The Man Behind the Journey
Pham Cong Luat
"Journey of Gom"
"Everyone has a dream. Some people just choose to cycle towards theirs."
2020 — A New Direction
In 2020, Pham Cong Luat — known to everyone as Gom — left a stable job to launch Hành Trình Gom: a cycling journey across Vietnam dedicated to collecting trash and inspiring collective community action for environmental and social change. What began as one man with a bicycle grew into a movement.
Cycling as a Lifeline
The road did more than carry him forward — it gave him a reason to keep going. In 2016, Gom was diagnosed with depression. For four long years he struggled, and at times nearly gave up. Cycling became his path back: a daily act of purpose, movement and connection that, quite literally, helped save his own life.
Today he speaks openly about mental health — still rarely discussed across much of Asia — because he is living proof that going towards something, however small, can be a way through the darkness.
Five Years of Action
Over five years, Gom has led nationwide clean-up campaigns, community fundraising drives and reforestation projects, expanding his cycling routes through Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Through every kilometre he has held to one mission: encouraging communities to join hands for a better world.
From the Road
Free Hugs — connecting with people across every community he meets.
Road to Old Trafford
Now Gom is setting out on his boldest dream yet: a solo cycling expedition from Vietnam to Old Trafford Stadium in England — to fulfil a lifelong dream of watching his beloved Manchester United, a club he has supported for nearly 22 years, play at the Theatre of Dreams. Setting out on 28 February 2025, the expedition spans approximately 25,000 km across 18+ countries and 3 continents.
Fundraising for Blue Dragon
Gom's goal is to raise US$31,000 for the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, which works tirelessly to fight human trafficking and to support children and vulnerable communities in Vietnam.
The Mission
To prove — not with words but with kilometres — that the distance between who you are and who you can become is something you can cycle across.
