#1 | Ryan Pyle | Where It All Started

Where it all started: a politics degree in Toronto, a move to Shanghai, and the road from award-winning photographer to TV presenter and author. Recorded in lockdown in Istanbul, April 2020. Ryan Pyle is a person who places heavy weight behind getting out into the world and chasing unique experiences. After a degree in International Politics at the University of Toronto, he moved to Shanghai, China and transformed himself from an award winning photographer into a producer, television presenter, author and a public speaker. From there it was a full focus on the world of content and entertainment, with launching series like: Tough Rides and Extreme Treks which are adventure TV shows that document some of the most epic motorcycle riding (Tough Rides) and trekking and climbing (Extreme Treks) locations around the world. Key Broadcast Partners are: Amazon Prime, BBC Earth, Discovery Channel. With all this global filming, Ryan speaks about the toll this took on his marriage, his personal life and the Covid-19 lockdown that left him stuck in Istanbul, Turkey, where this episode was recorded. Find out more about Ryan: https://www.ryanpyle.com Chapters 0:00 Welcome to the Ryan Pyle Podcast 5:23 How I ended up in lockdown in Istanbul 13:37 Growing up in Canada 18:05 Toronto, high school and basketball 29:07 NBA dreams and the University of Toronto 32:58 When basketball ended 34:56 Discovering China 37:02 Backpacking China alone 43:36 West to Kashgar, Tibet and Everest 50:51 Moving to Asia 54:38 Howard French and freelancing for the big papers 59:16 The 2008 crash and the end of freelancing 1:04:10 Central Park and the birth of Tough Rides 1:08:50 Tough Rides India and Brazil 1:13:22 Extreme Treks 1:16:13 Expedition Asia with Discovery Channel 1:18:40 Why Dubai 1:20:48 Wrapping up The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com