A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes

Hello, it's been a while...

Well. It’s been a while. I put Intrepid Magazine on ice back in January 2023 after I basically ran out of time and money to spend on it. Today, I’ve dusted off the logins and I’m ready to give it another shot, if enough people would like me to.

What happened?

Covid proved an incredibly challenging time for me - as for many of you too, I’m sure - and I honestly thought I’d paused the magazine back at the start of 2021. I’m astounded to discover, upon writing this, that I somehow powered through until the end of 2022. How on earth did I do that?

For the nosy, I lost both my job and my house within 3 months of each other and it was a desperate fight not to end up sleeping in a ditch - and I mean that more literally than I would like. I had a brush with homelessness and that’s not something I ever want to repeat.

Why come back to Intrepid now?

I’m scared to say it out loud, lest the universe be vengeful, but the dust seems to have finally settled on the bomb crater of 2021. I have (fingers and toes crossed) found a stable base again.

In the meantime, Substack as a platform has grown and developed far beyond what it was a few years ago. And while I’ve done absolutely nothing on Intrepid Magazine, the subscriber graph has done this:

Now, you may all get this email and unsubscribe, but it gives me hope that people are still interested in female adventurers and female voices in adventure.

The Future

While I’ve been away from this magazine, I’ve been inspired by the many journalists using Substack as a way to essentially create a reader-funded column in their area of interest and expertise. As a freelance writer for 5+ years now, I can definitely feel a squeeze happening in the industry - or at least the parts I write for. Fewer publications, with less budget, who are unwilling (or financially unable) to take a risk on anything that isn’t guaranteed to produce views or clicks (which in turn justify their funding). This has left me feeling like there is nowhere left to tell some of the excellent adventure stories I come across.

On the other hand, I am being eaten alive by my mortgage and simply don’t have the time to write and publish these stories as a passion project. So, here is my proposal: I’m turning paid subs back on.

For every 3 subscribers per month, I’ll spend an hour per month on Intrepid Magazine. (That’s 3x £6=£18, which will be more like minimum wage after platform fees etc.) I’ll publish as many articles as I can with that time. It might only be one per month to start. It may feel more like a column than a magazine to begin with, but we’ll grow from there. All articles will be free for everyone to read. There will be a paid subscriber community.

And yes, it would be amazing to get to the stage where I can pay to have other contributors involved again. And I do have an idea for a print book, rather than a print mag - but little steps! We need to crawl before we can sprint.

You can help by:

First - hitting that big juicy subscribe button if you would like to help get this magazine back on the road. Here it is.

Second - if you don’t don’t have a spare £6 a month (heck, I don’t either!) but would like to help somehow, please share this email with a friend or comment below with joyous and encouraging words. Share it with all your followers or shout it from the mountain tops. Whichever suits your style.

Third - if you’ve come across a cool woman doing cool things (or uncool tbh, just someone interesting doing something this magazine might cover) even if that person is you, please get in touch. I’d love to share the story if it fits and I have the time/funds on our side.

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I’ll send another email in a week or so to let you know how we’re getting on. And share some interesting stories I’ve come across recently. (I am still working in the adventure/outdoors industry a little, alongside everything else!)

Stay intrepid,

Emily :)

(If you’re new here, yes that’s me! Hello!)