Oksana and Max St. John are the kind of couple that frequently finish each other’s…. sandwiches. Scratch that, each other’s sentences. Though, there’s a fair amount of sandwich sharing too. During our conversation, Max laughs several times about the amount of weight Oksana has caused him to put on by being such a foodie. They’re cute. Words and sentences flow from one person to another effortlessly, like they share a mind as well as a heart.
It makes sense that they know each other so well, that one can literally predict what the other will say. Oksana and Max have spent the last two and a half years on the road, traveling the world.
Like many fans, I was first introduced to the couple on their Instagram page. Looking at their photos, I was transfixed. They have everything one loves about a lifestyle blog: adventure, breathtaking locations, and beautiful people — but without any of the pretension. Oksana and Max aren’t traveling to get free things or even “likes.” They travel because it fuels their souls. They wander the Earth because they want to connect with each other and the world around them. It’s refreshing. As such, it’s easy to see why people are so drawn to not just their lifestyle but to them. Their love, respect, and genuine joy in each other and the places they visit shines through in every picture. And of course, those pictures are set against the backdrops of the most stunning places in the world.
Oksana and Max’s photographs feel like the kind of thing we’d clip out of a magazine to paste on our dream boards. But talking to them recently, I didn’t feel like I was talking to some perfect magazine couple. They felt like old friends, chatting in a pub about how they met. They’re living their dreams, but instead of that jealousy I sometimes feel about people who give it all up to travel, I just felt happy for them. We chatted about life on the road, and how they found love through travel. After all, travel brings out the best and worst in people — so when you fall in love on an adventure, you’ve seen the good and the bad of a person and deemed it all beautiful.
As we talked, Oksana and Max shared a little of their love with me, a little glimpse into their souls, and their story feels familiar and special all at once. They’re friends that became more, and their adventures are best when shared.
How did you guys end up together?
Oksana: It involves a lot of traveling actually. We first met in 2006 when we were both living in Canada and we were going to university. We were in the same business program together, but we didn’t date until 2008 when we first dated for like a minute. We both graduated and went our separate ways. Max decided to move to Australia to pursue his MBA, and I decided to stay in Canada. So, we just stayed friends and in touch for the next three years.
Then I decided to do an MBA as well, and I moved to London. I was there for a year, and then I moved to Shanghai. I got bored of that, and I was like “where should I go next? Hey, Max is in Australia, why don’t I move there?”
Did you think when you moved that you’d get together romantically again?
Oksana: Oh, that’s exactly why I moved!
Max: She said, “I’m moving to Australia.” And moved straight into my room
Oksana: We were friends all throughout our separate lives. We always knew there was something there and so, it was just kind of a matter of time, when the timing was going to be right. And we’ve been together ever since. We got married in 2015, and —
Max: Have been traveling ever since.
Oksana: We’ve been on the road for about two and half years now.
That’s crazy! So, you were both following a more traditional path, having done MBAs. What was that lightning bolt moment where you realized, “I don’t live in one place, I want to live on the road together?”
Oksana: I want to say I was the initiator of the move. I started, I guess, we both started traveling after University and had discovered the joy of travels. I really fell in love with it. And, I always wanted to take a year off and just travel freely without having a return ticket.
Max: So that was the original plan. We said “Hey, let’s just travel for a year. And see where this takes us.”
Oksana: “Let’s pay off our debts, travel, and just see what happens.” And then, obviously, the more we traveled, the more we were like, we have no desire to go back to —
Max: The nine to five —
Oksana: So let’s try to make it work on the road. And so far, so good.
What do you love about each other as a travel partner?
Max: I think we’re just very compatible in what we do. Part of what allows us to travel and enjoy traveling together is that we both have different things that we’re good at and not good at. We complement each other. I’m pretty hopeless with budgets and planning, but I’m good at other things like negotiating and dealing with the unfortunate circumstances that life puts on you when we’re traveling.
Oksana: And our preferences pull us in somewhat different directions sometimes. So, Max has always been a very outdoorsy person. He picks active activities like climbing mountains, hiking. And, I’m more into culture, going to markets, stuff like that —
Max: Eating food —
Oksana: (laughs) We eat a lot of food. So, we’ve managed to combine both of our passions. Now when we travel, we do a combination of everything. He’s gotten me into hiking and, I hope, I got him into eating food.
Max: I put on ten pounds. You’ve done your job.
What kind of food do you seek out when you’re in a new place? What are some of your recent favorites?
Max: Well, we just spent two months in Africa. We actually got to go around to a lot of luxury lodges where there were three-course meals every day in between game drives. In terms of fantastic food, we had some of the best we’ve had in two years probably then.
Oksana: That’s the extra ten pounds.
Max: But if there was one specific dish or meal…Look, I’m going to say Oksana’s mom’s cooking.
That’s a really smart answer.
Max: It’s always very delicious.
Oksana: He’s just trying to suck up, you know. I’m sure my mom will read the interview.
We’re very blessed to travel to a lot of exciting destinations where food is a part of the attraction. And because of the way that we travel, so we try to travel very sustainably and responsibly. So we always try to eat at restaurants that focus on locally sourced ingredients–
Max: And local cuisine too.
Oksana: So we always get a chance to try very fresh, very local food.
Max: No burgers and fries.
You bring up sustainable traveling. I know that’s very important to you guys. Did you always know that would be a focus of your travels or did you fall into it gradually?
Oksana: No, we fell into it —
Max: About a year ago.
Oksana: About a year ago, yeah. We started off being budget travelers as most people when setting up for a long-term journey. You have a limited amount of funds and you want to make them last as long as possible. But as we continued to travel and started to build up our business and earn more money to allow ourselves to travel a bit more comfortably, we started paying attention. Like: what’s the best tour company? Well, this tour company does more for the local community than the other And: what’s the best hotel? Well, wow, these eco-lodges do all these wonderful things to help the environment and community. Over time, we just started naturally gravitating towards more responsible choices.
And then, last year, we actually put our foot down and said we’re committing to only travel sustainably.
Max: When you’re traveling this much, you look for higher meanings in the purpose of your travel. We decided we could be doing more than just going on the cheapest tour possible and not thinking about the economic impact that has on the community after you leave.
Oksana: You notice things. We’re big divers, and so if we dive, and we see a plastic straw, it’s like “ouch, there’s a turtle right there.” You see all this garbage floating in the ocean, and you’re just like, it’s such a beautiful ocean, why? What can we do to help minimize the problem?
Max: You have to think about what your impact is. Take time to really think about what you consume before you consume it.
Oksana: Conscious consumerism. We try to live somewhat of a minimalistic lifestyle, not clutter our lives with a lot possessions. We’ve given away a lot of our stuff over the last few years to just make space for experiences, relationships, and the things that really matter.
Being on the road so much, it sounds like a lot of your goals and interests have melded together. Does that translate into dates you go on? Like what is your perfect or ideal date while traveling?
Max: Ideal date? Well, it has to start with no devices.
Oksana: Yes.
Max: We work on the road, and we’re pretty much always glued to our phones, to our cameras, to our computers. So, the first thing that would start a date day, if you will, is no devices.
Oksana: Yup, absolutely.
Max: And then —
Oksana: And then, I think we would definitely have to do some sort of an activity, because we love being outdoors and connecting with nature, so whether it’s hiking or seeing animals. We absolutely loved going on safari in Africa and watching them without having to go to a zoo. We also love the beach so, maybe a trip to the beach would be nice. And then, probably cap it off with a nice meal.
Max: And just talk. Like, when we’re feeling more disconnected we like to talk about planning how our life is going, and focusing on what we have ahead of us. It just helps us clear our minds to take away the noise for a second and focus on each other.
Do you find that you’re each others’ touchstone on the road?
Max: Yes, absolutely. We, together as a couple, have not spent many days apart.
Oksana: That’s true.
Max: So Oksana gets a little, what’s the word you would say? Not like FOMO.
Oksana: If you leave me?
Max: Yeah, like homesick.
Oksana: Yeah.
Max: Partner-sick.
Oksana: But we do try to go on solo trips at least once a year. Because we always come back with a rejuvenated love for each other. It makes you appreciate each other that much more when you realize that what you have and what you’re blessed with on a daily basis.
Being together so often, are you able to find ways to surprise and romance each other?
Max: I think we still find what the other partner enjoys. So, I know, for example, that Oksana always loves a little pastry or cake. So, if I go to get some groceries and I come back with like a dulce de leche tart, then I know that I’ve surprised her, and that makes her night.
Oksana: Our travels surprise us a lot. Sometimes, we’ll set off on a day where we think it’s just going to be an average day, and then something amazing happens and we’re just taken aback by a beautiful scenery or experience.
Max: Having a cup of tea with some locals overlooking sunset.
Oksana: That’s a surprise that we didn’t plan for each but it just happens. It’s kind of that serendipitous-like moment that just happens when you’re on the road. That’s the beauty of it.
What would you say is the most romantic place you’ve been to? Where would you tell another couple they have to go?
Max: I would have to say the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Oksana: Yes.
Max: So we stayed at a very beautiful lodge overlooking this giant —
Oksana: National park —
Max: That’s inside of an old, active crater. And, just the whole, atmosphere surrounding the place was just –
Oksana: It was a beautiful eco-lodge, resort. Everything was just so romantic, that we felt like we were on our honeymoon two years down the road.
Max: We got back from a super long day of safari-ing and we walked into our room, and there were rose petals leading up to a bathtub that was already filled with hot water, with candles going, and incense, and rose petals inside the bathtub.
Oksana: But if people ever ask us the best place to go for their honeymoon, we always say Costa Rica. We use it as a bit of a home base. We got married in Costa Rica.
Max: I grew up in Costa Rica.
Oksana: It’s such a beautiful environment, and there are so many things you can do in terms of activities that push you outside of your comfort zone, rafting, hiking. There are hot springs, and beautiful hotels and eco-lodges, and just so much to do and see. Every hotel we stay at is kind of like an “ooh, romantic getaway”‘
Your relationship is really centered around adventure and you love getting out in nature. But I read on your blog that you broke your leg right after you got married, Oksana. Did that challenge your relationship to put some of that thrill-seeking on hold?
Max: I think it really gave us a crash course on marriage very quickly.
Oksana: So we got married and we were planning to go on our honeymoon to South America, like two months later.
Max: In March. And you broke your leg on February 25th.
Oksana: And so we had to cancel all of our plans. We didn’t have travel insurance because we were not very smart. And so, we ended up spending the money we had basically saved up to go on our honeymoon, on my surgery. And, ended up being stuck inside for, I think it was a couple of months, where, literally, Max just had to cater to my every need.
Max: The bathroom, helping her change —
Oksana: Not romantic things. But you know what, it brought us definitely closer together, and really tested us. We said afterward, if we could get through that, surely we can get through anything.
What’s your favorite thing about the other person?
Oksana: Max pushes my boundaries. That’s been a big growth thing for me. For example, he pushed us to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo to see the gorillas. And I was terrified cause it was in the top five most dangerous countries to go to. But it was an absolutely amazing experience, and I was so glad that we did.
Max: She kind of stole half of what I was going to say.
Oksana: I push you outside your comfort zone?
Max: No! I was going to say that she pushes us forward. I’m a frequent visitor to procrastination land. So Oksana is the driving force in keeping us from getting stagnant. She has that drive that she always wants us to do better, as a couple and as a business, so we’re continually improving. It’s good to have that person who helps push you in a different way. She pushes us to really improve ourselves, improve our eating. Eat more sustainably. Less meat, more vegan. But not vegan, just more vegan.
Vegan – ish?
Oksana: We’re on a journey.
Max: We’re on a journey.
Oksana: He’ll get there eventually.
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