I saw Steve Fugate on the side of the road in the middle of the Californian desert in January. In 1999, lost his son to suicide. A few years later, he lost his daughter to a drug overdose. At sixty-four years old, he has walked across the United States seven times to raise awareness for depression and suicide and to inspire people he meets to “love life.” After fourteen years and 34,000 miles of walking, Steve continues his quest to heal his heart and the hearts of those in need one step at a time.

“When love fills your life all limitations are gone. The medicine this sick world needs so badly is love.” ~Peace Pilgrim

Follow Steve on Facebook: facebook.com/lovelifewalk

To learn more: lovelifewalk.com

Since shooting with Steve, I’ve begun following his posts on Facebook and it amazes me how positive he chooses to stay everyday. We all have good days but his commitment to making everyday his best is inspiring.

I asked him what his secret was to walking such a long way and he replied,”tenacity…. tenacity and lots of zip-ties”

When I first met Steve he was unsure of where the next place to get water was so I gave him some out of my 5 gallon jug. After that we started talking and I learned about his story.

For hydration, he’s drilled a hole in an Igloo sports cooler and inserted a plastic tube which he runs along the metal frame of the cart to one of his shoulder straps.