Why New York, Ryan Brix?
Did you enjoy getting to know Jeremy Wilcox, Jared Goldstein, Ben Wagenberg and Sara Lyons? Next up is a friend of mine who I find absolutely brilliant: Ryan Brix. His encyclopedic knowledge mixed with sense of humor means he’s NOT a ‘dry and boring’ tour guide. He volunteers and spends most of the winter abroad exploring and building friendships all over the world. He speaks English and Spanish fluently and he is one of my go-to-guides when hiring qualified, fun tour guides for my own tours. Want to know how he answered the questions in this series of asking professional, licensed tour guides the question: Why New York? – go ahead:
Please read below.
#WhyNewYork
Q: Name, year born
A: Ryan Brix, 1980Q: Where were you born?
A: Nebraska
Q: If not NYC born, when did you move to NYC permanently? Why did you move to NYC? Did you ever regret it?A: Because New York is much more exciting than Nebraska.
Q: When did you become a NYC licensed tour guide?A: 2018Q: How did you become a tour guide? What made you go into the profession?A: I’ve given tours at various museums and universities around New York since 2001. I have always loved art and history and enjoy sharing my passion with friends visiting. I also love meeting new people and learning about their culture so being a tour guide is my dream job.
Q: Tell me the worst thing that ever happened on a tour, and how you handled it?A: I had a lady in my group almost die (not because the tour was boring) She had a medical emergency so we called 911 and the paramedics came to our location in manhattan. I kept the rest of the group calm. She was taken to the hospital where thankfully she recovered and was back with the tour group the next day!
Q: Tell me about the best experience you ever had as a guide, that may have changed your perspective and made you an even better guide?A:Making the tour special for each guest is a true joy and even more rewarding than the pay
Q: If you could no longer work as a tour guide, what profession would you seek?A: Probably a history or Spanish teacher or something involving a lot of traveling.
Q: What kind of tour do you prefer giving? Walking, mode of transportation? Neighborhood? Theme?A: My forte is museum highlight tours but also enjoy foodie tours and best of bourough tours that showcase all the hidden gems NYC has to offer that are not touristy.
Q: What do you want tourists to know about YOU?A: I’m going to do everything I can to give you a tour that you will never forget and make all your tour dreams come true lol
Q: Tell me a thing you don’t like about NYC?A: I dislike Times Square
Q: Where do you buy your coffee/tea?
A: Love Brooklyn Roasting Company, Variety Coffee, Bluestone Coffee etc
Q: What’s your favorite NYC food?
A: Depends what mood I’m in but NYC has the best Thai, Peruvian, and Soul food around
Ryan, thank you so much for giving us a glimpse into your tour guiding career. I am thrilled to know you and work with you and any time someone needs a guide – and I can’t be there, I hope you’re not traveling somewhere far away because you’re definitely on the “Top 3 list” of guides to hire!
If you want to follow Ryan on his travels and tours, please go ahead and do so on his Instagram account: @brix.ryan