The Teams

Team Mustache

John Lovejoy
Bad Kissengen, Germany/Washingtonton DC, USA

Growing up everywhere and nowhere all at the same time, John Lovejoy is the leader of this band of misfits.

Born in California, he spent all of ten months there before being whisked away and as such, turbulence became a way of life. Moving every couple of years, he now considers Germany the first of his many second homes.

John's childhood lent to a life of experience starting with witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall through the eyes of a curious child, hammer in hand, doing his part to bring the wall down. This has lead to rallying with protesters in Bangkok, first-hand observations of the Palestinian intifada in the West Bank and Gaza, running away from anarchist riots in Athens, along with managing bars in Cambodia, writing as a journalist in Budapest and teaching English in South Korea.

Accused many times of the ability to convince people of doing things they know they shouldn't, John is adamant they will appreciate it afterwards.

"I think it comes from being the oldest of nine children, I was constantly having to convince the little kids to brush their teeth or take their medicine."

It was these skills, along with the natural inclination of keeping in touch with nearly everyone he's ever met through his life, that has allowed John to assemble teams to take part in events such as Trabant Trek and World Cup Trek. But it was living in Cambodia, seeing the work of Mith Samlanh and M'Lop Tapang that inspired both.

"I can't help it. Having moved so much growing up and now into adulthood, I get bored easy. There is always something on the horizon, some adventure or place I have never been."

The founding of Nomadic Nation was done for everyone who wants the adventure but does not have the time to plan it out themselves.

"It seems like I am constantly asked how I can and how they [the others] can travel, Nomadic Nation was my answer."

John has high hopes for the World Cup Trek: "My hope is that it will be an event that benefits the small grassroots charities we are raising awareness of, each of the team members, and everyone out there following us on our way south, across this vast, incredible continent."

Anthony Perez
Washington DC, USA

Tony P, as he is known, is a native of the DC suburb Arlington and a rare American soccer (football) fanatic. Having played and coached the game for years, and missing the 2006 World Cup due to a Cambodia motorbike accident, he is "damn right deserving" of going to this World Cup.

He met John Lovejoy in high school. The two of remained close friends and as Tony likes to say: "I'm crazy, but only crazy enough to follow Lovejoy on every other trip." Their first travels -- Tony's first overseas experience -- was to Europe. Their ambitions quickly snowballed, and within a year the two had planned a more ambitious overland missions around Australia and South East Asia. Despite holding a degree in Automotive Sciences and great experience as a mechanic, Tony was still at a loss when the their 1967 VW Bug exploded on a motorway outside Brisbane, with engine pieces flying across all four lanes. It was not the last time the boys would be stranded without a car.

With a love of Cambodia and a mechanic's knowledge of cars, Tony was a natural for Trabant Trek: after 6 months of honing his skills on some of the worst roads in the world, and arriving in Cambodia with $30,000 for the kids, Tony decided life was not meant to be mediocre.  He co-founded Nomadic Nation with John Lovejoy in 2008.

With a sarcastic and humorous nature, Tony loves a cold beer after a long day's drive.  Beds are not a necessity; he is willing to sleep just about anywhere, although nestling up on the bare ground tends to be his favorite.  He has traveled throughout Europe, enjoyed hookahs in Turkey, rice wine in China.  His favorite place has been and still is Cambodia but as he says "I am currently accepting applications if your country thinks it can take the spot."  

He's hoping that with a new continent may come a country to fill that urge... He says: "I can't wait for a new continent and new countries and watching the football matches with locals, ultimately as long as the beer is good, the dirt is soft and the locals fun, Cambodia could be pushed out of the top spot!"