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Gerry van der Walt

Weekly thoughts from the edge where comfort ends and reality begins. Raw insights on pushing limits, facing fears, and moving forward when everything screams stop. No carefully curated inspiration or polished self-help - just honest truth from someone navigating both physical extremes and human potential. For those battling inner demons, chasing impossible dreams, or simply tired of playing safe. Because transformation isn't about motivation. It's about movement. Into the unknown, where hands shake and doubts whisper, but you keep moving anyway.

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The Weight That Sets You Free

The Weight That Sets You Free Hi Reader, Just got back from the Pantanal in Brazil. Jet-lagged as hell, but the good kind. This trip was one of those rare ones where the group just clicked. Easy, fun, no drama and loads of laughs! Everyone got along without anyone having to work at it. Those trips remind you why you do this in the first place. They also remind me when it's time for things to change. For those who've been following along, you know where this is heading. For all intents and...

Hi Reader, First weekend home in quite a while. Still processing the Arctic - the silence, the clarity, the way everything unnecessary just falls away up there. In 72 hours or so I'll be on a plane to Brazil, so this time at home has been about catching up on life, training, and the things that actually matter when you stop moving long enough to notice them. This week I want to talk about something I see every single day. In friends. In colleagues. In the people I work with. We hide. Behind...

Thoughts from the Arctic Hello Reader, I wasn't planning to get a newsletter out today. I'm writing this from EastFjord in Svalbard, two days away from finishing another incredible expedition in the Arctic. But this place does something to you - strips away the noise, leaves you with clarity that demands to be shared. We've had eight days of pure magic. Seven polar bears, including one unforgettable moment where a bear walked straight into a group of around 300 walruses. The kind of wildlife...

The Weight of a Broken World 3:47 AM. Another sleepless night scrolling through the wreckage of human decency. You know that feeling, don't you? That hollow pit in your stomach when you witness another social media mob tearing someone apart. Another family dinner ruined by political rage. Another friendship sacrificed on the altar of being right. Here's what's eating at me – and if you're honest, it's eating at you too: We've forgotten how to be human to each other. When did we lose the...

The Last Week, Cape Town and a Mindset Summit Hello Reader, It's been one of those stretches where everything just lined up perfectly. Started with Sani Pass - those mountain roads with good mates, the kind of trip where real conversations happen between the curves. Something about being up there that cuts through the usual small talk and gets to what actually matters. Spent a few days at Pilanesberg after that, deliberately staying offline. Just me, some focused work, and enough quiet to...

The Rest You’re Not Optimizing Hi Reader and welcome to Sunday. I’m writing this after just getting home from Clarens this morning, following an incredible few days that included a 4x4 drive up the Sani Pass. My Tank 300 was an absolute beast - handled everything the mountain threw at it. I am deep in the process of building the new MAPC platform right now. Pilanesberg next week followed by Cape Town, then one final week at home before heading to Svalbard on the 16th. The new platform is...

It's Time To Stop Performing Your Growth Hello Reader! Welcome to Sunday and I hope life is being kind. Last week I wrote about the work you're avoiding. About how the magic you're looking for is in the stuff you keep putting off, and how you need to stop waiting for confidence to arrive before you start. The response was pretty intense. Lots of people recognizing themselves in that mirror, finally ready to stop negotiating with the part of them that's been keeping them stuck. But here's what...

The Work You're Avoiding Hi Reader Week one off social media has been great. No notifications, no distractions, just slowly chipping away at what matters. Training harder, writing more, making real progress on Greenland planning, and building the programs that have been stuck in my head for months. The shift from thinking about things to actually doing them feels right. What I wrote below started as a note to myself this week, but it applies to anyone tired of their own excuses. The Magic...

The Geography of Coming Home There’s something about early mornings around the campfire that strips away everything unnecessary. The camp is still quiet, the coffee is strong, and you have space to think without anyone needing anything from you. It’s in these moments, when tiredness meets solitude, that awareness tends to creep in. I’ve been sitting with a slow realization over these past two weeks in Kenya. Not a dramatic revelation or a moment of clarity, but something quieter. The kind of...

From the Mara Hello from the Mara, I'm sitting on the banks of the river, smoking a cigar as I finish this newsletter before heading to sleep. Tomorrow I'm starting a new week with Nick and the people from the Chicago Photography Classes. Johan and I will be hosting, and I'm looking forward to another week of sharing this place with people who appreciate it. I know it's Saturday evening, but I'm sending this out now as I'm starting very early with my new guests tomorrow. This first week has...