Pop star Mike Posner shared the details of his walk across America in an Instagram reel shared Sunday.
Posner set out from Asbury Park, New Jersey on April 15, 2019, to walk across America, largely alone, according to Time. He traveled some 2,851 miles on his journey to Venice, California, walking as many as 30 miles a day.
In a video shared on Instagram, a long-haired Posner showed clips of himself cut together as he made the journey. At some point, a baby rattlesnake bit him and put his journey on hold.
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According to the post, Posner was told that he might not survive the bite, and he could lose his leg. Though baby rattlesnakes technically have less venom than their adult counterparts, the venom in their bites is far more concentrated, according to the Snake Bite Foundation.
Posner had to learn how to walk again while recovering from the bite, according to the post. Once he could do so without the assistance of a walker, he continued his journey across the country and finally reached the Pacific Ocean. (RELATED: Major Pop Star Shawn Mendes Cancels Tour, Citing Mental Health Break)
“I walked to become someone I’m actually proud of,” Posner wrote in the on-screen captions of his post. He told Time he felt “called to” to walk, and that he’d “spent a lot of my life trying to make things as comfortable as possible. In the walk, I was trying to do the opposite. What happens then is that you become a better, harder, more authentic version of yourself.”
Posner shot to fame in 2010 with the release of his international hit anthem “Cooler Than Me.” He hit the top ranks of the charts again in 2016 with “I Took A Pill In Ibiza.” He also wrote a slew of hit songs for other artists, according to his website.