"I don't make sacrifices, sacrifices are what you lack to get the material"
of Achillea Roditis
Our meeting lasted more than two hours and I confess that I did not want it to end. And most of what we said will be remembered. Not everything can be captured on "paper". But the most important ones that solve questions will be formulated.
We met him just before his big trip around Africa! A journey that does not know how long it will last. "Months, years, who knows?", he replies!
George is not a child who does something exteme by ignoring things.
He is an absolutely down-to-earth person, with incredible education and knowledge, who has "sucked up" books that few have read and that you might well think, listening to him talk about life, that he has received the Degree of the School of Philosophy with Honors! On the contrary, he was studying Mechanical Engineering in Patras.
Although he had gone to the School he always wanted, for the Management of the Natural Environment, but in order not to burden the family with moving to another city, he chose to study in Patras...
But his restless spirit did not leave him. He created a successful business with over 3,000 quails, "Ortykia Patras", he planned to go "deeper" into the business, but... everything changed and he followed what his soul had been motivating him since he was a child...
SOCIAL MEDIA FAMOUS
George Grindelas is the guy from Patras' who needs no introduction. At least he doesn't need them for people up to 50 years old, maybe even older, who have met him in his live appearances on TikTok or on Instagram or via Facebook but also on his YouTube channel which is flooded daily by... tens of thousands of users from all over the world. Greece and abroad, to follow his adventures.
He lives in a tent, on the mountain or the sea, he lives primitively, he travels without a plan and program, he becomes "ONE" with nature. Which he respects but also imposes on her in a wonderful way!
His authenticity endeared him to hundreds of thousands of followers from all over the world! Because he is unique in what he does. He doesn't imitate anyone. His lifestyle is not for a show or for some financial reward. That's just how he lives...
And all this, he does not do in the context of a show. He doesn't do them because he makes money. He doesn't even do it to motivate anyone. He does it because… that's the lifestyle he chose to live! And his live connections are made only for the... company, to feel the communication with people! In this sense, George is the ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD who does what he does, without compensation. And he doesn't imitate anyone. Perhaps this authenticity of his is the "secret" that not only has hundreds of followers from all over the world, but is deeply loved by everyone...!
HOW IT ALL BEGAN…
George grew up in Refugees. Dad a plumber, mom a housewife and two brothers seven years younger than him. Good student and quiet kid and always willing.
"I was constantly drawn to everything about nature, about the environment," he says. He loved fishing from a young age. And the camp. "I also liked the bike. And when later I fell and got injured and got a small bike, I started to go out into nature, I felt free, and this search kept burning inside me... It became a way of life for me. To live in nature, to camp, to live without income, to feel and be truly free," he says today. And he adds: "Since I was little, I only do what I like. That makes me feel 'closer' to the true destination of life. This is what I call destiny...".
VIEWS ON LIFE
But really, for this way of life you don't sacrifice much? You are already 35. Are you not thinking about… marriage, children, work, rehabilitation?
“Ah, here's the thing. For me, what you mentioned are not sacrifices. For me, sacrifices are what you lose in order to have everything you tell me. And these are not creations of nature, they are creations of man. It's how society is structured. I remember that from the age of 25 I also started thinking... "what job will I do", "what house will I get", "what insurance will I have", "what pension will I get"... I mean, from the age of 25 I was thinking about my 65 . But in order to conquer all this I would have to sacrifice everything that motivates me to be in nature, to be a part of it since I am a native of it."
But it is a human need to "build" with society...
“Oh yeah? Is it really necessary to eat meat every day? Is it really necessary to have the fifth pair of good shoes of such and such a brand? Is it really necessary to get an expensive car? If these are true physiological needs, then you are right. But if it is not, then I am right... All these are artificial needs that create fear which in turn is man's greatest prison. What is the big fear? Death. Therefore, we enter into a struggle to acquire material goods in order to 'entertain' our daily life and forget about the greatest fear that man has from birth."
Even so, it is not easy for someone to follow in your footsteps...
"Naturally. I understand those who wonder at me. I understand that it is not easy, nor necessary. Everyone chooses how they want to live. Surely I have crossed the line...".
THE GREAT JOURNEY "AFRICA"
As I wrote at the beginning, George is preparing for the biggest challenge. Around Africa! A journey with an unknown schedule, with unknown destinations, with no help...! He will only have "companion" the machine that Enfield Hellas gave him to make this trip. An Indian-made machine that hopes to last.
"I will start in October. I will probably do more than 1,000 kilometers. I will record tribes and people who live far from Western civilization, I will record unknown places", he describes. Of course, in all this he knows that the danger can "appear" everywhere. "Everything is on the schedule, I'm just going to avoid some points," he replies.
The only thing he paid attention to all summer was: getting the vaccinations, getting the necessary equipment, learning everything about how to fix everything that breaks in the machine himself. It will be a trip, without money, not for money, but for life. As only George Grindelas knows.
NOTE: George, have a good trip, but also a good return to share with us experiences that none of us will live...
Giorgos Grindelas starts the big tour of Africa in October. With a machine donated to him by Enfield Hellas. Without money, without comforts, to meet tribes and cultures that have not known the west...
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