Vote for the Original Travel Blogger on USA Today Contest

Behind every rock star, famous actress, or best selling author it is easy to assume that there is a chain of people that they copied and ripped off without acknowledgement, recognition, or royalties. It is the innovative artists who go first, who devise a style, and blaze the path who are often trampled by those who follow (who are invariably better looking, know the right people, or understand the value of self-promotion). I believe this is epidemic in every profession, in every art, in every pursuit where a mass amount of people are clawing over each other to get to the same place. There are those who show the path and then there are those who cash in on it.

Though every once in a while a light shines through the muck and hits upon the primordial creative source of an art or profession. Along side some big names in travel media, Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com was nominated for the USA Today top budget travel blogger award.

If you don’t know of him, Andy was one of the first people to seriously engage travel blogging as a serious form of writing and as a way to make money to travel. He began blogging in 2002, and played a fundamental role in devising the style. From what I can tell, he was also the first full time traveler to make a living from blogging and running a website. He was the influencer of the influencers — although few of them will admit it.

He was also the guy who served me a good mentorship when I was getting started. He taught me how to make a living from this work. Without this, there would probably be no Vagabond Journey, and I wouldn’t have this mad project which has kept me going for almost a decade.

Give credit where it’s due, please vote for Andy here.