An interview with traveling videographers, Bronson Allison and Kyle Brewington
Interview by Jeremy Lux, article written by Eric Gasa
You could say that Bronson Allison and Kyle Brewington became friends under some extraordinary circumstances. It’s not every day that you randomly comment on someone’s post on Instagram then find yourself on the next plane to Germany with a stranger you’ve met online. Even wilder is being flat broke and having to share a bed in a hotel room with said person the first night you hang out. Call it something out of a buddy-buddy Seth Rogen flick, but you can say that Allison and Brewington have a special kind of bromance. At least one that transcends borders as they travel the world shooting videos and living life.
For the Life in Motion podcast, Jeremy Lux had the chance to chat with Bronson Allison and Kyle Brewington about how they met, some general travel tips, and why you really need to watch Chernobyl on HBO.
For listeners to the show, Allison is a bit of a familiar face at this point. You may know him as one of Illumine Collect’s brand ambassadors, as well as a videographer, lifestyle YouTuber, and overall globetrotter. He also almost lost a toe once upon a time in Bali and has a bad habit of getting into white-knuckled, high speed scooter collisions (see “Fear and Loathing in Indonesia”).
Kyle Brewington is a Missouri native who went to college for chemistry until one day something just clicked in his head and he realized that his life was destined for something completely different.
“I just didn’t want to do that anymore,” Brewington explains. “I wanted to have fun and travel the world. So, I set this goal that I wanted to travel to 30 countries before I turned 30. And I actually just met that goal last month. I’ve been to 30 countries and I'm only 27 right now.”
Together, Allison and Brewington travel the world, shooting videos and building their burgeoning Live More lifestyle brand, or as Allison puts it, “We just try to have as much fun as possible.”
And so far, it seems to be a pretty sweet gig.
One cool thing about being entrepreneurs is that you get to set your own pace. For Allison, he doesn’t have to rely on finding a 9 to 5; instead he can create his own freelance opportunities as he goes.
Alongside Allison is Brewington, a guy who’s been fiddling with videography since he was in middle school, filming everything from Christmas with the family to his friends playing Guitar Hero back during the first days of YouTube.
“It’s just like a massive scrapbook of my life,” he says, “and that’s just for me. I just like creating stuff, you know?”
So, as was said earlier, Allison and Brewington crossed paths on almost happenstance. Allison, was liking travel pics on Instagram when he stumbled on Brewington’s account. He saw that Brewington had plans on heading to Bali, and Allison, after spending quite the crazy time in that country, decided to give the guy some pointers and maybe swap some stories. The two kind of just clicked and the rapport as well as friendship just took off from there. Fast forward one year later and the two are meeting up in Germany for the first time.
“Bronson walked out of the terminal and I was like, ‘What’s up, man?’ It was like we had known each other for years. It was wild,” Brewington recalls.
Next thing you know, the two were headed to Bali and basically partied for two straight weeks. Not matter how much you travel one thing that never gets old is the feeling of culture shock while abroad.
“You would think the people in Bali probably don’t watch a lot of YouTube or even American YouTube if you will, but you’d be surprised. They’re into a lot of the same things we’re into, they just happen to speak a different language, you know?” Brewington says.
It’s a bit of a testament to the duo’s love of videography; a visual medium that transcends language and borders.
But knowing that this was Bali and that Bronson Allison was along for the ride, it wouldn’t be a trip to Indonesia without something crazy happening. With Allison’s luck, he got pulled over by some shady cops.
“So he took our helmets, took us into this little police booth thing, sat us down, and basically said ‘We can arrest you or you can pay me money.’ This guy wanted 400,000 rupiahs,” Allison recalls.
Well, if you’ve read our first feature on Allison, the last time he found himself cornered by some corrupt cops looking for a bribe, he pulled some crazy Speech Level 100 grade charisma where he bluffed and told the guys that he knew Krav Maga. Possibly unsure that his stunt would work a second time, Allison bit the bullet and paid the steep 400,000 rupiahs fine… which totaled a whopping $30 American.
Well, hey at least he didn’t have to throw down on some officers. $30 to buy off some cops is a bit of a steal.
“Lucky you. I guess moral of the story is to keep Bronson off the scooters,” Jeremy jokes.
Brewington on the other hand has had a bit of luck on his travels. His last trip was to the frigid Ukraine where he toured the infamous abandoned city of Chernobyl. A long story short would be to just say it was like visiting a ghost town, but Brewington likens the experience to something more visceral and chilling; a bit like visiting a modern day version of Pompeii.
He recalls touring drab, abandoned apartments with plates still on the dinner table, grocery carts scattered across the store aisles. A town of 50,000 people evacuated in three days.
“Imagine like Springfield, Mo, but instead of streets there’s just trees. Forest everywhere with buildings growing in the middle,” he explains.
What inspired Brewington to visit this irradiated city was the acclaimed HBO series Chernobyl which has certainly stoked imaginations and public interest in the site. Brewington highly recommends both the city and the show, but warns if you do take a trip there, be sure to keep an eye on your Geiger counter. He also recommends Ukraine for only the most experienced travelers since not many Ukrainians speak English and the fact that the tourism board there isn’t necessarily very busy.
“When you get to Ukraine as an American, the customs agents are kind of like, ‘What exactly are you doing here?’ Like there's a pretty solid chance you're up to no good,” he jokes.
When it comes to traveling and making videos, Allison and Brewington make a pretty good team. Rules they recommend for the road is to always respect the locals, trust your instincts, and always be on the lookout for red flags, especially when meeting with folks online. Don’t do anything stupid like send a thousand dollars to a Nigerian prince.
Then lastly, some words to live by.
“No risk, no fun,” Brewington shares, a quote that his dad always told him about traveling. It’s a very fitting phrase, especially for two friends who met by way of taking a chance on each other.
From bribing crazy cops in Bali to touring irradiated ruins in Ukraine, Allison and Brewington never seem to let a moment pass them by. For the duo, you seem to always miss the shots (and the trips) you don’t take.
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You can follow Kyle Brewington on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat on @kyle_brewington, and Bronson Allison on Instagram @bronsonjamesallison. To hear more about the duo’s trip in Bali or Kyle’s time in Chernobyl hear the full story on the Life in Motion podcast with Jeremy Lux on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play.