Travelling Tradies was created for Tradies by a Tradie.
For tradies by tradies. We’re a marketplace that creates opportunities for qualified tradies to affordably explore Australia and improve their wellbeing along the way.
We connect them to venues needing repairs and renovations, where they exchange their skills for stay, experiences or services at any venue on the app. We’re all about freedom and exploration, that’s why our tradies choose how, when and where to exchange their skills.
After a decade in the construction industry, our founder and qualified plumber, Adam Valastro, hit a wall. Sure, 70+ hours a week means a good wage but when it’s at the expense of mental and physical health, the juice ain’t worth the squeeze anymore. Bad habits became coping mechanisms as he squandered time and money on drugs and alcohol, culminating in rock bottom depression when two tradie friends committed suicide in the space of a week. Fearing the same fate, Adam quit his job and disappeared to South America, leaving behind a life that had gradually caused a sickening sense of unfulfillment.
Six months of R&R was the plan. Half a year and “she’ll be right”. Well, not quite. After a couple of months his savings looked pretty sad but the prospect of returning home was gut-wrenching. If there’s one thing tradies know it’s problem-solving, so Adam, concerned but determined (and with a lovely tan by now) asked the owner of a tired looking hostel if he could fix the place up in exchange for food, accommodation and local, cultural experiences.
The moment Adam took hammer to nail at the hostel, life felt like an adventure again. The same approach of skills exchange enabled him to travel the world for three years and explore eleven countries at a total expense of $12,000 Aussie dollars. It almost seems too good to be true, except here we are showing tradies it’s actually pretty easy.
Adam returned to Australia in 2017 (with a sensational tan by then) and started building the Travelling Tradies marketplace, so all tradies could experience the same kind of life-changing journey that put him back on top form.
Over the next few years Adam joined forces with other legends with the same vision and passions to start build something epic and they are on a mission to do so, rain, hail or shine.
Although the Travelling Tradies international model is on hold due to international travel restrictions, our current focus is on the endless adventures and experiences here in Australia, so all Tradies can become Aussie explorers, travel affordably, and improve their well-being.