After years of sitting behind a computer in a career in marketing, former College Pipes and Drums Pipe Major, Duncan Roberts (’03), found himself getting to the end of his days and wondering, “How am I making the world a better place? Am I living life to the fullest or am I just on the hamster wheel keeping my head above water?”

This realisation lit a fire in him, a desire to do good in the world whilst also living a life full of adventure. “Life is fickle,” he thought, “I want to make sure that I leave the world a better place when I’m gone and leave people with a good story to tell about me at the end of it all!”

He then needed to figure out how and where to direct this energy. His light-bulb moment was a simple one: Just head off into a really remote part of the world, do some wacky challenges, all the while raising funds and awareness for different charities. And just like that, the concept of DuncanDOES was born.

In May 2023, Duncan successfully completed his first DuncanDOES challenge: skating 1,400 kilometres around Iceland in 38 days to raise funds for Sea Shepherd Australia, a non-profit marine conservation organisation that defends our oceans from illegal exploitation.

Even as the spring pushed into summer, there was a constant threat of the elements in the Icelandic countryside. The wind, rain and low temperatures meant that many situations on Duncan’s skateboard became quite life threatening, especially moving through big mountain passes. Although most days were long and gruelling, Duncan made it a priority to “enjoy the journey, rather than the result”

For this challenge, Duncan partnered with livin.org, a Gold Coast organisation working to remove the stigma around mental health with the motto: It ain’t weak to speak.

The two-kilometre swim through the dark and deep loch, that reached as low as six degrees in pockets, was a harrowing experience for Duncan. Upon reaching his target of Urquhart Castle on the western bank of Loch Ness, Duncan refuelled, warmed up and donned his trusty Black Watch kilt for the ascent up Ben Nevis. Once the arduous ascent from Fort William was complete, Duncan pulled out his bagpipes for special rendition of the well-known Scottish song, Devil’s Pulpit. DuncanDOES – all done!

The best place to follow along and support Duncan’s adventures is on Instagram at @skatingforchange.