Isaac Kenyon is a 6 times World Record breaking Eco-Adventurer and Endurance Athlete. He is an Award-Winning Filmmaker and MIND Mental Health Trustee, Motivational Sustainability Leadership and Mental Health Speaker, Mentor and Coach.
"Mental health is our starting point for all success: building an inclusive and sustainable world.
Ten years ago I almost took my life. I’ve come a long way since then and now have a story centred around people and the planet.
I don’t like to admit it, but I never thought I’d be an eco-adventurer, eco-warrior, environmental advocate or whatever. My journey to where I am now, I could never have imagined as a shy boy who loved playing video games in my bedroom and begrudged getting outdoors. I used to be completely disconnected from natural spaces, but here I am today keynote speaking around the world with a clear message for my audience to get off screens and reconnect with nature. So with that in mind that’s the end of this blog, let’s turn the screen off and get outside in nature… Joking! But in all seriousness please do take time outdoors today and every day thereafter. It’s essential for your well-being.
I often ponder - before writing on sustainability, leadership and mental health resilience - on what our world would look like if every human on this planet was a sustainability leader. Take a moment to imagine the impact that could have.
I believe every one of us can show the way for others to become sustainability leaders because we have to. For us to get through the most difficult and unprecedented challenge that faces the human race right now we will all NEED everyone to be a sustainability leader if we are to continue living on this planet. The most significant danger to our world is the idea that another person will rescue it. The planet will still be here if we fail to cooperate with nature and we will be the ones gone.
“Everything I do is to empower people to make a positive impact within their peer group, the environment around them and the mental health of others.”
I have a confession to make… The start of my journey into the world of sustainability ultimately was a selfish journey. It began with a story of the transformation of my mental health which saved my life. My love/passion for environmental support has ultimately come from a selfish place; to prevent my mental health from worsening.
At university I was dealing with a deeply personal struggle, one that is all too familiar to many of us - anxiety. In my case, it took the form of panic disorder and waves of despair that engulfed me for what felt like an eternity. This mental health issue cast its shadow over every aspect of my life, from relationships to work, from diet to exercise, from sleep to self-esteem. At the time, I was in the dark, uneducated about mental health, and I couldn't fathom what was happening to me.
Now let me take you back to the exact moment that changed everything … One particularly bad day I was on a downward spiral and was contemplating the unthinkable. But in my darkest moment, a friend intervened. They convinced me to go on a long walk in nature and to wander until my mind found solace. It seemed like a wild idea at the time - what could a long walk in the outdoors possibly achieve? But it turned out to be the most profound decision of my life.
For hours on end, I meandered through forests, strolled through trails, explored parks, followed rivers, and wandered across open fields. And during that time, something extraordinary unfolded within me. I stopped obsessing over my troubles, my racing thoughts were silenced, and I began to listen. I listened to the birdsong, to the wind rustling through the leaves, and to the gentle swaying of trees. Nature was speaking to me, and in its whispers, I discovered hope. My mind grew clearer, my spirits lifted, and I felt a deep-seated happiness I hadn't experienced in a long while.
Research tells us that Spending just 20 minutes connecting with nature can help lower stress hormone levels, according to a study in the April 4, 2019, Frontiers in Psychology. Well, let me tell you, I was living proof of that.
We often talk about nature as if it is something separate from us. In reality, we are all part of nature, our wellbeing is intrinsically linked with the wellbeing of the planet, and we cannot exist without it.
Some people credit their mental health recovery to another person, someone who saved their life. In my case, it was nature that saved me. And as I returned from that transformative walk, I made a series of promises to myself. I pledged to explore nature in various ways, to understand how it could aid my mental well-being. I, in essence, self-prescribed "nature prescriptions."
Ever since then my mental health has stabilised. But, ever since that day, I have always had a fear of a world without nature to turn to.
I first discovered FLOW when I was walking in the woods that transformative day and ever since I have been hooked on incorporating it into my life. Nowadays I tend to best achieve the state of flow when doing outdoor sports endurance challenges in nature.
What is FLOW?
“It is the optimal state of consciousness, those peak moments of total absorption where the self vanishes; time distorts and all aspects of performance go through the roof.”
From research, I have since learned it can be achieved by anyone through any activity that works for them. it doesn’t need to be the same as mine. It could be painting, reading, yoga etc.
If you haven’t heard of Flow before, you may have experienced it. I absolutely love it when it happens. Lots of my adventures have had FLOW. What does this have to do with sustainability, leadership and building resilience? Well for every great leader we need to have a good solid base of well-being. If we can’t support and lift ourselves, how can we support and lift others? How can we support and lift the state of nature if our well-being is awful? Please do look to get more FLOW into your life for better wellbeing. FLOW makes us better leaders and if we can tap into FLOW daily because it resets us and allows us to put our best foot forward. Below are some of the big reasons why FLOW is so effective:
In my pursuit of FLOW and time in nature, I discovered outdoor adventures and have been hooked on them ever since.
Now I want you to close your eyes and imagine rowing 3000 nautical miles across the vast, unforgiving Atlantic Ocean, completely unsupported without sight of land for 40 days.
Picture cycling on water across two stretches of the most dangerous ocean tidal streams in the world.
Envision swimming 21 miles of the formidable freezing cold English Channel without a wetsuit from England to France.
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Over the last 8 years, each of these adventures and many others have been experiments of outdoor reconnection, mental health healing and building levels of resilience that I didn’t think I was capable of.
Beyond this, they are more than just daring adventures/challenges; they're purposeful and philanthropic endeavours that have changed my life. I’ve raised over a million pounds for charities and gained global recognition for various causes, from environmental conservation to mental health awareness. But, none of this would be possible without a good solid base of well-being. The work we do can be at times very demanding and the urgent need to act fast for climate change issues is becoming every day more and more demanding, but we are not effective if we have poor wellbeing.
This was my first ever lesson in resilience: take care of yourself to be able to give more to the world around you.
As I traversed the globe, venturing into diverse landscapes, I have witnessed the consequences of human actions and climate change – warming oceans, vanishing glaciers, the heart-wrenching sight of deforested lands, the damage of wildfires, shifts in migration patterns, the desolation of polluted waterways, and the unforgiving wrath of extreme weather events. I grieved for the suffering inflicted upon our Earth, a cruel injustice.
Over four years ago, I found myself in a situation whilst rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, that I will never forget. Amidst the vast expanse of the ocean, I encountered a turtle ensnared in a tangle of abandoned fishing nets, suffocating in a sea of plastic soup which we often rowed through. Helpless, I watched as it struggled, yearning to intervene but knowing the risks involved in freeing it in these big waves and fast currents, I couldn’t. It was a heartbreaking reminder of our impact on marine life, of the plastic pollution and overfishing that plague our oceans. In that remote stretch of water, far from land, the sight of plastic debris and household waste bobbing on the surface underscored the urgency of our environmental crisis. Our actions, no matter how distant or seemingly insignificant, have consequences across the globe, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. It was a sobering realisation.
Leadership is about rising to the challenge and making change in times of difficulty like the climate/environmental crisis we are in. True leaders are almost always made by circumstances. I refused to live in guilt and eco-anxiety. So I decided to take action which helped me overcome this worry.
“If you want to be a leader, the first person you must lead is yourself” - Mike Scioscia.
Quickly I realised that I needed to change my own actions. Up until this point, to be honest, in some areas, I was not very sustainable in the way I lived.
Changing my lifestyle meant changing the way I do my adventures too. SHOCK! With expertise in outdoor adventure, I decided to lead by example by founding the world's first eco-adventure. It's an expedition into a more sustainable way of conducting outdoor adventures.
Now the journey of walking the walk has begun at this inaugural step of becoming a sustainability leader… to learn more, book me for a talk…"
