John Kelly Quilantang is a writer, photographer, and United States Marine veteran. Raised on the island of Guam, the outdoors shaped his restless drive to chase real experience over comfort.

That drive has taken him across all seven continents, where he’s lived in and traveled through distant countries collecting stories from the people he’s met along the way. Fueled by books, films, and raw firsthand tales, he committed to living a life worth writing about.

He is currently working on his first novel and a short story collection drawn from those travels. His adventure photography has been featured in an award-winning travel blog.

Quil now lives in the Washington D.C. area and is tackling Project: 93 Summits — a family effort to hike all 93 named peaks in Shenandoah National Park. When he’s not writing, you’ll find him on the trails with his family, always looking toward the next horizon.