Author. Adventurer. Seeker. Builder.
Born in India and based in Colorado, Salil “Sal” Jha explores two kinds of travel: the journeys that take us across the world and the ones that lead us inward.
He is an author, poet, world traveler, speaker, transpersonal coach, and co-creator of The Art of Travel and The Naked Soul.
Across books, online communities, and ambitious adventures, Sal’s work asks a simple question: how fully can we live?
A life that resists one label
Sal is a doer of many things but they are connected by the same impulse: curiosity, growth, and the refusal to accept a life lived on autopilot.
His path has moved through martial arts, Christian mysticism, entrepreneurship, writing, travel, and personal transformation.
Today, he and his wife, Neha, are building The Art of Travel as a global travel and lifestyle brand while continuing to create through The Naked Soul, books, and online communities.
For the full story of how The Art of Travel began, and the life Sal and Neha are building together, read Our Story.
The road here
Long before The Art of Travel, Sal taught martial arts on college campuses and co-founded The Way of Qi (TWOQ), a nonprofit student organization that grew to two chapters and operated at North Dakota State University through December 2010. At the same time, he was immersed in Christian mysticism and active in church life.
Those early experiences, discipline through the body, inquiry through the spirit, and leadership through community, still shape his work.
Sal is an entrepreneur by instinct. Broken systems and inefficient ways of doing everyday things tend to become invitations: understand the problem, imagine a better approach, and build it.
That combination of curiosity and action has carried him across ventures, creative projects, and continents.
Selected entrepreneurial milestones
Sal’s entrepreneurial path has been experimental by design. Some ideas became enduring platforms; others were prototypes, short chapters, or useful failures.
- 2009 — The Way of Qi: Co-founded the nonprofit student organization TWOQ, which expanded to two chapters
- 2009–2011 — Early experiments: Worked as an independent business owner and explored ventures including EZStretch, a drone-camera concept
- 2010 — AlpineSeeing: Built an online astrology, psychology, and Zen-themed portal intended to help people understand and heal themselves
- 2011–2014 — Precog Technologies: Co-founded an IT consulting firm, carrying forward ideas first explored through EZStretch and the drone-camera project
- 2013 — Fitness & Food: Co-created a health and fitness community whose Facebook page reached 100,000 fans
- 2014 — The Naked Soul: Began his writing career, launched the brand, experimented with crowdfunding, and created a home for his manuscripts and ideas
- 2014 — Guru App: Developed an app concept with a friend and business partner; the project was later discontinued
- 2015 — Author and podcaster: Published Naked Soul: The Erotic Love Poems, which reached No. 1 in its Amazon poetry categories, and launched The Naked Soul Talk Show
- 2015 — Fit Couple Goals: Rebranded Fitness & Food and expanded the project across YouTube and other social platforms
- 2016 — The Art of Travel: Co-created The Art of Travel and launched its YouTube channel, bringing together technology, storytelling, and a traveler’s perspective.
A pattern that defines Sal’s work: try, learn, adapt, and keep building.
Adventure as a way of life
For Sal, a bucket list is not a collection of wishes. It is a set of promises made visible.
The quests
- Reach all 50 U.S. state highpoints
Progress: 41 of 50, plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico - Visit all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and all five inhabited U.S. territories
Progress: all 50 states and D.C. completed; three U.S. territories remaining - Travel to all seven continents
Progress: six of seven; Antarctica remains - Visit all 193 UN member states
Progress: 29 of 193 - Visit the world’s 100 largest cities
Progress: 34 of 100 - Visit the top 100 U.S. cities
Progress: 90 of 100 - Trek to Mount Everest Base Camp from Kathmandu, Nepal
Progress: planned but yet to execute
These numbers are milestones, not the destination. The deeper quest is to stay awake—to discomfort, wonder, risk, beauty, and the person each journey asks you to become.
Work, ideas, and community
Sal’s creative and entrepreneurial work spans:
- The Art of Travel — stories, resources, and products for people who want to travel well and live boldly
- The Naked Soul — writing, conversations, and community centered on self-knowledge and inner transformation
- Books and poetry — explorations of love, consciousness, meaning, and the examined life
- Speaking and coaching — helping people question inherited limits and move toward a more intentional life
Find Sal online
- Instagram: The Art of Travel
- Instagram: The Naked Soul
- YouTube: The Art of Travel
- YouTube: The Naked Soul
- Amazon: Books by Salil Jha
Call to action: Say hello to Sal