Race Across the World winners Kush and Jo share hopes for future after BBC success

Following on from their monumental Race Across the World win, Toxteth’s Kush Burman and Jo Diop have shared their hopes for the future.

Kush who has today released his debut single ‘Blue’ said:

“Music was always sort of my ‘Plan A’, I was in a band about five years ago and then I’ve done solo and open mic nights since. This came about at the perfect time where I just recorded my song before the TX of the series, but every time I went to release it I thought ‘how can I align this with the end of the series to try and sort of promote myself a bit more and use the platform and it’s just worked out so well and I’m happy it’s finally out as well for the world to hear.”

Meanwhile, Jo is setting off on travels to South America, in an even longer stretch than the boys took on the BBC programme.

“It’s probably going to be the biggest trip of my life so far. I’m going to be away for three months longer than the race itself. That’s with my Colombian friend, he’s also one of my day ones. I cannot wait for that, and hopefully lots of opportunities fly my way. I’m going to give travel content a go, vlogging, posting where I’m at and the type of people I’m meeting.”

11 of the show’s former contestants, including Jo and Kush, will take part in this Sunday’s Great Manchester Run in memory of season two winner Sam Gardiner, who passed away in 2025. They will also be raising money for The Christie Charity, an organisation that supports people affected by cancer.

Jo and Kush also recently attended an event hosted by clothing brand Montirex that highlighted the importance of talking about mental health.

Jo said:

“That was probably one of the best opportunities we’ve had since being back home. Especially because Montirex is a very popular brand that a lot of men use to shop, and the fact that we spoke about men’s mental health specifically, I think it was important to bring up the conversation. It definitely was a good reminder for me to continue asking how people are and I think it should be normalised to ask somebody how their mental health is.”

Kush added:

“Montirex, I think what they’re doing is phenomenal, their ‘Break the Wall Foundation’ and the charities they have been working with such as Open Door. I think they’ve chosen very important and very special places to collaborate with. We’d love to get involved more and more with these events and these charities and hopefully you know, be role models.

After arriving back in the UK following the competition, the two winners attended ‘Radio 1’s Big Weekend’ in Sunderland with the rest of the cast.

Kush said:

“It was so nice to actually be able to spend time together without that competitive edge in the back of my mind. Just to be able to enjoy ourselves as friends.

Jo added:

“We’ve actually all become really close, all ten of us. It’s like a separate family, you know like when you meet up with all your cousins, it feels like that like a sick little family reunion.”