Telum Talks To… Peter Steyn, Editor-in-Chief, GlobeRovers Magazine
Interview

Telum Talks To… Peter Steyn, Editor-in-Chief, GlobeRovers Magazine

What was the inspiration behind GlobeRovers Magazine? 
The magazine started in early 2013 when I decided to explore a publishing software package just to see what it could do for me. I started designing a few pages and enjoyed using the software so much that I decided to keep going. Before long, I had a magazine with over 160 pages. I showed it to a few friends, and they loved it. I then offered free advertising to a few brands I had contact with, and they were delighted to be part of it. I posted it on an online magazine platform and it quickly got thousands of views. I also made it available in print. At first, the magazine was just aimed at showcasing my photos and stories to friends and family, so I was quite amazed when it received so many online views. Six months later I posted the second issue. It was again a hit. Since then, I have published two issues a year (July and December) and am now preparing for the next issue which will be number 16. The average online viewership for each of the three most recent issues is now at over 2.3 million.

Can you tell us more about your roles and duties at GlobeRovers Magazine?
The team behind the magazine is small. While I am the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher with all the responsibilities that normally come with this title, I am also responsible for much of the photography and writing. I have an Editorial Director who helps with decisions related to content and photos. I also get an incredible amount of help, and great critical reviews, from my good friend in South Australia. She is also the Chief Proofreader and contributes a regular story and stunning photography about the life and landscapes of Australia. In addition, every issue has several contributing authors and photographers who add a great amount of variety which contrasts with my own writing and photos.

What is the most memorable article you've written?
I think my most memorable article is also my longest article (7,817 words) entitled "Hill Tribes of Myanmar’s Shan State”. The article is based on my travels in eastern Shan State of Myanmar where I spent several days hiking in all directions to meet different tribes living high in the hills, far from civilization. With the help of my multilingual guide, who speaks several of the tribal languages and dialects, I had in-depth discussions with some village chiefs, shamans, and just ordinary people in the small villages. It is also one of the most read articles on my blog and appears in the December 2017 issue, along with the feature article about my experiences in North Korea.

Can you give us a sneak preview on what kind of features to expect in the next issue of GlobeRovers?
The next issue, December 2020, will be one of the best issues to date. The feature article will be about frozen Lake Baikal in southern Siberia in Russia. This is our planet’s largest freshwater lake by volume and the world’s deepest lake. Lake Baikal is 636 kilometres long (395 miles), has a maximum depth of 1,632 metres (5,354 feet) and at its lowest point, it lies more than 1,219 metres (4,000 feet) below sea level. The volume of Lake Baikal’s water is approximately equivalent to all five of the North American Great Lakes combined. Despite its large size and depth, Lake Baikal freezes over during the brutally cold Siberian winters which creates a winter wonderland like nowhere else in the world. The article is about the life of the local Buryat people, the frozen lake, as well as the nearby hot springs and the town of Irkutsk. 

Where do you find inspiration for stories?
The stories for my magazine are normally incubated at Google Earth and Google Maps. I travel the world almost on a daily basis with this incredible technology in search of new places to explore. The mission of my magazine is to bring the world to intrepid travellers, so most of my articles are about discovering off-the-beaten-track destinations still devoid of mass tourism. 

Best way to contact you.
Contact me, Peter Steyn, via email peter@globerovers.com

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