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The Ozaki 8: Inspiration for True Outdoor & Adventure Travel

In the new remake of the movie Point Break “the Ozaki 8” is a challenge posed to the adventure sports world for honor and the pursuit of adventure. The Ozaki eight extreme sports “ordeals” are intended to honor the elements and forces of nature while testing the abilities of “poly-athletes”.

Ono Ozaki, the creator of the ordeals dubbed “The Ozaki 8”, is a fictional extreme athlete and eco-warrior that wanted to bring public attention to environmental issues in the movie Point Break. 

Ozaki posited that completing these nearly impossible tasks, each interacting with a particular element of nature (e.g., water, earth, air), would bring public attention to key environmental issues and bring the poly-athlete one step closer to Nirvana.  

Within the movie, Ono Ozaki dies after supposedly completing the first “ordeal”. In his absence, a group of “extreme poly athletes”, incredibly skilled in a wide range of extreme sports, turned criminal, incorporating these extreme sports feats into everything from bank robberies to weekend adventures to eco-terror attacks. Therein lies the plot of this Point Break remake.

Whether you loved or hated the movie, you have to admit…the visuals and the feats recreated in the film were quite impressive, and inspired me to create a list of feats of my own.  First, let’s review the Ozaki 8 ordeals…

The Ozaki 8 List

Extreme Sports Ordeals Honoring the Elements & Power of Nature

  1. Emerging Force: Whitewater rafting the Inga Rapids in the Congo
  2. Birth of Sky: BASE jumping from Mt. Everest
  3. Awakening Earth: Skydiving into the Cave of Swallows in St. Louis Potosi, Mexico
  4. Life of Water: Surfing a wave over 60 feet tall
  5. Life of Wind: A Wingsuit “proximity flight” flying between….
  6. Life of Ice: Snowboarding down an unridden mountain
  7. Master of Six Lives: Free solo climb Angel Falls in Venezuela
  8. Act of Ultimate Trust: Placing your life into the hands of nature

As stated in the movie, taking on even one of the feats from the Ozaki 8 is likely to kill, but, the creators are on to an interesting theme. 

By building a story around outdoor, adventure, travel, and extreme sports that capitalize on the forces and elements of nature, sky, earth, and sea, somewhere in this poetic creation lies inspiration for real, novel, and heart starting exploration rooted in the natural world. 

As I looked over this list, recognizing this theme of connection with nature while pushing one’s limits, I realized that if one were to plan travel around experiencing each of these experiences under more survivable circumstances, this might be a recipe for some interesting, adventurous, fulfilling travel that’s packed with excitement, healthy, and keeps one in touch with nature.

In the past few years, since I took the jump to travel around the world with just a backpack, striking experiences off my bucket list, and aspiring to find experiences I’d never dreamed of, the most enlivening and unforgettable experiences I’ve had maintained a similar “theme” across them all.

Testing one’s self and pushing one’s limits. Simplicity. Connection to the natural world. Genuine connection to other people. Most of all – always, push one’s limits. These are the common traits of the experiences that have defined my travels.

A mellow day teaching myself to surf on Bali – one of the core sports in “The Adventure 8”

From trekking to Everest Base Camp so fast I risked altitude sickness, to nearly drowning while learning to surf in double overhead waves, to skirting by warzones to volunteer refugees, my travels have been defined and amplified by experiences, we may even call them ordeals, that push my limits and connected me more with the natural world and genuine people in it.

With this in mind, I sat down and rewrote a more manageable list of sports (instead of feats) to experience and hone.  I aimed for a list of sports and experiences that incorporate as little technology as possible and put us in touch with nature as much as possible. 

The minimalist, self-reliant nature of each sport will undoubtedly challenge you physically. In turn, the experience will push you to stay at your physical peak throughout your own pursuit of “the 8”. 

The stripped nature of each sport, using as little technology as possible and incorporating the elements and forces of nature as much as possible would force one to connect with nature. 

A great memory of a celebratory handstand after a speedy solo-trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal – another staple sport in the Ozaki 8 inspired “Adventure 8”

In this ever more connected and urbanized world we live in, this list of sports would push us to venture further away from the cities and metropolises most of us live in and closer to the places where real adventures live.

By picking travel destinations that offer the best chances to engage in each sport of this “Adventure 8”, the end result will be better travel, more adventurous, healthy in nature, and encourages physical, mental, and even spiritual development ultimately inspiring us to adventure higher, deeper, and further – outwardly and internally.

With this idea in mind – the pursuit of adventure and connection with the natural world, and the real world – I present to you, “The adventure 8“.

The Adventure 8:

Eight sports that will push your travel into the outdoors and towards adventure


If you want to truly travel and explore the world, not just the cities and people hives, but the whole world…the real world – the BBC Planet Earth world, the backcountry, the Andes, the Himalayas, the thousands of islands in Southeast Asia, the places where giants swim and the air is thin – what would that travel look like?  How would you do it?  I think you would do it like this…


The Adventure 8

  1. Kayaking – experiencing the power of water coming from its source
  2. Mountaineering and trekking – experiencing the greatness of mountains
  3. Skydiving – experiencing the sky
  4. Surfing – experience sea, sky (wind), and land(coasts and breaks) at their point of convergence
  5. Freediving – experiencing the depths of the sea, stripped
  6. Wingsuit/Hanggliding – experiencing wind
  7. Snowboarding or Skiing – experiencing snow and ice
  8. Rock climbing – experiencing the earth

By constructing your travel experiences around a few of these eight sports (which nearly anyone can do) I believe you would travel the world in a new light, by seeing its furthest reaches in all climates and from new perspectives.  Eight sports to take on to change how you travel for the better.

Plus, a bonus…

9. Giving back –> volunteering in conservation and environmentalism

Teaching English to Refugees in Lesvos Greece as a Global Volunteer
A fond memory from the unexpected “adventure” of volunteering – teaching English in a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece.

After it’s all done, I think you could gain even more by showing appreciation and giving back.  Giving back, to nature (and to the world) in a way that leaves it better than we found it and in a way that leaves more for the next generation to enjoy.

So, we have a new model and motivation for travel…now what? 

My New Style of Travel Begins…

Over the next year, I plan to visit 49 more countries (to reach 100 total).  To hit that goal, I’ll travel to more uncommon places that are natural playgrounds for outdoor & adventure travel, and the perfect places to experience the “Adventure 8” while using each to adventure further and better. 

Along the way, I’ll document the experiences, so you can share in the excitement (and pick your own sport of focus), I’ll show you how you can add one of these hobbies to your list (on a limited budget and with limited time), and I’ll lay out ideas for destinations that you can visit with less than 10 days available and experience your adventure of choice in challenging, fulfilling, and rejuvenating way.  So, stay tuned…

Do I have your attention? Are you curious?

Continue to Part 2: “The Adventure 8: A Design for Outdoor & Adventure Travel” 

Want more of “the Ozaki 8” in Action? Here are some real-life examples…

But what would the Ozaki 8 truly look like? Let’s take a look…


1. Emerging Force: Whitewater rafting the Inga Rapids in the Congo

Though the Inga Rapids seemed like a mythical feat in the movie Point Break (and with good reason), they are navigable. Watch this amazing video below of a daring kayaker successfully navigating the rapids.

httpv://youtu.be/N1glN7aZyEQ?t=46

2. Birth of Sky: BASE jumping from Mt. Everest

Where better to fly from than the highest place on the planet? Nowhere – hence why this daring base jumper and wingsuiter took on the feat..and enjoyed every moment of it. Share in that excitement by watching this quick video of the adventure

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_k8LsJDGlM

3. Awakening Earth: Skydiving into the Cave of Swallows in St. Louis Potosi, Mexico

The largest cave shaft on earth is nothing new for daring base jumpers and skydivers. Plus, watching this footage of them living out a dream experience is near magical.

httpv://youtu.be/ocpuuaNwMSw

4. Life of Water: Surfing a wave over 60 feet tall

Big wave surfing is one of those adrenaline packed sports that continues to one up itself (cranking up the risk and danger with every new record). This footage of the Guinness World Record’s largest wave ever surfed is mind blowing.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA33nfFjiRk

5. Life of Wind: A Wingsuit “proximity flight” flying between….

In terms of proximity flights and base jumping, the Point Break production team did an amazing job with these scenes. Insanely well choreographed, and no CGI. The world’s best wingsuit pilots were brought in for the scene and the choreographed flight is one of the best in history – and just so happens to be an amazing scene in the movie.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE26wBozL18

6. Life of Ice: Snowboarding down an unridden mountain

Riding an unridden line in snowboarding is no easy task. This indie film, First Descent, captures that stoke totally and completely by gathering the best snowboarders on the scene onto a snowboarding expedition through Alaska. Along the way they tally up plenty of first descents.

httpv://youtu.be/XcmdAXGSTSQ?t=35

7. Master of Six Lives: Free solo climb Angel Falls in Venezuela

Though Angel Falls is an epic and intense rock climb, the El Cap first ascent (free soloing) by Alex Honnold is arguably the most mind blowing to date. This National Geographic snippet of Alex Honnold’s would have substituted perfectly into Point Break

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urRVZ4SW7WU

8. Act of Ultimate Trust: Placing your life into the hands of nature

The Ozaki 8 - Inspiration for Outdoor & Adventure travel

Looking for more of a challenge? Consider taking on the modified 75 hard challenge that is taking the world by storm