We hosted an evening with a world record ocean rower and Fears, all for a good cause

Russell Sheldrake

On Thursday evening, we hosted another event in our London Studio, and just like we did with our Pizza Unique party with Studio Underd0g, we were looking to raise money for a good cause. This time we hosted another British brand, Fears, which is sponsoring Angus Collins, a record-breaking ocean rower who is about to attempt a feat no one has achieved before, and that is to row around the British Isle, completely unassisted.

While this may sound like a trivial task when compared to crossing an ocean, due to the complex currents, Europe’s largest whirlpool, some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and despite many people attempting it, no one has been able to complete this challenge before. When asked about the fears for his voyage ahead, Angus zeroed in on the daunting prospect of spending up to two months on his own and having to be in his own head for that long. But thankfully, he will have a phone and a list of contacts he can call for any possible situation he may find himself in. But more about that below.

Before we go any further, I have to give you a few more details about Angus. I got to meet him for the first time at this event, and had the pleasure of speaking with him during the Q&A. He is possibly the most inspiring person I have had the pleasure of meeting – and this is coming from someone who has met world-class athletes, Oscar-winning actors, incredibly talented artists, and wildly successful business people. Angus eclipses them all, not only for the physical feats that he’s accomplished, having held five ocean rowing world records before he was 30, but also the mental challenges he’s overcome and the work he is now doing to help others in similar desperate situations.

Shortly after he broke the world record for a four-man squad rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, Angus attempted to take his own life on his 30th birthday. He was at his lowest point after achieving one of his biggest goals. Luckily, he managed to work himself out of this dark time with the help of the support structures around him and now has dedicated himself to helping others who find themselves in similarly dark places.

In order to help and raise as much money as possible, Angus is attempting this challenge of rowing, unassisted, around England, Scotland, and Wales, while fundraising for James’ Place, a charity dedicated to helping suicidal men on their road to recovery. To help him in this, Fears has come on board as the official timekeeper of the challenge and they have provided him with a very special watch for him to wear while he rows. We all gathered in the London Studio to hear Angus talk about his journey so far, the big task he has in front of him, as well as to hear Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, Managing Director of Fears, talk us through the details of this new watch.

Angus spoke about the route he’s planning to take, which will see him “straight-line it” down the Irish sea, while he will be forced to hop from cove to cove as he heads around the west coast of Scotland. He will be rowing for 18 hours a day, anchoring up at night and setting off again at first light. What makes this challenge especially hard is that at points he may be just 10m away from the coast, but he is not allowed to step foot on land or take any help from anyone else. He will be truly on his own for this trip, where he will likely total around 1 million oar strokes.

To say this was unlike any event we have held in our studios before would be a slight understatement. The powerful talk and rich insights that Angus shared with the room struck home to everyone there and left a strong impression with us all. And to help Angus reach his goal of raising £250,000 for this amazing cause, Fears has made a limited run of watches, similar to the unique piece they have made for Angus, that will also help those who buy one feel connected to Angus on this mission.

At the end of the speeches, Nicholas officially presented the unique Experimental 01 to Angus to make sure he was fully equipped and ready to go on June 1st. Afterwards, the attendees were able to get hands-on with the limited Odyssey Edition and talk more with Angus and Nicholas.

But I want to end this on a personal note. Getting to host this event was incredibly moving for me, I’ve found the journey that Angus has been on and the way he is able to communicate it so powerful as it spoke to many of the experiences I and many of those close to me have had as young men. So thank you to Nicholas for trusting us to hold this event, and thank you for Angus for being such a great sport the entire evening and bearing your soul to a room full of watch nerds. Good luck, and we will be tracking you the whole way round!