DobberNationLoves

Andrew John Virtue Dobson, Founder

Toronto, Canada

2025

Andrew John Virtue Dobson is bringing global flavors and unique experiences to his audience of luxury travel enthusiasts

Since 2006, Andrew John Virtue Dobson has recounted his travels and culinary adventures online. Nearly two decades later, DOBBERNATIONLOVES is a trusted luxury travel brand that attracts an audience on his blog, social media channels, and YouTube.

An early adopter

In the history of blogging, Andrew John Virtue Dobson is undeniably an OG.

“I started in the early years of the internet when bloggers and influencers didn’t even exist yet,” says Andrew. “Like many bloggers, my publication grew out of a passion for publishing articles online in the form of diary-style personality driven stories.”

The publication in question: DOBBERNATIONLOVES, Andrew’s award-winning lifestyle site where he recounts his globe-trotting culinary adventures to an audience of fellow food and travel lovers.

“Dobbernationloves shares daily stories that inspire people to enjoy life to the fullest,” Andrew explains. “We're a positive space (hence the word love in our branding) with a focus on showcasing luxury travel and food & drink stories.”

Across a nearly 20-year blogging career, Andrew has had a front row seat to the internet’s many changes. From sponsorship deals to ads to video, Andrew has seen it all — and his story underscores the creativity and resourcefulness demanded of online creators. He’s quick to note that he didn’t make any income for the first five years of blogging — but with persistence and passion, he was able to turn his hobby into a full-time career.

The accidental travel journalist

Right after college, Andrew went on a trip around Europe, which he documented through a series of Facebook photo albums. But after poring over his photos, his mom had a novel idea: Why not post all these photos on a blog, then write up some thoughts about the trip?

“I had never documented my life before,” says Andrew. “But this three-month backpacking adventure basically turned me into a travel journalist — and I never really looked back.”

Andrew officially had the blogging bug. After his trip to Europe, he spent a year in South Korea teaching English, which again provided plenty of fodder for his blog. After that, he backpacked through Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Polynesian islands.

Then, finally, he went back home to Toronto, where he took some short-lived jobs at various magazines. “Unfortunately, all of those magazines went bankrupt,” says Andrew. “Which perhaps was writing on the wall.”

Now settled in Toronto, Andrew had less time for travel. Still eager to get his writing out in the world, he pivoted to food blogging. He scoured Toronto for affordable eats, and soon enough he made a name for himself in the local food blogger scene. Before he knew it, he was getting invited to restaurant openings.

“I got invited on my first press trip when Tourism Montreal hosted me to cover Montreal Restaurant Week,” he says. “And that's when I was like, ‘Oh, you can get flown places and put up in hotels?’”

At this juncture, Andrew took a leap of faith. He quit his job to focus fully on his blog. There was no way to monetize on social platforms at that time, and the word “influencer” didn’t even exist yet. But with a steady stream of sponsorship deals, Andrew was able to take more trips — and get paid to write about them.

“Ads played a big part in my revenue. Now I was able to write creatively without having to worry about always having a sponsor.”

To ads and beyond

Amid his transition to full-time blogging, Andrew got a very useful bit of help in the form of government grants from the Canadian Periodical Fund. Using these grants, Andrew was able to professionally rebrand his website, as well as work with an SEO consultant. Thanks to these improvements, he was able to better monetize his site with ads.

“That was a dramatic change in my career and my business,” says Andrew. “I went from making basically no digital ad revenue to probably making up to $5,000 a month from ads.”

Andrew worked with Mediavine, a Google Certified Publishing Partner, who helped manage his ad strategy so that we could focus on his true passion: Eating great food from around the world, then writing about it.

“Ads played a big part in my revenue,” says Andrew. “Now I was able to write creatively without having to worry about always having a sponsor. The majority (over 90% of our stories) are editorial and not sponsored.”

But like any online creator, relying on only one income stream can be risky. Plus, audiences change. While the average internet user in 2012 loved diving into a 3,000 word blog post, that same user might prefer to get that content in a video now. So recently, Andrew has turned his focus toward YouTube.

“I was able to monetize my videos in under a month,” says Andrew. “I remember I was out at dinner in Sri Lanka with my sister when I got the email from YouTube that I was now monetizing. And I was like we have to celebrate. So of course we ordered some wine!”

Now Andrew is eager to see how his video presence continues to evolve in the coming years. While his medium of online expression has evolved, the mission is the same: to show people wonderful experiences and flavors from all around the world.

“I've had total strangers email me letting me know they planned their honeymoon to Bali and Thailand because of one of our stories,” says Andrew. “I just love telling stories that help others make their travel experiences unique, memorable and delicious!”

About the Publisher

Andrew John Virtue Dobson launched his travel website in 2006 to document his solo backpacking trip through Europe. Almost 2 decades later Dobbernationloves continues to inspire traveling foodies to discover trendy new restaurants, award-winning cocktail bars and luxury hotels worthy of a romantic honeymoon.