Featured Traveller: Silas Proton – BJJ Globetrotters
“Look for a place/town with a volunteer job and a BJJ school and mix these two!”
Silas Proton, Jiu Jitsu traveller
Silas Proton – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: 30
Belt: White
Profession: Restorer for stone (architecture & sculptures)
How many years in BJJ: 3.5
Other martial arts: 5yrs traditional TaekwonDo, 3yrs K1 & MuayThai
Where do you live: Basically Berlin, but always on the road
Where are you originally from: Berlin, Germany
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
First was the wish to travel. I travelled a lot with my girlfriend, but mostly shorter trips for holidays. Now we both want to use a `gap´ in our working life to take one year off and experience different living conditions. Also moving out of Germany is a big topic for us right now, so we wanted to explore other places and opportunities more deeply and first hand. Also, because training is an essential part of my existence, it just naturally followed!
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
We just finished one constant year on the road. We started in November 2016, went to Israel for 4 months to live in a kibbutz near the Red Sea. There i trained in the nearest town and we went diving a lot. After this, we got our car ready – a 30 year old Volkswagen van, and just started driving in the direction of south-east. We went all the way from Germany via Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey into Georgia and Azerbaijan and back.
Right now we are home to fill up the cash reserves. The next project is to do a similar tour but this time starting in Asia…
Silas Proton – BJJ Globetrotters
What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
Everything! I enjoy the way we travel, I enjoy that everything has its time. The day is divided into the natural needs. I wake up with the sun and go to bed by dusk. Driving, washing stuff, cleaning, cooking, training – that all fills your day completely. There are no `artificial´ actions, separated from your everyday needs. And I become peaceful with myself as a result.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
I experienced how differently you get connected with people. If you arrive in a remote city on the Turkish Black Sea coast, you don’t know where to sleep. You are tired and feel a bit lonely. And then you just Google the local BJJ club and within an hour you are welcomed, you have a connection, a place to sleep. You instantly start to be thankful for human support, materially and psychologically! I am always very grateful for that.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
The most surprising thing is that in 8 months on the road neither the car has broken down, nor did we get robbed or had just one single bad experience. I don’t know how this happened but I´m still surprised that literally NOTHING bad happened to us. Not even a BJJ common injury!
Silas Proton – BJJ Globetrotters
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I think every traveller is a budget traveller – it just depends on the amount! Our plan (which worked) – was to travel and sleep in the car, so the only expenses were fuel, food, luxury and (sometimes) laundry or a commercial camping place for showers etc. We also tried to mix in longer stays of volunteer work, so we could stay longer at one place, build up deeper connections with the people there and work for food and accommodation. That keeps your expenses really low. I would recommend that for people with a small budget: look for a place/town with a volunteer job and a BJJ school and mix these two!
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Go to remote areas. They are the best!
