ENTREPRENEUR BY VOCATION.

ADVENTURER BY PASSION.

« The most beautiful adventures are not those we tell to impress, but those that profoundly transform us. »

At 53 years old, I look back on the journey with a lot of gratitude.

An entrepreneur for over thirty years, I have always loved to imagine, build, and bring ambitious projects to life. Creating, innovating, taking risks, learning from my mistakes, and starting over… Entrepreneurship has taught me to believe in my ideas, to persevere, and above all, to move forward, even when everything is not written in advance.

But beyond the world of business, another passion has always lived within me: the Great North.

As far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated by these wild expanses where nature still imposes its rhythm. The great rivers, the boreal forests, the mountains as far as the eye can see, and that particular silence where man naturally finds his rightful place.

This passion led me to live several years in Quebec, where I had the chance to organize snowmobile raids through the snowy landscapes of Canada. Those years profoundly marked my life and strengthened my attachment to these territories.

Today, this call from the North resonates louder than ever. I am afflicted with the virus of Nordicness: an irrepressible attraction to the Great North, its lights, and its wild expanses. No treatment in sight... and no desire to be cured.

One man, one canoe, 3,200 km of Yukon

Along the Yukon is not just a simple journey.

It is the culmination of a dream that I have carried for many years.

In June 2027, I will launch my canoe at Marsh Lake, Canada, to follow the Yukon to Emmonak, Alaska, at the gates of the Bering Sea.

In front of me: about 3,200 kilometers of river and nearly 100 days of solo expedition, mostly in autonomy.

I will be alone in my canoe, with my gear, my tent, my food, and everything I will need to live and move forward over the weeks.

But leaving alone does not mean seeking isolation at all costs.

On the contrary.

I want to take the time to meet those who live along the Yukon, discover their stories, observe, listen, share… then resume the river and continue to move forward.

Day after day.

Turn after turn.

At the pace of the current, the weather, and what the Yukon decides to put in my path.

I am not leaving to achieve a feat

I am not leaving to achieve a feat. I am leaving to live a story that deserves to be told.

A story made of vast landscapes, unexpected encounters, solitude, moments of doubt, wonder, fatigue, silence, and that particular freedom that only travel can offer.

Leaving alone inevitably adds another dimension to the adventure.

For nearly a hundred days, I will have to decide alone, move forward alone, manage the unexpected alone, and sometimes simply accept not to control everything.

In the face of a river like the Yukon, anyway, you quickly understand who really decides.

And it probably won't be me.

The taste for challenge

As a long-distance trail enthusiast, I love challenges that require patience, humility, and perseverance.

Not necessarily those where you have to go the fastest.

Rather those that require endurance.

To continue when motivation temporarily gives way to fatigue.

These values accompany me today in each of my adventures, whether they are entrepreneurial, athletic, or human.

Reinventing oneself

My journey is also one of profound personal transformation.

At a time in my life, I chose to break definitively with several dependencies that were distancing me from the man I wanted to become.

This decision changed my life.

It taught me that the greatest victories are sometimes those that no one sees.

They often start with a very simple decision: to take back control of your life and choose which direction you want to move forward in.

Today, sports, nature, human adventures, and entrepreneurship have become my driving forces.

I am also fortunate to be able to live my dreams with the unwavering support of my wife, Mathilde, who accompanies me in this adventure in another way: from preparation to the day I put the canoe in the water… and probably with a few more worries than me when I am alone somewhere on the Yukon.

Why YUKONIA?

Through YUKONIA – Along the Yukon, I want to convey something that is ultimately quite simple:

it is never too late to achieve a dream.

It is always possible to change direction, to reinvent oneself, to step out of one's comfort zone, and to decide that an old dream finally deserves to become a reality.

At 53, mine will take me for nearly 100 days on one of the largest rivers of the Great North.

Alone in a canoe.

3,200 kilometers ahead of me.

And no clear idea of everything I will discover along the way.

That is precisely what makes this adventure so beautiful.

I am going to seek in the wild vastness of the Great North sensations and emotions that everyday life no longer offers me with the same intensity. The silence, solitude, the unexpected, the raw beauty of nature… everything that, far from noise and habits, allows one to get closer to the essential and perhaps a little more to oneself.

The most beautiful riches are ultimately not found in the destination, but in the encounters, the emotions, and the stories we choose to live.

A life is about 30,000 days. We spend a good part of it sleeping, and sometimes too much time postponing our dreams. At 53, I don’t know how many days I have left, but I know I no longer want to spend them waiting. YUKONIA is my way of giving a date to this dream: June 2027. A canoe, 3,200 kilometers, and the desire to live fully. And you, what dream are you still waiting to live?