Ben Britz – writer, photographer, editor, The Anti Tourist

Ben Britz, Editor/Photographer.
I grew up where most people don’t, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior. It was an amazing place to grow up, a million miles from anywhere, with some of the most striking vistas and a surprisingly happening music scene. While it gave me a lifelong appreciation for nature and music, the isolation gave me the itchiest foot and the most delirious cabin-fever, and as soon as I was 18 I jetted out, moved to Germany and from there, traveled all over Europe with just a backpack. I haven’t stopped traveling since, and I quickly realized that my methods—sleeping in bus stations or under the stars, finding little-known rural locales, and taking advice from only the most wild-eyed individuals—introduced me to so many beautiful places and people and experiences you can only have when you stray that far from the beaten path. Returning to the States after a year in Europe, I went to University of Michigan to earn a quick BA in Comparative Literature, making sure to take the summers to satisfy my wanderlust. From there I spent a few years in Brooklyn. I now call Austin my temporary home, escaping whenever and to wherever possible, making music, writing, and dreaming of everywhere I want to go.