Fearless, fabulous and over 40.
Shannon Ryck’s traveling sisterhood sparks connections
By Cynthia Reeves / Photo by Kate Treick Photography
Four years ago, Shannon Ryck was in one of her favorite places, Savannah, Georgia, when a comment from an older woman sparked an idea for a travel business. Shannon was at an inn with her mother discussing their plans for the day, when a woman in her early 70s leaned in and said, “I wish I had someone like you to do all the planning for me!”
Ryck knew there was a market for a niche travel group that catered exclusively to women, so Fearless, Fabulous, and Over 40, or FFover40, was born.
“We’ve raised our kids. We’ve worked our jobs. We’ve done the best we could, and it’s time to live life on our terms. We’re the fearless, fabulous sisterhood!” she explained.
Her mission is not just to expose women to travel opportunities, but to help them make connections and re-connect with themselves. Some are single women or widows; others are wives whose husbands don’t share their interests or desire to travel. Ryck keeps the travel groups small and intimate with just six to ten women.
“When you sign up for one of my retreats, I start a small private group inside Facebook. I provide packing lists, weather information, and I encourage them to post pictures or videos, so everyone gets to know each other.”
And the Facebook groups don’t just disappear.
“I never take these down, so these groups remain friends” and often continue to travel together, Ryck said.
She still hosts retreats to her beloved Savanah but also takes her ladies to Nashville, New Orleans and overseas adventures to Ireland, Scotland, the Amalfi Coast, Prague and Vienna, and more.
Her travelers appreciate that everything is set up — the food, drivers and excursions — so they don’t have to fret over details.
Tabatha Hamden from Loxley is married with five children. The trip to Italy was a perfect personal retreat for her.
“Just as Italy whispers tales of timeless beauty, Shannon inspires women to embrace their power at any point in their story,” Hamden said.
Nina Frye has been to Italy twice with Ryck.
“The only thing I had to do was show up and choose which enticing meal I wanted,” Frye said. She added that Ryke’s ability to bring women together in adventure and fun is unique and no one in her group felt left out. Frye is already planning another trip.
Ryck’s website explains another goal is to provide ladies with “tools to help them manage their everyday lives.”
A belly dancer for 25 years, Ryck always includes belly dance classes on each excursion. It’s a way to loosen up. Let go of inhibitions. For women “to see how incredible their bodies are no matter their ago, shape or size.”
She says often the women who are the most hesitant to dance end up loving it the best. Picture being in Italy dancing on a rooftop overlooking Mt. Vesuvius.
She also offers breath work and meditation, which reduces stress and creates feelings of “love, peace, gratitude, clarity, communication and connection.”
Ryck understands some women feel intimidated traveling on their own, so she hopes to offer support and build them up.
She gives each woman pens and notebooks to journal their experience if they choose to do so. At the end of each trip, she encourages the newfound friends to write love notes to each other, but keep them closed until they return home.
Ryck has been told the travelers discover there are “six new strangers who really believe in them.”
That is her vision for FFover40: to empower women while having fun.
What to learn more? Visit FFover40.com.
