Today we’d like to introduce you to Turney Maurer.
Hi Turney, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
On May 19th, 1993 I was born at St. David’s Hospital here in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. My father, Robert Hamilton Maurer, moved here in 1971 from Shreveport, Louisiana before meeting my mother, Janet Hernandez, in Austin a few years afterwards. They moved out to Lake Travis in 1983 and got married, back when LT was a sleepy lake community nestled in the paradisiacal Texas hill country. Before my entrance to the world in 1993, my parents gave birth to my sister’s Rachel and Sarah. My dad owned Lakeside Air, a local air conditioning and heating service, while my mom owned Lakeside Haircuts. Together they built a family in an area known by few, but soon to be one of the highest growing populations of the United States of America. Growing up in Lake Travis was something that I am grateful for every single day. Not many people are able to say that they could swim before they could walk or were able to go mountain biking on trails from their own backyard. My passion for exploring the outdoors and supporting locals totally derives off of those memories. I can remember how excited my friends and I would get when our parents told us that we could bike to the neighborhood store for a snack. Every employee in there knew exactly who we were!
It’s easy to say that my childhood was purely built on being engulfed in a strong community. To this day, many of my friends are still the people who I grew up with. Our families still keep in touch and we even see each other on holidays occasionally. It wasn’t always easy, though. My family and I experienced many tough times, but we always had a strong community that helped us get through.
When my sister Rachel passed away from a car incident in 2002, I was the age of ten, my sister Sarah was 16, and Rachel was 18. This took our family and the entire community by complete surprise. Rachel was the premiere leader, athlete, artist, brainiac, friend, sister, and brother. In fact, she had a full-ride athletic/art scholarship to play soccer at Loyola University in New Orleans. From this day forward, my life changed completely.
I can remember many days feeling very lost after that; everything in life became confusing for me. My parents got divorced, Sarah moved out and went to college, so it left my mom and I together. She began substitute teaching and working at the golf course on the weekends in order to keep me in Lake Travis. When I was 14, I began umpiring baseball and lacrosse games to earn us some extra money.
What kept me sane and pushed me forward with life was the game of football. I began playing at the age of 8 and enjoyed it, but after all the craziness in my life occurred, it became my escape. Lake Travis was terrible at football at the time by the way, it wasn’t until I was in 5th or 6th grade, around the year 2004, when Coach Jeff Dicus arrived at Lake Travis High School and transformed our entire program. I remember looking up to my sister’s friends who played football and going “dang, I want to be just like them one day.”
Every time that I stepped on the field for practice or a game, my stress went away completely. Football gave me something to focus on that I never had before. It taught me how to work with your teammates and coaches every day to reach a common goal. That no matter what happens each day, tomorrow is always a chance to learn from your mistakes and to get better.
So, football became my life and I earned the spot as Running Back for Lake Travis High School in 2009 and 2010, winning the UIL AAAA Division 1 State Championship both years. One memory that I will never forget is when we won the state championship at Baylor Floyd-Casey stadium in 2009 and our fans stormed the field. Although my parents were divorced, they joined each other to push through the crowd and find me to say congratulations. At this moment, I straight up started crying my eyes out. I think that was the first time I ever cried tears of joy. It was THE moment when I realized that there is no goal too big of achieving in this life — as long as you are willing to put in the work. In the back of my mind, it felt amazing knowing that I achieved this goal to make my family proud and to honor my sister Rachel, who would have loved to be there supporting me.
My senior year of high school, I earned a scholarship to play football at Texas Lutheran University but ended up leaving the team after a few months. I was enduring many injuries and wanted to take the time to focus on my academics. After my first semester in Fall 2011, I transferred to Texas State University where I was inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and graduated in 2016 with a BA in English Rhetoric & Composition with a Minor in Biology.
During my time at Texas State University, I really fell in love with exploring the outdoors again. It had been nearly a decade since I was able to hop on a mountain bike whenever I wanted to and ride trails or go hop in a body of water. San Marcos introduced me to a new side of the hill country that I had never seen before. I began taking friends kayaking, mountain biking, or hiking frequently. I even earned my NAUI Scuba Divemaster license, along with five other scuba certifications prior, all of which were applied as elective credits towards my degree. To earn my NAUI Divemaster certification, I had to be an assistant instructor for the Open Water Diving Class at Texas State University for two entire semesters. This was my true introduction into the professional side of the adventure travel industry.
Returning to my passion of exploring the outdoors opened up new opportunities that I really had never anticipated. At the beginning of my senior year at TSU, I ended up becoming an intern for Paragon Expeditions where I learned how to sell luxury adventure travel to Peru and Patagonia. One of our guides in Peru, Holly Wissler, actually moved to Austin with a child who she adopted from Q’eros, a Quechua village high in the Peruvian Andes so that Dante could apply Texas School for the Deaf. During my internship, I was able to help Holly and Dante get mountain bikes and showed them the beauty of the hill country. This was special because they were both going through a huge culture shock coming from Cusco, but we were able to help them feel more acquainted to the beauty of Austin. In return, they invited me to visit Machu Picchu and Dante’s village with them in April 2016, one month before college graduation. My teachers allowed me to take excused absences in order to go on this life-changing journey.
As my first time leaving the United States at the age of 23, there is no real way I can describe the beauty of Q’eros that I witnessed. The local people are some of the nicest you will ever encounter, and they create beautiful clothes, jewelry, and art using all-natural materials from the land. It made me realize that even while traveling, getting to know locals always creates a better human experience. By doing so, there is a lot that we can learn from each other to make the world a better place.
For several years afterwards, I continued selling adventure travel experiences to Peru and Patagonia, eventually leaving San Marcos in March of 2018 for my return to Austin. Besides living at the Castillian on the drag while I attended Austin Community College spring of my Freshman year, I had never lived and experienced downtown Austin. I had always lived in the suburbs of Lake Travis prior to college. I attended ACC for this semester and one summer in order to gain enough credits to transfer to TSU.
My first job when I returned to Austin was working at Facebook as a Business Integrity Analyst Contractor for about 14-months. Our office was in the Chase bank building downtown on 6th Street, so I really dove headfirst into downtown Austin life. While working at Facebook, I took a part-time job with Latin Excursions as their North America Marketing & Business Development Coordinator. This meant 40 hrs/wk at Facebook, on top of 20-3o hours per week with Latin Excursions. Working harder than ever, it all paid off because when my contract ended with Facebook, Latin Excursions was there ready to hire me on full-time due to my dedication and hustle.
This was an amazing opportunity because it allowed me to work with a reward-winning company with 25 years of experience in the adventure travel industry and a much wider variety of destinations to offer. I also got to see many amazing places that impacted my life significantly like Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, and most recently I visited Costa Rica with my sister to scuba dive. Now that was a dream come true!
In March of 2020 hit, Covid-19 essentially crumbled the travel industry overnight and refunds were being demanded like kids asking for candy on Halloween. It was a nightmare.
I was unemployed until I spoke with Go Local at the end of June. The funny thing is, I had accepted a job from Goosehead Insurance in May of 2020, but once they demanded that I go into the office from day one, I was out instantly. This was due to the fact that I needed to care for my mother and could not risk passing Covid-19 to her.
The month prior, she wasn’t answering her phone the day after I had taken her to the doctor for not feeling well. The doctor told us to quarantine and rest up. That next morning, I felt something was off, so I drove over to my mom’s house to check on her. When I arrived, she was on her bathroom floor unable to speak, just saying “help” over and over again. I called 911 and they showed up immediately to transfer her to the hospital. This was really tough because no visitors were allowed due to Covid-19, no matter what.
Days went by with no answers, but after many days of testing they discovered she had a UI that spread to her kidneys and got infected. They were able to do dialysis and cure the infection. She was in the hospital for 19 days total, I believe. I had to be extremely careful, and now I’m thankful that I was because my mom has recovered and even underwent a successful back surgery. Knowing that my mom’s health is improving and providing her with happy years to come truly motivates me.
After she got better, it was time to find a job. I reached out to over 100 companies and Go Local was the only one who got back to me. Turned out they were seeking someone from Austin to help them bring on new partners and members. Brian Maxwell hired me as an Account Manager on the 4th of July and I began on July 15th, 2020.
After the first two days of working with Brian during training, he realized that I was much better at approaching new partners or members to bring them onto our platform rather than onboarding them. Therefore, I became the first Outside Sales Representative for Go Local. In the first nine months as OSR, I brought on 119 new partners and hundreds of new members. It was a really crazy experience meeting with so many business owners directly via zoom or in person to hear their stories and learn more about their struggles. I believe my success as an OSR was due to the fact that I created real relationships with these people and we wanted to do whatever we could to help.
Now, I am currently the Standing CEO/Director of Sales & Marketing. Looking back to when my football days, I often remember the lessons that our coaches taught. My favorite coach of all time, my dad, passed away from a stroke recently on June 30th, 2021. Once I was hired by Go Local, he made sure to introduce me to the local legends of Lakeway. He absolutely loved our mission to help strengthen communities. Moving forward, my goal with Go Local is to continue adding new partners (locally-owned businesses) to our platform in order to help our members find the local experiences and shops throughout the entire nation one day.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road was never smooth for me, but I don’t really believe in smooth sailing for anyone. Many challenges that we face daily are not a result of our actions but a result of our environment. Certain factors of everyday life that are completely out of our control like the weather, group chats, social media, a co-workers bad attitude, news on tv, family conflicts, etc. It’s easy to get hung up on things that are not a result of our own actions. Although, I do believe that we all have the decision to choose how we respond to adversity when our time comes. We all have the decision to decide our attitude, our work ethic, the way we treat others, and the story we tell ourselves when we look in the mirror.
Sometimes we make mistakes and things don’t go the way we planned. Tragedies will occur in life that significantly impacts the emotions of loved ones around you. Life isn’t always easy; that’s a fact. Although, I have come to realize that if you learn from your mistakes and work hard to improve the lives of others around you, then you will always be someone who keeps pushing forward.
One thing that I began to do nearly three years ago really has helped smooth the pavement for me. I have lived in the Barton Hills neighborhood near Barton Springs Pool, so I decided to try a new routine. For 30-days straight, I went stretching and swimming at Barton Springs (it’s free before 8:00 a.m. every day). The changes that began to occur within my mind, body, and spirit were phenomenal. I was thinking more clearly, had more energy, better posture, better eating habits, and felt overall better about myself. Since then, I’ve adopted this method and still swim or work out every morning, at least five times every week. It’s very helpful to develop a routine that works for you. Although everyone is different, so something that works for me could work differently for you.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My employee and professional life has been quite the journey, but one common theme that I always try to maintain is consistency “The quality or fact of staying the same at different times especially.”
I would say that I’m known for bringing a consistently good attitude with me to work every day and checking myself when I don’t. Treating others with respect and being kind are two things that I try to walk out of my door with every single morning. What sets me apart from others is that I am not afraid to fail because I know that no matter what, I will keep trying and learning lessons along the way. Meanwhile, I will always encourage those around me to do their best and will be there to celebrate achievements.
I’ve always specialized in serving others by selling or promoting a product that brings value to our world sustainably. Being an adventure guide really set the tone for me. Every time that I would send or guide someone on an adventure, whether it be in the Texas hill country, or scuba diving in Galapagos Islands, they had a huge smile on their face by the end. It made me realize quickly that helping people explore different regions of the world is one way to make the world a better place.
Now, with Go Local, I am able to continue serving others by helping strengthen communities by spreading the word that local is simply better. Not only for your community but for the environment as well.
Looking back, supporting local has always been a theme in my life. My dad was known as “The Cool Man” in Lakeway for 30 years because he kept everyone’s house nice and cool during those scorching hot summer months. The memories of meeting locals in Latin America who made their living by selling hand-woven products, taking Dante and Holly on “Turndogg Tours”, and all of the local business owners that I met and spoke with throughout the pandemic are all things engraved into my soul at this point.
What I’m most proud of and what sets me aside is that I have never given up. I always face adversity head-on and rise above the occasion. I stay consistent because no matter what, the sun is always going to rise tomorrow whether we like it or not. I’m also very proud of myself for staying near Austin to help support my family. I’ve had opportunities to leave, but ultimately family and true friends are what keep me grounded.
What sets me apart from others is that when challenges arise, I will find a way to navigate through the obstacle in order to get to the finish line with my time rather than finding a way out or around it.
What matters most to you? Why?
My family, friends, faith, and mentors because they are the ones who have taught me how to be successful. I’ve always been a driven person, but it’s the people who believed in me and gave me opportunities to prove myself that I’m thankful for. Everyone from my sisters, friends, my classroom teachers, counselors, principals, coaches, scuba dive instructors, CEOs, small business owners in Austin, hotel and tour operator owners in Latin America, experts in the travel industry, historians, and beyond.
Ultimately, my mom matters to me the most. She always did everything she could to provide me with the opportunity to let me be the person I wanted to become. She kept me in Lake Travis to keep me around friends who I’m still around today (along with keeping them all in check)! She is a true Earth warrior/Austinite and I will always strive to make the planet a more sustainable and green place for her.
I’d like to leave a quote from one of my mentors, Scott Gidley, that he wrote in a letter to me before my senior year football season:
“Turney, Thanks again for participating in my ad. You were recommended to me because you have “the edge” — a necessary ingredient to be successful in life. You know that you must do more than dream to reach your goals. You realize that hard work makes dreams come true and that to be successful, you have to learn to compete with class.
You understand that desire + discipline = preparation, that preparation + success = confidence, and that mental toughness + pride = perseverance. You embrace that if you are prepared, have confidence, and persevere that you will always have ‘the edge.”
Pricing:
- Go Local Membership $20
- Go Local for Businesses ($0, $299, or $495)
Contact Info:
- Email: turney.maurer@gmail.com
- Website: joingolocal.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turneys_journeys/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/turney.maurer/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/turntweets512
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1Bba5AyEGYhCI8M-Wml_Q
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/128337272
Image Credits:
Shannon Vandivier Scott Bauer
