KEY POINTS:
He hasn't quite conquered fear, but Grant McNeill reckons his experiences over the past month have left him little to be afraid of.
Tonight, the 32-year-old marketing officer from Nelson will strip in his local nightclub, in the culmination of a journey in which he has done everything from running blindfolded, to posing nude for a life-drawing class, to spending an hour at sea in a survival suit, to being buried alive.
"I don't feel scared any more," he told the Weekend Herald.
"Not that I'm fearless, but I'm not afraid to do the things I would have normally been afraid to do on the 31st of July."
Being buried in his yard in a coffin for 10 minutes yesterday was easily the toughest of the "30 Fears in 30 Days" challenge.
"It was scary, exhilarating and freeing all in the same moment. It was kind of like this nervous apprehension, like, `Oh my God. Am I really doing this? Am I really going underground in a coffin, with a metre of dirt on top, and being left there'?"
After the coffin was lowered and the weight of the dirt came down on it with a "horrific sound", he initially "freaked out".
By reflecting on his efforts over the last month, he was able to calm himself down until being dug up again.
Aside from his own personal development, Mr McNeill took on the unusual challenge to raise awareness of the "Discovery for Teens" programme, which helps motivate and lift the self-esteem of young people.
When he told family and friends what he was going to do "my mum just kind of looked at me and went, `I think you are crazy'."
Along with the physical tasks have been the emotional tests like telling his father everything he would say if he was dying.
"I have become comfortable being uncomfortable _ that was what the whole purpose was."
Some stunts like travelling at over 200k/h on the back of a motorcycle and pitching a tent in a public park had to be ditched for practical reasons.
Mr McNeill said a world of new opportunities had opened for him, which may include television work or writing a book.
OUR GREATEST FEARS
By tracking internet searches phrased "fear of", Time magazine last year compiled a list of people's greatest fears. In order from most searched for, the list is:
1. Flying
2. Intimacy
3. The dark
4. Death
5. Spiders
6. Driving
7. Love
8. God
9. Success
10. Being alone
www.30fearsin30days.co.nz
