Jay Flynn’s mom used to take his family on trips all over the world. He remembers a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he was 19: “I didn’t even want to leave. I was actually sad to leave. To see that they had culture and history similar to the United States, it was really eye-opening. For instance, not many people know that Brazil has a history of slavery as well. Then there’s the religion the slaves brought with them, Candomblé, many gods. It was all just fascinating to me. That was one of the first destinations I’ve been to where I was like, ‘This is what I have to do.’” 

And do it he did. As a young man he travelled to many countries independently—he’s been to five continents so far—and three years ago founded Salty Travels, a group travel company aimed at queer Black men. The business was a successor of sorts to a travel company he’d created previously that catered to single Black women and families, as well as his success as a day trader.

Wander+Lust caught up with Flynn to talk to him about the company and travelling around the world as a queer Black American.

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