Gyroscope Personal Records
Brian Tramuel
Brian lives in Charlotte, NC and is an avid traveler and runner with some seriously badass socks. We chatted about some of his favorite places to visit and some workouts he recently shared on Instagram.
In addition to tracking all his stats on Gyroscope, Brian maintains one of the most detailed travel blogs we’ve seen.
His recent story “CLT to HAV” documents his journey to Cuba as an American citizen — with dozens of vibrant photos from the streets of Havana. It’s almost like you’re there.
Gyroscope: You’ve posted some sweet sock photos on Gyroscope. What’s the story behind those?
I’ve had an affinity for socks for as long as I can remember (even before it became fashionable to wear bold socks).
From sixth grade and throughout most of middle school, I did not wear socks. One day during school, my homeroom teacher told me I was inviting disease and pain into my body through this habit. It did not take much more convincing after that.
Since then I’ve taken the extra three-to-four seconds needed to pull on some socks. But I wanted to be different so I always tried to find the loudest, most colorful and funky socks to wear. Adding these photos to my daily reports makes them more exciting to look at!
Gyroscope: You posted some maps recently from distant locations. Can you tell us more about your travels?
My wife and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary in St. Kitts and Nevis, a dual-island nation situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
We experienced all the islands had to offer including learning the rich history (Nevis is the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton) and captured amazing images along the way.
After a week we returned home, my wife unpacked and I repacked for a four day solo trip to Havana, Cuba. My experience during my time there was unlike any other! Very thought provoking with so much to unpack mentally.
One aspect of traveling to Havana that impressed me most was the people. The Cuban people are extremely friendly and very proud.
Gyroscope: You’ve been sharing a lot of photos of running around your neighborhood and new places. What do you like most about running?
My favorite running hashtag on social media is #RunThisCity. I love, even if only a short 2 miles run, to find a local route (or create my own) in a new city and to capture an image along the route.
Running in new place is the best way to explore and discover it. I didn’t get a chance to complete any running in Cuba unfortunately, but I walked a lot — a whole lot, on average 28k steps per day.
Gyroscope: How did you first start using Gyroscope?
One day while searching the “running” hashtag on Instagram, I happened upon a post with a Gyroscope card. At the time I had no idea what that “G” stood for in the corner of the picture, but I was completely enamored with the way it displayed the run stats and a beautiful image from the activity in the background.
I actually Googled “running app beginning with G” and have been in love with the app ever since!
One of my favorite parts of Gyroscope is how well it captures my life — travel, outside of my home area, physical activity, and everyday life.
Gyroscope: What other apps do you use to keep track of your life?
I must have been one of the early adopters of Nike Running. Currently I’ve run 1,550 miles with the app to reach their Purple Milestone.
On Gyroscope I’ve been using Strava to track running, cycling and swimming along with my Apple Watch and the HealthKit App. Using Gyroscope has encouraged me to track sleep, food, water intake, and more recently, meditation.
Gyroscope: Why did you start to explore meditation? Are you using any particular apps for that?
I began by using the Headspace app, specifically the free introductory 10-Day guided program of 10 minutes each.
The video infographics that were included provided a great visual to mindfulness and also the foundation to continue a mindfulness practice…
I like to read; non-fiction, biography, self-help and observational mostly. A common and consistent theme in the lives of the people I read about include some form of meditation. I wanted to incorporate that into my daily life and try to carve out time during my morning after I wake, or during my commute (I ride this bus to/ from work).
One of my “better thinking” goals for 2016 was to work on my fiscal and physical fitness, taking time out to breathe has benefited me in that way. I imagine the best way to summarize is that I’m more positive, more humble — in practice at least — I try to be; at work, at home, on the street — creatively, emotionally and socially.
Gyroscope: What would your advice be to someone who says they ‘don’t have enough time to travel’?
Time is a valuable asset so I understand when you simply “don’t have time” however, I would encourage them to make time. There is no user guide for travel; visiting a neighboring city you have never been to can provide the same experience as flying to a far off destination. Take time to explore the local treasures available to you.
Also, time is not renewable! Create memories and capture the moment so you’re never saying, “I wish I would have done…”
Download the Gyroscope app for free from the App Store to track your steps, and set up Strava to add maps of your biking and running like Brian! To catch the next chapter of Brian’s story, you can follow him on Twitter or visit his site.
