My Epic Quest

I am currently: Level 13 (60% towards Level 14)

Most Recent Mission: Play Golf at St. Andrews in Scotland

Welcome to my Epic Quest of Awesome!

I’m traveling all over the world, going on crazy adventures, and helping other people level up THEIR lives along the way.  Curious about where I’ve been?  This video will help:

Every time I cross something off of my bucket list, I gain 20% experience towards my next “level.” Thanks to some lucrative credit card deals and frequent flyer offers (all learned from Chris Guillebeau’s Frequent Flyer Master), I have over a million airline miles (not an exaggeration) and I’m using them to see the world.  I’ll be meeting up with Nerd Fitness readers and using any travel-hacking skills I’ve acquired to accomplish this quest without breaking the bank.

I’ve flown 35,000 miles for $418, traveled an additional 150,000 miles all around the world, and lived like James Bond in Monaco using these tactics.  

Steve’s Epic Quest of Awesome

Here are the things I hope to accomplish over the next few years – it’s a work in progress and subject to change based on future circumstances. Nerd Fitness is a community, and I want to help others do cool things too. If I’m coming to your neck of the woods and you want to meet up or join me on an adventure, please let me know so we can meet up!

Completed Quests

Level 13

Level 12

Level 11

  • Attend Yacht Week – (Completed 8/9/14)
  • Pay off my student loans – four years early! (Completed 12/19/13)
  • Play golf at Kiawah Island Ocean Course (1/5 completed on Top 5 Public Courses) (Completed 10/10/13)
  • Watch the Red Sox win the World Series (Completed 10/30/13)
  • Pass 100,000 subscribers on Nerd Fitness (Completed 9/24/13)

LEVEL 10

  • Visit Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (Completed 2/8/13)
  • Attend Carnival in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (Completed 2/9/13)
  • Have 50,000 Subscribers on Nerd Fitness (Completed 3/4/13)
  • Have 1 million visitors in 30 days on Nerd Fitness (completed 3/3/13)
  • Set a world Record: World’s Longest Floating Human Chain (completed 7/5/13)

LEVEL 9

LEVEL 8 – MASTER QUEST – worth 100% exp

  • Be a Guest Speaker at Facebook (completed 1/25/12)

LEVEL 7

LEVEL 6 – MASTER QUEST – worth 100% exp

LEVEL 5

LEVEL 4

LEVEL 3 MASTER QUEST (worth 100% exp)

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

North America (The Starting Zone)

  • Swim in the Atlantic and Pacific in the same day
  • Go camping and rafting in the Grand Canyon
  • Surf on my own handmade board
  • Visit Mount Rushmore in South Dakota
  • Go to the Statue of Liberty in New York
  • Be an extra in a Hollywood movie
  • Be in a commercial
  • Fix up an old boat and take it out on the ocean (like Andy in the Shawshank Redemption)
  • Play in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, NV
  • Go fishing in Newfoundland
  • Go fishing in Alaska
  • Play golf at top 5 public courses in America (Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Island, Shadow Creek).
  • Watch the Red Sox Win the World Series
  • Drive cross country (Sandwich, MA to San, Diego, CA)

Central/South America (The Jungle/Forest Level)

  • Exercise in front of the statues on Easter Island
  • Visit the Galapagos Islands
  • Participate in a Capoeira roda in Brazil
  • Attend Carnival in Rio de Janeiro 
  • Visit Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
  • Dance the tango in Argentina
  • Visit Tikal in Guatemala
  • Visit Chichen Itza in Mexico
  • Visit Teotihuacan in Mexico
  • Go through the Panama Canal
  • Visit the Salar de Uyuni Saltflats in Bolivia
  • Visit Machu Picchu in Peru

Europe (The Ancient City Level)

  • Kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland
  • Visit Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland
  • Visit Loch Ness in Scotland
  • Visit the Lagavulin Distillery in Scotland
  • Take a bagpipe lesson in Scotland
  • Play golf at St. Andrews in Scotland
  • Attend an English Premiere League match, singing cheers and drinking with the hooligans
  • Visit Stonehenge in England
  • Spend a night in a castle
  • Visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain
  • Dance all night on the island of Ibiza, Spain
  • Attend Yacht Week in Croatia
  • Attend Tomatina in Spain
  • Climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
  • Visit Mont St. Michel in France
  • Visit the Louvre in France
  • Exercise in front of the Palace of Versailles in France
  • Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in France
  • Go to Oktoberfest in Germany
  • Visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria
  • Visit Hohenzollern Castle in Germany
  • Visit the Coliseum, Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilisca, in Rome, Italy
  • Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy
  • Visit the Duomo in Florence, Italy
  • Visit the Parthenon in Greece
  • Visit the Statue of Leonidas in Thermopylae, Greece
  • Visit the Blue Domed Church of Santorini, Greece
  • Exercise in Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia (which reminds me of Metroid: Prime)
  • Exercise in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia
  • Research my ancestry in Sweden, Norway, and Finland

Africa (the Desert Level)

  • Visit the Pyramids in Egypt
  • Go on an African Safari
  • Dive with sharks in South Africa
  • Ride an ostrich in South Africa
  • Climb Table Mountain in South Africa
  • Go to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa
  • Visit Madagascar
  • Snowboard at Ski Dubai in Dubai
  • Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
  • Ride a camel through the Sahara Desert
  • Visit Petra, Jordan (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ftw!)

Far East (the Hidden Temple Level)

  • Attempt the Ninja Warrior course in Japan
  • Study Kung Fu in Shaolin, China
  • Visit the Great Wall of China
  • Visit Okinawa, Japan, the home of Mr. Miyagi 
  • Visit Potala Palace in Tibet
  • See the Taj Mahal in India
  • Go to the Holi Festival or Dwali Festival in India
  • Ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Russia
  • Visit the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey
  • Visit the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
  • Ride a horse in Mongolia
  • Visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia
  • Spend a week or more studying Muay Thai Boxing in Thailand
  • Rock climb on the cliffs of Thailand

South Pacific (the Water/Beach level)

  • Skydive over New Zealand
  • Bungee Jump in Queenstown
  • Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef
  • Visit Ayer’s Rock
  • Snowboard and surf in the same day in New Zealand
  • Visit Borobudur Temple in Java, Indonesia
  • Visit the Palace of Brunei

Antarctica (the Snow Level)

  • Set foot on land
  • High-five a penguin!

Personal Level Up Goals

  • Pilot an Airplane
  • Start My Own Company
  • Spend a week getting kite board certified
  • Complete a rally racing training school
  • Visit all 7 continents (6/7 complete)
  • Fly completely around the world (in one direction)
  • Pay off all of my student loans – $6,600 to go
  • Shoot even par on 9 holes on a full size golf course
  • Shoot even par on 18 holes on a full size golf course
  • Shoot under par on 18 holes on a full size golf course
  • Get a hole in one on a regulation golf hole
  • Get a bullseye with bow and arrow

rock star Goals

  • Perform on stage in front of at least 1,000 people
  • Write and record an original song
  • Learn to play “Promentory” on the violin
  • Learn to play “Concerning Hobbits” on the violin
  • Sit at a piano in a public place, start playing “Piano Man” (piano), and have the crowd singing along by the end.
  • Spend an afternoon as a busker on a street corner (guitar)
  • Join a band on stage for one song in a Nashville Bar (any instrument)

Business Goals

  • Make a Full time living through Nerd Fitness
  • Become a published author
  • Become a NYT-Bestselling Author
  • Start a charity that raises at least $1,000,0000
  • Create a video on YouTube that has 1,000,000 views
  • Have my own clothing line
  • Have 10,000 subscribers on NF
  • Have 20,000 subscribers on NF
  • Have 50,000 subscribers on NF
  • Have 100,000 subscribers on NF
  • Have 250,000 subscribers to NF
  • Have 500,000 subscribers to NF
  • Have 1,000,000 subscribers to NF
  • Get a million visits to the site in one month

Jason Bourne/James Bond Goals

  • Become conversational in a 2nd language (Spanish)
  • Become conversational in a third language
  • Become conversational in a fourth language
  • Obtain dual citizenship
  • Create and keep a WTSHTF bag ready (google the phrase)
  • Take a Krav Maga course and become proficient
  • Pass a civilian firearms training course
  • Pass a SWAT class
  • Learn how to become a proficient locksmith

Strength Training Goals

  • Do 10 handstand push ups against the wall
  • Do 5 handstand push ups freestanding
  • Do 10 pistol squats with each leg
  • Do 10 one-arm push ups with each arm
  • Hold a freestanding handstand for 60 seconds
  • Do a muscle up
  • Do 5 consecutive strict muscle ups
  • Hold a wide leg planche for 10 seconds
  • Hold a front lever for 10 seconds
  • Hold a back lever for 10 seconds
  • Deadlift 405 lbs once (currently 3 reps at 320 lbs and climbing!)
  • Do 10 pull ups with 45 pounds of additional weight

Master Quests

These are all worth 100% experience or more due to their complexity or difficulty

  • Buy a tropical island (yes I’m serious)
  • Play golf at Augusta National in Georgia
  • Get photographed walking down the red carpet at some epic event
  • Be a guest on a prime time talk show 
  • Go into outer space
  • Get in the Guinness Book of World Records for something
  • Live like James Bond in Monaco
  • Be a guest lecturer at Google HQ
  • Be a guest lecturer at Facebook HQ

So, what am I missing? What are some of the places I need to see or things I need to do that aren’t on this list?  If you live in a place I plan on visiting and you want to meet up, please let me know.  Don’t worry, you’ll be able to read all about where I’m at and where I’m headed here on NF.

I’ll leave you with a quote from the Shawshank Redemption that expresses how I feel:

I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.

I can’t wait to hear your suggestions on what to add to the Epic Quest.

Just don’t get me killed, okay?

My mom would be PISSED.

-Steve

###

341 thoughts on “My Epic Quest”

  1. You have to run with the Bulls in Pamplona Spain. I feel like that is something that you were meant to do. Also, see David in Florence, Italy and go to the Blue Lagoon in Capri, Italy!

  2. Pingback: How Nick the Tobacconist Lost Over 60 lbs: A Nerd Fitness Success Story | Nerd Fitness

  3. Learn how to do a double cut in tameshigiri (look it up, its awesome!) should be on there!

  4. Run with the bowls in Pamplona, Spain. (Hold a bowl in each hand while sprinting frantically down the street.) It would be an expensive, but VERY clever pun 🙂

  5. It’s amazing that someone can live a life that’s so magical, and embrace their freedom to the fullest like Steve. That’s a life I want to live, but I’m too scared and complacent to do it.

  6. You should seriously consider creating an app for this. I love this whole idea and would love to have an app on my phone to help me track and remember all of my goals. Plus I want to see my little avatar level up.

  7. On the Krav Maga objective… i don’t think that it is the best ideia…. In terms of fighting or disarming knives, it’s a very quick way to end up in a funeral home… If you want real life self defense and fighting bases you should serously Jeet Kune Do Unlimited with Burton Richardson, check it out.

  10. Pingback: The Hero's Guide To Storytelling • Fevered Mutterings
  11. Pingback: Six Months Ago I Recommited to Fitness. Here’s What Happened… | Nerd Fitness

  12. See a Moonbow (rainbow made from moonlight)! You can go to Victoria Falls in Africa, or you can do it here in the States at Cumberland Falls, KY, too 🙂
    It’s a big one on my bucket list.

  13. I would recommend swimming in the bioluminescent bay in puerto rico. This is one of the coolest things I ever go to do. Basically they are microorganisms that glow any time something moves through them. Very cool!
    myfitcoach.net

  14. Pingback: Becoming Antifragile: How to Prepare Yourself for Chaos | Nerd Fitness

  15. I suggest visting the Cabot Links in Inverness, Cape Breton!! Also, add Halifax, NS, Canada to the trip and possibly a talk of sorts? I’d go twice!

  16. Pingback: Limitless: What if you could access more of your brain? | Nerd Fitness

  18. When you get to Antarctica, you should visit Shackleton’s winter cabin if you can. Also, dunno if you’re into sailing at all, but circumnavigate the world? Bonus points if you do it via the Straits of Magellean.

  19. Pingback: Days of Future Past: How to Use Time Travel for Success | Nerd Fitness
  21. Pingback: Lean In: Lessons From My Croatian Adventure | Nerd Fitness

  22. So somebody may have already suggested these, but I’m not gonna look through what is currently 111 comments to check haha. With the martial arts related quests, I would first like to suggest trying out a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. If you end up getting hooked you could up the ante accordingly. The other idea I have would be to partake in some form of martial arts competition – whether it’s an amateur boxing or Muay Thai match, BJJ tournament, etc. About 6 months of regular training for a guy who’s fit should be enough to do some low level competition in any of those. As a martial artist (boxing and blue belt in BJJ), I feel that actual martial competition, even just once, is an absolutely experience and I promise you that win or lose, it’ll leave you feeling like an absolute lion. Anyhow that’s my quest ideas. Love the site 🙂

  23. This is inspiring me thanks 🙂 Life’s a game, i have some quests– lets keep playing! 🙂

  25. Is there something here about faith and the Good Lord (or did I miss it)? Visit the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

  26. i think one nice idea would be go into a public place and play music and dance until almost everyone ends up dancing…:)

  27. Pingback: My Life is a Game: A Major Epic Quest Update (Plus, a Request!) | Nerd Fitness

  29. Please add straddle lever to handstand to your strength goals – it’s the most awesome move ever. I could do it when I was 9 or 10 (and training 5-7 times a week at gymnastics!)

  30. Yo Steve! I live in Dubai, Mall of the Emirates is like a 5-10 minute drive away from me, if you ever do come here to go snowboarding at Ski Dubai, I’d be more than happy to host you.

  31. with regard to your Antarctic dreams, it is illegal to bother penguins there. If you want to get down there, you could always go to work for Raytheon. And check out Antarctica: a year on ice. It is one of the stunning movies you will see. check music box films web site if it is playing at a theater near you

  32. You forgot the most important and only thing anyone has to do to be happy and content in life: get saved by Jesus and share the gospel with EVERYONE (I mean, you ARE going around the globe, right?)

  34. Pingback: Getting Started With Nerd Fitness: Ready Player One. | Nerd Fitness

  35. If you plan on being in Santorini, then wait around and watch the sun set. It’s worth it, I promise.

  36. Don’t you ever have any altruistic goals? Like looking after the beautiful environment you’re lucky enough to explore or giving back to the community?

  37. suggestion, camp the cabot trail in cape breton, Nova Scotia, canada. cape breton has been ranked one of the top islands in the world multiple times. worth the trip! by the way if you need a place to crash lol i got ya covered!

  38. Pingback: There are no extra lives. Make this one count. | Nerd Fitness

  40. Love this site, man! But I did want to ask if you knew that the locals tee-tee on the Blarney Stone right? 😉

  41. Go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Ultimate best experience of my life… so far!

  42. Pingback: Are Your Beliefs Sabotaging You? | Nerd Fitness

  44. heyo!

    I felt like sharing the altruistic goals here kind of defeated the purpose (kinda like “look at me!” and how charitable/great I am) and instead choose to live them out daily and hold myself personally accountable. Cheers!

  46. “You must purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka” as stated by Prince in Purple Rain

    Also, ride an ascensor/funicular in Valparaíso, Chile.

  47. Pingback: What Can You Actually Get Done in Six Weeks? (A New Six-Week Challenge Starts!) | Nerd Fitness

  49. I’m kind’ve freaking out in a happy way reading this journey. I used to be very in shape, all my life, then I got incredibly phat and it’s also freaking my out. I was even hot for 20 years after I had a baby, but then/now…ugh. OMG! The story is awesome, plus I am a nerd so it works for me.

    HELP! I started a workout program and got better on my food recently, but it seems like I’m not losing or getting back the real me. So, I am loving me, and just eating better. Sress eating is a big part of my thing. It all started with an emergency appendectomy when the doctor decided to keep me in the hospital on a demorol drip for 4 days. I suddenty got a tummy pooch. Whatever. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom for over a year so I was plugged up severely.

    No doctor could figure it out. So now…Wonder Woman is who I have to be. I can now go to the bathroom, thanks to me. I hope the NF community is what will help me get back to me.

    Love, Coco

    P.S. I can’t fall in love with a stripper, although that Magic MIke XXL movie looks appealing in a gross way. My bucket list includes just eating better, drinking a bit less wine, and maybe starting to date again. I’m scared but dammit I’m in.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

341 thoughts on “My Epic Quest”

  1. You have to run with the Bulls in Pamplona Spain. I feel like that is something that you were meant to do. Also, see David in Florence, Italy and go to the Blue Lagoon in Capri, Italy!

  2. Pingback: How Nick the Tobacconist Lost Over 60 lbs: A Nerd Fitness Success Story | Nerd Fitness

  3. Learn how to do a double cut in tameshigiri (look it up, its awesome!) should be on there!

  4. Run with the bowls in Pamplona, Spain. (Hold a bowl in each hand while sprinting frantically down the street.) It would be an expensive, but VERY clever pun 🙂

  5. It’s amazing that someone can live a life that’s so magical, and embrace their freedom to the fullest like Steve. That’s a life I want to live, but I’m too scared and complacent to do it.

  6. You should seriously consider creating an app for this. I love this whole idea and would love to have an app on my phone to help me track and remember all of my goals. Plus I want to see my little avatar level up.

  7. On the Krav Maga objective… i don’t think that it is the best ideia…. In terms of fighting or disarming knives, it’s a very quick way to end up in a funeral home… If you want real life self defense and fighting bases you should serously Jeet Kune Do Unlimited with Burton Richardson, check it out.

  10. Pingback: The Hero's Guide To Storytelling • Fevered Mutterings
  11. Pingback: Six Months Ago I Recommited to Fitness. Here’s What Happened… | Nerd Fitness

  12. See a Moonbow (rainbow made from moonlight)! You can go to Victoria Falls in Africa, or you can do it here in the States at Cumberland Falls, KY, too 🙂
    It’s a big one on my bucket list.

  13. I would recommend swimming in the bioluminescent bay in puerto rico. This is one of the coolest things I ever go to do. Basically they are microorganisms that glow any time something moves through them. Very cool!
    myfitcoach.net

  14. Pingback: Becoming Antifragile: How to Prepare Yourself for Chaos | Nerd Fitness

  15. I suggest visting the Cabot Links in Inverness, Cape Breton!! Also, add Halifax, NS, Canada to the trip and possibly a talk of sorts? I’d go twice!

  16. Pingback: Limitless: What if you could access more of your brain? | Nerd Fitness

  18. When you get to Antarctica, you should visit Shackleton’s winter cabin if you can. Also, dunno if you’re into sailing at all, but circumnavigate the world? Bonus points if you do it via the Straits of Magellean.

  19. Pingback: Days of Future Past: How to Use Time Travel for Success | Nerd Fitness
  21. Pingback: Lean In: Lessons From My Croatian Adventure | Nerd Fitness

  22. So somebody may have already suggested these, but I’m not gonna look through what is currently 111 comments to check haha. With the martial arts related quests, I would first like to suggest trying out a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. If you end up getting hooked you could up the ante accordingly. The other idea I have would be to partake in some form of martial arts competition – whether it’s an amateur boxing or Muay Thai match, BJJ tournament, etc. About 6 months of regular training for a guy who’s fit should be enough to do some low level competition in any of those. As a martial artist (boxing and blue belt in BJJ), I feel that actual martial competition, even just once, is an absolutely experience and I promise you that win or lose, it’ll leave you feeling like an absolute lion. Anyhow that’s my quest ideas. Love the site 🙂

  23. This is inspiring me thanks 🙂 Life’s a game, i have some quests– lets keep playing! 🙂

  25. Is there something here about faith and the Good Lord (or did I miss it)? Visit the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

  26. i think one nice idea would be go into a public place and play music and dance until almost everyone ends up dancing…:)

  27. Pingback: My Life is a Game: A Major Epic Quest Update (Plus, a Request!) | Nerd Fitness

  29. Please add straddle lever to handstand to your strength goals – it’s the most awesome move ever. I could do it when I was 9 or 10 (and training 5-7 times a week at gymnastics!)

  30. Yo Steve! I live in Dubai, Mall of the Emirates is like a 5-10 minute drive away from me, if you ever do come here to go snowboarding at Ski Dubai, I’d be more than happy to host you.

  31. with regard to your Antarctic dreams, it is illegal to bother penguins there. If you want to get down there, you could always go to work for Raytheon. And check out Antarctica: a year on ice. It is one of the stunning movies you will see. check music box films web site if it is playing at a theater near you

  32. You forgot the most important and only thing anyone has to do to be happy and content in life: get saved by Jesus and share the gospel with EVERYONE (I mean, you ARE going around the globe, right?)

  34. Pingback: Getting Started With Nerd Fitness: Ready Player One. | Nerd Fitness

  35. If you plan on being in Santorini, then wait around and watch the sun set. It’s worth it, I promise.

  36. Don’t you ever have any altruistic goals? Like looking after the beautiful environment you’re lucky enough to explore or giving back to the community?

  37. suggestion, camp the cabot trail in cape breton, Nova Scotia, canada. cape breton has been ranked one of the top islands in the world multiple times. worth the trip! by the way if you need a place to crash lol i got ya covered!

  38. Pingback: There are no extra lives. Make this one count. | Nerd Fitness

  40. Love this site, man! But I did want to ask if you knew that the locals tee-tee on the Blarney Stone right? 😉

  41. Go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Ultimate best experience of my life… so far!

  42. Pingback: Are Your Beliefs Sabotaging You? | Nerd Fitness

  44. heyo!

    I felt like sharing the altruistic goals here kind of defeated the purpose (kinda like “look at me!” and how charitable/great I am) and instead choose to live them out daily and hold myself personally accountable. Cheers!

  46. “You must purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka” as stated by Prince in Purple Rain

    Also, ride an ascensor/funicular in Valparaíso, Chile.

  47. Pingback: What Can You Actually Get Done in Six Weeks? (A New Six-Week Challenge Starts!) | Nerd Fitness

  49. I’m kind’ve freaking out in a happy way reading this journey. I used to be very in shape, all my life, then I got incredibly phat and it’s also freaking my out. I was even hot for 20 years after I had a baby, but then/now…ugh. OMG! The story is awesome, plus I am a nerd so it works for me.

    HELP! I started a workout program and got better on my food recently, but it seems like I’m not losing or getting back the real me. So, I am loving me, and just eating better. Sress eating is a big part of my thing. It all started with an emergency appendectomy when the doctor decided to keep me in the hospital on a demorol drip for 4 days. I suddenty got a tummy pooch. Whatever. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom for over a year so I was plugged up severely.

    No doctor could figure it out. So now…Wonder Woman is who I have to be. I can now go to the bathroom, thanks to me. I hope the NF community is what will help me get back to me.

    Love, Coco

    P.S. I can’t fall in love with a stripper, although that Magic MIke XXL movie looks appealing in a gross way. My bucket list includes just eating better, drinking a bit less wine, and maybe starting to date again. I’m scared but dammit I’m in.

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