Beau Miles. Award winning filmmaker, poly-jobist, speaker, writer, odd.

On a recent crossing of Bass Strait in a sea kayak, Beau Miles was voted 5th worst dressed in a party of 5. Being offbeat and NQR speaks volumes about how Beau goes about life and represents himself to the world, believing wholeheartedly that we’re all weird. With a PhD in Outdoor Education, a string of successful short films under his belt, Beau’s exploits are funny, authentic, insightful and being copied all over the world.

Beau’s offbeat stories of adventure exemplify a curious view of the human condition.

YouTuber, new dad, and self-described oddball who needs to shower more, Beau has been finding ways to satisfy his adventurous spirit both abroad and in his backyard.

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Beau's latest films and documentaries

Walking 90km to work

28 MINUTES
Setting off with no food, water or shelter, I walked 90km to work to see if a stripped back adventure could give me the same kind of buzz that a far away, exotic, heavily planned expeditions normally do.

A Mile with May

10 MINUTES
May and I head off on a slow, tooled-up, distracted lap of the block- which happens to be a perfect mile. Seated within the wide, book and plum filled bucket of a wheelbarrow.

Junk Cabin

20 MINUTES
When COVID-19 locked me and my family down on the small farm, I decided to build my wife a cabin-office in the paddock without her knowing.

Junk Wine

14 MINUTES
Drinking a bottle of wine I found on the side of the road (in a pile of rubbish), I accept a challenge from a YouTube subscriber to tell stories while sitting in the middle of a field.

Big Gums

15 MINUTES
This is the story of spending a night in a big old gumtree. Strapped to three builders planks- one of which had a large crack that I thought was spilled paint, I slept with one eye open, which was pleasant because I could see the view.

The Human Bean

26 MINUTES
Inspired by a half-page scene in John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat, where a family of poor, super healthy kids eat an almost exclusive bean diet, Beau decides to do much the same thing.

Run the Line

24 MINUTES
Overgrown, farmed, pushed out, sold off and only half there, Beau Miles aims to re-run the old Warragul-Noojee Railway line, which snaked for 42km through the foothills of Mt.Baw Baw, and ran from 1892-1954.

Junk Office

10 MINUTES
This is the story of spending a night in a big old gumtree. Strapped to three builders planks- one of which had a large crack that I thought was spilled paint, I slept with one eye open, which was pleasant because I could see the view.

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Latest Book

The Backyard Adventurer

After years of adventuring around the globe – running, kayaking, hitchhiking, exploring – Beau Miles came back to his block in country Victoria. Staying put for the first time in years, Beau developed a new kind of lifestyle as the Backyard Adventurer.

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Autoethnographic Inquiry

The Secret Life of the Sea Kayaker

Beau’s PHD investigated the lived experience of sea kayaking as a form of expeditionary practice. The project was positioned as a phenomenological narrative during a 15-day sea kayak crossing of Bass Strait, between the Australian mainland and Tasmania.

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Beau's musings and project updates

Beauisms

My love of orange things

I’m writing a book so penning this blog is a strategic distraction. I’ve also become a dad 23.2 days ago (May, Baby May!!), so I’m doing this between farting and burping a newborn, which is more fun that I thought. An infant at arms-reach makes you think in football sized…

Bass by Kayak

As good as great fish and a dam busting leak…

I remember eating something new a few years ago. Maybe a Russian dish, but probably not. My step mum cooked it, scratch that- created it for Christmas. New flavours rolled around in my head as a truly new experience. Overwhelming really. As if, when you finally wee after torturing yourself…