You can't always be on a plane or hiking through far-off mountains—but with JOURNY.tv, you can escape for 30 minutes and feel like you are. JOURNY is a free streaming channel built on adventurous, authentic storytelling, led by a team of filmmakers who believe travel is more than just a destination—it's a mindset. From hidden food stalls to forgotten communities, JOURNY brings the world to your screen with fresh perspectives and genuine stories hosted by top-notch talent such as Gordon Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape), Bear Grylls (The Island), and Alan Cumming (Paradise Homes).

NextTrip has set out on a mission to create a comprehensive travel experience for users from discovery through booking. Already boasting two booking engines (Five Star Alliance and NextTrip) in addition to Travel Magazine, JOURNY.tv was the perfect fit to complete the travel ecosystem. The goal was to supercharge the storytelling and discovery experience when NextTrip brought JOURNY into the fold. To lead the charge, they tapped three creators with a gift for turning travel chaos into unforgettable stories: Stephen Friedman, Anikó Michnya-Baillie, and Brett Shaw.

A Partnership Born on the Road

Some of the best collaborations don’t begin in boardrooms—they start on the road. For Stephen and Anikó, it was curiosity and wanderlust that drew them together. His bold creativity and big-picture vision paired seamlessly with her structural genius and producer’s instinct. By 2015, what started as a friendship had evolved into a creative partnership and a production company.

Their first series—a passion project that landed on Ovation and National Geographic—became an unexpected breakout hit, earning a Telly Award and, more importantly, bringing Brett into the fold.

Enter Brett: The Crew’s Secret Weapon

Just two weeks before a shoot in 2016, disaster struck—Aniko and Stephen’s videographer broke his leg. A friend introduced Brett, who arrived with understated confidence and quickly became indispensable. Cinematographer, editor, fixer, problem-solver—Brett earned a reputation as the “MacGyver” of film crews. Broken equipment? He fixed it. Missing gear? He improvised. A shot that seemed impossible? Brett found a way.

From there, the trio traveled the world together, collecting stories that read like a traveler’s diary of beautiful disasters:

• •Ireland: Brett once stood guard at the end of a dark alley while Anikó and her co-host answered a very unglamorous but urgent call from nature—in the pouring rain. (Glamorous, they know.)
• •Bali: While hoisting a bag of gear, Brett let out an unexpected “sound effect,” then immediately turned to Stephen and said, “Bro, we’ve got young ladies here, behave yourself!” The crew still blames Stephen to this day, despite his continued protests of innocence.
• •Peru: A mistranslated menu led Stephen to accidentally order $400 worth of sushi, temporarily convincing an entire restaurant they were traveling rock stars. (They were decidedly not.)
• •Cuba: Their entire filming kit was confiscated upon arrival—a challenge that would have ended most productions, but somehow didn’t stop theirs.
• •Hong Kong: Stephen’s competitive eating skills were put to the test when he downed 55 dim sum in a single sitting, leaving Brett genuinely puzzled about the laws of human stomach capacity.
• •Ukraine: In what still feels like a minor miracle, Anikó managed to secure a completely sold-out Sony FX6 camera during the early days of the war and transport it safely to London without a scratch. The logistics remain a mystery that borders on magic.

JOURNY’s New Direction

These chaotic, triumphant adventures made them the perfect team to lead JOURNY into a new era.

“We believe travel is a mindset,” Aniko explains. “It’s about connecting to places, people, and deeper parts of ourselves.”

Instead of recycling familiar tropes, JOURNY wants to champion diverse voices and fresh perspectives. “Think of it as ‘the MTV of travel’” said Stephen Friedman, JOURNY’s Head of Studio, “fast-moving, bold, and plugged in—yet grounded in meaningful storytelling.” JOURNY doesn’t chase viral moments or sell escapism; it delivers genuine perspective.

Whether it’s a hidden food stall in Bangkok, a forgotten island community, or a solo traveler’s transformative journey, JOURNY holds to a simple belief: every corner of the world has a story worth telling.

And it’s accessible to everyone. As a free, ad-supported streaming channel available both as a FAST channel and on-demand, JOURNY makes global discovery open to all.

More Than a Business—A Mission

For Stephen, Anikó, and Brett, JOURNY isn’t just a venture. It’s the continuation of a story that began with three travelers who believed the world’s most compelling narratives aren’t found in brochures, but in the unexpected moments between destinations.

In a landscape often dominated by glossy escapism, JOURNY offers something different: authenticity, accessibility, and the radical idea that everyone has both a story to tell and a world to discover.

The journey continues—and this time, we’re all invited along.

Check out the team’s work and start streaming at JOURNY.tv.