Like many young people, Ray Zahab started smoking in his early teens and eventually became a pack-a-day smoker.
Then about 10 years ago, when he was nearly 30 years old, he managed to quit.
This turned out to be a life-changing decision that not only opened a path to health and fitness but led to multiple adventures across the world that involve helping inspire youth and supporting causes that make a better world.
In 2004, driven by “challenge, distance, and discovery,” Mr. Zahab took up running and became an ultra-marathon runner.
Since then, his feats of endurance have included runs across the entire Sahara desert, Tunisia, Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal (the world’s deepest lake), Baffin Island, and along some of Canada’s extreme coastal trails.
Last January he became the first person to trek from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole on only snowshoes, without using skis.
Mr. Zahab’s expeditions have helped raise awareness and funds for bed nets against malaria and clean drinking water in Africa, and through his organization impossible2Possible (i2P), he dedicates himself to inspiring and educating youth through adventure learning.
But the adventurer with a heart has never forgotten how hard it was for him to quit smoking. So he’s taken up a new project, serving as the host of Smober Up, an online community aimed at helping smokers stop lighting up and become “smober.”
Then about 10 years ago, when he was nearly 30 years old, he managed to quit.
This turned out to be a life-changing decision that not only opened a path to health and fitness but led to multiple adventures across the world that involve helping inspire youth and supporting causes that make a better world.
In 2004, driven by “challenge, distance, and discovery,” Mr. Zahab took up running and became an ultra-marathon runner.
Since then, his feats of endurance have included runs across the entire Sahara desert, Tunisia, Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal (the world’s deepest lake), Baffin Island, and along some of Canada’s extreme coastal trails.
Last January he became the first person to trek from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole on only snowshoes, without using skis.
Mr. Zahab’s expeditions have helped raise awareness and funds for bed nets against malaria and clean drinking water in Africa, and through his organization impossible2Possible (i2P), he dedicates himself to inspiring and educating youth through adventure learning.
But the adventurer with a heart has never forgotten how hard it was for him to quit smoking. So he’s taken up a new project, serving as the host of Smober Up, an online community aimed at helping smokers stop lighting up and become “smober.”
