Today's guest is Maxime Chaya, Lebanon’s foremost adventurer and the first person from his country to stand atop Mount Everest, which he summited in 2006. That Everest climb was actually featured on Discovery Channel's reality series "Everest: Beyond the Limit," but it was just one chapter in an extraordinary career of exploration.
Max went on to complete the Seven Summits—the highest peak on every continent—and then pushed further, adding ski expeditions to the North and South Poles to achieve what's known as the Three Poles or the Explorer’s Grand Slam .
In 2013, he took to the ocean, rowing across the Indian Ocean with two crew mates and setting a Guinness World speed record in the process—covering over 5,800 kilometers in just under 58 days.
But one of Max's most remarkable adventures came on two wheels. He and British ultra-runner Steve Holyoak completed not one, but two bikepacking expeditions across the Rub' al Khali—the Empty Quarter, the world's largest sand desert. Their first crossing in 2016 took them 1,500 kilometers from Abu Dhabi to Salalah, Oman in 21 days. They loved it so much they went back for more, this time riding 2,500 kilometers from Jeddah to Muscat over 33 days.
Back home in Lebanon, Max continues to promote adventure sports throughout the region. He's also a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing his philosophy that "There is an Everest for Everyone."
Please welcome Maxime Chaya.
