The newest travel series introduced by CLEO TV is a millennial driven journey, where Tai Beauchamp and Elton Anderson travel on a sexy exhibition, and they familiarize viewers on the many astonishing places around the globe from the perspective lens of two black adventurers.
When TV ONE blindcasted Tai and Elton for the ultimate travel experience, it was a connubial arrangement between two strangers. “For me, as someone who’s a photographer,” says Elton, “For someone who has a passion and is willing to travel, it was a great opportunity. I’ve known Tai, and admired her for years, and to be placed with her, it was perfect chemistry.”
“Elton and I knew each other from working at Essence Fest over the years, but we never connected to each other. We saw one another and spoke,” Tai remarked.
On the season premiere of LENS OF CULTURE, Tai and Elton hit The Big Easy [New Orleans], where they experience Creole culture. While venturing to the French Quarter, they explore its history and they taste the NOLA Cuisines, including a fistful of Escargot.
“That experience was epic. The cool thing about the show is that it takes you to places that you wouldn’t necessarily think about going, but they are places that you would love to experience,” Tai says.
Both Tai and Elton agree that the show definitely set them apart from others. “First of all, we are two black hosts,” says Elton.
“We know that the black and multi cultural millennials are traveling more than they ever have,” Tai explained. “They are paying for experiences. We’ve seen black travel hosts before, but we haven’t seen two paired together, and not to mention, a woman and a man. TV ONE did this show with the understanding in mind, they allowed us the opportunity to travel to places we were interested in traveling, and doing it from the lens of young people of color. That makes a difference. Elton and I are different types of travelers. Elton is always super adventurous, and he would go places that I wouldn’t necessarily go, and would do things that I wouldn’t do, and vice versa.”
Tai verbalized that she travels in diva mode with multiple bags, while Elton travels light with one carryon bag [who does that when capering across the world?]. “We actually go glaming!” Tai exclaimed.
“The glamping episode is one of our favorite episodes because it takes us to contemporary places that millennials haven’t got into yet. That’s probably one of the best episodes. That episode surrounded sisterhood. It was like ten dynamic black women. I was in the background as a pool boy,” chuckled Elton. “That’s probably one of my favorite episodes because it was a joy to see that some of the women didn’t even know each other and they all came together and we had a chance to really get into nature, get out of our comfort zone and more importantly, connect. Just to see that, and for that to be seen on television, I think it’s going to be very promising. “
“I love what you said about the sisterhood,” echoed Tai. “I invited a few of my friends and Elton invited a few of his girlfriends, and like he said, he was the only guy there. We were in the palm desert. We had the most beautiful setup, to be out in nature, to have conversation, and what you realize about travel and that particular experience is that we didn’t strip away everything and it was still glamorous, but when you take back all that excess and really [learn] what travel is about, it’s about connecting with humanity. That’s what Lens of Culture ultimately, exposes us to, it’s the people and the experiences that you have, uniquely in certain places that make them so special.” Tai went on to say that, it was an epic experience.
Elton and Tai developed a beautiful relationship, which evolved into more of a kinship. “We really just have a bomb time. The really cool thing is we are two strangers traveling, and technically we workout together, we pray together, he’s become my boy and my love, my dear friend and my brother,” says Tai. “What you realize about travel is that it opens you up to the world—Lens of Culture opens our minds to the world and it exposes us to the world and the opportunities that are out there, but it also allows us to develop deeper connections with other people and also with ourselves. I think that we both have been changed as a result of this experience of working together and shooting this show with CLEO TV,” Tai Finished.
Although the experience looks extravagant on television, Elton says that travelers should check for deals when booking trips on their own.
“In terms of budget, I am all about the budget. I’m not like Tai," he laughed. “I always tell people that they shouldn’t chase the destination, they should chase the deal. I follow a ton of different email newsletters that they put into your mailbox daily. You’ll find deals like trips to Belize for three-hundred bucks and roundtrip tickets to Columbia for about two-fifty. You discover that these places could be cool. I’m also cautious of airline miles. Stick to one airline, and be loyal, and you’ll get really good options.”
“I am not opposed to budget travel at all,” interjected Tai. “I just want to have some really good experiences. One of the things I learned is that when you go to certain places; build the relationships, so if you go to a destination you love even though I’m a component of going to different destinations and traveling openly... If you find a place that you like, choose a boutique or a family owned business, hotel or a bed and breakfast. Develop a relationship with them, so when you want to go back there, they are open to giving you a great deal. You should also travel at the tail end of the on-season or right before the high-season starts, because you are able to find great deals. Don’t do it at the height or middle, but do at the beginning before it starts or as the season is ending.”
