Walking with Ian Finch, expedition leader
The founder of Walk Wild shares his experiences of exploring the wild corners of our planet and using photography to tell the stories he finds along the way
“Nature, for me, is a reset zone. To take big deep breaths and to let my eyes see further than 400m and the next building. It's the best office in the world. Even when I’m cold and wet!
Ian Finch is an adventure and outdoor brand photographer and expedition guide who’s been travelling to remote environments for over 10 years. He’s an expedition leader for outdoor gear brand Fjallaraven and founder of outdoor adventure company Walk Wild where he takes people on day walks, navigation training and weekend hiking and camping adventures.
I met Ian in 2023 when I joined one of his Walk Wild weekend camping trips in the Cotswolds. As you might imagine, he’s a hard bloke to pin down, but he took time between his latest adventures to chat with me about his time as a Royal Marine Commando, the serendipitous moments that led to him becoming an expedition leader, and why he loves introducing people to the great outdoors.
Hey Ian, please tell The Writer’s Walk readers a bit about yourself
My name’s Ian Finch and I’m an outdoor guide, photographer and expedition leader. I have a true love and passion to explore wild regions and corners, be that at home or abroad, and return with photographic or written accounts of where I’ve been, who I’ve met and what situations have moved me.
For us creatives it’s a long journey to get to this point. A journey where as a child you’re surrounded by what creatively lights you up, then in later life becomes the thread of why you go and do what you do – all this happens in the background without you really knowing. I got here by a mix of serendipitous moments and meetings, a lot of persistence and consistency and following that feeling that arrives every now and again and says “I would LOVE to explore there, and meet the people that call it home”. It’s something that's difficult to describe other than a feeling – a feeling to follow an indescribable urge.
Tell me about Walk Wild
I launched Walk Wild in late 2017. I had led friends on trips previous to that, and organised long canoe trips across Alaska where I took a creative and overall lead, which felt overwhelming but natural. On that trip across Alaska, which took over 2 months of continual canoeing, it gave me the time and space to think about what I’d love to do with my life.
At that time I was a manager for an outdoor fitness company and felt I was destined for something different. Apart from the creative side, which was to travel and tell stories of landscapes, people and place, after that trip I felt an urge to share what I’d felt – which was the wonder, expanse, nature at its finest, and the magic of sleeping outdoors. I had to find a way to shape what I’d experienced and nail that together with the fundamental skills I’d learned in the Royal Marines and as a fitness instructor. I decided to try and wrap that into one idea that incorporated every aspect of what I knew and enjoyed.
Walk Wild was born later that year with the ethos of helping people explore the quieter and more unique places we have available, twinned with learning how the landscape and nature works in magical ways. It’s been slow going but I haven’t looked back since.
“Walk Wild was born with the ethos of helping people explore the quieter and more unique places we have available, twinned with learning how the landscape and nature works in magical ways”
Being a Royal Marine Commando seems a million miles away from taking people on wild walking and camping trips. What was it like to be in the Marines and what skills did you learn that you carry through to your work as a photographer and walk leader?
The honour of being a Royal Marine isn’t as far away as leading walks and trips as you think. During training, and then your subsequent service, you are shaped in a certain way to be able to operate and work in a certain fashion.
What that represents is an unselfish, team-orientated way of living. You realise that to make it through training, and then be part of a commando unit, you will have pushed your mind further than before, and achieved physically things that you only could dream of, and you’ll be around people that have done the same. There is an incredible presence in that. It leaves you with a belief that if I set my mind to anything, and surround myself with the right people who think the same, and fill the voids where I lack and vice versa, there’s nothing that can’t be achieved with some hard work, good prep, persistence and consistency.
In the forces you have to adjust to be a clear communicator, to be able to share what you think in a positive way, to lead by example and mostly to make leaders out of others. I’ve carried those attributes in the toolkit for life every day since then.
As a photographer and outdoor guide, sharing what we know and love, can enable others to go a little further and help foster leadership in their own lives. I think the right leader passes on knowledge in an inspiring and positive fashion.
Working for yourself must feel very different from being in the armed forces. What was the most challenging thing about setting up your own business, and what do you enjoy the most?
The most challenging thing was (now) to be in charge of my destiny. In the forces you’re surrounded by a bubble of safety and security – everyone and the whole service has your back to a certain degree. Out in the world and building your own business you are accountable to yourself. The growth is dependent on you, your successes are based on the effort and time put in. If you procrastinate the momentum halts and it shows. If you pursue, evolve, learn and grow, so will the business.
Working for yourself always maintains that desire to be hungry – for circumstance and opportunity – and to grab that when it happens with both hands. It also offers the highest thing on my list of values: freedom. To go, create and tell stories whenever I can, and with friends. I cannot tell you how important that has now become. Creative freedom.
How did you become a guide for Swedish outdoor brand Fjallraven?
We go back to serendipitous moments once more. I‘d always worn Fjallaraven and have been a fan of the brand for many years. Fast forward to 2020, I was in Iceland on a shoot for them – the Fjall team had invited me to join them, which was a dream come true. Just by chance, their global marketing manager, a woman called Jean Marie, came on this shoot – which wasn’t always the case. She was inspiring, creative, assertive and knew what the brand wanted and needed.
It just so happened that we were getting the same taxi to the airport on the way home, and our flights were 30 minutes apart. So I asked for 30 minutes of her time where I planned to share what I’d been up to, what I loved creatively, my imagery and stories and how I could bring what I loved to the brand.
Over coffees and salads, we hit it off and she had a good feeling we could create something great in the UK. 6 months later they offered me a contract as a global guide and to represent the brand. I talk about serendipitous moments a lot, and there's been many, but what I think makes the difference is taking the chance, jumping in the deep end and the belief I’ll try and swim and make it work. That’s where the game-changing takes place. It’s one hell of a cliche, but seizing the moment in the cafe that day, literally changed my life.
“I talk about serendipitous moments a lot, and there's been many, but what I think makes the difference is taking the chance, jumping in the deep end and the belief I’ll try and swim and make it work.”
The people who go on Walk Wild trips are often new to hiking, camping, navigation and outdoor skills. What advice do you have for anyone taking their first walking adventure?
Start small. Build up slowly. Stretch the comfort zone in a safe way. Join a community. Join with others. Be open and take a chance. We are tougher, more adaptable and more talented than we think.
Let’s get into your own walking. Which of these describes you best?
Happy Hiker
Reluctant Rambler
Sunday Stroller
Wild Weekender
Has to be a wild weekender.
Have you always loved walking or was it something that came later in life?
I’ve always loved woodlands, forests, walking, thinking. Again it’s one of those things, from a younger age, that you do without thinking. Later in life, with all its stresses, requirements, deadlines and expectations I go into nature for solace and for peace and quiet, also to generate ideas away from the high stimulation of being a business owner or the frenzy of modern life.
Ultimately nature, for me, is a reset zone. To take big deep breaths and to let my eyes see further than 400m and the next building. It's now the best office in the world. Even when I’m cold and wet!
“We are tougher, more adaptable and more talented than we think.”
Headphones or head in the clouds?
Hmmm. Tough one. I’m a high-functioning creative so ideas, thoughts and travel flows around my head rapidly and sometimes like a little hurricane. But I would say the thoughts are grounded and realistic and not up in the clouds. I’m an introvert at heart so everything is always within, thinking and generally reserved. I dream but with my feet on the ground. I love podcasts and draw a lot from them on sometimes a daily basis. Diary of a CEO, Chris Williamson’s Modern Wisdom and Danny Jones Podcast are in my top 3. They encapsulate what I enjoy – ancient and modern history, psychology, human behaviour and entrepreneurship.
Tell me about the best, weirdest or funniest walk you’ve ever done
During Covid, when we were allowed to meet with one person a day, I launched Walk Wild +1 – a chance for people to get out and walk together one-to-one instead of a group. One of the people that stands out the most is John, a chap who’s now become a good friend. He’s autistic and was pretty damn good at golf. After hearing that for someone like him it was pretty much impossible for him to become a pro in one year, he set out to do it – and in the end he did, with only days to go before the year was out. On our walk that day he told me how he did it, how the resulting book he wrote became a New York Times bestseller and how he showed the book to the golf pro years down the line to prove what can be done. That day we connected deeply on that subject and other personal things. He remains a good friend to this day.
If you could take a walk with anyone, real or fictional, alive or gone, who would it be? And why?
Very good question. I would probably walk with Lee Harvey Oswald, the man connected with the of killing JFK. I’d listen to the passage of his crazy life, but more so try and convince him to tell me if there was a second gunman on the grassy knoll!
Thanks for chatting with me, Ian. It’s been inspiring to hear about your wiggly career and the serendipitous moments that have made the difference at each step.
You can find out more about Ian’s walking, navigation and weekend adventures at Walk Wild – including his newest walking trip along the Gower Peninsula in Wales, starting in June 2024.
Happy walking until next time,
Sarah
Photo credits: Jamie Barnes and Neil Irwin