When Fears Become Your Greatest Strengths
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Whether open water swimmers encounter sharks in La Jolla or Cape Town, Sydney or Molokai, Cayman Islands or in Catalina Channel, swimmers tend not to panic and handle the situation well.
See a video of Ranie Pearce’s shark encounter in the Molokai Channel here, Hank Wise’s shark encounter in the Catalina Channel here or Bob Placak‘s encounter in the Galápagos Islands here.
Even with a shark attack on Charlotte Brynn (read here), Steven Robles (read here), Mike Spalding (read here), Achmat Hassiem (read here), Gary Hall Jr. (read here) or Penny Palfrey (read here), swimmers are cool, calm and collected.
But when swimmers venture in areas like the Farallon Islands near San Francisco or False Bay in South Africa, the anticipation of a possible shark encounter or shark attack can be nerve-wracking. Ned Denison said before his swim across False Bay, “We all have a shark fear so the mental challenge was a big part of my choice to swim across False Bay.”
Rich Roll, a former competitive swimmer-turned-prolific podcaster and author, released his latest podcast called How to Survive A Shark Attack featuring Royal Australia Clearance diver Paul de Gelder.
Listen here to the podcast that opens with, “Imagine being attacked by a 9-foot bull shark…
One moment you’re swimming peacefully in Sydney Harbor. The next minute you’re rammed and pulled underwater, your leg and arm hopelessly trapped in the shark’s jaw. The pain is unimaginable. Death is certain…
In the 7 years since the shark attack, Paul’s life has changed in every aspect. Today he travels the world as a top motivational speaker, passionate environmentalist, adventurer and mentor to school kids. He has spoken at venues all around the world, including the United Nations, promoting ecological conservation and (quite ironically and heroically) shark conservation. Along the way, he continues to dive with sharks all over the world — including Great Whites without a cage.
Listen here.
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