Posted on January 23, 2012 by Fiona Hilliard

 

 

Wait. Before you recoil in horror, by ‘ugly’ we mean:

• Utterly
• Gifted
• Lucrative
• Young

Travel Bloggers.

So, as you can see, any travel blogger appearing on this list should feel honoured. That includes you:

1.    Melvin Boecher

2.    Brendan van Son

3.    Matthew Kepnes

4.    Anil Polat

5.    Paul Steele

So who are these UGLY guys anyway?

They are the true action heroes of the blogging world, tirelessly tearing across the planet to uncover the most captivating destinations and sharing their amazing stories and beautiful photography with the adventure-starved public. AND they’re making money along the way. Let’s take a closer look at the fab five…

 

 

 

 

 

1.    Melvin Boecher:  Not content with running the highly successful travel tipster community traveldudes.org, the dynamic Melvin chairs the fantastic #TTOT (that’s Travel Talk on Twitter) every Tuesday.  If you haven’t had a chance to join in the fun yet, set your alarm clock for 9.30 am (GMT) on Tuesday morning or 9.30pm (GMT), Tuesday night and get involved in the week’s most heated and entertaining travel discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.    Brendan van Son: What we like most about his Brendan’s Adventures blog is its honesty.  There’s no doubting that Canadian–born Brendan is a talented writer who paints stunning pictures with words. But when words can’t convey the beauty he sees, he brings the scenery to life for us with his spectacular photography. For the 9 to 5 desk-bound, his lifestyle is definitely enviable.  The fact that he funds his travel via his website and professionally produced calendars is all the more impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.    Matthew Kepnes: Nomadic Matt, as he’s more commonly known, is something of an icon within the self-financed travel blogging community. According to his own admission, he pays for his travels completely through his writing (with a few online ads and sponsorship deals thrown in). A book, “How to Travel the World on $50 a Day” is the latest lucrative money-spinner dreamt up by the Boston native.

 

 

 

 

 

4.    Anil Polat: The wily Foxnomad learnt all the tricks of the trade during his 6-year career as a professional computer hacker. He’s now on a mission to visit every country in the world and is funding his journey via his Foxnomad website. The tagline on Anil’s website reads “travel smarter”, something Anil has definitely perfected over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

5.    Paul Steele: Also known as The Bald Hiker, happy-go-lucky Paul hails from North West England and is something of a travel media machine. When not writing about his outdoor adventures, he is photographing his surroundings or tweeting about his latest challenge. He will soon be launching ‘Bald Hiker Weekends’, a travel company offering hosted hiking trips to suit all abilities. We struggle to keep up!