This article first appeared in Options, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 8, 2018 - January 14, 2018

Explorer Mike Horn has seen the world in all its glory – from the highest peaks to the coldest plains and the most intimidating of valleys and emerged the better for it. The South Africa-born photographer, motivational speaker and Mercedes-Benz ambassador speaks to Anandhi Gopinath about what drives him to do what he does and Applying to his everyday life the daily lessons Mother Nature has taught him.

When I arrive at the EX8 event space in Subang Jaya, Selangor, for my interview with Mike Horn, he is about an hour deep into his session with the luxury German carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s specially curated audience of partners and friends. It is 2pm, after a nice lunch, and yet the small crowd is thoroughly engrossed. Horn speaks in engaging tones, urgent and imploring, about strength and perseverance — his messages aren’t unheard of or outstanding, but he delivers them well.

A native of South Africa, whose accent is toned down by many years of living in Switzerland, Horn is known for his famously challenging expeditions in some of the world’s most adverse conditions. They include traversing the Amazon from source to mouth solo, circumnavigating the Arctic Circle alone and sailing to all of the Earth’s continents under the four-year Pangaea Project. Much of Horn’s initial travels were self-funded and the amazing levels of self-discipline the expeditions required have earned him admission to The Explorers Club in New York, whose members are leading explorers of land, sea, air and space.

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