STORY BY ALEX PRIEBE
PHOTOS BY OBIDIGBO NZERIBE

On a snowy day in January, Michael Zervos ’12 checked in at Detroit Metro Airport with a single carry-on backpack and boarded a plane bound for Russia. 

The flight was the first of more than 300 that Zervos will take over the next year and a half. A filmmaker by trade, Zervos is currently racing around the globe, seeking to break the Guinness World Record to be the fastest person to visit every country in the world. 

At each stop along the way, Zervos will collect stories of happiness by asking a question: What is the happiest moment of your life? Zervos has named his adventure, “Project Kosmos,” after an ancient Greek word. “In the same breath, ‘kosmos’ describes the universe, the planet, and people on the planet,” he said.

The origin of Project Kosmos

Zervos was raised in a Greek household in the Detroit area. He often traveled growing up, visiting 55 countries before embarking on Project Kosmos. At Grand Valley, Zervos initially studied business and was planning to take over his family’s insurance company when he discovered his love for filmmaking.

In 2012, Zervos graduated with degrees in business and film and video production. Two years later, he raised $200,000 to make his first feature film which he wrote, directed and shot in Michigan alongside many GVSU alumni. “One of the best gifts GVSU gave me was introducing me to so many wonderful people,” he said.

Zervos went on to direct commercials around the country but felt creatively empty.  “I was depressed for five or six years. I dreaded going to shoots. I had forgotten why I had gotten into film to begin with,” he said.

Then, as he transitioned back into filmmaking, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the industry shut down. “I remember thinking, ‘My purpose in life is to create, and I can’t create anything,’” Zervos said. “It fractured my sense of value and worth.”

Zervos described that time as the lowest point of his life, but through it, he expanded his view of himself. “I realized I can be more than just a filmmaker. I can be a storyteller,” he said. Through that new understanding of himself, Zervos said he found happiness and the inspiration for his next project.

“I wanted to create a repository of human happiness so that anyone who feels like I did could be reminded that happiness is attainable,” he said. With that vision in mind, Zervos set about planning how to break a world record.

Attempting to break a world record

There are 195 countries on earth — technically, 193 countries plus two observer states. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the current record for the fastest time to visit every country is 554 days. To attempt to break the record, Zervos spent nearly two years researching, scheduling and planning. “I looked at route after route, perfecting, honing, responding to geopolitics,” Zervos said. He eventually selected a route that prioritized the most inaccessible countries first, in case he ran into issues and had to circle back to them later.

To raise money for his trip, Zervos drew on his experience pitching movies. He found companies that aligned with his project and sent 1,000 cold emails, sharing his vision and inviting leaders to partner with him.

Zervos built a team of sponsors that believed in his vision, provided financial backing, and brought unique tools and expertise to the table. Moosejaw supplied Zervos’ clothing, shoes and the 45-liter backpack to carry all his possessions. iVisa arranged all of Zervos’ visas, nearly 70 visas in total. Climate Pioneers, a sustainability consulting company based in Germany, calculated the total carbon emissions of the trip and donated 250 trees to make it carbon neutral. Zervos will help plant the trees when he visits Cologne and Malawi on his trip. Untamed Borders, an adventure travel company, helped Zervos gain access to inaccessible countries such as Pakistan and Sudan, and advised him on the safest routes through dangerous areas. Zervos is also being sponsored by Sheath, Genki, Reduct.video, and Vibram.