Sameed Asghar has taken his love of hiking and is using it to support marginalised communities. He tells reporter Amina Ali how, despite facing a torrent of racist abuse on social media, he’s not letting it stop him spread the joy of his pastime
On the side of one of the tallest mountains in the world, 20-year-old Sameed Asghar is about to complete his first trek to Everest Base Camp.
But he prays it will be his last. Vomiting constantly and tired to the bone, he swears that he’ll never climb another mountain again. Not for as long as he lives.
Fast forward almost 20 years later, he leads a hiking group to the same place that traumatised him. Except, he’s a little more experienced now.
The 38-year-old is now the founder of Summit Special and BAME Mountain Leaders, companies that champion diversity in outdoor spaces.
Born in Birmingham, he admits he “hadn’t really explored the outdoors much” and “just stuck to local parks.”
It was after volunteering for the charity, Islamic Relief, that he found his passion for hiking.
“They did a sponsor challenge and we did a few days training in North Wales and the Lake District. I thought ‘oh my God, these places are amazing,’” says Sameed.
“I had discovered national parks for the first time. I didn’t even know what a national park was before then.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one. Research from many organisations has found that ethnic minorities have the least access to outdoor spaces compared to their White counterparts.
This could be for reasons such as the unavailability of transport, lack of knowledge of routes, safety concerns or family-related responsibilities, which Sameed talks about.
“We have a group which is mainly older South Asian women,” he explains.
“A lot of them are looking for escapism and hiking isn’t something they do themselves mainly due to transport and fear of navigating.
“But we take care of all that. So they can just have a good day in the mountains, not have to worry and make friends along the way. It’s quite heartwarming to see.”
One aspect he also raises is the lack of visible diversity in hiking groups, which research shows as another reason for the lack of ethnic minorities in outdoor spaces.
“At the time I started training to be a mountain lead, 99 per cent of mountain leaders were White,” Sameed explains.
“That’s why I was happy to see charities back then and now put on these challenges. It gets more people into the outdoors. With transport included, it makes the outdoors more accessible too.”
This is why Sameed aims to champion diversity in the outdoors through leading his hiking groups, who come from a wide range of backgrounds.
He admits that gaining the qualification to become an official mountain leader was hard work. The qualification included at least one year’s minimum hiking experience, 40 quality mountain days (which each have their own set of criteria) and a six-day training course which includes at least one night of wild camping.
So, it was clearly no easy feat.
“The training was amazing. It was fun, I loved it, had a good time and learned quite a bit,” Sameed says.
“But the assessment… bloody hell, the assessment! For me personally, it was more bloody anxiety.
“It’s not like an exam where you just do two hours and you go. This is days. You’re constantly being assessed. Somebody is watching you at all times. It’s a bit intense.”
Post assessment stress, Sameed now leads groups to various hikes up and down the country. He now documents his hikes on TikTok where he’s managed to reach more than 27,000 followers.
Sameed started using Instagram and TikTok in early 2024 to showcase the hikes he takes with groups to inspire others.
“It’s really fun,” he says. “I get DMs all the time from people saying my posts have inspired them to get their hiking boots on and go outdoors, which is really nice.”
However, with positive attention also comes negativity.
“I had the first barrage of comments about a year ago when I posted a video of me taking a group hiking,” he recounts.
The video is a playful one, with Sameed using commentary from the Euros and clips of the group kicking a football. The video amassed more than 80,000 views as well as a lot of upsetting comments.
“We were on the White Cliffs of Dover, so I had comments saying it was the Brown Cliffs of Dover, and things like that.
“Most of the comments I laugh at. But other ones are just ignorant and silly. It’s crazy,” he adds.
Instead of shying away and ignoring the comments, Sameed takes them in his stride.
“I’ve got a response to every single comment,” he says.
“For example, somebody commented ‘why is this a Muslim-only group. I’ve never heard of a white hiking group.’ And then I’ve got videos where I’ve taken a group, and you can see they’re all white people.
“With my replies, some might think that I’m rage baiting (eliciting outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic and engagement). But that’s not really my intention.
“My posts are literally just ‘here’s my group and we’re out hiking.’ I do it to inspire others to join a hike. Yeah, it might wind some people up but that’s not my intention.”
The racist comments and threats have not stopped Sameed doing what he loves. In fact, he says the love he receives on and offline encourages him more.
“My videos create a lot of love, allies and unity as well, which is the most important thing.” He adds that seeing the joy on people’s faces when they complete a hike makes it all worthwhile.
“A lot of the time, I don’t even need to ask how people feel,” he says. “I see how they struggle early on and the low confidence some of them have. Then they reach the peak and their face transforms into awe. That’s an amazing feeling.
“Don’t get me wrong, you have your moments where the weather’s really bad and you’re getting blasted in your face with wind and rain,” he says laughing. “But having moments like that is what keeps you going.”
Follow him on Instagram and TikTok or follow Summit Special on Instagram to keep an eye out for future hikes.