Meet the Jaxbend Team

Josh Co-owner

My first real memories of travel are from the late 1990s and they come from piling into my uncle's suburban with eight (or more) people and driving for a huge day down to Gulf Shores, Alabama. A TV was somehow set up to watch movies on VHS, and Pokemon was the only Gameboy game I'd need. In my early 20's, I started traveling with my friends -- visiting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (my home state) and later venturing down a river on a whim. Late 20's, I ventured out to Yellowstone and Grand Teton for two weeks with a friend and a plan to "listen to our hearts." When I met Joy, we started having adventures of our own -- we learned to backpack together, kayaked into a remote area of Canada, and learned hard lessons about backpacking in the mountains during our honeymoon (our marriage survived my poor planning, thankfully). For me, travel is about the adventure, doing something challenging or experiencing something that few others experience. I want the "weird."

I've planned a lot of trips over the years, organized people, and ventured into the known and unknown. A few years ago, I found myself with the concept for Jaxbend, somewhere that people could get inspiration and ideas -- understand places that are "off the beaten path" -- and learn how others execute trips that are just a little unorthodox. I've been a web developer for my entire professional life and in 2026, Joy and I felt compelled to just build it. Jaxbend is my passion project -- my hope to grow a community that loves exploring, adventuring, and sharing experiences that we can all learn from. Thank you for participating in that community!

Joy Co-owner

Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to both live in and travel to many different places. As a kid, my family took annual vacations to a cottage in northern Michigan. We spent our days playing in the lake and visiting nearby villages and towns. Out of high school, I joined the Air Force, which took me to California, Texas, and Hawaii. I learned Mandarin Chinese and studied Chinese culture, an experience that sparked a passion to explore new perspectives. When I returned to Michigan, I met Josh and fell in love with the deep woods. We dreamed of adventures together and eventually moved to Colorado so that I could attend university and pursue my love of learning. Our evenings in college were spent watching The Amazing Race and laughing as we'd plan our surefire strategies to win.

Upon returning to Michigan, we were ready to start a family, but ran into trouble and needed to pursue IVF. Adventures into the woods turned into appointments. Our discretionary income went to medication and procedures. One day while out for a walk, Josh shared his idea for Jaxbend with me. It took some time for the idea to sink in: about one and a half years while IVF consumed my thoughts and our lives. At that point in time, we found ourselves discontented. We'd lost our ability to adventure. Jaxbend came back to the forefront of our minds and this time, I understood. We took the leap. We got excited again.

Throughout my adult life, I've learned that the best vacation is not necessarily the most expensive one or the one packed with activity; it doesn't even have to be long. Every individual requires something different from a vacation. For me, that might mean experiencing a holiday in a different culture, kayaking under aurora borealis, or sipping coffee in the middle of the woods at dawn. In co-founding Jaxbend, my goal is to help people get the most out of their time, money, and energy while discovering what matters the most to them.