Send us a textIn this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Colin McLeod.Colin lives in the outer Hebrides which is part of Scotland.He has done some amazing swims, even though the water there must be quite cold (he happily uses a wetsuit). Many of his swims are for charity, he has supported quite a few in his time. Currently he is attempting to swim the same distance as from Land's End to John O'Groats, 841 miles in under a year. I'm sure he will have completed that by the time this is released.H...

Send us a textIn this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Sheryl McLay.Sheryl used to be a competitive marathon swimmer and has swum many of the great marathon swim, Cook Strait, English channel & Taupo. After stopping to swim competitively Sheryl carried on coaching swimmers and organising swim events.We talk about how Covid made it too hard to continue organising events and how local/smaller events are harder to run now.Sheryl is a life member of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand and is pas...

Send us a textIn this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Ben Clavel.We met Ben when he came over to New Zealand from Australia to swim at our Ice Swimming pool championships.Ben hasn't been swimming for long, but already has achived more than many others.He got started as a means to support his kids who were into swimming, and then got going in his own way.He swam the English Channel in a relaym with almost no ocean swimming experience, and if that was not enough decided to come to NZ with one ...

Send us a textIn this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Brent Bythell.Brent is a disbled swimmer from the top of the south island of New Zealand. We first met Brent at the St Bathans openwater ice swimming event in 2023, and later at Alexandra ice pool champs in 2024.We talk to him about why he started cold water immersion and the road to ice swimming. (he hasn't had a hot shower in 8 years!).But that's not all. Brent also is a world record holder and has a place in the Guinness book of world ...

Send us a textIn this episore Duncan & Jim talk to Peter Plavec.Peter has done numerous ice swims with a number of ice kilometers and an ice mile. He gives us lots of nuggets about how he approaches cold water swimming and we talk about what it is like in Europe.He is very active on Instragram so if you would like to see what he is up to, here's a link.Peter Plavec on Instagram

Send us a textIn this episode Duncan & Jim speak to Ruth.Ruth grew up in Spain, then spent some time in Chile before settling in New Zealand.Ruthy (as most peope refer to her as) loves the pool, but took up openwater swimming in NZ with the Kohi Kippers.Ruthy has swum Lake Taupo and the Apolima Strait, both big swims with their own challenges.A passionate swimmer she even talked Duncan to a standstill!

Send us a textIn this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Ram Barkai.Many people will know of Ram as the founder of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA), but there's more to Ram than that.Before founding IISA he had done numeraous adventure swims, including a massive swim along the Orange river in South Africa over 4 years.He organised 'freedom' swims from Robben Island at Cape Town, and even did the swim at night.He took Duncan on his first Ice swim in South Africa, not sure he has...

Send us a textThe New Zealand Ice swimming pool championships occured from 9 - 13 July 2024. Duncan & Jim were there (and did some swimming) and got to speak to a number of swimmers there.We talked about our swoms, why we do cold swimming and asked others why they swim in cold water.An interesting group of people and interesting answers.If you want to know why people do it, or if you are curious and want to learn more then this episode is for you.

Send us a Text Message.In this episode we talk to Bree while we were at the NZ Ice Swimming Championships.Bree is a lovely, bubbly young womanwho was quite happy to challenge some older male clever dicks!We got to speak about her swimming story and some of her other life experiences, including living in the arctic for a year.Bree has done ice swimming and has also complete 2 of the NZ triple crown swims. She is currently training for the 3rd, te Ara a Kiwa/Foveaux Strait and is looking to rai...

Send us a Text Message.In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Francois Lambrechts.We talk about Francois about his start to swimming in Queenstown in a borrowed wetsuit, but ended up swimming in skins in Dunedin. Impressive as the water can get below 10C in Dunedin.Francois has a rare disease call Charcot Marie Tooth syndrom which affects his electrical system, and in spite of this has become quite a swimmer.He is also an active volunteer for the NZ Coastguard and is participating in this y...

Send us a Text Message.In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Woodie Campbell, or as we found out to Wirimu Campbell. Wiri/Woodie only started a few years ago when people at his gym convinced him to join in the swim squad.Before that he was doing his version of a triathalon, 10 min each in the Sauna, the steam room & the spa pool!Not long after starting to swim his sister convinced him (told him) to join them in doing the Iron Maori, a triathalon event, so he had to move to real tri's.H...

Send us a Text Message.In this episode Duncan & Jim interview Jeannine Goddard. Jeannine learned to swim in Zimbabwe where she grew up and has carried on swimming since then.We talk about getting into ocean swims as well as her grit & determination in achieving more & more goals.Recently she completed an ICE MILE at her first attempt and gives a great account of the swim.

Send us a Text Message.In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Andy Donaldson.Andy has achieved what no other swimmer has done before, he completed the Oceans 7 swims within a year. And set the world record for crossing the Cook Strait taking only 4hours 33 minutes, that is seriously fast.But we talked about much more than swimming, his support of mental health charities, whether the aussies understand his scottish accent, and what kind of kilt he has.Andy was a wonderful person to talk to, ...

Send us a Text Message.In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Cameron Bellamy. Cameron is an extreme athlete by any standard. He has swum 100km around Barbados and from Barbados to St Lucia, a swim of over 151 km in 56 hours.And this is just his swimming, his rowing exploits as just as fantastic.We talked about swimming in the hot waters of the carribean, the mental aspects of swimming through the night (many times) and also how to deal with the pain of box jellies and salt mouth.

Send us a Text Message.In this captivating podcast episode, Duncan and Jim sit down with Phillip Rush, a remarkable New Zealand swimmer. Phillip’s aquatic journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Let’s dive into the highlights of his life:Background and Achievements:His claim to fame lies in conquering the English Channel in both two and three-way swims. In 1987, he achieved the world record for the fastest three-way swim, completing the grueling challenge in an impressive 28 hours and 21 m...

In this episode we (well mainly Duncan) talk to Shamima. Shamima is the mother of Shazeel, a swimmer with autism and reduced mental capacity. We hear what water means to Shazeel and how it has always calmed him down, and the challenges of teaching him how to swim.  Shazeel & Duncan have swum together for 4 years now, training swims, short (2km) races all the way up to a 20km chopper challenge swim. Shamima tells us what it is like to see her son swim off when she is on-shore and Duncan...

In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Ryan Stramrood from his home in South Africa. Ryan has done some amazing swimming in cold water. He has swum in the Arctic and the Antarctic as well as doing 140 Robben Island crossings. Robben Island was famously where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for many years. Ryan has written a book called 'Push Past Impossible' where he challenges people to go beyond their own 'impossible'. This was a great chat and he has some wonderful stories to tell. Web:...

In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to James Hanson-Chong. James is the Special Operations Manager for Event safety New Zealand and has been looking after swimmers in events large & small for years now. We cover a number of areas: Safety - equipment, skills, information sources, what to look for and even what happens when sharks are around.The safety team & lifeguardsCosts and the rules & regulations around running eventsThe types of events he has worked at: surf lifesaving,...

In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Sue & Leigh Sherwin, just after Sue had swum 15km in Lake Taupo. We talk about her early swimming career, and then picking it up later in life, swimming the length of Taupo, the Cook strait and the Foveaux strait to complete the New Zealand triple crown. Sue has also got involved in Ice swimming. Not only does she organise a lot of ice swimming, but she has set age group world records, and represented NZ at the world champs. She is a super granny...

In this episone Duncan & Jim talk about the various swim characters that (probably) exist in all swim groups. Are you a organiser, a navigator, slow coach or a fast follower? How does people in your swim group get into cool/cold water, do you have 'soldiers', and maybe the occasional dinosaur?

In this episode Duncan & Jim were lucky to get this interview with Caitlin. Caitlin is a shy athlete but we got to hear about some of her amazing swims and her intentions for the future. Caitlin swam the Cook straight when she was 12 years old and went on to complete the New Zealand triple crown. Since then she has successfully completed another 4 of the Oceans 7's swim, with just 2 to go. She also did a double Taupo crossing (80km) as covid interupted her ocean 7's plan. But we also...

In this episode Duncan & Jim discuss tow floats, those little bright coloured floats that ocean swimmers sometimes use.  We discuss what they are and why people use them.  We talk about different uses, visibility, carrying things and the types of tow float. We also talk about the downsides & why some swimmers don't use them.

In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Jacques de Reuck. Jacques has been involved in water activities his whole adult life, sailing internationally, free diving & swimming. We talked about many aspects of his life including some of his amazing swim stories showing us that getting older does not need to slow you down. We finish with the tough part of his story, getting a cancer diagnosis, that is most likely going to mean he can't swim again. But despite this his amazing positivity...

In this episode Jim & Duncan talk to Brian Gray.  Brian has done some epic swims, including a 55km trip around Waiheke island in the Hauraki gulf close to Auckland, New Zealand. We cover a number of areas including: his moustache; his big swims; his approach to training as well as feeding/nutrition and swimming for charity. If you want to follow Brian he has an Instagram account, link is here: https://www.instagram.com/bmiester_gray?igshid=NGVhN2U2NjQ0Yg==  As always, comments &...