Ben Pawlowski
FOR Tom Hopcroft, the past year has been a whirlwind.
The business he founded – Guiris de Mierda, a lifestyle brand aimed at providing a community for ‘guiris’ in Spain – has gone from strength-to-strength as its organised events, such as speed-dating, morning runs or networking events, boom in popularity.
Elsewhere, the 31-year-old has launched a clothing brand linked to his business, walked the Camino de Santiago several times, gone viral for doing a ‘shoey’ at the end of the pilgrimage, been interviewed on Galician television in gallego, a language he doesn’t know, and appeared on the back page of El País, Spain’s most-read newspaper.
Now, the proud Brummie admits, he needs some time for himself.
“At the moment, I’m doing a lot of events which I love, but I think it’s important to have a balance when you’re doing events, especially when you’re the host. You’re a giver of energy”, he says.
“I’ve become aware that for me to perform the best when hosting events, I need to be on my game in all aspects, so I need my alone time”.
To have that alone time, Tom has begun a new adventure – a two-month solo walk across Spain, from north to south, armed with just a backpack, a skateboard, and a desire to begin what he describes as a ‘journey of self-discovery’.
As we speak, Tom is skating down roads in the Basque Country, less than a week into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure he has christened as ‘The Wrong Way Down’.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of years now, but there has always been a reason not to do it”, Tom admits. “But I feel like there will always be a reason not to and, sometimes in life, if you want to do something, you just have to make it happen”.
“Do it and think, look, everything else will sort itself out in life, it just has a way of doing that, so I’m going to take this risk. I’m going to do this for me, I’m going to do something I want to do, I’m going to have an adventure, I’m going to channel into that child-like joy of exploring just to explore or playing just because playing is fun. And I’m doing it to make myself happy, re-ignite my creativity, and feel free”, he explains.
The Wrong Way Down is the latest in a series of spontaneous adventures Tom has undertaken.
Aged just 20, as a student at the University of Leeds, he hitchhiked from the Yorkshire city to Amsterdam in just 48 hours.
In his early-20s, Tom moved to Spain for a woman he loved. When that came to an end, he didn’t return home – he stayed in Spain, did another hitchhike from Madrid to Malaga to restore his faith in humanity, and then began to build the foundations for the business and content-creating career which have flourished ever since.
This latest experience, Tom hopes, will allow him to explore and discover hidden parts of a country he has fallen in love with.
He says: “I’m looking to connect with myself and connect with Spain a little bit, to see more of this beautiful country, meet people in deep Spain and do things for the sake of it”.
“I’m looking to have really human experiences with a real human connection. That drills back into what all of our events are about, really – the human connection side of things”.
Starting in the Basque Country just over a week ago, Tom has already experienced the moments of freedom and deep human connection which he so dearly yearned for.
On his second day, he explains, he skateboarded from Bermeo to Mundaka, a surf town on the Basque coast. It was 11am and, wearing just his underwear, Tom leapt into the sea.
“That feeling of freedom, just everything you need on your back, going for a swim anytime you want – it is just unparalleled”, he says.
But his favourite moment so far has been one with a uniquely human flavour.
“I found myself in a bit of a pickle”, he says. “I was walking, I hadn’t made as much progress as I wanted to, I hadn’t eaten, the sun was setting and I hadn’t found anywhere to pitch my tent for the night. There were no hotels or hostels nearby either, so I had a decision to make. Either pitch and search for food at a local pub a 30-minute walk away, or head to the pub and hope someone may know where to send him”.
Like most Brits, Tom chose the pub option. “I arrived and there were these four rural-as-f**k Basque guys. They were saying someone had told them about a crazy guy walking through the streets with a skateboard. I was like, yep, that’s me, I’m going to Tarifa. They were like ‘What the f**k!’ so we got talking”.
“Anyway, I went inside and started editing my video from the previous day. One of them came up to me – it was his 51st birthday and he told me he has a caravan by his house I could stay in. He drove me to his place in the mountains, completely off-grid in the middle of nowhere. He generates his own electricity and collects his own water, but he let me stay at his place for the night. We had a couple of beers, talked about life, and it was just one of those crazy experiences you can only have if you do something like this”.
With just a hammock and a sleeping bag – plus a sense that on his first night sleeping outdoors he could hear the howl of wolves – Tom is eager to sleep on as many sofas as he can.
For that, his Guiris de Mierda community is helpful, but he also stresses that anyone can assist him on his journey.
He says: “People can help by just watching, sharing and engaging with the videos, but then of course in practical ways, if anyone has family or friends or wants to give me a sofa for the night on the way down, then that would be incredible”.
His route, albeit undecided, is set to take him past Logroño, over or around the Sierras, to Extremadura, down towards Sevilla, past Cadiz and finally culminating at Spain’s southernmost mainland point – Tarifa.
If a sofa is unavailable, people can still help him in an equally important way – with a small donation, followers can buy Tom a well-deserved beer.
