Raising Outside Kids in A Digital World - Henry Brydon (We Are Explorers)
Adventure Diaries: Exploration, Survival & Travel Stories
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Today's guest is Henry Brydon — adventurer, writer, and founder of We Are Explorers (Australia's biggest adventure publication) and Outside Kids (a platform for dads raising adventurous children).
In this episode, Henry shares his epic two-year, 38,000km bicycle journey from London to Sydney through 30 countries — including Central Asia in minus 30°C temperatures and the Middle East during the Arab Spring, all on a $5/day budget. He unpacks what the trip taught him, how it shaped his mission to raise adventurous kids, and why "good friction" matters for children growing up in a world full of digital distractions.
This is great conversation and even more so for fathers
Guest Links
- Outside Kids: https://outsidekids.co.uk
- We Are Explorers: https://www.weareexplorers.co
- Henry Brydon Instagram
Chapters
00:00 —"Let's go to Beijing"
00:56 — Welcome to the Adventure Diaries Podcast
02:31 — Meet Henry Brydon of Outside Kids & We Are Explorers
03:26 — Growing up in Shrewsbury & the road trip that sparked it all
07:22 — From Dubai recruiter to London–Sydney by bike</title>
10:16 — The route: Europe → Balkans → Middle East → Asia
11:28 — Kurdistan in midwinter & the kindness of strangers
12:56 — Arab Spring, Syria, Iraq & shifting world views
16:54 — Iran, Tehran couch-surfing & Indonesia highlights
19:15 — Arriving in Sydney & meeting Susie on day one
22:35 — Lessons from the trip: agency, self-belief, comfort with uncertainty
27:20 — Founding We Are Explorers
39:13 — Why he launched Outside Kids
43:22 — Dads, rough-and-tumble & writing with humor
47:26 — "Good friction": building resilience through discomfort
50:35 — Shared family memories & making the most of time with kids
54:46 — Advice for parents new to the outdoors (start small, geocaching, litter-picking adventures)
1:01:32 — Off-grid cabin trips & digital detox with "Brick"
1:05:11 — Upcoming dads & kids camp-out (June)
1:06:35 — Pay It Forward: Marcus Skeet (The Whole Boy)
1:08:50 — Call to Adventure: Tasmania & the Franklin River
1:10:27 — 10 Fire-Round Questions
1:17:51 — Wrap-up & where to find Henry
Thanks For Listening.
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The Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering
