Help support Steve Wilde
Hi, my name is Mary Todd, one of Steve Wilde's close group of friends who are so very concerned for his wellbeing.
Our friend Steve, has fallen on really hard times, due to Covid 19, stranded in the USA whilst pursuing a self-funded journalistic future.
To us, Steve's close friends, he is talented, cheeky, tenacious, super smart, an award-winning journalist, so much fun, and his current situation is of much concern to us and his family.
Right now, Steve is skinny, getting through the endless days with determination and tenacity on handouts from dear friends and family.
He has no funds available at all to live on.
Prior to Covid 19, everything had been going so well for New Zealand journalist Steve Wilde, until the onset of the pandemic decimated his business back home in New Zealand resulting in Steve losing his home, his financial security, income, and stranding him in the United States.
Previously, for more than 20 years Steve had reported on what he called the doom and gloom of the world. In his eyes the mainstream media like nothing better than stories about the worst side of human nature. This had created an image that the world is a hostile, unsafe place, where people disliked each other. Having already traveled extensively Steve believes this isn't the full picture. Even when in Afghanistan, where he reported on the war he said good people were doing great things and he wanted to tell those stories.
Steve decided to step away from working in the mainstream media and set out into the world on his own and test his theory that humanity was still largely in good shape. Firstly he wanted to see if people would even be interested in the kinds of stories he wanted to tell.
So in 2017, Steve undertook a self-funded trip into North Korea. Traveling undercover he filmed life inside the Hermit Kingdom. The long-format documentary film he produced was a hit.
(You can watch INSIDE NORTH KOREA on Steve's YouTube channel. Search Steve Wilde and WildeON).
Seen by millions around the world it gave Steve the confidence to plunge full time into a journey of discovery, meeting different people from around the world and telling their stories.
In South America, he produced a series in Colombia as that nation slowly emerged from the darkness of the drug war. Steve was lucky. He was able to self-fund his travel because he owned a home in Queenstown, New Zealand. As the premier tourism destination, it gave him the ability to rent out the property to tourists. So when he set out for the United States in 2019, he was pretty confident everything was set up well for his most ambitious idea yet.
He would buy a motorhome. Which he could drive pretty much anywhere he liked, using it as a base for his story gathering and filmmaking.
The WildeON series as it would be known would travel the globe, taking a snapshot of the people and their stories along the way. Because it was all self-funded Steve would be free to go where ever he chose and focus on the issues he thought were important. This was his way of giving something back to society, and hopefully, in his mind, creating a better and more informed world to live in.
Not long after arriving in the States, he purchased a 1978 GMC Motorhome. An American classic. He was busy renovating it when the first news of the pandemic started to filter through.
At that point, Steve wasn’t too concerned. But soon the world began closing down.
When the New Zealand government closed its borders to visitors, alarm bells started ringing. With no tourists, no money would be generated by his accommodation business and that was going to be a problem. However, Steve had savings and so decided to hunker down, like everyone, and ride it out.
The pandemic wore on. And on. As the money ran dry, worse news. The bank where Steve’s held his mortgage did not believe the tourism industry was likely to recover in New Zealand for a long time, even decades they predicted.
They advised Steve he should consider selling his house.
Out of options and thousands of miles away Steve reluctantly agreed. It turned into a fire sale. The global uncertainty pushed down the price and any meager profit was eaten away in tax. By the end of it, Steve was left standing with nothing but a few dollars in his pocket.
He was bewildered. But he had the courage and a strong will in his dream.
He had the motorhome, a roof over his head. And he had a new friend. Buddy, the ginger Chihuahua/ Yorkshire Terrier he had rescued and vowed to take home with him to New Zealand one day.
Steve had decided to fight on, for survival and his own dignity in what has become an endurance that even Steve now recognizes as the ordeal of his life.
Essentially homeless on the streets of LA he continued renovating the motorhome, and with the help of a few friends began rebuilding his dream to travel the world and tell the stories about the good people he met along the way. From his new vantage point - he felt very well placed to check in on humanity and see if it was still in good spirits. Steve regards his ordeal as being positive in his life. While difficult, it has enabled him to dig deep - especially mentally and refocus on what is really important. His old lifestyle was in his eyes, harmful. Yes flying business class and enjoying a lavish lifestyle is great. But as Steve would admit, the drinking to excess that goes with that was no longer working for him.
So with his life changed dramatically we want to help Steve do what he set out to do. He is an award-winning journalist, bringing his own unique personality to the screen. His ability to impart immense knowledge and understanding of global affairs, coupled with the quirkiest sense of humor creates compelling viewing.
Steve's friends believe in him, and support giving him the opportunity to pursue his dreams and make them happen and be successful. It would be a shame given the ordeal he has been through, and is still enduring, for him to have to walk away, so close to when everything is ready to go.
The motorhome is now 90 percent ready, only due to Steve's perseverance and tenacity. What he needs now is a financial foundation so he can rest up, have some respite and time for wellbeing, finish renovating his GMC Motorhome, buy food and gas and get out on the road and do what he does best.
Our aim is to raise financial security for Steve and Buddy, to cover several months of living costs, to allow them to carry on with this endeavor.
We ask you to kindly support Steve and Buddy. Keep them safe, tummy's full, and have enough energy and wellbeing to continue with this amazing journey. If funding this is not an option for you, which we respect, please consider subscribing to WildeON on YouTube.
Steve is an amazing storyteller, and with his innate capability to relay people's situations and insights, he has the ability to constructively use his talent to bring people together. He sees this as a positive way to get people from different backgrounds talking. Thinking. And ultimately understanding each other.
That's a better world when we start doing that.
Here is Steve, offering you gratitude and thanks. We love you Steve and wish the very best outcome for your Go Fund Me and for your future.
#helpsupportstevewilde #wildeon #steveandbuddy #GMCmotorhomes
