I have spent the vast majority of my life gathering information to give value to my followers. I have always wanted to share my knowledge and experience with the world, but this time I am making a serious go of it. My motivation is simple. I have wasted so much money and time learning the hard lessons. What’s more, I see other travellers doing all the same things while on the road.
I want people to learn from my mistakes and hopefully avoid making the same ones themselves. After all, it’s better to learn from someone else’s mistakes if you can, right?
So, who am I anyway?
I was born in the tranquil English village of Mistley in Essex, but it was far from a happy home. However, during my childhood, I harboured grand aspirations of becoming an archaeologist of all things. A passion that ignited after being enthralled by the adventures of Indiana Jones on the silver screen, because that’s what I thought Archiologists actually did for a living back then.
In my youthful imagination, I believed that this career would lead me on thrilling journeys filled with travel and enigmatic discoveries. However, as I grew older and gained a deeper understanding of what archaeologists really did for a living, I found it a whole lot less captivating if I’m honest, but my yearning for travel and adventure persisted.
I didn’t get the easiest start. Much of my childhood was spent moving through the English social care system, one children’s home to the next, never really having a place or a person to call my own.
But even in that uncertainty, one thing never left me: the pull of adventure. The kind you see in films, the kind that feels just out of reach. Those stories stayed with me, not as escape, but as something to aim for.
A fortunate change of Luck
Then everything shifted. I was moved to a place called The Small School at Red House in Norfolk — and for the first time, something felt different.
This wasn’t like any school I’d known. It was unconventional, immersive. The teachers lived alongside us, and more importantly, they cared.
But what truly changed everything was what happened beyond the classroom. We travelled to places like India working on charity projects in communities completely different from anything I’d experienced before. Those journeys didn’t just open my eyes… they reshaped how I saw the world.
They taught me two things I’ve carried ever since. First, that hardship exists on a scale I’d never understood, and it gave me a humbling sense of perspective. And second, that the world is vast, complex, and incredibly beautiful, and I wanted to see more of it.
There’s a saying that people travel because they don’t feel they belong where they are. For me, that rang true. And somewhere out there, I felt like I might just find where I did.
My First Time Travelling
In my early twenties, I finally leapt into solo travel, booking flights to Borneo, Thailand, and New Zealand with nothing but a passport and a restless sense of curiosity.
Looking back, I got a lot wrong. I wasted money, made mistakes, and figured things out the hard way. But none of that mattered; I was hooked. That was the moment travel stopped being an idea and became a way of life.
This was before social media, before blogs, before travel was at your fingertips. Planning was guesswork, and staying connected was even harder.
Postcards and letters were my only link home often arriving late… or not at all, leaving people to wonder where I’d ended up.
My goals with Earth Explorer Pro
You may be wondering why on earth I should listen to this Gary Mason fellow at all with so many other options out there? Well, most of my adult life has been dedicated to either saving money for travel or actively journeying across the globe while meticulously documenting my adventures. Needless to say, that’s a very long time indeed to refine my travelling skills. From my perspective, there’s nothing more rewarding than teaching someone how to explore the world, given its sheer magnificence.
My co-founder Jennifer and I didn’t create this to show off where we’ve been we built it to share it. Every film, every story is here to help you plan, experience, and capture your own adventures out in the world.
Travel can be costly, and it’s no secret that many of us have less expendable cash, but that does not stop us from wanting to live out our travel dreams.
My aim is simple: spend less, experience more. I’ve invested thousands into learning through travel, and now I’m here to pass that knowledge on. The tips, the shortcuts, the lessons all to help you get the absolute most out of every journey.
Travel is a skill, and like any skill, it needs to be learned. Get it right, and it’s life-changing. Get it wrong, and it can cost you far more than just money.
Today, with the internet at our fingertips, planning a journey has never been easier, but finding real value? That’s different. When I started out, guidebooks like Lonely Planet were everything and they’re still incredibly useful but this is about going further.
This platform has always been the goal: turning a passion for travel into something meaningful. Because done right, travel isn’t just a trip; it’s one of the most powerful, unforgettable experiences you can have.
Whether you’re just starting or you’ve been exploring for years, this is here to help you do it better with practical tips, hard-earned lessons, and insights designed to turn every journey into something truly memorable.
If you’re just here for the adventure, you can follow the journey as it unfolds, documentaries, real moments, and stories from the road over on our YouTube channel for Earth Explorer Pro.
Curious to learn more about Earth Explorer Pro? Visit our main page to discover who we are, what we do, and how you can explore the world with us.
