In the incredibly harsh environment of the Sahara Desert our founders Levi and Teddie, and cameraman, Mark went to visit Russ Cook aka The Hardest Geezer, and his team. We sponsor his incredible journey running the length of Africa for charity.
An integral part of ensuring that Russ hits his target donation of £1 million is the content that documents his journey, proving firstly that he is doing what he claims, and secondly engaging as many viewers to get the much-needed donations to his chosen charities.
Comments on his Instagram joke how boring it initially seemed to watch someone run every day.
Looking across Russ' social media, the accounts are a success by every metric, and it's easy to forget that the task of filming a guy run by himself every day is challenging, how do you make that exciting and different after over a year?! The Hardest Geezer team work day and night to create engaging content, edit it and upload everything, often from incredibly remote areas with little signal.
We thought it was time we got to know these guys, so we spoke to Stan and Jamie in Mauritania.
Stan
AGE
22
Where are you from?
York
What’s your role in Project Africa?
Cameraman
Why do you think Russ is running the length of Africa?
I think he wants to do something hard that makes people go “wow” that no one else has done before.
What will be your first meal when you get home?
A Chinese takeway with crispy chilli beef.
Favourite Meal so far
In Guinea, a random mama serving 50p meals. I had beans, eggs, some sort of sauce, the most unbelievable thing.
How many hours of sleep do you get?
At the beginning 4 hours, it’s more like 6 now that Jamie has joined.
Hardest re-integration
Generally, people moaning about sh*t that doesn’t matter. The culture is so different here, people are more uptight in the UK. There is a certain degree of freedom for people to live the way they want to in the countries we’ve visited throughout Africa.
Any anxiety about going back home?
I absolutely do, I’ve been involved in Project Africa for 18 months, and on the road for 10/11 months. I’ve definitely forgotten how to do life normally, working 16-18 hours a day, doing mad sh*t, driving through a new place every day. What do you do with time off!?
People will think you have the coolest job in the world, have you regretted anything?
It is hard at times, but it is the coolest job in the world.
Anything I regret? Pushing myself so hard too early. I burnt out and I think I didn’t consider the longevity of the mission. I’ve gotten into a groove now.
What have you grown The Hardest Geezer YouTube to?
It was 10k now 155k.
What advice would you give to editors and creatives?
YouTube rewards authenticity a lot more these days. Having a distinctive brand, not necessarily a niche that does things differently in a consistent way regularly, will do you better than being a regular YouTuber, you won’t get an audience that lasts that way.
Do you like YouTube, as a place to work?
Yes, it is one of the most exciting industries. We’re bridging the gap between the old vlogs in your bedroom to mainstream tv. It’s an exciting field to be in, you could be working on anything.
Do you think there’s a balance between doing things differently because it’s cool vs being authentic?
Russ doesn’t really care about content, for him it’s more of a vessel to be able to do what he wants.
What is your biggest learning that you can take away from Project Africa?
Main thing for me is when you’re doing something like this, things will go wrong 3 or 4 times a day, they can be small or colossal, and we force ourselves to be in a position which means we have to move forward. You will find a way.
What’s next?
I’m excited to keep it open. Trying not to limit it too much, looking forward to time off and then flying to YouTube HQ for a while. Hopefully, Planet Earth will call me up!
Would you Ever be a YouTuber
I’ve thought about it.
How have the drinks helped you?
I’d say my blood now is 50% caffeine, I drink upwards of 5 energy drinks a day. If I don’t, I literally fall asleep.
Caffeine keeps this mission going to such an insane degree, you would not even believe. We ran out of caffeine for one day and Russ didn’t do 50k, me and Jamie didn’t do anything we needed to do, we were all grumpy, and it was terrible!
Caffeine is everything to this mission.
Jamie
Age:
25
Where are you from?
Germany
How do you fit into the HG story?
I’m a fan of YouTube, and I’ve been here for 4 months, since Congo.
When was last time you were really happy?
Probably the last time was when we entered Senegal, it’s where my brother is from, he’s a refugee. He joined our family 10 years ago, and it took him 2 years to come to Europe. Being in the town where he grew up felt so special, and meaningful. I was planning on meeting his mum, but she got ill which was a shame. It felt so strange being in the place I’d heard so much about.
What did you do Before Project Africa?
Before I was self-employed, never really in the YouTube game.
What Role Would you play in the HG band?
- Jamie, bass
- Russ is lead singer
- Guss, drummer
- Stan is guitar
What are you most nervous about for the rest of the journey?
What’s never pleasant is the heat, it gets to me.
What do you think Russ’ intention is for doing this?
He really found a way to change his life with running. Not sure how much he speaks about it, but he wasn’t a happy guy, and running saved him.
Do you think he’s a good example for similar people?
Yes, being able to get yourself out of this kind of place in your life.
What will you do when you’re done?
Stay in same genre, maybe YouTube. Being here and being able to document this has really inspired me
Would you continue in this part of the world or somewhere else?
I don’t want to limit it, there are amazing stories everywhere.
Do you feel like your contributions are life-changing?
Life changing absolutely, I’ll come back [home] and appreciate the sh*t out of what I have.
What do you think you’ll appreciate more when you return?
The luxuries we have, tap and running water with heat, roads without potholes, doctors. We have everything that we need and we don’t appreciate it enough. Back home everyone is in their own bubble and afraid to go out of their own bubble. The community here is something we should look up to.
No.1 thing you want to take from Africa?
All the stuff I struggled with before is not going to feel like a problem. Doing this mission is going to make life back home easier.
First meal when you get back
Mum’s lasagne.