Attending MicroCon 27: EU – Grand Duke Travis
The Steady Hand Guiding Micronations from Basements to Castles
There’s a reason people keep coming back to Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica. It’s not the Antarctic claims, the medals, or the title—it’s the man himself. Warmth, sincerity, kindness. The kind of presence that doesn’t just acknowledge you in the room, but makes you feel like you’ve been part of the story all along. For countless micronations—big and small—he’s the steady hand that says, “Welcome. You belong here.”
By now, Travis is no stranger to fire. In August, a longtime Honorary Consul in India was arrested on fraud charges, accused of flying Westarctica’s flag for all the wrong reasons. No victims. No money trail. Just headlines spun into something bigger than reality.
“It was pretty traumatic for Westarcticans to think that our country’s name had been appropriated to harm anyone,” he says. “We do our best to vet our diplomats, but it can be difficult to separate the facts from the fantastical headlines.”
The scandal made noise, but Travis made order. His team moved fast—press releases, interviews, damage control.
“I was pretty happy when the New York Times replied to the release by asking me for an interview,” he recalls. And when the dust settled, lessons were learned. “We implemented quarterly check-ins for all our diplomatic staff and increased the rigor of our background checks. It was kind of a trial by fire for our new Foreign Minister—but he stepped up.”
This is who Travis is: the guy who takes the hit, steadies the ship, and keeps moving forward.
Which brings us to MicroCon—the cathedral for the odd, the dreamers, the defiant. For Travis, 2027 will mean two pilgrimages: first to Aigues-Mortes, France, for MicroCon 27: EU, then to San Diego, California, for MicroCon 27: North America.
The significance of Aigues-Mortes isn’t lost on him. A medieval fortress city, a place that has seen centuries of kings, crusaders, and merchants passing through its gates—and now, micronations. It’s a backdrop worthy of the strange and brilliant community he’s spent decades nurturing. For Travis, it’s about showing up, about reminding people that what they’re doing matters, whether they rule over a backyard, a website, or a desert plain.
“MicroCon is an opportunity to forge relationships with other micronations that will move you and the community forward,” he says. In Aigues-Mortes, those words will carry weight. The European gathering is smaller, more intimate, but every handshake, every conversation, carries the possibility of something lasting. And Travis will be there, smiling, listening, weaving connections.
Of course, he won’t miss San Diego either—his fingerprints are all over the decision to bring MicroCon back to the West Coast.
“We’ve literally gone from the basement to the penthouse in ten short years,” he says, marveling at how far the movement has come. But if San Diego is the penthouse, Aigues-Mortes is the cathedral—a reminder of just how far micronations have traveled, both literally and metaphorically.
Talk to him for five minutes and you realize it isn’t about pomp. Travis is the guy reminding you to study the guest list, learn a few names, and make the most of the faces in the room.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he says. “Meeting people. Building something real.”
That’s the throughline: humanity. Micronations are fragile, absurd, brilliant things. But with people like Travis anchoring the stage, they become something else—tribes bound by sincerity, even when the rest of the world laughs.
And if you’re walking through the medieval streets of Aigues-Mortes next summer, you’ll probably find Grand Duke Travis there first. Smiling, hand out, saying: “Welcome. You belong here.”
Pertinent Details
• MicroCon 27: North America – August 6th – 8th, 2027, in San Diego, California
• MicroCon 27: EU – September 2th – 26th, 2027, in Aigues-Mortes, France
• All ages welcome
• Sign-up for the free MicroCon 27 newsletter HERE.
Join our WhatsApp MicroCon 27 group HERE
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