Joey Kelly climbs the Zugspitze
At 51 years old, Joey Kelly still can't get enough of it. Not singing, but extreme sports! So, he now climbs the nearly 3000 meter high Zugspitze with a small hiking group. He has indeed faced harder challenges in his life.
He is a musician, entrepreneur, and a member of the famous Pop- and Folkband The Kelly Family - and then there's also his extreme sport, which is "a ventil and the perfect complement" for Joey Kelly. Endurance and competition sports have been his forte for decades. A passion he discovered by chance.
In his twenties, he joined a triathlon solely because of a bet. He discovered that he enjoyed the sport during a hike on Germany's highest mountain, the 2962 meter high Zugspitze, as part of an action for the supermarket chain "tegut". The business managers and five participants were accompanied by him on this hike.
The almost 3000 meter high peak is familiar to Kelly, as he has climbed it several times. In September 2010, however, the musician with Irish-American descent did not start from the Bavarian Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the mountain is located. Instead, he began a 900-kilometer hike from Wilhelmshaven 17 days earlier and lived off the food nature provided along the route during this time. An RTL camera team from "stern TV" accompanied the extreme sportsman back then.
Multiple Entries in the Guinness Book
One of many sporting challenges Joey Kelly faced during his career. Besides tower jumping and the Wok-WM of TV entertainer Stefan Raab, the musician also cycled for 11 days straight from Berlin to Bagdad, covering more than 5000 kilometers. He also has multiple entries in the Guinness Book of Records, such as a 24-hour walk on a treadmill, underwater, or on a stair-climbing machine. He covered numerous kilometers during these attempts - and most of it for a good cause, such as the RTL charity marathon or German Sport Aid.
Today, Kelly proudly summarizes: "I have competed in over 100 competitions as an endurance athlete for over 20 years." But he's not done yet: "It's still fun. The fire is still there."
With this very fire, he now led the hiking group up to the Zugspitze summit in four days, despite the wind and rain. As a motivator, he saw himself as nothing: "One must motivate oneself - I am not a motivational trainer, and neither does anyone need one. If you don't have your own drive and fire, then you won't have lasting success." Kelly is the best example of this.
Joey Kelly's love for extreme sports extends beyond his musical career, as he often incorporates endurance activities into his entertainment efforts. During a charity hike on the Zugspitze, he discovered his passion for extreme sports and triathlon.
Fueled by his love for competition, Joey Kelly has completed numerous extreme sports challenges, including tower jumping, cycling from Berlin to Bagdad, and achieving multiple entries in the Guinness Book of Records for feats like a 24-hour treadmill walk underwater.
