Post: #1

When you were a child, did you often get on your bike and just ride to ride? Did you go new places you've never been? Did you attempt to explore every last cul-de-sac and dead end street in your neighborhood, just to say you have?

Growing up in suburbia, adventure was scarce. You had to find it yourself. Whether it was getting lost in the woods or riding your bike everywhere, adventure was your main source of entertainment.

As a man, adventure is much more difficult to find. There is no "Great Frontier", little unexplored territory, and no neighborhood across the highway. I found myself taking to open-ended video game for this such reason. Instead of focusing myself on the task at hand and beating the game, I found myself playing more after the game ended, exploring every crevice, every depth and finding every glitch.

Men these days have recently lost their lust for adventure, and it has merely been deferred to other pursuits instead of being at the forefront.

What ever happened to the Christopher Columbuses, the Neil Armstrongs and the David Livingstones? We remember them more than most people, as they single-handedly changed our perspective. They humbled us as human beings.

What have men become these days? What happened to the race of men who were not afraid to journey over the horizon into unknown lands, not driven by riches but driven by the thrill of adventure?

Me? I'm going to attempt to make enough money in order to self-fund a trip to either Siberia, Northern Canada, the Amazon basin, or Antarctica. To rediscover who I really am. To connect to my primal self.

What I'm trying to say is...

Go on a run to a place you've never been. Just drive for the sake of driving. You'll definitely remember it and cherish it when you find a place which you never thought you would find. The difference is in this day and age, you may find a Wal-Mart instead of El Dorado. Either way, you'll rediscover how you really are supposed to feel as a human being.


/end wax poetic

Post: #2

Well written Aer. There is something primal about going somewhere new and discovering. I feel like such a man when I push my body in a new environment, whether it's a city, a jungle, underwater, etc.

In fact, I'd say my core now desires it. I lose a part of myself when I stop exploring. Part of my traveling itinerary every year builds in this core need. I make sure to go somewhere off the radar where I can't use a phone or internet.

Post: #3

(03-24-2013 10:27 AM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Well written Aer. There is something primal about going somewhere new and discovering. I feel like such a man when I push my body in a new environment, whether it's a city, a jungle, underwater, etc.

In fact, I'd say my core now desires it. I lose a part of myself when I stop exploring. Part of my traveling itinerary every year builds in this core need. I make sure to go somewhere off the radar where I can't use a phone or internet.

Yeah definitely. I'm currently in Sweden, and I've spent a whole bunch of time in places such as Lapland, and I'm heading to Russia soon. Pretty exhilarating in places where there is no technology and no connection to any other human beings.

Post: #4

Well I dont think there were many Christopher Columbus's in his day. And there are still some dude who go down to the amazon to go exploring now. I get where you are comming from, and have a bit of that in me as well, but I think it was as rare back then as it is now; we have just read about 3 or 4 guys doing it all in one paragraph in a history book that spans 350 years at once so it seems like there were more back in the day.

I like what you wrote and you should go exploring. Why cant you be the next Megelan or Cortez? Who cares about what people think?

Post: #5

I view Russia as my own personal "Great Frontier".

Post: #6

Nice Post.

I think there's still plenty of scope for adventure. True there are no more places that have never been explored by man, but there are plenty of places that individual men know nothing about and would be challenging to travel to.

Personally I think travelling up the Amazon by small motorboat would be awesome. For something a bit tamer, a multi-month walk accross a large section of Western Europe would also be great.

Post: #7

Agreed, good post.

In a couple months my father and I are driving an old VW Beetle from Beijing to Paris, with ninety-something other teams. It should be a pretty interesting adventure.

People always ask why, and i say "because it is there." If they can't understand that, i tell 'em, "like the kids say these days, yolo."

Post: #8

(03-25-2013 11:00 AM)Fujiwara Wrote:  Agreed, good post.

In a couple months my father and I are driving an old VW Beetle from Beijing to Paris, with ninety-something other teams. It should be a pretty interesting adventure.

People always ask why, and i say "because it is there." If they can't understand that, i tell 'em, "like the kids say these days, yolo."

I know it seems cliche, but that phrase "yolo" has recently chimed with me. I know it has existed in the exact fact to make people act dumb and do things which are retarded and have no positive effect, but I took it as "Why not go out tonight?" "Why not learn this language?" "Why not travel to far off places?".

Just my two-cents on that phrase, it gets too much negative stigma in my opinion.

Post: #9

(03-24-2013 07:38 AM)Aer Wrote:  What ever happened to the Christopher Columbuses, the Neil Armstrongs and the David Livingstones? We remember them more than most people, as they single-handedly changed our perspective. They humbled us as human beings.

What have men become these days? What happened to the race of men who were not afraid to journey over the horizon into unknown lands, not driven by riches but driven by the thrill of adventure?

That sounds a bit naive. Guys like Columbus and Magellan were surely driven by a strong desire to explore, but they were also driven by lust for glory, riches, and fame. Today, such lust for glory, riches, and fame can be satiated by climbing the corporate ladder, becoming a "celebrity", or playing the startup roulette in order to attempt to become a millionaire entrepreneur.

Men have changed, which is natural, given that modern life is so much easier than it used to be. But society changed, too. We idolize 2nd or 3rd rate humans these days. We used to idolize 1st rate humans like Neil Armstrong. As we degenerate, we tend to idolize those not too far above us, because the ones at the top make us feel inadequate.

The "explorer gene" hasn't vanished from the gene pool. It's just that there's no land left to discover. Exploring the deep ocean, or outer space costs too much money, and only millionaires can afford it. So, what is left? One can still be an explorer in the realm of ideas, by doing scientific research, or trying to create new technologies just to say "I did this, I went where no one had gone before", but the cost can be very high. Curiosity does not pay the bills, after all.

Most explorers died. Survivor bias makes us remember only the ones who did not. Who would want his son to risk early death? Especially now that God is dead, and afterlife is no longer credible?

Post: #10

Most men need adventure. I think its in our DNA.

However, nowadays, most of us our so pacified and soft that our idea of adventure getting drunk, watching NFL football, and/or filling out a NCAA tournament bracket.

Nowadays, we experience adventure by watching other mens adventures on tv.

Most men lead quiet, boring, adventure-less lives. Sad.

Going to work and paying bills and is the modern adventure.

I am college p*ssy explorer/adventurer. I explore with the spirit of Vasco De Gama. Seeking out new ways to college p*ssy. Doing what has never been done before. Doing what was once considered impossible. Blazing a trail for others to follow!

Post: #11

(03-26-2013 02:31 PM)Icarus Wrote:  

(03-24-2013 07:38 AM)Aer Wrote:  What ever happened to the Christopher Columbuses, the Neil Armstrongs and the David Livingstones? We remember them more than most people, as they single-handedly changed our perspective. They humbled us as human beings.

What have men become these days? What happened to the race of men who were not afraid to journey over the horizon into unknown lands, not driven by riches but driven by the thrill of adventure?

That sounds a bit naive. Guys like Columbus and Magellan were surely driven by a strong desire to explore, but they were also driven by lust for glory, riches, and fame. Today, such lust for glory, riches, and fame can be satiated by climbing the corporate ladder, becoming a "celebrity", or playing the startup roulette in order to attempt to become a millionaire entrepreneur.

Men have changed, which is natural, given that modern life is so much easier than it used to be. But society changed, too. We idolize 2nd or 3rd rate humans these days. We used to idolize 1st rate humans like Neil Armstrong. As we degenerate, we tend to idolize those not too far above us, because the ones at the top make us feel inadequate.

The "explorer gene" hasn't vanished from the gene pool. It's just that there's no land left to discover. Exploring the deep ocean, or outer space costs too much money, and only millionaires can afford it. So, what is left? One can still be an explorer in the realm of ideas, by doing scientific research, or trying to create new technologies just to say "I did this, I went where no one had gone before", but the cost can be very high. Curiosity does not pay the bills, after all.

Most explorers died. Survivor bias makes us remember only the ones who did not. Who would want his son to risk early death? Especially now that God is dead, and afterlife is no longer credible?

I think I'd rather die doing what I loved than never live at all. And it was a bit naive to mention Columbus and everything, but that's the first example most people think of.

The post was mostly a reminder to remember that we all have this explorer inside of us, but almost all of us pacify it in order to keep sane.

Post: #12

(03-27-2013 04:11 AM)Aer Wrote:  The post was mostly a reminder to remember that we all have this explorer inside of us, but almost all of us pacify it in order to keep sane.

Indeed, we do. "Restless Genes: The compulsion to see what lies beyond that far ridge or that ocean—or this planet—is a defining part of
human identity and success."

Post: #13

I'd argue we're wired for safety, risk aversion, and familiarity more than anything else. Adventure is always exciting but evolutionarily risky. Hence why we like stories so much -- you get to live part of the excitement without the risk. You cannot really blame the common modern man for clinging to safety, it is his design and he has never been more successful at living within security.

But me? Stories don't cut it.

Post: #14

First step could be going trekking over the weekend. We discover so much when we step off the track (in this case the streets) and really makes you feel good to go out and spend some time in "the wild" for couple of days.

Post: #15

I'm curious to know what your greatest adventure or discovery was, not including poosy paradise.

My greatest adventure was trekking 40km through the back jungles of Thailand and into Burma. Eating whatever wildlife that could be found and sleeping on bamboo. My diet consisted of a slaughtered pig that we came across and rats that we trapped. Shit was real. I felt like death by day four, but I'd never been so close to being alive.

I'm knocking off the the Amazon through Iquitos, Peru this summer for 5 or 6 days. I can only imagine what adventure that will bring.

Post: #16

(03-27-2013 12:24 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Shit was real. I felt like death by day four, but I'd never been so close to being alive.

That's cool. Sometimes, we need to push ourselves out of our comfort zone in order to feel alive.

Our modern lives are so comfortable and easy that we forget what it feels like to really live with power and passion.

You are never more alive then when you are fighting for your life!

All men should fight in hand to hand combat in order to experience this!

The greatest adventures of my life were raising myself on the mean streets of San Francisco and navigating the kill or be killed culture, playing college basketball, living in Brazil for 6 months, and transforming my life into the life of a game coach.

I'm lucky to be alive and I refuse to live a boring life.

Life is a great adventure. I make amazing discoveries everyday.

Post: #17

I've learned more about talking to women from hiking through jungles, flipping a motorcycle, hitchhiking through Bosnia and Kosovo, and being detained at a border crossing for 12 hours than I ever did from actually talking to them.

Why? I have no fear. I'd like to think I've been closer to death and hence closer to life than most men have.

The outrageous experiences I've created for myself in life made me realize that there is nothing bad that could possibly happen from a woman not wanting to hear my words in a bar or coffee shop. Women can smell weakness and fear, and I'd like to believe I have less of it than most.

Post: #18

(03-27-2013 01:02 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  I have no fear. I'd like to think I've been closer to death and hence closer to life than most men have.

Oh fuck!

(03-27-2013 01:02 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  Women can smell weakness and fear, and I'd like to believe I have less of it than most.

Nice. I KNOW I have less of it then most men.

Adventure removes fear!

Post: #19

Good post OP.

The life of an explorer comes with a downside though: financial development and relationship development.

I own not much more then the clothes in my wardrobe. Why? Because when I have cash I go travelling instead of investing in a home or whatever. I got home yesterday from a couple of weeks in Russia where I spent a load of money riding a train for 40 hours from Moscow into the Russian Arctic to visit the old abandoned Gulag towns up there. A month ago I was in Chechnya and Ingushetia looking for adventure ( and found it ). That's all great and I have zero regrets,however I am now back to square one financially and have to build up a nest egg again. Of course they are not necessarily mutually exclusive but I've found no way to combine the two yet.

Saying however that there is no place left to explore is bullshit. I can give you lots of places where you will be one of the first westerners to visit. I rode a motorcycle into Indian villages that had not seen white men since the British rule ended. I had the entire villages gathered round and staring at me. I hit a village in Pakistan with a western girl. The villagers could not believe her tights and were pulling them thinking she had elastic skin! Do you know that Northern Burma is mountainous with snow covered Himalayan peaks? I did not until recently but now I want to visit. Did you know that there are stone age tribes in Papua-Guinea? Go trek for a month to find them,live with them and study their language. You will know something no Anthropologist does. Did you know that there are Indian islands called the Andaman and Nicobar on some of which live tribes who have never had outside contact and shoot anyone who lands on their island with bows and arrows? There are hundreds of places that outsiders have not been or very very very rarely have been. It does not matter that you were not the absolute first. The Vikings landed in North America long before Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci but I don't think it ruined their experiences.

Go forth and explore just accept their sometimes needs to be compromise in other areas.

Post: #20

When I die, I can tell you that my last thought will not be about the house I bought, the clothes I own, or the car I drive. For some, for better or worse, these things will be the last things they think about.

For me, it will be about the things I've seen and the people I've met.