Lance ‘Russ’ Turnley — Founder of Off road Explorer

Lance ‘Russ’ Turnley, founder of OffroadExplorer.com, has spent a lifetime on two wheels. His passion for motorcycles began with his first scooter and grew when, at just 12 years of age, he bought a Kawasaki MT1 with money earned slogging it out on the newspaper round. From those early days, Lance has chased dirt, dust and adventure across motocross, enduro and mountain biking.

A chance meeting with Australasian Dirt Bike legend and publisher Geoff Eldridge opened the door to a career in specialist publishing. Lance went on to launch and publish Australasian Jet Sports, covering the world of personal watercraft (PWC) in Australia and overseas.

A passionate mountain biker, Lance returned to off-road motorcycling in 2000, combining his love of dirt riding with a growing career in motorcycle journalism. His work has appeared in leading Australian publications, including Australasian Dirt Bike, Dirt Action, Australian Motorcycle News and Australian Mountain Bike. He currently contributes to Australian Adventure Bike Magazine as a photojournalist, continuing to document the people, places and experiences that make adventure motorcycling such a compelling pursuit.

His experience extends well beyond the written word. Lance worked as Art Director at 4WD Monthly, where he helped bring the magazine’s content to life, and produced its first DVDs, adding video production to an already diverse publishing skill set.

At the end of 2007, Lance joined Trail Zone magazine as its adventure bike editor. The role was a natural fit, bringing together his passion for off-road exploration, motorcycle journalism and long-distance adventure riding. During his time with the magazine, he filmed and produced all of the Trail Zone In The Zone DVDs and filmed BMW Safari events through to 2010.

A family illness subsequently forced a change of direction, and Offroad Explorer was put on hold for several years. Never one to sit idle, Lance continued contributing to various publications while also working in the marketing division at Yamaha Motor Australia, helping develop creative marketing initiatives in the two and four wheel market.

Now, OffroadExplorer.com brings those experiences together in a dedicated online hub for Australia’s growing community of adventure motorcyclists.

Built for riders who want to travel further, explore beyond the bitumen and discover what lies around the next bend, Offroad Explorer focuses on big-distance, all-roads adventure riding. Its aim is to provide useful information, insights, stories and inspiration covering the motorcycles, equipment, destinations and experiences that make adventure motorcycling such a rewarding pursuit.

For Lance, Offroad Explorer is more than a website. It’s a continuation of a lifelong journey through motorcycles, publishing, photography and the great outdoors — driven by the same curiosity and enthusiasm that began with a young bloke saving his newspaper-round money to buy his first minibike.