Check out this week's edition of Alumni Spotlight, where we catch up with previous interns and staff to see what they've been up to. This week we talk with adventurer and creator of EpicUncertainty.com, Matt Arbo. Matt interned with Go for two years and graduated the program in 2011. Matt is always an inspiration to us and we thought he might just inspire you too!
Tell us about what your life looks like right now?
My life looks like a map with lines going all over the place and little pins marking all the locations I end up in.
Where was your last international adventure? My last International Adventure was technically Canada but that was only for a few days. Although they were beautiful days! Before that I was in New Zealand for a bit.
Tell us about what you did there? Since Canada was so short I'm going to stick with NZ description on this one. I was walking an 1800 mile trail from the top of NZ to the bottom of NZ. It took me about 4.5 months to complete.
What was the most challenging part of your adventure? The deep bush walking days! Mud up to your knees, roots tripping you on every turn, slipping and sliding down the path and making sure you got the 15-20 miles in for the day.
What was the most impacting moment of your trip? I think the most impacting moment was my experience with Ken a tattoo artist who we met and became good friends with. He ended up impacting me more than I think I did him and he told me I had given him his passion for life back so I'd say that's pretty big.
What’s the one thing you wish you had brought with you on the trip? More things to give to the wonderful people who helped us out along the way. Something American and something for them to remember us by.
How did you raise the money for your trip? I did raised a lot of the money by working but I also wrote letters and emails to different companies to gain corporate sponsorships so we saved about 3 to 4 grand with the help of our sponsors.
What advice would you give to someone who is wanting to take a step towards their dreams? Prepare your self ahead of time mentally to have sucky times. When you know ahead of time, that at times things will be hard and it wont be easy then when tough times do come you are ready to hold your ground and keep moving forward. The other thing I would say is just do it!!! There are people who talk about living their dreams and there are people who live them! Decide which one you will be. If you truly want to do something you will find a way to make it happen. The Wright brothers had a dream to build a flying machine. No one had ever flown before, it was impossible but they were not only dreamers they were doers. They found a way to make it possible and created history.
What countries have you visited?
Probably more than I can remember. I'm not bragging about how many places I've been that's how bad my memory is haha. Lets see, Mexico, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, Grenada, Cayman, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, US and British Virgin Islands, Canada, England, Philippines, South Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
What do you love most about traveling? The People and the Geography.
Do you have a favorite country? If so, what is it that you like about it? Ahh such a hard a choice! I think if I answered this question truthfully it would have to be America. Honestly, I mean all the places I have been were amazing and I will definitely go back and in some of those places I could see myself living for a time. But America is in my blood. Its my native land and I think I will always love her Mountains and Oceans and Lakes and Prairies.
Do you have a current project or adventure on the horizon? If so what is it? I definitely do! I am always dreaming about an adventure. I think Mongolia Is going to be my next big adventure. I'm planning to ride a horse from the eastern border to the western border.
What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned since leaving Go? That it is more blessed to give than to receive. I have been so blessed, so anytime I have the ability to help others I do.
Where do you find your inspiration? My Heart.
To read more about Matt's adventures visit his website: EpicUncertainty.com
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