The Matt Prior Adventure Academy

Two years ago an email appeared in my inbox from Matt Prior.

“Having recently spoken to our mutual friend about a few trips, your name came up and it reminded me, I still need to write to Squash.  Unfortunately we haven’t met face to face…”

Matt continued by telling about some of his projects and was reaching out to discuss other opportunities.  I had a look around his website and realised he was a pretty remarkable character.

Matt did a Q&A with me as part of a series of interviews to show what effect adventure can have on your life.

He also told me about his baby!  The Matt Prior Adventure Academy.

“A one week adventure like no other.  A no-frills, practical course designed to give you an introduction into Adventure, Travel and Overland Expeditions.
The aim is to show you the benefits of adventure to you and your life. Once you understand the mindset and how to implement what is required, you will be able to achieve anything you want to.”

It sounded remarkable and I thought to myself, I wish I could go on that.

Amazing how things work out!

I finally met Matt, in person at the end of last year and he said he would like me to join him on one of the trips to see what I thought and to see if we both thought this was something I could lead.

My ‘interview’ was two weeks ago.  Matt was very keen that I experienced the adventure academy as he delivers it, so armed with very little information I arrived in Indonesia with my kit and met the team.

The next six days would be off grid and without internet, that I relished, but not knowing what the itinerary was, that was tough!  Not knowing where or how far we would travel or for how long, not knowing when our next meal would be or where we would stay, for me this was a new experience.  I adapted quickly – we all did, we had to!

We were a small team of four and diverse in age and background but an expedition is a great leveler and friendships formed fast.

With a strap line of Live, don’t just exist, the academy packs a huge number of unique experiences into a short space of time.  There was motorbikes, active volcanoes, remote villages, things very few other people have ever seen before and tough times where digging deep and asking a lot of yourself is needed.

I hadn’t really thought about the fact that most of the expeditions I’ve done previously have been in cold environments in dry air.  The intense heat, high humidity and tropical rain storms were a shock to my system and I was so out of my comfort zone – which of course is where the magic happens.

If this trip was easy then everyone would do it, with very limited spaces available each person is interviewed and what follows is a week of tough, unforgettable experiences that show you who you are and more importantly what you are capable of.

If you have an adventurous spark but are not really sure where to start then click here and you’ve already begun and I might just be seeing you in Indonesia next year for an amazing adventure.