Barefoot Axel Pons “not aware” of viral video, “did not want” fame

A recent video of Axel Pons prompted shock at how a former motorcycle racer had embarked on somewhat of a religious pilgrimage.

The ex-Moto2 rider has spent six years walking from Spain to Pakistan, he explained.

His father is Sito Pons, the former 250cc champion who has been a regular in the MotoGP paddock over the years.

“He began to explain to us that he needed to walk, see the world, understand the philosophy of life, of religions and he began his journey,” Sito told Motorsport.

“Every day he gets up at five in the morning, does meditation and yoga, and starts walking.

“You need a lot of discipline, plus he doesn't go to hotels and only travels with a backpack, with the bare minimum.”

Axel Pons’ plan is to reach Pakistan by foot but he encountered visa issues at the India border.

He has accumulated friends along the way who have joined his journey, his father said.

“He then decided to go to the Himalayas and spent five months there,” said Sito Pons.

“People began to go looking for him, to take photos and talk to him, a whole story, just what he did not want: he became famous and known there, and now it is happening to him here.

“It is so surprising and so amazing that it was foreseeable that it was going to go viral in Europe.

“And we have already seen what has happened these days, it has come out everywhere. Fortunately he is not aware of what is happening here.”

Axel Pons has no phone or social media during his travels but, his father explained, will call home whenever he is able to connect with the wider world.

His father travelled to North Macedonia to spend a week in a forest with his son last year.

Sito Pons insisted his son’s barefoot walk is “driven by love to understand the world from the human perspective by knowing different cultures and religions”.