My Dad, Joe Saunders, this year was diagnosed with stage 3 Esophagus Cancer, and has been in and out of the hospital for the last 6 months. He's finished 8 chemo treatments and is now going in for major surgery to remove the cancer in mid November. Needless to say, you can imagine these hospital bills are substantial. After the Surgery he will be in ICU for the better part of a week, with subsequent hospital visits. All Funds will be directly used towards hospital bills.

My plan, as his son, is to raise awareness of regular health checkups, no matter your age. In doing so, I will be skateboarding from my dad's home state of Georgia to Alabama, along the second largest bike bath in the country raising awareness along the way. This is a 100 mile skate, and last time I did a long distance skate, Across New Zealand in 2022, my dad encouraged me throughout the prepping process, and drove me to JFK to bid be farewell on my two week solo journey.

My Dad has been an unfathomable part of my life, and those around him. He has a sort of Arora around him that's contagious, with never ending optimism. He's guided and nurtured me through my love of skateboarding, movies/cinema and music. Never telling me I couldn't do something I put my mind to. He's welcomed all my friends with open arms into our home and was one of the few parents that brought me and my friends to concerts and more growing up.

If you would like to follow my skate journey follow me on instagram @Skate_Across_New_Zealand