How Antarctica inspired Kunal Sanklecha to quit college and become an experiential educator

(April 14, 2024) When Kunal Sanklecha boarded the vessel at Ushuaia and set sail for Antarctica on a bright sunny day in March 2017, he was both excited and nervous. As the ship came close to crossing the Drake passage — one of the roughest seas in the world — Kunal was on the edge. Luckily, it was smooth sailing for the youngster, who soon arrived to the pristine views, even as the piercing cold winds have him a first taste of the hostile weather. “As a landscape, the place was stunning with rich wildlife relatively untouched by human activity but faced the consequences of our collective actions. This journey changed my life forever,” smiles Kunal, founder of Infinite Playground and adventurer, change maker and experiential educator, as he likes to describe himself, in a chat with Global Indian.

First trip abroad

Travel to Antarctica was way outside his comfort zone. “I was travelling outside India for the first time, meeting 80 different changemakers and adventurers from 32 different countries. It made me realize that despite our differences we were facing similar challenges across geographies,” says the 28-year-old, who battled temperatures of minus five degrees during his 24-day stay.

He was taken aback to see a portion of the Larsen B- ice shelf breaking right in front of him, much earlier than what was expected in the 2030s. “There was a colony of penguins displaced from the mainland floating in the middle of the vast ocean. It was symbolic of what we are doing to the natural world in the name of development,” says Kunal, who upon return from Antarctica, launched a campaign “Happy Feet” to collect, upcycle and donate 20,000 pairs of footwear, which were then distributed to less privileged children in schools across India.

Most of the passengers on board the ship were sea-sick, Kunal included. “Being on a ship and transferred to small raft-like boats daily was our daily routine of island hopping. The ship had all the amenities for food and shelter,” he says. He participated in the indoor sessions on wildlife, public speaking, leadership development and team building combined with outdoor excursions.

From Mumbai, he travelled to Dubai, Buenos Aires and boarded the vessel from Ushuaia for Antarctica. “Upon return, I shared my story with people on hikes, organized beach and mountain clean-ups around Mumbai, and gave talks wherever I was invited,” says Kunal, whose previous mountain expeditions include Mt Frey in Sikkim (2021), Friendship Peak (2018) and Deo Tibba (2022) in Himachal Pradesh, Satopanth in Uttarakhand (2022) and Lbuche in Nepal (2024). 

Making a difference 

Post his return, he continued volunteering and meeting change makers from different organizations across India associated with animal care shelters, permaculture farms, natural building and seeing self-sustainable communities. For him, the core idea remained the same — to travel, learn and make a difference.

He says Antarctica taught him that dreams do come true if one works for it. “It also gave me the self – belief to put my ideas into execution and see them come alive,” smiles the creator of the platform “The Infinite Playground.”

Antarctica visit also led Kunal to adopt a zero – waste, vegan, minimalist lifestyle and taking conscious actions while inspiring others to do the same.

The Infinite Playground

“I have been curating adventures for children and adults around Mumbai and sharing my learnings and experiences. I’ve also taken corporates, schools, people from the Indian Navy on team building treks and sailing around Mumbai,” says Kunal, about the platform he launched in 2018.

 

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A post shared by Kunal Sanklecha (@kunalsanklecha)

The experiential educator, as he calls himself, says his platform aims to spread joy and reconnect people living an urban lifestyle to the transformative power of Mother Nature through movement, hiking, slack-lining and earth-friendly adventures. “Children are my play buddies as they are not as fearful as adults. So to share adventures with them while educating them about sustainability and climate action through experiences, is how this company was born,” says Kunal. He collaborates with various schools and NGOs in Mumbai for the purpose.

Mountaineering

The Mumbai boy, who always had an interest in green technology and nature, began hiking in small hills and nature trails with the Bombay Natural History Society ((BNHS) around Mumbai in school days, with siblings and friends. However, the real journey only began after 12th grade when he started exploiting the Sahyadris and Himalayan mountains including Roopkund, Chadar, Dodital among others.

“I was curious about nature and animals and went to see flamingos in the city, adopted caterpillars and waited for every opportunity to get outdoors,” says Kunal, who would often be immersed in reading travel and nature magazines, newspaper articles about mountaineers, explorers and adventurers, for hours at a stretch.

He even completed his basic mountaineering course from NIM (Nehru Institute of Mountaineering), Uttarkashi and Advanced mountaineering course from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. Even as he was delving deep into what he liked the most, he was still thinking about engineering and the MBA option. But it was soon disrupted by the world of outdoor adventures and meeting some very inspiring people on his travels.

In the first year of engineering, Kunal’s hopes were shattered and he was fed up of how things were going ahead with higher education. So he did some research and made his journey a little more interesting by going after some exploratory ways of learning — volunteering with NGOs, interning at startups, running a half marathon, doing a mountaineering course and going for an exchange program, attending travel and sustainability meetups, seminars and conferences.

 

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A post shared by Kunal Sanklecha (@kunalsanklecha)

Learning outside classroom

“I was always outside the classroom, learning on – ground by meeting people. This is where the idea of going to Antarctica with Sir Robert Swan and his 2041 foundation for a social impact journey took shape,” informs Kunal.

Sir Robert Swan, the first person to walk to both the poles, also awarded Kunal and recognised his efforts in mobilising people towards climate action.

Kunal planned to give back to the NGOs and social enterprises he worked with using this adventure as a medium. Hungry to learn and grow, he gave himself a task, which was, to raise Rs nine lakh within six months for his Antarctica trip. “I wanted to use those skills and experiences to raise an equal amount of money in return for a cause. In the journey, I put myself outside my comfort zone by creating a crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness on climate change, waste management and sustainable living,” says the adventurer, who also gave talks on stage in return for money, organized trips for his juniors and small meet-ups and day events in the city to raise funds.

Anew beginning

He managed 80 per cent of the funds and for the remaining, he requested his father Mahendra Sanklecha to pitch in. And then, to his parents’ surprise, he dropped out of college.

“My parents were shocked initially, as I’d been among the bright students in school and come from a middle class family, without any big family business,” says Kunal, who started working with adventure travel companies after the Antarctic journey. He felt he could not go back and fit in with college lectures and assignments.

“Moreover, my college wanted me to repeat a year due to low attendance – it was a no-brainer for me to choose growth over an unconscious environment of learning. I walked out,” says Kunal, who was awarded by Sir Robert Swan, the first person to walk to both the poles, for his efforts in mobilising people towards climate action.

Scuba diving

 

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A post shared by Kunal Sanklecha (@kunalsanklecha)

Kunal is a scuba diver as well. Last month, he was scuba diving in Maldives. “I love oceans as much as mountains, forests, deserts and other natural landscapes,” says Kunal, who recently completed his PADI (Professional association of Diving Instructors) advanced open water course.

That’s not all he has lined up. “I am keen on climbing an 8000m peak to challenge myself and amplify the work for causes which I’m passionate about,” informs the adventurer, who is passionate about cycling, gardening, slack lining and acro yoga.

• Follow Kunal Sanklecha on Instagram