A memoir of travel, business & ambition
"I didn't set out to write a business story. I set out to see the world. But somewhere between sleeping in the back of a car in Australia and opening the doors to a tiny office in Camden Town, travel became something else entirely."
A true story of ambition, travel, and risk — where building a business becomes a journey of its own.
Coming SoonThe Book
In the 1980s, long before online booking and budget airlines, Jerry Bridge set out to build a travel company from a scrappy office in Camden Town.
What followed was a twenty-year journey through risk, relentless pressure, and the shifting world of long-haul travel — where survival depended on instinct, relationships, and nerve.
Travelman is the story of what it takes to build something from nothing — and what it costs along the way. It's a story about a father's legacy, a passion for travel that became an obsession, and the grit behind every departure board and airline deal.
From the Archives
"An ordinary man who followed his passion for travel and turned it into a successful career — and life."— Jerry Bridge
The Journey
The Beginning
Jerry's father, Walter Bridge, was an early pioneer of UK travel. His company, Swiss Travel Service, established in 1949, was among the first to offer holidays to everyday people after the Second World War. He encouraged Jerry to buy his first backpack and go hitch-hiking at sixteen. After university, Jerry embarked on an incredible 22-month overland trip to and from Australia — without a mobile phone, a guidebook, or a credit card. Countries visited included Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Pakistan, India, Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Travelling 24,000km in a battered Holden station wagon around Australia was one of the many highlights of the trip. You could say it was the kind of adventure that no longer exists.
The Adventure
After university, Jerry embarked on an incredible 22-month overland trip to Australia — without mobile phone, guidebook, or credit card. A 24,000 km road trip in a beat-up Holden station wagon. The kind of adventure that no longer exists.
Camden Town
From a scrappy office in Camden Town, Jerry built Bridge the World into a travel powerhouse — 150 staff, turning over £50 million, selling flights and holidays to Australia, New Zealand, and Round the World itineraries. All built on instinct, relationships, and nerve.
Recognition
Entrepreneur of the Year. OzCARS Winner for Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Tourism Industry. Multiple travel awards. The industry recognised what Jerry had built — and the travel trade would never be quite the same.
Recognition
Travel Industry Award
The Observer Travel Award
Australian Tourism Award
Entrepreneur of the Year 2000
If You Liked...
Phil Knight
The messy, perilous, and chaotic journey of building Nike from nothing. Travelman brings the same raw honesty — but set in the world of international travel.
Richard Branson
Branson's entrepreneurial adventure and larger-than-life personality. Jerry's story sits in the same territory — risk, ambition, and a refusal to play it safe.
Paulo Coelho
Following your heart even when your head tells you to do something different. Travelman is the real-life version of that journey — a personal legend played out across the globe.
A true story of ambition, travel, and risk — where building a business becomes a journey of its own.
Coming SoonComing soon. Sign up to be notified when Travelman launches, read exclusive chapters, and join the journey.
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