Rick Steves spent the summer after high school backpacking through Europe on two dollars a day—sleeping on the floor, sneaking into museums, and subsisting on a diet of bread and jam. When he came home, he found people were hungry for tips on how to visit Europe on the cheap, so he began teaching classes, and was soon hawking a self-published guidebook out of his car. Eventually, he started leading minibus tours and hosting a travel show on Public TV, steadily growing his business even though he was giving away most of his content. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, his no-frills approach to travel has persisted as a powerful brand, with 70 guidebooks, an ever-popular travel show, and—in 2019—an annual revenue of $100 million.
2:48 - Intro
5:35 - Rick’s childhood
7:50 - Rick goes to Europe for the first time
11:48 - Rick returns to Europe at 16
13:35 - Trip to Europe at 18
17:45 - Coming back a changed person
18:47 - What to do with life
19:55 - Rick starts teaching
25:20 - Turning the lecture into a book
29:18 - Minibus tours
35:29 - Growing confidence
37:05 - Business-minded
40:45 - Starting a TV show
48:10 - Rick becomes a celebrity
51:04 - Being away from family
55:44 - Relaunching the show
59:10 - Business driven by tours
63:37 - Growing too fast?
67:22 - The state of traveling
69:00 - Avoiding layoffs during the pandemic
71:30 - The future of travel
73:21 - Privilege
75:20 - The importance of money
78:18 - Avoiding manipulation
79:20 - Appealing to younger audiences
80:30 - The business surviving without Rick
81:55 - Luck v. hard work
82:50 - A new way of living
83:57 - Smoking pot
Photo of Rick’s family in Europe
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Eurail Pass
Europe on 5 Dollars a Day - Arthur Frommer
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
University of Washington
The Experimental College
Europe Through the Back Door
Eugene Fodor
Stephen Birnbaum
Travels in Europe with Rick Steves
Small World Productions
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Rick Steves’ Europe
