aka “Fish Man”
The water is your friend…you don’t have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move. –Alexander Popov
I have to be honest, when I first heard of Martin Strel I was more awestruck than inspired. Of all the amazing, jaw-dropping, flat out impossible human feats achieved by man, what this 52 year old marathon swimmer has accomplished simply defies the neurological firings of my synapse blown brain.
Now I can understand people climbing mountains. People rowing across oceans. Or circumnavigating the globe by bike or shoe. Running an ultra-marathon. Flying to space. Free diving to the bottom of the ocean. I get it. Often we don’t recognize who we truly are until we are stripped down to the bone.
But what about being literally stripped down to the bone. By piranhas. Or crocodiles? What about bull sharks? Or anacondas? Or stingrays? Electric eels? Or the candiru, the “toothpick fish” feared above all else for it’s tendency to swim up exposed orifices. And. Then. Open up spikes.
What about the fact that the Amazon river is the single longest fresh water system on earth, extending 3,274 miles… longer than the width of the Atlantic ocean? Or the fact that most humans can’t swim 10 laps in a pool, let alone a mile. What about the river pirates, the malarial mosquitos, the devastating sun burn, the bloated skin rash? The submerged splintered tree logs, the tangled hidden vines, the fast approach of waterfalls and jagged rocks?
What about the fact that a 52 year old Slovenia grizzly man, who looks more like a barrel-chested weightlifter then a super lean, amphibious aquaman… swam for 66 days straight, each day averaging over 52 miles a day, twice a runner’s marathon. Twice the length of the English channel. Swimming over 12 hour days. Again, my mind doesn’t have the imagination nor the simple wattage capacity to process the achievement.
And the thing is… I’ve been to the Amazon. I’ve swam almost a mile across it’s length. I’ve seen the piranha jump and snap. I’ve opened my eyes in that dark, silt stained water and felt the overwhelming panic grip when I couldn’t even see my own hand, 3 inches away. I know how dangerous and crazy it is to even venture a minute in that water, let alone a mile, let alone the entire unbelievable length.
And to top it all off, Martin finished 4 days ahead of schedule. In a word… astounding.
I could go on and on about this inspiring man. Like how he has broken his own world record for longest continuous swim four times. Starting with the 3,004km Danube in 2000, then the 3,797km Mississippi in 2001 and the 4,003km Yangtze in 2004. Or how in 1997 he became the first man to swim across the Mediterranean, from Italy to Tunisia (a challenge that had claimed the lives of 7 men before him). Or how he dedicates his swims toward peace and achieving the impossible.
But I think it is enough to just focus for the moment on this, the Amazon swim. Allow the awe to settle in your bones. And then, ask yourself, what is impossible? Those things in your life that weigh and press, that heighten your heart rate, constrict the airways. Anxiety feeders. Fear builders. The pretty girl you’ll never talk to. That dream vacation you’ll never take. That great big quivering vulnerable mess of a world you’ll never fix…
STOP. Take a breath. Think of Martin Strel. Think of water, that wide fluid force that does not fight. That only bends and flows. That won’t resist. That will carry you through the piranha thick waters of your life if you just put your head down. Spin your arms. And go.
Martin Strel has proven beyond any reasonable doubt… humans are capable of anything! Case Closed.
If you want to read more about Martin’s outrageous adventures, I highly recommend checking out Amazon expedition website, his personal homepage, his book, or the Sundance Award winning documentary Big River Man, currently screening in the UK and limited US theatres.
Also this outstanding article from the British Observer.
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