Passionate about adventure

I'm Tom Van Maarseveen, Im 20 years old, Australian, and have recently been selected to attend the 11th Pangaea YEP selection camp in Château-d'Oex, Switzerland. I am passionate about adventure and exploring new places as well as being a proud conservationist. Back in October I slipped a disk in my back when training in the gym, I was dead-lifting and attempted a rather large weight (200kg) and didn’t focus enough on my technique so my back gave in, which hit me hard because I was out of training for a while but since having word of being accepted into the selection camp, my spirits lifted dramatically and to tell you the truth I don’t think I would have recovered as well as I have if I didn’t get the exciting news. Now I’m back in full training, which is like coming up out of the water for a fresh breath of air. I was so ecstatic after reading the email confirming I was accepted.
 
At the moment, finding time between my full time job as a draftsman, studying part time for civil engineering and helping out on the family farm, training and working on the Pangaea projects is quite difficult but as days pass leading up to the big day of stepping onto that airplane headed for Switzerland all the time put in is well worth it.
 
Being able to have this opportunity to help the planet through this amazing project is something many of us would only see once in a life time, which is why I am giving it my all in preparation for the selection camp. Physically my training at gym has stepped up, cycling, swimming and running is almost a daily thing now. Mentally, researching the amazon and learning more about it each day is blowing me away and I can’t wait to have the opportunity to try out at the selection camp.  I personally am astonished at Mike Horns achievements and the fact that one man can start something like Pangaea, we all have the potential to do something similar.