Every now and then we’ll develop a bit of a crush on one of those studly adventurers who go out in the world, not just traveling like normal people would but walking across continents, kayaking across oceans or swimming along rivers. Most of you have probably heard of Bear Grylls, who’s the extreme (and may I add extremely handsome) version of that guy but there are more out there and it’s fun to follow their adventures on their respective twitter and vimeo channels.
My most recent discovery in the field of handsome explorers is Tom Allen, a British guy who at the age of 23 in the midst of pursuing a promising career in IT suddenly finds himself asking the question of all questions: Is there more to life than this? He sets out to cycle around the world to see what is out there for him. Over the course of 4 years he cycles 32 countries and nothing could stop him until Tenny, an Armenian-Iranian girl came along and they fell in love. They went on to cycle together for a while and ultimately Tom did a few more adventures on his own.
During his trip he faces unimaginable challenges and at one point even finds himself alone in the Sahara desert. He documented his entire journey on a film called Janapar (the Armenian word for journey) that is soon to be released. Â Girly/adorable side note: Tenny, the girl he meets on his trip and him are now married.
The trailer has me sold completely:
Until the film is being released, I recommend following Tom on his blog where he posts snippets of his journey and the aftermath of his trip.
One of the projects he is working on now is a book about his trip and he is already in the final stages of completing it. The process of this is expensive of course and so today he’s launched a kickstarter campaign where he asks people to help him raise £6000. For those who back the campaign with a contribution Allen gives out attractive offering such as a signed copy of the book, a DVD of the film before Christmas or for over £500 he would even travel to your home and arrange a private screening for you and your friends. Personally I think £25 for a signed book and a DVD is a steal so naturally I got backing right away.
If you think this is worth supporting, head over to kickstarter and become a pledge.
I look forward to following Tom Allen on his future travels and I hope he’ll release more cool videos like this:
