ABOUT

The Humans Being Project invites viewers to step into the lives of individuals, communities, and cultures far different from their own, and to discover resonance and understanding there. Through that connection, project founder Merrick Chase hopes to inspire compassion, curiosity, and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of our shared human experience.

Merrick has traveled across broad swaths of the planet on six continents, seeking new experiences and firsthand knowledge of wildly different ways to live. With a focus on creating rich still and video content, he turns his lens toward people from all walks of life. The more unfamiliar the surroundings, the better. He seeks out what feels most ‘other’ to challenge his own assumptions—stepping outside his comfort zone as often as possible, into places and stories unknown.

Whether on foot or by bike, car, train, boat, or hitchhiking, Merrick shares what he finds along the way. He’s pedaled through the Himalayas of Bhutan, across northern Japan, and deep into Chilean Patagonia. He’s hiked up to remote villages in Tajikistan unreachable by road, and been welcomed by residents of the floating villages on Myanmar’s storied Inle Lake. From Pushkar, India to the Pyrenees Mountains of France, he’s played music with locals around countless open fires beneath the stars, and been invited to share meals and moments in families’ homes across the world—enough times to feel he must be doing something right. All the imagery here is Merrick’s own. You can follow his stories through the site and explore past narratives via the project’s archived Facebook page.

Merrick experienced a major shift in life direction following a deeply affecting trip to Bhutan in spring 2024. While bikepacking the centuries-old Trans-Bhutan Trail, he was capturing content for THBP and filming a documentary on sustainable travel. That nearly month-long journey through the deeply powerful felt field of Bhutan drew him deeply into the present moment and changed him profoundly. After years of documenting and storytelling on the move, Merrick chose to put down his cameras, step away from social media entirely, and shift his focus to full immersion in lived experience. Since then, he has been exploring new ways of expressing himself creatively and making art.

Merrick continues to work on long-form projects around the world: the Women of Crested Butte Project and its upcoming art book in Colorado, the Bhutan documentary that’s been screening across Europe and Bhutan this year—Pedals and Prayers: A Ride Across Bhutan, The Recipe for Life—a somatic practice designed to anchor a ‘new human operating system’ in the practitioner. The system is designed to optimize reality creation from a calm, clear mind and facilitate the realization of one’s lifelong dreams and goals. Merrick is also writing about the story of his grandmother Esther’s conscious death at nearly 99. Hers was a clear, graceful decision that was a long time coming, and that brought the family together in a remarkable and utterly rare way—offering time to prepare, to share deeply, and to say goodbye fully. That experience left a profound mark on him and his grown son, and the story he’s telling is as much about life as it is about death.

Merrick regularly sets out on long-distance solo cycling journeys across countries around the world—without a camera, purely for the experience. When he’s not traveling, Merrick spends his time in Paris immersed in dance, cycling, skating, music, and creative communities, continually stretching himself to grow as an artist and as a human being.

You can explore the Women of Crested Butte Project here and learn how to purchase archival prints of any of the images you see on the site here. You can also view countless additional photos, videos, and longform stories from years of Merrick’s global adventures—including extensive coverage from Bhutan—on the THBP’s archived Facebook page here.

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