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Colin O'Brady

No Human is Limited

By InnerVoice

October 29^th, 2019

Jenna

I graduated from college in 2006, and I knew I wanted to travel. I didn't have a lot of money, but even as a kid, I'd always had this dream of seeing the world. I cobbled together a few thousand bucks by painting houses and decided to take a backpack and a surfboard to go exploring. I walked into an STA travel, (remember when you used to walk into a store and buy a plane ticket?) They said to me that I could have a free stopover in Fiji on my way to New Zealand. I didn't have a fixed itinerary, so I thought, 'Shoot, why not?'

I got to Fiji and ended up on this tiny little island, you could walk the circumference in about 5 minutes. There was one bar, and the hostel was a couple of bunk beds. A beautiful girl was standing on the beach, and I couldn't help myself but to strike up a conversation. She was American, from Massachusetts, and she was studying abroad in Sydney. She was in Fiji on the Australian version of spring break, and our trips happened to overlap by a day and a half. I kept her phone number and, a couple of months later, when I ended up in Australia. She was the first call that I made.

12 years later, we're married, and Jenna and I have built an extraordinary life together. It's incredible to have a loving and supportive wife, and I'm grateful for that. But our relationship has been so much more than that. We are business partners, and all the world record projects, mountain climbs, and Antarctica were things we dreamed up together. It's not her being supportive as in, 'Oh, cool, that's your dream, good luck with that.' Much of the success we've had is due to her hard work and dedication. It's gone from the two of us sitting in front of a whiteboard in our one-bedroom apartment, figuring things out as we go, to where we are now. We've lived through many ups and downs. Through many setbacks and failures, but to be in it together and committed to supporting one another has been incredible.

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Positivity

After meeting Jenna in Australia, the next stop on my trip was Thailand. I was on this tiny little beach in rural Thailand. A typical tourist activity in that area is fire dancing. In this case, there was a long jump rope that was lit on fire, and people were jumping underneath it. I was 22 years old, out exploring the world, and kind of felt invincible, so of course I was going to try it. I didn't think anything of it. Unfortunately, it went drastically wrong for me. The rope wrapped around my legs and lit my body on fire, all the way to my neck. Survival mode kicked in when I needed it most, and I jumped into the ocean to extinguish the flames. I got into the water before there was much damage to my torso and upper body, but my legs and feet were severely burned.

I was in the middle of nowhere. I had to ride a moped down a dirt path to a little nursing station where I underwent a bunch of surgeries. I ended up in a makeshift ICU with a cat running around my bed. Early on, the Thai doctor told me I'd never walk normally again. He figured the damage to my ligaments, skin, and ankle joints was so bad that I'd have limited mobility for the rest of my life. As an active guy, a former collegiate swimmer, that was devastating news. The physical trauma was terrible, but the emotional trauma was even more significant. On the fourth or fifth day, Mom arrived, it was terrifying for her to see her child in that state. Fortunately for me, she never showed me her fear. She came into the hospital with a smile on her face and an air of positivity. She dared me to dream about the future and encouraged me to set a goal. I was a skeptic at first.

'What are you talking about, Mom, my life is over.'

Eventually, I bought in to her positivity. I'd seen the Ironman World Championship coverage on NBC as a kid. They always had uplifting stories of overcoming hardship. In a moment of complete devastation, with my mother's support. I decided that if I could cross the finish line in a triathlon someday, I would feel like I'd recovered.

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

What else am i capable of?

Of course, it's one thing to set a goal, another to actually follow through. I was back home in Portland, Oregon, in a wheelchair when my mom forced me to keep moving towards my goal. One day, she grabbed a wooden chair from our kitchen and placed it one step in front of my wheelchair. She said to me, "Today, you need to figure out how to take your very first step to reach this chair in front of you." It took me all day. But it was the first step on a long road to recovery – 18 months of learning how to walk again and then kind of jogging. But I had the triathlon goal ever-present in my mind.

Eventually, I moved to Chicago to take a job in finance. It was there that I decided to honor my goal, so I signed up for the Chicago Triathlon. I aimed to finish the race and move on from this tragic part of my life. But to my complete and utter surprise, I didn't just finish, I won the entire race. The first amateur out of over 4000 competitors. It's a moment that took my life in a completely different direction.

I walked into work on Monday and quit my job in finance to become a professional triathlete. It was a gamble, for sure, as being a triathlete isn't a lucrative or stable career. But my mind was curious – if I can do this, what else am I capable of? None of this would've happened had my mom not forced me to look towards the future and set measurable goals. As humans, we have reservoirs of untapped potential inside of us. When we access them, we can achieve extraordinary things.

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

The Impossible first

Being alone for 54 days in the harshest and coldest environment on earth is both a physical and a mental challenge. My wife, Jenna, and, I titled my quest to cross Antarctica, 'The Impossible First.' A solo, unsupported, and unassisted expedition. Meaning no resupplies of food and fuel and completely human powered. On previous attempts, people had run out of food, run low on supplies, gotten sick, and unfortunately, one person actually died attempting this crossing. The crossing had never been completed before, and when I made it, it was a world first. To succeed, I had to get everything right.

I started the journey with a 375-pound sled carrying all my gear, food, and fuel. To pull that amount of weight, I knew I had to be in peak physical condition. I added about 15 pounds of muscles to account for the projected weight loss, and to have enough strength to pull the sled. It was a detailed math equation, to carry enough supplies, without having too much in a sled that I couldn't move. I was pretty close to my last bite of food when I crossed the continent, it was down to a razor-thin margin of error. If I neglected the mental training and preparation, then the physical training wouldn't have mattered. The deep solitude and the risks involved meant I needed to stay focused the entire time. If not, it could have led to tragic consequences.

At times, I was able to reach Jenna on the satellite phone, which definitely helped my mindset. But I still had to get my mind stronger and find a daily practice. I love mantras, and I'm a big believer that we are the stories that we tell ourselves. As humans, we're kind of oriented to tell ourselves negative and limiting mantras. Things like; I can't do that, I'm not strong enough, or I'm not smart enough. I'm guilty of that as well! Trust me, dragging a sled across Antarctica, there were many negative moments. I'm also hyper-aware of it and can recognize when it's creeping in. Every morning of my journey, I'd sit up straight and say to myself.

"Colin, you are strong, you are capable, you are strong, you are capable."

It was what got me through the frostbite issues, the weight loss, the loneliness. Using that mantra was such a great way to start the day.

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Listen to the full interiew

Listen to the full 1 hour and 15 minute conversation between Travis McKenzie and Colin O'Brady below on the INNERVOICE podcast.

What is your everest?

There are two types of comments and feedback that I receive from people. Things like 'you were the first person to cross Antarctica solo, unsupported and unassisted, you're such a badass.' Sure, that's nice, but when I get messages like, 'I watched your Antarctica project, and now I've put my running shoes on for the first time in five years. Or 'I've been talking about this business I want to start, but it's always been a pipe dream. Now I have a business plan, and I'm actually going to go after it.' That is much more meaningful to me.

I've talked to people about summiting Everest, and there's a lot of intrigue and fascination about the mountain, the same intrigue that I had as a kid. But for many reasons, it's not accessible to everyone. I ask the question all the time, "What is your Everest?"

It's humbling and an honor to inspire people to take action and accountability in their own lives; by witnessing me completing a project that was thought to be impossible. I have been inspired by many people in my own life, including people that reach out to me. It's a beautiful wheel of inspiration and positivity. I see the incredible things that other people are doing, I become invested in their stories. So, it's this reciprocal, symbiotic relationship that I love.

Photo by Samuel A. Harrison

29029

This is most evident at 29029. Marc Hodulich, Jesse Itzler, and I wanted to provide an opportunity for people to challenge their limits, on a soul-defining level.

We created an experience where people can summit their own Everest. 29,029; those numbers add up to the vertical feet above sea level of Mt Everest. And so, they are symbolic of the Everest summit. Over a period of 36 hours, participants make multiple ascents, up a private mountain. To reach 29,029 feet of vertical gain. It is a personal challenge. You're lapping the course over and over again, and you take the gondola down. It's 17 laps in Vermont and 13 in Utah, that's a lot of laps!

For the most seasoned endurance athlete, this is a vastly different event. It doesn't matter how fast you go or what place you finish. There's none of that at 29029. It stands true to the motto of 'you versus you.' From Olympians to everyday folks, there's something there for everyone. I've completed the challenge four times now, and each time I walk away knowing a little bit more about who I am. I also see lives transformed right in front of my eyes. That's the coolest part of 29029.

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Community

I haven't met a single person who has participated in 29029 that hasn't absolutely loved it.

It is a meaningful, transformative event, and it has such an incredible impact on people. Even participants that were disappointed by not being able to finish their first time around are motivated to come back to reach 29,029 feet. The event itself is amazing in its simplicity, but really, it's the community that surrounds the entire event that makes it extraordinary. There's nothing like the bonding that is formed from a shared experience like 29029. I love being a part of a community that fosters that.

To be able to participate in an event with other people and not feel like you have to look over your shoulder and have your game face on is amazing. There's a resonance of positive energy that uplifts everyone and helps push you to achieve your goal, as well as support and encourage others to reach their goals.

It's that energy that keeps me striving towards what could be possible and is evidence to me that no human is limited.

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Colin O'Brady

Footnotes

Words by Colin O'Brady, Photos courtesy of Colin, 29029 and as attributed, Published by Travis McKenzie

FootNotes

Words by Colin O'Brady, Photos courtesy of Colin, 29029 and as attributed, Published by Travis McKenzie

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