At first glance, Zachariah Choboter is just your average, everyday guy. He stands roughly five feet, nine inches tall, with a sturdy but not exceptionally athletic build. His long- ish brown hair is often contained beneath a helmet or a baseball cap. Choboter (who often goes by Zach) is familiar with physical work, like many in the Sea to Sky, and is employed by the Whistler Sliding Centre (WSC) as a track medic during winter months.
Oh, and by the way: he’s a Guinness World Record holder who plans to one-up himself next spring.
In 2021, Choboter rollerbladed across Canada in 91 days. Aided by his younger sister Rachel, who drove the support van, he purposefully took a series of detours to cover a record-breaking distance of 10,093 kilometres. (For reference, Canada’s land border with the United States is only 8,890 kilometres long).
And the 27-year-old isn’t done. Next April, he will try to become the first human being ever to circumnavigate planet Earth on rollerblades. He’s not just doing it for personal glory, either—instead, Choboter is leveraging both of his unprecedented journeys to raise ecological awareness via his non-profit group, Blading for Bees.
TO BOLDLY GO...
What, you may ask, could possess Choboter to attempt such an unusual and monumental undertaking? The answer might be surprising in its simplicity: he loves rollerblading, he loves the environment, and he loves a healthy challenge.
Choboter grew up in Aldergrove, a town of roughly 13,000 people located an hour east of Vancouver. Upon moving to Squamish in the late 2010s, he met a lively group of friends who opened his eyes to all kinds of outdoor activities. Choboter’s diverse interests run the gamut from mountain biking to adventure racing, but ultimately his rollerblades have his heart.
“Especially in the Sea to Sky, people get these crazy endorphins and dopamine hits from skiing or hiking, and I totally get that from rollerblading,” Choboter explained. “It’s weird and I don’t think everyone in the universe gets that feeling. But for some reason, there’s a weird thing inside me that says: ‘You need to skate.’”
A naturally adventurous soul, Choboter has always yearned to do something unique. Biking across Canada was his first idea, but he quickly dismissed it as being “far too mainstream.” That’s why he chose instead to rollerblade across the country, something that no one had done before.
Around the same time, Choboter brought Blading for Bees to life. The organization’s vision statement describes “people from all walks of life living in a sustainable future ... attainable with uncomplicated changes that will benefit not only the bees and the environment, but society in a healthy and economic way.” Thus he elected to use his cross-Canada journey to advocate for bees.
Choboter’s friends and family members thought he was crazy at first, and understandably so. Rachel signed on anyway, and in time, others did too when they witnessed him accomplish his unprecedented feat.
Nowadays, the Blading for Bees team includes Choboter’s father and chief financial officer Jonathan, longtime friend and chief operating officer Mike Hamm—who he used to rollerblade around Aldergrove with—and, of course, executive director Rachel. They even have someone from London, Ont.: Bridgette Crowley, who handles their social media accounts.
“There’s no way you can do something of this nature alone,” Choboter said. “It’s impossible—I don’t care what anyone says. So I’m just so grateful and so thankful for all the people in my life.”
...WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE
For most people, a rollerblading trip across Canada would produce enough mileage to last a lifetime. Not so with Choboter. In fact, an injury only fuelled his desire to make an impact in the world.
The Aldergrove native broke his leg playing rugby soon after returning from his first excursion. Spending more than eight months laid up to recover from multiple surgeries made him miss the open road even more. Instead of resting on his laurels, Choboter decided to pursue his once-in-a-generation chance to break another world record.
“There’s not very many ‘world’s firsts’ anymore,” he acknowledged. “Nowadays, everyone’s been everywhere, everyone has done everything, and they’re pushing the limits. So there’s this really rare opportunity to do something really crazy and really cool ... and if I can help the biodiversity and the environment and the bees and the people on the planet in a positive way, I want to connect the two.”
Choboter’s passion for bees grew dramatically as he informed himself about them, whether individually or through meeting with beekeepers and other experts. In addition to being vital members of healthy ecosystems around the world, bees can—in Choboter’s experience, at least—open the door to discussions of environmental stewardship in a way that cuts across political divides.
“Bees are adorable,” he said. “There’ll be literally people from completely different sides of the government being like: ‘Yeah, bees!’ It’s sweet.”
Those wishing to support Choboter or follow his journey can do so at bladingforbees.com.
