Remote Profile: Reid Peryam — Remote Year

When dreaming of winning the Lottery Jackpot the first thing I have always planned to do is travel around the world.

My sister Tracy forwarded me a media blurb about Remote Year in a two word email that read: “Do. This.” I refer to it as an “uh-oh” moment which meant that the opportunity, exploration and growth afforded by Remote Year was necessary in my life but it was also daunting to accommodate it. I own a home in Denver along with a dog and two cars and work at a job that I really love. “Uh-oh” meant something had to give.

But it didn’t — I rented out my furnished home and left Rodeo with my Dad and kept working for my company.

I got to live my Lottery Jackpot dream without winning the Lottery Jackpot.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON FOR THE YEAR?

I’m a Voodoo Sorcerer at Cap Logistics, an international freight and expedited shipping company that services industrial service companies. Programmagic prestidigitation, digital alchemy and conjures; that’s my Hoodoo. Remote Year has been a tremendous catalyst within our own company as other employees have successfully modeled the remote-work lifestyle as well.

Unprofessionally I’ve been focused on hobbies – fitness training, photography and writing as I balance exploration and learning Spanish for the first time; recently in Lima I’m focused on doing my best to not suck at surfing.

HOW DID YOU FIND YOURSELF A REMOTE ROLE?

“Necessity of action takes away the fear of the act, and makes bold resolution the favorite of fortune.” -Francis Quarles

I had already picked an employer that valued me as much as others say they do so I was all set. The non-obvious part is that to get to this point I spent 15 years of my live building the career, experience and trust to make that happen. That part was really hard and not much fun.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO OTHERS LOOKING TO BRING TRAVEL INTO THEIR LIVES?

The hardest part is to jettison material, social and monetary obligations that try their hardest to hold you right where you are. Once you cut the spider webs you feel free — and you never want to land in another spider’s web again.

My mother’s father was drafted into the First World War dropped out of Harvard to work in the Pacific Northwest as a forester. At age 22 he took a freight boat along with a sack of literature to Tahiti where he lived for a year. He served in the Second World War and practiced his French while shaving. By the time I knew him he was a grumpy (I thought) nonagenarian and passed away when I was twelve years old. I often imagine that the two of us would be good friends if we had lived more contemporaneously. 

WHERE HAVE YOU TRAVELED TO / LIVED PREVIOUSLY? 

Before Remote Year I had traveled to 23 countries – by the time I return home that number will have been exactly doubled while using a total 9 days of time off. People wonder if Remote Year is worth it for them; if they have to wonder — it isn’t.

3 THINGS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT ON THE ROAD? 

A gym with a real squat rack
My Fujifilm X-100T camera – can see my shots at here and here.
My travel journal – I have three volumes over the past 12 years. Looking forward to filling a library in my lifetime.

WHERE’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE GLOBE?

Carbon County, Wyoming. My family has owned a cattle ranch outside Riverside, Wyoming (population 85) for 150 years and after living in multiple cities and now countries, no place comes close — it’s the best. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop searching though. After Remote Year ends I’ll continue working internationally, remotely starting with Bogota, Colombia, Quito, Ecuador and Munich, Germany.

I don’t recommend anything to everyone but here are books I love:

Red Sky at Morning by Richard BradfordMeditations by Marcus Aurelius (nonfiction)The Shelfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (nonfiction)

Tooth and Claw by T.C. Boyle