Kyle’s journey across the Atlantic to support the brain tumour community

Kyle Wills has never been one to back down from a challenge.

Having struggled with depression in his early 20s, Kyle found direction in achieving the goals he’d set for himself. He started out doing five-kilometre runs with friends, which turned into 10-kilometre runs, then 100-kilometre runs. His last race took him 160 kilometres through the Swiss Alps, with more than 10,500 metres of elevation gain.

Always looking for the next challenge, Kyle then got his scuba diving license and his skydiving license—the latter of which happened after he tried skydiving at a birthday party and decided to sign up for lessons on the spot.

He lived in Toronto at the time, near Billy Bishop airport, and one day found himself staring up at the planes while he kayaked close to home. Naturally, he pulled out his phone and began looking up flight schools in the area. Within the hour, Kyle was en route to a flight school, where he signed up for—and later achieved—his pilot’s license.

“Just go for it”

“I’ve always told myself to just go for it,” Kyle, who’s since moved to Vancouver, says. “Go for everything. Don’t ask questions about it. If you get that feeling that you want to do it—do it.”

It was an Instagram post that led Kyle to his next adventure.

The post was on The World’s Toughest Row, which is touted as the world’s premier ocean rowing event. Kyle began researching, connected with the race director and put down a deposit the next day for the 2026 race, which will see him row 4,800 kilometres solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Typically, campaigns to participate in The World’s Toughest Row take two to three years, which aligns with Kyle’s signup in 2023. In that time, he’s recruited sponsors and experienced life-altering news that also impacted his plans to participate.

Showing support

“My best friend, a person I have known for 30 years, someone who has been in my life since before I could even form memories, collapsed at work with a seizure,” Kyle says.

His friend was rushed to the hospital, where doctors found a lime-sized growth on the right frontal lobe of his brain. He underwent surgery for a grade 2 astrocytoma, though doctors were unable to remove it in its entirety without risking severe and lasting neurological damage.

Kyle grew up on the same street in London, Ont., with his friend, whose future wife was another neighbour. Now, the family is raising their six-month-old daughter, with Kyle referring to himself as “a strong third wheel.”

“Every time I go back to London, they’re one of the first stops I make,” Kyle says. “I’d like to keep steering this little tricycle by using this opportunity to raise money for Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.”

Kyle has set a goal of $150,000, while also raising funds for Toronto’s SickKids Hospital.

“I’m doing this in support of my friend, and for anyone else affected by a brain tumour, in the hopes that one day there are new, better treatments and, in a perfect world, a cure,” he says. “I am also doing this for his family, who are my family, and for a daughter who deserves a full life of memories with her father.”

Kyle’s toughest challenge yet

He’ll set out in December 2026, rowing solo and fully self-supported from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean. Kyle says he’s the first Canadian to make the trek solo in about 25 years, which is what makes sponsorship so difficult.

“This race is well known in Europe,” he says, “but not so much in Canada.”

Equipped with a boat that can take on 30-foot waves and a GPS tracking system, Kyle is ready for his toughest challenge so far.

He plans to row for two hours and sleep for two hours each day until he crosses the finish line—40 to 60 days later, according to his projection.

“The average time for a solo trip of this nature is 60 days,” Kyle says. “The world record is 30. I’ll never rule out the idea of going for a world record and hoping it takes 30 days, but I’m prepared for up to 120 days, just in case.”

Training for the future

He’s been training in the Vancouver weather, which is thankfully more rain than snow.

“The funny thing is, the hard part of this race is making it to the race,” he says. “The race is the vacation from it all.”

When he returns to solid ground, Kyle will work as a firefighter.

“I was scrolling Instagram and this firefighting stuff came up,” Kyle says. “I decided to do a boot camp to train as a firefighter.”

Kyle certainly lives by his motto, “just go for it.”

He’s currently working in the film industry and volunteering when he’s able to, until The World’s Toughest Row is done and he can commit to joining the firefighting team full time.

“I’m taking it as it comes,” Kyle says, “and if I can raise some money for a good cause and support a good friend while I’m at it, all the better.”

Follow Kyle’s progress and support his efforts at OutoftheOrdinary.ca.