In 2024, Kiwi adventurer Matheson became the fastest person to summit all 50 US state high points.
He completed the challenge in a record-breaking 20 days, 14 hours and four minutes. The previous record of 21 days 9 hours had been achieved thanks to the use of a private jet. Frustrated that this had become a “pay-to-win” challenge, Matheson went about breaking the record without the use of luxury transport or the backing of any sponsors.
Matheson grew up in Taranaki, where a childhood spent outdoors quickly turned into a lifelong pursuit of adventure. By his teenage years, he was already organising backcountry trips and often heading out solo when plans fell through. After finishing high school, he set off on his own for the South Island with little more than a backpack, a rifle and $300 in cash, spending two weeks living off the land in Kahurangi National Park before hitchhiking around the country and eventually heading overseas.
Adventure only accelerated from there. At 19 he enrolled in the Outdoor Leadership programme at Otago Polytechnic, where he discovered rock climbing and spent the next two years climbing, camping and exploring whenever he could. Soon after, he travelled to the United States and hiked the entire 3,200km Appalachian Trail, documenting the journey in a raw YouTube film that unexpectedly reached a wide audience and sparked hundreds of messages from people inspired to pursue their own goals. That moment helped shape his mission: to inspire others to live happier lives by chasing their dreams.
Since then, Matheson’s travels have taken him hitchhiking across Europe, across the United States, and through the depths of winter in Canada, alongside climbing expeditions and film projects. After several years of increasingly ambitious adventures, he turned his attention to his biggest challenge yet: setting the world record for climbing the highest peak in every US state.
At the festival, he’ll share the story behind the record – the logistics, the sleep deprivation, the drive to push beyond perceived limits, and the belief that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.