Davey du Plessis, a firm believer in environmentalism and veganism has inspired many with his message of courage, determination and perseverance. In an interview with SMF News, Du Plessis opens up about how his love for the environment has created opportunities for him to be an entrepreneur, adventurer, speaker and author.
“I realised that adventure can become a platform that people are interested in because it is natural, different and out of the norm,” says Davey du Plessis, founder of Herbivore Earthfoods, adventurer, speaker and author. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
For Davey du Plessis, his love for adventure and exploration stems from his love for the environment, African bush veld and the wild, which created a space for Davey to spread awareness about environmentalism and veganism.
Davey, born in 1988 in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, is the founder of Herbivore Earthfoods.
In addition to being an entrepreneur, Davey is also an adventurer, author and speaker.
Davey’s family moved to Durban when he was a child. In Durban he explored the outdoors and developed a love for adventure as the wild fascinated him, he says.
After completing his schooling, he started a business of promoting a plant-based vegan lifestyle and selling products. He moved back to Cape Town in the hopes of growing his business and reaching a bigger market.
Adventures and Challenges
Davey says his mission was not about adventures or exploration, but about making people aware of the importance of saving and preserving the environment.
“When I first met Davey I was really intrigued and inspired by his passion to raise awareness on veganism and animal liberation. It was the first time I learnt about veganism and Davey was actually the catalyst for my journey into health and a plant-based diet,” says Chanel Grantham, co-founder of Herbivore Earthfoods, and Davey’s wife.
Davey’s first adventure happened by chance, when he overheard a friend of his, Andrea Nethercote explaining how her brother Ricki Nethercote and his group was planning a four-month cycling trip around the continent of Africa: from Egypt to South Africa. The cycle was going to be a 10, 000 km cycling project called “Through Africa for Africa”.
“I thought to myself that this cycle sounded cool, so I asked if I could join,” says Davey.
Fortunately for Davey, Ricki’s teammates had pulled out from the project, and Davey was allowed to join.
“I was hoping to use the project to promote a plant-based, vegan diet and lifestyle, while also admiring the beauty of nature and all it had to offer,” says Davey.
When Davey first told his then girlfriend and now wife about his adventure of cycling through Africa she was blown away, she says.
“I thought to myself that this guy is either crazy, or a maverick,” says Chanel.
In February 2011, Davey and Ricki embarked on the African project, through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa, says Davey.
After returning to South Africa, Davey realised the potential of combining his love for adventure with his mission of spreading awareness about the environment.
He saw that he could start a career out of it, and began thinking of his next adventure as he enjoyed the physical and mental challenge, he says.
He wanted his next adventure to be in a place which was wild and had untouched natural life, as he did not like cities. During the Africa project the idea of cycling through the bush veld and seeing elephants and other endemic African wildlife intrigued him, he explains.
Davey did not see elephants roaming around, as the wild had been decimated. Instead he saw farms with goats and cows, he says.
Davey du Plessis’s adventures were emotionally tough for his mother, as she had to keep things together, as his only support system. When he was on his adventures she kept herself busy by exercising and staying healthy, says Robyn Wolff, Davey’s mother. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
Trekking through the Amazon
In 2012, Davey decided to look for an African country which still had a lot of wildlife in it, since he had only cycled part of Africa. Initially he thought about Congo, but Congo was too dangerous as it was experiencing an ongoing civil war, he says.
He settled on doing a five-month solo source-to-sea navigation of the Amazon forest by trekking through the Amazon River in South America, he adds.
The idea of trekking through the Amazon was inspired by a wildlife documentary about South America. Davey developed a fascination with the Amazon rainforest and the creatures endemic to the region, he says.
The possibility of exploring the Amazon region’s biodiversity and witnessing its variety of brightly coloured snakes, insects, monkeys, birds and other animal life strongly drew him to the region.
The ambush
While paddling in the Peruvian jungle in his kayak Davey was ambushed.
He felt a forceful impact slam into his back. His arms shot up and his arms opened, catapulting the paddle into the air, he says.
He fell into the water, capsizing his kayak. Davey laid motionless in the water, his senses non responsive for what felt like a long time, he adds.
When he came to, his senses were slowly returning when he caught a glimpse of the men that had attacked him standing at a distance, he says.
Using the last bit of energy and strength that he had left, he managed to get out of the water and ran into the jungle.
He realised that he had been shot but was not aware of the extent of his injuries, he adds.
While running away from his attackers, Davey saw some men, who ended up helping him and taking him to their village.
Language however became a barrier, as Davey was not very fluent in Spanish and could not explain what had happened to him, but after seeing the seriousness of his injuries, the local people gave Davey sugar water which helped remove the bitter taste of blood from his mouth, he says.
An old woman wiped his body with warm water and a sponge, this was when Davey realised that he had been shot in the head, neck, abdomen and the chest, he says.
He was given a bed, blanket and was also wrapped in a plastic sheet. However, the village had no doctors and no basic first aid kit.
Davey was then transported to a nearby village in Pucallpa which had a community doctor.
After seeing the extent of his injuries, he was taken to a hospital in Pucallpa which was a day and a half away from the village, he says.
However, the hospital was not equipped to treat Davey’s injuries, and he had to be flown to Anglo Americana Hospital in central Lima.
Although Davey du Plessis’s wild adventures have now changed trajectory into fatherhood and a business journey, he still carries with him the same maverick spirit to disrupt and change the status quo for the better, according to his wife Chanel Grantham. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
An unexpected call
While at the hospital, Davey managed to phone his mother.
“When I heard about Davey’s accident it was on a Sunday night and it was terrifying as everything was closed and I was alone. It felt like my blood was being drained,” says Robyn Wolff, Davey’s mother.
Robyn flew to Peru.
Scans showed that Davey had 22 pellets lodged in his body and that his lungs were full of blood.
The main injuries were a punctured heart, punctured lung, punctured windpipe and punctured carotid artery, as well as severe internal bleeding.
Davey had a number of surgeries to remove the pellets lodged in his body, he says.
He spent over a month in and out of the hospital, before he was discharged, says Robyn.
‘Choosing to Live’
Davey always had a great love for books and had hopes of one day writing a book, but he always felt like he didn’t have a story to write, he says. This was until the Amazon project.
After his ordeal in South America, he documented his journey in his book, “Choose to Live”.
“The inspiration behind the book was that I now had a story”, he says.
Davey realised that the adventure was a small part of what the story was about, and it took the shape of a motivational story.
It motivated others to choose living despite their circumstances and to take a step towards individual responsibility.
“When I started writing the book, I remembered the time when I was shot and telling myself that ‘If you’re going to live, you’re going to have to choose to live as this is your decision now’. And that was how the title came about,” says Davey.
Adventurer, author and speaker Davey du Plessis says he was influenced by self-help books and ‘Choose to live’ was a way for him to remind people that the dark times they are in will not last forever, as they have a choice to pick themselves up. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
TEDx Talk
In 2013, Davey was invited to share his experiences in South America with audiences around the world at a TEDx event in Cape Town.
“TEDx was still a very new platform, and when I told my story, I’d get quite emotional because I was still wearing the story. I hadn’t really disassociated myself from it,” says Davey.
The talk acted like an invisible therapy session as Davey was forced to confront and relive his experience, he says.
“When I first read Choose to Live, I was going through a very difficult time in my life, but after reading Davey’s story, I found hope and strength,” says a fan Nicole Faulman, who read Choose to live.
Final adventures
In 2016, Davey attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a pedal-boat with his mother.
“The trip only lasted for 2 to 3 days as my mum got severe sea sickness and had to be rescued,” says Davey.
His last adventure projects were in 2017 with a group of cycling enthusiasts, when they cycled 1000 km in South Africa and 1000 km in Botswana.
When you have a family and two young kids, risky adventures bring a lot of constant worry and anxiety, said Davey du Plessis’s wife Chanel Grantham, co-founder of Herbivore Earthfoods. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
“I have a family now, and going away for several months is not fair on them, as they will be worrying about me while I’m enjoying myself”, says Davey, who is a father of two kids, aged three and seven respectively.
When Davey misses the wild, he takes a camping trip to Botswana where he feels a connection with the wild, or goes surfing in Kommetjie, Cape Town.
These days Davey is mostly involved in his business Herbivore Earthfoods where they produce plant-based foods, he says.
The products include dairy-free milk alternatives and desserts, confectionery and protein alternatives.