It is hot and noisy inside the blacksmith workshop. Sarsenbay Kotyrashov, a 76-year-old blacksmith, wipes the sweat from his forehead as he works with a piece of hot iron.
“There is a Kazakh verse that goes: ‘I’m as soft as iron and as white as coal,’” Kotyrashov says with a laugh.
There is something of the iron he works with in his own character. Kotyrashov was introduced to blacksmithing at an early age and has practised the craft ever since. Years of hard physical work seem reflected in the strength and endurance that now take him far beyond his workshop.
“I had never travelled far in my life. But it is never too late to travel. Age doesn’t matter,” Kotyrashov says.
In 2022, he finally set out on his first long-distance journey. Starting in his native Ulytau region, Kotyrashov crossed Kazakhstan entirely on foot. His route took him through the south of the country, then east and north, before finishing in the west, on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Aktau.
The 8,000-kilometre journey took him six months. By the end of it, Kotyrashov realised he could go even further. He decided to push himself beyond Kazakhstan’s borders and, for the first time in his life, set foot in another country.
Later, setting off from Atyrau in western Kazakhstan, Kotyrashov crossed into Russia and continued through the Caucasus, eventually reaching Türkiye and Istanbul. Along the way, he met people from different cultures and saw places he had never visited before. The experience only fuelled his appetite for more.
By then, Kotyrashov had adopted the nickname Ulytauman, a reference to his native region. His distinctive look — a lean but strong figure in a hat, pulling a suitcase covered with stickers from the places he had visited — became increasingly recognisable. People began posting photos and videos of him on social media and stopping him for selfies along the way.
His next destination was China. Setting off from Oskemen in eastern Kazakhstan, Kotyrashov made his way through Russia’s Altai region and Mongolia before reaching Beijing. The journey eventually brought him to one of China’s most famous landmarks, where he posed for a photograph on the Great Wall.
On his latest journey, in 2026, Kotyrashov secured funding, obtained a Schengen visa and walked through five European countries. He started in Belgrade, Serbia, then continued through Hungary, Austria and Germany before reaching Paris, France, covering around 3,000 kilometres in 53 days.
Kotyrashov recounts the long list of countries he has crossed on foot almost like a tale, moving from one place to another and drawing his listener into the journey.
But as he retraces his journeys from memory, he also recalls some of their most difficult moments. “Once, I spent three and a half days out in the wilderness without food or water. It turns out a person can endure it. If you have the will and desire to live, you can endure anything,” he says.
Then the conversation takes a lighter turn as Kotyrashov shifts to one of his most recognisable travel companions — his signature leather hat.
“I’ve travelled through five European countries wearing this. Now, God willing, I’ll conquer America next,” he says.
Now, Kotyrashov is preparing to walk across eight US states in 2027, travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The journey is part of a bigger ambition. Kotyrashov says he hopes to enter Guinness World Records by covering more than 40,000 kilometres on foot after the age of 75.
With a mischievous smile, Kotyrashov adds: “I don’t consider myself old. Until I complete this plan and make it into the Guinness World Records, I won’t consider myself old.”