A year ago we followed Conrad during his journey on a Maltese reality TV show called 'Liquorish'. Recently we saw his vlogs circulating online, on YouTube, on the news and on local TV shows. So we grew more and more curious of his exciting adventures that he embarks on every week. So here is an interesting interview we did to get to know him better, the creative ideas behind his vlogs and some in site about his adventures.
1. How did you fall in love with travelling? I think like everyone else, when you travel abroad for the first time, you discover a whole new world. You get a sweet taste of the beautiful views and magnificent sceneries. I had the opportunity to visit many places including Milan, Venice, Germany, England, Sicily, Dubai, India, Indonesia, Vienna among others and there are many other countries listed on my bucket list.
What I love mostly about travelling is that you get to experience, witness and live different cultures, differing styles of living, different perspectives, their clothes, colors, people’s expressions. For example when I visited India and Indonesia, I will never forget the look in people’s eyes despite the great poverty they live in. A look of unconditional pure content, always smiling. It is ironic when you compare them to us where we have everything yet we constantly complain, grumble and are still unhappy. They welcome you without any fear, reservations and conditions into their home.
2. Mention some places you have visited and since you are also a photographer some of your favorite shots from these places. India is at the top of my list. I went there for 2 weeks solely me and my camera, practically alone, in a continent that I have never visited before. To make matters worse, the local people do not speak English. When it comes to planning holidays, normally I tag along with my friends and leave the planning up to them yet for this one I planned everything myself from beginning to end. I had around 8 flights to catch before arriving to the desired destination. I visited around 6 places in India. The photographs I took there were indescribable, the expressions captured in the eyes of the people, the poverty they live in, especially the expression on the faces of the children says a thousand words, the innocence in their dark, black beautiful eyes. It was an unforgettable experience I will treasure.
I also visited Paris when there was the shootings. I went there as a photographer as part of photojournalism. You see the dry flowers in the shooting holes in the walls.
I search to capture people’s expressions, what people are wearing, the people in the streets to try to capture the life of the place so that just by looking at the photograph you get a sense of that particular place and what the people are feeling.
3. Which country has left an imprint on you and why? 
Definitely India. The continuous loud sound of TukTuks which you can hear wherever you go, characteristic smells of spices, of the streets due to the lack of cleanliness. No water supply is found in their homes so they have to walk long distances to fill up buckets of water from natural water reservoirs which they have to carry back home. You see children walking bare footed carrying buckets of water. The way they build their homes, women helping men and carrying bricks on their backs. They use animals such as donkeys to carry merchandise from one place to another. Also I was impressed with the great respect they have for animals especially cows such as when cows are passing by all traffic stops. It was an amazing experience. I spent 2 weeks there. You have to be focused, attentive and know what you are doing to avoid any dangers and accidents. When I came back from India, I felt blessed that I have a roof over my head and a safe place to lay my head on.
4. Which places are on your bucket list? It is very long but I must say a relaxing holiday in Bali is next. Also I dream of trekking in the Amazon similar to those hikers you see on reality shows on the National Geographic channel, exploring jungles, forests, caves.
I also have lots of places left to see in Malta. I believe that our island has a lot to offer, not only on land but also underground. I bet there is whole other world beneath us. Through CNG Trekventures I am discovering so much and every time I am left mesmerized by these hidden places we have on our island. We always crave to explore what awaits us in other countries yet if we start to search and unravel what we have on our islands one life time would not be enough.
5. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you and your travelling plans?COVID-19 affected me in a rather positive way. Thank God till now I didn’t need to quarantine or suffered from COVID in itself. From the beginning of this pandemic, every day I tried to do something for someone. Before COVID started, I used to go on trekking with lots of different groups for which numerous people used to attend including many elderly people. These people every weekend looked forward to these hikes. Since they were vulnerable and restrictions were imposed accordingly, face masks, restrictions on large gatherings etc, these people were stuck inside and these hikes could not continue. They looked forward to these weekly outings and missed them so I thought of an idea to cheer them up and still keep them entertained whilst stuck inside.
When I went trekking I shared the photos I took on my Facebook so that people stuck inside could still enjoy these hikes and beautiful scenes virtually. As I continued going on these hikes, from pictures I also started filming some footage of my adventures. I started to edit them, include music, information so that they make more sense when I joined them together and put them up on my Youtube channel. I started to receive great positive feedback from these videos not only from people living in Malta but also from foreigners such as people living in Australia, America, England, India, Toronto, all over the globe. There was great interest especially from ex patriots that used to live in Malta.
Although there are many people doing vlogs right now, in my opinion mine are unique as I try to also make my vlogs educational. I do this by
Mentioning means and ways on how we can safeguard our environment in fact I have launched a new campaign called " TlietaTlietaNaslu".
I try to give information regarding flora and fauna,
Information on geology,
History and heritage of Malta
I obtain this information from professional people. Also sometimes people suggest places themselves where they wish to see. Many times I would have never heard of such places so I get the necessary information from them and plan my next adventure. I try to include as much information as possible so that people can learn something with me.
6. Obviously, lots of people know you from the reality TV show 'Liquorish'. How would you describe this adventure?
It was an extraordinary experience, one of the greatest adventures of my life. We were a great team but obviously as days went by sub groups started to form. Physically I was well prepared as I spent 5 months preparing for it in Malta, trying out all the adventures that took place in the previous episodes of Liquorish. The most difficult part of it was going on for many hours during the day, performing strenuous activities without food, suffering hunger. For example we had to divide a pineapple or a packet of biscuits between 10 people. It was not easy. I was not mentally prepared. But overall it was a wonderful experience, a beautiful place to visit, even the people are very helpful and welcoming. So if I had the opportunity, undoubtedly I would do it all over again.
7. How do you discover these interesting hidden spots?As I said previously I take notes from the feedback of people. Some of the places would be accessible others very difficult to access or inaccessible at all. I am very courageous so I try very hard, if I can access a place I try every possible way to succeed whether it is by crawling, squeezing through small spaces. I try to take all the possible precautions and safety measures such as take safety gear, safety helmet, clothes, whistles, ropes, torches and back up.
8. Which are your favorite hidden gems you have discovered in Malta so far and which do you specifically recommend? I found a lot, amongst them are Il-pixxina naturali at Qrendi , a sunken cave at Dingli , Ghar Ralek (a name I gave it myself, as in reality it has another name but I decided to not expose where it is located, to protect it from further vandalism ), Mystic Villa at Madliena which is a private building, in my opinion a museum of arts.
9. How do you prepare for such adventures? Do you do some research, prepare specific equipment, check out the area beforehand? I do research online, I see whether there are any vlogs on this particular place so I can take some information from them and also be original and not do the same things. I try to assess the level of danger I will face, what equipment will be needed, the duration of the hike so I can plan how much food and drink I should pack. It is not always possible to check the area beforehand. Sometimes you thank God you are able to enter and exist for just one time, so in that case I go on the spot, be prepared and do it.
10. I have seen the vlog about Ghar Ralek. What thoughts were going through your head when you were crawling in that small space? Do thoughts of concern such as if rubble falls, if you get trapped occur to you? Was someone with you? A thousand thoughts were going through my mind. It is such a small space that you feel very uncomfortable especially when you start seeing some of the gravel that has crumbled down. You start thinking that it can fall while you are. Thoughts of concern run through your head. Fear is felt yet the adrenaline rush takes over and sudden excitement on what you may find is felt as you go further in the cave. When you enter such places you never know what you’re going to find. You find may find dead remains of an animal or a skeleton, insects, rats, rubbish amongst others. You have to consider everything into the equation. If it is possible do not go alone you do not go alone. It is important to inform someone where you are going, how long you will be there. The thrill was that I didn’t know what I was going to find. When you insert the name of the place on google all you find is a name of the road. No information whatsoever was found about this cave. It was very difficult to enter.
You start to enter bit by bit, you keep crawling and squeeze into small spaces, in areas it opens up, in other areas it narrows further. You try to mark in your head the root you need to follow to go back as sometimes one root opens into two and you do not know which way to go. You start loosing your breath, you get tired, my knees and hands began hurting as I did not take the necessary equipment. If it is possible when you enter, you take a rope with you so that then you can follow it back. At the end, when it is all over and you see the footage and start editing, and see the feedback, everything will be worth it. Yet looking back, I admit it was a crazy idea.
11. Do you perform any tests or research before entering these types of places especially involving small spaces? Honestly I do not. I guess it is all part of the risk I am willing to take. I admit, it may be wrong in doing so but sometimes the adrenaline rush in discovering certain places wins me over.
12. What advice would you give to the public if they attempt to perform such adventures? My only words are – GO FOR IT !! My only advice is :
Safety gear is very important (well-fitting helmets, knee caps, hiking shoes etc.)
Do your homework well before you go so that you will be prepared on what you can find,
Do not go alone. I suggest a group of 2 to 3 people,
Take the necessary equipment. Also it is very important to pack back up equipment for example 3 different light sources instead of one, if something functions with batteries then pack extra batteries. If you are more than one in a group as we said earlier it is better as these sources will multiply.
Inform someone before going in, send them a location and tell them how long you think you are going to be there and then inform them when you are out so the loop is closed
13. Your future plans 
My intention is to continue discovering Malta and share it with people from abroad and discover the world and share it with the rest of the Maltese people. The most important for me in all this is that I am enjoying every minute of what I am doing. Although it involves a lot of work especially editing, getting the information I am loving it. Behind my vlogs are a team of people whom without them, this project would not be possible.
I take this opportunity to thank my sponsors, Adventure shop who are always there to provide me with the necessary equipment, my brother Johan Gatt who provides me with all the information about flora and fauna, Ramona Mercieca from Gozo responsible for the geology aspect of my vlogs, my family for their constant support and all my subscribers. I am grateful for the positive feedback I am getting and I am happy that the main aim of this project is succeeding, that of sharing these beautiful places in Malta with many people, promoting Malta with the rest of the world.
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