From August to January, Fitzgerald is one of the best wide receivers in football. The rest of the time, the eight-time Pro Bowler for the Arizona Cardinals travels the world to sandboard volcanoes, trek at high altitude, and ice climb.
STARTING YOUNG: “My family traveled a lot from our home in Minnesota. I remember my parents taking us on a cruise to the Bahamas, to the Statue of Liberty, down to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi. We didn’t have the means to do the international thing, but they tried to help us gain some perspective and experience by traveling when we could.”
HURTS SO GOOD: “When I went ice climbing in Slovenia, my hands were sore, my back was sore. I was using muscles I’d never really used before.”
INTO THIN AIR: “The couple-day hike up to Machu Picchu was pretty tough. The air is so thin. That was one of the tougher things I’ve experienced physically.”
SPRING BREAK: “Since I can only really travel January through early April, I’ve hit everything you can imagine in the Southern Hemisphere. This year I flew down to the southernmost point of Chile, then took a plane over the Drake Passage and landed on a Chilean base in Antarctica. I saw unbelievable penguin colonies and sea lions. Incredible photos.”
INTO THE WILD: “I carry two with me at all times and a . I love wildlife photography. I’ve been on ten safaris. The last one to South Africa was pretty special because I saw rhinos in their natural habitat.”
ROUGHING IT… SORT OF: “I love being outdoors, I just don’t like camping. I’ll go out and rough it all day, but I like to come home to clean sheets and a hot shower.”