The Luxury Nomads: A Generation Driven by Experiences

In an industry that is not short of fascinating characters, Jonny Dodge is certainly one who will leave you with renewed energy and optimism for life. Keeping up with the whereabouts of the entrepreneur-cum-adventurer is a rather tricky task. We managed to pin Jonny down in a rare break between his travels as he joined us remotely from a villa in Mykonos.

Nothing about Jonny, his interests, nor his background could ever be considered mundane.

Whether F1 hospitality, Antarctic adventures, or even space travel, Jonny has a genuine passion for big ideas and new experiences.

As CEO of GPM Experiences, an F1 Hospitality and Corporate Travel Incentives company, Jonny has already been at the forefront of delivering unique experiences for his black book clients, from A-list celebrities to the Richard Bransons and emerging tech billionaires. “This isn’t taking someone to a football match. It’s come from a desire for a closer bond and relationship with people. It’s driven by experience and creating that money can’t buy experience.”

Now bringing this contagious energy to the superyacht industry through My Ocean, Jonny has enjoyed success in catering to the interests and demands of a new generation of owners.   

“Ultimately, I’ve grown up being around yachts but also being that client, and lucky enough to have been in that world,” reflects Jonny. “So I’ve understood it from the ground up but also been the one at the forefront, driving the experiences and having that desire.”

The Making of an Adventurer

It was a daring trip to the centre of Antarctica onboard a Russian bomber plane which provided the inspiration to start Jonny’s life as an adventurer. Since then, he has thrown himself into all experiences, from traversing the Seven Wonders, to being shipwrecked on a deserted island and immersing himself in the deepest depths of the Amazon.

Granted, Jonny has had access to the very best opportunities, and many of these experiences have been laced with luxury showered with champagne. Yet, there is a deeper philosophy behind his approach to experiences - one which could be applied universally, irrespective of financial standing.

“What makes people happy is change,” Jonny explains. “People are excited by change and I believe that this doesn’t necessarily have to cost anything. It could be as simple as a different way of walking or driving to work in the morning.

“It’s about having those new experiences. Contentment can come from security, but it also comes from change and there’s a balance to be found. Change will release endorphins, will stimulate you and keep you younger. New experiences will keep you stimulated as you’re using your brain more. The power of doing that really opens up your vision and perspective on everything.

“It is so fundamentally important to experience new things because of how it affects your health, wellbeing, and the rest of you.”

Putting Exploration back into Yachting

This is something that is being reflected in the behaviour and preferences of the younger generation of clients that Jonny engages with through My Ocean.

A greater appreciation for new experiences has influenced the way in which yachts are both used and built, spurred on by a rise in the ‘luxury nomad’.

“A boat is an experience. It gives you that platform for experiences and more people want to plug into that. Some of our big clients don’t have homes, they own a yacht instead. When we’ve gone to do financing, it’s been funny because going through assets we’ve realised they don’t even own a house! There’s no property. They have 97 supercars, but no house!

“They’re generally more adventurous, they want to do more things. People want to break records when they go on holiday - one trip I’m planning now is the world record attempt for the fastest crossing of Antarctica by car. People want to push the boundaries with experiences and are now far more demanding of those types of trips.

“We take people up to Iceland and they’re there helping to pull each other out of snow, dig tyres out. And you’ve met them probably only 12 hours before.”

From his background in luxury hospitality and events, Jonny notes the importance of helping people venture outside their comfort zone. The same enthusiasm for embracing the more extreme is being embraced by the luxury nomads of the yachting world.

“Creating experiences for people outside their comfort zone and making them work as a team is life changing. So, my ability to then translate that to the yachting world and understand those types of luxury experiences can be the same too – creating that bond with people, taking them to unique destinations, having unique experiences, and pushing the boundaries to create something exciting.”

Evolving Modern Design

Modern technology also has a role to play in accelerating this trend. With far greater capability to work remotely than was available even a few years ago, owners and guests and realising the potential of using superyachts as all-year-round base from which to operate.

“We’ve found that people spend a lot longer on charter, or if we’re building a boat we’re finding people are planning to live onboard, or at least spend the majority of their time onboard.

“I think yachts used to be something of a holiday destination, but we’ve now had charters where there have been full conference suites and trading desks set up in the lounge.

“It’s not just about this vision of more exploration, it’s also about this vision that the yacht is more of a home now. Owners are not just being more extreme about how they want to travel, but they’re changing the fact that they don’t need to live in a particular location, but rather use the yacht as a place to work from, host meetings, and continually enjoy the experience at sea.”

A reimagination of how superyachts are used is already seeing developments in the design and build of the vessels. Extended beach clubs, more storage for tenders and toys, and increased office space are all features that Jonny notes are becoming increasingly important due to the new lifestyle demands of owners spending longer periods onboard.

Curating the Experience

Drawing on both personal globetrotting experience and professional experience of disrupting industries, Jonny is in a unique position to help guests to curate their perfect adventure.

“I’ve gained so much knowledge from other industries and spending so much time with these types of clients. You’re trying to live the best lifestyle you can, dictated through travel.”

Jonny has already placed one client on a voyage into space, a field pursue more intently under another new venture – Space Experiences, and even more so as an astronaut-in-training himself. It is this restless desire to get more out of life and make things happen which makes Jonny the ideal person to orchestrate adventures for the emerging generation of owners.

“For me, it’s about understanding the new consumers and how they might use the yacht differently. Me being alongside them, I’m not the guy from the office writing the MYBA contracts, I’m the guy that lives it with everyone. A lot of the charters, because they’ve been friends of mine, I’ll be onboard as a guest to experience it with them and help them get the most out of it.”

There is more to understanding this demographic than knowing what they want to see and do. It is also about recognising how they want to operate and engage, and making that part of the experience. As a new company, My Ocean has been able to structure its operation to fit in with the lifestyle of its clients even in the way it communicates.

“One of the key things we did from the beginning is to say that we’ll deal with customers and suppliers on platforms like Whatsapp. We’re not old school brokers who receive an email on a Friday afternoon and get back on Monday morning. Our clients want immediate responses, so we give them that and also demand the same from our suppliers.

“They also want to be using these platforms to enhance the experience. To create groups, interact, go back and forth with ideas and be far better connected.”

My Ocean has also led the way with incorporating crypto as a payment method for its clients, something that is essential for the tech billionaire generation. Already invested himself through a crypto hedgefund, and with GPM invested in cryptocurrency, the move was natural for Jonny and My Ocean.

“We were built from the ground up to accept crypto. Of course, people work with third parties now and all brokers say they accept crypto, but we’re built to do it and we do it without concern. We’re the only ones that do it with zero fees. That’s the difference.”

Sharing Passions

While Jonny is an entrepreneur with business acumen who is driven to build his own success, it is clear that each of his ventures is closely aligned with a personal passion. Sharing that passion is something that not only helps clients to get the most out of their adventure, but that brings Jonny personal satisfaction and reward.

“The most exciting thing for me is to see other people experiencing things for the first time. I’m very lucky to have seen so many things and to have been on so many adventures, but to see it through their fresh eyes is the most exciting thing.

“And, of course, I’m experiencing new things too – but to educate people through that process and to push the boundaries when you’re on the charter. We think about things like ‘why can’t we set up the beach club here and land my helicopter there’, and then it all spirals.

“These are the things you remember for a lifetime. So it really is about a ‘wow’ factor, and I love to deliver that wow factor.”