Family's quest to fulfil late son's bucket list, 10 years on

Family's quest to finish bucket list of man killed in lift tragedy

17 minutes ago

Natalie GriceBBC Wales

Going to visit some of the world's most iconic sights is a dream for many people.

But for one family, seeing places like Machu Picchu is more than just travelling – it is a way of keeping a link to the son they lost in a devastating accident a decade ago.

Robin Evans from Llanbedrog, Gwynedd, was just 20 when he was killed in September 2015 falling down a lift shaft in a Chinese stadium while working for the sports technology company Hawk-Eye.

A few months after Robin's death, his grieving parents Gareth and Menai were going through some of his belongings when they found a "bucket list" of all the places and activities the Loughborough engineering student wanted to experience, just a handful of them literally ticked off.

Together with their elder son, Guto, they made made a vow to complete the rest of them in his memory.

Growing up, the brothers were "very, very active, very sporty in their ways," Gareth remembers. "I don't think we had much quiet time."

Guto describes his childhood on the Llyn peninsula in north Wales as idyllic for him and Robin.

"We were outdoorsy young kids so we spent every waking moment from sunrise to sunset over summer and after school exploring the headland, or playing football or any other sports.

"It was a struggle to keep us inside," he says.

"Robin and I were really close. We were 16 months apart, one school year, so we had a lot of friends in common as well."

As well as being students, both brothers worked for sports technology firm Hawk-Eye at venues overseas, occasionally together, and Guto thinks this experience probably heightened his brother's desire to see more of the world.

Robin had been in the USA before flying directly from there to work on a newly-built tennis stadium in Wuhan, China, in September 2015.

He had been setting up cameras used to check line calls during matches at the stadium when he mistook a lift shaft cover for a safe piece of flooring and it collapsed. He was killed instantly, an inquest into his death was later told.

Gareth said finding his brother's bucket list some time later was "really emotional".

"Knowing he had such grand ambitions himself and he was never going to be able to see them through," he added.

It took the family some time before the idea to pick up where Robin had left off emerged.

"We noticed that we'd done quite a few of these, and then we became more interested in it, and thinking, it would be nice to do more.

"It was never in the back of our minds to complete it at that time, but we certainly decided we wouldn't mind doing a few of these, so let's start ticking things off," he said.

And tick them off they have. There are 58 items on the list, and between them, they've got 20 left to do.

One of the first big things they did was a trip to the Inca city of Machu Picchu in the Andes, Peru, and then on to the Galapagos Islands.

Earlier this year they went back to South America to see the Iguazu falls as part of a tour covering Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

However it is not all about exotic long haul destinations. Gareth says: "Everybody keeps going on about it, 'yes, they went to Iguazu Falls or somewhere like that in Brazil'.

"They're not all as glam though; we've done the Guinness brewery [in Dublin] and Stonehenge this year."

That said, the next item on their list is the Taj Mahal, hopefully next spring.

Guto says of the list's existence: "I'm so grateful we've found it because it's been a really great way of maintaining that connection, and wherever you go on the bucket list there's that feeling that he's there with you."

He has taken on his share of the list, starting with a bungee jump in Thailand the year after Robin died. He has also visited Auschwitz.

Gareth and Menai also decided to walk the Wales Coastal Path, partly as a way of helping them deal with their grief and also to raise money for three charities in Robin's memory.

It took them six months, and the outpouring of financial support – they raised £9,000 – made them realise that they had an opportunity to do something more permanent as a legacy for their son.

Three years after the accident, the family established Cofio Robin (Remember Robin), a charity offering funding to aspiring young sportsmen and women under the age of 25 to help them progress their careers.

Guto says the charity provided a chance to "not only build a legacy for him – that's not the main ambition, it's a by-product – but to drive real change, and doing so by connecting it to something he was so passionate about, which is sport".

In the seven years since, they have raised and distributed more than £100,000 in funding to young people in Gwynedd and Conwy, and are set to carry on for years to come. The deadline for applications falls at the end of September each year.

So far, the charity and the bucket list have been separate enterprises, but this summer for the first time, the two aims were united, when Guto crossed another item off the list by completing an Ironman.

The choice of venue – Tallinn in Estonia – was dictated by its proximity in time to what would have been Robin's 30th birthday on 20 August, three days before the event, which the family had previously had discussions about how to mark.

Guto's parents, fiancée and best friend were all out in Tallinn to see him complete the gruelling 3.8km open water swim, 180km (112 mile) bike ride and a marathon in 12 hours 53 minutes.

"It meant it was really nice that we were out there as a family and my fiancée," says Guto. "Just being able to look back and talk about growing up and remain positive about it, and look forward to the event at the weekend ahead with a bit of joy, and feeling that connection a bit more."

Would he do another Ironman? "Absolutely no chance," he laughs. "One and done."

He's not exactly taking it easy however.

"The next one on the bucket list which is semi endurance-related is Kilimanjaro," he explains. "The plan is to go to Tanzania in late February next year and try to conquer Kilimanjaro.

"We're conscious of how much we ask of extremely generous friends and family and people who donate, and you don't want to do it too regularly.

"So this one will be us ticking another one off the bucket list and getting to do something wonderful and amazing."

He adds: "That's one of the beauties of the bucket list. It's not just ticking a box. We get to experience the world and do amazing things and be with him doing that."

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