Why Have a Website?

My job is entirely online, so it makes sense to back it up with a platform that gives official information about me, my YouTube channel, and my life. In a world where AI needs to pull information from reliable sources, it’s also more important than ever to have an official online presence separate from YouTube.

But this is only half the story. The main inspiration for this website is to give something back. I’ve been uploading videos since 2019 and it’s grown into something I’m incredibly proud of. Right here, I’ll be sharing my experiences on everything from idea generation to filming, editing, travelling, and more. And just like my videos, it will all be available to you completely free of charge.

If you happen to start your own YouTube journey inspired by what I do, I couldn’t be happier. In fact the bigger your channel grows, the better it is for us all. I always view fellow creators as colleagues rather than competition. The more people watching YouTube, the more successful the platform becomes. That’s a win for everyone, and long may it continue.

Whatever brings you here, thank you for dropping by!

Background

Funnily enough, until I was 19-years-old, travel was the last thing on my mind. If you had given an 18-year-old me a big wedge of cash and I’d have been more likely buy a car than a plane ticket.

Then everything changed.

I randomly picked up a job working for Thomas Cook on Princes Street, Edinburgh. Quite why they gave me a job is beyond me, maybe they saw some youthful enthusiasm. I quickly discovered that retail travel wasn’t for me, and it certainly wasn’t as glamorous as I’d expected. It was highly sales-orientated; customers were referred to as ‘heads’ in the industry. And 99% of those heads were looking for a beach holiday. Something I had zero interest in.

But that was upstairs.

Downstairs in the basement of that travel agency (which I believe is a shoe shop these days) was the Flight Centre. Getting a shift down there quickly became my daily target. As soon as I learned how to actually use the airline booking systems (Sabre, I do not miss you), I was hooked.

Back then it was like a foreign language, as far removed from the modern method of booking flights online as you could imagine. Everything was in code and none of it intuitive. If you think choosing a seat on a plane or requesting a special meal is straightforward now, you clearly haven’t used those old booking systems!

Yet, selling seats to far-flung destinations came much easier to me than plonking someone on a beach in the Costa del Sol. I became fascinated by where these people were going. I’d spend my breaks in the stock-room, flicking through brochures full of colourful, faraway places, dreaming of booking myself onto one of those flights. That’s how the spark was lit, and the flame is still burning bright to this day.

My Travel Industry (and professional) Experience:

Thomas Cook Retail & Bureau de Change (Edinburgh)

Budget Car Rental (and the ‘overseas experience’, Auckland, New Zealand)

National Van and Car Rental (Edinburgh)

American Express Business Travel (Edinburgh)

Hilton Hotels (Edinburgh)

Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (Language Course, Salamanca, Spain)

Napier University (Languages and Marketing 1st Class Honours, Edinburgh)

Edinburgh Playhouse (Front-of-house and Marketing)

Edinburgh Leisure (Marketing)

YouTube Launch (2019)

A Quick Disclaimer: I know this bit looks like it’s been ripped straight from a CV! But people genuinely do ask about my background, so I wanted to lay it all out here.

The Catalyst to Change

When the time came to leave Thomas Cook, it wasn’t for another desk job; it was for an adventure. Funnily enough, the true inspiration for my destination didn’t come from a travel brochure. It came from a TV quiz show.

Who remembers Busman’s Holiday? I was obsessed with it. The furthest destination on the show that caught my eye was Auckland. It sounded incredibly exotic, even though I knew next to nothing about the city or the rest of New Zealand. In the days before the internet, this was often how life-changing decisions were made. Research wasn't a thing for me, I went purely on instinct. Decision made, work visa obtained, and a round-the-world flight booked.

I arrived on a freezing day in 1997, totally shattered and without much of a clue (not much has changed there, I hear you say). I was the first person in my circle of friends to do anything like this, but for Kiwis, it was a rite of passage. They even had a name for it: their "OE" (overseas experience).

I was certain my time abroad would just be something to get out of my system before returning home to a ‘normal’ life. Little did I know that the buzz of travel would never actually wear off. Here we are, decades later, still exploring with the same curiosity and childlike excitement as ever (just a bit more tired and sore these days).

That wanderlust eventually led me to Spain to live and learn the language, before returning to the UK to pick up various travel industry roles to fund my passion. From National Car Hire to American Express Business Travel (I quite liked that one), I was always dreaming of the next big adventure.

So, when you watch one of my videos today, you’re looking at a snapshot of what I’ve been doing for most of my adult life anyway, long before I ever picked up a camera. Maybe that’s why it feels so natural to me, and I hope it comes across that way on screen. While I’ll never label myself an expert, that industry background occasionally peeks through in my vlogs, even if my mistakes generally get more views!

What on EARTH Made Me Start a YouTube Channel?

These days, plenty of people are cutting the cord with traditional television, but Alicja and I didn't even own a TV. She was the one who introduced me properly to YouTube. Being from Poland, British television didn't appeal to her anyway, so YouTube was the perfect alternative. Even in those few short years, it has completely transformed the entertainment landscape.

I started out watching early adopters like Casey Neistat and Bald and Bankrupt. Travel and transport were always my specific niches, so creators like Noel Philips and Paul Lucas quickly found a permanent spot on my subscription list. These guys were highly relatable and made filmmaking look incredibly easy. When you see a regular bloke posting videos online, the natural thought is: I could do that too!

Of course, it doesn’t take long to realise it’s not quite that simple.

But everyone has to start somewhere, and that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t rush out to buy fancy equipment; I just used a half-decent phone and a camera I already owned for stills photography. I spent an evening playing around with the video functions in our flat, watched a few tutorials on how to use iMovie, and got to work. I’ve been using iMovie ever since.

The First Filming Trip

I booked a Loganair flight and headed off on my first-ever filming trip. There was no dummy run, I went straight into making a video, and it remains on my channel to this day. I never delete old content, even if looking back at it makes me cringe a bit.

That first trip didn’t exactly go to plan. I remember finishing my intro outside, walking into the Aberdeen Airport terminal, and bumping straight into a police officer who wanted a chat.

Officer: ‘Why are you filming?’

Me: ‘I’m making my first-ever YouTube video!’

I was completely honest from the start, and I think he felt a bit sorry for me. You quickly learn to swallow your pride in this line of work. To this day, it still feels a bit ridiculous talking to a camera for a living.

But here we are, and I’m so glad I ended up doing something I love. Before I started YouTube, I had ‘jobs’. I never considered anything I did as a career. I’ve never been busier than I am now, but when it’s your own thing, it makes it so much easier.

Let’s rewind a bit further back…

The final image on this page shows Steve the 80s kid :) Back then overseas travel wasn’t even a thing in my family. We would load up the (always too small car) go on holiday every year to Gairloch, Wester Ross. Rain or shine, it didn’t matter. We always knew after an uncomfortable journey, we’d be sitting back to watch my Dad struggle to pitch the old tent. None of that modern rubbish, oh no, who wants an easy start to their holiday.

Looking back, I barely left Scotland until I was 19-years-old. That was on a British Airways 747 to San Francisco. But the best memories come from those jaunts up to the Scottish Highlands. Simpler times, how did we even fill our days? Oh and see that Baffin Bay hoodie? I remember it being my absolute favourite, wore it pretty much every day. At the time I had no idea where Baffin Bay even was, but to this day it’s there on the bucket list. I wish I could find the exact same hoodie but in size XL. If it happens, we’re going! And we’re taking you with us :)