One year ago, 29-year-old Aurimas Valujavičius was completely alone in the middle of the ocean, having embarked on one of the biggest adventures of his life: rowing alone from Spain to Florida. His quest captured the attention of the entire country and made the man from Kaunas into a national celebrity.
“It’s not about how famous you are, but what you are famous for. For me, that is very important. I want people to remember me for beautiful and great things, not just as some star that rose and fell,” said Valujavičius in an interview with LRT.lt.
For him, the year that started in the Atlantic has been the most impressive of his life so far. “For me, 2023 started in the ocean. It was also about the beautiful commemoration of the flight of Darius and Girėnas across the Atlantic. I think it was quite successful. I didn’t have any big expectations for the year. I just wanted to cross the Atlantic, then build a house on the water and make a travel film.”
It was on the morning of December 26, 2022, that Valujavičius began his odyssey across the Atlantic. Starting in Spain, it took him 120 days to reach Miami. During the most spectacular journey of his life, the Lithuanian identified with the ocean and found peace in it, but the beginning was still extremely difficult. He had to wait for good weather for a long time. After three days, he got used to the ocean environment, the waves, the routine, and the real journey began. “Since then, as the weeks went by, every day in the ocean was more and more enjoyable,” recalls Valujavičius. He believes that the 120 days he spent in the ocean made him a calmer person. “Otherwise, everything has stayed the same, there have been no big changes. I just do what I love and move forward. It was the same before the Atlantic trip, and it is the same afterwards,” he says.
Valujavičius’ journey across the Atlantic in 2023 became a phenomenon – the entire country was following his progress on social media. “In my opinion, this trip got so much attention because all the circumstances came together: daily feeds of negative information, the war in Ukraine, the politicians, the thefts, the deaths and so on. The media was dominated by negativity and my trip suddenly gave something positive and good emotion. I think that was also a big factor,” says Valujavičius.
This was not the first feat that he shared with his followers on social media. He started back in 2015, but the first breakthrough came in 2019 when Valujavičius cycled around Scandinavia for 200 days. This was followed by a 3,000-kilometre kayak trip on the Danube River, climbing 12 different volcanoes in Chile, and a 10,000-kilometre cycling adventure in Indonesia.
“It’s all extremely satisfying. I have put a lot of effort and love into creating my content, and I still do every day. When people appreciate it, share it and love it, that is the best recognition and appreciation for any social networker or anyone doing a job they love,” says Valujavičius.
Back in 2022, he claimed that one of his biggest goals in life was to leave his mark in history and be remembered by future generations. The journeys that preceded this one only brought him closer to this ambition, but the odyssey across the Atlantic may have sealed his claim to fame.
“Maybe that’s the purpose of life – to be able to sit down in an armchair in old age and honestly tell myself that I have lived a good life. The other thing is your legacy – how people will remember you.”
At the beginning of December, 2023, Valujavičius officially announced a new journey, this time to New Zealand. He has set himself the goal of cycling around the country and will be sharing his progress every day on social media.
“The idea for this trip has been in the pipeline since 2018, the year I went to Bali. At that time, one of my friends was already living and working in New Zealand. Then he suggested that I come to make some money, to travel around the country. He got the New Zealand visa back in 2019, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and his plans of going there had to be postponed. Valujavičius says that he has already planned trips up to 2028, and is looking forward to organizing them.
A documentary “Irklais per Atlantą” (in Lithuanian) about his 8500-kilometre journey across the Atlantic will be screened in Lithuanian cinemas starting on January 19, 2024.
