Remembering Will Medina, Travel Advisor and Friend

To know Will Medina was to know love.

He would light up a room in an instant. His presence always seemed to have this joy about him, and I remember being envious of the confidence he exuded after spending a few days with him in Mexico.

Sadly, Will unexpectedly passed away last week, sending a shockwave through many in the travel industry.

I first received the terrible news while I was on a work trip in Portugal, touring the historic streets of Lisbon and trying not to cry my eyes out. I had just interviewed him barely a week ago I thought to myself, how could this happen, he seemed just fine, why did this happen, life isn’t fair, why are the good ones always taken too soon…and on and on the thoughts raced through my head.

Will was the owner of Destination Wedding University and winner of the 2022 Trendsetter Award from Travel Age West.

He was loved by all in the travel industry who knew him. The news of his passing led to a wave of social media posts, all sharing their sadness, love and admiration for Will. His personality shined at every event, and he inspired many others who would come to know and interact with him. Will helped so many travel advisors improve their business and overall life. He truly was quite the rising star in the industry.

Technically, I didn’t know Will for very long. It was travel that connected us of course. We met at the La Case de la Playa TravFORUM just last year, but we instantly clicked, bonding over our love for Clase Azul Tequila and music. It felt like we had known each other for years.

We would stay in touch throughout the year, following each other’s big life ordeals through social media and even getting to reconnect in person again at the Travvy Awards this past November. We talked about our upcoming trips and projects, as well as family and general life stuff. He once again offered sage advice about just going for it.

I was so stuck in work mode during that event when we first met, and Will was trying to get me to take a moment for myself. I’m sorry I didn’t jump in the pool with you Will, but I’ll never forget sitting in that lounge chair and our conversion over creating travel content and doing our part to make the travel industry a better, more inclusive space.

Clase Azul will never be the same again, and neither will the travel industry. Cheers to you Will, your legacy will live on in the hearts of all those lives you forever touched.