Why now
The disease takes no breaks: it keeps progressing, and in a few years I will quite likely no longer be able to work in IT. I didn't wait. I weighed two things: on one side, how I could earn a living to get by and provide for my son; on the other, how I could be useful to people. That is where the idea came from: to tell my story, which will most likely help someone, and may inspire someone else.
I decided to do it through a journey around the world: a format that is vivid, engaging, and draws attention on its own. Not only from people going through a hard time, but from those whose lives are basically fine. Such a person will watch the story of someone who ended up in hard circumstances and keeps fighting, look back at their own day, and think: all things considered, I'm probably doing fine.
Who it's for
I'd like this story to reach all kinds of people. There are children living with the same diagnosis I have lived with for 40 years now: looking ahead at their future, they don't know whether they will be needed, what awaits them, how to find their place in this life. There are adults who, for one reason or another, have run into physical limitations. And there are simply people who have found themselves in hard circumstances and see no way out. Every 45 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone takes their own life. And, of course, my story, told now, while I still can, may help many people rethink how they see themselves, believe in themselves, and widen their idea of what is possible.
How it works
I'm riding to the self-made
I'm on the road all year. Once or twice a month the route brings me to a hero — someone worth crossing half the world for. Every visit becomes an episode in several languages.
The visit
A stop on the route — someone who built their life from scratch.
1–2 days together
We spend a day or two living their everyday life — work, home, conversations. The camera rolls along the way, no list of questions.
The episode
The footage is cut into an episode — released in several languages at once.
Between episodes — posts, stories, live streams from the route. Heroes are pinned on the interactive map below.
Hero map
The people I'm riding to
- Paris — Triathlete (confirmed)
- Morgan Hill — General contractor (confirmed)
- Лимассол — Основатель kupibilet.ru (confirmed)
- Стамбул — Сооснователь Whoosh (confirmed)
- Northern Spain — Winemaker (confirmed)
Hover over a pin (tap on your phone) — the hero's vertical video message opens.
Spin the globe (drag with a mouse). Hover a pin — or tap it on a phone — for a hero preview with video.
Reach
In a year we'll build this media together with you — one that will be of use to everyone this story can inspire.
Follow the road
Trust
“The Other Side”
Non-fiction by Alexander Crow
Now in RussianSoon in English- Lifehacker — ‘I’ve always loved freedom’
- AiF — From Magnitka to Thailand
A word from our partner
“Alex, have a wonderful journey! We can't wait for news from all over the world.”
The Uzbek airline Centrum Air is the project's first partner. Ahead of the round-the-world start, its crew recorded a video message.
