THE ULTIMATE STEP CHALLENGE HK (Aug. 3rd to 9th)

Day 2,486 since October 10th 2013: 194 countries out of 203. No flight, no return home and min 24 hrs in each country 

(The opinions expressed on this site are my own, and do not reflect the position or policies of the Danish Red Cross which I represent as a Goodwill Ambassador). 

Man! Me and my “mini projects”

Pano

I would be really happy to see all of you engage with this upcoming step challenge. Lately some friends and I have been working hard to make it a success and raise money for the Red Cross. Please commit to it :)

Maybe I should start from the beginning. I’ll make it short though so stick around and know that there might be a super cool Misfit Command Hybrid Smartwatch in it for you! I reached Hong Kong 185 days ago and only for transit between two ships. However, I got stuck due to COVID-19 and have now had my visa extended twice already. I left home on October 10th 2013, have visited 194 countries (of 203) without flying and have wanted to go home since 2015. In Hong Kong I have stayed occupied with speaking engagements, collaborations, interviews, hiking, extreme hiking, friendships, social media and step challenges. The first step challenge was just a friendly competition between Jakob and I. By the end of the week we were both exhausted and had reached about 230,000 steps each! A few weeks later we were silly enough to do it again!? The second time we invited ten friends and together the twelve of us raised about USD 3,250.00 for the Red Cross. The winner took over 410,000 steps!! I did not win that one but my feet were a freakshow in the following days. Now we are back again!!

THE ULTIMATE STEP CHALLENGE!!

August 3rd to 9th 2020, Hong Kong!

1

Register at the bottom of this page: https://dcchk.eventbank.com/event/ultimate-step-challenge-25686/

We are 25 people who together aim at reaching 5 MILLION steps and raise at least USD 4,700.00 for the Red Cross within a week. Yours truly will attempt to take 500,000 of those steps within the seven days! So for me that would be about 60km (37mi) per day for seven days straight. I have never before done such a thing. Do you think I can pull it off? I have no idea. But I will certainly try!

YOU can take part in a few different ways. I’d love for you to pick a sponsorship based on how many steps you think we will reach.

1a

Register at the bottom of this page: https://dcchk.eventbank.com/event/ultimate-step-challenge-25686/

The PERSONAL sponsorship is only HKD 0.00006 per step up to 2.5 million steps! (HKD 150 / USD 20). If we reach 5 million steps then we are talking HKD 0.0001 per step (HKD 500 / USD 65). And as a bonus we will draw ELEVEN (edit: originally five) random winners from everyone who signs up for the PERSONAL sponsorship. The lucky winners get a super cool Misfit Command Hybrid Smartwatch (value USD 149.99). On top of that the donations go uncut to the Red Cross. Furthermore, you will receive a personalized Thank You Certificate. Updates on the challenge leaderboard will be made daily across Saga social media. You can even share how many steps you did every day in the comments and compare with us – we are all sorts of people in the challenge. A few are expected to do more than 55,000 steps per day but some will also be aiming at 15,000 steps per day crossing that magical 100,000 limit within a week. We are a mix of men and women. And it is typhoon season. What can go wrong? ;)

2

Register at the bottom of this page: https://dcchk.eventbank.com/event/ultimate-step-challenge-25686/

Then there is the STANDARD sponsorship. (Edit: originally this package included the following offer: "The first three to sign up for this one will all receive two Misfit Command Hybrid Smartwatch" however the six watches were moved to the PERSONAL sponsorship package). The starting rate is as little as HKD 0.0006 per step up to 2.5 million steps! (HKD 1,500 / USD 194). If we reach 5 million steps then we are talking HKD 0.001 per step (HKD 5,000 / USD 645). This offer includes a Thank You Post on my LinkedIn page, your company logo featured on the participants Certificate of Achievement and a personalized Thank You Certificate. And do I need to remind people that the money we raise goes uncut to help the world’s largest humanitarian organization, which has been alleviating suffering of the most vulnerable people since 1863. Come on! This is a sweet offer!

3

Register at the bottom of this page: https://dcchk.eventbank.com/event/ultimate-step-challenge-25686/

The most prestigious offer is the CORPORATE sponsorship. And we have our first sponsor already!! So thank you to: Ross DK & Geoop (developing green energy from geothermal resources) – www.rossoffshore.dkwww.geoop.dk. Let’s get the snowball rolling. There is room for more so please sign up. With this sponsorship you will be featured in Daily Posts across my LinkedIn profile (Aug. 3rd to 9th 2020), You will meet me in person (if in Hong Kong) or have a virtual 60 minute session on any VC platform, your logo will be featured on the participants Certificate of Achievement and you’ll get a personalized Thank You Certificate as well. Besides – you are raising money for a noble humanitarian cause during difficult times! The CORPORATE sponsorship starts at HKD 0.006 per step up to 2.5 million steps! (HKD 5,000 / USD 645). And if we reach 5 million steps then it is (still) HKD 0.002 per step (HKD 10,000 / USD 1.290).

4

Register at the bottom of this page: https://dcchk.eventbank.com/event/ultimate-step-challenge-25686/

We’ve got people in all ages competing in this challenge. And we have some fairly busy (yet competitive) CEO’s as well. “Treadmill Poul” and everyone else from the last step challenge are back again. It is going to be a fierce top five!! Last time the top five made this many steps in just seven days:

1) 410,778

2) 402,825

3) 360,605

4) 330,130

5) 237,052

5

My personal Misfit Command Hybrid Smartwatch on my arm. Everyone within the challenge got one. They are really cool, can track your daily steps and more! 

I think it is so cool that Misfit is gifting us the watches. It is great that this challenge is being carried out with the Danish Chamber of Commerce (DCC). Stridekick has sponsored us the usage of their app! The graphics look great and have been made by Kinny and Bian! There is even this 42 second fast pace video for you to watch. Anja from DCC is a real sweetheart and has been helping out as our event coordinator! This is no small thing! We have even had media cover our upcoming event in both Hong Kong and Denmark. It has been a fair amount of work so far – I really hope you will help us get this off the ground. Tell a friend. Share it with family. Reach out to a business. And if you think the PERSONAL sponsorship is too much for you then maybe you can split the costs with some friends and join anyway.

6

A few days ago the Danish Red Cross shared a post informing about how COVID-19 is costing lives in ways that most of us do not know. According to the United Nations more than 10,000 children die from hunger every month, as their families cannot afford food due to restrictions and economical consequences under COVID-19. The Red Cross is doing everything within its power to limit transmission of the virus by making hygiene easily accessible and encourage people to keep social distance. The Red Cross is also disseminating information about the virus and busting myths. Money is being handed out to alleviate economical consequences which are costing human lives. The United Nations furthermore estimate that every month 500,000 children are malnourished as a direct consequence of COVID-19. So NOW is a really good time to support the Red Cross. It does not need to be through our step challenge but anyway you can. As a Goodwill Ambassador of the Danish Red Cross and a man who has visited the movement and seen the work across 189 nations, I kindly ask you to take affair. It is no secret that I have my personal issues with certain elements of the Danish Red Cross administration…however the humanitarian work is indisputable and something I could defend blindfolded at any time. Thank you.

7

I had a lovely interview with Claudio from Fundacion Helice in Mexico. I hope to have a link for you soon.

“And now to something completely different” as Monty Python has often said. Here is a quick picture by picture update of the week which has passed.

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Lately I have had several good days (for a change). And this one was a hike with Andrew and Seth. Seth and his wife run For Something More which is an excellent hiking site.

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Seth and Andrew cooling off.

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Beautiful views on the Ma Dai stream hike with Seth and Andrew.

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Would you jump? He did.

Three fast ones:

  • I was invited to join the Savagar’s and their neighbors for dinner in Sai Kung. We naturally had a good time. Good to see everyone again and listen to David Bowie at Glastonbury 2000.
  • Since I’m on a USD 20/day budget and don’t have much money I asked Salomon if the Savagar’s could pick some items from their website for being such amazing hosts throughout five months. Salomon kindly agreed and shoes and apparel are now on their way to Hong Kong. So cool!
  • I’ve been to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) plenty recently. Still amazing to enjoy guest membership in such a special place. These past days I met up with Peter, Svend, Michael, Thomas and Tim there. Great people and good company.

12

My friend Paul joined me for an interview with ViuTV. We were interviewd by Chin, Chun and Ken :)

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After the interview Paul who runs Walk In Hong Kong showed me the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. Paul is joining the step challenge! :)

14

The eyebrow champ?

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Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery.

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After the visit to the Monastery I asked my phone to bring me home. It chose this way! It worked though.

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As per July 29th Hong Kong has regressed to having all bars and restaurants closed, people can maximum gather in pairs of two and wearing a mask has become mandatory. We are now one step away from complete lock-down. (Edit: Starting July 31st Hong Kong reversed its decision to ban dining at restaurants. Under certain conditions they may serve customers until 6pm).

18

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I have moved into my new apartment. I now live in Tsuen Wan West thanks to the Danish community in Hong Kong. The apartment has stunning views. I'll miss the Andersen Clan in Wong Chuk Yeung though. Thomas helped me move :)

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The sun keeps setting. People keep telling me that the sky is never this clear. Some benefits from the pandemic.

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I kept my promise to Oscar and Johan and headed out to Lamma Island. The tree stacks behind the mountain are iconic for the island. They are from the power plant.

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Talking geography and history with Johan's son Allan and wife Hanna. We also spoke Scandinavian. They are from Sweden :)

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My evolution of masks. 6 months of this. Please find a cure for COVID-19 and open the world again!!

 

 

I would like to thank our esteemed partners for their invaluable contributions to Once Upon A Saga: DB Schenker Denmark, Kameli, Red Sand Solutions, Salomon, the Danish Red Cross and Ross DK / Geoop

Hi Res with Geoop

 

If you enjoyed this blog or think I am doing a good job then you can support here below. The Saga needs funding. Thank you :)

 

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Best regards
Mr. Torbjørn C. Pedersen (Thor) - hopeful for the step challenge!
"A stranger is a friend you've never met before"

 

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