Childhood friends cross SA for a cause close to home

Documentary filmmaker and photographer Joshua Rubin known on social media as ‘joshwideawake’, had been dreaming about travelling around South Africa for years. But it took the leukaemia diagnosis of a child in his family to turn that dream into a journey with a purpose. 

Rubin recently spent weeks travelling the country with his childhood best friend, Daniel Schultz. They set out to explore South Africa, meet people, experience places they’d never seen, and raise money for two-year-old Ethan, who has leukaemia. 

The fundraising journey had a R200 000 target. Rubin has since increased that to R250 000 after donations surpassed the original goal. At the time of the interview, the new target had not yet been reached, but Rubin said they were close. 

“I’ve never done a trip around South Africa,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in doing.” The idea had been developing for some time. Rubin said his life had begun to feel monotonous, with much of his time spent filming videos before returning home to edit them for weeks. “I just didn’t really like that kind of way of life anymore,” he said. 

When his cousin told him that his son, Ethan, had been diagnosed with leukaemia, it provided the final motivation to make the trip happen. Rubin and Schultz spent about two months planning activities and encounters in each province, but flexibility became essential as they travelled. 

We Buy Cars provided them with a vehicle for the journey. 

“We just took the whole thing day by day,” Rubin said. They would wake up, find accommodation, drive several hours, and try to make contact with people they wanted to meet. By the end of the journey, Rubin said, they had managed to do almost everything they had planned. 

The trip was expensive, particularly because of the amount of driving involved. Fuel became a significant cost. The experience also challenged some of Rubin’s expectations about travelling in South Africa. Safety had been one of his concerns before leaving, particularly because they were carrying valuable equipment and travelling in a vehicle provided by a company. Instead, Rubin said, they had felt safe throughout most of the journey. “I think the biggest takeaway is that South Africa is actually a lot safer for travellers than most people think it is,” he said. 

One of the more unusual stops was Ponte City in Johannesburg, the cylindrical residential tower that has become one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. Rubin had visited the building before, but had never stayed there. During the trip, he decided it would be an interesting place to spend a night. 

Rubin was also determined to visit Clifford, a man known online as the “caveman” of Wilderness. Rubin had first heard about Clifford from a friend several years ago and subsequently travelled to Wilderness to make a video about him. He had not seen him since. Rubin and Schultz decided at the beginning of their journey that seeing Clifford would be a fitting way to end their trip. They eventually did exactly that. 

The journey also brought an unexpected addition to Rubin’s family. Near the end of the trip, the pair found an 11-year-old golden retriever, Mia. After getting hold of the dog’s owner, who informed him that Mia had been missing for seven weeks, they had discussions that led Rubin to adopting her, and she has since joined his family. “She’s very sweet,” he said. The dog has cancer and had already undergone surgery, Rubin said, adding that she is receiving treatment. 

For Rubin and Schultz, however, the most significant part of the trip was not a destination or an unusual encounter. It was finally reaching Ethan. They saw him about a month into the journey and spent two days with him. Rubin had last seen Ethan towards the end of the previous year. 

The time apart had made the changes particularly striking. “Last time I saw him, he had hair and all that,” Rubin said. “It was before the diagnosis.” Yet Ethan remained recognisably himself. “He’s such a happy kid,” Rubin said. “Even with all the things he’s going through, he just wants to play, just wants to have fun.” 

The visit also gave them a glimpse of how unpredictable Ethan’s treatment can be. Rubin said they saw him during what was a good week, although Ethan also had difficult periods due to the effects of chemotherapy. While Rubin and Schultz were visiting, Ethan went in for chemotherapy. Rubin said he handled the treatment relatively well, but that it could affect him badly at times. 

The contrast between the scale of their journey and the reason for undertaking it remained central to Rubin. They stayed in unusual places, met strangers, and explored parts of a country they’d long wanted to see. But the journey remained connected to a young boy facing cancer. 

For Rubin, the trip was more than a road trip with a childhood friend. It combined a long-held personal ambition with a practical effort to support someone close to him. “I think it was just the right time to make it happen,” he said.