And it’s that confidence that has led him on to bigger and better ventures and adventures. So, I wanted to catch up with White to ask him about navigating the world as a Black gay man, community building with Fly Brother and Friends, and branching out to coordinate immersive group trips, including a safari in Tanzania and ringing in the 2024 New Year in Salvador de Bahia! But we started our casual conversation talking about his Fly Brother series.

Vacationer Magazine: How would you describe your show Fly Brother with Ernest White II to someone who hasn’t seen it?

Ernest White II: Fly Brother with Ernest White II is an award-winning television docuseries about friendship and connection around the world. And in every episode, I visit friends who bring me into their communities to show me what they love about the place, and we show the audience that the whole world is our tribe. 

You’ve completed two seasons of Fly Brother with Ernest White II. Have you locked down destinations for the third season or are you not at liberty to tell me that yet?

I’m not at liberty to say yet because we’re still in negotiations for a few, but we filmed two episodes already of season 3. We are in the process of solidifying some of the negotiations we’ve had since last year. 

Ok. So, stay tuned. (laughs) So, let’s move on to you are travel style. A lot of LGBTQ+ folks are fine with not treading outside of queer-friendly travel destinations. You’re a little different when it comes to that. Where did you get your somewhat fearless approach to travel?

I think it would be disingenuous to not recognize that I have passing privilege. It’s important to know as a cis-gendered male that is 6 feet tall, athletic, and can serve ‘mean mug’ when necessary; that definitely gives me the ability to go to a lot of places and not have to worry about my sexuality being an issue. 

I also believe it gives me the responsibility to go to some of these places and own my sexuality in a way that’s respectful to the culture but creates an opportunity for engagement and connection. And so, I have been in countries in central Asia and other parts of the world that on the surface seem to be homophobic, but in a one-on-one kind of situation where you’re engaged in a conversation and it comes up, then that gives people a chance to learn because you may be the first openly gay person that they’ve talked to. 

I am a believer in bridge-building over boycotting not to say that boycotting never has a place, but my personal strategy is to engage. 

No, I get that because a lot of times people think that boycotting specific destinations is the best route to hurt the government, but in reality, boycotting hurts the people whose livelihood depends on tourism dollars.

Exactly! One hundred percent. 

One of those new additions as you expand the Fly Brother brand revolves around community building. Tell me about the Fly Brother & Friends subscription-based membership and why you decided to start it. 

Well, you know people have said, for a long time, that they want my life, or they want to travel with me without understanding that my life involves working on Christmas – a lot of the entrepreneur’s journey that is not glamorous or that enjoyable. 

It’s an opportunity to give a little bit of the magic that I do experience in my life. Travel has served as a springboard for tremendous transformation in all areas of my life, including my health and wellness, love and relationships, entrepreneurship – wholistic well-being. Those are all areas that we provide guidance and coaching for members of Fly Brother & Friends. 

It also creates the opportunity for people, who appreciate travel, to connect with like-minded individuals around the world. It allows them to move beyond background and boundaries. So, it’s an immersive experience that goes one or two levels deeper than the show, but it’s still very much inspired by the show. 

Along with the Fly Brother & Friends community, you’re also hosting trips to different locations throughout 2023 and a trip to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil to ring in 2024. What other trips do you have planned? 

So, we have four trips planned for 2023. We’ve got a trip to the South of France from July 29 – August 5, 2023. It’s a cruise on the Rhone River from Nice to Lyon, and it’s a phenomenal experience. I did it last year, and I loved it. The towns and villages are beautiful. Lyon, the second-largest city in France, is an absolute dream. It’s a sleeper spot but it’s got the verve, energy, and style of Paris with half the people and it’s close to the Alps and Côte d’Azur. It’s just a super multicultural place to go. And the beauty of river cruising is that you’ve got your meals and accommodation right there.

We are having an experience here in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from August 23-27, 2023, for whale watching and wine tasting. It’s an opportunity to see the environment where I live. It’s one of the most breathtaking cities on the planet. I love it here, not just Vancouver, but British Columbia, too. I think that more people should come here, experience it, and get to know the place. I’m also one of those people who think, “Could I live here?” So, I want some people to have that same feeling. 

And then we’re going on safari in Tanzania and that’s September 16-23, 2023. That’ll be my first group safari, but the safari partner is one of my business partners, Scott Brills. He’s the co-owner of Pamoja Safaris along with his Tanzanian business partner; so they’ll be down there on the ground. It’s just going to a place where you commune with nature, you can interact with the wildlife and just connect with yourself. So, that’s exciting!  

And then finally, we go to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on New Year’s Eve 2024 (December 23, 2023 – January 3, 2024). That’s exciting because I’ve been to Salvador a few times. I’ve only been during Carnival, but not for New Year’s so that’s going to be fun. I’ll be working with a good friend of mine, Alyssa Saunders, who is a jazz singer originally from California, but now living in Salvador and super connected. It’ll be a wonderful spiritual experience because it’s the center of Afro-Brazil. And to be in that space and connect with the culture, connect with the ancestors, and connect with ourselves again; I think it always comes back to the fact that travel is a transformative act and that is what we are looking for people to do. These trips are limited to 12 people max because we want to keep it an intimate group that is not too terribly crowded. 

I love Salvador de Bahia! You were one of the people who turned me on to Brazil, but seriously, all those trips sound fun. You’re well-traveled, so out of curiosity, what are your top three places in the world where you feel free to be your full authentic self? 

I would definitely say Canada is one of them and not just Vancouver, but Montreal and Toronto. I love cities. I don’t know what it would be like in one of the smaller towns. In the big cities of Canada, you can be gay! 

I feel like I could be myself fully in South Africa, particularly in Cape Town. I say that also again as someone coming from strong American privilege, height, and a high level of formal education and all of that kind of informs all of my experiences. That said, it’s still one of my favorite places to be and just be. In Cape Town, I look like an average-looking person, and I can go about my business without being engaged unnecessarily.

You mentioned Vancouver. It’s also where you currently live. What are three things you would recommend an LGBTQ+ traveler see and or do when visiting Vancouver?

I would say definitely if you’re able, rent a city bike and just bike around Stanley Park. It’s one of my favorite places on the planet – second to the Presidio in San Francisco. Visit the Davey Village area. Nowadays, the gay parts of town are becoming less and less gay just because we’re more integrated into society these days than we use to be, but it’s still a cruisy area. So there’s that. 

And then get dinner in Gastown, which is the historic district of Vancouver from the 1890s, I wouldn’t say the Victorian era, but it’s definitely steampunk and it’s a turn-of-the-last-century vibe. So, it’s a great place to walk around. They’ve got lots of restaurants., and even though it’s semi-touristy, I still feel like it’s a good place to go. Vancouver is the type of place where you make eye contact with people. So, whether you come single or with someone, there’s a good vibe for connecting with people here. 

Visit the Fly Brother website for more information about Ernest White II and the Fly Brother & Friends community. You can also catch Ernest speaking at the Travel and Adventure Show in Atlanta on the weekend of March 25-26, 2023. Get free tickets by entering the discount code FLYBROTHER23 at https://travelshows.com.