Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog/clothing line website!

Can you tell us something about yourself:

My name is Johnnathan and I’m an enthusiastic, creative and adventurous person. I love creating storylines and sharing them with other storytellers and those interested. "Make your voice heard" is my motto. Planning isn’t my strongest skill, but I have a deep passion for traveling—not for typical vacations, but for discovering different cultures. Simply put, where a tourist turns left, I turn right.

Joanvale is a short version of my full name. All credit goes to my father, who came up with this amazing name. Thank you, Dad!

You moved to the Netherlands at a young age, from Colombia?

I was born in Antioquia, Colombia and adopted at a young age by a loving family in the Netherlands. In addition to my wonderful father and mother, I also have two older sisters. The freedom and unconditional love I’ve experienced within my family is something I am grateful for every day. I feel incredibly blessed that they are my family.

Have you been back to Colombia?

Yes, that’s right! It was definitely not an easy step. Around 2017, I decided to visit my birth country for the first time.

My parents had encouraged me from a young age to go back to Colombia and explore the country, but I always firmly said ‘No.’ At the time, I had grown up with an abundance of negative stories and news reports about Colombia – stories that mainly focused on drugs, violence and other darker aspects of life. Whenever Colombia was mentioned on TV, it was always portrayed as pure misery. My thought was always: ‘Who would want to visit a country with so much trouble?’

(Story of how I ended up in Colombia)
Before deciding to visit Colombia, I regularly took city trips. Thanks to the flexibility of my employer, I had the opportunity to travel often and I made the most of it. I loved wandering through unfamiliar cities as a tourist.

After many city trips, I felt ready for something new – I needed a bigger challenge, more excitement. My next interest was Argentina.

Booking such a long-distance trip was exciting; there’s always a certain pressure that comes with it. Once you book, there’s no turning back. My days off had already been approved by my employer, so I knew exactly which dates I could choose for departure and return. One night, around 3 a.m., I sat in the dark behind my computer, browsing KLM’s website for flights from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires.

But suddenly, my instincts started to push back. ‘Don’t go to Argentina, go to Colombia!’ An inner voice kept repeating: ‘If you’re going to South America for the first time, you have to start in your birth country.’ This feeling grew stronger and stronger. By 5 a.m., I had made up my mind: I booked a ticket to Bogotá, Colombia.

Immediately after booking, I was overwhelmed with a wave of regret, sadness and doubt. Why did I do this? What were you thinking, Johnnathan?! In the days that followed, I didn’t know how to feel. Should I go through with this? Could I handle it? I didn’t speak the language, didn’t have a credit card, and knew very little about the cities or where it was safe. All these thoughts kept swirling around in my mind.

But now, I can say with certainty: it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! The moment I set foot on Colombian soil, it felt like coming home.

What would you do with a million?

That’s an interesting question! I would invest a quarter of the amount to double my wealth. The rest I would spend on traveling, exploring the world as much as possible and creating unique stories. Making memories and sharing them in 20 years over a nice drink with the new generation – that sounds fantastic to me.

I know many people would choose a luxury car or a big house, but that doesn’t make me happy.

You have to grab the life and time you are given with both hands. Procrastination means wasting valuable time that you can never get back.

What would you do with a million?

What can we expect from your blog?

I’m taking you on a journey and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at my clothing line. In short, from spontaneous to seemingly pointless articles, from lifestyle to snacks and as a bonus: a mix of hilarious and touching moments.

‘Keep shining by simply being you‘