210 {Brendan Cullen Pt 2} A farmer from Broken Hill swimming the English Channel
Challenges That Change Us · Ali Flynn
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Show Notes
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Imagine being a regional farmer living in remote Australia. Then imagine deciding to swim the English Channel.
This is part 2 of our chat with Brendan Cullen. I highly recommend listening to part 1 first. After his journey with his mental health, Brendan decided to make some big changes, and one of those was getting into swimming. But he didn’t just dabble, Brendan decided to go all in on swimming.
In this episode he shares:
- His unexpected journey into swimming and how a simple local event sparked something much bigger
- The obsessive progression from short swims to extreme endurance training
- What it really took to prepare for the English Channel, including isolation, sacrifice, and relentless discipline
- The mental toll of training in remote conditions and the grind of simply accessing water
- The reality of the Channel swim itself, from brutal conditions to complete physical and mental exhaustion
- The moment he reached France and the emotional release after years of effort
- How this physical challenge compared to his earlier struggles with trauma and depression
- The importance of saying “yes” and how that decision shaped the entire journey
- The unexpected difficulty of life after achieving such a massive goal
- How sharing his story and writing his book became a way to help others and find purpose
Key Quotes
“After 12 hours, it was dark. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how long I'd been in the water. I had no idea how far I had to go. I've completely gave myself over to the boat hoping that they would get me there.”
“I got caught in a four and a half knot rip not far out of France, and that's a solid rip… so, you know, mentally really tough.”
More about Brendan
Find his website here. And his book here.
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If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:
http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au
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