Whilst doing a bit of research for a personal project aimed at encouraging outreach programs for disadvantaged youth in South Africa, I had the opportunity of meeting some of the most intellectually stimulating humans I’ve come across in a while. Whilst sipping on cups filled to the brim with the most affordable Nescafe coffee we got to chatting about ideas and solutions to the problematic challenges the youth of many different countries face today. This had me thinking about who I was inspired by, who in my life I'd watched make a significant difference to the lives of not only the youth but any run of the mill Joe.
I wracked my brain for no longer than a second. Louis Cole.
Photo credit: @funforlouis instagram
The good Samaritan phrase is but just a subtlety of Louis’ professional and personal description. An 8-5 job, which my mother raves keeps her on her toes and motivated to fulfill her obsessive workaholic career goals, was just not enough for Louis, who was beckoned by his drive to work and live a series of adventures. His YouTube channel which started out as FoodForLouis, a channel showcasing his suspenseful fear factor-styled vids, was transformed into FunForLouis. This transformation was an attempt to recreate his use of daily vlogs into a selfless, powerful tool to reach and help a vast range of communities, mostly by traveling.
Photo credit: Louis Cole Twitter
Two recent projects Louis has embarked on have gained the nomadic YouTube philanthropist a fair bit of attention and recognition by organisations worldwide. The Solvey Project for example, launched in 2016 with fellow backpacker Dave Erasmus was aimed at creating a platform and bringing together creative problem solvers from different cultures and communities worldwide. Their mission was an attempt to search for solutions to save our planet.
Photo credit: Rich Roll website
Much to my excitement as a travel film enthusiast, Louis and Juan-Peter (JP) Schulze launched Beyond Borders in 2017 in which they traveled around regions of the globe in 90 days documenting what connects us humans of different ethnicity and cultures. The pair and their crew explored these regions in an attempt to encourage traveling and unravel cultural diversity, instead of building walls and closing borders. Louis and JP stress the importance of the humanity in every human which give this vlog-styled documentary a truly personal touch. If you have a keen eye for photography and film, have a gander at Louis and JP’s YouTube pages for updated vlogs transporting you to a magical virtual experience around the globe.
Image credit: https://www.flybeyondborders.com/
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