Matt

Matt Gibson is a professional writer and award-winning photographer, the Outbound President of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association, and CEO of UpThink, a digital marketing agency that specializes in content, community building, and influencer marketing.

Watch it Now: Illegal Border Crossing Simulation from VBS.tv

by

The good folks at VBS.tv are, in my opinion, some of the best documentarians in the world.  They go after ridiculous and unthinkable stories gonzo style, resulting in a humanistic view of incredible tragedies, and incredibly weird topics.  A couple months ago I posted the riveting, and extremely disturbing, Vice Guide to Liberia.  Next, in a series of VBS videos I plan to post, is this documentary on a service that offers a simulated illegal border crossing from Mexico into the United States, complete with a shady ‘coyote’ guide and potential arrest.

Read more

Wow, Matt-Gibson.org was Just Chosen as One of the Best Travel Blogs in the World

by

I just received an email from Online Degree Programs.  They ranked Matt-Gibson.org as one of the 50 best travel blogs in the world. I’m even placed third on the list (although I don’t think that really means anything), just after World Hum and Best Travel Writing, two of the biggest and best group travel blogs in out there.

Read more

Featured on TravelBlogs.com

by

Check it out.  I was just featured on TravelBlogs.com. TravelBlogs.com is website that offers a ton of useful travel information such as, stories, book reviews, panel discussions, and a really, really long list of travel blogs.

Read more

Yenshuei Fireworks Festival 2010 Photo Gallery

by

The Yenshuei Fireworks Festival (Yenshuei Fong Pao) is a festival held in the Yenshuei township in Southern Taiwan every year.  During the festival millions of fireworks are shot out of large hives into crowds of revelers dressed in heavy clothing and full-face motorcycle helmets.  Each hive may contain as many as sixty thousand fireworks.  If proper safety precautions are taken, the activity is not very dangerous.  However, each year some people are injured.  To learn more about this festival, read my post Standing in the Fireworks.

Read more

Zero to Hero: Learning to Kitesurf in a Day

by

Learning to kitesurf is not the easiest undertaking, but it’s also not as hard as it may look. It takes most people between 15 and 20 hours of practice spread over several weeks to learn how to kitesurf. But, occasionally, an exceptionally motivated individual is able to go from ‘zero to hero’. That is: learn to kitesurf in one day.

Read more