A Lifetime of Travel

As the daughter of an airline employee, travel lifestyle designer Susan Michelle grew up on planes, in airports, and at foreign locales around the world—an aspiring jetsetter before she even knew what a "jetsetter" was. Childhood memories for Susan are not of baseball games in the neighborhood park, but of racing abandoned wheelchairs against her brother in airport hallways for hours; passing through ramshackle shanty towns en route to luxurious resorts on newly commercialized islands; writing countless reports on “My trip to…” as a way to make up missed classwork. So experienced was Susan in the life of the traveler, that she made her first “Don’t Leave Home Without…” list at age 10, and kept it for the next 15 years—a list of everything she could possibly need on a trip, so that she’d never have that “I forgot…” crisis as soon as the plane lifted off.

Over the years, items on the list such as “Mr. Snuffles stuffed elephant” have disappeared, but the traveling lifestyle has not. In fact, after becoming a model, writer, and producer in Hollywood, Susan saw travel become an even more integral part of her life, spending an average of six months a year on the road traveling from film festivals to movie sets. Then there were the weekend getaways and exotic vacations that were squeezed in as often as possible and affordable, as well.

Along the way, Susan realized she was at the forefront of a new community: a community of “aspiring” jetsetters. Susan and her colleagues were the driving force behind the scenes in Hollywood—they traveled to hip locales, dressed fashionably, and worked hard. But they were not true jetsetters who stayed at the Ritz and took the private jet. No, they had to go it their own way. And Susan found that way to be far from easy. Despite being a travel pro, Susan found herself longing for someone to make it all easier. Thus, the vision of Compass was born.

Susan's mission now is to be a travel guide to others like her--to share her experiences and be the lifestyle adviser she never found. Susan’s 5’10” height, fearless determination, and endearing charm have taken her from the most exclusive parties in Europe to the most remote towns in “Third World” countries.

She now wants to use those attributes and her unique voice to help you, the information-overloaded, fashion-forward, budget-conscious, adventure-seeking, anti-tourist traveler—e.g., The Compass Traveler. Martha Stewart taught people how to live better at home—Susan Michelle wants to teach people how to live better while away from home. So you won’t run yourself ragged preparing for a trip. Feel more exhausted when you return than when you left. And spend your precious time away feeling lost or figuring out what to do, only to be disappointed after the effort.

Susan Michelle is the face of a new travel brand—one that is infusing as much life into the travel industry as the PT Cruiser did for the car industry. She’s a person you can trust. Just look to Compass—Susan Michelle will point you in the right direction.