In my view, the very embodiment of courage and resilience is my friend Gill Hicks. As a young woman Gill travelled to London to find adventure and a new life. She found success and everything she had hoped for in that wonderful city. But that all changed in "a breath", when she was just meters away from a detonating suicide bomber on the London Underground in July 2005. The ghastly physical impact was just the beginning of a journey that would lead her on a quest to literally prom...

To see lots of Molly's thrills and spills, be sure to watch the interview on YouTube under Real Risk Podcast.For the last episode of the series, I bring you a chat with an extraordinary Australian who is currently dominating in the highly competitive world of rally driving. After winning the Australian Rally Championship in 2016 (as both the youngest competitor and the first female), the hugely skilled and very personable Molly is now finding success in multiple disciplines within the sport.&...

Check out the video version on YouTube under Real Risk Podcast. The 2019/20 bushfire season in Australia was the worst on record. The first ever recorded "giga-fire" that burnt across multiple states. And Greg Mullins was one of the experts who knew it was coming. Greg fought his first bush fire as a young lad alongside his father. It was the start of what would become a lifelong career not only fighting bush and structure fires on the front line, but studying the science behind what see...

See the video of Carly's interview on YouTube under Real Risk Podcast.At 24 years of age, Adelaide Muay Thai and Karate expert has already won national and world championships. She is a successful business woman and has a passion for enabling women to be confident, strong and safe on the streets and in life in general. Her latest venture is to promote the prestigious Pride Fight Series with the ultimate goal of seeing the fight card equally balanced with male and female athletes. In a time wh...

Enjoy the video version on YouTube at Real Risk Podcast.At the top end of town in motor sports - Formula 1 and MotoGP, the budgets are eye watering. The technology is beyond comprehension and the competition to get a seat or a ride is extraordinary with countless young wannabes vying for a tiny number of opportunities. So when the red lights go out and the racing starts, the need for not only speed but also reliability is obvious. A tenth of a second here or there gained through tyre cho...

Check out the video version on YouTubeLike all elite branches of law enforcement or the military, the Water Operations Unit of the South Australian Police demand high standards of fitness, stamina and intelligence in their recruits. More than just divers, the team are police officers first and foremost, conducting their duties at sea and on rivers or other inland waterways. They have a strong presence in search and rescue ops as well as the counterterrorism space. But the diving is wher...

Check out the video version on YouTube!Matt Hall can fly pretty much anything from an airforce jet fighter to a composite MXS raceplane in the Red bull air races. This Australian is a third generation pilot from New South Wales. During a high octane career spanning over 35 years, he's learn't a thing or two about risk management as he pushes the envelope just about as far as is humanly possible. Matt remains the reigning Red Bull air race champion (doesn't hurt that the series stopped during ...

Watch the video version of the podcast on YouTube at Real Risk Podcast!As Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear famously once said: “Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you.” An on-site account of the 2003 race by Sports Illustrated writer Franz Lidz called the spectacle "38 Miles of Terror... a test of nerves and speed that may be sport's most dangerous event". The event has been held on the remote British island since 1907. Since the inaugur...

Check out the video version of Real Risk Podcast on YouTube.Craig Challen is a Perth based technical and cave diver who is equally comfortable diving deep shipwrecks and exploring caves. He and your podcast host became friends in the mid 2000's when they discovered a shared passion for exploration, in particular in the niche area of ultra deep caves. Along with their tight knit friendship group (The Wetmules), they have travelled far and wide in the quest for new finds, developing techn...

Watch the full video interview on You Tube under Real Risk PodcastRussell Ord (surf photographer extraordinaire) and Shanan Worrall (big wave surfer and water safety expert) are the true definition of watermen. Both of these hardy souls come from the south west of Western Australia where the Indian Ocean swells roll onto the shore at spots like the infamous break known as "The Right". Both men immersed themselves in every facet of ocean sports from an early age and whilst Shanan continu...

Check out the video podcast on the REAL RISK YOUTUBE channel!Few individuals can claim to have truly expert knowledge and mastery of the practical aspects of their discipline. Dr Simon Mitchell is the Professor of Anaesthesiology at Auckland University and is widely acclaimed in the field of diving and hyperbaric medicine. His often very practical research into operational and equipment based diving conundrums, makes him a highly sought after, and very entertaining speaker at diving and medic...

Watch the full video interview on You Tube under Real Risk PodcastHugh Riminton is a citizen of the world. Growing up in Ceylon, then New Zealand before moving to Australia he has covered stories from around the globe. From the world's most dangerous settlement of Soweto, the killing fields of Rwanda and the horrific cost of the Somalian famine; I suspect Hugh's eyes have witnessed more pain and suffering than anyone should experience. And yet he remains a kind, generous and gentle soul with ...

To finish the series, the frightening account of the shark attack that so nearly cost Chris Blowes his life. The attack ended with his two mates watching the shark swimming off with their friend's leg in its mouth, towing his surfboard by the leg rope behind it. That imagery is so much worse than anything that Hollywood could dream up.Over the next few hours Chris came as close to dying as one can. Another inexplicable survival story in the vein of last week's episode with diver Chris Lemons....

In this second episode of Life on a Line, we rejoin Chris Lemons on the seabed in the North Sea. His umbilical is severed, and he has switched on his bailout gas with the knowledge that in 8 minutes his gas supply will be exhausted and he will die...Make sure you listen to the previous episode first!

The world of saturation diving is high tech, complex and fascinating. The physics and physiology present unbreakable rules that must be followed to remain safe. The risks of decompression sickness, High Pressure Nervous Syndrome (HPNS), oxygen toxicity and inert gas narcosis are carefully managed. But perhaps the hardest part; living in the confines of the hyperbaric quarters for 28 days with no possibility of early release. You have to be the right kind of person.In 2012, Chris Lemons ...

Paddling onto a 70 foot wave must make every nerve in your brain scream STOP! The deafening roar, the wedge like tons of water curling over then hurling you down towards the reef visible beneath the shallows at the bottom of the drop. The explosion occurring all around as you reach an impossible speed if you are still standing at the base of the beast, as you then desperately try to cut across the face to escape the monster that seeks to crush you. Frankly it is inconceivable that anyone has ...

Alex Honnold is cool. Beyond cool actually. His skill and calm transcend what most of us can conceive is possible. And yet when you chat with him he is immediately likeable and you can imagine hanging out. His enthusiasm makes you want to go climbing with him although in my case that would be very embarrassing. I do suspect he'd help you maximise your potential. After all, he guided his own mum to the top of El Cap in her 60s!I can't remember enjoying talking to someone more than I did Alex. ...

Three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food. We all know the saying, but some people just refuse to acknowledge these kinds of rules. James Scott, a young medical student was such a guy. He left Australia for an adventure in Nepal, a clinical placement which would set him up for his return to start a career in surgery back home. But a poorly judged trek at the beginning of the Himalayan winter left him trapped without food, starving to death in a rock shel...

The documentary 'Free Solo" based around the rope-less ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park by Alex Honnold had us all on the edge of our seats. I found myself holding my breath, at times barely able to look at the screen even though I knew Alex would ultimately succeed. To capture the drama of that quest took both great technical and dramatic skill; the perfect marriage of talents for two film makers - Jimmy Chin (the mountaineer and director) and his wife 'Chai' Vasarhelyi (direct...

When your father is Jack Brabham a three times Formula 1 World Champion, it seems likely that motorsport will be in your blood. And as it turned out all three of Jack's sons took to the track like the proverbial ducks to water. David Brabham never intended to race cars, he was content driving the farm ute at breakneck speeds sideways around the local dirt roads. But when he casually entered a gokart race with a friend one day, he discovered a natural aptitude and competitive spirit that would...