New York man who’d barely left the Tri-State walks 2,500 miles to San Francisco: ‘Pretty extreme’

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He’s taking the long way around.

New York native Chantz Rivera hasn’t traveled much. Until recently, the 29-year-old had only left the Tri-State area a handful of times. Now, Chantz is walking all the way from New York to San Francisco, and documenting the 2,500-mile journey on TikTok.

“When I was 18, I went to Florida for a week. When I was 24 or 25, I went to Washington, D.C., for a weekend. Other than that, I have just been in New York, the Tri-State area,” Rivera told KRON.

Rivera began his journey on May 31, and finally made it to the California border on Thursday, day 137 of his trek.

“I am trying to just be more free-willed. Just getting out more and being more adventurous,” said Rivera.

On a typical day, the Bronx resident says he walks anywhere from 15 to 30 miles.

“I chose to walk because I feel like you can see more like that, even though I know it’s pretty extreme. It helps mentally and spiritually, I guess,” said Rivera.

The New Yorker’s videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok. And along the way, River has encountered kind supporters cheering him on.

“A lot of human kindness… Almost every big city I go to, somebody reaches out and wants to support and help me out,” said Rivera.

People have offered Rivera free housing, haircuts, and a pair of shoes. He’s even launched a GoFundMe campaign for donations to support his journey, netting over $10k in donations.

“The coolest thing I have seen is probably like natural rainbows. You don’t really get rainbows like that in New York. It was pretty cool seeing those, and the mountains were pretty cool. I have never seen mountains before… It’s like I don’t have to see it on TV no more or YouTube; I’m like in it,” said Rivera.

In his latest videos posted over the weekend, Rivera arrives in Sacramento, around 87 miles from San Francisco. When he finally arrives in San Francisco, Rivera says he plans to spend several days in the city being a tourist.

“I just think I am just going to be a tourist; I am going to get there and probably get a motel or hotel and just see the city. Go to the beach, chill in the crib, hang out with the people,” he said.

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