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  3. My Message To Vogue, Dubai & Perth Triathlons, and Prep for Antarctica
UNTAPPED with Spencer Matthews

1 Dec 2025 · 41m · 14 chapters

Episode artwork

My Message To Vogue, Dubai & Perth Triathlons, and Prep for Antarctica

In short

Spencer’s update during a “Project 7” triathlon run—he’s done five of seven Ironmans, heading into Rio, then Antarctica. He reflects on mindset, coping with lows, travel/jet lag, and Antarctica’s extreme logistics and cold-water risks. He also discusses missing his wife “Vogue,” supporting her on I’m a Celebrity, and fundraising/awareness for men’s suicide prevention via James’s Place.

Guests

None. The episode is a conversation with “Spencer” (the host’s guest). No other named co-guests appear as interviewees.

Guest background (Spencer)

A non-pro endurance athlete making a film (“Project 7”) while completing multiple Ironmans across continents; he’s also involved with a wellness/retreat connection in Dubai and has a personal support network.

Key claims

Positive mindset matters more than fitness; negative thoughts must be actively “gripped and ripped.” Antarctica can “crush” you if you don’t believe you own it; the swim is a survival test with only two prior successful swimmers. He hasn’t considered failing.

Notable examples

Cape Town’s grim swim/bike/marathon; Perth’s bull shark sightings and a moved swim location; Dubai’s desert run with wellness retreat “Rejuvenate” and owner Sean Clancy; ice-bathing and wetsuit/hood concerns for Antarctica; leopard seal risk discussed from a prior Forrest Galante episode.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:00

Facing Antarctica's Challenge

Learn about the mental preparation needed for extreme challenges like Antarctica.

“Going into Antarctica, it will crush you if you go into it, not believing that you own it.”
0:34

The Triathlon Journey

Spencer discusses his experiences and feelings after five triathlons.

“But you know what, the body is an extraordinary thing.”
2:36

Traveling Between Events

Insights into the challenges of traveling and competing in triathlons back-to-back.

“Let's take it back to the last time that we caught up with you.”
4:30

Perth Triathlon Experience

Spencer shares contrasting experiences during the Perth triathlon compared to Cape Town.

“because a big great white was spotted um and i think it's called forgive me australians if i'm wrong with it.”
7:19

Perth Triathlon Experience

Spencer shares contrasting experiences during the Perth triathlon compared to Cape Town.

“During Lowe's Pro Savings Days, my Lowe's Pro Rewards members can save up to 20 % when they buy more job site materials.”
8:54

Mindset and Endurance

Exploring the importance of mindset in overcoming endurance challenges.

“Um, I'm certainly a much better swimmer now than I was on day one.”
14:03

Mental Challenges in Endurance Racing

Explore the emotional and mental hurdles faced during intense physical challenges.

18:02

Missing Family During Races

Discuss the impact of prolonged separation from loved ones while racing.

“You've got two choices, really, when you're in that kind of state.”
20:56

Supporting Vogue on 'I'm a Celebrity'

Insights into Spencer's support for Vogue while she competes on a popular reality show.

“I'm quite friendly with the producer on the show.”
24:33

Plans for Reunion in Australia

Understanding the logistical challenges of reuniting with Vogue during her reality show.

“So there's a lot of, you know, if you had a look at the plan of action, the document with the logistics that have gone into this, you'd be, you know, take you a few hours to read it type thing.”
Show all 14 chapters
29:47

Antarctica Triathlon Preparation Challenges

Discussion on the unique challenges and preparation for the Antarctica triathlon.

“Definitely rooting for both you and Vogue there.”
36:08

Reflections on Recent Competitions and Upcoming Events

Reflections on past triathlons and the challenges of upcoming events, including Rio.

42:05

Reflections on Recent Travels

Spencer shares his experiences and thoughts on his recent travels across six continents.

42:53

Preparing for the Final Challenges

Discussion on the upcoming challenges in Antarctica and the significance of completing the previous events.

“Like, it's an absolute hell of a challenge, all of this.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Going into Antarctica, it will crush you if you go into it, not believing that you own it. I just didn't feel great that day. Really, really miss Vogue. I'm not getting to share it with the person I love most. Grim, grim swim, really bad bike, and then, you know, a marathon on top at the end, which, however you cut it, isn't great. But it doesn't take long for your mind to come around to the fact that actually this is just the reality that you're in today and this is happening, you know. get on board and get a grid or you know it's just going to be hell all day spencer welcome back to untaps you're now five triathlons into the seven how are you feeling you know what it's uh i feel better than i thought i would the time traveling which is how i describe it is is pretty it's it's quite intense you know we're now in rio 15 hour flight uh direct from Dubai, which is great.

0:56Got a bit of sleep on that. But you know what, the body is an extraordinary thing. It's amazing what it can put up with, you know, if you if you push it, if you push your limits, and you push how far you think you can go, particularly if you don't allow yourself to feel like it's finished. It's pretty amazing. Like my my body is in good order. Of course, I'm tired, like I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's Rio Iron, to be honest, because it is, you know, all of them now the highs and lows are becoming more just lows you know what i mean because it's just it's quite a lot of exertion on the body and it's pretty it's pretty soul destroying to be honest one thing i'm taking away from this as a lesson is is that um when you push yourself really hard you can go so much further than you think you can you know there was a lot of question marks about this challenge for me I remember sitting in London being really nervous the night before the first one I could barely sleep um because I I didn't actually know that I'd be able to string those three things together in a day right it's it was a first for me now that I'm on the sit I know I can do it but it's kind of it's quite gut-wrenching the idea of having to go back into that sea I can see where I'm starting to swim like it's really rough out there today like big waves.

2:19It's really rough. I can see it from my hotel room. If that's like that tomorrow morning, the swim could take me a couple of hours, could take longer. You know, it's just, it's a big toll. It takes a toll. I'll sleep for days when I'm done with this. Like genuinely, I'll come home and just go to bed and probably won't come out for three days. Let's take it back to the last time that we caught up with you. I think you were just leaving Cape Town then for a pretty long flight over to Perth. How was that travel experience? I'm sure that jet lag was pretty nasty. Jet lag isn't so much a thing for us because the triathlons won't wait for us.

2:56Do you know what I mean? So it's kind of like you're doing them regardless of whether you sleep or not. So we basically sleep when we can. And if that's during the day, then that's during the day and you bank the time. Two of these I've done on zero sleep. So no sleep at all the night leading up to the 5 a.m. start. but I did manage to bank asleep that day type thing but you know I'm basically sleeping when I feel tired wherever that might be you know in a car or on a plane or wherever hotel lobby on the floor at the airport the floor at the airport is my new favorite thing so because we've got so many bags we get there really early so usually we've got like three hours before we have to board even the lads with the camera kit have to do something called the carne which takes about an hour with the camera kit and stuff so i get to the gate really early and just lay down on the floor flat on the floor and usually bank like a couple of hours kip then get on the flight um but no so it's cape town was a really punishing experience like a really hard day out grim grim swim really bad bike and then you know a marathon on top at the end which however you cut it is isn't great um so pretty happy to leave there we were rewarded uh with perth perth was like the opposite you know nice nice and um flat the swim was you know piping hot in comparison uh bull sharks spotted all over the place apparently in the in where i was swimming so i did a story on instagram because a big great white was spotted um and i think it's called forgive me australians if i'm wrong with it.

4:43I think it's Costello Bay where we were supposed to swim. Big great white shark spotted there that day. I later found out that I would have been in a netted area. So I would have been probably fine, you know, although pretty sure a shark could tear through a net if it fancied it. But anyway, that's not why we moved. Chris moved the location anyway into what sounded like a much better bet, which is this kind of bottlenecked kind of harbour sort of thing where, you know, people go sailing and whatever, right in front of the hotel. Really calm, really warm water, like, you know, completely pleasant, lovely way to kick off the day.

5:27Stayed really close to the shore. And on the cycle afterwards, which was amazing as well, we bumped into some Scottish guy, and I won't bother trying to do his accent, but like really thick, Glaswegian accent. There you go. He was like, where did you swim? So there you go. I've done the accent. He goes, where did you swim? And we showed him a picture and he goes, he goes, ah, no. He goes, I are crazy. And he basically said, that is like full of bull sharks. His mate works there. Like you should never swim there. I was like, okay, well, you know done now anyway so great good didn't get attacked by a bull shark um but no anyway so all of the kind of dangerous swims are done if you will which is um which is nice uh and yeah yeah perth perth was good then we you know lapped a couple of um you know a couple of long big laps of um a kind of water base that they have out there running straight past the stadium where they were playing the Ashes.

6:32I don't think they quite got the results that they were after that day, but we were kind of unaware of that. I did have to lap it twice, so I was literally in the stadium, basically, just on the outskirts of the stadium, and I could hear all the shouting and screaming the first time, and it was kind of done by the time I went around again. Los deportes bring families together. Maybe it's watching el partido or cheering from the stands. While you are taking care of everyone else, don't forget to take care of yourself. If you are 45 or older and at average risk, it's time to screen for colon cancer.

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8:54now that you are five in two to go do you sort of feel that your body's slowly getting used to it or are you still finding yourself hating every moment i'm more comfortable now than i was at the start i think yeah so there is definitely an element of your body adapting to um you know certain activities that perhaps you weren't used to before. Um, I'm certainly a much better swimmer now than I was on day one. Um, far faster in the water, like it, you know, it's, it's very, it's noticeable even to me, you know, when I'm in the water, I've kind of figured out ways of compartmentalizing each race.

9:37So like I've worked out ways of breaking it down that work better than the first time I was doing it. I found specific music that works better for me on the bike than on the run. And then the run was wild in Dubai. We got joined by a group of lads, like really fit lads, like in proper shape, like animals. And they were really – a couple of them are involved with a kind of wellness retreat over there called rejuvenate um who were very kind to us they welcomed us in and gave us like sports massages and hot and cold therapy and they've got all kinds of amazing stuff in there to be honest it's really really cool really cool and then um sean clancy one of the owners of that um came on the run ran his first marathon with me but the guy's in like extraordinary nick you know like he does a sub 60 minute high rocks and all kinds of stuff um and then he brought some of his pals along and it was like we the moving time of that marathon was three hours and 33 minutes quick uh yeah it's quite fast we did take breaks so there is a difference between moving time and activity time the activity time was like 4 12 i think so even including the breaks that we took with like food and coffee and and you know gels and whatever it would be where we actually sat down and just recuperated the full time was 412 so we actually we sat four times and had four proper breaks right and the moving time and the activity time was still 412 so we were running like 440s you know which which is i think at the end of an iron man like pretty good going i'm not as again i'm not a professional athlete and but they they really carried me through that and it was almost like a pressure situation where like I had to run fast because like they'd come out to the desert and like I set off quite slowly and they were like I could feel that the pace was just kind of increasing and I was like I could just take my heels in here and say hey guys we're going to take it really slowly or I could just like grip in and run with these guys and that's what we did and um no it was it was actually an amazing experience we we lapped this loop which was exactly 10k so we did 12k to start and then you know had a bit of a break and then three sets of 10k but the three sets of 10k were like you know you wouldn't be going much faster if you were just running 10k as a training loop in Battersea Park type thing it was quite full on um so I'll probably lift my foot off the gas a bit um here in Rio tomorrow for the marathon just to because I felt pretty banged up at the end of all that it was um there was a bit of a few aches and pains and stuff but ultimately I feel pretty good mate I haven't really given failure any thought and I was thinking about this earlier the thing that will crush a challenge like this is your is your mindset and I know it's a bit of a boring like people talk about mindset and how can you you know mindset this mindset that and it's like i think having a positive attitude to to this as as a challenge is probably as important as being fit right and obviously you know being able to pack the kilometers into the into into the legs and the arms and stuff you know it is important but it's i think you know we we have a deep desire to succeed and you know tom beard the director of the film that we're making asked me about you know failing um and i literally just said i haven't i haven't thought about that as a possibility once you know it hasn't even entered my mind that we might fail or might not finish this i think that makes a massive difference like when you're when you wake up at four in the morning and you don't feel like doing it but you get out there and you do it anyway it doesn't take long for your mind to come around to the fact that actually this is just the reality that you're in today and this is this is happening you know get on board and get a grip you know or you know it's just going to be hell all day you know you have you have a choice you can try and turn it into a positive thing i'm in rio i get to do an iron man today in rio what an incredible experience you know i'll remember this for the rest of my life i'm doing it with my pals you know i'll fire a message off into my family group at the end of it saying you know we've done it we're one step closer you know that as a mentality gets you through stuff sitting on the bike with 180k ahead of you you know in the piping hot heat thinking i feel crushed by this experience i'm not sure i can do it you know i'm not sure i'm the man for this today it is is a waste of like emotional energy and it you know you have to do your absolute best to avoid that at all costs and it happens in every single race by the way in every single one of of the of the five that I've done there have been very serious moments of kind of crushing lowness where you just feel like not like giving up because that's not really an option like I haven't given myself that as an option but it's kind of you sit there and you just go I can't quite believe what I've got myself into and you have to be positive I'd go so far as to say the mindset piece in this is probably more importance than the fitness element wow yeah I mean just to sort of pick that up I saw on your story you said that you're in quite a negative headspace going into Dubai I suppose firstly why was that and how did you get through it was it these guys coming up turning up and joining you or was it like you just said just sort of getting on with it and you started to feel better later no I literally had to grip it and rip it like I wasn't happy at all I wasn't happy at all like I woke up didn't sleep very well uh just pretty depleted mate obviously you know it was the fifth uh fifth Ironman in in 11 days or whatever it was at the time and uh I just didn't feel great that day wasn't very happy really really missed Vogue and the kids that day I was just I was like in a bit of a pit with it all because I'm not able to share my highs and lows with her like she's my best friend and you know I really I really love her and obviously she's doing her own thing and it's kind of I would love to be able to call her every day and just tell her like what I'm experiencing and hear what she's experiencing and just like have these awesome conversations that obviously a happily married couple would have on a daily basis but we also talk a lot like we're that we're that annoying couple that is always in touch like we work together you know like I'm literally like always in touch so to have it like to just have a complete block on communication is really weird we've not we've not not spoken like this in um since we've known each other so in the nine years that we've known each other we've we've we've never had this long of not communicating obviously last year I was away for 30 days as well but we could communicate every day so it was different so yeah I just I really really miss her and it's just you know that that day it was just it weighed on me quite heavily that you know I'm out here doing what I deem to be this really like awesome extraordinary thing but like I'm not getting to share it with you know the with the person I love most and obviously we'll get to see each other soon and we'll recap everything and it'll be it'll be great but I just miss her I suppose in a long-winded way of saying that I really miss her um you know I get to FaceTime the kids and stuff um and they're they're they're delighted by the way without us the time of their lives I think uh Nanny Jane and Grandpa David and Nanny and Nanny Sandra and Grandpa Neil are being pretty lenient with TV time, etc.

17:48So they're having the time of their lives, the kids. They seem so, so happy and delighted to see them that way. But I feel a bit sad when I think about Vogue because I miss her. So, yeah, I don't know, mate. You've got two choices, really, when you're in that kind of state. You can make an active decision to literally rid yourself of those feelings and make a conscious effort to think positively and drive positive thoughts into your head. Put your headphones in, blast a song that you love, smile physically, make an effort to smile. you know like watch just just like spend some time in your own head in a positive way think about things that you love um and dive into the water you know in my case and um as soon as i got in the water things cleared up um you're not allowed to swim in in that uh lagoon in dubai we got clearance so it's kind of one of those cool moments where you kind of know that you're i don't know i'm sure they've probably given clearance to other people i didn't ask but you know, it's not a it's not a it's not a regular thing.

19:06You can see the Burj Khalifa, or Burj Al Arab or whichever one is like in the distance. And, and the sun's slowly coming up. So ordinarily, we start the swim in the dark, and then it gradually gets lighter. So sometimes I have these incredible sunrises coming up like as you're swimming, which obviously is a sight to behold. And obviously, there's no threat from rabid seals or sharks or any wildlife so you can really relax and it was very peaceful actually and again you know I found myself feeling just privileged right like happy and you know great that I'm the guy that gets to experience this you know and it was also you know not to get too um deep on on it but you know it was just it doesn't take long to realize that whatever pain you're feeling uh or whatever you're suffering in that moment it is nowhere near as as um bad as as what the men in suicidal crisis are currently facing who we're looking to help right um you know we are looking to raise funds for james's place we're looking to raise awareness for James Place to save lives, to save men in suicidal crisis.

20:24And, you know, I can guarantee you that every man out there who is considering taking their own life felt worse in that moment than I did that morning, right? And it's kind of, or feels worse, I should say. And that's a reality check that makes you go, you know, I should not be complaining about my mental state when I'm firstly lucky enough to be doing something as cool as this uh and secondly you know we should think about them instead of you know winching about missing my wife who i'll see soon you know you brought up vogue a couple of times there um i think you've obviously been on the move quite a lot i've as you've outlined in uh in this interview but have you had much time at all to sort of keep up to date with her on i'm a celebrity yeah yeah no i've been uh i've watched I've watched all the challenges.

21:17I'm quite friendly with the producer on the show. And although obviously, he wouldn't risk his position by communicating to her on my behalf. I chat to him quite regularly. WhatsApp just make sure that she's all right. Keep track of her movements and not she goes very far, but I kind of know what she's up to and when she's doing it. He messages me when she's doing her morning workouts. And whenever she's on a trial, I've seen her trials as well on, I've caught up with a couple of the episodes. It's quite difficult for us to be across it completely just because we're quite busy ourselves. But all of her best moments so far I've seen.

22:02And, you know, I feel that she took a day or two just to kind of get into stuff. I know her obviously about as well as anyone can. And I can see that, you know, she's a little bit out of her comfort zone. I think coming in a bit late, you know, probably wasn't ideal for her. I think she would have probably liked to have been there from the start. She misses the children intensely, you know, and we miss each other a lot as well when we're not together. So this is going to be very difficult for her. like no communication with the kids and me, but the kids in particular is hard for her. So that's why when I post about her and I call her brave and I'm proud of her and stuff, that's what I'm referring to.

22:56You know, it's not so much the challenge of being in the jungle. It's more for her to be in that scenario where she can't communicate with her children and her family and me. and really being tested and pushed outside her comfort zone is very brave of her. So I'm a huge supporter, watching from afar. There's no doubt in my mind that she wins. I know that it's looking like Angry Ginge and H have the advantage currently, but she will shine bright as she always does, and she will come through as she always does. but she will, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that she wins. Do you have a message for her if she's able to hear it on the show at all?

23:48Just that I love her as she knows, miss her like crazy. Think about her all the time. She's the first person I think of when things get hard. And all of the songs I listen to on the bike remind me of her. So it's weird. I listen to kind of like 90s American rock and roll. And there's all this kind of like it's all quite like lovey stuff, like full on, like kind of, you know, rock and roll ballads. And they just they just completely remind me of her. And I just can't wait to see her. So, you know, I think keep doing what you're doing. You know, stay stay cool. Keep your eyes on the prize. You know what's what.

24:30And, you know, have fun with it. be yourself um you know be the the bright shining star that everyone knows you are or that i certainly know you are and uh you know i can't wait to hold you and by the way if um if the stars align correctly i'll be um i'll be on the bridge for her in australia um that's always been uncertain though because obviously project seven was planned And like we started planning this way back in February. Do you know what I mean? So there's a lot of, you know, if you had a look at the plan of action, the document with the logistics that have gone into this, you'd be, you know, take you a few hours to read it type thing.

25:16It's full on, you know, ground teams all over the place. So many flights, you know, contingencies, if we miss stuff, contingencies, if bikes go miss it, whatever, you know, just you get the picture. the I'm a Celeb job came obviously quite a lot later but it was agreed that obviously it's an incredible opportunity for Vogue to be in the jungle so we made arrangements for both to be able to happen but I couldn't move my commitments for Project 7 at all which is why we're both away at the same time which is unfortunate timing obviously but no I think if everything goes according to plan there is a chance that I can get out of Antarctica into Chile and then over to Australia in time to meet her on the bridge if she becomes a finalist so I'm trying to make that work it's obviously not a given you know I could get stuck in Antarctica for three four days because of whether she could not be a finalist and come out early you know there's loads of stuff that could happen but there is a world where those two things align and I head back over to Australia

26:30from about the furthest point uh in the world from Australia so so yeah but I'd be delighted to do that for her I'd love to be there for her I couldn't think of anything I would love more than to be stood at the end of that bridge her coming out as a finalist or queen of the jungle even and you know for me to be there as a surprise for her would be has always been the plan but it's all but we've needed a plan b always from the start just in case um because obviously there's a few things that could happen that would mean that that wasn't possible but i really hope it happens and like that would just be like that moment i've literally i've dreamt of it like that moment of her coming over the bridge and like me being there to hug her and us just having the most like incredible catch up on our way back to london it would be would be incredible so i'm i'm rio out the park which hopefully we should um and get down to santiago and into antarctica on time and that's the the problem right because antarctic weather means that you know some days you just can't fly so we're we're down in santiago and chile basically waiting for the green light to If we can just go and bang out the, I say bang out, if we can go and get the Ironman done in a timely manner and get out again, then all systems go, mate, to get me out to Australia.

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29:46Let's hope that's the case. Definitely rooting for both you and Vogue there. You brought up Antarctica variant. It's going to be a question I was going to ask you, actually. You do have Rio to get through first, but with Antarctica, that sounds like the most difficult triathlon logistically. Maybe could you talk us through the logistics of it first? And then we can talk about the unique challenges that it actually poses from an athletic standpoint. Yeah, I mean, it's easily the biggest beast of the group. It's easily the hardest. The swim is a survival test. It's not a leg of a triathlon. Only two people in the world have ever swam that distance in Antarctic waters ever before.

30:34Very easy to come into complications if your kit isn't perfect, if your support crew is not perfect, if you are not perfect. You know, going into Antarctica with a negative mindset, you're done. You simply can't. Can't allow it. Can't happen. It will crush you if you go into it, you know, unwilling, unready, not, you know, not not not believing that you own it. will be a massive problem so i am i've been mentally preparing for the antarctic swim for months for literally ages because that is easily the most life-threatening situation that i will ever be in and you know we're going to do what we can to obviously control what we can control and diminish the risk where possible but at the end of the day um it's really dangerous and that That is, you know, could easily be a problem.

31:33Yeah, I mean, in terms of preparation, other than doing an ice bath or something like that, and excuse my ignorance here, how can you actually go about preparing for swimming in those sort of temperatures? Well, in an ideal situation, you'd swim shorter distances in those temperatures to build up to it, but I haven't had the ability to do that. So it has been a fair amount of ice bathing for me. Probably when you add it up, several hours of ice bathing, you know at zero degrees and that's also just with you know bare skin so obviously I'll be protected by a wetsuit not a dry suit I'll be wearing something that there's some diving that goes on in Antarctica I'm not entirely sure why but I'm looking forward to understanding why people dive in Antarctica but I'll be interested to hear why they interested to learn more about that but I'm basically going to be kitted out with something that scuba divers use in Antarctica.

32:31They're never exposed for that period of time. And obviously I'll be swimming, not scuba diving. So that's probably the question that keeps me up the most, is what if the kit's not perfect? If any skin is exposed, so I'll have a full balaclava-style neoprene hood. and a full mask instead of small swim goggles. But for example, you know, if any water, if your skin is exposed to zero degree water for 90 minutes, I'm not entirely sure what it'll do to you, but it can't be good, right? It'll blister you, it'll burn you, it'll be a bit of a problem. So, you know, I'm just hoping that this kit is as good as it can be, that my mind is in the right place.

33:20I think, you know, if you look at Cape Town as an example, the the the rocker or Roka Maverick X3 wetsuit that I've been wearing for all the triathlons isn't quite built for nine degrees. Right. It's I believe it's built for kind of, you know, 12, 13 degrees plus something like that. So spending 90 minutes in that water in that wetsuit was problematic. and I think I wore a neoprene cap, but it wasn't a hood. So neck and face completely exposed for quite a long period of time. Completely lost my speech. You'll see when the film is made, like some of the footage that we got of that morning was, I can only imagine quite frightening.

34:07I've not seen the footage, but I remember getting out of the water and I remember speaking to camera and it was, you know, completely, you couldn't understand a word I was saying. Lost all my motor skills. uh you know like it was problematic right like if you couldn't warm yourself up i had a warm shower i was stood in it for about 40 minutes and and you know and that feeling if i got out the shower even for a second it was like you know so straight back in the shower like you know you're freezing freezing hypothermic type thing so this is this is you know 10 degrees colder than than that right so relying almost completely on the kit right and i've not tried the kit i don't know what the kit is so obviously i'm sat there thinking you know i wouldn't mind at least knowing what the kit is so i could maybe google it have a look at it you know i don't even know right i'm gonna land they're gonna give me a wetsuit and they're gonna say go and i'm gonna say let's do this uh but you know if for whatever reason you lose um mobility in your arm in the first you know 10-20 minutes you're basically swimming with one arm and then if you lose mobility in your legs you're basically you know that happened in cape town right i lost sensation in my i didn't have gloves or boots so i lost sensation in my hands and my feet couldn't feel my hands or my feet couldn't couldn't grip a couldn't make a palm so i was just i was like you know swimming badly basically um and then lost sensation in both arms and both legs by the end of it you know if i had another k to swim i would have been in all kinds of trouble do you know what i mean so it was uh let's just hope for the best in antarctica i suppose i think when i tick that off there's going to be a pretty significant celebration that's gonna that's gonna feel like you know six down hardest most life-threatening thing down you know just a bike and a run and by the way by just a bike i could spend 20 hours on the bike like the bike and the bike is not going to be fun at all big fat bike you know not not fast at all um cycling over ice and snow is going to take ages i'm going to have to break it into you know 18 10 kilometer sets or something like that you know and it could it could be a long old thing and then the marathon but i think by that stage having survived the swim you'll feel this is the last time i have to sit on a bicycle for a really long time i'll probably only crack my bike out in london you know next summer you know there's not going to be any cycling after this for a while yeah um so yeah we'll see mate it's all it's all it's kind of unbearingly close as well it's like it's just around the corner so all of this fun banter that i was having early in the year like oh yeah you know i'm gonna do an iron man in antarctica it's gonna be so much fun like it's gonna be amazing it's kind of like shit that's in a few days yeah i mean you know it's no turning back anyway hopefully having talked to forrest galante at least we can take leopard seals sort of off the uh list of potential concerns well that that conversation that conversation was was welcome um it certainly hasn't removed them as a potential concern i would say that i'm very concerned about the leopard seals i mean you know i trust forest um and i think that's a great episode if you've not listened to it you should go back and listen to it but i don't know mate leopard seals are predatory animals uh you know are big heavy things that swim in that area you know if for whatever reason it felt like having a pop at you i can't imagine as much you'll be able to do to stop it you know so i think the data suggests the you know leopard seal attack on a on a human being with is rare but so is swimming in that area so you know we didn't we didn't get stuck into that too much with forrest but he was like well you know leopard seals don't kill many people they have in the past and then you all you have to think is well many people don't go swimming where the leopard seals are do they so you know it's kind of you know maybe it's 50 percent of people who swim in that area have been killed.

38:18Maybe it's less. You wouldn't know. You mentioned, obviously, the run and the cycle. Have you got a track sorted or is it the sort of thing that you've got to assess it once you get there, the bits that you're actually going to be running through? We have got a pre-approved plan that has been sorted. But if you look at Anders Hoffman's Project Iceman, he had to change location halfway through because the area that they had anticipated would be the best area just wasn't in the end um so i think that there will be you know there's a chance that we chop and change as things uh progress but hopefully not you know i trust chris taylor and his opinion and the team on the ground there you know we are coming at this in a pretty organized manner so i am expecting it to be probably a bit more straightforward than anders's experience um but you know needless to say it's going to be pretty hard we haven't really touched on rio de janeiro that much probably because antarctica and quite rightly is front and center of the mind um are there any sort of concerns of yours sort of going into rio tomorrow i mean if i'm honest i don't really feel like doing another one tomorrow uh but no we're trying to have fun where we can you know this idea of i'll try and preserve energy and i'll do it well and i'll enjoy myself it is is it's just is a pipe dream like these things aren't fun they're they're long they're grueling they're hard they're painful that they're they're not they're not in any way uh amusing or entertaining or fun you know i think i said this to you before um you know you can go out and you can run a marathon you can enjoy you can enjoy yourself it's very difficult to enjoy yourself throughout this process obviously like you know you can make the experience better by being super positive by being loud by you know hugging your pals by enjoying it by by putting on almost a mask of you know let's get this done and in many ways you know we have successfully done that several times now um but no you know i'll be in this pain chamber or whatever people call it for hours on end tomorrow like every other time and I'll do my best to be positive and pull through it um you know nothing's going to get in the way of me getting to Antarctica you know even if I broke my leg you know I will carry on uh uh it'll be much harder doing all of this on one leg but but you know that that's just the way it would be um so no nothing no negativity currently heading into Rio.

41:00Rio's a pretty awesome place. We're down in Copacabana at the moment. I can literally see where the swim is going to be tomorrow. I'll try and enjoy that. The swim, the swim is probably the most, aside from Cape Town, obviously, the most enjoyable part of the day. It's relaxing. You know, you're not thumping music into your head. It's, it's quite a, you know, it's starting the thing with intent, but it's also, it's this nice moment you get to have on your own almost right because obviously we're supported but I'm not actually physically swimming with anyone else it's just you in the sea you know you can you're actually you can quite clearly just think about things and also I'm trying not to overthink you know the the the Iron Man itself you know it's already um you know a good beast to contend with I don't need to worry about all the things that could happen um I try to just live in the moment that I'm in so and literally literally it you know the swim will be the swim bike will be the bike the run will be the run there'll be separate things separate experiences there's quite a lot of this that i already can't remember like chris was talking to me earlier about arizona and i was like trying to remember the hotel room in arizona couldn't remember it the fact that we've been to six continents in the last like a full full world tour in the last few days less than two weeks is madness like it it it does not feel like i've been to dubai australia africa north america like it's weird my mind hasn't even traveled to those places i've literally landed been so dialed in hotel like event plane hotel event plane hotel like i've not even noticed where we are well done and everything so far, mate.

42:53Like, it's an absolute hell of a challenge, all of this. And you're basically on the home stretch. There's two left. It might not feel like it, but you've got very far into it already. We're all rooting for you here. And we wish you all the very best of it, mate. Thanks, brother. Yeah, I think I got a message today from a friend who's the exec on the psychopath film that we're doing. And she was like, she was like, only two left all downhill from here and i was like no no no it was like that's not that's a nice way of thinking about it um but no so tomorrow i think tomorrow tomorrow is a the nice way of thinking about tomorrow is it's the last of the six you know like it's it's the last one of the six normal ones i suppose and then antarctica is its whole it has its own identity it's its own challenge um so that's cool in a way tomorrow we get to close the book all being well on you know the six normal iron men and then you know there's just one thing to focus on then and then in antarctica every step is the last you know every stroke is the last stroke of of that distance you know and you close out the swim all being well that's done then no more swimming you you know, and then you're cycling through the snow and, you know, every kilometre that you tick off, that's the last time I'm going to have to do this, you know, in this whole challenge.

44:25So that's nice. You're like, you are on the homestretch in Antarctica, even though it'll easily be the roughest. Thanks so much for listening and following along the journey. If you haven't caught up with everything Project 7, there's a couple of episodes prior to this one. And if you're new to the show, obviously head back and listen to everything we've ever done. See you soon. lots of love

From the publisher

Spencer Matthews pushes further into Project 7 as he completes his fourth and fifth full-distance triathlons, racing across the rugged coastline of Perth and the intense heat of Dubai.


He opens up about the brutal travel between continents, how his body and mind are coping at this stage, and whether the challenge is becoming more manageable, or increasingly overwhelming. From diving into shark-inhabited waters in Perth to battling soaring temperatures in Dubai, Spencer reflects on the fears, surprises, and small victories shaping this part of the journey.


With only two continents left, he shares how he’s really feeling heading into the final phase of the toughest challenge of his life.


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