The Explorer Project, the beating heart of We Are Explorers, is now able to pay for all articles. You bloody ripper!

On our Explorer Project page there’s a quote:

‘We Are Explorers was built by the Explorer Project.’

And we stand by it. The Explorer Project is the beating heart of the website. Frothers from all over have contributed articles, from microadventures to hearty doses of inspo, all stoking a special community of people who are living life differently.

But here’s the thing. We Are Explorers isn’t your normal startup. There haven’t been any funding rounds and there definitely haven’t been any suits talking about our growth potential – unless you count old mate in a wettie.

When Henry decided to quit his job and focus on We Are Explorers full-time, he did so because he believed in the power of the outdoors, and that it should be available to everyone. He knew from his years in the corporate meat grinder that getting the big end of town involved would mean one thing. Compromise.

 

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Building We Are Explorers

So we went our own way. We worked remotely. Henry moved to Mullumbimby to start a family, and crashed on my couch when he was in town. Ellie, one of our first employees, was living nomadically as a full-time house sitter. When the cafes with WiFi finally kicked us out, we’d work in random homes she was minding, from Palm Beach to the back of Bondi.

But even with these measures, we couldn’t have afforded to pay for everything we were posting. We’ve never made it a secret that We Are Explorers is a business, but it wasn’t feasible to start offering money for articles when sponsors were sporadic. We’re lucky that so many of you believed in us during those first few years.

It was always the goal to transition to paid articles – exposure doesn’t keep the lights on – and we’re thrilled that it’s finally a reality.

The Explorer Project Reborn

All the old perks of the Explorer Project are still there. The chance to join a rollicking group of adventurous creatives, review gear, attend exclusive events, work with a slew of well-known and respected brands, get exposure.

But now we’ve squirrelled away some funds for our articles, not just the ones that a brand’s helped out with. This lets us run our own articles, written and shot by creatives who deserve reimbursement for their work. It gives us the freedom to say what we want too – which is a tough thing to do on a website without a paywall, but something that we reckon is essential.

Don’t get us wrong, we know we’re not paying as much as Nat Geo (yet), but if you go on a microadventure, or string together a few articles after a weekend away, being an Explorer Project member will mean we put fuel in your tank, and beer in your belly.

 

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Feature photo by Adrian Mascenon