Exploration - page 4

Madelyn Holmes and her 2007 Suzuki Jimny are a match made in heaven. This wedding & portrait photographer is an avid adventurer born and raised in Australia, so her 4x4 is the perfect sidekick to keep her running anywhere life takes her—on and off the clock.

On break at work in August of 2022, Adam Masters indulged in an all-too-familiar habit for car enthusiasts across the world: scrolling through the used car section of Facebook Marketplace “just to see what’s out there.” It’s a tight used vehicle market everywhere, but especially in California, where Adam co-owns Squirrel Concepts, a small auto shop in East Long Beach. So, on this random Thursday morning, he had his search radius set as high as it will go.

In December 2016, Eddy Gotink and five fellow off-roaders set out on a round-trip journey to one of the northernmost points in Europe—North Cape, Norway—by way of Copenhagen, Vaxjö and Stockholm.

In the spring of 2013, Richard and Ashley Giordano needed a change. Apparently, a big one. They sold their belongings, quit their jobs and became full-time adventurers—a decision that would let them explore the world, one trip at a time.

The sun begins to set as J.J. Gustafson turns off the pavement and into the bush. Gravel crackles beneath rubber as the final stretch of a long journey unwinds. They’ve been driving north for days, putting over 1300 miles between home in Texas and tonight’s camp in Minnesota. The door slams shut as J.J. finally gets out of his truck, stretching his road legs. He walks to the back and pulls open his BedSlide, revealing a careful Tetris grid of tightly packed gear. Nestled within is a large kennel. Calm and alive.

Two Young Champs Talk Pressure, Preparation, and Racing Without a License

What does it take to become a world-class racer, before you’re legally old enough to drive? We spoke with two young racing champions — Seth Quintero (age 19) and Jack Olliges (age 14) — to see if we could crack their prodigal codes.

At a point — somewhere between mild interest and red-hot obsession — a weekend hobby becomes a lifelong passion. You know the type: passion people don’t just enjoy a thing. They live it. They breathe it. And sometimes, they start a blog to document all their thoughts and adventures in it. They pour years of dedication, hard work, and storytelling into the project, and sometimes, that passion grows into a resource, a community, and maybe even a movement.

This story is about one of those times.

Like many titans in the off-road racing space, Robbie Pierce grew up in sunny, sandy San Diego. Surrounded by world-class racers, fabrication shops, and plenty of desert terrain, he began a life-long career as a welder and off-road racing enthusiast. In the early years, he took whatever work walked through the door — starting with projects involving garbage trucks and eventually graduating to the occasional trophy truck

In an unmarked, off-white building tucked behind rows of storage units, warehouses, and other industrial park mainstays is a parking lot full of interesting foreign cars — Volvos, Troopys, lifted 4x4s, and other imported trucks, in all different shapes, colors, sizes, and levels of built-for-anything-ness. They’re the kinds of trucks that turn heads on the highway and stoke curious conversations with the passersby. All sitting in a random lot in Bend, OR.

Meet Kalen, and you'll immediately sense that she's lived a life of adventure. Born in Washington, Kalen spent her early years living abroad with her family in Germany.

Once upon a time, Morgan Sjogren had roots. Efficient, highly-regimented roots. Living in Mammoth Lakes, CA she rose early every day to a text from her running coach asking her for her resting heart rate. After breakfast, she was off to morning training as a part of an elite competitive track running team. Mornings meant team meetings, stretching, weight training, and a lot of precise stopwatch action.

Shimmering greens and blues of the aurora borealis dance overhead, casting an ethereal glow on Paul’s Ford Super Duty F-350 XL truck, which is purpose-built for every kind of search and rescue operation you can imagine.