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There didn't seem to be much point in skating for a world-record distance just for the sake of a record, and the concept that a record-breaking journey might grab some attention suggested that any interest could be redirected towards something worthwhile. I wanted to raise the profile of longboarding and I suppose, the powers of a positive outlook on life, but these things weren't tangible. So I decided to adopt a few charities to raise awareness and funds for (see right).

I wasn't going to be able to collect much cash on my own, I imagined I'd be more than knackered most of the time! My first thoughts about travelling not alone but with a team behind me, were formed with fundraising in mind. You'll read more about the team's composition on the respective journey pages but the plan was simple, to fan out everywhere we went, from Singapore Airport en route to Perth to the streets of Brisbane at the end, talk to people, inform them about the charities and the journey, ask for donations, hand out information leaflets, organise fundraising events. The demands I placed on my team to always be on the lookout for a fundraising opportunity were infinite, but were met with passion and intuition. Our three charities had shared over £18,500 by the time we arrived in Brisbane, and that figure continued to grow as BoardFree sprouted new distance fundraising ideas in the heads of other skaters.

From the off I was adamant that there would be no crossover between the costs of the journey and the money raised by the journey. Too much had been sacrificed by everyone involved for the legitmacy of the project to be brought into question. There was no talk of being a charity project that required an upfront payment from their charities simply to ensure that we fundraised for them. I wanted the project to be ultimately sustainable. Each of the team would get enough in terms of life experience to afford sufficient personal contributions and the journey had enough belief and dynamism about it to warrant commericial sponsorship, whether in cash or product, so there was no excuse to breach the thick line I'd stamped out between costs, and charity. I'm happy to say we achieved as such, and every penny and cent we raised went to our chosen charities.

Huge thanks here to our chief fundraisers, and even though the whole team chipped in when opportunity allowed, the efforts of Becki McKinley, Bev Blackburn and Laura Hatwell ensured we raised tens of thousands, not just thousands.
The Charities
Link Community Development
I'd been involved for a few years with an annual fundraiser called the Morocco Hitch, that simply involved UK students hitchiking from their home universities to Morocco in aid of a charity called Link Community Development. Link worked closely with localities in sub-Saharan Africa developing sustainable education systems. Essentially, they taught teachers to teach teachers, thus creating a continual loop that would educate, train and sustain the educations of generations of kids who otherwise may not have been so lucky.
Website: www.lcd.org.uk

Sailability Australia
By the time the Australian journey had been decided upon I knew there had to be a local benefit to the journey. An Australian charity callled Sailability was pitched and the work they did sounded phenomenal. Children and adults were given the opportunity, through Sailability, to learn to sail. Mental and physical disabilities were overcome in many different ways, from hoists to allow boat access, to remote controls that allowed paraplegics to steer with their mouths. Imagine suffering from crippling cerebral palsy and not being able to walk ten metres without great pain and effort; Sailability could put you in a boat where movement and disability was practically eliminated, and you could not only experience an independence, but take yourself all the way to the top. Sailability had Olympians and World Champions in their boats, it was an incredible and inspiring cause.
Website: www.sailability.org/au/australia

The Lowe Syndrome Trust

I hadn't been intending for BoardFree to support three charities, but supporting research into the cause and effects of Lowe Syndrome formed the backbone of our charitable efforts. The man who had held the world distance skating record when I took up longboarding was Jack Smith. Jack's son, Jack Jr, had passed away in 2003 having suffered from the severe cataracts, malfunctioning kidneys, limited growth, behavioural issues, epilepsy and other critical symptoms that Lowe Syndrome inflicted upon just a handful of boys around the world. Not much is known about the disease but through the unending work of charities like The Lowe Syndrome Trust, understanding is growing. At some point research that is 100% privately funded is hoped to find a cure for the disease, but until then there cannot be enough money raised towards this cause. I impore anyone wanting to support a charity as they skate, run, paddle, walk, cycle or do anything worthy of sponsorship, to consider the Lowe Syndrome Trust as your beneficiary.
Website: www.lowetrust.com

The Best Donations
It wasn't all about shaking tins or receiving online donations. Of course, we're infinitely thankful to everybody who donated, but sometimes our mood was lifted just that little bit higher with slightly out-of-the-ordinary donations, here're some of them:

The Bucket
Slap bang in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain, hundreds of kilometres from anywhere, a campervan pulled into a layby and the occupants declared that they'd heard about us on the radio. Next thing she knew, our Becki was handed a bucket-full of change. It came to somewhere near $100.

The Drive-by
Kylie the fundraising vehicle was zooming along the Great Eastern Highway in Western Australia when, at 100kmph, a motorbike overtook them, the driver clutching a $10 bill in an outstretched hand. Bev wound down the window and took the note, her thank you's undoubtedly lost in the wind as the bike sped off.

The 'Bomb'
One evening I was pushing along, the temperature was in the late 20's and with 60-odd kilometres skated that day I was feeling the heat. When a black car sped by and the occupants failed to wave, I got paranoid. A few hundreds metres ahead I saw the car stop, then an occupant got out and rushed to the roadside, before driving off again. It was all very strange. Naturally, in my tired head there was only one explanation, they'd left a bomb at the roadside! Warily I slowed down Cheech behind me and we slowed as we reached the spot where the car had stopped. There, in the middle of the road, I realised there was no bomb. There was a rock, however, and wedged underneath was a $10 note!