28 Summers

I can't think of anyone better to help bring Season 3 to a close than my guest today - Karen Darke @handbikedarke. Karen lives life as a modern-day ‘Alchemist', passionate about turning challenge into opportunity and transforming the difficult stuff into ‘gold'. She loves to explore, have adventures, stay healthy, and to write about her experiences. As a young woman, Karen was a keen runner, climber and orienteer but fell of a cliff whilst climbing and became paralysed from the chest down - aged just 21. In her own words, at first she thought she would rather be dead than paralysed but she soon learned that with friends, creativity and perseverance so many things are still possible in a wheelchair. Karen has had a pretty extraordinary life and I really hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!

My guest today is Laura Massey-Pugh, one half of husband and wife duo @stela_tandem - Laura and her husband Stevie are currently preparing to circumnavigate the world on a tandem bicycle in just 180 days later this year.  That means averaging over 100 miles a day across 4 continents, 22 countries to complete the 18,000 miles from start to finish!   They have set their sites on smashing the current world record of 263 days for a tandem ride and we talk about where the idea came from, how to prepare for an event as huge as this and how to handle the nervous conversation with your boss!  Check out more at their website stelatandem.com

I was fortunate enough recently to be invited on Boundless Body Radion with host Casey Ruff.  This is a great podcast and well worth a follow - we discuss my career journey to CEO, dealing with identity loss after moving back to the UK and finding my purpose outdoors, living adventurously.  I really enjoyed this chat and hope you do too!Search for Boundless Body Radio on any podcast platform or follow Casey on IG @casey_ryan_ruff

Finally some more of my awesome campfire chats with incredible adventurers at The 2021 Armchair Adventure Festival (@armchairadventurefest).First up is my chat with Matt Newbury (@matt_newbz) and Sophie Pierce (@mssophiepierce|) - friends and wild swimmers - talking about the growth in popularity of wild swimming and tips on how to get involved if you are tempted to give it a try!At 26:20 you can hear me chat to Abbi Naylor (@abbi.naylor) - Head of Expeditions at Rat Race (@ratracehq), discussing her incredible expeditions, career pivot and our recent epic trip to Exuma, kayaking the length of one side of the Bermuda Triangle!

This week something a little different for you.  My guest today is my good friend Greg Potter PhD (@gregpotterphd).  Greg is co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Resilient Nutrition (@resilientnuts), a company that makes nutrition products that sustainably enhance both mental and physical performance. As Chief Science Officer he leads the research and development of all RN products, the first of which (Long Range Fuel) is first in my pack on every adventure and the latest, SWITCH ON, is going to change your mornings forever!  His work aims to help people better understand how to enhance their sleep, circadian system function, nutrition, exercise, and stress management.  In this episode, we talk about the power of sleep and how critical it is for our wellbeing and performance.  This is going to be another one of those episodes you want to listen back to for sure!Show notes / key topics:14:30 Sleep State Misperception and Efficiency strategies 26:05 Seasonal Affective Disorder and ways to combat SAD38:45 Impact of smartphones on our sleep quality and mental health 41:09 Caffeine, it's good qualities and it's relationship with sleep 49:59 Thoughts on tech based sleep trackers and understanding long term trends in sleep data 59:19 Recommended books on insomnia and sleep Weblinks mentioned by Dr P you many want to check out:caffeineinformer.comstopbang.casleepio.com

My guest today is Keith Burnet (@keithaurnet).  Keith is a father, husband, executive and former colleague from the fitness industry - a place where I spent more than two decades of my working life.  Since beginning this wonderful 28 Summers journey I have discovered some incredibly rich stories of everyday folks doing amazing things all around the world.  The deeper I get into this world the more I realise that incredible stories exist all around us, we just need to look for them.  Keith is someone that I have admired from afar for many years but never had a deep relationship with.  Professional interactions never made way for more meaningful connection and yet, in chatting to Keith recently I realised just how much we are kindred spirits.  We share a similar journey and mindset on life and adventure and I feel so grateful to have found this new level of connection with him.  Keith has completed the Marathon des sables, rowed the Atlantic Ocean and, later this year, plans to cycle across North America.  He has a calm, thoughtful view of the world and I absolutely loved reconnecting with him for this chat

This week something a little different - I was fortunate enough to be invited on to the very awesome Anti-Hustle Hustle Club podcast with Joe and Harriet.  I absolutely LOVED this chat and asked them if they would mind me sharing with you all via the 28 Summers podcast.  Harriet and Joe are sharing such a critical message - that the traditional hustle and grind is not all it's cracked up to be and that slowing down and doing less can lead to so much MORE!  I was sold as soon as I heard one of their episodes and really hope you enjoy our chat about work, life and happiness.  Make sure you subscribe to their podcast and give them a follow on IG @antihustle.hustleclub @joewelstead @harrietosborne

My guest today is Saki Nakamura (@ultra_saki).  Saki was born in Japan and raised in England from a young age having lived her for more than 25 years.  After falling in love with ultra running, she realised she had lost touch with her Japanese heritage and wanted to reconnect with her family in Japan and rediscover Japan's culture.  She continues to be blindsided by Covid travel restrictions but is currently gearing up for her Pilgrimage Run - running between 88 temples whilst covering over 1200km around one of the Japanese islands.  With a target of 50 miles a day Saki is looking to set the Fastest Known Time in under 14 days and 10 hours.  This is both an epic challenge and a remarkable way to reconnect with her Japanese heritage.  As it is a true pilgrimage there are certain rituals that she must perform at each temple, adding an element of complexity to the already exhausting plan.

My guest today is Nikki Love @nikkiloveruns - according to her website she is here to do her best, be her best, have a blast along the way and bring as many people as she can along for the ride. Put simply she is Chasing Extraordinary! Nikki's message is simple - it's never too late, you're never too old and you are capable of much more than you ever thought possible.  In this awesome chat, Nikki talks through her own journey of self-doubt and discovery and how she unlocked her superpowers.  This is a must-listen, perfectly timed as we reflect back on the last 12 months and how we want to take on 2022!Nikki talks about how experiencing highs and lows, running for fun and pushing herself to the brink brought back her confidence, her daring, her passion and her purpose.

My guest today is Alex Staniforth (@Alexstaniforth_) - Alex is an adventurer, speaker, author and charity ambassador.   He has made two attempts to climb Mount Everest but this isn't your typical story about climbing Everest.  Suffering a mild form of epilepsy at nine years old shattered his confidence and self-esteem with panic attacks and anxiety a regular theme from his childhood.   Relentless bullying throughout school and a lifelong stammer in his speech left him - in his own words - with a  ‘victim' mindset.  After experiencing paragliding on holiday aged just thirteen unearthed his passion for the outdoors he found a way to prove himself wrong, and choose his what challenges him! He began to question these self-limiting beliefs through outdoor challenges, and learned that we can't always choose our challenges – but we can choose how we respond.

My guest today is Belinda Kirk (@explorerbelinda) - Belinda is an explorer, an entrepreneur, and the founder of Explorers Connect, a social enterprise that connects people to opportunities for exploration and adventure.  She has spent more than 20 years leading groups into the wilderness worldwide.  Belinda is a motivational speaker, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and has recently released her fantastic book, The Adventure Revolution, about the transformational power of adventure that she has witnessed first hand.  Belinda believes adventure is essential to our wellbeing - from managing anxiety and overcoming fear to finding self-worth and building interpersonal connections.  

My guest today is @NickButterRun - Nick is an endurance athlete, adventurer and author.  He is also the ONLY person to have run a marathon in EVERY country in the world.  A truly remarkable achievement!  But Nick didn't stop there; earlier this year he completed his epic ''Run Britain'' challenge which saw him break the record for circumnavigating Britain on foot - by covering 5,240 miles in just 128 days - that's more than 40 miles per day!  We talk about everything from his first marathon aged just 11 to his incredible @196Foundation aggregating small donations to make a HUGE difference.

Another of my campfire chats at the Armchair Adventure Festival (@ArmchairAdventureFest) last month in Cornwall.  This chat was with the lovely, inspiring and awesome Nikki Love (@nikkiloveruns) and we chat about her turning 50 being the catalyst for big challenges, silencing your critics and writing an inspiring book for young people! 

This week I have something a little different for you.  We talk a lot on this podcast about making life changes, living adventurously and not cruising through life on autopilot.  My guests this week are here to help you with the ''how''!  They are sisters, Lauren and Candice Henry - success and influence strategists and co-founders of Aretios. They hold degrees in communications, business marketing and management, as well as master's degrees in executive leadership from Liberty University. Candice and Lauren are both top-rated college professors teaching courses in personal and organizational leadership at Southeastern University. Candice is also a published author, and Lauren has served alongside several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations raising near $1million for charitable causes. Together they also have a combined 13 years of experience as leadership trainers for young adults as well as a background serving in youth ministry. Through their company, Aretios, Candice and Lauren have done speaking and training sessions for global companies, non-profit organizations, and various colleges and universities. This is a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

This is the LIVE recording of my chat around the campfire with the @BanwellScouts.  When I signed up to do live podcasting around a campfire in a field in Cornwall with ZERO production or audio experience I knew I was taking a huge risk.  I also knew that I might just capture genuine, honest and meaningful chats like this one with these wonderful young people.  As a father of four I've learned first-hand that when we stop to listen to our children and trust them, amazing things can happen.  I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!  Huge thanks to the Armchair Adventure Fesitval (@armchairadventurefest) for trusting me to do this!

My guest today is Emily Scott (@adventure_scottie).  Emily is a professional ski instructor, adventure athlete, multiple ironman finisher, Team GB triathlete, mountain lover and Munro completionist with her recent and epic Project 282.  She is also a qualified accountant and made the brave move to changer her trajectory when she decided she wanted to live a life she WASN'T trying to get away from. This was such a fun chat and I hope you love it as much as I did!

My latest check-in with 28 Summers Everyday Adventure Kelly Hutton (@kel_hutton_nz).   Just ahead of this call I was devastated to learn that Kelly had received the news she was dreading...her cancer is back.   When I started this mini-series I had no idea how much of an effect these amazing women would have on me - each of them pushing their boundaries and challenging their own (and others!) beliefs around their capabilities.  Kelly is the epitome of that mindset: her energy, passion for life and resilience is a lesson to us all and I am totally inspired by her positivity.  Please listen in and send some love Kelly's way.

Not one but TWO check-in's with the very the wonderful Bev Logan @logans_running as she prepares for her first ever marathon in London!  We chat about her training, fuel strategy and general jitters as she prepares for this huge step in her adventurous journey.  Bev is a busy mum, entrepreneur and used to hate running - Bev's message and her business (Badass Mother Runners) is all about getting out there and finding your tribe as you look to be more active and adventurous.  As always I loved chatting to her!

My guest today is Cyril Derreumeaux.  Cyril is an adventurer, paddler, dreamer and entrepreneur.  French-born and now a US Citizen he has lived France, Spain, England, Italy, Argentina, Brazil and the US and speaks 5 languages fluently.  In 2016 he and his teammates rowed into the record books by taking first place in the Great Pacific race, rowing 2,400 nautical miles from California to Hawaii.  In this episode we chat as he was gearing up for a solo and unsupported Kayak attempt from San Francisco to Honolulu this summer.  This guy is 100% energy and I absolutely loved this chat!

Not one but TWO check-in's with the very awesome Anna Hughes @singpaintrun - as you listen to this episode keep in mind that just a few months ago this mum of two hated running and was lacking confidence when it came to her capabilities.   Fast forward to today and it's like I am talking to a different person; Anna is taking on progressively bigger challenges, pushing her boundaries and proving to others and herself that she is capable of so much.  If you often find yourself saying ''I wish I could do that, but I can't...'' then listen in, think again and get ready to take that first step to a more adventurous life.

My guests today are Matthew and Charis Watkinson.  Husband and wife, former vets who became increasingly frustrated with their lives, their industry and societies expectations of them.  After deciding enough was enough they upped sticks and moved to Wales, buying a plot of land and committing to live truly off the grid.  They have since had two children and continue to battle their neighbours who sadly reject their vision to live off the land.  But…as you will hear in this episode they are energetic, passionate and as committed as ever to their cause.  I really loved this chat and hope you do too!

My guest today is Laura Bingham.  Laura is an adventurer and explorer, perhaps best known for her world's first descent of the Essequibo River - locating the source of the river for the first time on record.  Laura left home aged 18 and travelled through Europe, Africa, Asia and North America before landing in Mexico where she taught English and took part in conservation work to protect the endangered Jaguar.  When she was ready to head back to the UK, without the necessary funds for a flight, she joined a crew to sail back to England in a 38ft Trimaran!  Laura rose to prominence in 2016 when she cycled across South America with no money to raise funds and awareness for a Children's charity in Paraguay called OPERATION South America.  This is a fantastic chat where Laura shares more on her incredible story, being married to TV adventurer Ed Stafford and balancing parenthood with the life of an explorer!

My guest today is Laurie Crayston.   Laurie is the founder of Ascendany Apparel - the clothing brand for adventurers; born in 2015 out of a love for the landscapes of the English Lake District.  Earlier this year he attempted the ultimate Cumbrian challenge; a continuous, single round of the Wainwrights.  That's roughly 320 miles, 214 summits and over 35,000 metres of ascent.  Only four people had ever completed it in a continuous single round; and Laurie was attempting to do it completely on his own without any external support. This is a really fascinating insight into what it takes to tackle something like this on your own and the impact it has on your mind and body.

My guest today is Freddie Bennett.  When Freddie was 35, it looked like he had it all. The high-powered corporate job, the Porsche and the exotic holidays with his young family.  But the truth was, he was addicted, suicidal, unfit, unhealthy, and he hated the person he saw in the mirror every day.  But after years of failed attempts to get sober, Freddie finally said ‘enough is enough' in March 2019 and he is now over 2 years alcohol-free.  Since ditching the booze he's run across the Sahara Desert, won ultramarathons, become a Guinness World Record holder, an Ironman, published his first book, ‘Starting at Zero' and launched the very awesome ‘'Over the influence podcast''.  Buckle up, this one is sure to get you thinking!

My guest today is Natalia Cohen.  In 2016, with absolutely no rowing experience, Natalia was part of the first all-female team to row unsupported across the Pacific Ocean - the epic journey spotlighted in the very special documentary Losing Sight of Shore which is now on Amazon Prime!  That's 9,000 miles from San Francisco to Cairns in a 29ft ocean rowing boat for over 250 days! The expedition was not only a challenge of extreme conditions and perseverance but also a journey of mental resilience and exploration of human endeavour.   Natalia's vision is to empower others to reach their potential, push through their self-limiting mental boundaries and meet and overcome the challenges that life throws at them.   This is a must-listen episode for so many reasons!

My guest today is the very awesome Krish Patel.  Krish is the host of the Tales to Inspire podcast - focused on inspiring others through the power of their stories.  We discuss his lifelong dream to be a professional footballer, achieving his dream and then it all crashing down around him.  He tells how his materialistic focus on girls and money had to change as he embarked on a journey of purpose to help himself and, ultimately, others take control of their lives.  

My guests today are Matt and Reece - otherwise know as The Sidecar Guys. Matt & Reece are a couple of normal guys who cooked up an idea to circumnavigate the globe on a scooter with a sidecar back in 2015. At the time, they had absolutely no idea how to ride a motorbike, let alone how to drive a scooter with a sidecar around the world.  With a mission to raise awareness of modern slavery, they set out on their journey. 455 days, 5 continents, 35 countries and 34k miles later they raced into the record books with a Guinness World Record! We chat about their epic adventure, the motivation to help make a difference in the world and their awesome upcoming adventure festival - The Armchair Adventure Festival.  These are two ordinary guys who did an extraordinary thing!

Friend of the show Catie Friend interviews Jay for the 1 yr anniversary special of the 28 Summers podcast.  The discussion covers all things adventure, the origin of the name 28 Summers, the highs and lows of starting a podcast and an update on Jay's Project Adventure 2021; raising 10k for two amazing charities - Scotty's Little Soldiers and Mind.

My guest today is Jenny Wordsworth!  Jenny is a lawyer by day and ultra-endurance athlete by night!  She is a North Face athlete who completed an unassisted 715-mile solo ski across the Antarctic to the South Pole, pulling an 80kg sledge whislt battling a crippling case of Polar Thigh.  She talks about that epic challenge, handling failure, setting boundaries at work and much more.  I absolutely loved chatting to Jenny and really hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!

My guest this week is Gus Barton (@ocean_ready_) - an ocean rowing fitness specialist and bona fide endurance athlete in his own right!  Gus has coached ocean rowers to go on and break 8 world records and complete 23 ocean crossings AND was himself part of a 4 man crew to break the transatlantic rowing record in 2015/16.  Gus is a great guy and shares some fascinating insights into what these challenges are like and the importance of mental resilience in long, multi-day endurance challenges, particularly when weather and other variables take control out of your hands!

My guest today is Sarah Williams.  Sarah is the founder of ToughGirlChallenges.com and host of the Tough Girl Podcast which has been growing exponentially since 2014.  She is on a mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media, especially in relation to adventure, physical challenges and exploration.  Through her awesome community, vlog, blog, podcast and social channels she is encouraging people to step outside their comfort zone and take on challenges that get them feeling both excited and nervous!  I absolutely loved chatting to Sarah - as a fellow podcaster she has so much experience I can learn from and she is such an inspiring person to chat to.  I really hope you love this chat as much as I did!

Another quick check-in with one of our 28S Everyday Adventurers - today it's Bev Logan.  Bev is the woman behind the award-winning online community that aims to empower runners, one mum at a time.  Bev started running 5 years ago with a Couch to 5k and has run 10 half marathons.  She is now signed up to do the London Marathon in October and we check-in to see how her training and preparations are going for her big challenge.  You can follow Bev on Instagram @logans_running

Today I have something a little different for you ahead of Episode 29 coming on 9th July - a BONUS episode full of great tips and knowledge to help fuel your adventures.  My guest for this episode is Greg Potter - Greg is Chief Science Officer and co-founder at Resilient Nutrition - a really fantastic company I discovered recently as I searched for ways to dial in my nutrition for my big charity challenges this year. I had heard Greg speaking on another podcast and was so impressed with his easy style and great knowledge that I listened another two times to the same episode - something I have NEVER Donne before. After speaking to Greg a few times I knew I had to get him on the pod to talk all things challenge prep and nutrition. His advice is general and he always does such a fantastic job to give impartial advice in these discussions but I am a huge fan of the products and asked if they would let my listeners have a discount code so if you want to try their Long Range Fuel head to www.resilientnutrition.com and use the code JAY10 for 10% off.  They have also kindly given me some samples of their exciting new product REBUILD long range fuel which has a whopping 27g of protein per 100g and it's the only nut butter that contains the highly anabolic combo of L-Leucine and whey protein isolate.  Huge thanks to the team at Resilient Nutrition for the support and to Greg for his time and wisdom in this episode!  

Checking in with Vicky Owens - one of the 28 Summers Everday Adventurers .  Vicky was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 2 and has been living with daily injections ever since.  With the advancements in diabetes care, she now has an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and is focused on pushing her limits and living adventurously.  We chat about the training for her upcoming special forces inspired challenge - The Fan Dance Double Tap in South Wales.  You can follow Vicky on Instagram @vikz_t1_fit

Checking in Louise Mayne - one of the 28 Summers Everyday Adventurers - since our last chat Louise has now made the big move from London up to Scotland and is already reaping the rewards having recently completed a hiking holiday locally.  Her plans are well underway for the West Highland Way and she shares an update on the move as well as her focus areas leading up to the challenge itself.  You can follow her on Instagram @lou_mayne

Checking in with painter and mum of two, Anna Hughes - one of the 28 Summers Everday Adventurers - since our last chat Anna has completed her first challenge; a 10k hilly trail run which ended up being 13k!  We have a great chat about that experience, adventuring with her husband and what she is taking on for her next challenge - a Spartan obstacle course race.You can follow her on Instagram @singpaintrun

Checking in with Lindsey Bonner - one of the 28 Summers Everday Adventurers - as she checks in with us close to the end of her epic 1000 mile bike ride having already completed the North Coast 500.  Some great reflections in here from Lindsey about the highs and lows of her challenge so far.  You can follow her on Instagram @ipulledthepin

Checking in with Kelly Hutton - one of the 28 Summers Everday Adventurers - as she continues her incredible recovery from cancer and preparations for her 40-day adventure cycling the length of the New Zealand islands.  If you are looking for some relatable inspiration - this is it!  Huge thanks to Kelly for sharing her story.

This week I'm talking to Scott Jenkins (@scottjjenkins) - Scott is a Welsh ultra runner who had an impressive roster of ultra-endurance challenges already under his belt.  He's run across Death Valley…not once, but twice! He completed 75 consecutive marathons in 75 days running from Boston to Austin – that's over 2000 miles!  He Ran 250 miles across Iceland and was the first Welshman to complete the MOAB 240 race in Utah!  We chat about his insanely impressive upcoming grand-slam ultra challenge, raising money for Operation Smile, finding your ''Why'', hallucinations of witches and much more! Hope you love this chat as much as I did!

This week I'm talking to Laura Try.  Once upon a time Laura was, in her words, a materialistic shopaholic.  She was a successful beauty salon owner living a seemingly successful life.  As she approached her 30th birthday she started to realise the focus on shiny, new things was not healthy and was a never-ending spiral she had to pull out of.  With a dancing background, she always thought of herself as fit so she took up running and quickly realised she wasn't as fit as she thought!  This focus on health and fitness however became a big channel for her energy and passion and eventually lead to her rowing around Great Britain and across the Atlantic Ocean - to put that into context, more people have been into space than have achieved this!  Laura's message of ‘'just Try it'' is spot on and I know it will resonate with so many people.

This week I’m talking to Nakita Ross - Nakita is the founder of the Antarctic Fire Angels. Having spent her teenage years as an Air Cadet she later joined the London Fire Brigade at the age of 20 and has since become London’s first female Urban Search and Rescue instructor.  Outside of the brigade, she competes in Brazilian Jujitsu which focuses her drive to win, resilience and determination.  As founder of the Antarctic Fire Angels expedition, Nakita feels passionately about showing other women that they can achieve any challenge they want to in life.  I absolutely loved this chat and am in awe of what Nakita and the rest of the team are taking on when they ski coast to coast across Antarctica in 20231

I am so excited to bring you our first cohort of the 28 Summers Everyday Adventurer Series.  In this episode, I will introduce you to Kelly Hutton, Louise Mayne, Lindsey Bonner, Bev Logan, Vicky Owens and Anna Hughes.  These awesome women are all taking on big adventures and really pushing their limits.  I introduce each of our everyday adventurers and we hear a little about their back story, the challenges they are taking on and what is motivating them to get out of the comfort zone!  

This week I’m talking to Stuart Robinson.  Stuart is the CEO of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, the charity he helped set up with his sister Nikki, after her husband Corporal Lee Scott was tragically killed by an IED in Afghanistan in 2009.  Dealing with Lee’s death was desperately painful, but made even worse by the fact his children, Kai and Brooke, had lost their daddy.  We chat about Stuart's early career, the tragic events of 2009 and the amazing charity which he has helped his sister build from scratch.  This is a massively inspiring story and a great lesson in finding work that ‘’doesn’t feel like work’’.  As always, I hope you love this chat as much as I did!

My guest this week is Sian Lewis aka The Girl Outdoors.  Sian is an award-winning outdoors and travel writer, author, speaker and presenter who is focused on helping people have achievable adventures.  We chat about how she came to start her incredibly successful blog, finding her passions and the importance of building those passions around a busy lifestyle.  As always, I hope you love this chat as much as I did!

This week I’m talking to Aaron Baker and his story is nothing short of remarkable.  In 1999, as a professional motocross athlete, he sustained a career-ending spinal cord injury, fracturing three of his cervical vertebrae rendering him a quadriplegic.  He was given the prognosis of “one-in-a-million” chance of ever feeding himself again.  From the onset of his injury, he focused on not accepting the pessimistic outlook offered by the doctors around him and instead he focused on the power of his mind and willed himself to make progress; millimetre by painful millimetre. He is - by his own definition - a recovering-quadriplegic – constantly progressing, regressing and consciously evolving.  He is an adventure athlete, author, speaker, entrepreneur and ambassador for spinal cord injury  And his story is one of the most exceptional I have ever heard and it was a privilege to be able to sit with him and learn from him.  I really hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.

My guest today is Lee Spencer - Lee was born in Dagenham, but made in The Royal Marines.  Lee lives in Devon and was a serving Royal Marine for 24 years. After coming through three operational tours of Afghanistan unscathed, Lee lost his right leg after being hit by an engine block as he was helping a motorist who had crashed into the central reservation of the M3 in Surrey in 2014.  In this episode, he shares his remarkable story - from a young man desperate to join the Marines and grappling with imposter syndrome, to his devastating injury, recovery and incredible ocean rowing exploits.  This is a must-listen episode and I truly hope you take away as much from this chat as I did.

My guest today is Dave Cornthwaite - Dave is the founder of the YES tribe and, in his own words,  sees life as an experiment.  He is obsessed with the good things that come from saying YES!  He’s an adventurer, community builder, speaker, filmmaker, and author.  In a world where negativity is stealing the headlines, we could do with more people like Dave - relentlessly positive and determined to build a community of like-minded, supportive, and positive people.  I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!

My guest today is Cath Wallis (@Cath.Wallis) - Cath is a 43 year-old, mother of 3 who is, in her own words,  a plus-size adventurer living life big in the body she has!  After she was promoted at work she was asked to fill out some fun facts about herself and realised she had been so focused on her career and kids, her life had become a little boring.  In that moment she committed to making some changes! So she did what any normal person would do and signed up for a 100k race!  This discussion with Cath is really inspirational - she’s down to earth, very humble and a true leader; showing us all that what the scales say has no bearing on our ability to live a happy, fulfilled and adventurous life.

My guest today is Graham Friend (@grahamfriend) - Graham is an ultra runner, Ironman, Mountainer and entrepreuner.  Graham has such an interesting story - from upping sticks and moving to Switzerland to open a ski school, to qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona and keeping a diary in Spanish since he was 18.  This is a really interesting insight into the mind of an ultra-athlete and what it takes to juggle this level of training with a busy work life and being a parent and husband.  Graham is a great guy and I really enjoyed this discussion - he is clearly a determined and dedicated athlete and shares some great nuggets in here which can help us all as we set our sights on bigger challenges!

My guest this week is Jordan Wylie (@MrJordanWylie) - former soldier, bestselling author, adventurer and one of the stars of Channel 4’s award-winning shows, Hunted and Celebrity Hunted.  Jordan grew up on one of the UK’s biggest council estates and left school with no qualifications.  At 16, he took the life-changing decision to join the British Army and subsequently served for 10 years seeing operational service in both Northern Ireland and Iraq where he specialised in military intelligence.  After leaving the Army he spent time working along the coast of Africa on anti-piracy operations as a private contractor.  These days Jordan spends his time doing extreme challenges raising money for a variety of important causes and lives by the mantra ‘’Be the difference that makes a difference’’

This week my guest is Jonas Paurell - former United Nations lawyer and corporate strategy consultant turned wilderness expedition leader. As a corporate strategist, he had all the marks of success; a good job doing important work with the opportunity to travel the world.  Jonas, however, was working 14+ hour days and, in his own words, hated his life.   He knew something had to give, and so did his body.  After a frightening health scare, he began to rebuild his life in a new way, focused on nature, adventure and photography.  I absolutely loved chatting to Jonas - his tale is a cautionary one for all of us to never lose sight of our health and happiness.