Rob Lilwall
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Rob Lilwall (born 1976) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
-born adventurer, author and motivational keynote speaker. He currently lives in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, and is one of the most popular and acclaime
professional speakers
in Asia. Lilwall went to school in London and
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
(Shrewsbury School) and then studied geography for 4 years at
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
. After completing his PGCE at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, he taught geography for two years at
Larkmead School Larkmead School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form situated on Faringdon Road, in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It collaborates with Abingdon's two other state secondary schools and the Further Education College to ...
in Abingdon, before quitting his job, and setting off on his Cycling Home From Siberia expedition


Cycling Home From Siberia

Lilwall's life changing expedition began in 2004 when he flew to the north-eastern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
n city of Magadan with his bicycle Alanis (named after singer–songwriter Alanis Morissette) and setting off to ride back home. The journey of over 30,000 miles (50,000 kilometres) through 28 countries eventually took him over three years (2004–2007) and took him on detours through
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, Australia,
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. To cross the sea between landmasses and islands, Lilwall always caught ferries, or hitch-hiked on yachts, cargo ships and dive boats. During the journey was robbed twice, caught malaria, camped at minus forty and was twice knocked off by motor vehicles. He also became the first person to take a bicycle over the
Kokoda Trail The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanes ...
. His first book "Cycling Home From Siberia" was published in August 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton, to excellent reviews from the British Press. The book was also published as a North American edition by Howard Books (Simon & Schuster), and translated into Korean, Italian and Danish. A television series about the journey, using Lilwall's original camcorder footage, was made by National Geographic in 2009. The series consists of six 24 minute episodes. It was broadcast in Australia on the Nat Geo Adventure Channel starting Sunday, 7 December 2009. The DVD and download of the series is available directly from Lilwall. In 2009, Lilwall married Christine Liu, who he had met whilst cycling home from Siberia. They moved back to Christine's native Hong Kong where they set up a Mobilisation Office for the children at risk charit
Viva
Now in Asia, Rob began motivational speaking at conferences in the corporate world and planning new expeditions.


Walking Home From Mongolia Expedition

In 2011 Lilwall set off on a new expedition—this time calling i
"Walking Home From Mongolia"
After flying from Hong Kong to Mongolia, he set off on foot from the Gobi Desert town of
Sainshand Sainshand ( mn, Сайншанд; ) is the capital of Dornogovi Province in Mongolia. It is located in the eastern Gobi desert steppe, on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. Administration The territory of Sainshand sum consists of 5 ''bags'' (commu ...
. He then walked for the following six and a half months, 3,500 miles back to Hong Kong. National Geographic commissioned a TV series about the journey (which was subsequently premiered on the Nat Geo Adventure Channel in December 2013), and so Lilwall also took a cameraman with him on the expedition, the young Northern Irish adventurer Leon McCarron. They endured temperatures down to minus thirty and severe physical hardship as they covered the huge distances with heavy packs. Lilwall wrote a weekly column for the South China Morning Post as he walked, and was given an advance book deal from his previous publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, with publication of the new book in 2013 in the UK, and subsequently translated into German and Chinese. The DVD of the TV series is available from Lilwall. Lilwall also wrote about the journey for NatGeo Traveller Magazine, and was interviewed by
Time Out Magazine ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
World Service, BBC Breakfast Television.


Tandem USA

In 2015, Lilwall and his wife Christine rode a tandem bicycle from Los Angeles to New York, via Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the east coast.


Solo across the Desert of Death

In 2016, in perhaps his most ambitious expedition to date, Lilwall embarked on a 71-day solo attempt to walk across China's
Taklamakan The Taklimakan or Taklamakan Desert (; zh, s=塔克拉玛干沙漠, p=Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Такәламаган Шамә; ug, تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى, Täklimakan qumluqi; also spelled Taklimakan and Te ...
Desert. He was inspired by Major Charles Blackmore's crossing in the late 1990s, but rather than going with a team of camels and people, Lilwall attempted the journey across 1,000 km of sand dunes by hauling a home made beach cart called Odysseus, full of his supplies. After many adventures and setbacks, Lilwall completed the journey in October 2016, and returned home just in time to be at the birth of his first child. Whilst Lilwall did complete the crossing, he admitted he did not think it counted as a “first solo” crossing, as for one significant section he was forced to use the Southern Silk Road, traversing through the southern edge of the desert. Lilwall wrote four articles for the South China Morning Post about the journey.


Other expeditions and activities

Lilwall has often supported the children's charity Viva, on his expeditions, raising over US$100,000 for the charity. He and his wife Christine set up and ran the Hong Kong office of Viva from 2010 to 2014, and Lilwall later joined the board of directors of Viva Network Limited Hong Kong for several years. Lilwall's serious adventures began in collaboration with his university friend, British Adventurer Alastair Humphreys. Lilwall and Humphreys remain good friends and were best men at each other's weddings. Lilwall's other, shorter expeditions include: Cycling across Ireland (1995) the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan (1997), Ethiopia (2002), Bolivia and Peru (2003). Walking: through Israel, from the Golan Heights, to Masada, via the West Bank towns of Jinin and Nablus (2010), and a lap of the M25 (2010). Lilwall's adventures in Siberia and elsewhere are also documented in several of Alastair Humphreys' books.


Personal life

Lilwall is a committed Christian, and has a degree in contextual theology from St Mellitus College, London. Lilwall is married to Christine Liu Lilwall, a former lawyer, who is from Hong Kong. They have two children and since late 2021 they have been based in Singapore.


Current Projects

Lilwall is currently writing a book about his solo expedition across the
Taklamakan The Taklimakan or Taklamakan Desert (; zh, s=塔克拉玛干沙漠, p=Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Такәламаган Шамә; ug, تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى, Täklimakan qumluqi; also spelled Taklimakan and Te ...
Desert, due for publication by Hodder & Stoughton in 2023. A film about the expedition is in production with Fforest Films, due for release at film festivals in 2024. Lilwall's primary work is now as a global corporate, keynote, motivational, and inspirationa
speaker
He has spoken at numerous high-level corporate conferences, including for
Beam Suntory Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American-founded, Japanese multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. It is a subsidiary of Suntory, based in Osaka, Japan. It is the third largest producer of distilled beverages worldwide, behind Diageo ...
,
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, Adidas, HSBC, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Prudential,
Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation (also known as Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife" a ...
, the Million Dollar Round Table,
Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
, Hyatt,
Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hote ...
, Symantec and
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
. He has spoken at three
TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
events, and is an in-demand speaker globally. Lilwall has given speeches in 20 countries, and in 2017 received the highest credential amongst Speaking Professionals, the Certified Professional Speaker status (CSP) from the National Speakers Association, USA. Since the Covid-19 pandemic Lilwall has also frequently given virtual keynote speeches and workshops to clients all over the world.


References


External links


Rob Lilwall's official website



Man's Cycle from Siberia a Spiritual Journey - Christian World News

S6 "Talking Points" : Rob Lilwall, Cyclist and Adventurer - Hutchesons' Grammar School

Perjalanan Spiritual Rob Lilwall Berkeliling Dunia Dengan Sepeda - JawabaNews

Profile at Speakers Connect
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilwall, Rob 1976 births Living people British travel writers Year of birth uncertain Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Male touring cyclists Cycling writers Alumni of St Mellitus College