Luke Strong and his speedos are making their way through Africa.
The champion gymnast is a world traveler who’s visited nearly 100 countries, embarking on his international tour when an injury prevented him from training for the Tokyo Olympics.
Nearly five years later, Strong has seen it all: tropical oases, urban metropolises and breathtaking scenery. The British native is wrapping up his year in Africa, where he’s on a 3-month tour that will take him to 11 countries. He hopes to cross the 100-country threshold by early December, when he celebrates his 31st birthday.
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Fortunately, Strong brought along his smart phone, and is chronicling his adventures on Instagram. He started off in Kenya and plans to end in Cape Town, where he first fell in love with Africa.
Strong originally booked his tour in 2020, but had to cancel for obvious reasons. So far, the wait has been worth it.
“I just loved Cape Town so much I wanted to see what else [Africa] had to offer!,” he said over DM. “My whole life, I’ve been a huge fan of animals… and knew one day I wanted to go.”
When Strong touched down in Kenya, he checked out Giraffe Manor, a famous 5-star hotel in Nairobi with a resident herd of wild giraffes. But he didn’t stay for long, hitting the road for a true safari.
Overall, Strong intends to drive more than 7,450 miles through the next three months!
A true thrill-seeker, Strong often travels to countries that are perceived as dangerous and underdeveloped. Earlier this year, he traveled throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, making stops in places like Lebanon, Syria and Turkmenistan–known as one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world.
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When Luke Strong retired from gymnastics, he set out to travel the world.
Strong, who identifies as bisexual, understands why some queer folx wouldn’t feel comfortable visiting countries where homosexuality is outlawed. But he sees value in the experience.
“I think it’s important to go, because in these countries, it’s criminalized to be gay, but gay people still exist,” he told Queerty. “You never know. It’s not like me going to countries is going to save people’s lives or make it safe for them to come out, but at least they’ll see there is a life for gay people out there. I’ve never been to a country and not met a gay person.”
One of those countries is Uganda, which recently passed one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world. But Strong toured around the Sub-Saharan nation without fear, even finding the time to stop for a couple of pics in his speedo.
He says walking through the Ugandan rain forest, and seeing a live gorilla family, has been the highlight of his trip so far.
“It had been on my bucket list for so long, and it exceeding all my expectations!,” he said.
When Strong travels, he prefers to stay in villages and other outposts, rather than sanitized city centers. He wants to meet people where they are. That’s how you truly learn about a place, even if the accommodations occasionally lack amenities like hot water.
“I’ve learned a lot of patience!” Strong said. “I’ve got to experience how locals live in each country, which is always great to see, especially when so many are so excited to see you and welcome you to their culture.”
Through his travels, Strong has learned that people are people, whether they live in Paris or Aleppo. One of his favorite stories involves going to a Turkish bathhouse in Syria, and finding himself on the receiving end of some platonic nipple-play. (Yep, you read that correctly!)
“What I found in Syria is, people are very fascinated with tattoos. Because I have so many, people were just scrubbing me down in the sauna, and I had a Syrian man sucking my nipple!,” he said. ” I walked in there expecting it to be serious and calm. But there were a lot of water fights, with men not wearing very many clothes. There were also a lot of massages going on. So I was like, “Whatever!”
That’s the spirit! Strong is currently in Tanzania, on the lookout for wild life. That’s a nice coincidence… because we’re on the lookout for him!
When we get an urge to travel vicariously through someone, we know who’s IG page we’re checking out!
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