Bob Cartwright has backpacked around the world, competed in numerous Original Mountain Marathon events, designed multiple pieces of lightweight adventure kit,and walked the 200 mile Great Outdoor Challenge in Scotland more than a handful of times. 

In 2005 Bob established backpackinglight.co.uk with the aim of making lightweight hiking, biking, and riding more accessible, and then went on to launch The Outdoor Station Podcast in 2005. The show has now received well over 14 million downloads, and across the 530-plus episodes Bob has chatted to an impressive array of outdoor fanatics, such as Jenny Tough, Anna Blackwell, Chris Townsend and Keith Fosket. Alongside these conversions, Bob also documents live expos and events, and shares his own hiking experiences through travel diaries and musical journals. 

In this episode Bob and I dive into his childhood experiences to rediscover where the foundations for his love of the outdoors were laid. We then travel the world as he shares some of his experiences of backpacking for 18 months on a shoestring. How does one go about doing such a thing? We explore the concepts of fear and perceptions, and how we can often find ourselves walking the thin line between excitement and anxiety. 

Bob and I then turn our chat to podcasting and media. What did it look like pioneering the way in the podcast scene, and what have been the peaks and troughs of the 15 year journey? And how can we all take on our own goals and dreams, even when we seemingly don't have anyone to follow who is leading the way?

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