Sidetracked issue 3
Delivered to Stack subscribers in Jan 2015

by Steve Watson in January 2015

Featuring some of the most extreme adventures undertaken across the planet, Sidetracked magazine amazes with its incredible photography and intensely personal tales of endurance and discovery.

Keep scrolling for our interview…

Join our magazine club

Name
John Summerton

Job title
Creative Director / Producer

What is Sidetracked?
Sidetracked is a project based upon sharing unique, extraordinary tales of adventures, independent travel, expeditions and exploration. The project started as a website three years ago and this year we launched the first of our print editions.

What makes it different to the rest?
We aim to inspire through honest, quality communication and incredible photography. Our focus is on the individuals, and their the emotions and discoveries through travel and adventure.

Who makes Sidetracked?
We’re a small, part-time team. I do most of the research and planning, and work on design and production for the website and each magazine. Jamie Bunchuk and Andrew Mazibrada are the content editors. Expedition photographer Martin Hartley works with us as Director of Photography and helps to choose the photography for the magazine.

Who reads it?
We have a very wide audience. I guess our core readership is those with an interest in travel, but we’ve found that we reach far beyond that. As we feature real life, interesting short stories covering a broad range of subjects, locations and activities we find that we connect with many different audiences.

Why do you work in magazines?
I’ve been a graphic designer for many years and moved to websites and digital design about 10 years ago. I set up Sidetracked online about three years ago as a personal project. Watching it grow, and seeing the resurgence in print, it was the perfect chance to go back to my roots and create Sidetracked in print form. In short, I love it!

Aside from the print magazine, what are you involved in?
The Sidetracked website takes a fair bit of work on a day to day basis and we’re trying to grow brand awareness as much as possible so that all takes a lot of time. I’m also busy working as a freelance designer, working mainly on website UI design.

What would you change about Sidetracked if you could?
Nothing.

Where do you see Sidetracked in five years?
As a larger, more established version of what it is currently. I’d love to see Sidetracked as the brand associated with independent adventure travel, and the means to share our stories through print, digital and even TV channels. We’d also like to support more individuals via our grant system: theadventurefund.com.