About Elliot
My name is Elliot,
I was born in the Summer of 1984, to a middle-class family in an average former mining town right in the very centre of the United Kingdom. Fun (and ever so slightly depressing) Fact; Nuneaton is so central that it’s impossible to get any further away from the ocean…
I’ve always been obsessed with travelling; As a child growing up, stuck deep inland on a cold European island, I used to regularly gaze in wonderment at a huge map of the world poster on my bedroom wall, and would always feel amazed and excited that, thanks to the then newly constructed Eurotunnel, I could technically drive a car or even walk all the way to Malaysia if I wanted to.
I never did get around to doing that particular trip (yet!), but it was clear that the seed of inspiration to travel the world had been implanted into my soul by forces unknown when I was at a very young age – and, like a cactus in the desert, it grew naturally and against the odds.
As mentioned earlier, I’ve always loved to travel, but my most significant major backpacking adventure happened in the summer of 2012, when I took a ‘short six-month sabbatical’ from my work to fulfil my dream of backpacking through India and South East Asia. I don’t want to bring out the clichés, but the trip was, literally and figuratively, life changing; It was here that I first experienced that unique feeling of total freedom and joy that only a backpacker could ever understand. I met incredible people, and I learned things about the world, about humanity, and about myself that completely shattered my whole perspective and gave me new eyes. It didn’t take long for the whole ‘short sabbatical’ idea to wither and die, and I didn’t hesitate for a second to hit send after I wrote out an email to my boss, explaining why I’d decided to quit. From that point, the onward journey would last for almost three years and span across more than a dozen countries. It was on this journey that I was to first meet Derek – a good friend and the co-founder of Atlas Footprint. I was also to meet my future wife!
Travel is my drug of choice – and I am hopelessly addicted.
But, unlike other drugs, the travel drug is abundant and far more enjoyable when shared.
I’m not done travelling yet, not even close! Travelling is the only thing in life that makes me feel whole, and I intend to hang on to it for as long as possible. I’m not interested in living a life where I can’t travel.
See you on the trails!
