My name is Nate Sauer. At 19 I joined the military chasing escape.
Escape from a small town, from trauma, from failure. I thought I would find purpose in service, but instead, I found loss. Loss of direction. Loss of self. Loss of feeling.

I learned how to survive. I learned discipline. But I also learned how easy it is to live for what you “should” do instead of what you want to do. I spent years performing for expectations I didn’t even believe in. Sacrificing my potential instead of investing in it.

In that space, my creative work became a lifeline. Photography and storytelling gave me moments of clarity, a place to feel something again. But even then, I realized I’d never given myself permission to get truly lost. To wander without a map, not just physically but emotionally.

This trip is that. My permission slip.

A solo journey through Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia—where I’m not trying to be an influencer, a tour guide, or a content machine. I’m traveling to undo the numbness, to chase novelty for the sake of growth, to collect experiences that shift who I am at my core.

I call it Lost on Purpose because I believe there’s a difference between being lost and choosing to be lost. Being lost by accident is disorienting. Being lost on purpose is liberating—it’s giving yourself space to discover what you’re actually aiming for.

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t want them yet. What I do have is my camera, my words, and the willingness to let this journey shape me in ways I can’t predict.