An occasional blog on topics related to my work. For a behind-the-scenes look, subscribe to my Patreon page.
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I first published this piece in 2016 as an evergreen article which I’ll update as, well, life goes on. The latest updates were made in March 2022. My location-independent journey as a digital nomad began before it had a name. It was 2007, I was 23, and I’d set off on a bicycle to explore the world. I sold everything I couldn’t carry, and with £3,500 in the bank and 750 Euros in my pocket I set forth towards an uncertain future. For context, the iPhone was yet to be invented, free public WiFi was unheard of, and Instagram didn’t exist. Homeless and unemployed, I cycled across…
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How To Start A Travel Blog (And 8 Good Reasons To Make The Effort)
Because this article will later become quite detailed, here’s the super-quick version of how easy it is to start a brand new travel blog: Visit WordPress.com. Enter your new site address, click Create Website, and follow the simple on-screen instructions. You’re in! Create a new Page, title it ‘About Me’, write a short introduction to yourself, upload a selfie and hit Publish. Create a new Post. Say hello, write a paragraph about why you’ve started the blog, and then another paragraph about the topics you’re going to be blogging about. Hit Publish. Post a link to your new blog to your Facebook friends…
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8 Adventure & Travel Projects I’d Start Right Now (Given Unlimited Time, Money & Resources)
After a challenging 2015, I’m taking a one-month break to assess my direction for the coming year. And the outlook is pleasantly clear, thanks to the trail-building project I wrote about in my last post. It’s not just the idea to build Armenia’s first long-distance hiking route that’s got me excited. A good measure of an idea’s timeliness is when it aligns naturally with similar ideas. And as soon as I began to talk about it, other hiking projects surfaced within Yerevan’s more forward-thinking circles. There’s even a group of people planning exactly the same thing in neighbouring Georgia. In November, I floated the idea to the British adventure…
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What If You Lived In A Place Where Adventure Didn’t Exist?
It is easy to make a living from adventure in the UK. The industry is established and growing. Work opportunities are replete. Job boards are filled with placements; gear and apparel retailers are multiplying; adventure tourism has rarely been more popular. And if the idea of employment doesn’t float your boat, you can simply become a self-employed adventurer by following these ten easy steps. The point is this: whatever you might choose to do in the adventure scene, it will be possible primarily because of the fact that there exists an adventure scene to be part of. Now, imagine –…
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Three Continents, Two Films, One Book, And A Failed Expedition – My 2015 In Review
31st December 2014. I hand over the keys to my landlord, sling my worldly possessions over my shoulder, and walk through the streets of Bristol to the railway station, bound for London. Any year that begins with becoming homeless, I think, is destined to be memorable. This evening, I will gatecrash two house parties, stay up all night, and drink too much mulled wine (fortified with brandy, I will later discover, which explains much). I will then collect sufficient initiative to stagger – still carrying said worldly possessions – from West Hampstead across London to Paddington, whereupon I will collect my bike from where I…
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Turns Out Iran As The Next Big Travel Destination Is Already Old News
“Wow – Iran looks amazing!” It’s really, really lovely to hear this reaction from viewers of Karun. It is exactly the reaction I’d hoped for, ever since my idea to make a travel documentary in Iran was born. Best of all, it is a natural reaction. We designed the adventure loosely to let Iran and the Iranians we met speak for themselves. They did. That’s what’s elicits the “wow”. However, it is possible that by waiting so long (I’ve been visiting Iran annually since 2008) and then investing so much time in making the film (nearly two years at the time of…
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The State of Adventure Film: The War of Art & Money at Kendal Mountain Festival 2015
A couple of weekends ago saw the 2015 edition of Kendal Mountain Festival, which started with a bunch of mates in the back room of a Lakeland pub and is now the most well-known celebration of mountain culture, outdoor sports and adventure in the UK. Its remit is broad: while climbing, mountaineering and other activities involving large chunks of rock are strongly represented, there’s plenty of space for more horizontal pursuits like paddling, surfing, cycling, skiing, walking, and what have you. In fact, as long as it involves getting out there – out of the house, out of the city, out…
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5 Fun & Easy Ways To Spread The Word About #KarunFilm (In Ascending Order Of Effectiveness)
If there’s one time an indie adventure filmmaker needs to reach out and ask for help from his or her supporters, it’s when a film is released – which in the case of Karun: Misadventures on Iran’s Longest River is right now. Films like this live or die by word of mouth. Leon and I have been fortunate to have received lots of this over the last two weeks from people who’ve seen the film, either by downloading it or at one of the many screenings we’ve had around the UK. But we need to sustain this momentum on the interwebs throughout the festive…
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Early Reactions To The Revelation That Iran Isn’t The Place People Think It Is
I don’t often use the word ‘crazy’ or any of its synonyms, for fear of offending the genuinely insane. But the last few days have been very much a psychological minefield, simultaneously launching Karun: Misadventures On Iran’s Longest River, doing podcast interviews, switching continents (again) from Armenia to the UK, presenting at the Royal Geographical Society, fulfilling Kickstarter rewards for 665 people all over the world, and finding time to catch up with friends in London. I head north tomorrow for Kendal Mountain Festival this weekend, at which Karun is being screened no less than 7 times; followed by a week…
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Axis Of Evil – Or The Friendliest Place On Earth?
Mention in conversation that you’re planning on travelling to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and you will typically get one of two responses: 1. Concern or pity that you have clearly just signed your own death warrant; that you will, upon arrival in Iran, either be swiftly beheaded in public, or disappear from the face of this world altogether or 2. Excitement or perhaps even jealousy that you are visiting one of the most hospitable nations a traveller might be fortunate enough to visit, and that you will have an absolute whale of a time doing so. OK, a mild…