For 40 nights, from November 18th - December 31st 2019, Phoebe undertook an Antarctic-style first in Britain, with her #WeTwo teammate Dwayne while crushing stereotypes with each footstep.

Teaming up with her polar teammate Dwayne Fields they work together to change society’s image of the typical explorer and crowdfunded to take a group of young, underprivileged people to Antarctica.

“For different reasons we feel underrepresented in both the media and society when it comes to showing what an adventurer looks like and where they are from,” explains Phoebe, who has given up her Christmas for the last few years to raise money for charity by undertaking different self-devised challenges here in Britain.

“I was always told black people just didn’t do this kind of thing,” says Dwayne, “that I shouldn’t follow this path because, after all, no one else like me was doing it.” Growing up in east London he fell in with the wrong crowd where he was confronted with gang violence, but he found his escape in the outdoors. Since then has walked to the North Pole and last year, along with Ordnance Survey, led a group of underprivileged young people to the top of Ben Nevis in a ‘Street to Peak’ programme, after which several of them went on to gain employment and pursue their own adventures.

Tired of seeing lists of the ‘Top Adventurers in the world’ which don’t represent diversity or acknowledge the need to open up the outdoor for everyone and constantly being courted by media who say they wanted to change the image of adventure but never followed through, Phoebe and Dwayne decided that they needed to take action themselves. Setting up #WeTwo they are embarking on the first of a series of special missions.

“We walked from the seabirds at Dunnet Head – the northernmost point of mainland Britain and ended at The Lizard – the true southern tip of the country,” says Phoebe, “it was a journey of around 1,300km and took us 40 nights wild camping – including over Christmas.”

“Throughout the expedition we connected with Scout groups and schools in underprivileged areas so that the children could see what we were doing, ask us questions and see with their own eyes that anyone no matter what their gender, their upbringing or colour of their skin, they too can be an adventurer,” adds Dwayne.

“’It’s not about planting flags, it’s about planting seeds’ is the #WeTwo motto,” says Phoebe, “and now we are back, in 2022 we will be taking a group of underprivileged young people to the White Continent by expedition ship to create the next generation of ambassadors – for adventure, for wildlife and the environment through our #WeTwo Foundation. It’s our aim that #WeTwo will eventually become #WeToo.”

The team pulled their equipment in specially made wheeled sleighs – named Walter and Wilma – to mimic an Antarctic expedition. Along the way they highlighted wildlife conservation projects and environmental initiatives to show that you can adventure responsibly.

The team posted their progress in videos and photos on their social media channels @PhoebeRSmith and @DwayneFields as well as @TeamWeTwo.