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November 1, 2016updated Jul 27, 2017

Elite Traveler Partners with Momentum Adventure

By Zahra Al-Kateb

matthewheadshot-2Momentum Adventure takes great pride in creating exciting, unique and fulfilling adventures – away from the generic tourist trail and off the beaten track.  From swimming with manta rays in Indonesia to riding dune buggies across Iceland, Momentum Adventure have done it all. Founder Matthew Robertson tells us more.

What is Momentum Adventure’s philosophy?

Do something different. Momentum Adventure is in a very saturated market and our quest has always been to be different and not just for the sake of being different. It’s about finding the places, the people and the experiences to really enrich people’s lives and that doesn’t necessarily have to be hyper adventurous. Adventure is different things for different people. We’re about scouring the earth to find places that really excite and get the synapses popping, our philosophy is to inspire people.

This came to me when I was sitting on a mountain in the Himalayas. Ironically, it was one of the simplest experiences.  There were no electronics, no noise, no TV, cars or anything. I remember sitting there and thinking wow, this is the most incredible feeling of my life! If I can bottle this feeling, I’ve got something very special.  From that point on I started to really make it my mission to find these incredible guides, incredible locations, incredible properties, and try and marry those experiences together to give people something really different and unique. I think that’s where we shine in a very saturated marketplace. You can come to us and you’ll always find something unique and special.

 

Where did your passion for the outdoors come from?

To be honest, I was never an academic at school. I would look out the window and dream of being outdoors. I went to a private school and I ended up running away a lot and just hanging out in the woods, just running away from teachers, school, everything. I’m an outdoorsman and I found real peace in the wilderness.

But in my day it wasn’t a job. You were told to get a proper job, you couldn’t really work outdoors. For years I was an actor, I’ve washed dishes, I’ve done all sorts of things, but I’d always run away at the weekend and disappear to amazing places. I was in New York and I was doing cheesy soaps, and every weekend I’d run up to Upstate New York. I’d take my dog and a friend and we’d go up to the mountains up there and it was just fantastic. I just thought you know what? This is kind of all I really want to do. I know a lot of great people in this business. Why don’t I try and see if I can make a business out of it? I made a little bit of money in New York – not much, but enough to build a website – and then I just spent a year going around the world, meeting incredible people and suppliers. I came back and thought I’ve got something really exciting here and I just started to build it. So the passion, going all the way back to basics, is probably from my father and just spending every hour God sends outdoors.

Who is Momentum Adventure for?

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Initially, I started this for people like me, but actually people like me would do it without me! I had a bit of a brand evolution. Over the years, the people that have been coming to us are 45+, have really achieved enormous amounts in business or have been successful in whatever they do, and have come full circle and have thought I just want to feel alive again. I want to do something different. I don’t want to be sitting in my car and going for a wine tasting, or sit on another beach. I want to do something unique.

We also get – and maybe even the biggest part of our business – is families wanting to reconnect somewhere special – whether that be in Iceland, Norway or England. Not only do they want to reconnect, but they also have a good bed at night. They’re generally in a financial position that allows them to do that.

 

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