Yo! I’m Vincent Russell Van Patten. My friends call me Vinny. I’m a writer, creator, traveler, and host of The Dare to Dream Podcast, based in Japan.

I’ve been writing online and traveling the world with my camera in hand ever since I graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Travel, culture, adventure, personal-growth, literature, history and philosophy are some of the topics I write about. I publish my writing here and on my website, vincentvanpatten.com.

It wasn’t until Covid hit, however, that I would devote myself to being a creator wholeheartedly. I decided to move abroad so I could explore what lights my soul on fire, day-in and day-out in a foreign environment.

I knew I wanted to live in Japan, yet it would take three years for the borders to open up.

During that time, I self-published my first book, Arrows of Youth, a story of adventure told on a road trip through California and the Pacific Northwest.

I also received my master's degree in creative writing and started The Dare to Dream Podcast, with one of my best friends.

We hope to inspire listeners to embark on the adventure of their lives as we share what we learn on our own individual journeys.

My love of life burns so strongly, my passion for people, my faith in the human spirit; I want to share that magic with the world in any way possible.

In 2021 I released my debut nonfiction novel, Arrows of Youth: A Young Man’s Inspiring Journey to Find What Lights His Soul On Fire.

The book is part memoir, part travel story, part spiritual exploration, all a quest to find what lights my soul on fire. On this quest, I strive to help you do the same.

I simply want to learn; be it through travel, reading, writing, and most importantly, by getting out there to connect with other human beings. That, I’ll never stop doing.

Join me in this lifelong journey with my newsletter, Citoyens du Monde.