This week, I had the opportunity to get to know two of Chubby Diaries’ favorite world travelers, Julie and Dean Couchey, better known as the Two Fat Americans! The Coucheys’ relationship has revolved around travel and food and led them to visit over 40 countries. Dean’s passion for cuisine and Julie’s love for photography in combination with their desire to prove that anybody can travel the world makes them the ultimate travel blogging couple!

Let’s get to know the Two Fat Americans! 

Get to Know the Two Fat Americans

Chubby Diaries: Where are you now?

Julie and Dean: Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Chubby Diaries: Describe the moment you caught the travel bug.

Julie and Dean: It was different for both of us!

For Dean it was the first time he left America to visit Montreal, which was close to his hometown but seemed worlds away. The French inspired culture led him to want to see more of the world. The biggest “bug bite” was on his first truly international trip to South Africa. Growing up in small town New York to visiting a new continent and seeing how people living in other parts of the world were very much the same, but also had many cultural differences. From then in, the passion to see more places and people was born.

For Julie it was when she met Dean! From the moment they met, Dean kept telling her that he couldn’t wait to show her the world, and it wasn’t until they booked their first trip to Europe that she realized he wasn’t kidding, and the bug bit immediately!

Since then we’ve been to so many more places and each time makes us crave it more and more.  

Chubby Diaries: What was your motivation for starting your travel blog?

Julie and Dean: After getting married in Colorado, we knew we wanted to move to the east coast to be closer to family. We figured while we were still young and since we were picking up our lives and moving anyway, what better time was there to just quit life and travel the world!? We knew we wanted to document our travels for friends and family and the blog was born. Neither of us knew it would morph into what it has become today and we couldn’t be happier and more proud of what it’s become. 

Chubby Diaries: How does social media play a role in your career?

Julie and Dean: Social media plays a huge role. We would not be where we are without it! We keep spreading the word about body positivity through our photos and our voice and without that we would quite literally not be where we are. Both of us strive to continue to show others that you don’t have to look a certain way to travel or reach your goals and social media is how we’re able to show that to the world. 

Chubby Diaries: What do you hope your audience will get from your content? 

Julie and Dean: We hope our audience will see that we look just like them and if we can do it, so can they. We may need a seatbelt extender, a table instead of a booth, etc but that shouldn’t stop anyone from doing what makes them happy. Society doesn’t dictate what we should look like and we’re out to prove it.

Chubby Diaries: How do people break into this industry?

Julie and Dean: There’s an extent of needing to be different of course… you need to stand out. But more importantly, in our opinion, is the authenticity. Don’t post what you think people want to see, be authentically yourself! You’ll see a million photos of someone posting in front of the same monument or landmark, do something that sets you apart! 

Chubby Diaries: Where do you find inspiration?

Julie and Dean: Social media is #1. We’ll see other posts about a place we haven’t been, or even somewhere we have and it makes us crave a visit. Whether it’s exploring a place we’ve already been but in a different way or going somewhere new, it helps to see others’ experiences. Also, Rick Steve’s! Dean grew up in awe of the travel series and to this day helps with inspiration on where to go next.

Chubby Diaries: What is your proudest moment of this year?

Julie and Dean: We didn’t get to do as much traveling this year as we started our own business which is by far our proudest part of the year. We started a weekly meal service with all the foods inspired by our travels, so while we didn’t get to go anywhere out of the country, we were able to reminisce through our foods and introduce new flavors to our community. 

On a travel-related note, we were so excited to break our covid travel slump and fly out to see family and friends in Colorado and California. It may have only been within the US but it felt so great to get back on a plane and go somewhere! 

Chubby Diaries: What will travel look like for you in 2022? 

Julie and Dean: Big things hopefully! First up will be Colombia in February for Julie’s best friend’s wedding and hopefully Europe and Asia in the fall for Dean’s 40th birthday! 

We hope you enjoyed getting to know the Two Fat Americans with us! Let us know what you enjoyed most about the interview in the comments. 

Are you interested in getting to know more about our favorite travel creators? Check out our blog!