Featured Traveller: Pat Divilly – BJJ Globetrotters
Pat Divilly – BJJ Globetrotters
Age: 32
Belt: Purple
Profession: Speaker and Coach
How many years in BJJ: 3 and a half years
Other martial arts: A little Judo as a teenager, alongside boxing, Muay Thai and MMA. Now that I’m old I stick with BJJ!
Where do you live: Galway, Ireland
Where are you originally from: Limerick, Ireland
Other fun or curious information you would like to share: I’m a speaker and podcaster in the area of personal development. Have a huge passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and my work, have done a number of high-altitude mountain expeditions, and in recent years have gotten into yoga and surfing.
Pat Divilly BJJ
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I trained martial arts as a teen and loved it, but didn’t have the work ethic to really succeed in my younger years. When I “grew up” I gave up everything to chase financial success and status. I spent 10 years growing a business, woke up at 28 having ticked all the boxes I thought I needed to tick, and still didn’t feel fulfilled day to day. At that point I knew it was time to go back to martial arts, and I took up BJJ.
Training does a huge amount for me in terms of supporting my mental and physical health, providing community, and giving me a chance to find a state of flow daily.
Travel has been a staple of my life for the last number of years. I feel blessed to get to see the world, and feel I learn more about myself when I’m outside of my comfortable environment than I ever could being in one place.
Tell us about your most recent trip and your upcoming trips – where have you been and where are you going?
I’m currently in Zanzibar for a few days after climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for the second time. I brought a group of 21 clients to climb to the highest point in Africa, and now I’m getting a little down time before heading home to Ireland.
My next plan is to go to Bali for a month in April to surf, train Jiu Jitsu, and work on new content for my future seminars and workshops. I work in the area of personal development, and so I like to be constantly tweaking my content and taking on new experiences to ensure I’m “practicing what I preach”.
I tend to work intensely at home and in the UK delivering lots of workshops for 2-3 months, then go away for a month of travel and new experiences.
Pat Divilly BJJ
What are the things you enjoy about traveling?
I love it all! The uncertainty, the break from routine, the chance to be completely anonymous and to see the world through a different lens. I love seeing a new snapshot of the world, a new culture, meeting new people and seeing how different but similar we are. I love the possibility and the randomness of showing up somewhere with no expectation and no plan. I love meeting new parts of myself through adversity, challenge and unpredictable situations and experiences.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth traveling and training?
I’ve been welcomed at BJJ gyms all over the world and treated like family, climbed some of the world’s highest mountains, completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training in Thailand with no previous experience.
I’ve spoken at a youth leadership conference in Nepal and subsequently funded a school out there. I’ve gotten to run a triathlon with my business hero Richard Branson and his family, and visited his private Island in the Virgin Islands.
I’ve gotten laughed at and pointed at by every person in the nightclub in Tanzania for being the only non-local (or maybe it was my dancing?!). I’ve lost passports and credit cards in South America, been surrounded by an angry mob in Russia and climbed snow capped mountains in Poland in my shorts with Wim Hof.
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
Fresh in mind, I think Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has surprised me the two times I’ve been there. I used to own a gym and would encourage clients to work toward goals such as 5km, 10km and half marathons. Then I decided organising and bringing a group to Kilimanjaro would be a great personal challenge for my clients.
In the back of my mind, I thought it would be overly commercial and wouldn’t feel like an authentic experience, but on both trips I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the energy and passion the guides and porters continue to bring to the mountain.
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’m pretty laid back in general which makes it easier to budget for trips. I don’t like spending money on hotels, as I feel all I need is a bed or a sleeping bag and I’m good! I can be a little last-minute booking my flights, which probably ends up costing more than it might have otherwise…..
Some people are keen to tick all the boxes on the tourist attractions of the city they are visiting. Maybe I’m boring, but for me I just love sitting in a local coffee shop or bar, having a coffee or beer and watching the world go by!
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Just get it booked! We tend to spend our lives waiting for the perfect time but the truth is there is no perfect time. Figure out where you’d like to go, get your dates in the calendar and book the flight. From there everything else will fall into place! I’m a believer that the worst decision you can make in life is no decision and so I try to be decisive, take risks and jump into things before I feel ready!
Thank you Pat Divilly BJJ for doing this interview!
