In January 2018, Cedric Hutchison II (@CedinTheCity) and Cassy Isabella Woodley (@BellaWorldwide) connected to begin planning for a group trip that brought more than 40 people to Thailand. September 2018, “Bellaworldwide & CedintheCity Present: Thailand 2018” began. After only knowing each other through Instagram for a few months, and without ever meeting in person, they successfully planned and executed what later became the instagram viral #BAHTandBoujee trip.

Cedric, who was living abroad in Malaysia at the time, had a history of planning cabin trips and get togethers for his friends back home. Cassy was an event planner in Toronto and was in the beginning phases of launching her own travel company called “Melanin Recharge” while hosting meetups for black travellers in between. Their combined backgrounds made them a perfect team. At the time, they had no plans of starting a company together, but because they worked so well together, they decided to do it again. So, one week after their return, still hot off the buzz from their first collaboration, they launched their second trip to Thailand, to the same villa, but this time with a whole new group of travellers. A couple weeks after that, they launched a third trip to Costa Rica. Both trips sold out in less than 24 hours from their announcement.

By November 2018, Cass and Ced knew they had something good going and decided to take their trips a step up and create a name for themselves. After a month of brainstorming, on December 18 2018, The Roaming Republic was announced on Instagram as the official community name. The outpouring of support was overwhelming. Cedric and Cass went on to launch four more trips together; Bali (x2), Colombia, South Africa plus, a partnership trip to Morocco with another travel company, within the next two months. By selecting countries either one of them had already visited and established connections, they were able to curate unique experiences that combined both a complete cultural immersion and an added bonus of local expertise. Their ability to make connections wherever they travelled to and genuine love for getting people abroad drove them to curate trips that were not only detailed, but also affordable and accessible. Through fourteen + hour FaceTime Calls, thousands of text exchanges, much brainstorming and planning, Cass and Ced began to develop a combined vision for what The Roaming Republic could be.

Unfortunately, #BAHTandBoujee the Sequel, March 2019 in Thailand, was the second and last trip that Cedric joined us on. On May 12 2019, two months after their second trip together, Cedric Hutchison II passed away tragically in his hometown of Atlanta. This loss shook his family, friends and the international black travel community to the core. Without much time to think, Cassy decided to go on with their upcoming trip to Costa Rica on May 21st, which she now transformed into an international lantern release and tribute trip for Cedric. Following this trip, she continued running the subsequent trips, with the added help of newly assigned trip hosts, and went on to to take The Roaming Republic to Costa Rica, Morocco, Bali (x2), Colombia and South Africa in 2019 and Trinidad in 2020. With every trip, Ced’s name and legacy were remembered, honoured and upheld to the highest regard and still continues to be done to this day.

On October 1st 2019, The Roaming Republic became an officially incorporated company. The company continues to be owned and operated by Cassy with the essence of everything Ced stood for at heart. The mission remains the same to teach Roamers how to carry home with them every where they travel. Luxury villas, turn up, cultural immersion, community and unforgettable memories; this is what The Roaming Republic is about.

A community, a family, a legacy, wherever we go because:

Home is where you Roam.

In memory and honour of Ced’s legacy, 10% of each trip will be donated to the Cedinthecity Scholarship fund. This foundation was founded by Ced a few months before he passed in order to support African Americans who would like to study abroad. Find out more about the work being done to preserve his legacy here.

meet the founders

Two individuals from opposite ends of the globe with an equal passion for promoting travel, connected through instagram and created what we present to you as “The Roaming Republic”; A collective of global citizens who are passionate about freely roaming the world in the endless pursuit for more.

Cassy Isabella - Founder

Cassy Isabella is a multi-disciplined creative, hailing from Toronto, who has been working in both the travel industry and social work field for more than four years. Her background in Child and Youth Worker and combined love for travel has made her passionate about using her access to travel to aid in international development and create opportunities for people from disenfranchised communities to experience the world. Prior to entering the travel industry, Cassy accumulated 10 years of experience in event planning - ranging from wedding planning, curating youth empowerment events, workshops and multi-arts events throughout Toronto and finally began curating black travel meetups in the US before co-creating The Roaming Republic. Her combined passions make it her priority to curate travel experiences that are not only fun but are done in an ethical and affordable manner that gives back to the local communities they touch. Through The Roaming Republic, Cassy hopes to encourage minorities to explore the world and to help build a community where like-minded individuals can feel at home wherever they may find themselves.

Cedric H - Founder

(August 11, 1991 - May 12 2019)

Cedric was born and raised in the United States on August 11th 1991 and sadly passed away on May 12th 2019. Since childhood, he had a strong passion for film, television, travel and education. After receiving a Bachelors of Arts and Sciences with a concentration in Film/Video and Urban Education he moved abroad to teach English professionally. After embarking on his expat journey, he had the opportunity to educate students in China, Czech Republic and Malaysia while also visiting numerous countries. As a writer, Cedric loved sharing his travel adventures through film and storytelling with hopes of inspiring other minorities to travel and explore the world. Cedric’s passion for education and travel awarded him the opportunity to help send African American’s students abroad with The CedinTheCity scholarship. When he was not traveling Cedric described himself as a high energy, thrill seeking individual who loved bringing people together. Through The Roaming Republic, Cedric helped connect individuals from all walks of life together for unforgettable adventures and continues to inspire people all over the world to this day.