Upon completing the world's toughest swims for mental health, Andy Donaldson is just getting started

Episode 72 of The Mental Game brings on a guest that will blow your mind.

Andy Donaldson is among the most impressive open-water swimmers in history.

Last year, Donaldson set the Guinness World Record for fastest time completing the Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge, which consists of seven of the most challenging open water channel swims on Earth, including:

• The Cook Strait between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, 22.5 km (12.1 mi)
• The Moloka’i Channel in Hawaii, 42 km (23 mi)
• The English Channel between England and France, 33 km (18 mi)
• Four more, ranging from Europe to Asia to the U.S.

Donaldson is the only swimmer to complete all seven within a single year. And in doing so, he raised tens of thousands of dollars for mental health charities, a cause near and dear to his heart.

Donaldson says he’s motivated to impact what he sees as the great challenge of our generation — combatting mental health — because of his grandfather’s long battle with depression and his own mental health struggles.

Born in Scotland and now living in Australia, Donaldson retired from swimming in 2016 when his Olympic dreams were washed out and took up a job in accounting. In 2020, he moved to Perth, Western Australia and immersed himself in open-water swimming.

He has since set three world records, raised meaningful funds for mental health causes and touched millions of lives.

On The Mental Game, Donaldson dives deep on:

• His daunting journey through the Oceans Seven challenge.
• How mental fortitude — more than physical strength — pushed him through the challenge.
• Why he chose to fundraise for mental health.
• His future goals.
• And much, much more.

The Mental Game podcast is produced by Sam Brief and music is courtesy of David Brief and Channel J. You can subscribe on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Google Podcasts⁠, ⁠TuneIn⁠ and ⁠Stitcher⁠.

The Mental Game is a proud partner of Laaser's Ladybug Society, which is a designated 501c3 organization combatting the stigmas that surround mental health by actively fundraising to support mental health initiatives and innovations in our school system. The mental health challenges faced by our youth are unprecedented and it is time to get off the bench and get in the game as we fight for the mental well-being of the next generation. Learn more and join the fight at LaasersLadybugs.org!

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