Ash Dykes —PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Would extreme athlete Ash Dykes encourage his followers to pursue extreme adventures?
The 30-year-old British adventurer is known the world over for his bold and brave record-breaking pursuits.
Consider these feats: It took Ash 78 days to finish his 2,400-kilometer journey over the Altai Mountains and across the Gobi Desert. He also completed a 2,600-km trek across the eight highest peaks of Madagascar.
The year 2018 also saw the former lifeguard break another world record when he took about 8 million steps to walk the entire length of Yangtze River’s 6,400-km course—in 352 days!
When we asked Ash the aforementioned question in a recent interview for the National Geographic docu “Walking the Yangtze with Ash Dykes,” the boyish explorer began his answer by explaining that each of his adventures required training, careful logistical planning and a lot of discipline.
“I would say, not necessarily extreme adventures, but with whatever they’re passionate about,” Ash said. “So that could either be in the form of an adventure or it could be in the business or corporate world—whatever vision or dream they have.
“It’s important to acknowledge that they’ll get a lot of naysayers along the way. But understand that it doesn’t matter if no one else sees it for you.
“What’s important is that you see it for yourself. So, keep climbing that ladder, whatever ladder that may be. Just keep grinding and continue to work hard towards that goal. You’ll get there eventually.” INQ