Help Julen Row for our Climate

World-First: Rowing the Atlantic from Europe to America for a sustainable planet and the reduction of climate warming.

Who I am

Hello Crowdfunders out there!
My name is Julen Sánchez, I am 25 years old and born and raised near Köln (in Germany).
I have recently graduated from my Bachelor's degree in Psychology, but decided to dedicate my time and effort to something a little bit different for the years to come.
Three years ago, I was extremely fortunate to overcome a malignant cancer diagnosis and I promised myself not to waste any more time above ground without making a positive difference in the world.
The year 2020 marks the start of what is likely going to be the most defining decade in history in order to ensure good living conditions for future generations of humans, animals and plants.

What I am going to do

Therefore, I decided to make use of my passions for sports and adventure and embark on an incredible expedition in order to raise awareness for the necessity to find new and sustainable solutions for how we go about daily life.
As no person has ever traveled emission-free with a bike and a specially-designed 7-meter rowing boat from Europe to North America, I believe that right now is the right time to prove that new and unpaved roads can always be found and taken as long as we have the courage to dedicate ourselves fully to our cause. 


I have dedicated myself for almost 2 years now to the physical, mental, financial and organizational aspects to be able to row solo across the Atlantic, but I require your help in order to stem the remaining financial hurdles and row for our climate!

What I would like to achieve

As I am writing this text in April 2021, everyone of us is experiencing first-hand the restrictions in daily-life that go along with a global crisis such as the Corona pandemic. Therefore, I believe that we should use this situation as a motivation to take preventive measures before heading into a new and even bigger global crisis - the climate crisis.

By travelling emission-free and with human-power only from Paris (Europe) to Pittsburgh (U.S.), I want to show that with the right mindset we have the power to bridge the distance of entire oceans (quite literally, but also when it comes to taking on the big challenges of our times).
By setting a new world-record I hope to generate enough attention to convince community leaders and decision-makers that even in our complex world there are still a few roads to be taken which are new and have never been walked before.
The most important of those is the road towards a future, in which economy and sustainability do not oppose each other and allow for the creation of better living conditions for humans, animals and plants and the protection of the breathtaking beauty of our planet.

How I need your help (Update: April 2021)

In order to even dream of taking on a project of this magnitude, I have used pretty much every spare second next to my studies to work and save up.  Over the years, I have worked in 15 different jobs and saved up each remaining penny in order to be able to finance my boat (45.000€), safety and navigation equipment (10.000€) and RYA-courses and training (5.000€). 

In order to overcome one of the remaining hurdles, however, I need to ask for the support of friends and sponsors:

In order to be functioning for up to 100 days at sea, I will have to approximately eat 7.000 calories worth of food each day (consisting of dehydrated expedition-meals, energy gels, weight-gainer shakes, dried fruit and protein bars).
That means that I'll be eating 50€ worth of food each day - which equals to 6.000€ worth of food for the whole expedition!!

By helping me raise the remaining 6.000€ worth of expedition food until the 1st of September 2021, I will be able to depart on this incredible expedition in November 2021 and become the first person to ever row from Europe to North America.
In this way, we can make sure to maximize the amount of attention that the expedition will receive for the cause of making our planet more sustainable! 

I am extremely grateful for any contribution (if small or large) and will furthermore honor each donor who contributes over 50€ by engraving your name on the ocean rowing boat (size in accordance to the donation).

Note: All of the money raised beyond the costs of the expedition will be donated to an ocean-protection charity (more information on my website: https://zerow-emission.org ).


With love,

Julen