{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"There aren\u2019t many mountains in Birmingham but that didn\u2019t stop the young Mahroof dreaming of them. Introduced to the outdoors by progressive teachers who understood the power of nature, Mahroof found his feet in the fields beyond the city\u2019s outskirts, then the Lake District. It was a journey that took him from Land\u2019s End to John O\u2019 Groats and finally, to the summit of Kilimanjaro.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/13494/mahroof-4.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"altText":"Mahroof smiling nearing a snow peaked summit","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003ENow a Group Scout Leader in Birmingham, Mahroof believes everyone should get a chance to explore the outdoors. Balancing his life of adventure with his professional life, planning and managing the footpath network for Birmingham City Council, he\u2019s a shining example of someone who\u2019s followed their dreams and found their own journey in life.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get your start in the outdoors? What was your first adventure? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI grew up playing outdoors in the 1980s, whether that was getting muddy in the garden, climbing trees, finding tadpoles in a pond or on a BMX bike, exploring the neighbourhood as many children did.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was also fortunate in that I had a really forward-thinking headmaster. He bought a little hut on the outskirts of Birmingham, and the school would take groups of children there on day and weekend trips. We were only about eight years old at the time and probably didn\u2019t realise we were only half an hour from home, but it felt like a wilderness to us. Then the opportunity came up to go to the Lake District \u2013 that was where I did my first hike and had my first taste of mountain biking. I was hooked.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom then on, I would go to outdoor activity centre trips from school and also learned to canoe quite proficiently, thanks to my history teacher! But I only really started exploring for myself once I was at university.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat benefits did you get from these trips into the countryside?\u00A0 \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was about getting a different perspective. Up until then, adventure meant exploring the local neighbourhood and green spaces but going to places with actual mountains and lakes and forests was like a proper big adventure. It was also realising that you\u2019re travelling away from home; that you\u2019re really exploring a completely new place to you, seeing new things and having new experiences and that was very exciting\u2026 It still is!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat skills did you learn on these adventures? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese trips were my first experience of tasks like shelter building, foraging, learning about new plants and picking berries. Then, as I got older, other skills like hill walking, rock climbing and navigation developed but also camping, ropework skills and organising my gear. I also learned amazing personal skills \u2013 like teamwork and resilience \u2013 through outdoor adventures, which I think are such important Scouts skills. They\u2019re such powerful tools.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/13492/mahroof-2.jpg","width":3024,"height":4032,"altText":"Mahroof Malik climbing mountain in the snow","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you think there\u2019s enough access to the outdoors for young people?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou know what, it\u2019s swings and roundabouts. I think in the past, schools might have had more power to run outdoor activities \u2013 less red tape and they weren\u2019t stretched as much \u2013 but now we have more understanding of the need to access outdoor spaces for health and wellbeing. People are also able to travel a lot more easily, and there\u2019s much better clothing and equipment available for young people to enjoy the outdoors. I always think that more can and should be done to make sure young people can access the outdoors. This is why Scouts is so important. We provide that space with good leadership, excellent facilities and a programme that really nurtures children to become adventurers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you think you became a leader to pass on the opportunities in the outdoors you enjoyed when you were young? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, most definitely. I joined the mountaineering society when I was at university, but I didn\u2019t know anyone else from the Black and minority ethnic community going outdoors when I was younger. I felt an onus to be the one to introduce my community to it. I put myself at the forefront. There\u2019s a saying: \u2018If they can do it, I can do it. If they can\u2019t do it, I must do it.\u2019 There was a certain level of responsibility I put on my shoulders. I also knew from my own experience that experiencing the outdoors at a younger age makes it more likely that you\u2019ll continue doing so.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho were your role models in the world of adventure? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI grew up in the era of Alan Hinkes completing his 8,000-metre challenge (climbing all 14 of the mountains in the Himalayas over 8,000 metres) and was fortunate enough to meet him. I was also in awe of explorers like Ranulph Fiennes, which got me reading about adventurers like Ibn Batutua and Shackleton. It\u2019s fascinating for me to read and learn about the amazing feats of others who\u2019ve trodden the paths before us. It inspires me to do more.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the path that took you to Kilimanjaro?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt started off with my brother wanting to go. He said that he and some of his friends were going, and I said to myself \u2013 \u2018Do you know what? I\u2019ll do that. It sounds like a fun thing to do.\u2019 We wanted to go on safari too. Who goes to Africa and doesn\u2019t go on Safari? We were fundraising for a great cause \u2013 they were building a school and we wanted to support that.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy brother and I extensively researched what we needed to do. We knew about fitness regimes, equipment, diet \u2013 everything. We were really well prepared. There were others in the team but unfortunately, they weren\u2019t all as ready as us. Out of the 11 or 12 people on the trip, only four of us reached the summit.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the top, it was one of the few moments I\u2019ve cried. It was really emotional, especially considering that the ice sheet at the top is constantly melting; I didn\u2019t know whether I\u2019d ever be back.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe nearly didn\u2019t make it. Our guide was suffering from the altitude and didn\u2019t want to pass the first summit, but we just wanted to keep going. Some of the people we least expected to make it turned out to be so gutsy \u2013 they had such a never-give-up spirit.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/13497/mahroof-7.jpg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"Mahroof Malik at Land\u0027s End with friends","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the most beautiful sight you\u2019ve woken up to in the outdoors? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOoh, there are two I can think of. Waking up in Greenland to see the Aurora Borealis dancing away, completely covering the sky, was mesmerising.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHigh in the mountains, you get to see the temperature inversion affecting the clouds and then the sunrise above that. It\u2019s incredible. You can even see the curvature of the Earth!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you get time for adventures? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdventure can be as big or small as you want it to be. So long as you\u2019ve got that spirit of adventure, that\u2019s the most important thing. Adventure is like a little child looking at a hole in a hedge and wondering what\u2019s beyond it. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMost of my adventures tend to be at the weekend, but I normally have one or two big trips each year. I did Land\u2019s End to John O\u2019Groats a few years back, and I\u2019m now planning a trip to Northern Pakistan. But there are always these small wins \u2013 a weekend away, a day trip mountain biking here, or a hike there. You can easily fit in adventure. It\u2019s really about your mind set. You can start by looking at map of where you live and go to a place you\u2019ve not been before.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get involved in Scouts? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESadly, I was never a Scout growing up. I first really learnt about Scouts when I worked at a bike shop, after leaving school. The owner, Arthur, was a Scout leader and taught me some knots when he found out I was a climber. When As-Suffa Institute (where I studied) was looking to provide a service to young people, I offered to help, and this developed into our Scout group.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat keeps you volunteering? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor me, it\u2019s about passing things on. It\u2019s one of the reasons I do Scouts. If I\u2019ve taught someone a little bit of navigation, then that can spark something. Just a little bit of encouragement can open the floodgates to adventure.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo much adventure is about the journey \u2013 it\u2019s not about the destination, it\u2019s about who you meet on the way, and what you learn.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"value":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/558969810?app_id=122963","gridType":"embed","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass"},{"gridType":"callToAction","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","buttonText":"Learn more about Mahroof","buttonLink":{"name":"Mountaineer and volunteer Mahroof Malik becomes new Scout Adventurer","id":null,"url":"/news/2021/june/mountaineer-and-volunteer-mahroof-malik-becomes-new-scout-adventurer/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":{"value":"002f6c","label":"002f6c"},"alignment":"left"},{"gridType":"callToAction","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","buttonText":"Check out our other news this month","buttonLink":{"name":"June","id":null,"url":"/news/2021/june/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":{"value":"002f6c","label":"002f6c"},"alignment":"left"}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"01 June 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":50856,"nodeName":"Finding the right path \u2013 introducing Mahroof Malik, our newest Scout Adventurer","title":"Finding the right path \u2013 introducing Mahroof Malik, our newest Scout Adventurer","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/13494/mahroof-4.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d7508ed575e350","caption":"Mahroof 4","type":"jpg","size":383236,"width":2048,"height":1365,"altText":"Mahroof smiling nearing a snow peaked summit"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Finding the right path \u2013 introducing Mahroof Malik, our newest Scout Adventurer","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Read the interview with Mahroof Malik.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDg1NiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/june/finding-the-right-path-introducing-mahroof-malik-our-newest-scout-adventurer/"}