On the side road to success

LOLITA HARPER

They took off this weekend. On yet another road trip. But this time

Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard had the taste of success and

satisfaction, in addition to other tasty snacks found in the

cupboards of their lime green recreational vehicle.

Mike and Nathan are Pepperdine graduates, originally from Laguna

Beach, who decided the congested highway to success -- complete with

gridlock, Sigalerts and long, boring commutes -- was not necessarily

for them. Instead, they, and two other friends, took a detour and set

off to find successful people across the nation who reached their

career destination via side roads.

The two men, both wearing short-sleeved, button-down shirts,

jeans, flip flops, long hair and scruffy beards, shared their story

with an attentive crowd at the Newport Beach Public Library last week

-- a few days before they were scheduled again to tour the nation to

promote their book, “Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your

Path in Life” and documentary, “The Open Road.”

“We were not exposed to very much,” Mike said. “We were surfers

who thought we would explore the world.”

But exploration took a back seat to college prep classes,

studying, extra curricular activities, resume builders, SATs and

college entrance exams, applications, essays, tours and interviews.

Coming from an affluent coastal city such as Laguna, that was what

high school kids did. They studied hard, went to college (a good one

that their parents can brag about) got a degree in a field they could

make good money in and one day afford to give their own children a

similar home in a nice, affluent community with good schools and

friendly neighbors.

“It’s like we had this de-facto life planned out for us 20

before,” Nathan said.

Nathan was an artist. He always loved creativity and even worked

for Volcom while in high school. His parents discouraged his

imaginative pastime as a career, pointing out the all-too-famous

saying “starving artist.” They suggested he make his real money in

business and do paintings, drawings, sketches etc. on the side.

So, he went to Pepperdine University and majored in business. He

wanted to use his creative juices in the corporate community by

emphasizing entrepreneurship but he was told that most business

majors become consultants and that was the road he should take.

(Never mind the fact that he wasn’t even sure what he would be

“consulting” on.)

Mike was a writer, who was being pushed to be a doctor. He went to

Pepperdine to study biology and other scientific things. You know,

all the courses you are supposed to take if you plan to go to med

school. But Mike wasn’t satisfied with merely writing prescriptions.

He wanted also to create -- with words. To shape and craft stories.

To share tales and enlighten readers.

Nathan and Mike blocked out what they call “noise.” The clamor

around you that constantly asks, “So what do you want to do with your

life? You should be a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant, a

consultant... blah, blah, blah.” The guys tell their audience: “Block

it. Shed it. Leave it for the conformists.”

Not only did these two want to take the journey themselves, they

wanted to share it with others in their generation -- hence the

creation of “Roadtrip Nation.”

Nathan and Mike set out twice to find the road less traveled. The

first time, they got some funding, took a trip through more than 40

states, traveled 17,000 miles and interviewed 75 people. It was such

a great time, they did it again. This time with a little more

knowledge, five cameras and friends Amanda Gall and Newport Beach

resident Brian McAllister. (More on him in a later column.)

Their objective on the second trip -- which ultimately produced

the information in both the book and the documentary -- was to get

other college students involved. They traveled to various college

campuses and picked up other “lost” students who were just cruising

along in the bumper-to-bumper traffic of life.

The product is indescribable. To call in genius would not be

accurate. To call it inspiring would not do it justice. The word

refreshing is too mild and entertaining sounds too plastic.

“Roadtrip Nation” is, well, it’s real. It manages to capture the

youthful spirit of those who have energy to challenge conventional

wisdom, without sounding overly idealistic, childish or dream like.

In fact, you can’t call it a dream because the interviews and the

footage of talks with people -- including director Ben Younger,

co-founder of Nantucket Nectars Tom First; Starbucks Coffee Chairman

Howard Schultz; and Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computer

Corp -- are real. They are irrefutable. Right there in black and

white reminding you that you can take a side street, or the scenic

route and still end up where you need to be. It might take longer but

what you sacrifice in terms of time traveled will be compensated by

what you learn.

There is not enough space in this paper to tell of all the fruits

that have blossomed from their ingenuity but if you want to know

more, log onto https://www.roadtripnation.com. Try to catch these guys

at any speaking engagement you can. There attitudes are contagious,

they are friendly, funny, approachable and easy on the eyes.

It was awesome to see people my age talking to a room full of

affluent, “successful” kids and adults and see nearly every head in

the room nod in agreement. It is awesome to see these two guys who

are being rewarded with a book deal and a documentary series on PBS

because they had the courage to address something that so many people

question internally.

This was not a scheme to make a buck. It was a labor of love and

exploration and education. And because it was so pure, the theme

touches a lot of people and then a lot of people buy the book or tune

into the PBS series.

And then Mike and Nathan have that steady income their parents

wanted for them. They can buy that home in a good town, with friendly

neighbors and good schools. And then when their kids come to them

with some crazy idea about turning down a good internship to sail the

high seas with reformed pirates, they can dig up an old copy of

“Roadtrip Nation,” pour a stiff drink and call their parents.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at [email protected].