Josh Storey always says he is a regular man who just wants to show people what they can achieve when they believe in their ability.
So it should come as no surprise that after walking the majority of the length of New Zealand, the Wollongong bar manager decided to — as he put it — "go out with a bang".
Instead of stretching out the remaining 204 kilometres left to reach Bluff at the southern tip of the south island over a few days, he did it in one go.
"It was my biggest day ever by far," he said.
"I believe you can do it if you put your mind to it and keep pushing, but I don't think any amount of training can prepare you — it's more the mental side of things.
"It took over 58 hours, so it's trying to fight the sleep deprivation and the pain in the legs."
After 329,614 steps, he arrived alone and in darkness, every stride causing him pain, but coupled with the elation of achieving what seemed like almost an impossible physical feat.
He has been documenting his journey on his Instagram page and invited his followers to join him for the final 30 minutes of his walk.
"I wanted to give it a real crack and keep walking until I got to the end, so I only stopped for food and the bathroom," he says.
Inspiring someone to get out of bed
Josh Storey said by walking close to the length of New Zealand, he wanted to push mental health barriers.
The 125-day journey served as a fundraiser for men's mental health charity Talk2MeBro.
"It was about getting myself more confident and understanding that I can accomplish anything, but also the other side was I was trying to inspire someone to get out of the bed for the day," he says.
"If I can go through the struggle and prove that if we push ourselves, we can do it.
"The first step is not giving up on life."
'Re-understanding how good the world actually is'
Mr Storey said the second day of the walk was the hardest of all.
He was adjusting to his heavy backpack, the view was a seemingly never-ending stretch of beach and he knew he had four months of walking ahead of him.
"I knew going into it that after the first two weeks, everything will come into a rhythm," he said.
"It became more of an enjoyable experience of travelling, enjoying the scenes and living."
He said along with New Zealand's spectacular scenery, walking provides a chance to experience a country in a different way to most travellers.
"The views are up there in terms of the highlights of the journey — some of the stuff you see are the most beautiful, challenging views.
"Also, the people you meet along the way and re-understanding how good the world actually is once you get out there and experience it differently."
He will now return to Wollongong, return to work and like many people who complete a physical challenge like this, plan the next idea.
"My life is always chaotic so there's never a normal life for me, but I'll start saving some money and I definitely have considered something much bigger, but that will probably be a couple of years down the track."
