Getting into Adventure Green

about their barriers. I think we have
them at any age. Thankfully my
mum was very supportive. At first
she was a bit worried that her boy
was going into danger. But her words
were; ‘You have nothing to lose but
yourself, so you should go and do it.
Careers, jobs; they’re always there.’
Not everyone has that support
and without it it can tough. I’d say
if you’re being told not to do the
thing you want to do, then listen
to yourself. We all know what we
want to do and if you can explain to
people what and why you want to
do it, then in my book if they truly
love you they’ll support you. But it
is hard; overcoming other peoples’
objections is one of the hardest
things.
The benefit of doing something like
this when you’re young is that you’re
a lot more vibrant. You’re healthier,
and probably a little more agile
and able to recover more quickly -
particularly when you fall off. This
could also be seen as a negative, as
when you’re younger you’re also a bit
more naïve and oblivious to dangers
and consequences. You’re also less
likely to have pre-conceived ideas
about what people or countries are
going to be like and therefore you’re
inclined to be more open minded.
On my trip it didn’t hit me until I
reached Turkmenistan the scale of
what I was doing. But you face all
these challenges and you start to
mature. You have to. And you start
to realise the benefit of that naivety
as it helps you take a jump into the
unknown.
“OVERCOMING
OTHER PEOPLES’
OBJECTIONS
IS ONE OF THE
HARDEST THINGS”
When it came to documenting my
trip my aim was to try and connect
with a younger audience who are
more likely to be about the here
and now. It’s all about Instragram,
Facebook and Twitter, and the only
way to reach that audience is to
speak their language. So I got out
the selfie stick and used the front
camera on the GoPro and phone.
I’m also dyslexic and struggle to
read and write, so for me it was
much more within my reach than
say writing a blog or a book, like
other people do.
It wasn’t until I came back that
I realised some of the people
following my trip have gone off and
planned their own adventures. That
was a great feeling and always nice
to think you’ve given someone the
encouragement to live their own
dreams. The only thing I’d say about
blogging and vlogging, is that it can
become a burden. There are times
when I didn’t film or take pictures,
and that’s hard because the more
you document your trip the more
expectant people are to see what
you’re up to. Like anything it’s best
done in moderation. You have to
enjoy the trip first and foremost.
I have to laugh when people say ‘just
go and do it’. It’s never as easy or as
simple as that. If you want to do it,
you can do it, but it takes a lot of
determination and sacrifice, with
sacrifice being the biggest thing you
have to accept.
Foot-tapping somewhere in southern Oz
The main thing is to appreciate
that everyone’s different. There’s no
practical ‘here’s how to do it’. On
a broader scale you need money
and to find some time. But how to
go about it, that’s the difference.
Because we’re all different. Different
circumstances, different health,
different wealth. Different views,
different personalities. As long as
you get out there and do something,
that’s the main thing.
Double-tap; Oslo, Norway