naila in vogue on getting out of a rut and making your soul thrive
naila is a model, influencer, and skydiver who lives and breathes travel. sheโs been on the road since a young age thanks to a rich ethnic background (born to multiracial parents, naila is german, ghanaina, and lebanese), and has turned the business of travel into a successful livelihood with her blog naila in vogue. ahead of our trip to jordan with naila, we sat down to talk motherhood, growing up in lebanon, and how skydiving broke her out of a rut.
Hi Naila, tell us a little bit about yourself.
where do I start ! I'm born in germany to multi racial parents (german american, ghanian, lebanese) and raised in lebanon until the 1998 civil war broke out when we had to flee the country and escape to saudi arabia. I grew up as an only child and at 8 years old, my father left my mom and we have never seen him since. ever since dealing with immense grief I set out a goal for my life, and that was to never let a moment pass without feeling like I'm truly living and being grateful. I started my own company at 19 years old and finally was able to fully support my mother which was a dream of mine. however, working a 9 to 5 wasn't my dream. I wanted more out of life- I wanted spontaneity and freedom. so I sold my company and started my blog naila in vogue. through my blog I was able to pursue my dream in writing , fashion and styling and eventually ... travelling the world.
What was it like growing up in Lebanon?
I loved every memory I had in lebanon because it was home to me. In fact I wish I got to spend more time there. unfortunately we always had to live in fear- we never knew when we would have electricity, heating , or safety. the country was always on stilts as I remember it, and that's why we had no choice but to seek a better life. I miss it still every day.
What have been some of your favourite places to free fall?
I don't know why but my heart always goes to empuriabrava in spai. to this day it has been my favourite place to jump . the view is indescribable and I love my dropzone family there .
We talk a lot at aweventurer about transformative travel - the kind of travel that changes you and sees you return home a different person to the one who first left. What is transformative about skydiving?
exactly what you just said! skydiving is the one thing I have found that is consistent with self growth and positive change. every jump is different and empowering in a different way . you'll never have a boring jump!
“[skydiving] was the best decision i ever made. i found a part of my soul that i never knew existed”
You share some incredible photos on your instagram and blog. How do you get the perfect shot? Is there a lot of planning involved or does inspiration come to you in the moment?
to be honest i feel like it depends on how you define a perfect shot. in my own style i like to capture a story in a picture rather than overly pose to create a visual perspective that isn't there. my audience especially really appreciates my candid images that are shot on iPhone rather than the images that are professional and staged. both styles carry beauty in different ways .
How did you start skydiving?
