Motorcyclist bids to be youngest biking around world in mental health fundraiser

A 22-year-old man is aiming to become the youngest person to travel around the world by motorcycle, an adventure he hopes will raise money and awareness for men's mental health.

Henry Crew set off on his journey to circumnavigate the earth this morning in aid of the Movember Foundation, a men's charity that raises money for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention.

He has until May 2019 to make it back to the UK to claim the world record.

His route will take him through 35 countries, six continents, over 35,000 miles and hopefully raise £35,000.

Henry, a keen motorcyclist who has been riding since he was 19, said: "I was sat at work and I saw an article posted about the current world record and I thought I could beat it.

"Then quite literally on the spot I turned to my friend and said I am going to motorcycle around the world. The next 10 months has been working towards it.

"Picking Movember really made sense because I have an affiliation with the issues they have raise money for.

"The men's mental health side of things is the part I relate to, having had my own issues with mental health and it has been so prevalent within my friendship group."

Henry, from Petersfield, Surrey, will start his adventure in Europe before travelling through Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Australia, Chile, Guatemala and North America.

The last leg of his journey will involve travelling through Morocco, Spain, France and then back to the UK.

Ben Bowers, 38, the global innovation lead for the Movember Foundation, said: "He is such a lovely young man who is going on this amazing adventure. He's been through some tough times personally and is doing this for a really positive reason.

"Because of what he's been through, the challenge will be even harder for him because he gets anxious and depressed in stressful situations.

"Good on him for putting himself out there."

Speaking just before he set off in front a crowd of family and friends Henry, a freelance video content creator, said: "Motorcycles are something that really helped me and my mental health so it all tied in. It just all makes sense."