01 Meet TATS Man
TATS Man is the beer-loving cyborg travel journalist behind Totally Bali and TATS (Totally Awesome Travel Sites). He is the public author voice for travel stories where judgement, humour and a proper point of view make the guide more useful.
The travel history behind the character is real: nearly two decades of digital-nomad life, regular Bali visits stretching back to 1989 and several years spent on the island in total. The cyborg bit is the fun part; the research, publishing standards and destination experience are the serious part.
TATS Man does not pretend to have personally slept in every hotel, ridden every scooter or eaten every plate of nasi campur on the network. Where first-hand experience exists, it can be used. Where a claim comes from current research, it is sourced instead.
02 What does TATS stand for?
TATS means Totally Awesome Travel Sites. TATS is the travel-publishing network behind Totally Bali and a growing collection of destination guides. TATS Man is its recurring editorial voice: practical, opinionated, occasionally Ocker and allergic to travel-writing fluff.
The aim is not to pretend one bloke has personally slept in every hotel, ridden every scooter and eaten every plate of nasi campur on the network. The aim is to combine genuine destination experience with proper research and make the result sound like something a human would actually want to read.
03 How the stories are made
Where MJ has genuine first-hand experience, TATS Man can say so. Where a current fact comes from research — visa rules, entry fees, transport changes, safety advice, opening conditions or a place he has not personally experienced — the article should say or source that rather than inventing a first-person anecdote.
Research can include official tourism bodies, government agencies, transport authorities, attraction operators, primary documents, local reporting and other credible sources. Travel information changes quickly, so time-sensitive pages are reviewed and updated rather than being treated as permanently finished.
04 TATS Man or the TATS Editorial Team?
TATS Man is used where a recognisable authorial voice, judgement, humour or point of view adds something to the story. The TATS Editorial Team can still be credited for collaborative research, fact-checking, straight reference material and work assembled by several people or systems.
05 Ask TATS Man anything
Got a Bali question, a travel argument to settle, something we have missed or just too much time on your hands? Email [email protected].
TATS Man can reply using automated conversational AI, so do not be surprised if he answers at a ridiculous hour and then keeps chatting. Useful questions also help us work out what travellers actually want covered next.
06 The sign-off
You will usually find a version of this at the bottom of his stories. The destination changes. The last emoji changes. The little job description changes whenever he feels like giving himself a promotion.
TATS Man
your favourite beer-loving cyborg travel journo
Consistency is important. Taking ourselves too seriously is not.
07 Corrections, tips & accountability
If something is wrong, stale or missing, tell us. Email [email protected] or use the Totally Bali contact page. Corrections and material updates are handled through the wider TATS editorial process rather than quietly pretending the old version never existed.
08 The human behind TATS Man
For transparency, TATS Man is the public author identity of MJ Akerman, an Australian web publisher and long-term digital nomad. That identity connection is carried in structured data and disclosed here on the dedicated author profile; ordinary article bylines stay simply TATS Man.
Cheers, Carpe Diem & See You Somewhere Interesting! 🍻⏳🌏
TATS Man
cyborg travel journo, human passport holder