It’s 1 man, 1 pair of skates, 2 ski sticks, 6,000km, and 12 cities. Come Oct 16, expert mountain climber but novice skater, Khoo Swee Chiow, will strive to break a world record and skate from Shenzhen, China to Singapore (that’s skating round an FIBA-approved basketball court almost 70,000 times) in 100 days.

The 43-year-old Khoo already holds the Guinness World Record for the longest time (9 days) underwater in a controlled environment. But as a methodical dreamer and a lover of adrenaline, he felt that breaking the record for longest distance covered on skates should be in line. All’s well and good, except at the time of conception, he didn’t know how to skate.

But for Khoo, a man who’s pumped up with determination and tenacity, this hurdle is much too low for him. After all, he did swim across The Malacca Straits. So he hiked up his socks, slid into a pair of skates and in early 2007, learnt enough about skating to avoid falling down.

Accompanied by PowerBars and a bottle of heat rub, Khoo’ll pass through the famed Angkor Wat in Cambodia and spend Christmas in Thailand as he embarks on his journey to break the current record of 4,175km set by Russell Moncres in 2002.

This man with the mission is 4th in the world to complete the Adventure Grand Slam and 1 of the only 2 Singaporeans who, in 1998, planted the Singapore flag for the 1st time on the summit of Mount Everest.

But of course, just ascending the highest peak in the world once is never enough. That said, this adventurer decided to attempt Everest without oxygen in 2004, after which he felt that he would mount Everest for the 3rd time in 2006.

That’s the tip of the iceberg for Khoo’s been to the ends of the earth to see the glowing white snow at the South Pole and suffered frost bite at the North Pole.

UrbanWire would never miss a chance to speak to a man who never stops smiling even in the face of the rabid dogs he encountered while cycling from Beijing and the severe snow storms he saw at the North Pole.

So, panting for breath, we caught up with Khoo and his sponsor, Brocade, a provider of network storage solutions, to wish him good luck and chat about his dreams and cheng tng (traditional Chinese dessert with white fungus and barley seeds) just before the adventurer takes off for his longest trip ever.

The Journey

UW: The regional sales director of Brocade, Mr Gerald Penaflor says your adventure aims to raise awareness on environmental conservation. Why else did you choose to break this particular record?

Khoo: It’s something I’ve never done before so that’s part of the challenge. I’ve always been intrigued by ice-skating [and] you can’t do much skating in Singapore.

Mind over Matter

UW: Ever felt that you were working against yourself?

Khoo: Always. It comes from within, the passion to do all this. It’s not going to be easy. It has to be something that’s very personal in order to last so long.

UW: You had frost bite in 2001 when you were at the North Pole. Yet you carried on. Has the thought that you might lose your life crossed your mind?

Khoo: There have been a few occasions where I thought, “That’s it, I won’t come back.” But thank God I’m alive. That’s why the preparation is important, that’s why there’s a car following me.

UW: You said, “it’s never stupid to dream”, was there ever a time that you thought that you’ll never break a record or reach the top?

Khoo: No, I don’t think I set out to want to fail. I mean failure is something you don’t think about. Otherwise you won’t go. But you prepare as much as you can. You prepare for the worst, you hope for the best, that’s what it is.

UW: What are the rules you live by everyday?

Khoo: Very cheem (profound) ah! I think it’s having a vision, courage to do it, determination to finish it.

Energy Consumption

UW: How watchful are you of your diet?

Khoo: Strict diet no, I eat a lot of things because I burn a lot of calories so I just eat. And lately because I increased my training, I’ve been eating 5 to 6 meals a day.

UW: Say you’re conquering another summit, what’s the 1 meal you’re thinking about?

Khoo: There’s no favourite meal. I like something plain and nice, bee hoon (white and thin noodles, usually fried with light sauce for breakfast) and cheng tng!

UW: What’s the first you’ll eat when you come back to Singapore in January 2008?

Khoo: I’ll be passing by Malaysia so whatever I want to eat will be there. This won’t be like climbing Everest where you’re really out of reach.

On Top of the World

UW: If you could name any mountain, what would you name it?

Khoo: I’ll name it after my [elder] son, Sheng Feng.

UW: Awww. Where would it be?

Khoo: Tibet maybe, [since] Tibet has lots of mountains. I think it’s a very spiritual place. It’s a place I would love to go back to again and again. Another dream I have is to spend a month there meditating. (laughs heartily) Be a monk!

UW: Where do you see yourself when you’re 60?

Khoo: I don’t know. I don’t think it’s important to know. Because I believe one should maximise your own time, live for the present. You’re only young once.

With 100 days to himself, Khoo will take the time to ponder his next undertaking. Speculation might be rife but we think it might be 1 of the following: walking the longest tight rope strung between Singapore and Malaysia, abseiling from what is to be the tallest building, Burj Dubai, or spending some precious time with his wife, Madam Tok Wee Leng and their 2 sons.

 

If you can keep up, check out Khoo’s shout out to all UrbanWire readers and then roll on over to his website.