Matt Harding wasn’t always a world traveler. He went on family vacations growing up, but it wasn’t until he was older and moved out of the United States that he discovered his love of travel and his traveling took off.

“No, I didn’t travel a lot growing up. We took vacations to Disney World and the Caribbean and stuff like that and I enjoyed that, but it wasn’t a focus for me as a kid. It was really in my twenties, when I lived in Australia, I got a job down there, and there is a really big culture of travel there, especially young, independent, backpacking travel,” said Harding. “I had never been exposed to that. I didn’t know that that was something you could do. I took a trip to Vietnam with a friend and that was when I discovered how passionate I was about exploring the world.

Harding’s thirst for travel has brought him to all seven continents in the world!

Over the years Harding has traveled to and seen countless countries. Naturally compiling a list of favorite places is common, but Harding couldn’t put his finger on a list. He loves places that make him feel like they are the corners of the world, offering total seclusion.

“I don’t have a specific place, but the place that I enjoy most and get the most excited about traveling to are the ones that I know least about going in. The mysterious blotches on the map are where I wonder what are people like there, what do people do there,” said Harding. “Places like Namibia, Micronesia, Myanmar and

Mongolia. Those places tend to be the most fascinating for me. I never seem to be let down by a place like that, the ones that sort of feel like the ends of the earth. I really enjoy going there because you do get to explore there.”

Harding is in high demand. His 2008 video topped 45 million views on YouTube, with his other two videos compiling 18 and 9 million respectively. Over the course of his videos, the travel has been more business focused, trying to get the videos as appealing as possible and less about him enjoying the destinations. His new family is the main reason for the switch.

“It is a pretty exhausting schedule. It is hard to be in a different airport every other day and to get to see these great places and not get to stay there for any length of time, but I have a family now, so I am always driven to get back home as soon as I can,” Harding said. “Things have really shifted for me over the years. When I was younger in my twenties, I was having the time of my life and that was a priority for me. Now, my priority is doing work that I am really proud of and spending as much time as I can with my family.”

Harding is renowned around the world, as people always want to dance with him, no matter the country.

Even though Harding has a family, travel is still high on his to-do list and he still has a list of countries he craves to visit. One of which, is one of the most challenging places to visit in the world, but that doesn’t hold him back.

“I want to travel to Iran. It is possible to get in, but it is difficult. If I were to go I would be going to film locals and put it out on videos. There are some risks for me and for the people dancing,” Harding said. “So I would have to be really careful, I just haven’t been able to line it up now, but I want to include Iran in a video at some point.”

Below are each of Matt’s amazing videos throughout the years!

Where the Hell is Matt? – 2012

Where the Hell is Matt? – 2008

Where the Hell is Matt? – 2006

Quick Questions!
Best hotel: Conrad Rangali – Maldives
Unbelievable! The Maldives are amazing. We had these bungalows with glass floors. They are over the water on stilts. You could look down and see sharks swimming underneath your feet. It was incredible.

Best cuisine: Japanese

Best airline: Emirates

Favorite landmark: Kjeragbolten in Norway