Creux du Van
Easter adventure and PCT preparation camp for the Swiss-PCT-team of 2018. Snow line at around 1.000masl and we hiked above 1.300masl most of the time in knee deep snow. First attempt to climb a narrow gorge had to be aborted due to massive ice and avalanche left-overs on the trail... But Creux du Van was worth the effort. We camped close to the rim and had a fantastic sunset and sunrise at around -6C. #ilovemountains #havetomovetoswitzerland
100.000 visitors on Do What Make Good!
Unbelievable…?! Since the relaunch and new branding Do What Make Good has reached 100.000 visitors this week. This is crazy guys…!
Looking back to 2014 this I started this blog under astornet.de to keep my folks and friends informed about the progress of my hike. The page was delisted from search engines and only the people who new the address where able to find it.
If I go back to the first articles from 2016 I really have to smile. It reads like professional minutes from a business meeting. “Today I started hiking at 7am and walked 34km. This is 1% of the total distance…” 😂. I never had good grades in German and when we had to write an essay which was scheduled for 4h I was usually done after 1h with a maximum of one page where others wrote 20. Writing was not my thing.
At then end of my hike in New Zealand I suddenly received messages from people I didn’t know who told me that they had followed my entire journey. I was shocked! They were reading my private notes. It took me a few weeks to make my peace with it and to realise what a chance this actually was. I was able to inspire people, make them think and give back from the amazing experiences I went through only by writing it down and sharing it.
And now? In November 2016 I sat down for a few days and re-desinged the blog and it received it’s new name “Do What Make Good” and branding from my good friend Arno. Within the last 14 month more than 100.000 visitors have visited the site.
Thanks for reading, sharing, commenting and giving me feedback. It’s an important part and it keeps me writing.
Share your thoughts! Let me know what you want to hear in the future. Or what not?
Thanks. Sweet as, bro. Happy trails 🤘
2 years of travel in 1 minute and 49 seconds.
Many of you have followed the last 2 years of my journey. Many of you have read a lot of what I have written - by now 360 articles! That’s a lot of reading. That’s also a lot of fun facts I just stumbled across preparing for a little speech which surprised me myself. 2 years in a few numbers:
- Visited 17 countries
- Crossed 37 borders
- Took 54 flights
- Destroyed 7 pairs of Salomon Speedcross shoes
- Walked over 8.500km
- Slept over 200 nights in a tent
- Ate over 30kg tuna
- Broke 2 iPhones
- Exchanged my backpack 4 times
- Changed my telephone number 8 times
- Highest point reached: 6.088m
- Southern most point: 64°88'S / 63°25'W
But since pictures say more than words… I have kept this one to myself for a while now . But I think it’s worth sharing. For myself it’s probably even a stronger and more intense memory since I have a story, a day, a happening and many pictures and feelings in my mind with every of these pictures.
But for the ones who followed you will as well discover a few pictures which will remind you on the one or other story you have read. One picture of each day of the two year journey. Enjoy!
About
About
Hi, I'm Florian
Born and raised in Germany. End of 2015 I quit my "old" life in the corporate world, a well-paid job, a nice home and all the amenities of what we generally call a good and fulfilled life, to explore what else was out there.
What started as a year-long break became a journey with an open end and an open destination. This blog is where I share it.
The journey
From the office to the trail and back
- 2015
Leaving the corporate world
After a trainee programme, a business degree and a classic career in an international corporation, I quit my job, declined a sabbatical and packed a backpack.
- 2015/16
Te Araroa, New Zealand
3,008 km on foot from Bluff to Cape Reinga. What started as an outdoor challenge became a life-changing experience.
- 2016/17
Canada, South America, Antarctica
The art of brewing coffee, time up in the air in British Columbia, then south through the Americas down to the islands of infinite ice.
- 2017
Pacific Crest Trail, USA
From Mexico all the way to Canada: five months on one of the great long-distance trails.
- Back home
campo and Studio Feuerwerk
Back in Germany I founded campo-golf.de with a guy I had met in a hostel in Colombia, and started speaking on stage.
- 2018/19
Tour du Mont Blanc and Pyrenean Haute Route
Fast and light in the Alps, then 23 days coast to coast through the Pyrenees.
- 2020
My first book
Do What Make Good – Der Anfang von 8500 km Glück.
- 2021–23
Haute Route, Dolomites, Zugspitze
Shorter trips in the Alps, and back to New Zealand to see old friends.
My story
Why I left
Why? I can't really tell you exactly why. First it was mainly just about taking a break and enjoying life for a while before starting a new job. Since I wanted to be free to really enjoy, emerge and be open for whatever would happen along the way, I cut all the safety ropes, quit my job, declined the offer of a sabbatical, got rid of (almost) all my stuff, packed a backpack and left home to explore what else was out there.
The journey began in New Zealand. I hiked the 3,008 km long Te Araroa Trail, the Long Pathway, from the southern to the northernmost point of the country. What started out as a physical and outdoor challenge quickly developed into a life-changing experience which disrupted my life more than I would have ever expected. Next to an amazing hike it also started a strong process of self-reflection and inspiration. It led me to a state of mind which I had never experienced before: true happiness and inner peace with myself.
But when I arrived at Cape Reinga I also had the feeling that I was not done yet. So I continued, only led by impulses and curiosity instead of plans. I explored the art of brewing coffee, went up high into the air, lost myself in the spiritual world, went far south to islands of infinite ice and did a lot more walking. I continued hiking for 1.5 more years through Canada, South America down to Antarctica and back from Mexico all the way to Canada on the famous Pacific Crest Trail.
But also after I had returned to Germany to do some "grown-up things" the journey just continued. One night in a hostel in Colombia I had met a guy who told me about a business idea. Call it coincidence or call it fate: he happened to live just across the street from where I stayed after my return. It did not take long and we started our first company together: campo-golf.de. Soon we started Studio Feuerwerk to share our experience with others, and I took my first steps on stage as a keynote speaker. And after two years of long nights and a lot of help my first book arrived: Do What Make Good – Der Anfang von 8500 km Glück.
I am very excited about what the future will bring. But one thing is sure: it will be a constant change and full of surprises…
The name
Why "Do What Make Good"?
"You got to do what you think is best for you!"
On Aconcagua I shared my tent with Matt for almost three weeks. Whenever I asked him for advice, like which hat to wear, he only replied: "You know what, you got to do what is best for you!" What started out as a running joke became a life motto, and even made it into my boss's farewell note when I left my old life.
"Do What Make Good!"
In one of the many huts in New Zealand the discussion circled around life and the choices we make. A Korean hiker with a limited English vocabulary wanted to say that he felt exactly the same, and in his words: "Do What Make Good!" Not grammatically perfect, but it came from deep insight and just nailed it.
The logo
The logo reduces "Do What Make Good" to the D and G. Inside both letters is a Koru, the unfurling fern. In Maori culture it stands for new life, growth, change and strength, a perfect symbol for what the trail and New Zealand have done for me. The Koru also accompanies me for the rest of my life as a reminder (my Koru).
