Ravi Roth Brings Global Adventures to Bear World TV
The globe-trotting travel guru is one of Bear World TV’s Fab Five, spotlighting travel, culture, and adventure in the bear community.
Globe-trotting travel guru Ravi Roth wasn’t necessarily born to a life of tripping to the world’s most exotic places. As the Scranton, Pennsylvania native, now based in New York City, says, “I had never left the country until I went on a trip [to Europe] with my ex, and I proposed.”
The surprise proposal Roth planned for Buckingham Palace might not have worked out as he had hoped. “We’re not together anymore, which is fine,” he adds, but, while he might not have gotten the guy, he found a passion that has changed his life. “I went to London and Paris and Barcelona, and I was just like, ‘What is this world?'”
Excited to capture his adventures on-camera, Roth vlogged the trip. “I had my cell phone back then, which was like an iPhone 2,” he recalls, laughing. “And I was vlogging it like an idiot abroad. I knew absolutely nothing, and I just kind of fell into this passion for liking the vlogging experience.”
Several continents later — Roth has since visited every one, including Antarctica — the tourist abroad has built his passions into a brand as the host of multiple travel and adventure series on YouTube, including Ravi Round the World, Ravi’s Road to Pride, and The Gaycation Travel Show.
Through his content, and speaking engagements at travel shows around the globe, he’s shared the world’s diverse gifts with his audience. “I feel like every place there’s something that you can find that is transformative,” he says.
“There’s something so beautiful about Antarctica, seeing the landscape that feels like you’re on Mars. I love a landscape. I love an ocean. I love a mountain, and I love a nightlife — so, Sydney, Australia, Cape Town, South Africa, Rio, those places are just so magical in landscape and in the adventure.”
Roth’s latest adventure is taking him to a new, magical landscape: Bear World. That’s Bear World TV, to be exact, a video platform just launched by Bear World Magazine, the world’s leading lifestyle publication for the bear community.
According to a statement from Bear World Magazine co-founders Richard Jones and Robin Gray, “Bear World TV expands the brand’s mission to celebrate body positivity, inclusivity, and queer joy through engaging, community-driven content.”
The most prominent voices at the start will be the channel’s Fab Five hosts — Marquis The Honey Bear, Joe Martone, Alexander Rodriguez, Hunter Harden, and, of course, Roth. Not unlike the Queer Eye crew, each Bear World host brings their particular expertise and personality to presenting weekly two-minute segments spotlighting diverse facets of bear life.
Every Monday, on Marquis Is Bearly Informed, comedian Marquis takes an “unserious” look at bear culture, while on Tuesdays, Martone offers event-focused updates with Whaddya Know Joe.
On Wednesdays, pop culture expert Rodriguez dishes entertainment news with Alexander on Screen, and on Thursdays, Roth will plot great escapes for Ravi Round the World. To wrap up the week and blast off for the weekend, there’s Hunter’s Hot Nights, Harden’s nightlife-focused Friday segment.
Roth, for one, is already celebrating this milestone for bear inclusion. “This series is so special because there’s not a lot of marketing that is made for people that aren’t the stereotypical gays that you would see on billboards or ads, especially in the Bear community.
“We’re more than just, like, eating meals. We want the same things. We love adventure, we love immersive experiences. We love going to nightlife parties. We love dancing, we love hiking. We’re just like everybody else.” Laughing, he adds, “But we’re also a lot more fun — and we’re kinder.”
Bear World TV week one episodes are available to stream starting August 7 on Bear World TV, with new episodes dropping each weekday beginning August 11. Visit www.bearworldmag.com.
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