Stand-up comic Joe McTernan was so anxious about travelling that he never bothered to get a passport. However, after a break-up last year, he decided to overhaul his life, and it took him on a global adventure that inspired a new show, 'Lost,' which he will perform at the Edinburgh Fringe this year.

McTernan, 32, from Edinburgh, says he was a shy child who suffered from a lack of confidence. This later turned into depression in his early adult life. Joe says his fluctuating mental health took any adventure, travel and experimentation off the agenda in his 20s, but now he wants that time back.

Joe, who has 113,000 followers on his Instagram @joe_mcternan , said, "Growing up, we never went abroad or really went on any type of holiday. My grandparents raised me, and we didn't have a lot of money. I also remember my dad being terrified of flying. I must have adopted that from him.

"I had no interest in getting on a plane for years. I just studied, worked, and watched films at home with my girlfriend at the time.

"It was so bad that even if anyone asked me to go out or try something new, for so long, my knee-jerk reaction was 'no.' I didn't want to push myself in fear of negative consequences."

Joe thinks his issues with feeling shy and anxious might stem from sadly losing his mum when he was just 11 weeks old. 

He said: "I've been shy and anxious for as long as I can remember. I always felt like something was missing from me; it's like I knew my mum would have been the person who would have stopped me from feeling anxious and more supported. I just never felt like a complete human being. I was so self-conscious until I went to Edinburgh University in 2009."

When Joe went to University at 18, he says he chose to push himself by meeting new people in a new environment, and it helped him.

He added: "At Uni, I came out of my shell quite abruptly. I had thought about studying animation so I could work on my own in quiet rooms, but ultimately, I chose film at a last-minute switch, which meant I had to socialise and direct people. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone, It helped me believe I could have a successful career."

Joe had the bug for film directing and decided to pursue a career in film, but after university finished, his anxiety reared its head again: "After finishing university, I experienced a dark, depressed period which lasted for more than two years. 

"Most of the time, I didn't want to get out of bed."

A filming project working with stand-up comedians further inspired Joe.

He said: "I'd go to comedy gigs to film, but sometimes I'd think I would change a joke or say it slightly differently.

"I started imagining my own material and eventually writing it down, hoping to share my jokes one day. For a while, I felt like a closeted comedian. A friend pushed me to give it a go, so I first went on stage in December 2016 and absolutely loved it.

Thankfully, stand-up comedy helped to snap me out of it. When I'm on stage, there is nothing else to think about. I am completely focused and buzz off the crowd. Getting well for my gigs was a big motivator."

While building his stand-up career, Joe was in a long-term relationship from 2014 until the couple broke up in August 2023. The end of the relationship forced him to take stock and consider how he wanted his life to look going forward.

Joe decided it was time to start saying yes: "I had to revalue my life and thought I had let anxiety take so much from me. I felt like I'd never done anything cool because I was always so scared. I was always working and prioritising gigs and my career over everything. That made me happy. When it came to trying something  new, I was too scared to mess up or look stupid. That was the anxiety still in me. But after all those years, I finally learnt that the truth is.... No one cares!"

Joe's first yes was a flight to Belfast for the day with a friend on September 19th, 2023, to experience it first-hand.

He said: "I waited for my anxiety to build and for the fear to come, but actually, it was fine. I liked flying. I realised I had let it build up in my mind so much that I never even wanted to try it. This helped in my quest to try as many new things as possible."

After that, the world was his oyster. Joe took the shortest flight in the world to the Orkney Islands and documented it for a social media experiment.

He flew for just one minute and 14 seconds in a tiny plane that only held six people.

He said: "After that experience, commercial flights were no problem.

"I decided to expand my horizons when it came to work, and I took a job on a cruise ship in October 2023."

Joe got his passport and flew to Italy to start his first cruise. Since then he has visited 18 countries including: America, Spain, Italy, Namibia, South Africa, Sweden, Portugal, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Antiqua & Barbuda, Mexico, the Bahamas and more.

Joe added: "People say travelling is good for the soul, and I am loving the experiences, but sometimes I still get some of the old annoying and anxiety-inducing moments but just due to the delays, taking wrong turns into bad neighbourhoods and saying the wrong things. (You can find out more about these in my show).

"I went to Monkey Island in the Dominican Republic, and an aggressive squirrel monkey urinated on me four times. That's right, not once, FOUR times. I remember just staring ahead at this fantastic view, wondering if this was real life and why my back was so hot and wet. But I'm so proud of myself for all the new experiences I've said yes to and how far I've come in the last ten months."

Joe's new show is about everything he has learned in the last year: "In the show, I will talk about moving on after your route in life has been diverted and dealing with the feeling of being completely lost. After being in a relationship with someone for ten years and never expecting at the age of 32 to experience single life again.

"I’m new to dating apps, travel, new fears and going to the gym for the first time - where I felt like a fragile dweeb compared to every other guy that goes. I hate it! “

"Ultimately, I want the show's message to be that you can move on after heartbreak. I hope the show gives a positive outlook that says you may one day feel lost after your route was diverted, but you also might find the right path that leads to where you were supposed to be."

Joe McTernan is at the Edinburgh Fringe with his new show: Lost. He plays the Underbelly from July 31 - August 26. Tickets and details here.