Meet Raimele & ShaKeia Reese | Travel Content Creators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Raimele & ShaKeia Reese and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Raimele & ShaKeia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Initially we started Team Reese Travels as a way to document our own family travels and share them with the world via our YouTube channel. We wanted to inspire others to get out and explore the world, and even more specifically, we wanted to show other parents that you CAN travel with kids. As our community began to grow, we developed a greater passion for content creation and we wanted to invest more into the channel so that we could create better content. We decided the best way to do that was to shape our new found hobby into a full scale business. This huge step has afforded us so many more opportunities, including being able to travel more often and therefore show more aspects of travel through our content.
 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We are a family of three that loves to travel, and we love sharing our travels with the world via YouTube as “Team Reese Travels.” We’re most proud of the diversity you’ll find in travel content on our channel. We’ve grown to learn that one person’s idea of adventure may be a little bit (or a whole lot) different than the next person’s idea of adventure. We’re proud of how we’ve worked to show so many different ways to explore, be it by cruising, road trips, flights, a day trip to a nearby big city, or even just getting out and finding fun hidden gems in your OWN city. All of that can be considered travel! Our main goal has always been to encourage other parents to travel with their kids, to show them that there’s more to see than what exists in their own back yard. We have a goal of showing our son the world, and by sharing these explorations through content creation we’re creating a community of people to share in those experiences with us along the way.

We’ve now expanded the business to include multiple social media outlets, travel advising, merchandise, professional development/coaching services, and a podcast that ShaKeia hosts with fellow content creators and friends Charvon Parker and Cheryl “SIG Cruiser.”  This journey has definitely had its ups and downs. Building our own brand while juggling full time careers, parenting, helping care for elderly loved ones and just the stresses of every day life…it’s a lot to handle! But we have been and we remain up for the challenge. We trust God with the vision He’s given us for Team Reese Travels, and that faith allows us to persevere. Along the way, we’ve learned the importance of building relationships with others who are on the same road, and we’ve made a lot of friends who we are now happy to call family.

Some years ago we created a mission statement for our family: To be a blessing, to serve the underserved, and to have fun while doing it. At the end of each day, if we’ve done those three things, then we are happy and we’re ready to take on the next day!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This would absolutely require a trip to Chicago! We were born and raised in Gary, Indiana which is about 45 minutes out from the city.  The food, entertainment, and city views make it well worth the drive. We’d stay at a 4-star Chicago hotel overlooking the city and/or Lake Michigan. We’d start each day with breakfast at some of our favorite local eateries, such as Batter & Berries, then take a walk down the Magnificent Mile for a little shopping and head over to Navy Pier for a ride on the ferris wheel or a site seeing cruise on the Chicago River. For lunch we’d recommend a Chicago style pizza restaurant such as Lou Malnati’s but go for the thin crust, not deep dish! There’s so much to do in the evening…a show in the theatre district is always nice, or if you want a more laid back evening we’d recommend a movie at one of several dine-in theatres. The options are limitless and all depend on your preferred style of entertainment, but know that you will not run out of things to do! Lastly, we could not let them leave Chicago without picking up a bag of Garrett’s world famous Chicago Mix popcorn.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When we think about our success there are so many names that come to mind, but our deepest gratitude will always belong to God. We recognize that we would be nowhere without Him, and we are so grateful for the many blessings he has sent our way. Additionally, our family for their continuous love and support, our Pastors for their unwavering love and guidance, and our entire community of content creators, friends and supporters who push us to be better every day and encourage us to keep going.

Website: www.teamreesetravels.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamreesetravels/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090583992859

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TeamReeseTravels

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@teamreesetravels

Image Credits
Team Reese Travels