Mike Posner Is Climbing Mt. Everest in Honor of His Late Father

Mike Posner is taking on a new challenge.

The 33-year-old musician spoke with People about climbing the tallest mountain in the world as a tribute to his father.

In 2019, Mike began a 2,800-mile, 13-state walk across the United States, beginning in Asbury Park, New Jersey with the goal of reaching Venice Beach, California.

During the trek, he was bitten by a rattlesnake and had to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment.

Mike told People the experience, “Obliterated who I thought I was as a human and what I thought I was capable of.”

Realizing he wanted to continue pushing himself, he decided to climb Mt. Everest and started training with Dr. John Kedrowski ahead of attempting to reach the mountain’s summit.

“I’m comfortable with the risks, especially given the work I’ve put in,” Mike said. “My goal is to go over there and have fun. This is like a journey of a lifetime.”

“The thing about risks is we are going to die anyways. We’re all gonna die. My dad is dead. Avicii is dead. Mac Miller‘s dead. One day I’ll be dead,” he explained.

“Hopefully not any time soon,” he added. “But before that happens, I want to live. I want to live my life. So I’m comfortable with the risk after doing the research.”

In honor of his late father, Mike will also be partnering with the Detroit Justice Center and have raised over $175,000 for the organization so far.

“I was just blown away by the work they’re doing. I’m from Detroit and I want to help make it a better place or empower the people that are making it a better place. But simultaneously, I can honor my dad,” he shared.

Mike wrote about his experience walking across America in his song “Slow It Down.” Listen to the track here!