A short introduction

5 things about me, the publisher of Advanture Magazine

There is more behind the cover of Advanture Magazine than what I generally lead on. Each of those uncoated pages you turn is a result of two decades of trial and error. Even though today some 35-40k people follow the newsletter/Instagrams/print magazine, my career in both photography and magazines started four years before IG even started.

I genuinely am not sending this email to brag to you about my wins, as I can assure you there were some hard loses over the years.

However, I thought to share 5 things about me, the publisher of Advanture Magazine, that will help convey my love for print, authentic adventures and trying to carve out a story of my own in this chaotic world we are living in.

Kiteboarding over a dry lakebed, outside of Las Vegas circa 2008

1) I used to be a professional kiteboarder

Little Alex grew up in Gosport, a small town on the South Coast of England. At 16 I grasped the opportunity to fly to Oregon in the USA all by myself, to pursue my dream of becoming a professional kiteboarder. As the story goes, I ended up being paid money to ride on the land, snow and water. My sponsors flew me around the world between 2006-2009 to produce stories for magazines, and quite often I would travel around the USA on a 40ft RV tour bus from the kite company that supported me.

I’ve got so many amazing memories from this period of my life, but a top one would be riding down the side of volcanos in Hawaii as a stunt man for a Red Bull commercial.

Mascha and I lived in the Maldives for a year after we met

2) Meeting my partner in the Indian Ocean

Mascha and I met in the Maldives in early 2012. I was in my final year of University at the time, and went to produce a documentary film about coral reefs for my final project. I remember the day I pitched the project idea in class, receiving a few sniggers from both the students and teachers. Determined to prove that anything is possible, and wanting to get out of the boundary of a classroom, I made it happen and jetted away to the tropics one dreary winters day.

Little would I know that apart from discovering the wonderful underwater world of a coral reef, I’d meet the most interesting person of my life. Hidden away on some tiny island in Maldives was Mascha. She had formed her own NGO back home in Germany with the goal to help local communities on the front line of climate change. We’d stay up talking until the early hours of the morning discussing chasing dreams, seeking true adventure, tropical fish and global warming. That sort of girl, a man like me doesn’t let go.

Shortly after, we left the UK & Germany and have travelled the world together ever since.

Preparing coffee in an old VW T4, on a cold morning in Andorra

3) Life > career

I used to think success was my high paying corporate video production job. And living in a city. For years I worked as a digital video director/producer/cameraman/editor for the biggest brand names you can imagine. Everything from tech to banks. This bought me to Barcelona and I thought that success was building something in such a city for people to see and admire.

Now I work from my van. In the mountains.

She spotted squirrels in the Christmas Tree

4) My daughter

Cliché in the eyes of many, but starting a family was life changing. And let me tell you why.

We have a beautiful daughter who loves to be outside camping, exploring and chilling as much as we do. Before we became parents, the amount of people telling us how much life would change (i.e adventures/fun/dreams would stop) once Mascha gave birth was shocking.

That little girl spent more than 50% of her first year on this planet living on the road in our VW Camper. The bond we’ve all formed living in such a tiny space has been fantastic. We decreased our working hours and took huge pay cuts to spend time with her and with the true goal of growing a child to understand the values we have. And today at three years old, she’s running around at forest school in the Pyrenees mountains with an appreciation for nature like I have never witnessed a child having before.

Our life didn’t slow down one bit. We are only just getting started.

Bespoke cover art I had commissioned for issue 08

5) Advanture Magazine

Having now lived nomadically outside of the UK for 15 of my 18 years as an adult, we are now settled in the Spain. Today we live in the Pyrenees, which is where Advanture Magazine was born, but most importantly, enjoying a simple life.

Being transparent, selling a print magazine in this digital world is a real challenge. Too many people are drugged up on dopamine, enjoying that quick does of … nothing … on digital feeds.

Two things fuelled me to follow my dream to publish my own magazine.

Firstly, I refused to accept that my life would be spent mostly behind a computer as things became increasingly more digital. I had to create an opportunity for myself to feel true fulfilment. While the magazine is constructed on a computer, the nature of the story I seek out and the photography takes me far from one.

Secondly, the experience of print. Having been heavily published on the pages of kiteboarding magazines all around the world in a pre-social media era, I wanted to share that feeling with with more people and create a platform for them to tell their own story on. I always remember the day I walked into a WHSmiths back when I was 16, and found myself on the front cover of one of the magazines.

That kid would be damn proud if only he knew how long he’d actually keep the dream going.

See you on the road, Alex.