Six continents and counting! Cory Lee is on a roll, exploring the world and sharing his adventures through his award-winning travel blog, Curb Free with Cory Lee. Get to know him and learn more about accessible travel through this interview.
2021 Update!: Cory has published a children’s book! Check it out here:
Meet Cory Lee of Curb Free with Cory Lee
I recently attended my first TBEX travel blogger conference at the Corning Museum of Glass. It was wonderful! I came home feeling motivated and inspired – not least by people like Cory Lee.
The conference got off to a great start when Cory gave the opening keynote address. He had us laughing and erupting in standing ovations. Why?
Well, for one, his adventures are certainly worth writing home about: Cory, who’s from Lafayette, Georgia, has visited 26 countries on 6 continents. He’s ridden a camel in Morocco, gone hot air ballooning in Israel, sailed in Wisconsin, broken his arm while waterskiing, and once he almost became a hippo’s lunch in South Africa, to name a few.
And he’s done all that with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neuromuscular disease that has kept him in a powered wheelchair since he was four years old!
Driven by a zest for adventure and equipped with steely determination and a great sense of humor, Cory doesn’t let European cobblestone, wheelchair charger blow-ups or, really, anything get in his way.
In 2013 he started Curb Free with Cory Lee to share his insights on accessible travel around the world. His work – read by over 50,000 followers across social media – earned him the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Blog in 2017.
I feel there’s a lot I can learn from Cory.
My interview with Cory Lee
Cory kindly took time out of the busy TBEX schedule for an interview. Here’s what he had to say:
How did you get into traveling? What were your first experiences?
I really started traveling because my mom was a school teacher when I was growing up. We used the three months she was off every summer to explore within the US. When I turned 15, we started taking it international and went to the Bahamas. That was the first time I ever saw a different culture, a different way of life, tried new foods. It sparked something in me that made me want to go much, much farther. I’ve really not stopped since then.
What have been your favorite places to visit?
I like every place that I visit. Each place offers something different. But if I had to pick, I really, really loved Morocco. I went there this past April and explored several cities and got to ride a camel. It blew past any expectation that I had.
Then Sydney, Australia, was incredible. I think that Sydney is even more accessible than most places in the US. All of the public transportation and attractions, everything was completely accessible. That made it an easy trip to do. If you can stand the really long flight. That’s the hard part.
And third, I really love Israel. I’ve been there twice in the past three years. I’m just completely in love with it. Before I’d gone to Israel, I didn’t know what to expect and thought it was going to be dangerous, because it’s the Middle East. My family and friends back home were warning me not to go. But then I went anyway – as I always do – and I fell in love with it and it’s one of my favorite places.
What would it mean to you to make it to all seven continents?
Ah, that’s such a life-long dream of mine! I’ve done the research, and I don’t know of any other wheelchair user that’s done it. To be the first in a powered wheelchair that’s done all seven, that would just be incredible. Hopefully one day.
How do you feel travel has changed you and your outlook on life?
I think it’s made me more aware of what’s going on in the world. What people are really like. Whenever I look at Facebook or other social media, or turn on the news, there’s constant negativity. But by traveling I’ve learned to look beyond that and try to discover the people of the place and the culture and way of life there. That’s opened my eyes to everything.
What have you found challenging when traveling and encountering new cultures?
The most challenging thing is learning how other societies are going to accept me. Some places are completely open, maybe have even better access than the US in a lot of ways. But in other places you don’t see wheelchair users out as much. So whenever I am out I’ll get weird stares. They haven’t really seen somebody in a powered wheelchair before, so it’s something new and different to them and they’re not sure how to accept that within their community.
Your mom, Sandy, is often by your side. How do you feel like traveling with your mom has changed your relationship with her?
If I’m flying or traveling internationally, if my mom can, then she’ll definitely go with me. Whenever you’re traveling, it’s home times a thousand. It’s like sensory overload. You’re constantly having to deal with situations that come up, if the hotel is not as accessible as they said it would be. Or if the airline damages my wheelchair. Instead of getting angry about it and lashing out at each other, which we maybe did earlier in our travel days, we’ve learned how to communicate and interact and resolve situations better. It’s made us grow a lot closer.
How have you made all this travel happen, financially?
When I was first starting out with the blog, I didn’t make a dollar from travel. I just tried to save all the money I could and used frequent flyer miles and hotel points to travel as much as I could. I was not traveling as much, but I made travel the priority.
I knew that I really wanted to build a website that would be a great resource for other wheelchair users when they travel. I knew if I wanted to get to the point where I was the best and an authority at that, I’d have to fork over my own money to get there.
It really helped that after the first year or two I started getting offers to go on press trips to promote accessibility and work with other partners, like a clothing brand. Actually, I’ve worked with Quickie Wheelchair, the company that makes the wheelchair I use. We just did a big Facebook Live event on their page last week up in Rochester, and I did a commercial with them earlier this year.
It’s about finding the right collaborations for you and your niche. I think just knowing your niche and what you want to be an authority at can really help you grow and get to that next step.
And having goals. Every year, at the beginning of the year, I write down ten goals that I have for that year. And when I don’t meet all of them, I’m, like, losing my mind. I’m very much a planner. I’m obsessed with lists.
What kinds of goals do you set for yourself?
On the list for this year was, ‘write for National Geographic,’ which I did two months ago. I’m so excited I finally checked that one off. I had actually pitched them several times and never got anything from them. But then they reached out to me, because they wanted to write about accessible travel on their website.
So when they tell you in these workshops (at TBEX), ‘brands will reach out to you eventually’ – I used to think that’s bull, they’re never going to do that – but it’s true. It just takes time.
My goals are mostly about business stuff, but also travel: Visit all seven continents. Visit at least five new countries each year.
How many countries are you at for the year?
Only three so far, but I’m going to three more. I’m going to Barbados in two weeks. India and Amsterdam in December. I tried to break up the long flight to India with a stop in Amsterdam.
Last year you took several people with you to Morocco on the first Curb Free trip. What motivated you to organize accessible tours yourself?
I started it because I was hearing from my followers. They asked if I was a travel agent, if I had any trips planned, so that sparked the idea. Then I was approached by a tour company in Morocco. They wanted to do a solo trip with me, but I thought, well maybe I could turn this into a group trip where my followers could join me. We tested it out last year and advertised it, and within 24 hours it sold out.
So there’s definitely a market for this. Now I’m making it an annual thing, the Curb Free group trip for the year. Next year it’s going to be in Iceland. I just announced it two weeks ago. We sold out within hours. It’s really remarkable.
How many people can you take with you?
With wheelchair tours it’s tricky. In a bus we can only have three powered wheelchairs. So I wish we could take a lot, but it’s only 10 people total.
I’ve thought about possibly doing more than one a year. Maybe two or three a year, but I’m just not there yet.
Do you have a particular motto you follow in life?
My mom always raised me with the motto, “If you can’t stand up, stand out.” So that’s constantly in the back of my mind. How can I stand out? What can I do today to put myself out there and live to the fullest?
And also as a blogger and business person, what can I do today to stand out to companies that maybe haven’t ever thought about accessible travel or destinations and have never worked with an accessible blogger? How can I stand out when I talk to them, make them realize the impact they can have?
At my very first TBEX in 2015, when my blog was only 2 years old, Israel was there. Before going I thought they’d never work with me. I had less than 5000 followers on Facebook, it really wasn’t that big of a blog. It definitely wasn’t the number one accessible blog like it is today. But I talked to them anyway.
Even after we talked I thought, nothing’s ever going to come of this. But two weeks later I got an email and they said, when can you come? We’ll cover everything. And I thought, oh my god, this is amazing! You really never know when you’re talking to someone what can come of it.
Is there one question you wish people asked you? And what’s your answer?
I wish people asked me what they could do to be more accessible. If you’re a destination, put the information on your website about whether or not you’re accessible. If you’re a blogger, even if you’re not in a wheelchair, put one line in your post, like “I was at the Corning Musem of Glass, there was an elevator that went to every floor.” Just putting that one little snippet in would be so helpful.
Thank you Cory!
So, bloggers and destinations, you heard it! It doesn’t take much time to add a bit of information about accessibility to your posts and websites, but it can make a huge difference to the people who need to know whether or not they can easily get around. I’ll definitely try to include it. How about you?
While you’re here, check out some of my other travel-related content:
Things to do in Ithaca NY – Tips from a Local
27 Ways to Save Money on Food while Traveling
7 Things to Do with Kids in Tulsa, OK
Pin for later:
Things to do in Ithaca NY – Tips from a Local
You are an inspiration. I have a neurological disorder and I am planning to travel, but a little nervous. Next year my wife retires, and that’s when we intend to start. Any suggestions? I have a few posts on my disability like disability does not mean poverty, but I tend to shy away from it. You seem to embrace it.
How do you get assistance while traveling. I always need someone to accompany me because of the attacks I get.
Loved this post! My favorite points:
1) figure out how you can stand out;
2) reach out for opportunities, even if you think your blog (insert anything else here) isn’t big enough, good enough, etc.; and
3) do what you can to promote accessibility, diversity & equality. I will make an effort to comment on accessibility for the places I write about on my blog.
Thanks for commenting! Isn’t Cory great? I will also be checking of accessibility info for future blog posts.
I am so impressed with this young man. I have a daughter in her mid fifties . She’s had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis all her life. We would like to plan a trip to Europe but are not sure how to go about it. We have traveled in the states but not over seas.
Michelle can walk but uses a wheelchair for longer distances (I’m her mother and would be the “pusher).
Any input as to how we might be able to do this. Thank you for whatever information you can give me.
Hi Audrey. Thank you for your comment. I’d encourage you to take a look at Corey’s website: https://www.curbfreewithcorylee.com/ and maybe even try contacting him directly. He’s a very kind and helpful man. Best of luck for your trip!