At 21, Victor Bergeon was a student who was not so sporty, more of a party animal. When he falls ill, victim of tuberculosis, he makes the promise to realize his dreams if he gets out of it: “My dreams were very much related to my body. Because it was my body that I almost lost at that moment, I felt like it was letting go of me.”, he confides.
“There was great frustration on my part, even vexation. I then wanted to prove things to myself, to feel capable again. That’s how the documentary series was born.”
Victor Bergeonon franceinfo
Journeys at the end of the effort consists of four episodes, the first of which airs Thursday, February 17 at 10:40 p.m. on Canal+.
We follow Victor as he prepares for his extreme challenges: diving in the ice, freefalling, surviving alone in the forest, running the Iron Man (one of the most difficult triathlons in the world). At each step, he calls on an expert, whether athlete, doctor, explorer or coach. It is moreover a “ice coach” whom he meets in the first part and with whom he goes on an internship in the Pyrenees to confront the extreme cold: “However, I am very sensitive to the cold! The coach, Jean-François Tual, is a mix between a Club Med GO and a guru. During the course, we were in swimming trunks in the snow for a week. There, I I learned where were the limits of my body and my head especially. says Victor Bergeon.
Despite his vertigo, Victor Bergeon then goes on the course on the roofs of Paris, plays the tightrope walker. He never gives up. Thanks to the support of those around him. “It was finally a therapy. And I think it worked. My body showed me that it followed, that it adapted in very extreme situations sometimes. My mind also responded present.”, he said.
Filming ended at the end of 2021. It’s hard to imagine Victor Bergeon returning to a normal life: “I am in writing to continue living my dreams because I have a little trouble with the idea of returning to the profession of hotel receptionist, which I did before. I want to continue living intense stuff and meeting awesome people!” He would like a second season of his Journeys at the end of the effort corn “If there is no camera, I will do them in my corner.” he concludes.