Aric S. Queen began his career as an 18-year-old radio deejay for Z104.5 FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma, eventually moving to Shanghai, where he produced ChinesePod, included by TIME magazine in their “Top 10 Podcasts” for 2006. From there, Aric became the first foreign radio program director in China with the launch of SoulFire Radio. He went on to produce + host the controversial the shanghai diaries on Al Gore’s Current TV—a show that would get him banned from China, as detailed in his novel the shanghai [exile] diaries.

 

In 2009, he moved to New York, where he produced travel apps for numerous companies, as well as working as a copywriter for brands like Tanqueray and Swiffer. In 2012, he was named one of National Geographic’s “Travelers of the Year” and sent on a multimedia tour across the U.S. called The Good Traveler. The following year, he was approached by BBC Travel, who picked up his Treasure Hunters show as a six-part series. With that money, he bought a boat (despite not knowing how to sail), as depicted in his show on Lonely Planet called The Maritime Lemonade Stand.

 

In 2017, he moved to Berlin and joined BRLO GmbH as their Creative Director, a position he held on and off for seven years. He has spent the past three years filming the Sherpas and porters who work on Everest Base Camp.