Explorer

Jude Kriwald

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Jude Kriwald is an explorer, filmmaker and speaker whose work centres on honest storytelling and the lessons that come from stepping into the unknown.

Jude was forever getting into trouble at school; the classroom wasn’t made for people like him and, indeed, he spent more time being sent out of class than sat still in it. After dropping out at 16 with unidentified ADHD and autism, Jude set out to learn by doing, turning his back on the conventional paths which just weren’t serving him.

At 19, he cycled from England to India, a 13-month journey that meant camping in –31°C in the Pamirs, being held up at gunpoint in Afghanistan, and sneaking past military checkpoints in Tibet. A decade later, he made a solo crossing of Liberia’s Gola rainforest, an uncharted wilderness that became the setting for his first documentary, Alone Across Gola. His debut film has won awards from major film festivals from New Zealand to New York, Cape Town to Rio, and picked up Eurosport’s top award at Europe’s largest cinema screen in Paris to finish its festival run. The film has now amassed tens of thousands of views and counting.

Alongside his own expeditions, Jude was awarded British Exploring Society’s Leader of the Year Award for his voluntary work as Base Camp Manager, where he led young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the Scottish Highlands and introduced the Society’s first solar-powered base camp. Jude is also the founder of AdventureMentor.org, offering free mentoring to those typically under-represented in the world of adventures.

Jude’s focus has never been on records or bravado, but on the quieter value of these journeys: what they reveal about our values, resilience, desires, and how we relate to the world around us. His speaking and film work invite audiences into that space, combining groundbreaking adventure with a candid look at fear, doubt, and the choices that shape us.

Jude Kriwald is an explorer, filmmaker and speaker whose work centres on honest storytelling and the lessons that come from stepping into the unknown.

Jude was forever getting into trouble at school; the classroom wasn’t made for people like him and, indeed, he spent more time being sent out of class than sat still in it. After dropping out at 16 with unidentified ADHD and autism, Jude set out to learn by doing, turning his back on the conventional paths which just weren’t serving him.

At 19, he cycled from England to India, a 13-month journey that meant camping in –31°C in the Pamirs, being held up at gunpoint in Afghanistan, and sneaking past military checkpoints in Tibet. A decade later, he made a solo crossing of Liberia’s Gola rainforest, an uncharted wilderness that became the setting for his first documentary, Alone Across Gola. His debut film has won awards from major film festivals from New Zealand to New York, Cape Town to Rio, and picked up Eurosport’s top award at Europe’s largest cinema screen in Paris to finish its festival run. The film has now amassed tens of thousands of views and counting.

Alongside his own expeditions, Jude was awarded British Exploring Society’s Leader of the Year Award for his voluntary work as Base Camp Manager, where he led young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the Scottish Highlands and introduced the Society’s first solar-powered base camp. Jude is also the founder of AdventureMentor.org, offering free mentoring to those typically under-represented in the world of adventures.

Jude’s focus has never been on records or bravado, but on the quieter value of these journeys: what they reveal about our values, resilience, desires, and how we relate to the world around us. His speaking and film work invite audiences into that space, combining groundbreaking adventure with a candid look at fear, doubt, and the choices that shape us.

Stories by the Author

Carryology: Bikepacking the African Jungle: A Pro’s Complete Packing Guide

What follows is the equipment that justified its weight, the pieces that allowed me to make calm decisions when the margin for error was thin.

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April 13, 2026

Carryology: Bikepacking the African Jungle: A Pro’s Complete Packing Guide

What follows is the equipment that justified its weight, the pieces that allowed me to make calm decisions when the margin for error was thin.

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