As a global nomad and motivational speaker, Mark Lakin inspires audiences to use travel as a means of elevating consciousness. Learn what access to clean water means when you see an indigenous tribal hunter put his lips to a puddle of water, see the many places in the world where people have no money and no hope of ever having any, yet still experience the same range of positive/negative emotions in their day as we do, and understand the subjective nature of beauty through the lens of tribal Africa and embellishments like lip plates. The transformative power of travel is endless… travel uplifts communities, helps humans to find balance with Earth, and informs true global perspective and awareness.

“Most people live their entire lives not knowing how much they can truly change the rules of the game.” – Mark Lakin 

Mark developed and hosted Soho House NYC’s most attended event series “Transformative Travel”, with topics ranging from:

• A conversation with Amitabh Desai, Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to President Clinton
• A screening of “Racing Extinction” with Academy Award winning director Louis Psihoyos
• A Virtual Reality Safari with a principal at Google
• A spin the globe adventure with Twitter’s Head of International Content

Mark’s other notable speaking engagements include two New York Times Travel Show discussions on sustainable travel, a talk entitled “Awakening Through Travel, War & Struggle” – where Mark shared the stage with Peabody Award-winning journalist Sherine Tadros, a talk at Deepak Chopra home base titled “Redefining Success” with Jay Shetty and Lauren Singer and has keynoted major tourism events such as the Rwanda Tourism Awards. Mark most recently spoke on a panel at ILTM Cannes with Jacqueline Gifford, the Editor-in-Chief of Travel + Leisure, and Neil Jacobs, the Chief Executive Officer of Six Senses.

• Founder of The Legacy Untold Travel agency & awarded “Top Travel Advisor” in Travel + Leisure’s A-List every year since 2015

• (IG: @mark_lakin) ~100k followers of top luxury travel seekers, most powerful travel agency owners, top travel editors and luxury hoteliers

• Serves on Travel + Leisure Travel Advisory Board, a group of 27 of the USA’s top travel advisors managing 7,000+ travel designers and driving $14.5 billion USD annually

• Writes regularly for Travel + Leisure (sample articles: 12 Over the Top Honeymoons, Tanzania, Alaska, Japan, Rwanda)

• Founder of The Legacy Untold Consulting & noted brand strategist, consults for brands like The Coca-Cola Foundation, Clase Azul, Good Morning America, Global Citizen, One&Only, MAXIM, Soho House, DALA, The Red Sea Project Saudi Arabia…

• Fine art photographer & gallery owner in NYC, shot on 7 continents as well as portraits of pop stars such as Beyoncé, Bono, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, and Alicia Keys.

• Board member of Yamba Malawi, Loops & Explora Journeys

• Spends 4-6 months annually scouting the most luxurious properties and extraordinary experiences across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Arctic, Antarctic, Indian Ocean and South Pacific.

• Hosts an award-winning VIP dinner series bringing in top clients… A-listers, C-level executives, top politicians…

• Featured in Vogue, Travel+Leisure, Bloomberg Pursuits, Fast Company, National Geographic Traveller, USA Today, Cigar Aficionado, Cool Hunting, DuJour