FEATURE
Stopping for a pic on the way to Cairo
Despite the frustration of these detours , Gaven said he simply made it happen . It ’ s a mindset that he lives by , and he sees it as a key to his success : “ I don ’ t entertain negative thoughts , I believe that if you think it , you attract it – the Universal Laws of Attraction – so when I am on my trips , I don ’ t think I will see snakes , or that I will fail , or that I will get injured … I just don ’ t entertain any of it .” And that ’ s been his attitude since his first solo expedition in 2017 .
Urge to Explore
From a young age , Gaven says he has been competitive and a bit extreme , always finding a way to push his mental and physical boundaries , and with a desire to explore his surroundings . Therefore , when he experienced months of disconnect in 2015 , of not feeling himself , he knew that he needed a physical challenge and exploration to put himself back on track .
Inspired by watching the documentary film by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman , Long Way Round , about their 31,000km motorbike trek from London to New York , Gaven came up with the idea of cycling unsupported from Cape Town to Cairo . “ I had always felt a strong affinity to Egypt , and I wanted to tackle this challenge for a good cause , so I decided to raise funds for Missing Children SA through my run . At first , he wanted to run it , as he had been an avid runner for 15 years , but eventually he decided that he would instead cycle the 10,000km distance .
He therefore quit his job in the corporate world of sales and marketing , but where does one even begin to prepare for a journey of this magnitude ? You look for sponsorship to cover the huge costs it will incur . However , Gaven ’ s name was still unknown in the adventurer world , so no-one was prepared to take a gamble on him , and he ended up starting the trip wholly underprepared . “ Eventually , I decided just to start , and get as much PR as possible , and hopefully that would drum up some funding , but equipmentwise , I was nowhere near ready . If you looked at me and heard where I was planning on going , you would have said , really ?”
“ I didn ’ t look the part at all , but mentally I was completely prepared . I knew I would do it … else I would never have started . That said , my bike was not something you should choose for a journey like this , but it was all I had . It didn ’ t help that it broke a lot along the way , but it did draw attention ,” says Gaven .
Although he had spoken to others that had undertaken the journey before him , and thus had an idea of what lay in store for him , Gaven says he was challenged in so many ways that he could never have foreseen . “ I was chased , I was followed , I got Malaria just before crossing into Malawi at Gorongosa , I became dehydrated , got extremely sunburn , my bike broke , and I ran out of food and water while trying to cross Lake Turkana , with two flat wheels . I have never felt so sorry for myself ,” recounts Gaven , making it sound like a normal , run of the mill trip .
Next Adventure , Please
Seven months after leaving Cape Town , Gaven found himself in Cairo , having overcome all the obstacles that had been put before him . “ I have always been fearless , and I believe in taking risks , to embrace living in the moment , knowing that everything will work out as it should . It is this belief that got me to Cairo , and it is this same belief that got me through all the challenges I had to overcome when I was younger ,” he says .
Unsurprisingly , Gaven had barely finished the trek to Cairo when he began planning his next adventure ,
Get Your Personal Health Sorted
Gaven ’ s goal with the Heel2Heal Challenge was to raise as much awareness as possible for the Syntro-P Wellness Programme , which makes quality healthcare available in a virtual but very personal way by providing dietary guidelines , exercise and movement routines , breathing techniques , life skills , home monitoring solutions and educational insights .
The ethos of the programme is that by helping South Africans change their behaviour , and become healthier , they can then collectively help change society for the better as a whole . Gaven believes this is something that is needed to get our society in shape , both physically and mentally , so it should be made available to people from all backgrounds , and thankfully , with many people now having smart phones , he adds that such a programme can truly make a difference .
Dr Riaz Motara , cardiologist , physician and CEO of BrandMed Group , says , “ We are all facing extreme challenges every day of our lives . They can be financial , emotional or health challenges , but they all affect our wellbeing . By partnering with Gaven , we hope to empower South Africans to face their daily extreme challenges and to work towards overcoming them , one small step at a time , with the help and guidance of the Syntro-P Wellbeing programme . We want to show them that we need to be healthier , not only for the future generations , but also , and probably most importantly , for the generations living now , the lifeblood of our fragile economy , so we need to find a path to better health and wellness . In healing the individual , we heal the community and the nation .”
For as little as R1,50 a day ( R499 a year ), you can access the Syntro-P Wellbeing Programme . With a direct and ever-growing connection to industry specialists , this programme is the first step of many towards mental , physical and emotional wellbeing . Visit www . syntropwellbeing . com to join the programme .
In the Namib Desert during his 2018 run challenge through four African countries
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