Where you go is who you are.

Nick’s path to TravelFreak wasn’t traditional, but then again, neither is he.

After playing collegiate basketball at the University of Rochester, Nick transferred to the University of Kentucky to focus on his education in economics, philosophy, and writing. He landed a business intelligence analyst role at NIQ, but analyzing data from a desk wasn’t where his story was meant to go.

His real education happened working remotely across Europe, hopping from country to country, experiencing cultures, attending football matches, and playing pickup games in co-ed leagues wherever he could find them. As a Manchester City fan, he made it his mission to catch matches at legendary stadiums from Camp Nou to the Etihad. After a year on the road, he settled in Barcelona, soaking up the culture, perfecting his tapas order, and falling deeper in love with the beautiful game, both watching it and playing it.

But Nick’s travels go beyond football. He’s explored 20+ countries across Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, always chasing authentic experiences over tourist traps. Whether teaching English to kids in South Africa and the Dominican Republic, tracking wildlife on safari, or finding the best hole-in-the-wall restaurant locals don’t want tourists to know about, Nick believes travel is about connection, not collection.

That philosophy drove him to take over TravelFreak with his brother Spencer. Together, they’re building a brand that cuts through the noise of influencer culture and corporate travel advice to deliver something real: honest guides, tested gear, and experiences you can actually replicate.

Nick lives by a simple rule: the best stories come from saying yes to the unexpected. And TravelFreak is his biggest yes yet.

Atila’s road to TravelFreak was a mix of coincidence, hard work, patience, and dedication.

He studied Industrial Engineering in his home country, Serbia. During his time on college, he developed an interest into freelancing, and started working online, quickly rising to the ranks of the top freelancers you can find. Initially, working in customer service for years, he developed his patience, knowledge in the IT industry, and website design. As years passed on, he became a Jack of All Trades in terms of freelancer skills.

One day he stumbled upon an interesting gig, and got hired at TravelFreak. As years went by, he became the core part, the consistent engine of TravelFreak. Whether you see a flawless article posted, improvements throughout the site, or just the site being intact 99% of the time – you bet his hands were involved.

Besides working at TravelFreak, Atila is also dancing and teaching Cuban Salsa for more than 12 years now, and developed into a well-seasoned and recognized teacher in his country. This also helped him break through the fear of flying, and started traveling internationally to attend and participate in different salsa festivals and events.

When he is not working at TravelFreak, he is certainly teaching his students, growing his school, or he is off to a salsa festival, whether it’s local or international.

In his mind, for all the things he wants to achieve in one day, 24 hours is not enough.