Your Questions, Answered
(This section will continue to grow as I get more questions, so ask away!)
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I was born in Glasgow, but grew up all around Scotland, moving with my Dad’s job. I’ve also lived abroad, most notably Auckland New Zealand and Salamanca Spain. Most of my adult life was spent in Edinburgh though.
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I upload on Saturdays at 10am (UK time). Occasionally, a ‘midweek’ video will appear on a Tuesday morning, but this is just a bonus, don’t be getting used to it :)
Top tip: hit the bell icon on my channel to be notified of new videos, random uploads at any time of day/week have been known to appear!
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That’s Alicja, my partner. She has come more and more into the channel as the years have passed! We both do occasional solo adventures too, but life is always better with Alicja by my side :)
The most frequent question I am asked is ‘how did you two meet’? It was nothing ground-breaking, just through work in Edinburgh. Sorry to dampen any wild speculation :D
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You’d be surprised how often I get this question! I think it stems from jealousy for what people see on screen, but it would be naive to believe these filming trips are holidays.
Not for a moment would I complain about the career path I’ve taken, but the truth is we haven’t been on a proper holiday since the channel started. It’s work. And that answers another question about spending so little time at destination. It’s all about capturing what we have to and then moving on to the next video shoot.
A lot of work goes into every video you see on screen. 99% of it is behind the scenes. But in truth, if someone thinks the final edit looks like a ‘holiday’, I take it as a backhanded compliment, it means I’ve been successful in my editing.
If this was an easy job, and we just got ‘paid to go on holiday’, I’d ask why don’t more people do it? I have no discernible talent, I just picked up a camera one day and went for it. It’s been a long road with a lot of hard work, so I deserve what I’ve built over so many years.
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I love hearing from you, but I get so many messages, it can be difficult to reply personally to even a small percentage.
Top tip: I always try to be at my computer when a video is released, so between 10am and midday on a Saturday is your best bet to get a speedy reply to a comment on my videos!
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I’m delighted to say yes it is. But it certainly didn’t happen overnight. Uploading videos was just a hobby for years while I still worked a regular 9-5. As my channel grew, I was able to first go part-time at my work, and then eventually I took the plunge and became a full-time content creator. Do I recommend this career path? Yes I do, but be prepared for it to take over your whole life!
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I keep things as simple as possible. A GoPro, my phone, and iMovie on my MacBook. I’ll go into more detail here on the website when I get the chance. But remember, making videos is not about having the best equipment, it’s more about where you point it!
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It varies month to month, but in general yes. Enough for it to be my job, while still funding the constant stream of filming missions. The travel genre isn’t cheap, so every single trip has to be budgeted as an asset of the business. If I don’t break even, I have a problem!
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It can be for many reasons, but most of my videos are not time-sensitive anyway, so it doesn’t affect the core message of the content. If something is time-sensitive, I’ll do my best to rush it out.
I prefer to get my edits right though and put a lot of time into them. Every video also has to fit into the upload schedule, and I still have all the responsibilities of a normal everyday life. On that subject, it can be smart to have a backlog of content in case of illness etc to keep the Saturday videos coming without a gap!
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It’s the only way to be able to bring you free-to-watch content. Ad revenue is my main source of income and funding of trips. You’ll notice though I don’t use mid-roll ads. Every creator has the option to turn them off, and even though they could increase my income by up to 35%, I will never switch them on. My decision is based totally on your viewing experience.
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It’s impossible to answer this one I’m afraid, I’d be changing my mind every week! The best I can do is to say ‘somewhere new’. You can’t beat the excitement of setting foot in a new destination. But as I get older, long-haul trips become less appealing. Even though there is a whole world out there, it’s a case of ‘the closer the better’ :)
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99.9% of the time, yes. As of writing this, I have never been offered anything for free, or so much as a discount! If I do get an offer from a company that aligns well with my channel, I will of course consider it, as it would give me the opportunity to share it with you. Disclosure is the most important thing though, legally and morally, so if it does happen, you’ll know about it!
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No way, every trip adds something to my travel experience. There are, of course, places I didn’t particularly enjoy. And they can be a surprise, like Kiruna in Sweden or Rovaniemi in Finland, towns I thought I’d love but where the actual experience fell a bit flat. And weather can impact a place too - I don’t really like anywhere too hot, not least because mosquitoes love my blood!
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Aside from the absolute essentials, it has to be noise cancelling headphones/earbuds. And I think we all know why!
My deep answer though is ‘low expectations’. The more you build a place up in anticipation, the bigger the chance it will disappoint!
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Never is the honest answer! There is always a bit of trepidation pulling the camera out, especially vlogging in tight public spaces. From experience, the further I am from home, the more comfortable I am with it, based on the fact I’ll never see these people again. But I am generally a bit of an anxious person, so it never gets easier.
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We loved our Toyota Proace! It was a project, a place to stay, so much more than just a van. And in a perfect world it’d still be parked outside to this day. But then came LEZ - ‘low emmison zones’. I was caring for my Dad at the time, and it wasn’t practical as my only vehicle for the things I needed to do and the places I needed to go. So I had to find a daily drive instead, hence our little Yaris! (Which will also be a lot more handy for Alicja when she passes her test).
When I sold the van, it was to someone in London. So imagine my surprise about a year ago to see it randomly passing through Montrose as I went to the shops. The little roof vent still spinning like a dog wagging its tail. I’m not going to lie - it was an emotional moment!
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It’s the nature of the travel genre. With a weekly upload schedule, it’s all about the video, getting it filmed, edited, packaged up, and then moving onto the next one. I pride myself on the variety of content I bring you, so spending too long in a single destination is counterproductive.
I do of course enjoy spending longer at destination when I can, but that’s more holiday/vacation mode. When it’s work, it has to be more fast-paced.
I would
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This is actually a cornerstone of the channel and it’s how I have always travelled, but it has more impact now than ever before. I would rather share the emotion and reaction of discovering somewhere for the first time, than learning too much about it before I get there. It also builds the anticipation of a trip not knowing what’s coming, and that feeds my natural curiosity.
I will always skim-research before I go, just incase! But this tends to be with websites like Atlas Obscura to find places a bit more, well, obscure. And any research in advance is more about finding a hook for the video than the place itself.
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I’m not 100% sure where it all started, but it was an expensive baseball cap and I can remember it almost blowing away once on camera. Both me and some of my viewers have become more attached to it ever since!
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I don’t really like the idea of advertising products on my channel, and unless it’s something I genuinely use and love already, I doubt I’d be open to it.
In terms of being offered a free trip/stay etc by a company? Again, not something I’d get into the habit of doing, but if it’s an opportunity to do something out of my budget that aligns well with the channel and my interests, then absolutely. It would be silly to turn down. An example would be The Falklands. If their tourism office offered me a free trip, I’d bite their hand off. As long as it’s not editorially restricted of course. And I always look at it in this way: if I can share something with my viewer I wouldn’t have the opportunity to otherwise, then it’s a win for us both!
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The opportunities it provides. I’ve been there day-dreaming at my desk in a corporation for too many years of my life. So having the time and motivation to travel is something I have earned, and I’ll enjoy it while I can. And being able to share it all with Alicja is just the icing on the cake!
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I’d say all the admin that comes with it. As the channel grows, so does the responsibility. Tax returns, emails, spreadsheets, Ltd companies, etc etc. Thank goodness Alicja is good at all this stuff, otherwise I’d be lost. It’s not what you sign up for but it’s an unavoidable complication in the YouTube journey!
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GoPro 12 × 2 black with MediaMod
Enduro batteries x 7
iPhone 17 Pro Max (1TB)
14 inchMacBook M4 Pro 24GB memory (iMovie for editing)
AirPods Pro 3
Patagonia Black Hole Duffel
These are the items I use the most. I carry a spare GoPro just incase I get stranded with a misfiring one.
Seven batteries is overkill, but it’s good for overnighters without recharging opportunities.
The iPhone 17 was bought out of necessity. Honestly? I don’t see much difference from my trusty 13 Pro Max.
My MacBook is decent, but I wouldn’t go any lower in spec for editing 4K.
I have a love/hate relationship with iMovie, but it does what I need it to do for now anyway.
AirPods Pro 3 are excellent all-round. The noise cancelling is amazing for something so small. I did just order Bose Quietcomfort Ultras 2nd gen earbuds to try too, we’ll see how they are.
I have many many backpacks for every occasion. The Patagonia Black Hole is by far the most comfortable and practical :)
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99.9% of comments are good. Well, the actual number is more like 99.6%, but that’s still pretty good. So I just remind myself, I’m doing alright! And the key is to just block anyone who is rude, judgemental, mean, aggressive, threatening or personally abusive.
Alicja put it much better than me:
‘See your channel like your home, and you are inviting people in. If someone is horrible to you, what would you do? That’s right, show them the door and don’t invite them back.’
Well said Alicja!
Don’t think because it’s online that it’s okay for people to abuse you. It’s not and it never will be.