Nuts Over The Atlantic - Crossing an ocean for Men worldwide

Mark Gibson Start Date: Sep 22, 2016 - End Date: Sep 21, 2017
  • Missionary Service
  • Professional Development
  • Vacation/Personal Trip
  • La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
  • Antigua and Barbuda

My Travel Story

by: Mark Gibson Start Date: Sep 22, 2016 - End Date: Sep 21, 2017
  • Missionary Service
  • Professional Development
  • Vacation/Personal Trip
Whilst studying, the four of us, Jon Lakin, brothers Steve and Dan Baker and Mark Gibson, all felt the truly devastating effects of cancer; having close friends diagnosed with the disease and losing loved ones.

To help raise funds for cancer focussed charities we participated in numerous fundraising events. The events that raised the most money for these important charities were often those that were seen as a ‘challenge’. Whilst this was ideal for us, we were all very active, we found that it prevented some of our friends from wanting to participate due to their own perceived lack of fitness.

Since graduating and moving into full time employment with growing levels of responsibility we have found that spare time dedicated towards sport has become increasingly rare. The knock on effect of this has been that we too have found ourselves in positions whereby we have turned down ‘challenges’.

The transformation from very active and fit individuals into men that spent most of their day at work, with little to no sport involvement, had a very visible effect on our fitness, bodies and perhaps most importantly, our mental well-being. This feeling of not being fit enough to be able to participate in challenges led to us spending longer at work and further restricting the time spent participating in sport.

Without realising it we found ourselves stuck in a destructive spiral. We appreciated that if we were able to fall into this loop of inactivity and frustration there must be others in a similar situation.

We decided that this wasn’t good enough. We decided a change was needed. To combat this, we gave ourselves the target of completing a challenge of a lifetime that we had no prior experience in. After realising that none of us ever tried rowing, we set ourselves the aim of crossing the Atlantic!

Due to the nature of the challenge and our personal experiences we also decided to take this opportunity to raise the profile of an incredible charity…We have witnessed first hand how western society is impacting men’s health. We found ourselves unconsciously slipping into a lifestyle that is so dangerous to many unsuspecting men the world over. It is for these reasons that we chose to support the Movember Foundation.

As a group we were all acutely aware of the Movember Foundation. The growing of moustaches during November has become one of the most globally recognised forms of raising money for charity. The Foundation was originally founded to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer and depression amongst men. What many people do not realise however is that Movember targets four key areas of men’s health; Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Poor mental health and Physical Inactivity. These latter two issues resonated with us in particular.

The Movember Foundation is unique. No other charity is targeting men’s health as much. No other charity has the instantly recognisable branding that the Movember Foundation has. It is in prime position to have a significant impact upon improving men’s health globally.

We need your help though. In order to row the Atlantic we need a boat, we need food, we need spare equipment…

Please help us complete this challenge of a lifetime and with it satisfy our aims:
  • prove that with dedication any challenge is possible
  • inspire more men to dare to try
  • break the world record for rowing the Atlantic
  • raise £100,000 for the Movember Foundation

www.nutsovertheatlantic.co.uk #NOTA
  • La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
  • Antigua and Barbuda

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