Will Hatton had always had a talent with words and when he started travelling soon realised he could make a living out of blogging about his experiences.

WILL HATTON had a passion for writing since a boy so when he started travelling it seemed natural to him to blog about his experiences. Three years ago a dream became a reality and he realised he could be his own boss while exploring the world and all the culture and excitement it has to offer.

Hatton claims to offer advice and guides as to how travellers can reach far-flung places on a budget and “cut through the bullshit Insta-perfect lifestyles that a lot of bloggers are pushing.” In our exclusive interview you can find out for yourself how he does it and hear about some of the incredible moments his lifestyle has given him. From finding his wife in Iran to driving a rickshaw across India Will has endless stories which will never seize to entertain. 

Go to  www.thebrokebackpacker.com and we guarantee it won’t be long before you’re hooked on Will’s unique style of writing and the breathtaking journey he’ll take you on one blog at a time.

When did you get your passion for writing and when was it you realised a life of travel was for you? How quickly was it that you realised you could combine the two to make a career for yourself?

I’ve always been passionate about writing and had been writing group emails home, about once a month, to friends and family for several years before I started my travel blog. I realised that it was possible to make a living online about three years ago and got to work – making a ton of mistakes along the way. For me, being my own boss is the ultimate freedom – I love to travel and I love to work for myself so it’s a good combination. I would never want to work for anybody else so having the opportunity to build my own business from scratch has been an amazing journey. 

Will is intent on sharing how the average traveller can get well and truly off the beaten track and immerse themselves in some utterly unique experiences.

What is it about your blog and writing that makes it so appealing to other travel and adventure enthusiasts? What can we expect from your writing style and in which publications and other websites have you been featured?

What differentiates The Broke Backpacker is we are a no-bullshit, top quality online resource for travellers on a budget wanting to reach far flung lands. Originally we focused purely on covering real far out destinations like Pakistan, Iran, Bhutan, Venezuela etc but now we’re also aiming to cover more ‘normal’ backpacking destinations such as Mexico or Germany. The aim of the game is to show our audience how they can travel cheap and to cut through the bullshit insta-perfect lifestyles that a lot of bloggers are pushing.

Travel ain’t supposed to be glamorous, it’s supposed to be rough and raw, it’s supposed to challenge you, to help you grow. We cover how to hitchhike, couchsurf, pick up work on the road and how to start an online business, this allows our readers to learn how to travel even if they are broke, how to sustain themselves through casual work on the road and, ultimately, how to make the jump to being a digital nomad and building their own online income. I’ve been featured in a lot of different places – BBC, Daily Mail, Business Insider etc but these days I don’t really aim to get featured any more. It’s a great move when you’re starting out though as you get the word out about your fledgling online venture. 

Some of the many picturesque shots will has captured on his travels.

Out of all the places you visited what have been some of the highlights?

I’ve been very lucky and there have been many highlights – falling in love with my, now, wife in Iran and hitchhiking across the country with her was pretty awesome, summiting Mount Roraima in Venezuela and seeing the country spill away below me through the clouds was another. I’ve done a lot of hiking in Pakistan and this is just one of the most beautiful countries in the world… I drove a rickshaw across India, that was fucking hard though and I wouldn’t recommend it. Camping out in Myanmar, Iran, Colombia, Nicaragua – and so many other places – in remote corners has been amazing, I love to camp. I spent a week living in a cave in Turkey, that was epic. Tripping out on the rainbow island of Hormuz was another highlight. Recently, me and my wife spent 17 days hiking into the remote Bhutanese Himalayas, that was also truly amazing – the people were very welcoming and the scenery was stunning. Honestly, I’ve been one lucky motherfucker and have seen, done and experienced a lot on the road. 

Will’s travel experiences are much more than your typical backpacker looking for a cheap hostels and bottles of beer.

What have been some of your scariest travel moments?

There’s been a few… Getting arrested in India was not fun and was an expensive mistake.

The worst moment, well, series of moments was actually on one of my earliest ever trips. When I was 19 I headed off on my first backpacking trip and decided to hike across Costa Rica through the jungle – a three-week expedition. A few days in and my leg became badly infected, I spent a day crawling through the rain till I found a rangers hut, I was then evacuated to a hospital where, delirious, I was told my leg was going to have to be amputated. Luckily, they saved it but it was permanently damaged and I spent nearly a year in a wheelchair and then on crutches – it crushed my entire life plans of joining the marines and left me depressed, suicidal and feeling broken. Unsure what to do, I eventually hit the road and hitchhiked across Europe. I found myself in India for 18 months and slowly came to terms (no not through some yoga hippy dippy bullshit) with the change in my life and what it meant for me moving forwards. 

Many of Will’s photos depict how far he moves from the regular backpacker’s map. 

What one piece of advice would you give to the first-time traveller?

Train yourself to be brave, to be kind and to be friendly. Get off your phone – it’s your enemy and will hold you back. Oh, and buy travel insurance… For reals yo. 

Will spends a moment of reflection as he finds his inner hippy while in a desert on top of a unreliable-looking but very colourful mode of transport.

How can companies and other organisations work with you to combine brands? Do you offer services such as public speaking appointments?

I’m pretty picky about who I’ll work with but luckily most companies don’t want to work with me anyway – my brand name puts off 90 per cent of the big names in travel and most travel companies with a budget are not aimed at broke backpackers; that’s fine with me, I’m in this to build a life of freedom through passive income, not to chase brand partnerships. Sure though, if somebody wanted me to do some public speaking, I’d give it a crack. 

Will likes to remove himself from technology as much as possible but his laptop is essential for his blog and livelihood.

Tell us about the adventure store you have launched and what we can expect from it?

Ah this is something I’m actually quite excited about – so one thing I’ve learned in blogging is that you MUST diversify your income streams because at any time a FB algorithm change or a Google update can rip out the rug from under you; it’s important to spread your bets. One of my newer ventures is Active Roots – an adventure gear company, right now we only sell three basic, yet brilliant, products but we’re planning on adding some game changing items to our line soon so stay tuned for that. 

Will pictured with his wife who he met while travelling in Iran. 

How are you currently spending your time and what travels and projects do you have planned for the year ahead?

For me, 2018 is the year of the hustle. I’m going to crush my competition, quadruple my site traffic and hit 20k a month by the end of the year. The last two years have been a whirlwind, when I met my wife, the love o’ my goddamn life yo (sorry, I’ll stop talking like that), we had nothing. My blog was making about $500 a month which was enough for my beers… but not enough for my Iranian girl’s visas, which are expensive and hard to get. We battled bankruptcy and went through some very very tough times trying to make ends meet, it put an immense strain on our new relationship and also on me – my ability to provide was suddenly thrust front and centre,  I loved this girl and wanted to make it work so I worked my ass off. I hustled harder than ever and, very recently, we finally made it to the promised land. We now have a passive income of $5000 plus a month plus plenty of none-passive options to top that up. I plan on working my ass off this year and, next year, hitting the road, and hitting it hard, again to get back to what I love – we hope to grab a campervan and spend two years in South America. This year is crucial though, I have a few people who need me to make this work and the pressure is on – which I dig, it fuels me – to scale TBB into something truly successful. Wish me luck!