Why Subscribe?
Hi, I’m Wes. It’s kinda funny to try and write a description of myself, because I’ve been writing about stuff like dogs and trucks and camping on the Internet since the early 2000s. If I’ve learned anything in that time, it’s that the conversation is what makes this place special.
If you need the resume, it reads: Started as an intern at Intersection Magazine and worked my way up to editor when we launched the American edition. Was the first road test editor at Jalopnik when we grew that into the largest car website on earth. Launched my own motorcycle site, Hell For Leather, grew that into the most-read property that space has ever seen, then sold that to some really shitty partners. Launched an outdoors site with Gawker Media, then took that to Outside Magazine, where I’ve been the outdoor lifestyle columnist for the last decade. On the side I consult around marketing, PR, and creative, do some precision riding/driving for car and bike commercials, and have written for every magazine or newspaper you’ve ever heard of.
By subscribing you’ll be joining an online community where you, me, and my other readers can ask each other questions, and learn from the experiences of everyone involved.
There’s going to be three major kinds of content here, all unique to this platform:
Uncensored journalism: It’s hard to speak truth to power in today’s media environment. As major publications struggle to turn profits, they worry more about the potential to turn readers off than they do about about tuning them in. Independence has become key to authenticity and insight.
Exciting adventures: I’ll travel to interesting places, do dangerous things, enjoy the hell out of them, then show you all the skills, gear, and places where you can do the same things.
Expert guidance: I’ll combine my experience with input from experts to bring you the kind of effective information you need to inform purchases of vehicles, technical clothing, and outdoors gear. It’s my aim to do this better than anyone else in any of the spaces I write about.
Within those categories, I think there’s a lot of ground we can cover together.
I intend to keep that content public facing, and free from a paywall. But in order to devote a significant amount of time to this project, I obviously need to create a business around it. For that, I mean it when I say I’m your guide. Paying for a subscription buys access to me. I will help you with your individual pursuits, from finding an epic spot to camp to planning the best possible routes via foot, vehicle, or watercraft, buying the most effective gear, or solving your unique problems.
I will turn some of that into content for your fellow subscribers so everyone can benefit (anything you want kept private will be), and provide the really good stuff (including GPS coordinates and similar) to paying subscribers only.
While no, I am not the ultimate expert in every possible topic, I am a seasoned journalist. And that means I have a massive list of existing relationships, plus the ability to simply pick up the phone and get pretty much anyone on the other end. I will use this superpower to help you. And I also want all of my readers to help each other. Hit the “Chat” button at the top of this website and you’ll find a private members club where I participate in conversations between subscribers in real time, and where we can all access each other’s wealth of knowledge and experience.
Any reader can also reach me via email. The address is [my first name] @wessiler.com.
I should probably make the value proposition completely explicit. By subscribing you’ll benefit in these ways.
I will save you money by helping guide your gear purchases.
I will help you find travel and camping destinations, and tell you how to find the places I visit.
You will have access to me, and my extensive list of contacts. I will help solve your problems by applying journalism, and sometimes sarcasm, to them.
