Meet the Team

Will Hatton

Founder & Chief Adventurer

The original Broke Backpacker, Will has been on the road for ten years. He is passionate about real adventures, freedom and entrepreneurship.

An SEO ninja and a system building guru, Will is data and results-driven. With an inability to sit still, Will is usually found either high up a mountain or deep in a new project.   Will is currently living in Bali with Chimmigi and Kiki, his much-loved dogs. In 2021, Will’s first Tribal Hostel (a digital nomad coworking hostel) will be opening in Bali.

Clair Rickets

Superstar PA

Endlessly patient, Clair is a font of wisdom and humour when trying to figure out how the hell we’re going to pull stuff off. A logistics superstar and admin goddess, Clair helps keep everything moving on Epic Backpacker Tours and runs a lot of the behind the scenes stuff of the blog.

Clair is enjoying her newfound freedom and traveling as much as possible. She splits her time between her two homes – England and Australia – by visiting pretty much everywhere in-between. She was last seen somewhere in Thailand.

Ralph Cope

Creative Lead & Guide

Ralph enjoys visiting the lesser-known landscapes of the world and has ended up in some pretty strange and wonderful places. Recently, he spent eight months travelling around Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Ralph is our resident photography guru and puts together some of the best photography resources on the web – period.

Ralph is currently the creative lead at The Broke Backpacker and moonlights as a tour guide with Epic Backpacker Tours. When he is not tinkering with the website, he is usually on some new adventure. He plans on leading new tours in Kyrgyzstan in 2020.

Chris Lininger

Tour Operator & Contributor

Chris is an adventurer, guide, and photographer from California. For the last nine years, Chris has been seeking out every shade of adventure in various parts of the globe.

He is an experienced trekking guide with a passion for facilitating the discovery of new cultures, landscapes, outdoor experiences, and food.

Making coffee above 5,000 meters ranks as one of his favorite activities.

For him, an ideal start of the day begins with the beam of a headlamp, alpine boots, and a camera in hand – which is why Chris manages all things backpacking gear on the blog.

Chris is also co-founder and manager of Epic Backpacker Tours. When he’s not organizing and leading tours in the likes of Pakistan, he’s out researching new destinations – writing and photographing for the blog as he goes.

Aiden Freeborn

Brand Manager & Editor

Aiden and Will first met in Venezuela in 2016. Their shared adventures include trips to Pakistan, India, Bali and… Crawley.

When not (terribly) DJing Psytrance, Aiden is an explorer of uncharted countries and under-rated museums. As a master negotiator, Aiden represents TBB with brands.

Art Patterson

Apprentice and right-hand man

This guy was found wandering & confused in the hill country of South America. Now Art is an SEO and content scaling guru… We’re almost certain his power is derived from his hair – do you know anyone who has locks like those?

Art can be found in Bali for the near future. You’ll likely see him in a cafe, ordering round after round of V60 pour-overs. We let him, though, because all that caffeine high is lovingly channeled into The Broke Backpacker. In 2021, Art will be spearheading the growth of several exciting new ventures…

Ziggy Samuels

Semi-Professional Dirtbag

Still confused as to exactly how he landed this gig (as we all are), Ziggy writes location guides, gear guides, and tales of grand adventure for The Broke Backpacker.

Ziggy excels at finding the tastiest of spliffs, the yummiest of local food, and the people as weird as he is. These days, he doesn’t really live anywhere but sometimes visits his home in Oz for a mum-cooked meal and boogiez wit’ da boiz.

One moment you’re smoking a joint on a mountain in Japan and the next your boss is screaming: “Zigz, get off your ass! Sri Lanka’s waiting. Do some epic shit and write about it.”

Carryn Beard

Editor

An adventurer and backpacker at heart, Carryn is a South African living in Bali. When she’s not working (hard), she’s updating her bucket list with epic adventures and enjoys hiking, scuba diving and exploring off-the-beaten track destinations.

Carryn has spent the past few years traveling around Asia and eating her way through the delicious local cuisine. Speaking of food, her favorites include Dak-galbi from Korea and if there one thing she misses, it’s a good old’ South African braai!

Lu Frey

Editor

Lu Frey is a Crossfit freak from Germany – usually found dying in the gym, working on the computer, or watching cooking shows on Netflix.

Currently living in Bali, Lu has (successfully) been escaping “real life” and university for the last two years. As the most antisocial person in Bali, she only comes out of her home if there’s good food, close friends, a hard workout, or amazing music involved.

Renz

Virtual Assistant Empire-Builder

When she’s not poring over Broke Backpacker content with her all-important critical eye, you might see Renz at one of her favourite cafes plotting just how she’d make this cheesecake ten times damn better!

Living in ever-bustling Manila, Renz is tempted out of the house for quieter activities such as concerts, cinema, and downtown people-watching. Renz plans world domination through a chain of stores showcasing her boutique baked cheesecakes and other goodies. Her love for Korean TV dramas cannot be understated.

Bernadetth

VA & Spreadsheet Sorcerer

Bernadetth is a legit hustler, handling spreadsheets, numbers, content and images like a 7th-year wizard! Ever the optimist and ever the introvert, her most inspired moments are spent at mountain peaks.

Bernadetth calls the rural areas outside Manila her home. She’s a big-city girl with aspirations of settling down on some land to build an apiary and a personal library.

For now, you’ll find her busy tending her small garden frequented by wild bees.