Regan Zanes
Regan Zanes, known as The Gringo in Brazil, is an American travel creator sharing Brazil’s landscapes, regional food and everyday culture from his home base in Belo Horizonte.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Regan’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Regan claims this page.
Latest
Regan’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- MasterChef Brasil: international guest jury2025 · Guest taster and judge
Band - CliffSide Boutique Hotel photography2025 · Photographer
CLAUDIA - Gringos Trying Minas Gerais Food2019 · Guest with Chris Gringo
YouTube - Magnificent WorldExpat Life in Brazil: Living the Dream in South America2020 · First-person travel essay
Overview
- Known as
- The Gringo in Brazil
- From
- United States; born in New York
- Based in
- Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
- Before creating
- Worked in corporate finance
- Recognition
- Rio Digital Influencer, 2023
Mini bio
How it started.
Born in New York, Regan grew up in several countries because his father was a US diplomat. In his Magnificent World essay, he connects that childhood with his early interest in travel and photography. A finance rotation first brought him from Chicago to Belo Horizonte in 2014.
Finding his audience.
After returning to the US, he wanted to come back to Brazil. He later settled in the country and built The Gringo in Brazil around the places he felt overseas travellers were missing. In a 2022 Folha interview, he described leaving office work to focus on his Instagram account and developing partnerships.
Brazil through his eyes.
Regan told UOL that his audience grew during the pandemic as Brazilians looked for places to visit within the country. By August 2021, the account had more than 85,000 followers, nearly three quarters of them Brazilian. His work takes in beaches, waterfalls, historic towns and regional cooking.
Beyond his own feed.
Rio’s city government selected him for its Rio Digital Influencer programme in 2023. His later credits include a guest place on MasterChef Brasil’s international tasting jury and photography published by CLAUDIA.
Creditschronological, newest first
Television
- 2025MasterChef Brasil, eighth episodeInternational guest taster and judge
Photography and writing
- 2025CliffSide Boutique Hotel feature, CLAUDIACredited photographer
- 2020Expat Life in Brazil: Living the Dream in South AmericaAuthor and photographer
Video collaborations
- 2019Gringos Trying Minas Gerais FoodGuest on Chris Gringo’s channel
Awards
Quotes
Brazil was actually never on my radar.Regan Zanes, Magnificent World
In his September 2020 essay, he explained how a finance rotation unexpectedly brought him to Belo Horizonte.
Trivia
- His childhood included time in Thailand, Germany, Pakistan and the Netherlands, according to his Magnificent World essay.
- In 2020, he named Lençóis Maranhenses, Chapada dos Veadeiros and São Paulo’s north coast among his favourite Brazilian destinations.
- His 2019 video with Chris Gringo was filmed at Nicolau Bar da Esquina in Belo Horizonte.
Find Regan
Follow Regan’s travels, food discoveries and life in Brazil.
Are you Regan Zanes?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.