Adventure Girl Stefanie Michaels

SERVE ME UP SOME OF THAT HOLLYWOOD GREEN - By Guest Blogger Stefanie Michaels - August 25, 2008 Hey Everyone. I’m Stefanie Michaels - Adventure Girl. My friends call me Stef, and I hope you all do, too. I am a travel expert for the media- I’ll talk travel anywhere, anytime. ;0 This is my premier post with Tonic News, and I am so excited to be a part of it all. To me, this site stands for addressing several issues, the World is FINALLY ready for, and delivering it all in a fun and comprehensive way, right? Right! So, each month, I will step up to the plate and share with you some thoughts, cool travel related stories and things of interest from around the globe. “Bear” with me as I grow, learn, rant, rave and then some… and ahead of time - THANK YOU for your support. Ok, let’s get started! Sustainable Tourism is my hot topic and has been for a while. I can’t understand in this day and age- why being “eco-aware” while traveling has taken so long to catch on, and why some locals around the globe are dragging their feet? I am (in my own small way) trying to help garner change. I have been granting Adventure Girl “Green Awards” on my site Adventuregirl.com for a while now, inviting resorts to submit why they are green, and each month giving kudos to a resort helping to make our world into a more sustainable place. I was asked a couple of weeks ago to be an “eco-travel expert” for a new show on Discovery Channel’s Planet Green. The show is called Hollywood Green- by the same producers of Access Hollywood. They asked me to participate and share some of my favorite eco-friendly locals and resorts for their viewers. Great- a way to talk about a passion of mine, eco-tourism! Let me first begin by saying that the various shows on Discovery Channel’s new channel, Planet Green, are meant to be light hearted, yet provide viewers with eco-friendly information- and without viewers feeling like anything is being shoved down their throats without self-righteous turnoff messages. Cool. They are on the right path to educate, not intimidate. Back to Hollywood Green. The show, while celebrity based, talks about lifestyles and special interests in of course “celebridum”, fashion, trends, epicurean and so on- a lighthearted fast moving show hosted by Maria Menounos. I report on locals where celebrities frequent, where they have taken their families to, and why the resort or local is “eco-friendly”. Here comes my rant…. I have heard from cynics- “who cares what this celeb is doing, wearing, going”, and in the small picture I tend to agree. BUT- (and that is a big BUT)… While some of you are like “blah-blah-blah- who cares where Angelina Jolie just vacationed, or where Brad Pitt rented a villa, or where George Clooney and Cindy Crawford frolicked” (in the Med BTW)… I feel it is important to understand that these people bring focus and light to many important themes out there and are needed to promote positive issues that may not necessarily be covered by the media otherwise. Take for example Bono and Clooney with Darfur. Do you really think the majority of our country would have taken notice had they not become involved? Like it or not- we are a celebrity driven media crazed country- and using celebrities to raise awareness is a crucial selling point to grab a good majority of the public’s attention. For every one person who may not care about celebrities, one hundred thousand people do, and will listen to whatever a celebrity’s message may be-- what they are eating, where they are vacationing and thus follow in tow. I have come to realize this is such not such a bad thing, especially when a positive message is attached to whatever a celebrity is positively doing or saying and so on. Who cares if they “are doing this for publicity”— little businesses/locations/movements who can not afford to promote themselves otherwise, get put on the map… and BTW, POSITIVELY is the key word here. And I think… like us, celebrities want to use their voice to make change, and that is not such a “bad thing” either. I often wonder about those who complain about celebrities using their voice, are just envious that they don’t have that same kind of platform, and if they were the celebrity- would they use “their voice” ? Hmmmm… So for me and my message to reveal resorts/locals who grow organically, support environmental educational programs, find alternatives for heating and cooling, use local builders and materials, protect their local wildlife, reuse, recycle and compost— a show like Hollywood Green is important. It gives me (and others) a platform to talk about such things I deem important like eco-travel. THANK YOU Hollywood Green. And…in the end, if talking about a celebrity supporting sustainable locations around the globe, (and who are tossing much needed monies to these locations, helping support a local’s eco-endeavors)… and ME reporting on this means more travelers will likely explore and experience this kind of eco-tourism, who might not have previously done so before…then I have done my job and made my message clear- Support Sustainable Tourism. Right? Right….. I don’t know what date the segment will air yet- I am told late Aug./early Sept.— but once it does, I will recap the locations I talked about and share some other cool travel tidbits right here at Tonic News. You guys are the best! Thanks for tuning in… You can find your local listings here to check out Hollywood Green. Stefanie Michaels, known to legions of fans as “Adventure Girl®,” has carved a unique niche in the world of travel and entertainment.  Her website, AdventureGirl.com, has been utilized by millions looking for tips on exciting places to visit, be it sleeping in an Ice Hotel in Reykjavík, Iceland, swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas, or tapping into the chicest eco-friendly destinations in travel today. While she is never one to sit still for too long, this has been a busy couple of years for this Adventure Girl..  Her book, Adventure Girl’s Guide to Adventure Travel…without Breaking a Nail, was released, and Michaels surprised even her fans when she braved sub-zero degree temperatures to participate in the Iditarod dog sled race in Anchorage, Alaska. One month later, Michaels defied gravity (and tapped into a dream of one day traveling to space) when she, along with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, participated in the inaugural flight of Las Vegas’ ZERO G, an airplane ride that lets passengers experience zero gravity. A sought-after spokesperson in the media, Michaels is a travel expert for the 2008 season of Travel + Leisure Channel’s Uberguide series, was seen on morning shows across the U.S. this summer sharing her latest picks in travel gadgets, has been an expert travel guest on CNN and FOX News, and she is frequently quoted in outlets such as The New York Times.  In addition, her travel pieces have appeared in magazines including Affluent USA, Affluent Worldwide- a private jet magazine, Westside Magazine, Women’s Health & Fitness, Southern California Bride, Weddings of Distinction, and Elite Traveler. Michaels’ passion for travel started when her parents took her on her first flight at six months of age.  Little did those friendly skies know what they were in for.  She has since traveled extensively both for business and pleasure.  It has always been about adventure for Michaels, who embodies the spirit of her greatest heroine, Amelia Earhart, and lives by Earhart’s mantra:  “If someone asks you on an adventure, never refuse.” Michaels’ work as an author is equally exciting.  Her upcoming books will feature the next editions in her Adventure Girl’s Guide series: Adventure Girl’s Guide to Finding Spas without Breaking a Nail and Adventure Girl’s Guide to Finding Adventure…without Breaking a Nail Part II. A Los Angeles native, Michaels began modeling and working in commercials at the age of three.  In her teen years, Michaels modeled swimwear and also spent two years as the KLOS-FM “Cool Patrol Girl,” promoting the nationally syndicated radio show “Mark & Brian.”  This work led to Michaels being a sought-after swimwear and calendar model, and her popularity launched Michaels’ promotional business in the late 90’s, SMC Productions.  Her fan base grew and so did cross-country promotional trips for such blue chip brands as Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch. E-mail was the new means of communication in the 90’s and, it turns out, the ideal medium for Michaels.  She became an unofficial online tour guide for fans who wanted to keep track of her travels.  In 1995, Michaels created Travel Partners, a web site where she kept a photo journal of her excursions. The site became a go to destination for fans, and in 2001 Michaels hosted an online travel show, “Adventures with Adventure Girl.”  Visitors to the site entered online contests to win dream adventures with Stefanie Michaels, film crew in tow. Michaels, who calls the world her home, resides in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband and a houseful of rescued pets:  four dogs and three cats.  She attended UCLA’s journalism program, is a member of Boston University’s Archeological Institute of America, Screen Actors Guild, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, The North American Travel Journalists Association, and The Society of Professional Journalists.