EXCLUSIVE Britain's Got Talent star who shot to fame years ago after a VERY emotional moment on stage has quit his day job to take on another massive feat
A former Britain's Got Talent star singer has quit his day job to walk to the Alps wearing ski boots.
Reuben Gray was catapulted to fame in 2017 aged just 16, after a clip of his emotional audition went viral, racking up more than 38million views.
The video shows audience members in tears as Reuben's father, who had told him he couldn't attend due to work abroad, unexpectedly appears in the crowd.
Moments later, the teenager performs an original song he wrote about his girlfriend, earning a standing ovation from all four judges.
Now, aged 24, Reuben is back in the spotlight for a very different reason.
Reuben along with fellow Devon native and Exeter University alumnus Matt Brinkley, 24, have left behind the security of a nine-to-five to take on a grueling 801-mile trek from London to Val Thorens for charity.
It's a challenge that would test even elite athletes - and they've raised the bar even higher by committing to do it wearing notoriously uncomfortable footwear.
The duo hope to raise £35,000 for two organisations: Macmillan Cancer Support, which helps people living with cancer, and Snow Camp, which supports young people through snow sports.
They're also using the journey to promote King of the Hill, their new app designed to make planning adventure trips simple.
Rueben, who quit music to focus on the project, told MailOnline he expects to be in 'agony' from day one of the 45-day journey and that medical professionals have warned him he could sustain serious injuries.
'My cousin's a doctor, and he said we have a possibility of breaking our legs or having shin splints, we have a possibility of a hairline fracture, that sort of stuff on our on our legs. We have a possibility of ending up with sort of gangrene', he said.
But, the duo have a point to prove and are determined to demonstrate how ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.
'It's about smiling through the pain and about having a good time. Even though it might suck I'm still doing it with my best friend. I'm doing it for something bigger than just myself only.
'We're only a small part in what these amazing charities do. And we're just trying to help that', Rueben said.
He added: 'Loads of people do these crazy challenges. But the difference with them is they are all professional athletes, so they're all at that level where they're so fit, they're it's obvious they're going to be able to complete it.
'And so Matt and I decided to do exactly what our app's about, which is about getting normal people to do loads of fun stuff together.'
Rueben also revealed how the pair have done very little training and the training they have doing has left them with 'bleeding, blistered' feet.
'It's been very busy, so it's been difficult to do as much training as we want to do. And we're very scared on that sense. But we've walked around in ski boots and our feet were blistered and bleeding', Rueben said.
And, it isn't only injuries the pair have to worry about as just two days before they set off on June 13, a spanner was thrown into the works.
Their driver, who was meant to accompany them and carry essential supplies, pulled out of the project.
This means the pair will now have to camp in tents rather than sleep in a van like they had initially planned.
'We're going to be staying in tents for 45 days. It's going to be like, as tough as it gets. But I think Matt and myself are the sort of guys that will just really suck up anything.
Rueben revealed the pair have done very little training and have been left with bleeding, blistered feet after the preparation they have done
'Because we think that it's worth it and it's gonna be great,' Rueben added.
The walk will take the duo from Oxford Circus in Central London through Kent to Dover, across to Dunkirk (by ferry) through Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Switzerland – ending in Val Thorens, at an altitude of 2,300m.
Both Reuben and Matt had day jobs before they began working on their app – with Matt working in medical advertising and Reuben working to support business start-ups.
The pair - who have been best friends since meeting on a surf trip seven years ago –formulated a plan for the walk at the pub one evening.
But, it was something Reuben had been thinking about for years after being inspired by his late Godfather, Jerry Chilvers' who sadly died from cancer in 2018.
'My Godfather put me on a ski lift when I was very little, and he said, "Hey, man, we're going to do a race."
'And I went, "Okay, cool. What's the race called?," Reuben recounted.
'He said, "The race is called the King of the Hill race." And I thought that sounded like one of the coolest things ever.'
'So from then on, we always did. And I did it with my friends on any sort of thing where there was ever a race involved. We called it the King of the Hill,' Reuben added.
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