Where in the world is Terry Crews? The professional football player-turned-actor is also an author and beloved television host, currently emceeing both America’s Got Talent on NBC and the food competition show 100 Cooks on Food Network. Take a quick glimpse at his Instagram, though, and you’ll see he’s also somehow in Monaco, Brazil, Mexico City, and France, as well as Miami and Los Angeles, all in the last month—many of the stops related to his new YouTube series about Cadillac’s F1 team, Crews Control.
Really, it comes as no surprise that he gets his best sleep, as he says ahead, on airplanes. The very busy man paused to chat with Condé Nast Traveler about flying first class in his early twenties, the passion of his fans in Brazil, and why more people need to give Dubai a chance.
His advice for sleeping on planes:
I get the best sleep on planes. I’ve done 14-hour flights and they wake me up and I’m mad, like, Aw, I got to go? My advice is to get really tired. Have a really full day, work out, do your whole thing before your long flight. People get on a flight fresh, they stay up, and then they’re tired when they land. I love to get all tired, make my day as busy as possible, and then I can’t wait to get on that flight and put my eye mask on. Goodnight, everybody. It makes the flight go like that [snaps fingers].
His memories of flying business class for the first time:
My first flight in business was when I was drafted by the [Los Angeles] Rams in 1991. It was amazing. I had only taken a couple of flights before, and they were flying me out from Michigan all the way to Orange County, California, to meet with the team. That was so special, and I was so nervous. Going into the NFL was about to change my life.
I remember the food being kind of fancy because at the time, I’m 21 years old and I’m a little simple. This was really fancy schmancy. Now I’m used to that kind of food, but I’m a Red Lobster guy, you know what I’m saying? I had to get used to how fancy the food was. They handed me a “starter” and I’m like, “What is that?” I had no idea. You’ve got to understand, too, that smoked salmon was not a thing in Flint, Michigan. Is it raw fish? I was too simple. Now I love smoked salmon! But back then, [I was] hamburger and potatoes.
The coolest place where he’s filmed Crews Control:
We just came back from Monaco, but I would say Melbourne, Australia, was unbelievable. It was my first time in Australia, the inaugural race, and the first time Cadillac had been in Formula One. It was such a big deal. The president of General Motors was there, and the excitement was just booming. We were there for a whole week and I went “surfing,” so to speak, in that I went to a surf club. But I ate Vegemite! I did all the [Australia things]. I got to see a lot of Melbourne, and I can’t wait to go back.
A place he thinks is underrated:
Dubai, Dubai, Dubai. It’s fabulous! I go to Dubai a lot, and I think there are a lot of misconceptions that Americans have about it. Dubai is so gorgeous. The people, the food, it’s really amazing. Next year, I’ll actually have a place over there that I’m going to use as my hub for that side of the world. In Dubai, you can get to Istanbul, the UK, and over into Asia much easier than you can from L.A. or New York.