August 30, 2017

066: Strong Water: From Big Wave Surfer & Pirate Treasure Hunter to Eco Entrepreneur Working to Save Firefighters’ Lives w/Jeff Denholm Part 1

First responders have the highest incidence of cancer of any occupation in the country. How does Jeff Denholm’s company, ATIRA Systems solve these and many other problems? What was it like to go through a serious injury and make the way back to health and adventure? Why is humility important when you have tremendous abilities? On this episode, we are joined by legendary adventurer and entrepreneur Jeff Denholm.

If an athlete’s humility doesn’t exceed their ability, I don’t want anything to do with them. - Jeff Denholm

The number one cost associated with fire damage is water damage, and the number one killer of firefighters is flashover.

First responders are exposed to a great many risks as they do the honorable work of saving lives. They are prone to flashover, which takes place when heated air ignites from behind them, trapping them and burning them. They also deal with the risks of structural loading. The work ATIRA Systems does is helping these brave people do their work more safely. Additionally their systems, knock out fires with a 10th of the water needed.

If you want to deliver a giant vision for a profound change you’re committed to, you have to deliver that vision.

When the people in a company who are the originators leave, very often the ability to execute on the category potential diminishes, and the company fails. Most people think associating with big companies will make them stronger, but it can actually have the opposite effect. If you want to deliver against a giant vision for a profound change that you’re committed to, you have to deliver that vision.

Painkillers weaken the body, the immune system and the mind.

Jeff’s experience with a serious injury that resulted in the amputation of his hand taught him a great deal about resilience. Without painkillers he found he was able to find and use the strength to fight through his injury. In fact, he believes painkillers dull our senses and take away from the mental, physical and emotional strength we need to get us through something.

Jeff has a great deal of tenacity, which he believes comes from being drawn to things that are hard to do. With an amazing life as an adventurer, overcoming an injury and pushing his business for 6 years, it’s clear that he is a breath of fresh air. Visualizing his own success has brought him this far, but he also really values humility above any ability or amount of genius. The key to making it through the rough times is to keep executing.

Guest Bio

Jeff wears many hats in life, including entrepreneur, professional athlete, inspirational speaker and environmental steward. ATIRA Systems® is the professional nexus of Jeff's entrepreneurial spirit and passion for the environment. While seeking a fire retardant for his Wildfire Equipment Company, Jeff was struck by disturbing statistics about the toxicity of current offerings and asked himself, "What if we could come up with a non-toxic product that is more effective at fighting fires of all types without doing unnecessary harm?" Jeff discovered that annually there are millions of ga...

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