Travis Smith

Guide for the Modern Bear: A Field Study of Bears in the Wild Travis Smith

"Guide for the Modern Bear" is a pop culture-inspired hybrid guide to the gay Bear community and its characters, as well as a fun, sexy, and hip travel guide focused on the bear lifestyle and modernist community in fourteen cities across the USA and Europe. Written by Travis Smith and Chris Bale, the book was inspired by the grassroots growth of their popular Facebook page. Their self-published, first edition sold 1,000 copies in just a few months and led to a publishing deal for Modern Bear Media. 14 Chapters focus on 12 different major US cities plus Barcelona and London, including fun maps of the Bear and Modernist Hot Spots. Points of interest include restaurants, bars, gyms, lodging, shopping, Mid-Century Modern architecture and neighborhoods. The book features colorful pop-art inspired art direction by Jason Hill, photography by Leland Gebhardt, and a detailed tongue-in-cheek glossary to the Bear World.