How were you introduced to Young Life?

Young Life was really prominent in my town. Growing up, I had older friends who were a part of Young Life and LOVED it. So as soon as I got to middle school I jumped into WyldLife, and of course, loved it.

How did that impact you at the time?

I think Young Life was huge for me because I had leaders who took me under their wings and taught me about life and Jesus in a way I never would have experienced without them. Their faith and purpose in life felt so authentic. It also helped that I always had wild and crazy leaders who brought a little bit more adventure to my life — definitely something I was craving at the time. I've definitely continued to lean into both the faith and adventure experiences that Young Life taught me as I've grown older.

How have you been involved with Young Life since then?

When I got to high school I became a WyldLife leader, and down the road became a high school student leader. I also did work crew at Malibu the summer before my senior year. Since high school I've traveled too much to be a consistent Young Life leader, but I've loved supporting friends who are involved in Young Life.

What do you do?

I think a lot of people look around themselves and feel overwhelmed by the negativity in the world. I created a podcast, Sounds Good with Branden Harvey, and a weekly Goodnewsletter that help people move from cynicism to optimism because I believe that there's so much good in the world. Through the process of focusing on sharing about the good in the world, I've built an audience of hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world, all different religions, and all different backgrounds.

How has your past and current experience with Young Life influenced what you are currently doing?

Young Life taught me that having fun and talking about meaningful things can go hand in hand. If you ask my fans what some of my favorite experiences I've shared on social media have been, you'll get people who say that they loved seeing me run from an elephant chasing me in Zimbabwe on Snapchat AND that they loved the deep heartfelt conversation I had with a human rights activist on my podcast. Young Life taught me I can go deep and have a blast, and I think holding both of these things as a part of who I am has allowed people to connect with what I do in the way they have.

Have you had any previous experiences at Malibu? If so, what did you do and when did you go?

I first visited Malibu for work crew the summer before my senior year. I got to spend four weeks washing dishes, getting to know so many incredible people, and getting to know myself — all in the most beautiful place in the world. I also got to visit Malibu as a camper and as a student leader — bringing lots of my peers each time. Each experience was equally amazing in its own way.

Notable links:
Website: brandenharvey.com
Podcast: brandenharvey.com/podcast
Goodnewsletter: brandenharvey.com/goodnewsletter
Instagram: instagram.com/brandenharvey
Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/brandenharvey
Twitter: twitter.com/brandenharvey