Two young men who have created adventures as a result of difficulties in their lives will be guest speakers at the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival, beginning in Wanaka, Cromwell and Queenstown on July 1.
Brando Yelavich, of Auckland, and Nick Allen, of Palmerston North, will explain how hardship has spurred them on to unusual achievements.
Mr Yelavich grew up on the North Shore of Auckland.
As a teenager, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.
At 19 he was on the dole and smoking drugs every day.
"I had a dream to join the army, but after attending a military prep school I was told because of my learning difficulties I would not be able to pass the entry exam,'' he said.
Motivated to make his family proud and inspired by the movie Into the Wild, Mr Yelavich decided he would complete the first full circumnavigation of the New Zealand coastline.
"This was my Everest.''
It took him 600 days to travel 8000km - walking, swimming, scrambling, rafting and climbing.
Determined to live off the land, he caught and ate fish, birds, rabbits, pigs, deer and "whatever else I could get my hands on''.
With a selfie stick, solar recharge panel and a GoPro camera, Mr Yelavich checked in to civilisation via social media, and documented his travels with blog posts.
The updates enabled Mr Yelavich to use his expedition to raise more than $30,000 for Ronald McDonald House.
Mr Yelavich is planning to walk the Stewart Island coastline in November and then walk, with camels, across Australia in 2018.
Mr Allen was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis and became dependent on a motorised chair.
He suffered poor balance and fatigue, making mountain climbing a distant dream.
However, he contacted a physical therapist and a specialist personal trainer and began working out, focusing on strength, balance and flexibility.
With a radical approach to diet he began to see major improvements in his health, allowing him to set his sights on climbing a significant mountain every year.
Mr Allen has set up the Mastering Mountains Trust and the Mastering Mountains Scholarship Fund to help tackle perceptions about MS and to fund and encourage individuals living with the disease into the outdoors.
Festival director Mark Sedon said stories like those of Mr Allen and Mr Yelavich were common among mountaineers, adventures, climbers and adrenaline seekers.
The festival offered grants to young people or people with disabilities who needed a helping hand to fund outdoor adventures, education and environmental projects, he said.
