Nobody asks an office worker to write a book

The cliché about every person having a story to tell might seem extreme. But occasionally, you meet that one person, who turns the cliché into a full-blown truth.

During the traditional Vogler-family Christmas skiing holiday at Lake Tahoe, California, Mark Vogler discovered a photographer’s exhibition with photographs of heliskiing in Antarctica. And he thought to himself:
“Wait a minute: This guy’s an artist. I’m in technology, making very good money. If he can go, I can go!”

And six weeks later, Mark Vogler was on a ship travelling to Antarctica for the first time.

This might seem like a coincidence – but you haven’t heard the half of it.

EVERYTHING LINES UP

I met 55-year-old Mark Vogler coincidently in a German class in Munich a few weeks ago. And today I’m meeting him again to hear more about his life changing decision some years back.

Mark Vogler shows up in a blue t-shirt, Adidas trekking shoes, sunglasses and a pair of trekking shorts – even though everyone else in the Hofgarten, Munich, are wearing winter coats, long trousers, and winter boots. But Mark has the “polar fever” and he’s used to much colder temperatures.

After working his butt off in firstly the film industry and then technology in Silicon Valley for a total of 20 years, he took a trip to Alaska north of the Arctic Circle.

“It was the first time I saw a polar bear, the frozen ocean, the midnight sun. And I thought, I have to now go south of the Antarctic circle. But I never thought I could do that – I’m not a scientist.”

This takes us back to the beginning of this story. After five years of researching how he could go south of the Antarctic circle, the stars and the planets lined up. His employer forced him to take a vacation, and he saw the “poor” artist with the Antarctica exhibition, so Mark Vogler decided to call a tour company.

“It all came together. The ship I wanted, the dates I could take vacation and the location – and there was one spot available on the ship,” he tells me.
And even more fairy tale like; the flight to Argentina had one seat available on both dates there and back on the flights.

“It was destiny, I think. So, I went!”

THE POLAR FEVER

As Mark Vogler came back from the trip, he couldn’t stop talking about or writing about – and he began blogging about it. Even today he can’t stop talking about it.

“I’m sorry – did I even answer your question,” is one of his most used phrases.

Yes and no is my answer to his counter question. But the main thing about the conversations you have with him, is that they’re inspiring. Only a few people I know can speak about their job and their life with the same passion and empathy, as Mark Vogler can.

Anyway – Mark Vogler was warned by a friend, that he would get the “polar fever” and never would be able to stop thinking about it. And the friend was right. Mark wanted to go back!

A year and half later he caught a lucky break: the same company from his first Antarctica-trip had noticed his writing which was picked up by a shipping magazine.

“If we sponsor you to the Arctic (red.: Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard), will you come do this content creation for us? Let me think about it, yes,” Mark tells followed by a warm laugh.

This trip coincidently happened to be on the same ship as the first trip was – ‘Vavilov’ it’s called, and you can now read it on Marks right underarm.

“The ship, the vessel, that literally changed the course of my life.”

COURAGE AND HARD WORK

On this trip Mark Vogler realized that people get paid to do this.

And after about five years of going back and forth between travelling and writing about it, doing his tech job on a freelance basis now, taking boating safety classes and even working as a janitor, cleaning toilets at the infamous McMurdo research station in Antarctica – Mark Vogler finally got his dream job as a polar expedition guide.

But what put him over the edge after really pushing towards his dream? I hadn’t asked Mark this yet, but he decided to help me interview himself:

“You didn’t ask the question, but what comes to mind is: a friend of mine asked me, probably that famous or cliché question: ‘Mark, if you were on your deathbed, what would you regret?’
The answer was immediate: ‘Not being brave enough to go to Germany, study German, and work in Antarctica.’ And in that moment, I knew I had to do it.”

He gave up his partner, sold his house, and moved his world here to study German (to become bilingual) and live between the two Poles. All because he didn’t want to have that regret of not being brave enough to do it.

A lot of people have asked him to write a book about all of it and calling him an inspiration.

“And then it occurred to me: Nobody asks office workers to write a book,” Mark sums up:

“But I don’t consider myself any inspiration. I just had to do it for me. And here I am, being interviewed, not shutting up!”.