We Are Explorers Has a New Owner (Don’t Worry, It’s Good News!)

After 12 years at the helm, Founder Henry Brydon has handed over We Are Explorers to Aussie independent outdoor media company Adventure Entertainment.

Big news hey? I debated how to share it. Was it too businessy? Wouldn’t you rather be reading about hikers up to their waist in mud and bikepacking odysseys through the desert? Does our ownership matter?

I reckon it does, especially for a B-Corp that’s remained fiercely independent through all of the challenges of modern media.

When Henry started this thing back in 2014 he was running on the pure stoke of a few tasty adventures. It was infectious, spiralling into a company that’s raised money to plant trees in the Snowies, buy and protect rainforest in the Daintree, and restore seagrass off the coast of Sydney.

We also ran ExplorerFest last year, which saw us spend three days with hundreds of people hiking, trail running, kayaking, sauna-ing, dancing, and watching rad outdoor films together on the NSW coast. It was the culmination of over a decade of We Are Explorers, and we would really like to do it again.

Throughout it all we shared inspiring stories from the outdoors, supported by the legendary writers, photographers, and videographers in the Explorer Project. We worked with brands from Patagonia to Tourism Tassie, while always avoiding compromising our values by advertising for the big banks, fossil fuel, and gambling companies.

We Are Explorers has always tried to do the right thing by people and nature, and we’re all nature lovers at heart

Sounds pretty great, so why’s Henry sold it?

Well, for those who don’t know the lore, Henry’s actually English, and he famously rode from London to Sydney to kick off his life in Aus. Once here, he couldn’t believe the amount of adventure on his doorstep and started sharing it, which kicked off the whole We Are Explorers project.

Fast forward to 2024 and he was living in Mullumbimby with his wife Susi (also English) and his two kids. But the call of the motherland was growing stronger. It was time.

For two years, Henry’s run the company from a little cottage in the west of England, while I held down the fort on the ground as the Managing Director and Publisher. It worked – we’ve done some of our best stuff to date in the last two years, but long distance relationships are hard.

Much more of this is on the cards for WAE’s Founder

The time difference to England is horrid, especially during daylight savings and it was eating into our work life balance. The We Are Explorers team all works from home, we don’t have an office, and if you’re not strict with it the lines start to blur. It’s no secret that’s it’s been a tough year financially, and the team is now smaller than it once was, but when you can’t even leave that stress at work, or share a beer with your team because they’re 17,000km away, no amount of optimism can change the facts.

So he shopped around for the perfect home.

Our New Owners: Adventure Entertainment

Adventure Entertainment probably don’t need an introduction. They’re the company behind some of the best outdoor print mags in Australia, including Wild, Australian Mountain Bike, Vertical Life, Great Walks, Trail Run, and half a dozen more. 

Say hello to our new roomies!

They’re also behind film tours like Mountainfilm On Tour, Reel Rock, the Women’s Adventure Film Tour, Run Nation, and Warren Miller’s Sno-Ciety. If you love the outdoors in Aus, you’ve almost definitely interacted with something Adventure Entertainment has put together.

As far as homes go, it doesn’t get more perfect. We Are Explorers has always been a digital publisher, with large followings on Facebook and Instagram, a super engaged mailing list reading Trailhead and Unpacked every week, and some pretty big numbers on the website too. 

Adventure Entertainment sees where we sit in outdoor culture and values it highly. They’re also independent, and this sale is all about continuing on the We Are Explorers mission, and levelling each other up in the process.

Oh and while Henry’s leaving to go exploring Eurostyle, the rest of the team is continuing on. That’s myself as Managing Editor, Jack Brookes as Head of Brand & Community, Ella Garbett as Head of Sales, and Julia Aebi in the Senior Campaign Producer Role. That all sounded rather businessy, so here’s a pic of us formally dressed to match:

Anyway, you’ve already read too much about this, but safe to say that we’re all stoked and absolutely pumped for what we can do together. Oh and if you love your local outdoor mag, film tour, store, or website be sure to let them know, share their content, and buy tickets, subscriptions and gear to keep them going.

Feature photo by Daygin Prescott