Eva zu Beck: From Office Job to 1.9M YouTube Subscribers

Channel: Eva zu Beck   Who: Eva zu Beck, a Polish adventure vlogger, presenter and author   Subscribers: 1.93M (as of 30 October 2026)   Niche: adventure travel, overlanding and expeditions

In late 2017 Eva zu Beck walked away from a conventional London career to go travelling in Nepal. She decided to try travel vlogging, and soon moved to Pakistan, a country she had read was among the most dangerous in the world. Nine years later she hosts and directs Superskilled on National Geographic, has published a memoir, and as of 30 October 2026 her YouTube channel has 1.93 million subscribers and 310 videos. Her channel describes her as "an adventure YouTuber, host and director of the show Superskilled on Nat Geo, and a self-proclaimed feral woman."

Oxford, Brussels and an office in London

She was born Ewa Bianka Zubek in Poland on 26 April 1991, the oldest of three children raised by a single mother, and grew up in Wrocław. Around the age of 12 she moved with her family to England. She studied German and French at the University of Oxford, graduating in 2013, then worked at the European Parliament in Brussels and in several other jobs, including four years in London at the travel media start-up Culture Trip.

She became unhappy with that conventional life. In late 2017 she left to travel in Nepal, and that is where the vlogging started.

A year in Pakistan

Instead of easing in with well-trodden routes, she moved to Pakistan and lived there for more than a year. A 2018 video she posted for Pakistan's independence day, dancing the "Kiki Challenge" draped in the country's flag, brought her wide attention, along with some criticism. More remote trips followed: she travelled by horseback in Mongolia in 2019, and her "7 Days Horse Trekking ALONE in Mongolia" video still sits at the top of her channel with more than 2.5 million views. Over the years she has travelled to around 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq.

That reach brought television work. In 2020 she hosted TRT World's A Place Called Pakistan, presented the Euronews YouTube miniseries Rerouted: The Balkans, and joined the BBC's The Travel Show as a presenter.

A Land Rover called Odyssey

In early 2022 she began a road trip of the Americas, living in a converted Land Rover Defender named Odyssey that she shipped from Germany to Mexico. While the truck was at sea she flew to Antarctica and climbed Mount Vinson, at 4,892 m the continent's highest peak. Back on the road she adopted a German Shepherd puppy and drove north through the U.S. and Canada, reaching the northern tip of Alaska in the autumn of 2022 and swimming briefly in the Arctic Ocean. In March 2023, back in Mexico, she dropped the plan to drive on through Central and South America and took a break from vlogging.

Ultramarathons, Nat Geo and a book

She came back with bigger challenges. In July 2024 she finished third among women and tenth overall in the 250 km Gobi March ultramarathon, and in March 2025 she completed the 500 km Lapland Arctic Ultra. Her series Superskilled with Eva zu Beck ran on National Geographic's YouTube channel and later Disney+, and in 2025 she won the Outdoor Media Summit's YouTube Channel of the Year award. For 2026 she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Daytime Personality, and her memoir, The Wilder Way, was published by Penguin's Century imprint. She now lives on a remote piece of land in Poland, in a tent or a small shepherd's hut between trips.

Owning the audience, not just the views

Even with a TV show, Eva has kept direct lines to her fans. Her channel videos point viewers to her Patreon, her website links a store, a storytelling masterclass and an Adventure Newsletter with what she calls a "community of 30,000 fellow adventure seekers." Brand deals and TV commissions come and go. Fans who support you directly stay.

What other creators can take from it

Eva did not wait for a big following before going somewhere few people film. A distinctive story, told consistently, is what built her audience, and she gave the people who cared most a way to back the next trip. You don't need 1.9 million subscribers to do the same. A few dozen supporters paying a few dollars a month can fund fuel, gear or a flight for a small adventure channel.

You can set that up in minutes. On Yaff you can sell behind-the-scenes posts, photo dumps, expedition videos and guides behind monthly tiers, take tips, and talk to supporters in group chats and DMs. Starter is free with a 5% platform fee, and payouts go to your bank daily via Stripe. Start your free Yaff page and publish your first post, see pricing, or read how to fund your expedition or adventure with memberships and add Yaff to your YouTube channel.

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Watch Eva zu Beck on YouTube