The emotional issue that led Chariderman to turn down a lecture invitation that he had been desperately waiting for
I am the kind of person who always thinks, 'If you sympathize with me, give me money and work,' but that doesn't mean I can behave well. I was asked to give a lecture, but for some reason I had to decline the offer. I don't think I'll be able to succeed.
Hello, when I do things like '
◆First lecture
I ended my long journey, or rather, I finished it in July 2016. My dream of cycling around the world, which I had envisioned at the age of 15, came to an end after visiting 150 countries and cycling 131,214.54km . I'm sure that one day I will be able to fully enjoy the world. It was fantastic.
On October 16th, 2016, to mark the end of the trip, a report meeting (lecture) was held in Tokyo. It was held in the salon space of the Montbell Okachimachi store.
In front of me were many people, including my siblings, relatives, friends I met on the trip, fellow cyclists, fellow cyclists I admire, Twitter followers, GIGAZINE, and blog readers. I was alone the whole time during the trip, so I was tormented by the feeling of loneliness and sometimes felt miserable. But in fact, I was not alone, but connected to many people. It was one of the best days of my life.
Until a complete amateur completes the event 'Bicycle World Tour Report' - GIGAZINE
◆Second Time
On October 30th, 2016, we moved to Osaka and participated in Gigazine's 3rd Secret Club offline event.
The living legend 'Chariderman' who finally completed his round-the-world tour will appear at the GIGAZINE event https://t.co/NZa5nEuHrB pic.twitter.com/V3bDziv6ir
— GIGAZINE (@gigazine) October 20, 2016
I have been writing articles since 2011, so I was overwhelmed with emotion when I was given this opportunity.
'I've finally completed my trip around the world, but do you have any questions?' I asked Takuya Shuto, also known as Chariderman, about this ~First half~ - GIGAZINE
◆ 3rd time
I couldn't help but want to echo Frieza's famous words: 'Our mileage is 460,000.' On Sunday, December 11, 2016, I was standing again in the salon space of the Montbell Okachimachi store where I gave my first lecture. However, this time I was with three friends who had also cycled around the world. It was a joint event with four people, including me.
The four of them came together as 'Super Chariders.'
・Wataru Enomoto
Wataru, who led the event, is a refreshing cyclist who fits the general public's image of him as powerful and aggressive.
He brought along the bicycle he had used on his travels, called 'Donkey.'
・Yoshihiro Shimada
Yoshi-san traveled around the world on his folding bicycle. His travels had two themes in mind: curry and music.
Musical instruments acquired during travels are on display.
・Ryohei Oguchi
Oguchi-san, who traveled for the same amount of time
A bicycle object and a globe.
・Takuya Shuto
And then there's me, who calls myself Chariderman.
◆ 4th time
If 'living by what you love' meant to me, it was travel. If that meant a dreamlike future of publishing successfully on paper, giving lectures frequently, and appearing on TV shows, I could have gotten married, built a guesthouse, and traveled again.
That was my intention during my stay in Tokyo (and Osaka for about two weeks) from October 2016 to February 2017. I lived in a shared house.
Since I won't have another chance to look back on it in the future, I decided to write about it.
As for the publication, I was contacted by an editor from a publishing company, and after many twists and turns, I was able to submit my book to the publishing committee, but it was not accepted. If this had gone well, my life might have been very different now.
Another thing was that I wanted to use my travel experiences as a job, so I tried to get into an entertainment agency under the cultural person category. I was not bad as a source of talent, and I felt that if the agency could help me, I could make a big leap forward. However, I had no idea what to do, and even though I sent my self-introduction and travel notes to the email addresses and addresses of entertainment agencies that were published on the Internet, I heard nothing back. However, there was one agency that listened to my story. Even so, we did not end up in a mutual agreement to work together.
I also participated in Watanabe Comedy School's 'Do you know someone like this? Star Discovery Audition from XX'. I did this because I knew I couldn't get started unless people saw me, but it didn't work. I ended up enrolling in a comedy school. I had a plan for traveling and comedy in mind, but I was too old to choose that route. The hurdle of joining an agency was too high.
During my stay in Tokyo, I received an email from someone who said, 'I want to hear about your travels.' It was a great honor for me to have someone interested in my travels. However, I don't have the time. So, I decided to make such offers for a fee. I told the person that, and they readily accepted.
On January 18, 2017, I gave my fourth lecture. The person in question was the director of a hospital in Tokyo. Let's call him Mr. K. He was someone who had been watching over my journey.
Although it was a lecture, it was not a lecture in front of a large audience. On the day, I had dinner with K and the hospital staff at a French restaurant. After that, we moved to an izakaya and chatted with K's friends in a relaxed atmosphere.
That day, I stayed in K's guest room. The next morning, he showed me around his house by car. He was really nice to me. Thank you very much.
Mr. K received a souvenir A4 size photograph of an Australian anthill.
◆ The fifth consultation
However, my stay in Tokyo to make travel my job never bore fruit. On March 1, 2017, I retreated to my parents' home in Fukuoka. Still, I thought that if I could successfully publish it, I would still have a way to go, so I wrote a manuscript in my hometown for about half a year, but I just couldn't imagine it becoming a book. It sounds good when I write it like this, but in reality, I was living a hopeless life that was faithful to the three desires of 'eating,' 'sleeping,' and 'relaxing,' and I decided that this was not good and that I should start working. I was also completely broke.
I have been working at a factory in Tokyo since September 1, 2017. If I were to move out to work, I wanted to do it in the Kanto region. Whether it be publishing or giving lectures, if I wanted to connect my travels to work, I thought it would be more likely to happen closer to Tokyo. I haven't given up on publishing yet. And if I were to open a guesthouse , I wanted to do it in my hometown of Fukuoka, so I thought I'd live somewhere else until then and travel to new places.
While I was still in Tokyo in mid-November 2017, I received a request to give a talk via my website. However, for some reason, it was via a site I was not even registered with. The inquiry asked, 'Is it possible to receive a talk request through an agency like ours?', but something seemed a bit off, so I replied as follows:
Regarding this matter, since there is no transaction between your company and me,
Shouldn't it be your first priority to communicate this to your customers (clients)?
I don't want to take a job in a way that would deceive people.
If this customer is a good friend of (agency name),
Also, the story is different.
Please explain how this client approached you to give a lecture.
I was relieved to hear that 'The other party is a management organization in Kanagawa Prefecture, and they consult with me whenever they plan a lecture.' 'I have already told them that there is no business between me and the agency yet.' When asked about the lecture fee, I was greedy and asked for '30,000 yen,' thinking that a management organization would have money. At that time, I asked about the agency's margin. I was unashamedly told that it would be 'minimum 50,000 yen.'
Wait a moment. I asked about the margin because I wanted to do work that was worthy of the money I was receiving. Why does the agency get a bigger share than me, the actor? Is it a job that you guys bowed down to get? No, it's not. I should have been asked. I felt distrust for the agency that was playing rock-paper-scissors after the fact. Still, I was conflicted, thinking, 'I shouldn't miss the opportunity to stay in this position,' and 'Isn't it better to lie to myself and gain practical benefits?' In the end, I posted the whole series of feelings on my Facebook in the form of a consultation. After much deliberation, I decided to turn it down. If I accept the job with something stuck in my mind, I won't be able to do my best. I want to go stress-free.
When I asked about the margin, I received a non-existent reply, 'There are several other companies in the same industry, but I understand that the margin arrangements are almost the same.' 'I don't know if we are a competitor or not, but since I am not registered on your site and I am not interested, shouldn't you be the one to present the margin first?' was my reply, and then we stopped communicating. The Kanagawa Prefecture management group that requested me to give this lecture has also said that they will accept direct requests, but I have not heard from them. In the first place, I wonder if my intentions are being conveyed to them.
By the way, I am registered with
This time, the Kanagawa Prefecture business association was not only approached by a site that was not even registered, but was also 'one of the candidates' for the lecture. It was not in the form of 'I really want to hear Chariderman speak.' I understand that they could decline due to schedules or conditions. But they could have declined because they were asking someone else to do it. If that's the case, why couldn't they contact me after it was confirmed? Since my trip, I've been living a life that has not been very refreshing, and I was really looking forward to the opportunity to turn my travels into money and work. I can only shake my head at the way they could give people false hope.
For the fourth talk, Mr. K's wife and daughter, who is about junior high school age, came to pick me up at the station. They waited at home until his husband returned. I felt my heart warm when he invited a complete stranger into his home, where only women and children live, because it shows how much he trusts me. On the other hand, as in this case, there are people who dangle a carrot in front of someone's nose and then try to take it away. Many different people live in this society with many different ideas. It would be nice if we could meet only good people, but that's not always the case. In addition to the talk I gave this time, many different things have happened up until now.
◆Travel Memories
I am thinking of taking on the opportunity to give a talk in front of a large audience like this time, or even one-on-one to talk about my travels and get paid for it, so I will take my travel memories with me to my new job in Tokyo. I have many records that convey the atmosphere of my travels. Will they ever see the light of day?
Along with lots of files, there's a world map and passport I used during my travels.
Travel photos used in previous events.
A card-type subway or train ticket.
Train and bus tickets.
A collection of bottled beer labels from around the world, which was also featured in
8P cheese is a valuable preserved food for travel.
It's not like I want to give a lecture because I'm confident in my talk, and even if I return to society in Japan, I have no qualifications or work experience, so I have nothing to rely on but my travels. Now that I've finished my travels, I can only sigh as I face the reality that I've been turning my eyes away from and putting off for so long. It's my fault for not doing anything, but life from now on will be very tough, and I think I need to do something to grab a slightly better future.
Despite this, I am clumsy and tend to miss out on opportunities, but if I am asked to give a lecture, I will do so (direct offers are welcome), and if there is an opportunity to turn my travels into a job, I would be happy to take it up. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
By the way, in November 2017, I also received an offer to appear on a TV program on a commercial channel, but this is also currently under consideration. I would have been able to avoid getting my hopes up if they had contacted me after they had already selected the candidates, but unfortunately, this is not the case.
(Text and photos: Takuya Shuto @Chariderman
Currently covering a world bicycle triphttp ://shuutak.com
Twitter @shuutak
Facebook pagehttps ://www.facebook.com/chariderman/
DMM Lecture Request: https://kouenirai.dmm.com/speaker/takuya-shuto/ )
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