Make More Marbles Podcast with Brad Hart and Guest Akshay Nanavati -The Great SOUL Crossing

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I have a very special guest, and I'm just so grateful for y' all being here. Just a quick update. We're doing another event, October Masterminded Millions Live. You can go grab tickets there. We have our Build a Mastermind program. You check it out atbuildamaster.com. but today, I want to introduce you to one of my very best friends in the world. This is Akshay Nanabody. And what's so interesting about Akshay, you know, he's a Marine Corps veteran. So first off, you know, thank you for his service. He. He went to Fallujah and Iraq and did all that stuff. But he's also an adventurer. He's an explorer, he's an entrepreneur. He's an author. He. He wrote a book that the Dalai Lama even, like, gave a blurb and a recommendation to. So, you know, he's a serious guy. He's been through some depression, some ptsd, some alcoholism, you know, and essentially was on the brink of suicide. But he's also turned his life around, run ultra Marathons, spent 10 days in darkness. And he's currently training for a solo by himself. 110 day, 1700 mile crossing of Antarctica, carrying all of his gear on a sled, 400 pound sled. And he only weighs like 160 pounds. So that's pretty impressive. So we are going to talk today with Akshay about all of the crazy things he does to make an impact in the world. Akshay, welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me, brother. Really appreciate it.

It's my pleasure. So why the hell are you so crazy? Let's start there. What happened to you? Who hurt you, man?

Well, as I've always told you, man, I get pissed off of my parents that they didn't hurt me enough. They loved me and gave me a good childhood. So it made me soft.

So this is what happens when you treat your kids too nice. They do exactly like this. They decide, hey, this is the end result.

It's not a good thing.

I'm gonna go create some. Some suffering in the world, especially in my own world.

The Marines birthed the crazy, as the Marines tend to do. That's where it all. That's where it all began. The. The. The love for seeking out suffering, adversity, pushing the edge. It all started when I. When I joined the Corps. Before that. Yeah, as you know, man had a pretty good life. Parents are great. Couldn't be more. Couldn't be more grateful for the life that they'd given me. Super tight with Them.

Your parents are amazing people. Like we spent so much time.

That's right, yeah. You've met my parents. We had dinner.

Like we're talking. Your dad worked for 3M, like super conservative, did really well. You guys, you know, have a lot of wealthy family. Like you've never really wanted for anything. Your mom's an amazing human being. Her and Jasmine connected really on like animal rights and that beautiful thing. So like, what happened man? Like, like where did this all come from? So, so first of all, give us like the background of where this idea came from, the genesis of this idea. What compels a person to go to Antarctica at all, let alone try to cross it on foot?

Yeah, yeah. You know, I guess the, the, the, the birth of getting into outdoor sports began when I was in the Marines. Like after joining the Marines, I, cause before this, as I said, as you know, pretty good life, not really any struggle, no suffering. I got, had got into drugs and alcohol heavily before joining in high school. Thankfully got out of that, lost two friends to addiction. But the Marines is when I started to now find the beauty in challenging myself and going to war with myself and seeing what that arises within, you know, when you go through that experience. So after coming out of the Marines, I got into every outdoor sport you could think of because before this I used to be sc. So because I was scared of heights, I went in rock climbing, rock climbing, including free soloing, like climbing without rope when mountain climbing, ice climbing, skydiving, you know, I was scared of open water. So in scuba diving, cave diving, ice diving, all the water stuff, I was scared of tight spaces. So I went into caves, you know, all of it, and systematically was exploring nature as a vehicle for pushing my own limits and seeing how far I could go. And then it really took hold after coming back from Iraq, I was deployed to Iraq in 0708 as an infantry Marine where one of my jobs was to walk in front of our vehicle convoys looking for bombs, you know, before they could be used to kill. Me and my fellow Marines struggled a bit as you touched on after the war with depression, ptsd, heavy drinking. And I found my salvation in these pursuits. I did a one month crossing of Greenland dragging 190 pound sled for 350 miles. That was like a condensed version of what I'm going to do in Antarctica. And the, the, the, the thing about Antarctica, which also just recently hit me was kind of crazy. I wrote in my Iraq journal when I was out there with the Marines that one day I want to do a Never before accomplished expedition in Antarctica. And I hadn't even done a big polar expedition at the time. Wow. I had no real taste of polar travel. And there was going on like 20 years ago. You were in this was in 07 that I was in Iraq. Okay.

Yeah. So like I was getting out of college then. You were in the Marines. Yeah. You, you had this, this seedling of an idea. Do you remember what the context was for that idea or where it came from?

I had done a lot of outdoor sports, really dabbled in polar travel. Polar travel is very different than even mountaineering. It's a different beast. Not as dangerous, but a lot more suffering. So when I got it, give.

Give people a sense of that, like how dangerous I'm talking like this is, this is next level.

Yeah. So I mean, again, it's not as dangerous as, let's say, like what Alex Honnell did. Free climbing up rock walls or even, you know, mountaineering up K2 or anything like that. Because why this is so different. And I've done some mountaineering. I've climbed in the Himalayas. I was on Denali last year for. So for example, on Denali, at 16,000 foot, there's the 16 ridge and you're on a thin ridgeline and there's like a thousand foot plus drop on each side, you know, so obviously dangerous. We, there was a guy who even fell a thousand feet when we were on the mountain, you know, so it's dangerous. But because of that, the environment forces you into flow. Like when you're on that ridge line, you're not thinking about other shit. Your mind is right there with that one step in front of you. Also in mountaineering, as you're going up and down the mountain, the views are different, the days are different, the terrain is different, the. You take rest days to acclimatize. In polar travel, you're just doing the same damn thing, dragging a very, very heavy sled in flat white nothingness every single day. So it's far more monotonous. And because it's just flat, flat white nothingness, your mind wanders. So the environment doesn't force you into flow. And when your mind wanders, that is a daunting prospect. Because in that stillness, I mean, like, I've had days when I'm on polar journey where an hour can feel like a lifetime because your mind is just lost. You're thinking about when is this going to be over? In, in mountaineering, you lose track of time because you're in that flow. Right. Like when you're on that thin ridge line, you're not thinking about how long it is, you're just thinking about that next step. So that's part of the like. One polar explorer in the 1900s summarized it beautifully when he said polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time, which has been devised. And I could not agree more. Like, as you know, I've done a lot. Like I've done mountaineering, I've done ultramarathons, been in the Marines. Nothing has offered up the sheer amount of relentless extended suffering than polar exploration. And paradoxically, that's the draw. That's what draws me to this, this like why Antarctica is. It's the culmination of all the other polar experiences I've had at its highest level. It's like the one great feat in south polar trap exploration that hasn't been accomplished yet, to do a full crossing coast to coast without kites or dogs. So part of the draw is it's never been done before. I mean, like, I want to see how far can we stretch the limits of human endurance, not just mind. Right. And then my own spiritual journey is 110 days completely alone. That much suffering, that much silence. I mean, you get to open doors into the human soul that have so rarely if ever been opened.

And well, you won't be completely alone. You'll have your sat phone, you'll be texting me. So that's.

Yeah, I'll be hanging. Texting you exactly. As you know, the last time I was in Antarctica I was like, I.

Thought I got rid of this guy and he's. I'm all of a sudden all these text messages broken up into like 80 characters a piece. But I kid, obviously. So, so, okay, talk about the physical danger. So yeah, there's the mental. You could check out. You're not as in flow. It's, it's, it's isolating. There's obviously the mental challenge of that. What are some of the physical dangers what describe the environment? Like, what is it for people who have never really considered this, what is that?

The, the environment is. Being in a polar storm is the most on. I've experienced many hostile environments. One of the most unforgiving, savage environments a human being can experience. I mean talking temperatures, they can drop to minus 40 with wind chills that are like hurricane force winds. Last time I was in Antarctica, I think it was a minus 30, 30, 35 degree day with 50, 60 knot winds. I mean, savage winds. Abso. Unforgiving savage winds, you know, so you so cold, horrific winds. And that's so part of the danger. I mean, if you lose your tent, you're gone. That really just shouldn't happen. Like, I've trained enough to like, you should. I should. I know how to put up my tent. I've been in a polar storm alone. I was, as you know, I was in the Arctic a few months ago doing some solo expeditions, training for Antarctica. But if you lose your tent, you're gone. The biggest concern for me is crevasses. So there's two sections of. Thankfully, it's not throughout Antarctica. There's just two sections of Antarctica, the Reedy Glacier and the Support Force Glacier on the other side. But the Reedy Glacier, primarily where I'll be going from the ice shelf, a place called the Ross Ice Shelf, up onto the polar plateau that I think it'll be about a five to seven day journey. That part is what's the scariest. To me, crevasses are like. Last time I was in Antarctica, we were on the Axel Heiberg and I was skiing and there was a point where my ski just like fell into the snow. I pulled it out and there was this giant hole going into nothingness, you know, this deep, dark abyss. So crevasses are horrifying. Falling into one there would be absolutely terrifying.

Like you're toast at that point. You're gonna die, like, if that happens.

Yes. Okay, so there we go. Map of Antarctica. Yes.

This is the Ross Ice Shelf.

Yep. So going. So everything outside those two ice shelves is what, like the polar plateau in the middle there?

Right. So basically you're gonna start where?

Kind of where your mouth. Where that little island is on the Ross Ice Shelf.

Okay, got it.

So you're gonna start down here, Starting kind of left there, where that little island is on. Yeah.

Oh, I see, I see, I see. Okay, so this is. This is actual land, not ice.

Yes, got it.

And then you on that coastline, I would imagine this part. Right.

Well, going up and then to the South Pole, kind of, I wouldn't say a straight line, but close to a straight line of the South Pole. And then straight line to that other island on the Berkner, a little bit to the east of Berkner there.

Okay.

And that is. That is here.

Okay, so basically we go from here to the South Pole to here.

Yep.

And that's about 1700 miles.

Exactly.

So if just doing a little bit of back of the napkin math, if you don't cover an average of 16 miles per day, you're in rough Shape.

Exactly.

So what can happen to you on this trip? Like are you talking animals? Are you talking obviously the cold? Are you talking wind?

There's no, no life. There's only penguins in like one corner of Antarctica. The rest of it, there'll be no life. So just one little Indian dude wandering around randomly. But yeah, so you got the cold, you got the wind, zero life. The biggest outcome of like the most likely outcome if I don't succeed in pulling this off would just be that I didn't cover the distance, you know. Yes, that, that is possible, but it's not. Like again it's not super dangerous. Like almost every part of the journey. Like when I was there last time when I lost a finger to frostbite, you know, a plane can come and evac me, they can't come on the glacier. But other than that there can come pretty much everywhere else. So it's not again in. You can't say there's no danger. Obviously there's danger, but it's the biggest thing is that I just couldn't cover the distance. Like last season there were three expeditions that attempted a partial crossing of Antarctica that was from the ice shelf to the ice shelf, not the coast to coast. And all three failed, not for lack of trying. They were all savages. It's just the distance. They just couldn't cover the distance. Right.

And they're not trying to do it by themselves. Has anybody else attempted one one unpowered solar crossing by themselves?

So Borgate Iceland, legendary polar explorer, like I would call him, I've never met him in person, but definitely someone I followed throughout. He's done a coast to coast crossing. He was the first man to do a coast to coast crossing. Back when he did it, it had never been done before. So the goal was just to do a crossing. So he used a bit of the wind power, like a bit of kite for the journey. Because again, style evolutions happen after the deed is first done. Right. When they first reached the South Pole it wasn't like how do we reach the South Pole solo or anything. It was just can we reach the South Pole? Which is what Amundsen did. So Borg was the pioneer. And so people have done coast to coast crossings of Antarctica like Borg, Oslin, Rune, Gilness M. I can't remember if one or two others, but about. I think maybe a handful of people have done, but they used a kite. So it's never been done without a kite or with dogs. That's what I am now attempting.

Okay, got it. So you'll Be the first person to attempt without kite, without dogs, without any help. You don't have like a snowmobile or, or.

And no resupplies either. Exactly. No resources. You're carrying all your stuff on dragging all of my. Hence there'll be about a 400 pound sled that I'll be dragging with 110 days worth of food, fuel, supplies to get me across there for the entire, the entire journey.

Okay, so let's talk about two things. Calorie burns. Right. And managing that, your diet. And also how you've trained for this so far.

Yeah. So in terms of calories, I'll be eating about 62 to 6,700 calories a day. Burning more than that, 8 to 10,000. So as you know, I'm constantly putting on fat because I need fat, weight, weight to lose. I'm anticipating losing a significant amount of weight. When I was on Greenland, I put on 17 pounds of fat before the one month journey and I lost 20 pounds. So I anticipate losing 30 to 40 for sure, if not more. But I'll be eating that, that many calories. So training for it. Training for polar travel is a very unique beast because you have to train endurance. I'll be dragging this very heavy sled for like 12 hours a day. So endurance you have to train strength because you need to be very strong to drag that 400 pound sled. And you have to do all of this while you're kind of fat. So none of these three things go well together. Right. Like you're not. No endurance athlete is training strength as hard as I need to and doing it while fat. So it's a very unique beast to train for this. And my core training is tire dragging. So I drag tires in the brutal, which you're familiar with. You're here to the brutal Arizona summer. It's like what, 110 degrees now? We've crossed 10. Yeah, exactly. I was out yesterday afternoon. So dragging tires in the Arizona summer and then obviously doing a lot of strength training. I just hit 11 Nordics yesterday. 11 Nordic curls. Thanks to our mutual friend Greg training me. I use the new fit. So a lot of strength training, a lot of tire dragging, going on weekend hikes as well. Doing a lot of meditation, doing a lot of breath work, meditation to master that stillness of mind. Because as I said, when you're skiing for 12 hours often it's not even just a. I can endure great amounts of suffering right now. As you know, I just finished this long, fast and many, many other things. I'M really fucking good at enduring massive amounts of suffering. But the challenge is, among many, of course, is just being in empty white nothingness for 12 hours a day while you're doing incredible amounts of physical labor. Your mind just takes you places, and that's part of the beauty, that's part of the draw. Because I like seeing what you unearth in that, in that journey. I mean, in that level of silence, you really start to hear. You hear the things that you don't get to hear in this world. And that's the huge draw. Like, to me, it's engaging with God. You know, it's tapping into the deepest aspects of the human spirit that you can't go to. You can't unearth those treasures unless you, like, you have to battle the dragon to find the treasure, you know, and the in out there. I'm gonna battle the biggest fucking dragons. But as a result, the treasures I'm gonna unearth in the human soul are just gonna be the most beautiful. And so that's the thing that's exciting, but also terrifying.

So what do you think drives you to be this guy?

To.

To want to do this, to. To create this? Like, what. What is the ultimate thing that if you have to be like, okay, if I could psychoanalyze myself and be like, what. What allows me to be this person that. That wants to do this, even to attempt it, which is, you know, it's a very low likelihood of success. Nobody's ever done it before. Not saying, you know, we don't wish that. You come back safe and you nail it. And it's like. It's just. It's a hard. It's one of the hardest things that anybody's ever tried to do.

Exactly. Yeah.

If you do it, you'll have broken like four or five world records or some crazy thing. Like. Yeah, yeah, it's nuts. Like, so. So, like, what makes you even want to try?

I think, you know, over the years, when I look at it like the. Every time I've continued to push that edge, push further, right? Running 24 hours, doing some. One of the heart, doing something hard, it keeps opening a new door. It keeps unearthing a new treasure. It keeps giving me access into new wisdom. And the draw is for me, I mean, this is a journey for me to awaken my own inner Buddhahood, to awaken that inner divinity that we all have within. You know, suffering is it. Exactly. Suffering is a training ground for self transcendence. Like if you. Forces you to find something within your soul to access Something even beyond just our limited mortal body. And again, we all have our own paradigm of what that means. But to me, like God tapping into God tapping into universe, right? To accessing spirits of those who came before us. To transcend yourself to such great mental and physical suffering. And that transcendence is the draw, you know, when you're out there on these expeditions, the volume of life is turned up like you feel life more intensely. The highs are so much higher and the lows are so much lower than in the normal world. So everything you feel so intensely and that amplified feeling is so fucking alluring. You know, you get to experience the, the human condition in like multiple lifetimes. You get to live worth of life in this condensed microcosm of time. And so for me, like, like any big goal, there's two reasons. The selfish goal is that transcendence. It's accessing that enlightenment, seeking that light to. But you have like. I don't go. We. I knew you, you, you heard me a lot. I talk about suffering a ton. I use that word probably every time we hang out at least once, if not more. But the suffering is the means. It's not the though, it's the thing that the suffering gives you. You know, you have to go through that suck, that struggle, that suffering to access the rewards on the other side of it. So I go for that transcendence and then selflessly, like my mission, you know, when I was in Iraq, my vehicle drove over an active ID that didn't explode. I've lost a friend who drove over his. When his vehicle, when he was in Iraq, his bomb, his vehicle drove over a bomb and he was killed. And so this and multiple other life experiences I've had from working in post conflict zones, working with survivors of sex trafficking, working with former child soldiers. I believe that like I've been, as I was saying, right, as you know, you met my parents. I was born into a great life and as a result I was automatically blessed with a million times more opportunities than most people have on earth who are born into hell. On earth, hell that I've witnessed and been to and seen, right? And to me I didn't do to deserve that life. So there's a debt I owe for this life that I've been gifted and paying off that debt, earning this life that I've been gifted, not forget about just Iraq. I've been nearly died many other times, right in my life, many other times, faced, confronted my own mortality, lost friends of course as well through suicide, war, addiction, all kinds of stuff. And paying off this debt is bringing the. Bringing these rewards back from the other side, from going. So because I get to go so far out on the edge, I get to access places that are very rarely accessed. And that gives me wisdom that I would not have otherwise. And my responsibility is to bring that. Bring that wisdom back to help others navigate their own polar storms, because everybody's battling that, you know, and. And like, my mission for life is he, like, when I think about the words I want on my tombstone is he brought light into darkness. And that's what I do. You know, you've seen, like, I speak at events and, and it. It leaves a mark. And I wouldn't be able to share the things I do. I wouldn't be able to. I wouldn't be able to speak the way I do had I not gone through these experiences and continue to seek them out. So it's a privilege. It's a privilege that I get to do these things.

It's a privilege. And it's.

It's.

It's something that I think everybody tries to do and contribute in one way. You're just going to like, the penultimate extreme, right? I mean, aside from, like, going out into space and the final frontier, like, there's no other place on God's green earth that. Or this white hellhole that, you know, basically a desert in the middle of nowhere that, that. That hasn't been conquered, right? You.

There's.

People have been everywhere, walked across everything and done everything, and it's like there's only a few things left on this little blue marble that are. Are still available. So it's an inspiring journey. I'm inspired to know you. I'm inspired to be your friend. I'm inspired at this mission and vision that you've built for yourself and for you serve. Let's talk about your book. Let's talk about fear of honor. Let's talk about that ethos, that mission. How do people get involved with that, you know, and then we can dig into some of the logistics of the trip and whatnot and kind of round that up.

So fear. Fear of honor is. It was birthed after kind of coming out of that abyss that I was in after the war. And the whole. The whole premise of it is this, is this ethos, this idea that fear and nirvana, two seemingly contradictory ideas to contradictory concepts, are in fact complementary, and that fear is not the antithesis of nirvana. That fear is an access point to it. So it began because when I came back in the war, you know, I was diagnosed with Post traumatic stress disorder. I was very jumpy with loud noises. I was very hyper vigilant. I didn't like crowds. I was struggling with Survivors Guild, and I was told that this was symptoms of Post Traumatic stress disorder. But as I once I hit that rock bottom and was on the verge of suicide, I started digging deeper into neuroscience, psychology, spirituality, researching all this, healing myself, figuring things out. And I realized, like, look, it's. This is not a disorder. I mean, I spent seven months in a place where loud noises equals death. That's not a disorder to be hyper vigilant. That's a normal human response to war. And my guilt, everybody said, don't feel guilty. It's not your fault. And I get it, right? Nobody could control what happens in war. Bullets fly where they fly, bombs explode where they explode. Nobody can control it. But so many veterans, and not just veterans, but a lot of people who lost somebody feel guilty, right? Like, why? Why do I get to live? And I think to me, that guilt is just an expression of love. So I started to realize that, you know, all these forces that we deem negative, quote unquote negative, like fear, stress, anxiety, guilt, they're not negative. They're just normal parts of the human experience. And if we reframe how we view them, they can actually be some of the most beautiful avenues for growth. So take my survivor's guilt for a long time. Like, take that, for example, as an example. For a long time, what I did was I put a picture of my friend that I lost in the war up on my wall, and it said, this should have been you. Earn this life. My guilt became my fuel, One of the most valuable fuels to this day you've seen right in. Right. Right there behind me in my living room, there's a board with my training, and it says, pay your debt today. This is not a choice, right? It fuels me. It drives me. It's a valuable emotion. And so fear of honor is the idea is not just fear, but any kind of challenging emotion. And I specifically say challenging, not negative, because it's not negative. Any kind of challenging emotion that if, when leveraged, it can be an access point to bliss and nirvana. And that's what the ethos is designed to help people do. That's what the book is designed to help people do. Reframe their relationship to all kinds of suffering, all kinds of struggle, and then use it to do three things. Find, live and love. What I call your worthy struggle. That's your path in life, right? Not everybody. It's not about Doing what I do. I'm not saying crossing Antarctica is the only way to attain enlightenment. Right. Like, it's about finding your own worthy struggle, whether it be writing a book, playing a guitar, playing chess, whatever it may be, finding your worthy struggle. But the. The key skill set, I mean, among many. But the key skill set is being able to embrace the struggle on that path and falling in love with the process of systematically overcoming problems and embracing the. The. The suffering you will inevitably endure on the journey.

Yeah. And maybe if guitar is your thing, don't do the whole lose to your fingers thing because it makes it harder to play.

That might be a little. Make things a little harder. Exactly. In my world, it's no big deal.

No big deal. You're 80%. You're 20% more efficient at clipping your fingernails.

Exactly, exactly. It's a time saver.

Yeah, it's totally fine. So what I love about this message, what I love about what you've built, is that most people, if they're faced with challenging emotions, as you put it, their first. Well, they might have multiple responses. Right.

We.

All different responses to trauma, but a lot of people want to numb out.

Exactly.

Want to not feel the feeling. So they turn to alcohol, drugs, they. They avoid it, they. They block it out, whatever it is.

Right.

But you're saying lean into it. You're saying, go seek out those negative feelings as an avenue to find your highest bliss and nirvana. Because I. I agree. I feel like this whole life, this whole experience of life, part of it is like mastering these dualities. And you talk about duality a lot where it's like, you know, we have this contrast because that's the way we experience the world. Like, the human brain is designed to operate based on contrast. We cannot understand anything without its opposite or some other version of it. So in. In exploring these negatives and leaning into those, you know, challenging emotions and owning them and using them as fuel, that will fuel our journey to the highest highs as well.

Absolutely.

You know, instead of creating this lifestyle of I'm gonna, you know, shy away from anything that's. That's hard, I'm gonna lean into it and. And learn from it. And that's really what the ethos is. Is like. And you've taken just. Just to the penultimate extreme of like, I'm gonna walk across Antarctica on foot by myself. As one does not exactly downtown New.

York, you know, not so much. No. And to that point, you know, step one, like, I want to. I want to emphasize the step one is kind with it first, before you start seeking it out at the extreme, you got to first just practice being with the quote, unquote negative. But let's. The challenging emotions, right? And that's as simple as I'm feeling fear, I'm going to pause and be with it as opposed to judging it. Like, I can't tell you. For example, I worked with this client once who he was flying to Iceland on his own on a vacation. On his own. First time going on his own vacation, he was terrified, and he sees all the crazy shit I do, and he was like, what's wrong with me? Why am I scared? Just going to Iceland on a relaxing vacation on his own. And the problem was not his fear. It was his judgment of himself for having the fear. He had never traveled on his own, so inevitably, he was scared, right? Like, I. For me, that would not scare me, but not because I'm braver. It's because my brain has references to say, we've done this. This is golden. It's safe, right? So all our brain has different references that it's accumulated over life experience. That changes how we relate to the. To the next experience and ultimately that fear and what shows up. So the problem was not that the fear showed up. It was he was judging himself. So step one is just pause, accept it, be with it, acknowledge it, embrace it. Once you start developing a little bit of that healthy relationship with it, then start seeking it out, going into your edge. And your edge does not mean my edge. Like, I cannot stress this enough. There's a lot of people like, oh, I need to do all the crazy shit he's doing. I'm not saying that. I never say that. As, you know, it's like, find your edge. Go into a cold tub. Go on a longer hike. Push yourself a little bit. You know, find a new way to suffer. Spend some time in darkness. Go do whatever.

By the way, there's plenty of stuff Akshay is afraid of.

Oh, terrible. Terrified. If, you know, normal things scare me. Dating is more scary than going to Antarctica, so.

That's right.

You helped me a ton in that arena.

And I'm like, yo, when you're ready to come back and actually make a go at it, like, let's go. Let's go across that Antarctica. Yeah, that's a pretty good Antarctica.

There'll be plenty in that. Like, I get more scared messaging a girl than I do doing, like, this insane in the world. But that's the whole thing. It's like, I. There was a time in my life I would feel Embarrassed sharing that as a fear, because it's like. But now I don't care when fear shows up. The problem is never the fear. I don't care what I'm scared about, because the problem is never the fear.

The problem is made friends with and acknowledge.

Exactly. Like this day, I get scared doing that shit I'm always asking you, getting your advice on in that arena special. Yeah.

And I think it's. It's also true. Like, I've dated a lot of women. I've had a lot of beautiful relationships. I'm in a healthy, committed relationship now. But I've been through the pain of, like, all of that. You know, at 19, I was a virgin and I had no idea what I was doing. And I had to learn, right? And through a lot of iterations, I've learned a few things. It's like the same as the cold plunge. I talk about it. It doesn't ever not suck to, like, ask the girl out or send the text or, hey, what are you doing later? Or, hey, you know, this and that. The other thing, it's just you get better at recognizing that that's not you. That's just your lizard brain freaking out temporarily, trying to keep you safe.

Right?

And that's the only tool it's got, is just to inject cortisol and adrenaline in your body and make you feel the sensation of fear. But it's not really true. And the more confidence you build from the evidence of taking action and getting good outcomes, the better. Right. I have yet to have my life ended by asking somebody out.

Yeah, one would hope that would not.

Say it can't happen, but the likelihood is so low that it's really. Why are we having that proportionate?

I don't think you can lose any fingers doing that. So, you know, I should be golden in that arena. Some of these.

Some of these bitches be biting. I'm just saying. Just got to watch out.

They got.

Anyway, so, you know, that's.

That's a.

That's a very bro reference. But it's just, this is applicable to everybody. It's like, what are you afraid of?

Okay.

Be with that fear.

Absolutely.

Like, feel it. Feel the fear. Okay, cool. I feel it. I acknowledge it. It's cool. And then do it anyway. Do the thing anyway. Because on the other side of that fear is. Is growth.

It's.

It's life. It's everything you've ever wanted, right? It's the relationship of your dreams, the business of your dreams, The.

The.

Whatever your Antarctica is, whatever your Polar Storm is so. I really love your message, Akshay. And you've spoken in front of so many incredible crow. Paid to speak everywhere. And we're all your friends, and we don't even listen to your advice.

I know, right? It's ridiculous.

We have a filter because, like, I.

Just ignore this auction.

Even Jasmine, it's like, you know, my fiance. We all know each other.

Her.

Her direct quote is when I say, akshay has advice for you, it's nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.

I don't want to hear it. Don't want to hear it.

La, la, la, la, la, la, la. But we can all learn from each other.

Ridiculous.

We can all learn from each other. And that's so important. And the reason I wanted to share this platform today and to speak with you is because, you know, you're doing something that. That not only is hard and not only is difficult, but also it's freaking expensive. Like, can we talk about some of the logistics here and. And just compare it to, you know, like we were talking about Shackleton and his whole journey with 27 people on a ship and the dogs and the. And all that and how that went sideways and how much money he had to raise in today's dollars and, like, just give us a sense of what all goes into this and what all that costs.

Yeah. So, I mean, the. Just the flight alone, right? I go from Phoenix to Chile, Southern tip of Chile, Puntarenas. Flying to Antarctica. The base camp in Antarctica. Ale Antarctic Log and Expeditions, they have a base camp there called Union Glacier. That flight alone was like. Last time I went to Antarctica for two expeditions. It got nixed because of my frostbite, but it cost me $110,000. This one I'm going to fly. I'm from Union Glacier to this place called the Bay of Whales on the other end of Antarctica. It's like a 12 hour flight. Two to three fuel stops, and you're landing in the middle of nowhere. I believe that flight alone is like 200, $250,000. You know, so the logistics of managing this, you're having a support crew, a pilot, a plane. Because normal Antarctic season for adventures is 85 days. They're extending that to 110 days for me to do this, meaning there's a support team on staff, there's a doctor, there's a pilot, flights out, and then the pickup point from the, you're flying to some of the most remote regions of the world. You know, so ALE has given me. This is not a number I made up the number that it just cost based on ale Antarctic logistics and expeditions to, to provide the logistics to make this possible is a $750,000 journey. And I've invested every like, as you know, man, I'm all in on this. I've probably spent between expeditions up to this point, as well as funding the documentary that we're creating on this journey. We're creating a documentary with the team in Hollywood. I've dropped over half a million dollars on this so far. I'm all in mind, body, spirit, lost fingers to this, you know, spending every dollar I have all in for this. And now I definitely need outside support to help raise the, the, the rest of it to get me at the start line. Not just for me and the spiritual journey, but as you said, man, the, the legacy this will leave and the impact it will make. It's like the four minute mile, you know, when people do that, I mean it shatters our own limits of what is possible. Like, I can't tell you how many people. Just yesterday, somebody from Genius Network, from Joe Polish's Genius Network messaged me saying she was in the gym having a really hard time and she thought about me struggling out there after five and a half days of no food, doing a five hour hike, 110 degrees. And it helped push her, it helped drive her and push her harder, you know, So I get messages like that. Like when we tell these stories, it helps people find their own edge and that's why we're telling the story about it. Like I was always going to do this thing. What plan wasn't to film a documentary originally I was just going to do it, but the group of people found out what I'm doing and he's like, we should absolutely tell the story. And I was like, yes. Not just for me. I mean, I'm not gonna pretend like I'm not going to get something out of it. Of course it'll help my brand and all that, but to tell the story so we can leave that mark for other people to face their own polar storms, to cross their own Antarctica, whatever it may be. And so it'll be a quite a historic feat and looking for. Yeah. All the support I can get and making this possible.

Yeah. And it's, it's amazing. I mean, we've all supported you in different ways with our platforms, our money, with our time and you know, there's only so much we can do as a small community, but together we could do quite a bit. So great things.

Yeah.

You know, it's amazing. Like, I think about all the people who have done something that's never been done before. You know, when you think about like the Olympic athletes that broke the record or broke their leg trying to break the record and still nailed the landing, like moments that just well up tears in your eyes and make you want to cry because just like it's, it's the human spirit on full display and all its naked truth, all its vulnerability, all its authenticity and all its raw power that we're so fragile, but we can push ourselves so far with just the power of our minds and the will and determination. It's just like, it's unbelievable. Like, you just think of all those moments and, and that's what this symbolizes for me personally is like, you know, I'm not a touchy feely kind of guy most of the time. I'm usually like a sarcastic asshole sometimes.

But we love you for it.

You know, truly, deeply in my heart, I so much. I just, I feel so much like I know I'm never going to be this guy that goes and does that thing that's just in my heart. I know that's not the mission. I'm here to serve. And that's not a judgment. It's just. It's different. Right? Yeah, but. But being able to support you in some small way makes me feel more connected to you and more connected to this mission. And I know how much this is going to impact the world when you complete it. I know that there's so many people that are going to be like, holy shit, that little brown dude can do this. What can I do?

Yeah, absolutely.

And they're going to go out and change the world and the ripples and the domino effects of that. Like just. Even if I could have like a half a percent or 1% little nudge that helps you in the right direction, could be amazing. And you've already gotten insane support from some donors and benefactors. What's the latest stats? Because we've been talking about it almost every day. I think you're over 200 grand now, right?

Yeah, I mean right now, just on in the. Just in terms of sheer online, like just the online platform, the crowdfunding page. We were at over 22k, but I have a few large donors that have committed to 195k collectively between 3. So I haven't updated the tally on there yet because the cash isn't on hand. They're donating in India, so we're just creating an Indian bank account to set this all up. But once that comes in, we'll be over 200k in less than a week of the crowdfunding page. And again, again, to your point, you know, it's not about me doing this. I think people are believing in the power of the human spirit that lives within all of us. And it. And I, And I could not be more blessed and grateful for the incredible support from people like you, from our whole Arizona family here. Just the millions of. I mean, I mean, I'm millions, yeah. But the hundreds and thousands of people coming together to have helped support this and hopefully as it grows, even millions, you know, because every great deed, it doesn't. I'll be alone on the ice. But I could not get there without the countless people ale that makes it possible. My polar friends and mentors. Right. Like, there's so many polar friends I have who've taught me so much to even get me to this point. Our mutual friend Greg is training me, you know, like our friends Anthony, like nutrition. Like, I have just an arsenal of.

Support managing all your money when you're not around to manage it.

Exactly, exactly. He has power of attorney over my life. Like, my skill set is ability to endure massive amounts of suffering. And I have an arsenal of people who can help me in all the other areas that it takes to do this kind of thing.

So it's just wild. And I mean, you know, we, we, we got your back 100%. But if this is moving to you, if you're watching this, if you're hearing our voices, if you're seeing us on this program, whether you're live, hashtag live, or hashtag replay, if you're watching the replay, if you're on my list, if you are in this and you, you have even a little bit of an inkling where it's like, hey, this is cool, you know, enough to donate 5 bucks, 20 bucks, 100 bucks. It doesn't matter. It's not the size of the donation. Every little bit helps. And if you exceed your 750 and that covers the expedition, great. We'll use it towards the documentary, which will end up on Netflix and change a lot more lives. So if you want to be a part of this impact, it doesn't have to be a lot, but you do have to donate. You have to give something, some sort of support. Because at this point, all the T's are crossed, all the I's are dotted. You've done it. You've. You've gotten it all together. You've gotten the permits. You're the only person on Planet Earth that Ale has said, hey, we're in charge of this and we're going to let you go play in our playground.

There might be one or two others. I'm not sure if other people want to do this. There might be because it's like the last straight feat in polar travel.

So I'm just saying for this time in history.

Yeah.

And this year. And like based on everything that we know. We know what we know, we don't know what we don't know. But like I of, of all of our awareness and I've asked this question a bunch of different ways. Like there's. It's Akshay or nothing this year, you know, so like when he completes it, it's complete or somebody else will complete it in the future, it will get completed. And I'm, I'm betting on Akshay personally. So we've given a lot of our, our time, energy, attention and money to this and we want to continue to do that. But we need help, gang. And I can't think of a, of a more worthy cause from an inspiration point of view than something like this. And I'm sure you can, you can make your own values, judgment as far as that. But for me and who I am and Akshay and who he is, like, this is it. So if you are interested in donating to the Crossing and getting updates and being involved, you can go and check out GreatSoulCrossing.com. that's great. SoulCrossing.com or if you just want to learn about it and check out the videos and, and some of the content and all that great stuff. It's all on there. And James and the Vision tech team, Magic agency, they put together incredible site that's, that's really working. And like we said, we've already raised 200 plus thousand dollars. You're going to see Akshay's face in a lot of places and even many more places when he completes this. So I'm excited for this to be a part of a journey. And when you see him on Joe Rogan one day or on the news or, or whatever at the UN giving a speech, you could be like, hey, I, I helped that guy when, when he was getting it off the ground. So pretty cool stuff.

Thank you, brother. And to be clear, I'm not pocketing like to just build on that. I'm not pocketing a single dollar from this. It's all going to Ale. It's all going to fund the expedition. So I appreciate all the, every little bit Makes a difference. Bunch of people coming together to make this happen, you know?

Yeah. You know, I hope you get something out of it that is meaningful and purposeful to you. I hope that this, you know, create something for you, the listeners out there, the watchers out there, the folks out there that gives you that little nudge, you know, or the big nudge that you need to make that big transition in your life or whatever's next for you. Like, I know knowing you has. Has transformed my life. Life drastically. I've only known you for five, six, seven years, but like, dude, did. You're always leveling out to be the average of the people you spend the most time with. I spend a lot of time with you. And I've gotten better as a result. And I'd like to hope the feeling mutual. But, you know, it's just. It's an incredible thing. So if you can find a friend like Akshay, like in your life that pushes you to be better, hold on to him with both hands and, and hold on tight. But you might have to put up with some stuff along the way.

I'm gonna be weird as when I come back from Antarctica. So just be. You guys are now stuck with me. My friends are stuck with me. You have no choice. You have to put up with me.

You can just write a check and walk away. We got to deal with his weird feral ass up at my wedding a month after he comes back. And it gets weird. Makes it awkward for everybody growling at the, at the host. Anyway, it's greatsoulcrossing.com let's pull it up. Let's show people what we built over here because I think it's pretty special and I'm really.

Oh. And I couldn't be more grateful to my copywriter friend James and his team. Team James and his team designed it. The and, and the edited the video. My doc, my documentary team shot it when we were in the Arctic. Like it's just been. This whole thing you're seeing is a countless number of people have come together to even make this. This what you see, a reality.

So here you go. You got your first ever solo coast to coast ski crossing of Antarctica. You got a little video welcome some of the. The places that Akshay has been. You know, this is not day one stuff. He's been at this for a while. You can see him in his full M16 carbine regalia there. Pretty fun.

The book.

Why would he do this? Great question. And yeah, it's, it's. There's a lot Here. And these are some of the folks he's been able to, to work with and inspire and, and you know, create an impact with. It's really beautiful thing, man. You've done an incredible job. Oh, and talk about what they get. So when they donate, are there like kind of bonuses? Like how do you have it set up?

Yeah, so different tiers, donations, different kind of things, you know, so there it says like the 20, 25 different ways I move through pain during my mental physical training. And that does not apply to just what I do. You can use that for. Everybody's going to go through pain. So it'll, it'll show you how to navigate that. How do you train for anything? It's not everybody's training for something. Whether you're consciously doing it or not. You are training for something. My time moves forward. Your mind, body, spirit is being worked. So how do I think about training? That's not. This didn't happen overnight, right? Training for an Antarctic crossing. This is a of life experience cultivated over time. Being in the arena, not just researching it, but being in the arena that like going to war with myself. So I share a lot of the wisdom I've gained over the years. You know, I have one, I think at the 999 tier, it's like giving access to all my wealth of like mindset trainings. How do I be more disciplined? How have I dealt with trauma? How have I, how do I think about training mine? One of my core trainings is method acting. I've shared this with you a lot, right. How did I get into method acting? That's even a big reason why I'm growing this beard here because when I look in the mirror, I want to see a savage. Although Jasmine was like, like, oh, it looks so cute. I was like, I'm not going for cute. I'm going for like Wolverine here. But I'm going for.

You look like a teddy bear. And you're so.

I was like, no, Jasmine, that's not what I'm going for.

And you got like 30 extra pounds on your frame. That's not normally there. So it's like you're getting more of a teddy bear vibe. Sorry to say.

But like method acting is one of the most profound tools for personal transformation I've ever studied. So I have like a five hour training in there about that, you know, so it's like just all the, the, the, the mindset trainings that. And again, anyone can apply to their own craft. It's not about most people watching this are probably not training for an Antarctic crossing, but you can apply it to whatever your craft is, and it's universal. The methods that I've cultivated over the years, from having been blessed to have endured a lot and continue to seek out, obviously, in the greatest edges possible, and then we also have an NFT about the crossing that is, I'm very, very blessed to have Nick Peterson helped create that whole thing.

I've actually interviewed Nick on this podcast as well, if you want to check it out. So Nick is the Wolf Den. He's a crusher too. So, yeah, Nick is helping out with this. James is helping out like a lot of our friends.

Amazing people. Yeah, he helped create that. And so it's just like so many people coming together to make this happen. So I'm a simple man who likes to drag heavy things in cold places. Everybody else, including yourself, way smarter friends than me who helped make this possible.

We all have our gifts, man. And I'll be there. You'll be texting me. I'll be like, hey, man, just keep going. You know, like, I'll be the guy back home making sure everything is. Is good to go. And that's. That's part my contribution, you know, I don't mind.

Oh, yeah, brother, I couldn't do this without our grades.

I sure as hell ain't going with you.

So I keep trying to get. I'm trying to get Jasmine to come too, but she wants to know, you.

Need somebody who still has thumbs to text you back.

Exactly.

But that's, that's actually a good point. So, like, worst case, you know, assuming you don't fall in crevasse, that's like the, the most dangerous thing that could happen with regard to if things go wrong.

How.

And how long does it take to get you and like, talk about the weather and some of the pieces that.

Like last time we. When I was out there and I had to get evacuated because of the frostbite, I was very, very lucky. We called the, the plane that it was day 18 of the expedition. We called the plane in the morning, they arrived in the evening. So I got evacuated the same day. We called it. Now that's not always going to happen. It's very dependent, like, on weather, obviously, because the weather can get very savage in Antarctica.

In worst case, you can, like, you can hunker down in your tent.

Exactly. That's why it's not like super dangerous. This is definitely not as dangerous as, like, free solar. That to me, again, the draw is the suffering. But yeah, worst case, like, let's say, I don't know, twist an ankle. I fall off a giant piece of sastrugi, these windswept formations in the snow and I break a bone or something. I can set up my tent and hunker down till evac comes in. So that option is there most of Antarctica other than the glacier, a plane can land to come pick you up. So, you know, there's always that option is available should things go. And every day I'll be checking in. There'll be a live tracker, actually. People can follow along back home. You and everybody back home home can follow me as I'm plotting along the ice. There'll be a live tracker. I'll have a sat phone, as you said. I'll probably. I'm sure I'll shoot you a text from time to time.

Out there, they'll get more and more unintelligible. You'll even have Bodhi, which I'll tell them about Bodhi.

Okay.

This is so fun. Please go with Bodhi. Oh, yeah.

So if anybody's seen Castaway, Tom Hanks has his little volleyball Wilson that he starts talking to. So inspired by that, I created a little character, one of our mutual friends, Daryl, Daryl Southern from Genius. He created. Well, he, he made it for me, but it's a little stuffed pillow with a laughing Buddha on it. So why a laughing Buddha? Laughing Buddha's two things that to me are the most sort of important, quote unquote weapons to help me navigate the arduous nature of what's coming. One is a sense of humor. You always have to be able to laugh when things get bad. And that obviously doesn't just apply to Antarctica. That's applies to life. You have to have that sense of humor. And two, Buddha is for me, awakening that own my own inner Buddhahood. So it's a stuffed pillow, tiny stuffed pillow with a laughing Buddha on it. And I named him Boat Bodhi. Bodhi is short for Bodhisattva, which in Buddhism is a being that has attained enlightenment but chooses to sacrifice. Going to nirvana to help others on earth who are suffering. It's something who I really resonate with that, that ethos. So I've created this little stuffed pillow called Bodhi that I talk to. So a good story about it is when I was in the Arctic just Now on my third expedition, it was 10 days solo. I was six days in. And usually while I'm cooking, like I boil snow for water in the vestibule of my tent. Little bodies sitting in the corner and we're quote, unquote, chatting. We're having some dialogues. We're shooting the shit a little bit. Me and the stuffed vil in the. In the corner.

As you do.

As one does. Exactly. And then when I. When I finish cooking, I bring him in the tent and we chat a little bit more before I go to bed. So day six of the expedition, I come into the tent and I forgot Bode in the vestibule. So I immediately realized as I was going to bed, I was like. And I open the. Open the door to the tent. I grabbed Bodie and I go, bodie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you out there. And the craziest part is this is after six days in, I genuinely. I wasn't just saying the words. I genuinely felt guilty. Guilty. I felt sadness, I felt pain. Like I left my puppy or left a friend out there. And this was only after six days completely alone. So you can imagine after 100 days out there, my. My little friend Bodhi and me. I told you, man, I'm bringing Bodhi to your wedding bodies. My plus one. I don't care whether you say yes or no.

He doesn't eat much, so I'm okay with it.

He's gonna sit me and. Me and Bodhi are gonna be sitting in the corner. They're gonna be like, dude, there's a really weird guy in the corner just talking to a pillow.

So I'm about it, man. I'm about it. You could be as weird as you want to. Just. Just come back alive and finish it if you can.

Absolutely, absolutely. But the power in that for anybody. Listen, you don't have to like, talk, create your own body is that it's like, find ways to be still with yourself out there. Bodhi is just simply a mirror for me to talk to what I call God. Right. But if whatever your paradigm around that is talking to the universe, talking to yourself, talking to your subconscious stillness allows you to access that. And that's the value in being still with yourself. That's. That's one of the draws for me. I'm genuinely as terrified as I am. I'm genuinely excited about experiencing that level of solitude and that level of stillness. Because what I'm going to hear out there, I don't even know yet. And I can't wait to find out.

Well, you heard it here first, gang. Akshay Navadi, you are a crazy person, but I love you.

Love you too, brother.

I'm so grateful that we get to do this crazy life journey together.

Absolutely.

And if you all want to support Akshay on his Quest, we're about 20 of the way to raising all the money. A little, little more. And you can go to greatsoulcrossing.com if you want to check out his other work and go to fearvana.com that's greatsolcrossing ing.com or fiorvana.com and you can follow along. You can get involved. You can get on the mailing list. You can check out his Instagram at Fiorvana. He puts some great stuff on there. If you don't mind some gnarly photos of. Of black fingers and stuff, you know, surgeries and weird stuff he's had to go through, it might be okay. But, yeah, just regardless of whether you take action on that or not, hopefully you got something awesome from this interview and you recognize that maybe there's another level to this game that you might be. Might be willing to explore and taking those. Those emotions that you might have labeled negative and utilizing them as. As fuel for your next. Your next big evolution, which is beautiful because we're all here to evolve. You know, you're always changing. You're either changing in a positive way or not so positive way. And, you know, life has changed. You're never stagnant.

Right?

You're never still. So it's which direction are you going in? And are you getting closer to what you want? And for all of us here at Make More Marbles, thank you, Akshay, for being on, and we're grateful to have you, and we'll see you next time.