When 19-year-old best friends Jo Diop and Kush Burman applied for Race Across the World in 2025, there was no way of knowing that, by the end of the year, they would have served drinks at a circumcision party in Kazakhstan, taught a Kyrgyz man the meaning of “boss” and taken an army of geese for a walk in Turkey. Such is the weird and wonderful experience of travelling 12,000 kilometre across the world.
The Scousers are the youngest pair in this year’s race, though they are certain that their youth has been a help, rather than a hindrance, along the way. “People are more inclined to help – or at least give you their attention,” says Jo. “I think the other teams underestimated us as well, just because we’re not as experienced in travel. It was nice being the underdog.”
The childhood friends have become fan favourites over the past eight weeks, impressing us with an emotional maturity, intelligence and sense of self beyond their years. While Jo has had a more relaxed attitude to the race, Kush can be highly strung and anxious, but rather than causing tension, their differences have made them the perfect, supportive teammates.
The race got off to a good start for the lads. They completed the first journey to Fiskardo, Greece, in second place, 20 hours and 12 minutes behind then-race leaders Katie and Harrison. But it all fell apart on the next leg to Istanbul. After taking work with local fishermen to top up their budget (and not realising that it meant working throughout the night), the pair arrived in the Turkish seaside town of Ayvalik to find out all the buses to Istanbul had already sold out. They finally arrived at the checkpoint in last place, with the threat of elimination hanging over them for leg three. “We were completely defeated,” says Jo.
