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Explorer Spotlight: Tiffany Nguyen

By: The Outbound Collective + Save to a List

Name: Tiffany Nguyen | Age: 27 | Location: Redondo Beach, CA

What’s your day job?
Dentist

What are your favorite things to do outside?
Exploring new places, chillin at the beach, hiking to epic viewpoints or waterfalls, snowboarding, scuba diving, and capturing my favorite moments.

What first drew you to the outdoors?
Growing up, my family never went camping or hiking, but it’s definitely a new passion of mine that’s constantly growing on the daily. After my first camping trip, there was pretty much no turning back; I was hooked. Sometimes I feel more at home when I’m out camping in a tent than when I’m sleeping in my own bed.

What’s your favorite hometown adventure? ...and, almost as important, where’s your favorite spot to get a beer after?
Can’t go wrong with catching a sunset at Manhattan Beach Pier. It’s also right by MB Post, where you can grab some cheddar bacon buttermilk biscuits and a cold one afterwards.

What’s your essential gear that never gets left at home?
My camera and chapstick, literally can’t go anywhere without my chapstick.

What’s your favorite trail snack?
Munk Pack oatmeal fruit squeezes are my fave. They’re tasty and provide me with enough energy to get me through my hikes.

Any go-to soundtracks when you’re hitting the road?
Miike Snow seems to be on every playlist of mine when I’m on the road.

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened while you were adventuring? And/or, the funniest?
Scariest thing would probably have to be when our car got stuck driving in the sand dunes in the middle of the night with no cell phone reception. That was no fun :(

Who’s your number one adventure partner-in-crime? Who inspires you?
My numero uno adventure partner-in-crime is Jonathan Basiago (@jonathanbasiago). There’s not many people who can keep up with all my crazy adventures, but this guy can definitely hang! My list of people who inspire me is pretty long, but I’d have to say Chris Burkard and Travis Burke are at the top for me. I just head over to their Instagram pages for my daily dose of inspiration.

What are your top destinations for adventure travel?
Iceland is probably my favorite so far. I also love Kauai and Thailand!

What’s on the top of your must-do adventure list right now?
New Zealand, Patagonia, Norway, the Philippines, Bali, and Fiji to name a few. My list is getting a bit ridiculous!

Show us your most memorable photo, and tell us about it!
This is hands down my favorite picture from my recent trip to Iceland. It brings me back so many memories to when we hiked in the snow to have this winter wonderland all to ourselves. I had seen pictures of Svartifoss before, but none of them did this place justice. The hexagonal basalt columns that surround the falls were seriously something else. This particular shot makes me feel like I’m back at Svartifoss again.

And last but not least…What’s your personal motto?
Always say yes to adventure!

We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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