Picturing the sunrise over the sea in California…sand between my toes and right arm wrapped around my surfboard. Cold bead of sweat trickling down my temple. I have had this dream since I was about 10.

Years of paralysis of entering a swimming pool forget the sea meant it remained a dream. The fear of water (through using NLP) stemmed back from the moment I was pushed into the pool as a kid and I must have freaked the hell out.

Fast forward 20 years and a good friend at the time taught me the basics of overcoming the fear. I happened to be a brilliant natural under water swimmer. My endurance busting lungs allowed me swim the length of a Olympic pool without coming up for air. However swimming on the surface…oh man I was like a dog swimming to save it’s life and cramping muscles was a regular occurrence. My first triathlon was a joke but a great accomplishment in one go.

Back to surfing. Dominican Republic 2015 – this trip was momentous for me as I slayed my fears of the deep blue with a triple challenge. First up was the easy one – Sailing. Always loved to learn and what better place than the Caribbean sea. Next up was kayaking and I was pretty nervous as it bopped up and down and I couldn’t see the bottom of the sea plus the burning sensation in my shoulders will stay with me forever.

Finally Surfing – okay actually boogie boarding but the 1st step to actual surfing as you learn to surf the waves lying on a board. As the bus approached the beach 2 things struck me. The beach was fucking black…not gold like in my dream and secondly the waves were huge. The multiple red flags set my heart off and was expecting the guides to cancel this challenge. But no they wanted to please the foreigners I figured or get their hands on the females in the bus was probably more accurate.

A photo of me in 2015 with a forced smile, and definitely guilty of over indulging at the All Inclusive restaurants, as I lost my GoPro to the Ocean.

I ramble on about mindset a lot but it clicked into gear here. So it wasn’t the Californian dream I had for and the waves were raging but I told myself don’t make an excuse to wimp out of this…I’m in the Caribbean for damn sake and this test was meant to be….just focus and kill this fear…and don’t drown of course.

Of course I wiped out to start with but my heart fell in love with surfing for real not just in dreams and i was loving the rough waves. The sad part was that I had to be hauled off as the waves became more aggressive as the minutes ticked by. So aggressive that it ripped off my Go Pro and I lost that to sea. I was devastated as it contained this and my sailing and kayaking challenges also. Once I licking my disappointed wounds…I quickly replaced this with the emotion of pure achievement. I had slayed my biggest fear and some. I have a photographic memory so no matter I lost the footage…I can relive the experience…and I have 4 years on.

So what next. Some serious surf and swimming training, including baby steps with skateboarding to help with balance, as I’ve generated interest from my blog stories from around the World and I will tour some of the best and unknown sports venues around the World. Of course I will combine this with my athletic, mindful challenges but nothing excites me more than this challenge – I’ve been dreaming about it for over 30 years!!!!

Relentless Challenge – Relentless Life