Dwayne Fields: adventurer profile - Telegraph Dwayne Fields last year became the second black man in the world to reach the North Pole, following in the footsteps of the African-American explorer Matthew Henson, who went there in 1909. Born in Jamaica, Fields grew up in Hackney, London. As a youth he was stabbed twice and narrowly avoided a street shooting, but he turned his life around. He wants to break the mould of "middle-aged white guys" dominating exploration and hopes his achievements will inspire young people in inner cities. Inner-city people feel it's not for them, but it's because they don't see it. I want to say that you can do it. When I go out on Dartmoor, even among the ramblers I see no young people, and I've never actually seen a black person in the countryside. He is lobbying the Government to encourage more inner-city children to take the opportunity to explore the great outdoors, and a campaign has even begun to make him the next Chief Scout. Next month, Fields plans to walk to the South Pole - a 700-mile journey that is expected to be tougher than his trip north: the average temperature is -40.4C (-40.7F) in November but it has been as cold as -67C (-86F). He aims to raise £100,000 for the expedition: £60,000 to cover costs and £40,000 to split between Help for Heroes and the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust.