MARIO RIGBY

The Canadian-Turks and Caicos Islander talks about his two-year walk

across Africa and advocacy for a more diverse travel landscape

What made you give up your career as a fitness instructor to become an adventurer?

I used to run professional track and field and I competed for Turks and Caicos. I travelled around a lot for events, but one competition in San Salvador really blew me away. It was the first time I’d seen people walking around with machine guns. It was kind of scary, but I was intrigued. So, at the end of the event, I stayed out there. I met a cab driver who showed me the country, introducing me to his family, and they really embraced me. The experience made me think, ‘Wow, there’s so much to the world’.

Tell us about the most poignant moment of your African odyssey.

In Mozambique, they put me on TV, and because there are only a few news channels, everyone saw it. People kept coming up to me and saying, “Hey, you’re Mario!” One guy even wanted to cook me a meal, but his family’s stove was broken, so as a thank you I bought them a new one. It was the least I could do, but it would really change their lives. They welcomed me like I was family.

What about the most challenging?

The loneliness. There were long stretches — along the coast in West Africa and in the Sudanese desert — where there were no other people for miles around.

Not only that, but these were areas of vast nothingness, where everything looked the same; that’s where you really have to learn to become your own best friend. It’s just you and the environment, and particularly in the desert, with heat stroke, often the easier option is to just sit down and die rather than keep going. You really need to understand yourself and have perseverance to survive.

And the most extreme?

I’d say Ethiopia, both culturally and geologically. I met so many tribal groups, from the Marsabit to the Dukana to the Hamar people, and the differences between them were enormous. Then there’s the land; I climbed 6,500ft above sea level in the Simien Mountains, which run along the Great Rift Valley before dipping down to one of the lowest and hottest places on the planet further north.

What’s the biggest change we need to make as a planet?

Bridging the gap. Both individuals and societies need to learn about other cultures and celebrate their differences. The more we share these things, the more we become empathetic to each other and the more we realise we’re all living on the same rock. For me, it doesn’t matter what we get done; if we can’t get along, we’re heading for disaster.

What’s the most beautiful place you’ve visited?

The sunsets on Lake Malawi are breathtaking. The African sun is such a vivid bright orange, and because the water is so still, often you can’t tell where the sky ends and the water begins. When the sun sets its looks like it’s melting — slowly dripping into the lake.

Whom do you hope to inspire?

I’m working with a lot of young black communities, inspiring them to get out there. The narrative has always been that the explorer looks a certain way, and that’s never like me, but I want to change that. I hope people will see me and think, ‘Yes, I can do it too’.

Where to next?

I’m kayaking 220 miles across Lake Ontario. The aim is to promote local and sustainable travel, showing people how they can have a crazy, cool adventure in their own backyard. We’re raising money for My Stand, a charity for at-risk youth who don’t have access to the great outdoors. INTERVIEW: CHARLOTTE WIGRAM-EVANS

Mario works with a number of charities including The Rainmaker Enterprise, which aims to transform lives in South Sudan by installing solar-powered water systems. mariorigby.com

@mariorigby