Matt and I “e-met” in an online group for fans of Anthony Bourdain! He is an avid food/travel lover like myself and this shirt that he made is an absolute favorite of mine.

​

“I wanted adventures. I wanted to go up the Nung river to the heart of darkness in Cambodia. I wanted to ride out into a desert on camelback, sand and dunes in every direction, eat whole roasted lamb with my fingers. I wanted to kick snow off my boots in a Mafiya nightclub in Russia. I wanted to play with automatic weapons in Phnom Penh, recapture the past in a small oyster village in France, step into a seedy neon-lit pulqueria in rural Mexico. I wanted to run roadblocks in the middle of the night, blowing past angry militia with a handful of hurled Marlboro packs, experience fear, excitement, wonder. I wanted kicks – the kind of melodramatic thrills and chills I’d yearned for since childhood, the kind of adventure I’d found as a little boy in the pages of my Tintin comic books. I wanted to see the world – and I wanted the world to be just like the movies”

​

This quote is why I say Anthony Bourdain is my spirit animal. His lust for adventure and real, raw life experiences are something I’ve identified with for a long time. I’ve long fantasized about tossing on a leather backpack and cruising the Italian countryside on a vintage Moto Guzzi, tasting espressos and fresh breads in small towns I’ve never heard of. Or getting lost in the back streets of Osaka, searching for the next ramen shop that’s somehow better than the last one. Bourdain took the adventures that I, and so many other people crave. We are fortunate to be able to watch, read and listen along with him. He is still a continued source of inspiration.