Mitch Bach has been an opera composer, philosophy teacher, and professional photographer, but the central activity his life has revolved around is travel. After graduating high school he left home with a backpack and no plan, and moved to New Zealand simply because it was the farthest place he could go. 75 countries later he ended up with degrees from the Sorbonne University in Paris in history, philosophy, and music, but his summers were spent organizing and leading groups around Europe and the rest of the world. He started his own tour company and now lives in Brooklyn, where he founded TripSchool, the leading tour guide training school in the US. He is the author of five guidebooks, and works as a speaker, educator, consultant and coach in the travel industry.

Mitch holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in History and Philosophy from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. His passion for urban history began during his 7 years in Paris, where he worked in his spare time as a city guide and teacher of history and philosophy. His scholarly work has focused on theories of truth as they express themselves in art, literature and theology. Since moving to New York City 12 years ago, he has authored four books on east coast cities, and actively pursues his side-passions for composing classical music (he recently premiered his second opera), and photography (his work has appeared in the New York Times, and the New Yorker and Time magazines).

Mitch is the co-founder of TripSchool, which offers strategy and training for tour businesses, as well as continuing education courses for tour guides & businesses. He’s also the creator of Campfire, an online travel industry community, and proud host of Growvember. He got his start as a local Paris guide during his studies in history and philosophy at the Sorbonne, and quickly gave up work as a philosophy professor to start his own tour company. Now he speaks at international events, leads workshops around the world for companies like Disney and Globus, and is the author of four books. He lives in DUMBO, Brooklyn.