Who is Bob Thissen?
Background & Work
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Bob Thissen (born 1985, Netherlands) is an urban explorer, adventurer, photographer, and stop-motion artist.
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In 2013, he earned a Master's degree in Animation from the MAD Faculty in Genk (Belgium), with great distinction.
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In 2016, he created an eight-part TV series in which abandoned buildings came to life through stop-motion.
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His work has been featured by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Apple, and CNN, among others.
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Under the name Exploring the Unbeaten Path, he now has over 900,000 followers on Instagram and approximately 750,000 YouTube subscribers.
Notable Discoveries & Travels
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Passion for urban exploring
Thissen’s fascination with abandoned places began in his youth in Maastricht. At sixteen, he was already exploring derelict buildings in the neighborhood. In 2007, he discovered the term urban exploration and fully embraced it. -
Worldwide Adventure
He has visited over 75–90 countries, often in search of remote, dangerous, or forbidden locations. Some of his most impressive expeditions include:-
Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) – Walking 20 kilometers through the desert to reach abandoned Soviet spacecraft.
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Fukushima Exclusion Zone (Japan) – Documenting the abandoned city after the 2011 nuclear disaster, complete with left-behind shops and schools.
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Cold War Bunker (Italy) – Filming a secret bunker, which led to legal problems due to espionage and state secrets.
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Naval Cemetery (France) – Photographing abandoned warships, such as the cruiser Colbert, in their rusty decay.
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Nara Dreamland (Japan) – Visiting an abandoned Disneyland-style amusement park just before its demolition.
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Why his work is special
Bob Thissen visits places almost no one goes to—due to danger, inaccessibility, or legal restrictions. His photos and videos preserve a piece of history that would otherwise go unnoticed.
As he said about Fukushima:
"If everyone had followed the rules, no one would have seen the real aftermath… and I think that’s quite important."
