We had the good fortune of connecting with Krystal (Krissy Lamour) Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Krystal, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

I always knew that I was meant to heal, educate and help others in a special way. As an ICU nurse of almost 7 years I see a lot of critically ill patients with chronic illnesses that are poorly managed and I started to feel burnt out in my profession. I wanted to offer people an alternative way of managing their health. So, my goal was to create a brand that focuses on holistic health, women’s empowerment and travel, which is one of my greatest hobbies. The woman I am today is heavily influenced by my solo travel adventures, so I wanted to embrace that and offer that to other women who may be on a similar journey or curious.

April of 2022 is when I officially launched my travel agency “Lamour Tours & Travel” also known as “Lamour Travel” and June of 2022 is when I hosted my first women’s wellness retreat in the tropics of Costa Rica. I knew that by creating this travel agency it would become the umbrella for everything I represent and offer, which is wellness, empowerment, knowledge and adventure. I am currently in the process of completing my holistic nurse and nurse coach certifications which will also contribute to my wellness and travel brand.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I am very proud of the versatile success that I have accomplished in my nursing career due to the places, experiences and people it has aligned me with. I graduated nursing school in 2016 and began my travel nursing journey in 2019. I decided to spend those few years gaining clinical experience in an ICU in Detroit, MI before I began my life of travel nursing across the country.

Since then, the rest has been history. I have traveled and lived all over the country in places such as Houston, Boston, San Diego and more for several months at a time. This has granted me the opportunity to experience various lifestyles, new work environments, new nursing specialties, networking, etc.

The most exciting part about travel nursing is living in different cities and states without the longterm commitment. I get to leave my positive impact on multiple facilities and people. Aside from ICU, I have gained experience in the beauty industry as an aesthetics nurse injector and IV infusion nurse in Beverly Hills, CA. In that particular setting, I was able to experience changing clients’ lives cosmetically in a less intense environment.Having clients share their vulnerability with me and having the ability to accentuate their beauty to boost their confidence was fun and fulfilling. I learned so much about skin care and skin treatments even for myself as someone who used to struggle with acne.

Financially, travel nursing has provided me with the means to travel the world and invest into my travel and wellness retreat businesses since my long term goal is financial freedom and full time entrepreneurship.

I think what sets me apart from others in my career is that I am not looking to climb up the traditional career ladder of nursing. I am college educated, but I also embrace my creativity, beauty, and my free spirited mindset. I dance to the beat of my own tunes.

Holistic health is what fulfills my spirit so I am aiming to create my own lane in healthcare & wellness and create a brand that promotes and instills holistic health lifestyle management techniques in patients. My brand will include my roles as a holistic nurse, nurse coach, travel consultant, and wellness retreat host. My wellness retreats will offer guests all of my holistic and coaching services during that travel experience. I feel that it all ties together because the main focus is WELLNESS and HEALTH.

I could not sit here today and say that this journey has been easy. I definitely faced some financial hardships trying to get through college. Some semesters I did not know how I would pay for books or the rest of my semester’s tuition. Nursing school is not a walk in the park at all due to the amount of dedication needed to study materials and prepare for exams. Nursing school is very competitive and just involves a lot of sacrifice and sleepless nights. 

On a personal level, I experienced the death of my grandmother and stepfather just 6 months apart before my sophomore year of college, which really took a toll on my emotional well being. On a professional level, I have experienced a lot of mental and physical burn out from working with high acuity of patients.People assume that my job is perfect because of the flexibility and it appears glamorous from a distance, but there are some challenges that come with it.

I overcame most of these challenges by keeping my eye on the prize (my degree, flexibility, financial stability, etc) and maintaining my spiritual faith. When it pertains to goals I enter this mode of tunnel vision where I can see past the obstacles and strictly zoom in on that end goal. I had my mother by my side as my moral support which helped immensely. Just having your parent through those rough times and believe in you when you might fall short on believing in yourself is such a blessing to have.

I’ve learned to not be so hard on myself, to truly trust the process through every storm and always be true to your dreams not society or anybody else’s dream.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I really love and appreciate nature so I would take my best friend to some of my favorite hiking spots. I would take her to Tom’s Thumb hiking trail and Dobbin’s Viewpoint hiking trail since they both have breathtaking views of mountains and the city. The Desert Botanical Garden would be a must visit as well since my bestie is also from the Midwest I know she will appreciate seeing other species of plants.

We could take a quick road trip to Sedona to view the beautiful canyons and stargazing. We would go to a relaxing sound bowl meditation session with Denise at Reiki Academy in the central Phoenix area. For hanging out, bar hopping in Old Town Scottsdale is definitely a must. We would hit a few places such as Bottled Blonde, 50 shades of Rosé, and The Hot Chick for good jams and great drinks.

Other cool places for drinks are 36 Below, The Rose Garden and Killer Whale S*x Club( I know the name sounds super wild, but its a really cool place I promise). These places are known for their uniquely themed cocktails. For retail therapy we would take a trip to the Fashion Square mall in Scottsdale. For foodie cravings as seafood lovers we would indulge at Pappadeaux. For brunch some of my favorites are Brunch and Sip and Maple&Ash. For fine dining I highly recommend Preston’s Steakhouse they have some of the best rack of lamb ever. And for adventure the icing on the cake for fun would be a hot air balloon ride looking over the city of Phoenix at sunrise.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I definitely have to give a lot of credit to my mother Gloria. I grew up as the only child and my mom was primarily a single mother, so seeing her maintain her ambition and drive to elevate in her career and take care of me on her own was powerful to see. She is a very energetic and confident person. Her spirit is so youthful and refreshing. Despite the obstacles she may have faced in her life she always maintains a positive attitude and is extremely generous to others.

She’s always been like the “cool mom”, but also instilled a lot of values and structure in my life. 

As a shy and insecure teenager myself, she always boosted my self confidence and showered me with love. Even through my trying times during my college years she was my moral support my cheerleader on the side pep talking me through the struggles. She is my light during some of the darkest times of my life. She sees a lot of potential and greatness in me.

Website: www.lamourtravel.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/krissylamour

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lamourtours

Other: Email info@lamourtravel.com

Image Credits

Pabrö Sanchez -Photographer for beach photo(last photo), group table photo(top left), Green botanical background photo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.