NORTHVILLE — Michael Zervos intends to journey the globe in a record-breaking journey of happiness.
After a yr of planning, Zervos, 35, just lately got down to break a Guinness World File by touring to each nation on the earth, one after the following, sooner than anybody’s achieved it earlier than. The present document is held by Taylor Demonbreun of Alabama, who in 2018 achieved the feat in 554 days.
Since his departure Jan. 17, Zervos has been to Russia and Turkey. He is at the moment making his approach by Africa, one nation at a time.
However Undertaking Kosmos, as Zervos calls the epic journey, is about greater than a globetrotting journey targeted on how briskly he can get out and in of the 193 United Nations international locations, plus two “observer states,” that Guinness says an individual should go to for a shot on the document.
Alongside the best way, he additionally plans to movie snippets of happiness and share these tales with the world on his Instagram web page.
“I noticed I didn’t need to simply journey and break this document if that was the one factor I used to be getting out of it, simply the thrills,” he mentioned. “I wished to get one thing I may share with different folks. I wished to create artwork out of it.”
So he thought: “What’s one thing that I may ask folks? What’s one thing worthwhile I may study from this that may outlast the document?”
Data, he knew from the start, are supposed to be damaged.
After auditioning a variety of queries with mates and strangers, Zervos lastly selected the one query he’ll ask folks throughout the globe: What’s the happiest second of your life?
A protracted state of inventive melancholy
For Zervos, a 2006 Northville Excessive Faculty graduate, inspiration for his journey world wide got here step by step.
After faculty – his mom says he was virtually born with a digital camera in his arms – he began a filmmaking firm and has since lived in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas.
Issues went properly within the early years, however over time he discovered himself falling into what he calls a “lengthy state of inventive melancholy, or simply straight up melancholy.”
“Perhaps 5 or 6 years in the past, I traded my creativity, my ardour, for a paycheck,” he mentioned. “I used to be doing lots of cut-and-dry Fortune 500 commercials, the place you may shut your eyes and simply envision what executives are going to say earlier than you even stroll in. And if you get on set, you may most likely do a few of these commercials sleepwalking.
“It’s a great residing. You may retire on it, but it surely wasn’t fulfilling.”
Then the pandemic hit and issues obtained worse. The movie business shut down, nobody wished to speak about new initiatives, and Zervos discovered himself at his lowest level.
It was round that point he examine Anderson Dias, a Brazilian who visited each nation on the earth, and claimed he beat the time of Taylor Demonbreun, though that document has not been acknowledged by Guinness.
‘I believed, ‘Man, that’s such a cool factor,” Zervos mentioned. “You are going to international locations it’s possible you’ll not have a motive to go to, and also you’re difficult your self past something you’ve got ever dreamed you may do.’”
Zervos, who had beforehand traveled to 55 international locations, jumped out of airplanes, eaten bugs within the Amazon throughout a “survival week,” and gone on quite a few different adventures, was prepared for extra.
“I benefit from the side of studying that touring offers, and I additionally like tradition shocks,” he mentioned, noting that, with a view to qualify for the document, he’ll want to go to these 55 international locations once more. “I prefer to problem my worldview by wanting from the surface in, and that is what touring offers me.”
The happiness query
After struggling along with his personal melancholy, Zervos knew he wished to speak to others world wide in regards to the pleasure they’ve present in on a regular basis life.
“I do know lots of Gen Z and millennials are experiencing the identical factor,” he mentioned. “They’ve the world, however they do not have their happiness.
The questions he examined on mates and strangers included, for instance, “What makes you cheerful?” or “What’s happiness?”
These, he discovered, evoked common solutions like household, cash or success.
“Then I discovered that center floor of ‘What’s the happiest second of your life?’” he mentioned. “That makes someone their very own storyteller. I’ve requested now 100 folks this simply within the States, and I’ve realized that individuals are fairly animated once they pull out from themselves a narrative that evokes such a robust feeling like happiness.”
And so what began as a thought experiment grew to become the muse of a plan to interrupt a document and create artwork. Undertaking Kosmos was born.
Hardest international locations first
From his expertise flying across the globe to shoot motion pictures, Zervos knew he’d have probably the most vitality at the start of his journey.
“I wished to start out with the toughest international locations first, those that had been going to be probably the most rigorous relating to journey,” he mentioned. “Africa is by far the toughest to traverse. The infrastructure is de facto robust, flights are sparse. Touring throughout borders by land could be unsafe, so it’s a must to know when and the place. Then there’s illness, malaria and meningitis.”
To assist facilitate a security and fund the journey, Zervos lined up a variety of sponsors, together with Moosejaw, a Michigan outside retailer who offered the backpack and kit he’ll carry all through the journey, together with some monetary help.
Different sponsors embody iVisa, who helped safe 69 visas, and Untamed Borders, an organization that may see him into a number of the extra “inaccessible international locations” on his itinerary.
“They’re taking me into international locations like Turkmenistan or Eritrea or Guinea-Bissau or Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he mentioned.
The U.S. Division of State at the moment has journey advisories warning People of risks associated to political instability, crime, terrorism and different quite a few different threats in these and plenty of different international locations.
After visits the 54 international locations of Africa, he plans to go to the Center East, then by elements of Asia and the Pacific Islands earlier than heading again round by New Zealand. From there, he’ll head to Australia then again into southern and central Asia earlier than heading into Europe.
“That is type of the midway level,” he mentioned, noting he intends to conclude the European a part of the tour in Portugal, then head to Brazil and into South America, Caribbean and Canada earlier than lastly coming again to the U.S.
In every nation, he expects to remain from one to 5 days and has made some – however not all – preparations forward of time.
“I will be going tenting in Yurts in Turkmenistan exterior of this huge flaming pit that is known as the Gate of Hell,” he mentioned. “I am tenting with the Dinka folks in South Sudan.”
A scientist in Angola, he mentioned, has invited him to tour a geological web site.
And, though he’ll be staying simply a short while in every place, Zervos is not frightened about lacking out on the entire expertise of anyone nation.
“That is about folks and accumulating their tales,” he mentioned. “I’ll by no means know a rustic if I spend a month or two months there. A few of these international locations are so difficult, they’ve 100 totally different languages. It is not the aim for my journey, however I’m hoping it will give me an concept of the locations I need to revisit later.”
Again residence
For Christmas, Michael Zervos’ mother and father, Mary and Angelo Zervos, gave him a big map of the world that at the moment hangs within the library of their Novi residence.
Each time he visits a brand new nation, they will put a gold pin within the map.
Mary Zervos is aware of the eldest of their 4 grownup kids – she calls him an outdated soul – has ready totally, as he all the time does.
His itinerary, visas, sponsorships, foreign money, packing, vaccinations, journey insurance coverage and extra had been all lined up, checked, double and triple checked earlier than he left.
Nonetheless, it’s been an emotional few months that culminated once they dropped him on the airport Jan. 17.
“It was a extremely robust day, however I attempted to be robust for him,” she mentioned by tears, noting it was laborious to even take a look at her son for concern she’d break down. However she’d given Michael her blessing, as he requested. “I instructed him to return residence protected and sound, and I instructed him I knew he was going to interrupt the document.
As soon as he’s again residence, Zervos hopes his journey will resonate by the tales of happiness world wide.
“I’ll break the document, however then someone else goes to interrupt it,” he mentioned. “That will not matter a lot afterwards as a result of I am hoping that my contribution to assist different folks can be significant.”
“There’s a lot negativity and struggling and jealousy and FOMO and politics and animosity on social media,” he mentioned. “I am hoping that if my tales pop up in your feed on Instagram or on TikTok, that it will probably make you smile and it will probably remind you that it would not matter who you might be or the place you might be on the earth, that happiness is accessible to you.”
Comply with Michael Zervos’ journey on Instagram @theprojectkosmos or on his web site at project-kosmos.com.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin at lcolvin@hometownlife.com or 248-221-8143.
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