I'm still alive !
Yes !
Contrary to what the lack of updates on this website might suggest, I'm still very much alive.
A radical life change (and pure bliss ) and an equally pronounced disgust for the urban
exploration scene have silenced me on these pages.
Regarding urban exploration, I found this post on Facebook™ and it perfectly sums up my thoughts on it... Alas...
The end of urban exploration ?
The word itself is now overused, almost pejorative. It no longer brings a smile, because what it encompasses today has little to do with its original spirit. It's no longer about exploring, but simply about consuming places.” “Visiting” is already a more honest term.
The constant staging has become the norm: dark outfits, grotesque masks, caricatured poses of pseudo-rebels. This perpetual performance borders on the ridiculous. The goal is no longer to observe a place, but to showcase oneself.
In the videos, the quality drops even further: entrances filmed as feats of daring, promises of “incredible” discoveries, invented or crudely romanticized stories about owners who “mysteriously disappeared.” And always the same recycled clichés. According to some, a good number of abandoned castles have a connection to the Titanic. It would be almost laughable if the consequences weren't so concrete.
Discretion has vanished. So has restraint. What used to be an aesthetic or documentary approach is drowned in a massive and superficial production. Showing facades, entrances, accumulating clues: today, finding a place sometimes takes only a few minutes. The exchange of “spots” happens unfiltered, between strangers. The logic is simple: produce more, faster, without worrying about the consequences. The result: some people post videos showing wine cellars that are still untouched. It goes without saying who benefits.
Added to this is another problem: content generated or retouched by AI. Artificial images, fabricated atmospheres. Reality is no longer enough; now it has to be simulated. The very meaning of the endeavor disappears. And then there's the market. The sale of "spots," including on mainstream platforms like Facebook Marketplace™. Here, we're no longer talking about a problem, but a complete break with what urban exploration claimed to be.
At the same time, some sites are experiencing increasingly aggressive intrusions. Organized groups, significant damage, a total lack of respect. The owners, often already struggling financially, have neither the means to maintain nor repair. Abandonment, frequently linked to joint ownership, is now accompanied by accelerated destruction. Let's be clear: urban exploration as we knew it is disappearing. Between vandalism, the mass dissemination of information, the commodification of these places, and the constant pursuit of visibility, some sites are becoming mere overexploited backdrops.
And meanwhile, young people are taking reckless risks to "do what they see in the videos." Sometimes they get hurt. Sometimes they don't make it in. Under these circumstances, stricter legislation is inevitable. It won't be an injustice. It will be a consequence.
Mark Scott
— See on Facebook™
But that doesn't mean I'll never come back with new photos. It's just that it's not on the agenda right now, nothing more. I
need to find some motivation again, and it's been gone for several months.
That said, nothing is ever truly permanent, is it ?
On that note, I wish you a happy Labor Day.
Cheers, you folks !
Me, me, me... and a little urbex
With the return of warmer weather and a fortunate coincidence, I was finally able to get back to urban exploration.
Thus, I had the leisure to wander the corridors of a vast administrative building that was being abandoned.
Another series of photos flattered my oversized ego. I had to do like everyone else and expose myself like the mannequin that I
am in abandoned places, even if this detail has no importance.
With that, admire my photos and shut up.
Big kisses.
Snow, my element
Finally !
The snow has decided to resort to our little Belgium for my greatest pleasure.
There is nothing to do, but as soon as it snows, I can't help but stick my nose outside. So I took the opportunity to go for a walk
in the park with my dog. And my phone with which I took some photos. I do have a camera somewhere but it has been in hibernation for a long time...
Snow in the park of Mouscron
On that note, I wish you a nice tumble in the powder snow.
Edit 11/01/2025
The weather is definitely nice to me. After offering me a park under the snow, here is a very icy and joyful fog.
Fog in the park of Mouscron
To keep up to date with WorldofJosh.be news and become smarter, subscribe to the newsletter.
It's good for your health. And it's free for the moment!)
Comments
A comment, a remark, an opinion ? Do you have something to say ? Don't be shy !
Treat yourself, the floor is yours.
Et en français ?
Vous ne comprenez rien de ce qui est écrit sur ce site web ?
Cliquez ici pour accéder à WorldofJosh.be en français.
Here are my last 6 galleries.
A link in the description of the picture will take you to the full story.
A beautiful administrative building in the process of being abandoned and an open door, that's all it took.
Continue here
Me, me, me, and fuck the rest.
Continue here
Some photos of the park of Mouscron under the snow.
Continue here
Some pictures of the park of Mouscron in the fog.
Continue here
Adventure in the heart of a beautiful industrial wasteland.
Continue here
A place without any tags, where you don't meet anyone and quite interesting, this is the winning combo that has become so rare.
Continue here
Soyez le premier & devenez quelqu’un de bien • Be the first & become a good person