Against the Compass started as a travel blogging site back in 2016, run by a humble, budget backpacker named Joan Torres.
Today, Joan is still a humble traveler but he managed to make a simple travel blog become one of the world’s top travel companies in promoting tourism in countries like Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan.
Obviously, he didn’t achieve all this by himself, but there’s a full team of amazing people and travelers who have helped him immensely pursuing this dream.
Here, we wanted to introduce the full team behind Against the Compass.
Joan Torres
Founder
Joan used to do everything by himself but fortunately, thanks to an amazing team, that’s not the case anymore. Theoretically, he is now doing all the marketing and overall strategy for Against the Compass. He also builds all the itineraries and schedules all upcoming tours. People tell him that he has the most dreamt job ever but at the end of the day, all he does is spending hours on the phone solving problems, and taking care of incidences and financials. Basically, he’s in charge of the most boring part of Against the Compass. When has time, he still tries to lead some expeditions, especially the newer ones, while trying to enjoy and spend more time with his little baby James. Joan is now based in Barcelona.
Rhenzy Caguioa
Operations Manager
Making ATC better since 2021. Rhenzy was the first person to ever join the team. In the early days, she was in charge of everything related to the back end of ATC but since 2026, she has stepped into the role of Operations Manager, taking on the huge challenge of organising and executing the logistics of every scheduled expedition we run. Originally from Manila, Philippines, Rhenzy shares the same passion for travel that connects all of us at ATC. She has explored many places across Asia, and now we’re just waiting for her to finally visit us in Spain.
Tamara García
Brand Ambassador
Tamara is our official Brand Ambassador at Against the Compass and the person behind much of our communication with travelers, while also supervising and making sure all expeditions run smoothly and on time. She also plays a key role in strategy and in the implementation of new projects across ATC. Originally from Madrid and now based in Seville, Tamara has lived in three countries and traveled to more than 100, which often makes it hard for our travelers to know where she’s replying to their emails from.
Jessa Batitay
Back-end Manager
Jessa is our newest team member and is in charge of everything related to the back end of Against the Compass, including all the content you find across the website. From publishing tours to updating our travel guides and writing tour itineraries, she is dedicated full-time to making ATC look neat and well put together for our readers and travelers. Based in Manila, she may not consider herself a big traveler compared to others on the team (her words), but she has been the fastest learner we’ve ever had, becoming an indispensable member of the team in a matter of weeks.
Oriol López
Tour Leader
Nobody in the Against the Compass team has traveled as much as Oriol. Oriol is our traveler inspiration, the stories of whom are already a default in all the expeditions he leads. Traveling non-stop for the last 25 years, visiting over 130 countries, he visited Afghanistan in 2008, and also Mosul back in 2010, shortly before ISIS took over. Oriol is also from Barcelona and leads around 12 expeditions a year.
Leti Lagarda
Tour Leader
Leti is our free soul, the only official full-time traveler in the family. She leads several tours a year but we never know where she’ll be flying from, it can be from anywhere. Something interesting about Leti is that no other foreign traveler in the world has been so many times in Syria since 2011. She’s led over 12 expeditions there, and still counting. Born in the Spanish northern region of Galicia, Leti is an avid backpacker and a kick-ass female traveler, one of the very few Spanish female travelers who’s been backpacking and hitchhiking solo across Pakistan, Iran or Iraq.
Pau Valero
Tour Leader
Pau is not only a well-traveled dude but he is the most experienced tour leader in the group, having led more expeditions for more than 8 years across different continents, not to mention that he’s a scuba-diving instructor, an expert in archelogy and that he’s traveled over 100 countries, making us think that he might even be overqualified for this job 😉
Nicolò Perazzo
Tour Leader
Nicolò, a rough traveler and highly experienced guide, has a strong academic background in Arabic Philology and Islamic Studies. He has lived in countries such as Yemen (Sana’a was his home for a long time), Jordan, and Syria, making him the most knowledgeable person in the region among all of us. Fluent in Arabic, as well as several other languages, Nicolò has dedicated his career to backpacking and guiding all across the globe, with a focus on cultural immersion, local perspectives, and journeys that leave a lasting impact.
Crizalyn “Kaye” Lumikid
Social Media Content Manager
Kaye is the creative mind behind the social media content at Against the Compass, including crafting the that keep our community growing. Based in Bangkok, Kaye has also traveled extensively across Asia and the Middle East, and she dreams of finally setting foot in Europe one day, hopefully in Spain.