In 2006, Ross Borden climbed the Misti volcano near Arequipa, Peru, and emailed the photos to friends and family. In the pre-blogging era, that group email became a habit, then an audience, then a business. With co-founder Ben Polansky and roughly $11,000, Borden launched Matador Network - a travel publication built on a simple contrarian bet: while the major magazines wrote about hotels, resorts, and restaurant reviews, Matador would chase the experiences and people that give a place its character.
Nearly two decades later that bet has compounded. Matador publishes articles, city guides, and social-first video across travel, outdoor adventure, food, nightlife, and culture. Its content reaches well over 100 million people a month, and its in-house team of writers and filmmakers has turned the brand into a fixture of the modern travel internet - all while remaining independent and, for most of its life, profitable.
"All the major travel magazines were about hotels, resorts, and restaurant reviews. Matador believes the soul of travel is in experiences."
- The founding thesis, still in force
