Award Winning Danish Traveler, Speaker & Adventurer

"Very interactive"

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Mila Kozomara

Marketing and Communications Manager at Be Flexi, Cyprus

“Great speaker”

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 Irakli Kandelaki

Country Manager at Maersk, Georgia

"His engagement and energy spread through the room”

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Moshe Loberant

Director Key Accounts at Maersk, Germany

“Uniquely original content and passion”

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Vivian Li

Senior Manager, Communications at HK Tourism Board, Hong Kong

“Truly memorable moment”

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Jakob Jeppesen

Executive Vice President at DSV, Hong Kong

“Impressive and inspiring”

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Christian Dahl Damsted

Senior Global Category Manager at Lego, Denmark

“Great sense of humor”

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 Soraya Blell

Head of the Senior School Section, LWIS, Lebanon

“Profound source of inspiration”

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Dr Haleema Sadia

Principle at Brightway International School, Maldives

“Awesome”

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Mark Garmey

 General Manager at Rohlig, New Zealand

“Students were enthralled” 

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Cassidy Jackson-Carroll

English Teacher at RLSS, Samoa

“Absolutely brilliant” 

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Dee Grimshaw

Head Teacher at BIS HCMC, Vietnam

“An eloquent and motivational speaker”

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Eloise le Conge Kleyn

Head of Human Resources at Maersk, UAE

What to expect

An enlightening, humorous and truly unique experience in the company of one of history's most accomplished travellers. 
The audience will experience a range of emotions as Thor takes them through the ups and downs of the project to visit every country in the world, completely without flying. He covers varied topics like: resilience, reaching goals, motivation, inspiration, humanity, geography, culture, misconceptions, adventure, and every country on the planet.
Thor has spoken in 67 countries around the world.

Want to request a speaking engagement?

Contact me today

Thor in the news around the world

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Thor Pedersen

Thor is the only person in history to have reached every country in the world completely without flying!

The project, named Once Upon A Saga, was initially planned to take just four years but ended up taking nearly a decade due to unforeseen challenges such as visa issues, political unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 23rd 2023 Thor Pedersen reached the final country, Maldives, completing the project and claiming world history.

The story

How it began

On October 10th 2013, at the age of 34 years, Torbjørn “Thor” Pedersen set out on an ambitious journey to become the first person in history to reach every country in the world completely without flying. He had nearly accomplished his goal when he got stuck in Hong Kong on January 28th 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic - with only nine island nations remaining! Holding out in Hong Kong for two years he was able to continue again and completed the project on May 23rd 2023 when he set foot on Male, Maldives.

The adventure

Thor speaks about the unique adventures within the journey and considerations relating to the planning of a multi-year global project. The greatest challenges Thor has faced have always been related to bureaucracy and logistics, and as the project moved into its later years, extreme exhaustion.
Thor has over the years encountered grave danger in the form of drunken armed men as well as the high seas, with giant waves crashing in over the ship from all sides. He has slept on the street and dined in the homes of billionaires. Thor has been to every country in the world with armed conflict. He once had to take an 11,919 km detour, revisiting seven countries, traversing Baluchistan in Pakistan escorted by armed guards, and all because he was denied a visa while in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. 
Life becomes unnecessarily complicated without the luxury of flying.


How it was done

In order to gain entry to the small central African country of Equatorial Guinea, Thor had six visits to Equatorial Guinean missions in five countries – Cameroon, Gabon, Congo and São Tomé and Príncipe. After four nail-biting months he coincidentally met a French expat who could bring him into the country, which became number 100 in his journey. Thor first took on Europe then crossed over to Greenland and North America, down the South American west coast and up through the eastern side ending up in the Caribbean. Then he crossed back to Europe for a brief visit before going down Africa, travelling down the western side and up the eastern. With Africa done he crossed back into Europe and tackled the Arabian peninsula before venturing back into Russia, Caucasia and then towards Asia, taking in Pakistan and India on the way. After a two-year-long stay in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic, Thor reached the remaining seven countries in the Austral/Pacific region, finishing with Sri Lanka and Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

Summary

Through the project, which was named Once Upon A Saga, Thor became one of the world’s most travelled people and the first in history to reach every country completely without flying. He entertains his audience across social media where tens of thousands find themselves inspired, motivated, and educated.
As a goodwill ambassador of the Danish Red Cross, Thor paid a visit to the movement in 199 countries, and raised awareness as well as funds for the noble humanitarian work which is carried out globally.

The Impossible Journey

 - a documentary film featuring Thor Pedersen
Coming in 2024

"Like many, I was intrigued by Thor's story when I first heard about it. Since 2019 I've been following along and meeting up with him whenever possible. The more time I've spent with Thor, the more impressed I am by what he has accomplished. It is one of the most challenging adventures of our time and a monumental human achievement. Nobody has heard the real story. My intention is to bring it to light." 
- Mike Douglas, filmmaker

Want to request a speaking engagement?

Contact me today

"A stranger is a friend you've never met before"