Real Risk

In my view, the very embodiment of courage and resilience is my friend Gill Hicks.  As a young woman Gill travelled to London to find adventure and a new life. She found success and everything she had hoped for in that wonderful city. But that all changed in "a breath", when she was just meters away from a detonating suicide bomber on the London Underground in July 2005.  The ghastly physical impact was just the beginning of a journey that would lead her on a quest to literally promote world peace. Gill is articulate, kind and outspoken about her vision of...

To see lots of Molly's thrills and spills, be sure to watch the interview on YouTube under Real Risk Podcast.

For the last episode of the series, I bring you a chat with an extraordinary Australian who is currently dominating in the highly competitive world of rally driving. After winning the Australian Rally Championship in 2016 (as both the youngest competitor and the first female), the hugely skilled and very personable Molly is now finding success in multiple disciplines within the sport.  And she's not to shabby in front of the camera either after starring in the Australian S...

Check out the video version on YouTube under Real Risk Podcast.
 
The 2019/20 bushfire season in Australia was the worst on record. The first ever recorded "giga-fire" that burnt across multiple states. And Greg Mullins was one of the experts who knew it was coming.

Greg fought his first bush fire as a young lad alongside his father. It was the start of what would become a lifelong career not only fighting bush and structure fires on the front line, but studying the science behind what seemed to be making them worse with every passing decade. I...

See the video of Carly's interview on YouTube under Real Risk Podcast.

At 24 years of age, Adelaide Muay Thai and Karate expert has already won national and world championships. She is a successful business woman and has a passion for enabling women to be confident, strong and safe on the streets and in life in general. Her latest venture is to promote the prestigious Pride Fight Series with the ultimate goal of seeing the fight card equally balanced with male and female athletes.

In a time where many contact sports are increasingly being scrutinised due...

Enjoy the video version on YouTube at Real Risk Podcast.

At the top end of town in motor sports - Formula 1 and MotoGP, the budgets are eye watering. The technology is beyond comprehension and the competition to get a seat or a ride is extraordinary with countless young wannabes vying for a tiny number of opportunities. 

So when the red lights go out and the racing starts, the need for not only speed but also reliability is obvious. A tenth of a second here or there gained through tyre choice or suspension setup will win r...

Check out the video version on YouTube

Like all elite branches of law enforcement or the military, the Water Operations Unit of the South Australian Police demand high standards of fitness, stamina and intelligence in their recruits. More than just divers, the team are police officers first and foremost, conducting their duties at sea and on rivers or other inland waterways. They have a strong presence in search and rescue ops as well as the counterterrorism space.  But the diving is where their unique skills really come to the fore. 

Underwater, they are still potentially wo...

Check out the video version on YouTube!

Matt Hall can fly pretty much anything from an airforce jet fighter to a composite MXS raceplane in the Red bull air races. This Australian is a third generation pilot from New South Wales. During a high octane career spanning over 35 years, he's learn't a thing or two about risk management as he pushes the envelope just about as far as is humanly possible.

Matt remains the reigning Red Bull air race champion (doesn't hurt that the series stopped during COVID!) and with the promise of a series...

Watch the video version of the podcast on YouTube at Real Risk Podcast!

As Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear famously once said: “Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you.”

 An on-site account of the 2003 race by Sports Illustrated writer Franz Lidz called the spectacle "38 Miles of Terror... a test of nerves and speed that may be sport's most dangerous event". 

The event has been held on the remote British island since 1907.  Since the inaugural race, there have been over 255 deaths on the race course . In 2016, five riders died duri...

Check out the video version of Real Risk Podcast on YouTube.

Craig Challen is a Perth based technical and cave diver who is equally comfortable diving deep shipwrecks and exploring caves. He and your podcast host became friends in the mid 2000's when they discovered a shared passion for exploration, in particular in the niche area of ultra deep caves.  Along with their tight knit friendship group (The Wetmules), they have travelled far and wide in the quest for new finds, developing techniques and technologies along the way.

In this conversation the banter is as t...

Watch the full video interview on You Tube under Real Risk Podcast

Russell Ord (surf photographer extraordinaire) and Shanan Worrall (big wave surfer and water safety expert) are the true definition of watermen. Both of these hardy souls come from the south west of Western Australia where the Indian Ocean swells roll onto the shore at spots like the infamous break known as "The Right".  Both men immersed themselves in every facet of ocean sports from an early age and whilst Shanan continues the search for the ultimate wave, Russell has turned his attention to capturing the b...

Check out the video podcast on the REAL RISK YOUTUBE channel!

Few individuals can claim to have truly expert knowledge and mastery of the practical aspects of their discipline. Dr Simon Mitchell is the Professor of Anaesthesiology at Auckland University and is widely acclaimed in the field of diving and hyperbaric medicine. His often very practical research into operational and equipment based diving conundrums, makes him a highly sought after, and very entertaining speaker at diving and medical conferences. The breadth and (literal) depth of his diving experience is extraordinary, from reef blasting as a young man...

Watch the full video interview on You Tube under Real Risk Podcast

Hugh Riminton is a citizen of the world. Growing up in Ceylon, then New Zealand before moving to Australia he has covered stories from around the globe. From the world's most dangerous settlement of Soweto, the killing fields of Rwanda and the horrific cost of the Somalian famine; I suspect Hugh's eyes have witnessed more pain and suffering than anyone should experience. And yet he remains a kind, generous and gentle soul with unique insights into the human condition. Hugh's story is a remarkable place...

To finish the series, the frightening account of the shark attack that so nearly cost Chris Blowes his life. The attack ended with his two mates watching the shark swimming off with their friend's leg in its mouth, towing his surfboard by the leg rope behind it. That imagery is so much worse than anything that Hollywood could dream up.

Over the next few hours Chris came as close to dying as one can. Another inexplicable survival story in the vein of last week's episode with diver Chris Lemons. But Chris Blowes survived to marry his girlfriend...

In this second episode of Life on a Line, we rejoin Chris Lemons on the seabed in the North Sea. His umbilical is severed, and he has switched on his bailout gas with the knowledge that in 8 minutes his gas supply will be exhausted and he will die...

Make sure you listen to the previous episode first!

The world of saturation diving is high tech, complex and fascinating. The physics and physiology present unbreakable rules that must be followed to remain safe. The  risks of decompression sickness, High Pressure Nervous Syndrome (HPNS), oxygen toxicity and inert gas narcosis are carefully managed. But perhaps the hardest part; living in the confines of the hyperbaric quarters for 28 days with no possibility of early release. You have to be the right kind of person.

In 2012, Chris Lemons was an experienced commercial diver, but relatively new to sat diving. "Sat" is the pinnacle of the job, good pay, e...

Paddling onto a 70 foot wave must make every nerve in your brain scream STOP! The deafening roar, the wedge like tons of water curling over then hurling you down towards the reef visible beneath the shallows at the bottom of the drop. The explosion occurring all around as you reach an impossible speed if you are still standing at the base of the beast, as you then desperately try to cut across the face to escape the monster that seeks to crush you. Frankly it is inconceivable that anyone has such courage. And wave names like Jaws and Killer...

Alex Honnold is cool. Beyond cool actually. His skill and calm transcend what most of us can conceive is possible. And yet when you chat with him he is immediately likeable and you can imagine hanging out. His enthusiasm makes you want to go climbing with him although in my case that would be very embarrassing. I do suspect he'd help you maximise your potential. After all, he guided his own mum to the top of El Cap in her 60s!

I can't remember enjoying talking to someone more than I did Alex. And when I somewhat...

Three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food. We all know the saying, but some people just refuse to acknowledge these kinds of rules. James Scott, a young medical student was such a guy. He left Australia for an adventure in Nepal, a clinical placement which would set him up for his return to start a career in surgery back home. But a poorly judged trek at the beginning of the Himalayan winter left him trapped without food, starving to death in a rock shelter in sub zero conditions. 43 days later, as close to death...

The documentary 'Free Solo" based around the rope-less ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park by Alex Honnold had us all on the edge of our seats. I found myself holding my breath, at times barely able to look at the screen even though I knew Alex would ultimately succeed. To capture the drama of that quest took both great technical and dramatic skill; the perfect marriage of talents for two film makers - Jimmy Chin (the mountaineer and director) and his wife 'Chai' Vasarhelyi (director and in Jimmy's words, the one who brings great restraint to the...

When your father is Jack Brabham a three times Formula 1 World Champion, it seems likely that motorsport will be in your blood. And as it turned out all three of Jack's sons took to the track like the proverbial ducks to water. David Brabham never intended to race cars, he was content driving the farm ute at breakneck speeds sideways around the local dirt roads. But when he casually entered a gokart race with a friend one day, he discovered a natural aptitude and competitive spirit that would stand him in good stead for many years. From karting, to...

In this episode I talk with two good friends, cave divers Brian Kakuk and Dr Kenny Broad. Brian runs Bahamas Underground which offers guided diving to suitably qualified cave divers in the exquisite flooded caves on Abaco Island. But the beautiful crystal formations in the gin clear tunnels are only half the story. Amazing geology, bizarre life forms, ancient fossils and even human remains make this a natural laboratory for scientists. Scientists like anthropologist Kenny Broad, another expert cave diver, regularly dive with Brian to help unlock the secrets of these caves. 

 The guys share stories of ea...

At the age of 16, I wasn't thinking about achieving something incredible. My thoughts were firmly on the pursuit of the opposite sex, of SCUBA diving and the freedom of a driver's licence! Lucky for the human race some youngsters have a loftier agenda. Jessica Watson was one such girl, who with the influence of her family's love of adventure, dreamt of testing herself on the open ocean in a small boat. At the age of 16, she finally made that dream a reality when she became the youngest person to ever circumnavigate alone and unassisted.

Her quest was...

Almost every kid with a few dollars to scrape together has owned a skateboard of some kind, and pretty soon after has ridden it down a hill near their house. But a few take it to the next level, using gravity to pull them down the steepest roads at speeds that defy belief. Just inches above the tarmac, it is hard to imagine what riding at speeds of over 100kph must feel like. Clad in full leathers and a full face helmet, they race to be World Champion in a sport many people have never even heard of.
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Bill is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland. He is widely published in the literature and has authored a book called The Social Leap, an insight into how evolution has influenced our current thinking and behaviour. "Life on the sprawling grasslands precipitated a shift from individualistic ways of living to more cooperative ways. This was the birth of what you might call “social intelligence,” and it changed the way our minds work forever." It's an amazing read. 

But Bill also works with Special Forces soldiers helping them manage their perception of danger and risk, and i...

Yep you read that right, James Cameron himself joins me to wrap up twelve great episodes with gripping tales of exploring what lies in the deepest parts of the ocean. From filming historic shipwrecks like the German battleship Bismarck (16,000 feet deep) and Titanic (12,500 feet deep), to the very bottom of the world at nearly 36,000 feet in the Mariana Trench! It goes without saying that James Cameron is a good story teller and I was on the edge of my seat for every minute of this interview. An incredibly generous guy, he gave me over an hour of his time...

There is no way short of paying for a seat on Elon Musk's Space X rocket of hitting 5 Gs, unless you get behind the wheel of a top fuel drag racer. With engines that develop over 10,000 horse power, you'll be doing well over 300 mph in less than 4 seconds and then it's time to deploy your 'shutes and hit the brakes, hoping like hell everything holds together. Sometimes the engine will simply explode and the nitromethane fuel creates a fireball that accompanies you down the track. It's not a sport for the faint hearted.

For self confessed adrenaline...

Peter Helliar is a much loved son of Australian television and comedy. He acts, performs, writes, directs and more. He doesn't really come across as your outdoors adventure type, in fact in his own words he's "a bit risk averse". So when I was looking for someone a little different to talk with about risk taking, he was the first guy I called. In fact BASE jumper Sean Chuma (EP 4) gave me the idea when he told me the thing he fears most is public speaking. In fact many people are less scared of death than giving that best...

When you experience the worst day of your life, it is hard to look beyond it and see the positives. That's unless you are someone remarkable like Heath Jamieson, a former Australian commando sniper who was shot through the neck in 2011, in Afghanistan. Following years of rehab for a high spinal and traumatic brain injury, Heath went on to become a helicopter training pilot and a polar guide. He now inspires people young and old not to dwell on what irks or ails them, but to see the upside in everything that happens...good or bad.

Contact...

When I fly in a plane across a vast expanse of ocean, I often wonder what it would feel like to be out there alone, just you, a boat, and the elements. How would I fare facing massive storm pushed waves in the dark of night, alone and frightened as the ocean tried to consume my tiny vessel? What would I learn of myself day after day as I clear my mind of the worldly worries that consume us all, to focus on the cycle of "eat, sleep, sail".

Lisa Blair can give us the answers. She...

There's an easy way, and there's a hard way of doing things and Tim Jarvis seems to prefer the latter. Tim's exploits in the polar regions have become almost as legendary as the explorers of the heroic period, who's fascinating but often deadly journeys he has recreated right down to the hobnail boots and reindeer skin sleeping bags. Tim Jarvis offers profound insights into the benefits of risk taking and doing hard things as he fights overwhelming obstacles that would have earned the respect of his heroes Mawson and Shackleton. The apocryphal words of Shackleton's advertisement seem just as...

Growing up in an army family in Australia, Dan Pronk moved around a lot and never seemed to make close friends. But he found his tribe in sports, excelling in triathlon and for a while it promised a career. But when that fell through, and having studied exercise science, Dan decided to become a doctor. And what better way to fund his studies than to commit a few years to the army. With a brother in the Special Air Service Regiment, he met some of the "operators" at a BBQ one day, and in that moment he saw his...

William Trubridge has held 18 world records in the various disciplines of free diving. He spends much of his time living on Long Island in the Bahamas, home of the famous Dean's Blue Hole where many of the world records have been set. William and I talk about the rise of free diving as a sport, what it takes to become a champion and how to successfully manage the risks. We take a fascinating dive into the physiology of immersion to unravel just how humans can descend to great depths on a single breath.

William's WR dive attempt 1...

The world of BASE jumping and wing suit flying is not for the faint hearted. It is a sport literally littered with tragic death and injury. And yet, the rewards for the enthusiasts include that most prized sensation; to fly like a bird.

Sean Chuma is a veteran of both disciplines. In fact, with 6,700 jumps under his belt he qualifies as the most experienced jumper in the world. He was completely different to what I expected. After losing more friends and acquaintances than he can remember, Sean describes in his quiet and understated way, what draws him...

I doubt there is a person on the planet who has spent more time underground than Dr Bill Stone PhD. By the age of 19, Bill was involved in major deep caving expeditions to Mexico, and soon after that he was leading his own trips underground. When he reached water in the depths of Sistema Huautla, he wasn't deterred. Instead, in only a way Bill Stone can, he build his own diving system from the ground up and went on to discover many more hundreds of meters of cave passage in an epic expedition which became the subject of a...

Katie Sarah is an Adelaide based mountaineer who is one of only eight climbers in the world to achieve the "7-7"; climbing the seven highest mountains and the seven highest volcanoes on seven continents. And I get the feeling she is just warming up!

A successful business woman, a strong supporter of multiple charities, and a mother of three children, she reminds me of the adage “if you want something done, ask a busy person!”

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Allow me to introduce myself. It's a monologue but don't worry, it's just my way of saying G'day and telling you what the series is about. I explain why I am interested in risk and why I want to chat with folks who live with risk in their lives. And we're off! 

Contact me on admin@speleopix.com.au
www.speleopix.com.au