From calculating risk as an actuary to inspiring thousands of South Africans to explore the world, Michelle Wears-Taylor has built a platform that proves adventure and analytical thinking can go hand in hand.
Having travelled to 28 countries, Michelle, alongside her husband JP, has turned A Couple of Adventures into one of South Africa’s most trusted travel brands.
Through authentic storytelling, breathtaking visuals and practical travel advice, she has encouraged a new generation of travellers to see both South Africa and the world differently.
As part of TJR 100 Creators, Michelle shares how patience, consistency and authenticity transformed a passion project into a thriving business, while balancing life as a numbers-driven professional and a creative storyteller.
Who is Michelle Wears-Taylor at her core?
At my core, I am a curious, genuine and hardworking person who wants to make the most of life. I am naturally analytical, which comes from my background as an actuary, but I am also deeply creative and drawn to storytelling, travel and building things that can have a positive impact on people’s lives.
Travel is where I feel most alive. I love being outdoors, surrounded by mountains or the ocean, discovering new places and learning how people live in different parts of the world. I also have a real love for history, which is probably something many people would not immediately know about me.
I find it fascinating to understand the stories, people and events that shaped the places we get to experience today.
More than anything, I value connection and meaningful experiences. When I look back on my life one day, I hope I can say that I spent quality time with the people I love, made unforgettable memories with them and loved life fiercely.
For me, a life well lived is one filled with growth, adventure, curiosity and gratitude for every opportunity to experience the world.
Three years after launching A Couple of Adventures, you landed your first brand partnership with Corona. In an industry where everyone seems to want overnight success, what did that three-year wait teach you about patience, consistency and trusting the process?
Honestly, I never expected A Couple of Adventures to become a business. We started the page simply because we loved travelling and wanted a place to share the places, nature and experiences that brought us joy.
At the time, I did not even realise that being a travel content creator could become a career or that brands partnered with creators in that way.
Because of that, we were never chasing followers or trying to force growth. Our family and close friends were following along, and we were simply posting what we genuinely loved – beautiful places, time outdoors, travel and the little moments that made us feel alive.
Slowly but surely, the community grew.
When Corona reached out for our first brand partnership three years later, it was such a surprise, but it also showed me the value of staying authentic and consistent. We had built something real before we ever thought of monetising it.
That experience taught me that growth does not always happen overnight, and it does not need to. When you create from a genuine place and keep showing up, the right opportunities can find you.
You’re an actuary by profession, which is one of the most demanding and analytical careers out there. How do you balance spreadsheets, risk models and corporate responsibilities with building one of South Africa’s fastest-growing travel brands?
Balancing a corporate career with building A Couple of Adventures was definitely challenging at first. Before leaving the corporate world, I was Head of Research and Development at RGA, managing a team while fitting content creation into evenings, weekends and any spare time we had exploring the Western Cape after moving to Franschhoek.
A Couple of Adventures was very much a side project then. We could only do stays and create content over weekends, which limited how much time we could dedicate to it.
About a year ago, I joined JP in building Just Protein, the business he founded in 2020.
Becoming self-employed gave us far more flexibility to travel during the week, work with accommodation partners when they were less busy, and dedicate more focused time to growing A Couple of Adventures.
That said, I still spend much of my time in the analytical world of Just Protein, working with models, strategy and spreadsheets.
I am a true numbers person (and nerd) at heart, but A Couple of Adventures gives me a creative outlet. The two sides balance each other beautifully – one challenges my analytical mind, while the other allows me to tell stories, explore and create.
You and your husband, JP, travel together, create content together and run businesses together. What’s the biggest challenge of working with your spouse, and what has made the partnership so successful?
The biggest challenge of working with your spouse is that when business is stressful, it can be difficult not to bring that pressure into your relationship.
When things are not going well, we can both feel frustrated at the same time, so we have had to learn to step back, take a breath and remember that we are on the same team.
Setting clear boundaries has been essential for us. We make time for a weekly date night where business is off limits, and even something as simple as a walk with our dogs can become protected when one of us says, “No business talk on this walk.”
We have also learned that we work best with separate offices – we love building things together, but we do not need to sit next to each other all day to do it well.
What makes the partnership successful is how differently we think. JP is naturally decisive and moves quickly, which is invaluable in entrepreneurship.
I tend to step back, look at the numbers and consider the longer-term implications before making a decision. Sometimes I can overthink, and sometimes he can move too quickly, but together we balance each other out really well.
Many aspiring travel creators struggle with negotiating their first paid collaborations. What’s one negotiation lesson you wish you knew before signing your first brand deal, and what advice would you give creators who often undervalue themselves?
One lesson I wish I had understood earlier is that you are not only charging for a post – you are charging for the time, creativity, planning, travel, editing, experience and trust you have built with your audience.
When you are starting out, it is easy to feel so excited that a brand wants to work with you that you accept whatever is offered.
I think many creators undervalue themselves because they focus only on their follower count, rather than the full value they bring to a campaign.
A creator’s ability to tell a story, create high-quality content, influence purchasing decisions and deliver something a brand can use beyond their own platform all has value.
My advice would be to always understand the full scope before agreeing to a rate. Ask about deliverables, usage rights, exclusivity, deadlines, revisions and whether the brand wants to use your content for paid advertising. Those details can make a big difference to the value of a collaboration.
And most importantly, do not be afraid to negotiate respectfully. Brands expect it. Know what your work is worth, be professional, and remember that saying yes to every opportunity is not always the best long-term strategy.
A Couple of Adventures has become known for showing South Africans that travel doesn’t have to be reserved for the wealthy. What’s the biggest misconception people have about travelling locally and internationally on a realistic budget?
I think the biggest misconception is that travelling, whether locally or internationally, has to mean luxury hotels, eating out for every meal and spending money constantly to have a good experience.
In reality, some of the best trips are built around simple choices. Staying in an Airbnb or guesthouse rather than a hotel, buying a few groceries, packing snacks for travel days and choosing one memorable meal out each day can make a huge difference to a budget without taking away from the experience.
When we travel overseas, especially in countries where the rand does not stretch as far, we often have a simple breakfast, buy fresh food from local grocery stores for lunch, and then choose to eat out for dinner so that we can still experience the local food and culture.
In Italy, for example, a lunch of fresh bread, prosciutto and cream cheese can be far more affordable than eating at a restaurant, while still feeling completely local and special.
The same applies in South Africa. There are wonderful, affordable stays available if you look beyond the obvious options and plan ahead.
And many of the best experiences cost very little: walking through Rome, exploring a new neighbourhood, hiking, spending time in nature or simply getting lost in a beautiful place.
You’ve visited some incredible destinations around the world, but what do you think makes South Africa stand out as a travel destination that even many locals still take for granted?
Having travelled to 28 countries, South Africa still remains one of our favourite places in the world. What makes it so special is the incredible diversity packed into one country.
You can have mountains meeting the ocean in Cape Town, the dramatic peaks of the Drakensberg, forests in Knysna, wide open landscapes in the Karoo, and one of the most remarkable wildlife experiences in the world in the Kruger National Park.
The Kruger in particular is something many South Africans grow up with and may take for granted, but it is genuinely world-class.
There are very few places where you can experience wildlife, wilderness and that sense of being completely removed from everyday life in the same way.
South Africa also has a warmth that is difficult to replicate. The people are friendly, the hospitality is exceptional, and there is a real sense of character in every region. And this may sound like a small thing, but I think South Africans also take our grocery stores for granted.
Woolworths in particular is on another level. After travelling abroad, you realise how exceptional the quality, variety and convenience are. It is one of those everyday luxuries that we do not always appreciate until we leave home.
I think many locals underestimate how extraordinary it is to have such varied landscapes, cultures, experiences and comforts within one country. You can have a completely different kind of adventure just a few hours’ drive away, which is something truly special.
What do you think convinced brands like Corona, The North Face and ASUS to work with you? Was it your audience size, your storytelling, your consistency, or something else entirely?
With Corona, it definitely was not audience size – we had around 2,000 followers when they first reached out. I think they saw that our content came from a genuine place.
We were simply sharing the places and experiences we loved, without trying to force a brand or chase commercial opportunities.
With brands like The North Face and ASUS, I think it has been a combination of audience growth, consistency and authenticity. Our community has grown because people trust that what we share reflects our real lives and real experiences.
A big part of that is also the quality of the work we create. JP is the creative force behind the camera, photography and editing, and he has an incredible eye for storytelling. His style is polished, but it still feels natural and true to us rather than overly staged or generic.
I think brands are looking for creators who can make their product feel part of a real story, not just an advert. That is what we try to do with every partnership – create content that is visually strong, authentic to our lifestyle and meaningful to the people who follow us.
As creators, it’s easy to focus on the highlight reel. Can you share a travel moment that didn’t go according to plan but ended up teaching you one of your biggest lessons?
There have definitely been a few travel moments that did not go according to plan, but one that stands out was our ski trip to Austria in February this year.
We flew from Cape Town to Germany and were meant to connect onward to Austria, but a snowstorm in Germany grounded the flights. In the chaos, our luggage was lost. By the time we eventually arrived in Austria and checked into our B&B, we had no bags – and JP was standing in the middle of a European winter with only a T-shirt, shorts and a light down jacket. It became one of those stories we will laugh about forever.
The lesson was a very practical one: always pack a change of clothes, basic toiletries and something warm in your cabin luggage, especially when travelling from sunny South Africa to a winter destination.
Travel does not always go perfectly, but those unexpected moments often become part of the adventure – and usually the memories you talk about most afterwards.
Do you think creators should rely solely on social media income, or is having multiple income streams becoming essential?
In the case of A Couple of Adventures, we do not rely solely on social media income. Our income from Just Protein is what sustains our lifestyle, while the income from A Couple of Adventures is an added bonus that allows us to invest further in travel, content and growing the platform.
We do have friends who are exceptional creators and earn a full-time income through social media, so it is absolutely possible.
But I think that, especially when you are starting out, it is wise to build your platform alongside another source of income.
My advice to aspiring creators would be to start it as a side hustle, take it seriously and allow it to grow steadily. Build your skills, develop a strong community and learn how to monetise your work properly.
Once the income becomes consistent enough to support you sustainably, you can make the decision to focus on content creation full-time.
Switching gears for a moment; what’s the last Netflix film or series you watched that you’d genuinely recommend, and what made it memorable?
The last series I watched and would genuinely recommend is Harlan Coben’s Run Away. I am a big fan of his shows because they are easy to get completely drawn into – every episode reveals another layer, and just when you think you know where the story is going, there is another twist.
What made this one memorable was that it was not only a suspenseful mystery, but also centered on family secrets and how far people will go for the people they love.
It was one of those series that made me keep saying, “Just one more episode,” until suddenly it was far too late.
The Joburg Reporter 
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