Johnny Ward’s phenomenal mission to be the first person in history to visit all countries, the North and South Poles, and climb to seven summits has come close to a stunning conclusion with the summit of Everest. On 17th May 2023, the 2019 Short Award winner conquered the world’s highest peak, Mt Everest (8848.86m), the last of his seven summits.
“Little boys growing up with no dads… remember, anything is possible!” Wards dedicated his Everest victory to his single mom. With the Everest Flash expedition team, Johnny Ward completed the Everest mission in Twenty-two days, including almost a week in basecamp for a weather window to clear up. He has been training since 2018 to undertake this dangerous challenge.
What’s Next In List?? SOUTH POLE!!!!
Man who left his Job to Travel
Raised in a poor Irish family by a single mother, Johnny Ward hated working 9-to-5. After he graduated from University in England in international economics in 2006, he started to travel around the world. First, he landed in New York City, where he took as a camp counselor.
Upon his return to his homeland, Ireland, Ward worked on a medical research experiment to save more money to travel. Subsequently, he flew to Thailand, where he eventually took as an English tutor to earn money for travel. Then after, Ward moved to Sydney, where Ward was employed as a telephone sales representative.
Annoyed with a 9-5 job, Ward attempts to discover to earn a living from traveling full-time and kicked off a blog, “OneStep4Ward,” in 2010 to document his travels.
By the end of 2010, Ward was making an average of $40,000 monthly, just working around 10 hours weekly remotely from his laptop, directing his staff to run a portfolio of websites. At that time, he resided in Bangkok, Thailand, and further started investing in property.
Loaded with a big chunk of money, Ward reportedly visited over 80 countries by August 2012 and over 100 countries by the end of the year.
Coming to 2015, Ward had already made $1 million from his full-time traveling and had scored 152 countries in his list. During this course, he has entered several nations illegally as well. I was stuck in police stations in the Ivory Coast or lost on cargo boats on the way to Yemen.
In 2017, Ward marked Norway as his 197th and final nation, and his family and friends joined him for the occasion.
As per recent reports, he visited 216/216 countries.
And Real Adventure Begins
After 11 years of hitting 197 countries, Johhny Ward aimed even higher with a thrust of more risks and adventure.
The man who has never competed in a 5km race, Ward compted the North Pole Marathon, where he finished 8th. Further, he participated in 2019 6 marathons in 6 days through the Moroccan Sahara.
In 2021, he rowed across the Atlantic Ocean.
Big Goal: Seven Summit
Furthermore, Johnny Ward announced his intention for Seven Summit in 2018. Five years later, mission accomplished!!
- Mount Kilimanjaro, summited in June 2018
- Mount Elbrus summited in June 2018
- Mount Kosciuszko, summited in May 2019
- Mount Aconcagua, summited in August 2019
- Mount Puncak Jaya, summited
- Denali Sumer summited in 2022
- Mount Everest submitted in 2023
Now, Ward is all set to go for the Mount Vinson summit in Antarctica, which he would opt for in December 2023 or January 2024.
Travel Guy Got Hitched
Travel Blogger Johnny Ward is married to his long-time girlfriend, JaJaa. The couple tied the knot in December 2021 in Thailand, where they first met. Ward dropped a wedding post on Instagram and wrote since he first landed in Thailand with nothing but his love, JaJaa accepted and loved him then. Further, he added, “You showed me what true acceptance is. What true love is. What sacrifice and commitment is. And I’m more grateful for those lessons than you can ever know.”
Ward and JaJaa began dating in 2011 and have been traveling across the world since.
The couple originally decided to wed in November 2020; however, it was postponed to February 2021 and one more time due to the Global COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnny Ward’s Short Bio
Galway, Ireland native Johnny Ward was born on 9th December 1983 to single mother Maura. Later, his family relocated to a small town, Kilkeel, on Northern Island, and grew up there.
As of 2023, Johnny Ward holds a dual nationality: British and Irish. He is a Sagittarius and will turn 40 this year.
