This week on the No Tracers urban exploration podcast I am joined by Matt of Finders Beepers. In this episode Matt will share many of his favorite exploration stories, including the time he got stuck in the catacombs for over 14 hours! Can you imagine being underground for that long? YIKES! Follow Finders Beepers: http://youtube.com/c/findersbeepershistoryseekers https://www.instagram.com/findersbeepers
0 (0s):
Welcome to the No Tracers podcast. How's it going guys? I hope you're doing well. If this is your first time hearing my voice. Hello, my name is Kay. I am your host. Hear on the No Tracers podcast. This is a podcast, all about urban exploration. It is full of tips, tricks, and tales from different adventures that not only have I gone on, but my different guests on this podcast have gone on. If you're new to the podcast, please go back and listen to the previous episodes. I have other guests as well on this show. And the first couple of episodes are actually full of tips and tricks for you. If you are trying to get into urban exploring, I have been exploring since I was 13 years old. I'm now 27. I've been documenting my explorations for the past five, four years.
0 (43s):
And I, I think that I've got a little bit of insight on how you could get started as an urban Explorer. So definitely check out those previous episodes. And if you guys are into photo prints or really cool books, I have a book out called No Tracers and urban explorers diary. It's full of high res photography and stories from my explorations all over the world. If you guys wanna check it out, pick up a copy. You can go to No Tracers dot com slash shop. And if you want to read my blog and see some of my photos from abandoned places just had to No Tracers dot com slash blog. There is a link down in the description. If you guys are looking for gear, there are a bunch of Amazon links in the description as well.
0 (1m 23s):
For things like backpacks, solar chargers, camera gear, audio equipment. If you need that, if you're trying to start a podcast like this, there's a bunch of gear links down in the description for you. Masks, boots, backpacks, all that kind of stuff. Definitely check out those links. If you guys are looking for some gear, but like I said, this week, I am talking to Matt from finders Biebers and we are going to dive into this episode. If you guys like what you're hearing at any time, please leave a rating and some feedback. And if you do so, I will send you a signed photo print. All you have to do is take a screenshot of your feedback and send it to me at No Tracers on Instagram. And I will mail you a signed photo print from an abandoned place. That's all you got to do. It's free. It takes you like 30 seconds to leave feedback, and then you get a photo print.
0 (2m 6s):
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1 (2m 20s):
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0 (3m 7s):
Just to note on this episode. So there's actually a little bit of feedback on this episode. I don't know if it's feedback, but it's kind of like a wobbling sound effect. I don't know what it is. It might've been something with a finder's beepers microphone or with the connection we had, but just so you know, that is there. So I'm sorry if that's annoying, but I just want it to let you know upfront, but this episode is super great. So I hope you stick around to the end and power through the weird vibration sound. All right. Finder's beepers. Matt, can you please introduce yourself and tell the audience how long you have been exploring by that? I'm
2 (3m 38s):
Up from finders beepers. I'm over in the UK and we've been exploring probably for about three years now in the UK and all over Europe and further afield as well.
0 (3m 51s):
So what got you into exploring in the first place? What made you catch the bug?
2 (3m 56s):
Well, we started off being metal detector as such. I wasn't going on a slow in at first, but the history element of that made us look into the building side of things. And then we went from there.
0 (4m 11s):
So what was your first exploration?
2 (4m 14s):
The first one we did, we did a couple of small ones to light farm houses and things like that. But the first major one we did was a mental institution that went right back to the early 18 hundreds, a massive, massive place. It was just about turned into houses. So we went on in there. It was fantastic.
0 (4m 36s):
So for those that don't know, I mean, they should know the UK is obviously been around a lot longer than America. A lot of the people that are from America came over from the UK. And so you guys have older buildings over there, which I think is super fascinating and super amazing. Like here in America, our stuff is mostly from like the 19 hundreds on and you guys have stuff from the early 18 hundreds. And even before that, can you talk about the history behind some of these places that you've explored
2 (5m 5s):
This isn't like you say this some amazing, really, really old buildings state. In fact, I think all this one we've been around dated in fact, to having buildings in the 13 hundreds. So quite a long time, but I think that's, that is the good thing about the new co UK exploration, such a varied amount of buildings, whether it be the really old, all this new book, more interesting for other reasons of things that are on there.
0 (5m 37s):
And then when did photography and videography come into play for you? You've got a YouTube channel. So I know you do a lot of video stuff. When did you guys pick up the cameras and start documenting everything?
2 (5m 48s):
It was, we started metal detecting as a bit of a hobby as, as friends. And then we went for a weekend away to Scotland. And this sort of, from there, like I said, to put the name by this, that's why the name comes from inside. And then we started to take photos on videos, not only of the, the things that we found, but the areas and the places and the things like the buildings and the history around that. So that's where it started.
0 (6m 19s):
And then for you, or for, for new explorers, they often ask like, what gear should I bring? Should I get a light? Should I get shoes? Should I get a backpack? What gear would you recommend for new explore?
2 (6m 33s):
It depends really what level you want to go into it. So for example, the first building we went into was a farm house, which wasn't really doing much to where it would be burnt out. At one point, the guy that had lived there committed suicide, and we want to sell to look into that really. You wouldn't need anything other than cause we, I feel edit and do they're not an, so you don't need the biggest, best camera in the world. The phones these days are absolutely fantastic. And I think it's because I've got the background of working for apple in the past. I knew the apps to use is to have to have a bit of knowledge around that.
2 (7m 14s):
Obviously health and safety is quite a big thing. If you're new to it, when we're a little bit gung ho we don't re we get to hold up all the time for not having the right protective things and masks and one being on the books we're at that age where we almost at our time anyway. So it didn't really matter. But yeah, I think, I don't know it's down to you. It depends. I would say that the safety element is important. Obviously we do make live and we have a laugh about it, but obviously we have been doing this for a while and we're quite comfortable with ourselves to do that.
2 (7m 54s):
But as a new person coming into it, you might want to get something that's going to stop it to something on nails masks, for example, especially with the corn situation. And then, like I said, we've always used a phone, so it'd be comfortable just used it using the phone and they added some software on there to do that, to start off with, to see if you like it.
0 (8m 15s):
Perfect, man. Thank you for telling everybody about that. I think it's super important, you know, especially like you said, right now, masks are important and respirators, there's this blood as best as lead paint, all kinds of different stuff in these abandoned buildings. So safety is definitely important. What has been your scariest exploration?
2 (8m 35s):
Oh, this just so many and for different reasons, I think the most scared I have been was probably in Russia. We went to what we thought was an abandoned, funded military base and it hadn't been abandoned and there was lots of abandoned military helicopters that probably about 40 a fish day when we first researched it. When we actually got there, the military had reclaimed the area, there was quite a lot of Russian army with big, big, massive dogs and Goldens and all the helicopters were still there, but with Goldens attached and bombs attached at all.
2 (9m 19s):
So, so yeah, we got chased by the Russian army. That was pretty scary. I would say that's probably the scariest in that regard and so on. We think to some pretty spooky places as well though. We've, we'll be like a lot of the asylums. They've got that URI feeling about when like this, somebody watching you all the time. And I think the main one would be on the spooky side of things is somewhere called St. Joe's seminary, which basically was a school for Catholic priests. So the children were made into Catholic priests eventually.
2 (9m 59s):
And there was a lot of self abuse that went on there and that was ultimately why it was so what was damn well, we fell. I, I saw, I believe in ghosts on day one comes with me, those not all this totally, totally skeptical. And he felt petrified. He felt like we were being watched the whole time. It was really, really uncomfortable in that. I loved it. We both really enjoyed it. Just fell on edge all the time.
0 (10m 28s):
Yeah. I call that feeling the darkness. It's hard to explain it unless you're an urban Explorer because people don't understand what it is, especially like those that don't believe in the supernatural, they, they oftentimes are like, oh, that's nothing. It's all in your head, but no, there's like a tangible feeling in the air.
2 (10m 46s):
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely a weird feeling. It really like we have apparently got that extra sense to know when somebody's watching us. Like when you started to feel someone looking at you, that's what it felt. It feels like all the time it's, it's uncomfortable,
0 (11m 4s):
But it's so powerful. And it's so interesting to like push yourself through that. You know, I love, I love pushing myself through that, that scary feeling. It's so it's so invigorating. You know what I mean?
2 (11m 15s):
Definitely. I prefer explores like that. Anyway, I'd rather that than just to an empty building with nothing about it. I think having that feeling there is definitely a factor.
0 (11m 31s):
So you've been to the catacombs before. That is one place that I've wanted to explore extensively, but every time I get ready to go, I always hear the horror stories of people getting robbed and left in the catacombs. But can you talk about your experience down there?
2 (11m 48s):
So as there's a bit of a mixed one, so we, we know quite a lot of people that have been down there and had fun experiences. So down that we went with his good friends with exploring with Josh, I think we're going back to the costumes with Josh next year, sometime, or to this year, depending on when lockdown is lifted and also Allie law. We're good friends with him as well. And both of them have quite nasty experiences down there. Josh actually swore he would never go back down again, but we have sort of around him and made him come with us. But yeah, we were aware, right? We knew, I think we were more worried before we got in the, when we actually were in there because of all the horror stories.
2 (12m 35s):
Well, once you get in there, this is just, we had to play. It's so strange for stop for the first good, almost two hours. You bending over walking almost on hands and knees through quite deep water through tunnel, after tunnel. So that sort of takes away that fear because you just work in and it's really, really hard, really hard work. But then when it opens up amazing players, it's, it's not like anywhere I've ever been before. And I don't know, I didn't feel particularly on edge when I got in there.
2 (13m 15s):
It felt strange when there was bones after bones and there was, there were there's. One of the tunnels were in, we worked sort of crouched down on its own. All it should have been about six or seven, four. And underneath that it was just bones. So we were stood up maybe five foot of bones. So that was a weird feeling, a really strange Bailey. The only issue we had was we got one guy that came with us called Matthew, not me. That doesn't matter to you. And then he got into a bit of a, an argument with the cat to file by the files of the people that either lived down there permanently, or they are down there a good amount of the lives they're in and out of there because he was filming and he didn't realize what was around the corner.
2 (14m 1s):
I need payment on the corner and start filming this stuff to file. And they weren't happy with him at all. So then the word was spread out all these other cars to files and we basically got caught off and we had to go on a different route. And the other people we'd gone with the Germans that we've gone with, didn't know another way round. So we were down there maybe 14 hours in total like this, obviously we had to try to find out on our way out a different way. So yeah, excited, worrying at times, but amazing. Really, really good.
0 (14m 35s):
You were there for 14 hours, dude. What
3 (14m 39s):
My God,
0 (14m 41s):
At any point, were you like, we're never going to get out of here.
2 (14m 44s):
It seemed like a little bit on the walls by the Germans that we went with. They were amazing. They've got the underground maps anywhere here. They'd been probably three or four times before. So I've got a lot of faith in that and they'd actually been locked down there the day before. So they went in one entrance and the police saw them go in and what got somebody to, well, the door shot couldn't get back on that quite worried. But they bumped into some other pats of files that were friendly, talk to them and they gave them a different way out and they were down there 15 to 20 hours as well.
2 (15m 24s):
So yeah, it's, it is one of those things where it essentially can happen for, you've just got to stay calm, make sure you've got plenty of liquids with ya. That's the main, main thing. And just not panic really? Because this 200 miles of tunnels down there, it's B I don't know if you take her on to,
0 (15m 47s):
I can't believe people live down there. I didn't even know that until you just said that. So there are CAD files that live in the catacombs.
2 (15m 55s):
Yeah. I suppose it's like, it's like homeless people. I know this similar sorts of people in Vegas that, that live in the solar systems. I suppose it's a similar sort of scenario to that.
0 (16m 8s):
Wow. It's so fascinating. I want to do like a full documentary about the catacombs one day. I think it would be super fun to document that and try to tell this story. So have you been exploring during quarantine or have you been lying low? No,
2 (16m 23s):
We've been doing podcasts. So we've been literally remotely doing it. And this has been in his house doing up in here. It is frustrating not being able to go out for, I just think the risks, these stupid, the people that are going out exploring, I just don't agree with it because it's not just them. It's the families and other people that they call me on-site with when this shock, you know, things, I just don't think it's needed at the moment for sure.
0 (16m 49s):
No, I totally get you. And then what has been your favorite exploration to date?
2 (16m 54s):
Wow, we get this question a lot. Just don't know. So this highlights for different reasons. So catacombs definitely well up there because it wasn't just the, the explode as well. It was the whole thing. So me and the German group, which worked on fasting, going around with exploring with fighters are a big, big thing over here in the UK. And then after we'd done the explore, we, it was about three o'clock in the morning when we came out. So we went and got the scooters that you can get in Paris.
2 (17m 34s):
And we had to go by eight miles across Paris. And we literally all went into about 10 of those on scooters with Smoke Bombs coming out of the back to them and also to see that sort of fantastic experience. So yeah, if it's okay to experiences, that's probably the best one for, I think still on the first ever Explorer. One on will always stand out this big, first big one I did at the mental lunatic, asylum, whatever you want to call it. That was amazing because it's something I hadn't ever experienced before and it will always stay with me.
0 (18m 10s):
And then do you have any goal places like places you want to explore that you haven't gotten to yet? Definitely.
2 (18m 17s):
Now a lot of people their first go to is Chernobyl. That's not these actually doesn't interest me in my eyes a little bit like Disneyland for explorers. So guide that takes you around and what not. I would like to go to the area surrounding there and go to the base that you're not supposed to go to because that is a big thing for me. I think you're not allowed to go. That is more exciting for me, but we've looked at things like a lot of things in Asia, where would you to go to Israel and on the 1st of May, and obviously that got stopped because it locked down and Jordan to go out to pasture one thing to another.
2 (19m 1s):
So that would have been fantastic. Vietnam. Vietnam is one that we've, we've talked about a lot that we would look to do this. There's a lot of things to do with the Vietnam war and also older history and older buildings that we've seen. So yeah, to me, anywhere, anywhere that, that I've not been, I need an amazing,
0 (19m 30s):
Awesome. And then if you could live in one place that you've explored for a week, which place would it be?
2 (19m 39s):
Oh, actually easily on this one. So we went to a mansion over in the UK that was used in one of the James Bond films. And basically it's a massive, massive house with everything still in it. And it is beautiful, absolutely wonderful waves. And I was looked to go in there, but it was a hotel before sort of all the spa rooms and everything in there. Yeah, definitely. I'm by myself.
0 (20m 9s):
Oh, that sounds so cool. It was used in a James Bond movie.
2 (20m 12s):
Yeah, it was, yeah, it was, we were the first people to stick it on YouTube. It went absolutely massive. It's our biggest video by 135,000 views, but it was, it was all over the national newspapers and Ray's absolutely crazy. This guy owned it. I'm thinking this from Saudi Arabia and he literally just left it. There was security knocking about, but nothing that the author does, but it was amazing. Really, really good. Wow.
0 (20m 45s):
That sounds absolutely incredible. So can you talk a little bit about the urban exploring community that you know, I mean, you said you're friends with like Allie law exploring with Josh fighters. Can you talk about the community of urban exploration?
2 (21m 1s):
I think in the UK, this slightly different to everywhere else because it's very political over here really is political. You get quite a lot of functions that don't like each other. You get a lot of people that are squabbling over locations and OVI. We have something called, I don't know if it extends out to America or anywhere else, but there's a website called 28 days later and they are urban explorers just like us. Well, they hate anybody that goes on YouTube and puts videos on YouTube. So basically there's a lot of friction between the two sides and a lot of respect for what they do because they go to some amazing places.
2 (21m 43s):
They just hate what we do. That's the only difference. So yeah, we've made some amazing friends we've made light done from fires and they hung around together. Absolutely amazing people helped us out with some big charity work that we've done. And then, like I said, we've made friends in Europe as well. We've got quite a few. You're like the Germans, for example, we've got quite a lot of European friends and a few Americans as well. So it is nice. It's nice that we can have the same things that we enjoy and talk about that because it's the same wherever you are in the world, exploring, exploring, didn't matter if it's a new building, an old building is still exploring and we've got that passion for it.
2 (22m 28s):
So it's nice to talk to other people.
0 (22m 31s):
Oh, absolutely. And I love that you've built this little like community. Can you talk about social media? And I mean, I know we just talked about how some people hate us YouTubers, but as a YouTube to myself, like that's just our platform. We just enjoy that platform. That's where we post our stuff. Can you talk about how social media has helped you as an Explorer has helped you grow?
2 (22m 52s):
Yeah. So I think we've built, so I think this has been no social media. We would have been very, very limited to where we could explore because you know, things within your own area, places to go where we now travel on to explore generally on a Monday night after work and we travel anything to four hours away. And if we didn't know these places because of social media and because of making friends on there, we literally would have run out after three or four months. So I think it was great on all different aspects. So Instagram, Facebook is great to see all the places that people have explored going on eight spoons.
2 (23m 37s):
There was free yourself. Also, I think it can be a bit risky in, and this is why 28 days lead to don't like, because a lot of these amazing places then get damaged because of the exposure these places get. And so for example, we have one on that was on a, I think two weeks ago in London, somewhere that we knew about, but we've not been able to go this locked down. The story had been for on social media and sole to the newspapers that, which I haven't generally got a problem with. They given out the location name, the area it was in. Oh. So then everybody went down and things were stolen.
2 (24m 18s):
Stuff was smashed off and it's just this terrible. And nobody wants that. No, not always not there.
0 (24m 26s):
Absolutely. Yeah. And then what is the farthest you've traveled to explore?
2 (24m 32s):
Probably Russia. Russia's probably the third, this, like we said, we were to do to go to Israel and Jordan, but we went to Estonia on Russia, just an editing, re editing a video from Estonia on, which is quite an interesting one. Really. We went to a former Moscow Olympic site. It was the, give me that sticks and Rowan events. He was actually in Estonia, even though this is obviously it was the Soviet union. And back in the 1980s, it was all one big place. But anyway, we got there and when we got there, we expected it to be able to say, and it was full of British Workman.
2 (25m 15s):
So we were like, oh, going on here. So we plugged that way in, cause I'm quite good at that. I went to the security guard and said that we were from the newspapers. We had to take some photos. So they let us go in. We had a good one to run and we found out quite quickly, it was from, it was being used. I was about to beams by Christopher Nolan on Warner brothers are there to film, which I think that comes out next month. It was last year we went to, but they would just prepare all of this on tenets. And then literally we Sue to get by. We uploaded the video within a couple of hours of it being up. One of all this talk me down.
2 (25m 55s):
So when we had to big, massive baffled to them, because they basically lied and said that we'd used footage from one of their previous films don't Curt. And obviously we had to fuck. So they were, they were trying their artists to, to sort of get gay, take it down so nobody could do this, the location of the film or any details or the phone to film. In fact, not even the name has been released at that point. So we fought against them and we want, and I was absolutely pausing with one this battle against them. And then within two hours, again, it been put back online. One of those Japan I'd say to me they're, which was on that.
2 (26m 36s):
And basically we got to strike for that because it actually got Christopher Nolan. I mean, was that, and we didn't realize he was on the stage showing people how we wanted things to be. And he took down because his face is copyrighted. So I've literally just spent the last couple of hours re editing it and putting something overhead every time it comes in shots to absolute nightmare. Yeah. Brilliant to me once, once again, so many go to classes over there and a wonderful place stone here, I would definitely recommend to go to just watch the ocean.
0 (27m 19s):
Wow. That's absolutely insane. I can't believe he was there and like, wow, that's just nuts. That's absolutely nuts. So my last question for you is what is something, you know, now that you wish you knew when you started exploring?
2 (27m 37s):
I think I don't want to say this, but I'm going to say it. I think this would be more wary of who I trust. Basically going back to the wrong people, going to places and doing things they shouldn't do. I'm quite a trusting person and I've given the location's to people that I thought I could trust. Not, you know, so I definitely think that side of things, like I said, the community is an amazing group of people on there are definitely by dates in there and also to watch out for big nails and things.
2 (28m 19s):
And on my fingers caught by a finger off in Manchester, watch out for things like that as well.
0 (28m 28s):
Awesome. And if people want to find, you ask you questions, or if they want to see some of your content, where can they do that?
2 (28m 35s):
Yes. So on YouTube, I'm pretty much everything you can think of. We are on just about anything and everything it's find as beef has or find this beef, this history seed cause this the full name, but you'll find those. If you look, we've got a second channel, which is beef or beef and at the moment are running on, on our channel and on Spotify, that music as well, but they explode inside of things. If you want that, it's on our main channel on YouTube. Perfect,
0 (29m 6s):
Man. Thank you so much for coming on. No Tracers and sharing some of your stories. I had a blast talking to you.
2 (29m 12s):
Absolutely fantastic. Thank you very much for having me. All
0 (29m 15s):
Right, guys. That was my podcast with finder's beepers. Thank you so much, Matt, for coming on the podcast and sharing some of your stories with my audience. I had a blast talking to you about all that stuff, especially the catacombs. I got to get out there and explore those with you. I think it would be a blast. So if you guys enjoyed this episode of No Tracers the podcast, please do me a huge favor and leave a rating and some feedback. And if you do that, I will actually send you a signed photo print from an place that I have explored. Look, I've been to a lot of really cool places. You want. One of these prints trust me. So all you got to do is take 30 seconds, leave a rating, leave some feedback and I'll get you a signed photo print. Also, if you guys want a copy of my book, No Tracers and urban explorers diary, you can get that as well as a photo print, or you can read my blog at No Tracers dot com.
0 (30m 4s):
All right. I will talk to you guys next week on the No Tracers podcast. Again, my name is Kay. Just the letter. K, go out, go create something and remember leave no trace.