OUR TEAM

ESCAPAHOLICS - where did we come from?
 So along time ago, in a far and distant land…well, the UK to be precise, we got together with the idea of raising money for charities by making life miserable for people. A cross country run evolved into an Obstacle Course Racing Mud run across the claggy, clay soils of Buckinghamshire, known as the (Swanbourne) Endeavour.

With £100,000s of pounds raised for good causes, we thought – how else can we do good, whilst annoying people. So Tom and Skonie sent the other Tom off around the world (he keeps walking round the world anyway, so that was fine) to come up with some ideas.

Based around helping a small charity in the slums of Delhi, we came up with the plan of a gruelling trekking expedition in the Himalayas, and the Endeavour India was born. But we came to realise that our Endeavourers wanted at least a few creature comforts, some sight-seeing, and the chance to enjoy the view.

So we took them to Vietnam, (down a cave – there was only so much view we wanted to give them) and to the jungles of Borneo. Real adventures. Real escapes from the day job. And Endeavourers gradually became….escapaholics.

All our escapaholic trips involve great accomodation (from quality hotels, to camping under the stars), visiting iconic sites (as well as those less visited by tourists) and being challenged both physically and mentally by your gentle hosts. All done with the utmost care. With years of experience around the globe, we’ve honed the art of creating escapaholic adventures. We don’t just guide – we inspire and annoy.

Tom (FT) Finchett 
Tom – 2nd Dan karate black belt and self defence instructor. Schooled on Dartmoor, he learned to escape to the wilds from a young age. After a short stint with the MOD, he has always escaped form the ‘day job.’ Barefoot running, swimming in frozen ponds and seeking out the next challenge. Perhaps it was spending a week in a pothole in his teens, when mapping out a cave system that Tom first came to terms with the fact that he was an escapaholic. Tom has trekked to Mayan ruins in the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala, taken expeditions to Vietnam and India, jogged across the Massif Central in France – that’s why Tom loves setting challenges for those who admit to being an escapaholic.
tom@escapaholics.co.uk
Paul (Skonie) Skone 
Skonie – ex judo champion, marathon runner and expedition leader from Greenland and Belize to India and south Exuma – now takes a more sedate approach in putting others through their paces. Having organised corporate expeditions and fully themed events for the likes of Sony and Nomura, Skonie was integral in setting up the original obstacle sports and mud running circuits. With a history in outdoor leisure activities including paintball, laser and airsoft, to fieldcraft and survival, Skonie is the resident ‘Games Meister.’ For challenges and games to test you in the mountains and jungles, Skonie will be there to keep you on your toes. And Skonie is an escapaholic.
skonie@escapaholics.co.uk
Tom Fremantle
Tom – Author, travel writer and ‘spiritual’ motivation for all things escapaholic. Tom never joins our escpaholic adventures, but is our true inspiration and why escpaholics were born. Time spent helping ShikshaRath slum school in Delhi, motivated us to help and have some escapaholic fun in the process. Tom is a real Pro – the ultimate Pro when it comes to escapaholics. Tom has cycled from the UK to Australia. He has walked with a mule from Mexico to New York; took a dugout canoe down the Niger, to Timbuktu. Oh and he’s just walked round the world. So Tom is a true sensei of escapaholics whilst self described as a ‘slightly chubby ultra-marathon runner…’. We can only hope to taste what Tom’s escpaholic life is like.