Meet Sara Anfuso of Seattle, Washington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Anfuso.

Hi Sara, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started long distance walking in 2017 when I walked the French Route of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain with my high school. We walked about 120 miles over 12 days and I fell in love with the community, the connection, and relationships built when our only daily objective was to walk from town to town before reaching the destination city of Santiago de Compostela.

From there, I tried to recreate my days on the Camino back in the States and though it was not the same, the principle still existed. I’d wake up, pack my backpack, and spend an entire day roaming around my city on a weekend day while working my 9-5 job on the weekdays. I tried to do them as often as possible, but truth be told, San Diego (my hometown) is not a very walkable city.

I didn’t start going on these walking adventures more frequently until I moved to Seattle, Washington, in 2023. After facing some health concerns towards the end of the year, I made the difficult decision to quit my job and take some time to get myself back to a healthy place. In this time, I felt called to get back on my feet and start urban trekking again.

Two days after quitting my job, I posted a reel to Instagram about what I pack with me on my walking adventures and it took off! Apparently, there’s a niche for long distance walking that I didn’t know existed and now that reel has 4.8 million views. A week later, I made another video of me walking to Bainbridge Island to try a coffee shop and that reel also skyrocketed. As traction picked up, my community kept telling me I should host a walking group, and that’s how my “Out and About” community walking group started.

In addition to filming my own solo walks around the city, I host anywhere from 2-4 community walks per month that sometimes have around 200 people attending. I’ve done collaborations with Brooks Running, a local cold plunge group (Coldwater Collective Seattle), and international walking communities (Mindful Strides based in London) and it’s quite amazing to see community coming together like this in a city that literally has a term for how difficult it is to make friendships – The Seattle Freeze.

I hope in the future to continue my solo walks, keep building out the community walks I host, and to travel to different cities and countries and meet people from all walks of life… pun intended.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Though I am incredibly grateful for this life that I’ve built for myself this year, it’s been difficult shifting my mentality from working a 9-5 job into doing content creation full time. There’s a misconception that content creators have it easy compared to working the standard 40-hour work week, but the reality is that I’m working 10-12 hour days, if not more, filming, editing, posting, organizing community events, engaging with other accounts, and working on brand deals.

I never considered myself a data-driven individual, but learning about Instagram’s algorithm and understanding how to post and be favored by it is a game in itself. Yes, I’m walking across the city and posting about it, but I’m also learning how to select the “perfect” audio based off its trending-factor and number of uses, how to time my videos to avoid losing views, and how to show up as my authentic self while essentially showcasing my life to 45K+ people. It’s a balancing act, to say the least.

It’s a lot more work than I ever anticipated, but it’s incredibly fulfilling to receive messages from people saying that I’ve made an impact on their lives!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I went to University of San Diego and majored in Architecture and Music Composition, and studying Italian. I worked in various architecture firms until I quit to pursue content creation.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I have an Oura Ring and absolutely love it. The app tracks my steps and so much other health data; it really has made a difference in my life!

I also love Fantasy hike – you just have to look it up! It’s a fun and engaging way to help get your steps in.

Books – “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. Her journey on the PCT is inspiring.

Podasts – I love “Note to Self” by Payton Sartain. I think she’s amazing and incredibly entertaining to listen to for lifestyle content.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servedbysara/

Image Credits
Either to myself or to my fiancé, Michael McGaw