Ep 151 Interview Sessions with Brendon Prince

On episode 151 I am joined by Brendon Prince, founder of water safety charity Above Water and the first person to ever paddleboard around mainland Britain. Brendon left the UK south coast on 27th April 2021, eventually returning home 141 days later on 12th September having paddled 4,000 KM, earning 5 world records along the way.

Brendon has devoted his life to teach water safety. In October 2014, Brendon was involved in trying to save the lives of three surfers who got into trouble in big waves. As an off-duty Lifeguard, he did everything he could, both in and out of the water, but all three lost their lives in front of their families that day. In Brendon's mind, not a day passes without seeing the wife of one of the drown surfers pleading with him to bring her husband back.

Brendon made a commitment that day to do whatever was needed to stop accidental drowning in the UK. Accidental drowning is a catastrophic event for the family and the local community but in so many cases could have been avoided through an understanding of water safety and drowning prevention techniques.

The Long Paddle 2021 is about more than breaking world records and raising money for charity. There isn’t nearly enough education around water safety here in the UK, especially considering we’re an island nation.

Brendon is fundraising for the development of the world’s first-ever water safety app – an innovative, gamified app that will teach children and young adults about water safety.

In the episode you will hear:

01:15 the first person to ever circumnavigate mainland Britain and four other world records

02:30 EIGHT MILLION paddle strokes

05:20 Audience Question from Corey - what time would you get up and get on the board everyday?

07:15 losing three souls in front of their loved ones and the motivation behind the Long Paddle 2021

14:30 Audience Question from Abbie - did you get lonely and how did you deal with it?

17:45 without thinking

20:00 no one else is going to come and do it for you

21:00 cruising with Killer Whales

25:00 the Long Paddle team getting through a 141 day expedition and nothing went wrong

28:00 fuelling the body, pre-empting your needs and learning to sleep anywhere

30:30 up to 30km/19 miles from land

32:45 we are an island nation with such diverse coastlines, conditions, wildlife and cultures

35:30 the good, the bad and the ugly of our coastlines

36:20 the Torbay homecoming after 141 days

38:00 taking a knee to the Lord for keeping him safe

39:30 the legacy of the Long Paddle 2021 and getting a solution for 9 million children to be taught water safety

43:00 the highlight of the expedition were the people met along the way

46:00 challenge your mindset when you’re next around water

We have been able to play a small part in donating to Brendon’s cause. If you would like to contribute too, please donate at: https://thelongpaddle.co.uk/donate/

Thank you for listening and please do share this so that many many more people can hear Brendon’s story and make this life saving education a closer reality.

Always love

Ryan

Connect with Brendon

Website: https://thelongpaddle.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelongpaddle2021/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thelongpaddle2021/

Website: https://abovewater.org/

Thank you to our friends at WebCreation, proud supporters of the Always Better than Yesterday Interview Sessions. www.WebCreationGroup.com