Unlike highly stylized travel shows, they met real people. They allowed me to see the world through the eyes of two best friends traveling in motorbikes. The shows were not just entertaining: they were an escape from my confinement. Throughout the years, Ewan and Charley’s adventures have been my favorite way of “traveling” when my health prevented me from doing so physically. But I knew it wouldn’t be easy, as there are no production-ready vehicles to take on the trip (from South America’s southernmost tip, to Los Angeles). I was eager to see how the team tackled this, and what it meant for the industry moving forward. I’m a huge fan of clean energy, and in fact, I’m in the process of setting up my very own NGO in Paraguay, which at its core is powered by solar energy. I sighed with relief, as I knew Russ and Dave (I consider them my pals, even though we’ve never met) wouldn’t take the project awry. First: Russ Malkin and David Alexanian, the dynamic duo of directors/producers responsible for bringing most of the duo’s adventure content to life, were back. Adrenaline wearing off, a few things started to jump out at me. It’s finally happening! I replayed the trailer. I thought I’d never write the words: “ Long Way Up Episode 1″ And then, I saw this: Fans like myself had been waiting for a literal decade for Charley and Ewan to reunite. And then, Charley made some cracking shows ( Extreme Frontiers, By Any Means, more), but the duo remained separated on-screen. What followed was the birth of a decades-long admiration of Charley and Ewan’s adventures: Long Way Round was followed by Charley’s Race to Dakar, which was then followed by the duo’s Long Way Down.

It wasn’t a movie, though: it was Long Way Round, a TV series in which Ewan and his best friend Charley Boorman went around the world in motorbikes. I got a free trial, and browsing for stuff to watch, I came across Ewan McGregor’s familiar face. Sometime in 2010, before I got officially diagnosed, this new thing launched in Canada called Netflix. Basically, I’ve been dizzy for 14 years (and counting). It turned out to be the start of a lifelong struggle with Meniere’s disease, an incurable (but treatable) condition which affects my balance. In 2006, when I was having lunch at work, I suddenly felt really, really ill.

By any means charley boorman netflix