The story of Leonardo Scarton is a poetic tale that feels almost from another era.
A young man sets off from Rome by bicycle and covers around 15,000 kilometres to reach Sayaka, in Kyoto.
This sentence already contains a starting point, a destination, an emotion and a promise. The perfect hero’s journey which, as in the best films, novels or TV series, turns every adventure along the way into an episode.
This is the structure behind Leo on the Silk Road, the project through which Leonardo is documenting on social media his transition from the life he had to the one he has chosen: the first “Brand in the Making” selected by Bliss, and one we are keen to talk about.
A story that is easy to grow attached to
Leonardo set off from Garbatella on 8 February 2026. He is due to arrive in Kyoto on 8 November, Sayaka’s birthday. In between lie nine months of travel, borders, detours, nights in a tent and people who do not even speak his language. Even Fanpage has taken a keen interest.
In just a few months Leonardo has gained over 140k followers on Instagram, winning the support of a great many people now attached to his moving story: that of reuniting with the Japanese woman he has been geographically drawing closer to and moving away from for almost ten years.
That is also why the project has a rare quality: it is immediate. It can be told without lengthy explanations. It is visceral in its spontaneous naturalness. And it stems from a simple image, that of a bicycle travelling from Rome to Kyoto, and from a motivation that makes the effort instantly understandable.
Many profiles look for recognisability after they have started posting. Leo on the Silk Road, with its clear direction, has never needed to.
The name itself completes this architecture. The Silk Road, which links our “hero” to his “object of desire” (to put it in semiotic terms), turns a personal itinerary into a broader narrative territory. So that, even before opening a video, the audience can sense the world they will find.
The road as a narrative system
On social media, attention is often chased through a series of unconnected pieces of content. Here, the opposite happens. Each video gains value because it continues something that has already begun, and sets up what comes next.
The road offers constant variation without losing the overall meaning. The landscape, the climate, the people and the difficulties all change. What stays constant is the question running through it all: will Leo make it?
This continuity creates anticipation. A climb, a closed border or an unexpected encounter thus become obstacles on the road to Kyoto. A tension that is anything but artificial, and that already belongs naturally to the journey.
Preparation adds to the project’s credibility. Before setting off, he spent around six months planning the route and catalogued thousands of places, including UNESCO sites, museums and nature parks (Corriere della Sera). The spontaneous side of the adventure is thus matched by method.
The audience joins the journey
And, let’s be honest: we are all travelling with him a little.
Of course, Leonardo pedals alone, but the story he has created grows through a collective presence, while he undergoes a personal transformation. Leonardo left a consulting job that felt distant from the life he wanted and chose to physically cross the space between his past and his future with Sayaka. The journey is simply making visible to everyone this transition, which is first and foremost an inner one.
The personal brand takes shape in this correspondence. On one side there is a real person, with a path, a voice and a character. On the other, a shared perception forms: Leonardo becomes the young man who left his desk and is cycling towards his new life. It is the same space in which identity, image and reputation begin to converge.
Identity before business
From this perspective, Leo on the Silk Road offers a vital lesson to all the personal brands that are born (and often die) every day. Identity, at times, is all that is needed. Because before a service, before a product and before a commercial strategy, there must be a definitive, clear entity. Recognisable. Because ultimately this is where trust comes from: the reliance we place in authenticity.
Even the most spontaneous story selects, edits and arranges. Its strength emerges when this form amplifies the truth of the project. Leo on the Silk Road works because the communication it has been carrying out for nearly 200 days would exist even without social media. Kyoto is there, at the end of the road. And Sayaka is still waiting for him. That is enough.
After Kyoto
Every journey with a destination hides a fragility. The finish line (which until now has given the story its strength) can halt its momentum at any moment.
When Leonardo reaches Kyoto, his narrative arc will be complete. For Leo on the Silk Road, a more delicate phase will then begin: understanding which part of the journey truly represents its identity.
It could be slow travel, the meeting of cultures, life in Japan, Sayaka’s family restaurant or the ability to turn a personal choice into a shared journey. Each of these possibilities holds a different future. The decision will determine whether the project stays tied to one great, completed feat or manages to become a narrative platform capable of living (and telling) many other ventures.
The journey to Kyoto will end. The promise built along the way, however, can continue: bringing distant worlds closer, choosing a life truer to oneself and showing all the space that lies between a decision and its fulfilment.
This is the point at which good positioning stops depending on a single episode and starts to endure. We wholeheartedly wish Leonardo success in achieving it.
Domande frequenti
What is the main strength of Leo on the Silk Road’s social media storytelling?
Leonardo’s project has produced a recognisable identity through a name, a story, visual codes and a clear promise. The audience associates Leonardo with a coherent set of meanings that goes beyond any single post. All of this is crowned by the presence of a destination. Each episode changes the distance from Kyoto and keeps anticipation alive. The journey offers ever-changing content within a stable narrative structure.
What will happen to the project after arriving in Japan?
It will depend on which element Leonardo chooses to carry beyond the finish line. Continuity could come from slow travel, from the relationship between Italy and Japan, from the encounters or from his new life with Sayaka. The decisive step will be turning a completed mission into an identity capable of evolving.
How do you turn a personal project into a brand that lasts?
By identifying what can outlast the single episode. A journey, a challenge or a viral post captures attention, but continuity emerges when the person recognises the values, narrative codes and promise that the audience attributes to them. From there, it is possible to build a broader positioning, able to guide content, partnerships and new initiatives without losing coherence. That is precisely what strategy is for: turning a successful story into an identity that can evolve.