(Credits: Far Out / Thomas Turcich)

In the early 2000s, Tom Turcich was the most ordinary of ordinary guys. As a teenager, he lived a quiet life in Haddon Township, a suburb in New Jersey populated by just 15,000 people. He came from a good family, was a good student and just your average good kid. “I was just a soft idiot and a little too trusting,” said Turcich. He was a lanky, tall boy who never had to worry about anything, always seeing the good in people and places.

Within this idyllic adolescence, only one thing was the issue: Turchich had a severe fear of death, to the point that, as a child, he would try to emulate death until he couldn’t feel his body so that he could recognise it when the time came. This fear haunted him, but like most human phobias, it never became a reality. Not for him, at least.

One day, Turcich’s life took a dramatic turn. One of his best friends from school, called Ann Marie, died in a jet ski accident at just 16. His fear of death went to a whole new level, suddenly becoming more real. “I thought: if Ann Marie can die, who is definitely a better student and better person than I am, then for sure I can go at the same time,” he recalled.

The anxiety around death followed him incessantly and became suffocating, to the point where he could no longer function anymore and decided to confront it head-on. While at school one day, his class watched the famous film Dead Poets Society, where, in one of the most iconic scenes, the protagonist, an English professor, played by Robin Williams, tells his class to “carpe diem (seize the day)”. This quote struck Turcich and became a mantra for him in his pursuit to face his fear of death. From then on, he tried to take every opportunity and challenge that came his way.

At school, he joined the swimming team and won medals, performed solos in school plays and even plucked up the courage to have his first kiss with a classmate called Brittney. The death of his friend became his drive to not waste a single moment thinking about death anymore.

Setting and accomplishing new challenges became second nature to Turcich, whose confidence kept growing. The sky was his only limit, and his biggest challenge was yet to come. “I wanted to be forced into adventure. The point of adventure is it’s uncomfortable, and you have to grow in it,” said Turcich.

Now a young man, Turcich came across Steve Newman, an American who had spent four years walking around the world. Without much hesitation, he decided he too was going to do just that, in the ultimate challenge to find himself and face his fears. So, Turcich told his family and friends at the end of his final school year.

His mother couldn’t believe it and thought it was just a passing, delusional phase of adolescence. “I thought how naive he was. Does he actually think he’s going to walk around the world? I just thought it was a crazy idea, a passing whim,” remembers Catherine Turcich.

But her son stuck to his goal and worked away for a few years to save up for the trip. After graduating from university, he worked multiple jobs before deciding it was time to stick to his mission and set off. In April 2015, the 27-year-old set off from his small hometown and started his walk towards Argentina with nothing but a makeshift baby buggy filled with his essentials. Yes, that’s right, a baby buggy with no baby, just his bare necessities for the walk of his life.

A friend of his had customised the buggy for his travels and it contained his tent, sleeping bag, laptop, camera, batteries, some food and clothing. Upon helping him build the buggy, Turcich’s friend organised a press conference to help him promote the walk, inviting as many local papers to interview and write about the trip. Amongst these was the Philadelphia Inquirer who wrote an article about Turcich’s planned trip.

A local businessman named Bob Mehmet came across the story and was so inspired that he decided to sponsor the walk. At this point, with enough money for the next few years, Turcich had nothing left to do at home, and it was time to go. He began the treacherous journey down to Argentina alone, but along the way, he befriended a furry friend who eventually became his travel companion. While in Texas, Turcich met a rescue dog, who he called Savannah, and took her with him, providing him with both comfort and security.

Overall, he walked across 38 countries, becoming the 10th person to cross the world on foot. Savannah made an even bigger accomplishment, becoming the first dog to circumnavigate the globe. The seven-year trip instilled in Turcich a new and profound sense of human kindness that he had never known while living his sheltered life in New Jersey. He met people along the way who offered him help, shelter and inspiring conversation.

But perhaps the most fulfilling experience was when he was travelling alone for the first two years. Being on his own on the road for so long gave him endless opportunities to reflect on his values and his life’s mission. “After about a year and a half, when I was down in south Peru, I felt like I’d thought all the thoughts, and the garden was clean. There was no more angst, no regrets, nothing I could pick through,” remembered Turcich.

This sentiment grew and reached an epiphany, when, whilst in the Atacama desert he had a realisation: “Lying under a million stars, it felt I was at the bottom of myself. All the doubts went.” Turcich realised that he had fully found peace.

During the final stretch of the walk, Turcich met a girl called Bonnie in Washington DC, with whom he immediately hit it off, as she had also been on a soul-searching experience of her own. Their paths crossed and became forever intertwined; Bonnie and Turcich have been together ever since. Finally, after 28,000 miles, Turcich returned home to New Jersey at the wise old age of 32, accompanied by Savannah and Bonnie. Around 500 people were there to greet and celebrate his completed mission.

It took seven years for Turcich to get over his fear of death, but he made it in the end. Now he shares his journey with hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers on his page and through his upcoming book. Once a shy boy who hid under blankets to feel what the darkness of death felt like, he now stands in front of hundreds of people, talking to them about how he walked across the world.