About eight years ago, Boris Mordkovich stumbled upon a travel blog about a man who decided to quit his job, buy a Land Cruiser, find three travel buddies, and circumnavigate the globe. “I couldn’t believe average people were capable of that sort of thing,” the 27-year-old Lithuanian-American told Outside recently. “Leave work for a year? Drive around the world? How was that even possible?” But however crazy the idea seemed, it stuck, and Mordkovich, who moved to the United States from Lithuania when he was 13 years old, eventually gave in to his wanderlust and organized a similar adventure himself.
The journey began in 2011. After finishing a job at a startup company in Boston, Mordkovich bought a 30-year-old Land Rover, “sight unseen on the Web,” and set off on a 27,000-kilometer journey from Cape Town to London with a couple of close friends. Over four months he traveled across 13 African countries, learning how to keep calm in high-stress situations while sipping soda at pit stops through the Sahara: “As South Africans like to say, ‘make a plan,’” he wrote on a travel blog. “When things go wrong, stop, get a cold beer out (in our case, a Coke) and make a plan to solve it. And it’ll work out.”
After returning to the states, Mordkovich embarked on another long journey in 2012—this time on an electric bicycle. The trip, a 4,000-mile ride from New York to San Francisco, was meant to raise awareness about these motor-assisted bicycles and promote Evelo, a company he was launching with his brother that develops and distributes them. Earlier in his career, Mordkovich also helped launch RelayRides, a peer-to-peer car-sharing network inspired by Zipcar that allows people to rent out vehicles on a short-term basis. Before that, he owned a print magazine and worked for microfinance non-profit Kiva in Central Asia. In this interview, he tells us how he trained to be a magician in Lithuania, what he learned from watching American professional wrestling in Sudan, and why he doesn’t care much for societal expectations.
Describe your perfect day, from dawn ’til dusk. Where would you be, who would you meet, and what would you do?
Ironically enough, I think the perfect day while traveling is one that doesn’t actually feel that perfect in the middle of it. Some of my most memorable and fun days have usually involved some time on a dusty road to a remote destination; things would go wrong and I’d fix them, and eventually a good story would come out of it all that I would share with my travel companions over dinner.
That’s the thing—it’s rarely about any particular destination or attraction, but rather much more about the process itself.
If you could travel somewhere you’ve never been, where would you go?
There are a few things I’d love to do in the next few years. In no particular order:
Siberia: An organization called The Adventurists organizes a yearly race through Siberia on old-style Ural motorcycles, the ones with sidecars. Essentially, you go to Siberia with a partner, they give you a bike that’s almost guaranteed to break along the way, and you have to get to your destination within two weeks. It sounds like a hell of an adventure in a really unique and beautiful setting, and I’d love to join in the coming years.
Socotra: A friend mentioned this place a few months ago and it’s been stuck in my mind ever since. Socotra is a tiny little island that belongs to Yemen but is located off the coast of Somalia. It’s very isolated and has been described as the most alien-looking place on the planet. Apparently, much of its plant life looks as if it were taken from Dr. Seuss—that’s what attracted my friend in the first place.
Iran: It seems like an absolutely fascinating place that has gotten quite a bit of negative press from the United States. It’s not an easy place to get to, but I think there’s a lot to discover there and it would be great to see for myself, rather than hearing what other people say it’s like. I may need to use my Lithuanian passport for this trip—a perk of having dual citizenship.
Where is the best place you’ve ever visited?
One of my favorite places is Sudan.
On our expedition from Cape Town to London in 2011, our 30-year-old Land Rover, Wilma, ran out of gas right after we entered Sudan. So there we were, stuck on a deserted road in the desert, in a country that’s been portrayed as hostile by Western media, and with an immobilized vehicle. Fortunately, just like things always seem to work out in due course, a truck driver passed us within a few moments and noticed our predicament, stopping and taking one of us to a nearby outpost for gasoline. Then, after we filled up our tank, he invited us over for tea. When he noticed we were running a bit low on Sudanese currency, he not only paid for us but also forced us to take about $15. Can you imagine the same thing happening after getting stuck on some interstate in the United States?
Still in Sudan later that week, another incident really made me realize how special this place was. We were traveling across the Sahara at night, since the car would often overheat during the day, and every 50 miles or so we would come upon an outpost station, usually run by a random guy who would offer us tea, a hookah, cold Coca Cola, and eggs.
We came upon one outpost at about 11 p.m. and decided to pull over for a break. We took a seat on a carpet and smoked some hookah as we waited for the eggs to be prepared. While we were there, two pickup trucks came out of nowhere, filled to the brim with serious-looking, bearded fellows who got out and came over to sit near us without saying a word. The host brought out another hookah for them and they sat in silence, watching a small television powered by a diesel generator and an antenna.
I turned to watch, too, and noticed the TV was playing an episode of WWF (World Wrestling Federation) from the United States, with two large guys in underwear throwing chairs at each other. Our neighbors could not look away. In that moment, I realized how interconnected and small our world is. The fact is, you can be in the middle of the Sahara and still be seeing and doing the same things as people on their couches in New York.
If you could have lunch with any athlete or adventurer, who would it be?
Chris Guillebeau, one of my biggest inspirations. Chris writes a fascinating blog called “The Art of Non-Conformity” about unconventional travel, life, and work, and he has also been on a quest to visit every country in the world. At the age of 35, believe it or not, he’s down to just one more. There’s a phrase on his blog that caught my eye a few years ago and has stuck with me ever since: “Sometimes you wake up and you realize that you don’t have to live your life the way that other people expect you to.” I think that’s a very powerful realization.
What’s something you can’t travel without?
One of my favorite accessories is a knife, but not for the reasons you might assume. The truth is, a small pocketknife is tremendously practical. You can use it to cut a block of cheese for lunch or a piece of rope for a rescue, or you can even use it to stir your tea. I’ve never needed to pull out my knife in a heated argument while traveling, since those sorts of situations are rarely encountered.
Another accessory that’s incredibly cool to have around (for shallow reasons) is a satellite phone. We bought one for our African expedition, and even though it looked like a Nokia from the 1990s—it had hardly any functional tools other than an alarm clock—it was very neat to be able to connect with friends and family from any remote place in the world. A satellite phone really isn’t necessary in most situations, but we can have our toys, too.
When you arrive at a new destination, what’s usually first on your agenda?
Go for a walk and get some ice cream.
What motivates you as a traveler?
The stories and the unknown. For me, the more remote and less familiar a destination, the better. There’s a sense of excitement and lightness that envelops me when I’m ready to board a plane and fly somewhere new. In a life generally governed by habit, it’s refreshing to break out of your routine sometimes without knowing what the next day will offer.
And stories are what make travel worthwhile—whether they’re stories you create as you learn more about yourself and the world, or stories you pick up about other people. They add color and richness to your life and make you more well-rounded.
Do you have a life philosophy?
Life philosophy, eh? Well, if I had to sum it up, two quotes have really influenced my way of thinking and my “life philosophy” over the years.
I already mentioned the first, from Chris’ blog: “Sometimes you wake up and realize that you don’t have to live your life the way that other people expect you to.” The second quote is from Amelia Earhart: “When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it.”
Ultimately, the idea is that we can do more things professionally and personally than we think; we don’t always need to follow convention, and a bit of adventure makes life richer and more enjoyable.
Have you ever made a mistake that made you think twice about going out on cross-country or cross-continental trip again?
There have been many, many days during such trips that made me wonder why I was doing them in the first place. Those long days on the road are not quite as romantic as they often sound. But I’ve never had any doubts about these trips before or after them. They were amazing adventures with absolutely brilliant people, and I think they generally went pretty well, considering the fact that we generally knew very little about them at the start.
If you had to choose a different career, what would it be?
I think I’m a bit lucky in that regard, being self-employed. For the most part, my work changes every two to three years. Over the last eight years, I’ve worked as a print magazine publisher, the owner of a hostel, and the head of an electric bike company. Each project requires me to put on a different set of hats, so things stay very fresh.
Name three things you still want to cross off your life bucket list.
I don’t really have a bucket list, per se. As I get older, I find my interests are evolving, so things I wanted to do a few years back are no longer as relevant, or new things pop up.
There are always adventures on my mind and skills I’d like to learn, but truthfully, these days I’m thinking more about starting a family, which is a bit difficult when you’re always on the road. So I think that’s going to be my priority in the near term, though I definitely hope my partner will be up for sharing whatever adventures life brings. At the end of the day, I think that’s what it’s all about, anyway—experiences matter much more when they’re shared.