Nick Walton is a New Zealand-born, Hong Kong-based travel photojournalist with a passion for deftly stepping from the beaten path and capturing the people and places that stoke the fires of imagination. More at home in the Arctic or Amazon than sitting poolside at a resort, the adventurer loves to travel to the world’s farthest flung corners.

Warren has been living in Beirut for eighteen years, during which time he has written a book about the weird and wonderful things about his adoptive hometown and a selection of Wallpaper guides to some of the world’s most intoxicating cities.

Based in Miami, Michael Verdon spends the majority of his time around yachts and boats as a correspondent for Yachting magazine and regular contributor to Superyacht Business, Robb Report, Worth and of course Bespoke.

Gautam Sharma is a certified petrolhead who has has turned his hobby and passion into a two-decade career as a motoring journalist. This privileged role enables him to sample all manner of vehicles – from the humblest hatchbacks and saloons to the most exotic supercars. Gautam also enjoys travelling to far-flung destinations.

When she’s not tinkering in the kitchen, attempting not to kill the plants on her balcony or terrorising the neighborhood cats with unasked-for affection, LA-born writer Stephanie can be found zooming around Beirut on her motorbike, hard at work as a freelance journalist.

Govind Dhar is an Indian food and travel writer from Dubai, now based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The former editor of Robb Report India spends his days juggling freelance assignments on festivals, arts, theatre, culture and architecture for Travel and Leisure India, Conde Nast Traveler Middle East, Mint Lounge, and Eat, Stay, Love India. As a fan of literature festivals, Govind recently pitched in to moderate author sessions at the relaunched Galle Literary Festival, and wrote about the Jaipur Literature Festival for The Sunday Times in Sri Lanka.

After 6 years in Beijing, Stephy swapped life in the mega city for the calming beaches of Lamma Island, off the coast of Hong Kong. When not chasing stories covering architecture, design, arts and fashion throughout Asia-Pacific as a producer for CNN Style, she runs marathons in Inner Mongolia, 100K races in Guizhou (China) and a half ironman in the Philippines.

Simon de Burton is a freelance journalist and author who writes about high-end cars, motorcycles, boats and watches for publications around the world. He is a contributing editor to the Financial Times ‘How To spend It’ magazine and his words regularly appear in titles such as GQ, Vanity Fair ‘On Time’ , the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator. He has been a motorcyclist all his life, having acquired his first machine at the age of six.

British by birth but now based in Dubai, Kate is a journalist who has had the good fortune of racking up interviews with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Her most recent conquest was an intimate chat with Nikolaj ‘Jamie Lannister’ Coster Waldau, which she confesses was a huge personal highlight. When she’s not working (or watching Game of Thrones), Kate can be found feeding her generous appetite for 1990s rom-coms and avocados.

Max may be a Londoner who has always lived within five kilometres of his birthplace but his work as design author has taken him everywhere. These days, you’ll find him watching the winter sun set over Lake Como; discovering that gods reside in the Scottish Highlands; realising that there’s more to the Barbican than concrete; ascending the tallest building in the world in Dubai, then the second tallest in Bucharest and cooking live prawns in rural Japan.

American-grown and England-educated Danae has roamed the world in pursuit of the shiniest stories and most interesting tales. For the last two years, Dubai’s been home but a fondness for travel -and airport lounges- has kept her bouncing everywhere from Baku to Bodrum. When not sat at a keyboard, attemtping to recount her glamorous tales, Danae enjoys failing at water sports and training for distance races.

Unlike the gold miners of the 1800s, John left his native California as a young man and remains on a journey East with stops in New York, London, Rome and now Abu Dhabi. For CNN, he scours emerging markets for personalities that reflect today’s growth. At home, he dotes on his daughters, his Roman wife and cooks up dishes for the ‘Best of the Mediterranean’ supper club he co-founded.

Growing up in landlocked Cambridgeshire and setting a record for placing last at her school’s swimming galas, Esther’s love of the water was as much a surprise to her as anyone else. A serendipitous post-graduation leap into yachting journalism got her hooked, however and now she gets her fixes in the Caribbean and the French Riviera whenever possible.

Kevin has been into anything with four wheels since he was eight years old and his father bought a ropey Triumph TR6 to use as the family car. Squashing onto the rear parcel shelf between his two younger brothers wasn’t the safest way to travel, but an obsession was born. Now based in Abu Dhabi, Kevin makes a living by trotting the globe to test the world’s most exciting automobiles by day and moonlighting as a culture and travel writer by night.

Slipping ice cubes down the back of the t-shirt of fear, Alex has engaged in a number of fearless escapades in his hunt for journalistic thrills and adventures over the past few years. Sleeping aboard a US aircraft carrier, attempting to track down a grumpy Omar Sharif in Cairo and even spending 10 minutes in a room with Paris Hilton.

When she’s not busy writing, Lisa is a shopaholic who can be found browsing Qatar’s malls in pursuit of the latest Louboutins. She writes regularly for several magazines but particularly relishes the role of restaurant reviewer where she’s “forced” to indulge her chocolate cravings. In her spare time, she runs (not in her Louboutins) to ensure her culinary passions aren’t too figure-forming.

A Londoner by birth, Sarah moved to Dubai almost a decade ago for fame, fortune, and better shoes. After a stint as the shopping editor at Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, she’s now a freelance fashion stylist and writer, contributing to leading titles including The National, M Magazine, Esquire, and Emirates Woman.

Michael Karam writes about Lebanese affairs as well as food and wine. His first book Wines of Lebanon (Saqi), won the Gourmand Award for the Best New World Wine Book, 2005, and his follow up, Arak and Mezze: The Taste of Lebanon (Saqi), was shortlisted for the Gourmand award for Best Food and Travel Book 2007. The second edition of Michael Karam’s Lebanese Wines: An independent guide (Turning Point) was published in February. He lives in Beirut with his wife and two children.

After jumping the border from the U.S. into Canada, crossing the Atlantic and riding the rails into Switzerland, landing in Lebanon and making a brief detour in Argentina, Daniel Barney is making an honest effort to settle in France as a writer and photographer. With a recent Masters in Visual Arts, he’s interested in all things related to contemporary art, architecture and design.

After seven years in Dubai where she was editor of Time Out magazine, Becky has recently relocated back home to London and is discovering a new appreciation for wind-proof, transparent umbrellas and rainproof coat hoods. Her more glamorous passions include unusual cultural trends, travel, film and attempting to ski.