Interview with Matt Gauck of the Next Stop Adventure Zine!
Matt Gauck just released a new issue of his zine Next Stop Adventure and man is it good. Here we talk to Matt about bike touring Alaska, running a Kickstarter campaign, and more! Next Stop Adventure #5 is available here!
Q: So there was a Kickstarter involved with this puppy. Why did you decide to do that and how did it work for ya?
A: I felt super weird about using Kickstarter–sort of like it would cheapen the whole thing, and I definitely discuss this in the first eight pages of NSA5. The basics are that I had already bought my ticket to fly to Alaska, and was going regardless, but thought building an interest in reading this zine would be beneficial, and if people could basically “pre-order” it by being involved in trip, then why not? I asked for $400, and got a little over $1200, which is totally crazy.
Q: What happened after the Kickstarter campaign? You went to effing ALASKA! Do tell.
A: I took my bike apart, put it in a box, flew to Alaska, and within nine hours, I was on my bike, heading north. All told, I ended up biking a little under 1000 miles over the course of three+ weeks. I camped the whole way, and I pretty much do things as cheap as possible, and this was no different. I saw a wolf twelve feet away from me within the first two miles of this trip. She looked right at me.
Q: What can people expect from the new one?
A: Funnier stories, more rain… a better layout… OH, and I screenprinted the covers, which is a nice difference. Beyond that, I think my writing has improved, and the whole zine and bike trip seem to combine well for a start>finish kind of thing. If you’re into funny bike stories and terrible camping situations, this is for you. There’s also some funny off-topic stuff for the “non biking” part of the zine.
Q: What other projects do you have in the pipeline?
A: I’m still working to fulfill some of the Kickstarter stuff, which will likely take a little while–but I’m going on tour selling merch for some friends across the majority of Western Europe and Scandanavia–then I’m planning some other trip when I get back… South America or Australia/NZ maybe… I have to fix my bike though; it’s looking pretty rough… That, and I’m really dying to build a massive tree house for 2012.
