A daredevil traveller who shot to fame for the heartwarming way he reassures his mum during his world adventures now wants to send her the message from space.
Jonathan Kubben, 34, photographs himself holding a giant placard that reads ‘Mom, I’m fine’ to let his mum Imelda Quinonez, in Mexico, know he is safe.
We last covered Jonathan’s travels in 2016. And he is still out there telling his Mom that he’s ‘fine’… and here we present some of his very latest images from around the world. Pictures show the Belgium-based influencer holding the sign while scaling buildings, swimming with sharks, and jumping out of planes.
Revealing what could be the final chapter of his ‘Mom, I’m fine’ photo series, Jonathan reveals to MailOnline Travel the surprise he is planning for Imelda. ‘I want to be the first person to send a message to their mum into space and put it on a satellite,’ he says.
‘We are negotiating with the European Commission to see if it’s possible or not. The idea is that the satellite would be turning around the Earth multiple times a day so there would be several opportunities for her to see the message. I think it’s going to be the last picture of “Mom, I’m fine”. I don’t think I can top that. What more can I do, send the message from Mars?’
As he plans what could be his last ‘Mom, I’m fine’ stunt, Jonathan, who has 584,000 followers on his @jonathankubben Instagram page and whose videos have racked up a combined 100million views, looks back at some of the messages to his mum while travelling to some 80 countries. Scroll down to see his highlights.
Jonathan took this picture to reassure his mum from the top of Ijen, an active volcano on the island of Java in Indonesia
Jonathan said: ‘My mum was doubtful when I first left to travel, but now she is so happy and super proud now that she’s seen what it turned into.’ The picture above was taken in Monaco
The former consultant’s world travels took him to Cenote Suytun, above, located outside the town of Valladolid in Mexico
Mexican airline Volaris displayed Jonathan’s ‘Mom, I’m fine’ message on one of its planes before a flight to the U.S
Jonathan is pictured here at India’s Taj Mahal reassuring his mum, who he reveals isn’t privy to his travel plans. He says: ‘She doesn’t want to know beforehand. She finds out afterwards and, that way, she is not afraid’
Imelda enjoys seeing Jonathan’s success – he now has his own show on Belgian national television. She too has appeared on the show, which follows Jonathan’s life. Here he is pictured in Machu Picchu, Peru
This striking image shows Jonathan’s ‘Mom, I’m fine’ message displayed in lights across Le Grand-Place in his home city – Brussels
The influencer gave a Ted talk in Brussels about his ‘Mom, I’m fine’ project and his idea to travel the world for free
Perhaps one of the more daring photos shows Jonathan swimming with sharks off the coast of Playa del Carmen in Mexico
Jonathan shared his message while celebrating Holi, the Hindu festival of colours in Prayagraj, India
‘My mum was nervous of me travelling for sure,’ Jonathan says. ‘Whether I was on top of the Atomium in Brussels dressed as an astronaut (pictured), or doing stunts on holiday, she would be afraid’
Recalling some of his experiences in south America, Jonathan says he lived with a tribe in Amazonia and lived like a miner in Bolivia, where he is pictured climbing the Huayana Potosi mountain
This picture shows a rare occasion where Jonathan had another person displaying his ‘Mom, I’m fine’ message. This image was taken in Marrakesh, Morocco
Over the course of Jonathan’s travels, his message of reassurance reached new heights, including this example of an aerial shot taken in Liege, Belgium
Jonathan took his ‘Mom, I’m fine’ message to Los Angeles. Here it appeared on the side of a lorry outside the Memorial Coliseum, right
Jonathan says he originally planned to return to his job as a consultant in communication when he quit to go travelling in 2016. Since then, his ‘Mom, I’m fine’ brand has reached millions of people and led to further business and projects. Above is an earlier photograph taken after he jumped out of a plane above Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Here, Jonathan is pictured working to support Unicef. The influencer has launched a ‘Mom, I’m fine’ humanitarian project, building schools made of recycled plastic for children of disadvantaged backgrounds
Jonathan reveals another surprise he is planning for his mum (pictured) – to fulfil her dream of visiting Jerusalem. ‘My mum has not travelled much,’ he says. ‘For a long time, she has wanted to go to Jerusalem so my goal over the next few months is to take her there’
