Member Article

DJ lands A Gig At The Coldest Place On Earth

A young DJ will be swapping nightclubs for icebergs after winning a once-in-a-lifetime chance to join a renowned polar explorer on an expedition to Antarctica. 22-year old Oli Pattenden of Newcastle secured a place on the international voyage, led by explorer Robert Swan, after surviving a gruelling X Factor style audition on Saturday – dubbed The Chill Factor. Over 50 young people aged 18-30 entered Aspire’s ‘Pole Position’ competition to win a trip to the South Pole through the nerd-world website. Twenty-four shortlisted candidates were invited to attend Saturday’s selection event at Newcastle night spot Tiger Tiger. Here team games and gruelling interviews with a judging panel helped to whittle the group down to one winner who will be Aspire’s ambassador on the South Pole trip by Aspire. Oli Pattenden, who currently coordinates, promotes and plays Monday night sets at Newcastle’s Digital nightclub as DJ Patten, will join North East-born Robert Swan as he travels to the South Pole to prepare for the opening of the first ever education base there. The 16-day voyage on an ice-strengthened vessel will give the team the chance to learn about the fragile ecosystem, observe wildlife and learn leadership and team skills. On his return, Oli will have a key role in feeding back what he has learnt for the benefit of schools across the North East. As an ambassador for the Aspire campaign, Oli will also help raise aspirations of the region’s young people, highlighting the wealth of opportunities available to them. Robert Swan - the North East’s own internationally renowned polar explorer, adventurer and special UN ambassador for the environment and youth - has been so impressed by the Aspire programme – which aims to create a culture-change amongst young people in the North East – that he has also persuaded its executive director Deborah Carrington to accompany him on the expedition in February 2006. The 2006 expedition is the precursor to a much bigger trip in 2007, in which more young people will join the voyage. Oli said: “It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind – on Saturday morning my life was totally normal – and now I’ve got three weeks to prepare to become a polar explorer! “I just can’t wait to experience it all – and to have the chance to share that with others on my return means it’s hopefully not just my life it’ll make a difference to. If I can inspire other young people from the North East that would be great.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .