About Luca
I'm not the finished article. That's the point.
I'm Luca Mayes. 23, British, curious about almost everything, and currently somewhere between who I've been and who I'm becoming. This is the honest version of that story.
Age
23
From
United Kingdom
Degree
International Tourism Management, First Class — MMU
Currently
Florida, USA
Previously
Krabi, Thailand (9 months)
Learning
The Power of Now
Building
365 Days to Become a Gladiator
01
Where it started
I grew up in the UK with a genuine love of people, places and the feeling you get when you arrive somewhere new and everything is slightly unfamiliar. That curiosity took me to Manchester Metropolitan University to study International Tourism Management — a degree that gave me a framework for understanding how the world moves, and a First Class result that told me I was taking it seriously. But the real education started when I left.
02
Thailand changed things
Nine months working at a five-star Accor resort in Koh Samui. Food and beverage, events, sports, entertainment, guest experiences — all of it. I arrived thinking I knew what hospitality meant. I left knowing I'd barely scratched the surface. What Thailand actually taught me was adaptability. The ability to read a room, stay calm under pressure, make someone feel genuinely welcome rather than efficiently processed. It taught me that the best hospitality is invisible — you only notice it when it's missing. And it taught me that I genuinely love this industry, which is not something everyone can say about their field.
03
The honest part
I can come across as confident. I'm sociable, I find most situations funny, I like people and people generally seem to like me. But underneath that, I've spent years letting anxiety about embarrassment, fear of failure and a habit of overthinking stop me from doing things that actually mattered to me. Part of what I'm rebuilding from is gambling harm. It caused real financial pressure and real damage to my sense of self. I'm not going to skip over that — it's part of the story. But it's not the whole story, and it's not where the story ends. I'm choosing responsibility, honesty and daily action instead of shame and avoidance. That's what the 365 Days to Become a Gladiator journey is really about.
04
Right now
I'm in Florida, gaining more international hospitality experience, learning Italian, trying to surf, and documenting all of it publicly. I'm building a content channel, developing ideas for future projects in sustainable tourism and hospitality, and trying to become the kind of person who acts on things rather than just thinking about them. I don't have everything figured out. I'm not pretending to. But I'm showing up every day, being honest about what's happening, and building something real — even if I'm not entirely sure what it is yet.
What I believe
Values
Honesty over performance
I'd rather be genuinely useful than impressively polished.
Curiosity over certainty
I don't need to have the answer. I need to be interested in finding it.
Action over readiness
Ready is a feeling that never quite arrives. You go without it.
People over transactions
The best experiences — in hospitality, in travel, in life — are built around genuine human connection.
Progress over perfection
Done and improving beats perfect and never started.
"If you've read this far, you probably get it. This isn't a brand. It's a person — unpolished, ambitious, genuinely trying. If that's interesting to you, stick around. The best bits are still ahead."