# Redding man survived 3 attacks during 2,500 mile walk across Africa

**REDDING, Calif.** – A man from Redding recently returned to the United States after walking about 2,500 miles across part of Africa to raise awareness about mental health.

Brian Stupek's long-distance walk came to a sudden halt after he was chased by men carrying machetes, the third attack he faced during his trip. Stupek .

Stupek said walking is one way he deals with depression.

He had to pack a good sense of humor to get through the physical challenges. Each day he walked for 10-12 hours, traveling about 26 miles often in the scorching heat.

"I walked all through South Africa, Namibia, and Angola and got to Northern Angola," Stupek said. "It's about 2500 miles. About the equivalent of San Francisco to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

Stupek would take rest days to recuperate during the walk.  At one point he was hospitalized with typhoid fever.  Sometimes he would camp in a tent and bathe in a river. During other parts of the trip, he would stay in hotels and hostels. As his seven-month journey progressed through the barren wilderness and large cities, word of his walk started to spread on social media.

"I kind of went viral in the I was on Good Morning NAMIBIA a few times people would stop and see me on the side of the road. Bring me snacks and water that ask how I was doing," Stupek said.  "I would speak at schools I got to walk with rhinos. The whole walk was like 99 percent awesome then I had these 3 isolated incidents."

Stupek faced three violent attacks. First, a couple of teenagers punched him in the face.

Two weeks later, in December, things escalated into an armed robbery.

"One guy got up, ran around me another guy ran in the alley came back with an assault rifle, and he put it on my face and stole everything in my pockets," Stupek said.  In January, he was chased by a group of men with machetes in Angola.

"I started to jog,  they started to jog. I take off into the jungle and make my way. as deep into the jungle as I can, and then I hide under a tree with a bush connecting, and I lay there until it gets dusk," Stupek said.

Not wanting to face any more violence, Stupek decided to cut his trip short, before entering the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. He described what he took away from the long journey.

"I picked up patience. I was able to visit other parts of the world had no connection with before. I learned about what people go through. Any time you introduce yourself to a group of people in other countries you learn a whole new way of life and it helps grow your own way of life."

Stupek's original goal was to walk for another year and a half through North Africa and possibly Europe. Instead, he is back in the States, working as a teacher in Portland, Oregon. He came away from his walk with countless stories, and now he's working on a book. You can see all of his videos under his name Brian Stupek on Instagram and TikTok.

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