Real Risk

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 future...as a doctor embedded in Australia's most elite fighting force. Thus began a journey that would test him beyond what he thought was possible and help him become in his own words, "the best version of himself". I felt very privileged to hear his story.

EDIT Dan asked me to point out an error at 45:30 when he describes the loss of life in a helo crash on June 21st 2010. He referred to it happening 10 days ago rather than 10 years ago. We acknowledge the loss of Scott Palmer, Ben Chuck and Tim Alpin.

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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, then later success https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giSRzii_Za0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_sc7j0XHEk
Tanya Streeter's WR No Limits dive  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T_DK8lmVxU
Vertical Blue website http://verticalblue.net/

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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 back to his passion on a daily basis. And if you are keen, you can jump off a bridge in Idaho safely held in Sean's arms to capture the feeling for yourself. That's what I call a leap of faith!

https://www.tandembase.com
https://www.facebook.com/SQRLSQAD/videos/110530063197915/

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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 must read book, Beyond the Deep.

Nowadays Bill is still an active caver, but his sights are set on finding life on Jupiter's moon Europa. And he is attacking that quest in his classic style. Bill Stone is the real deal, and he's here on Real Risk.

Beyond the Deep  "there are no rescues in cave diving, only body recoveries"

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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 [email protected]
www.speleopix.com.au