Russ Cook (Hardest Geezer): I Haven't Told The Whole Truth About Africa!, They Took Me Into The Jungle To Kill Me!

About this episode

What does it take to become the Hardest Geezer and run 9,940-miles in 352 days? Russ Cook, also known as the ‘Hardest Geezer’, is an ultra-endurance athlete and the first person to run the entire length of Africa, raising over £1 million for charity. He is also the first person to run from Asia to London. In this conversation Russ and Steven discuss topics such as, his childhood and difficult teenage years, hitting rock bottom, wanting more from life, being robbed at gun point, and the struggles of being the first man to run across the length Africa. 00:00 Intro 02:00 Russ' Childhood & Being Rebellious 05:50 Relationship With My Parents 12:00 Trying To Get People’s Attention 16:42 Distancing Himself from Family 16:22 The Impact of Russ' Girlfriend 19:11 Moving Out as a Teenager 21:02 Going Down the Wrong Path 25:10 Russ' Mental Health 26:18 What Would Russ Say to His Younger Self 30:52 Russ' Epiphany 32:09 The Feeling of Progressing in Life 35:07 Travelling the World Running 35:53 First Challenges 36:51 Doing Things That Aren’t Considered Normal 39:03 Returning from the First Trip 42:26 Relationship with His Dad 44:09 Burying Himself Alive 44:33 Russ DM’d Steven Before Going To Africa 46:40 Why Africa? 48:40 Meeting His Girlfriend Before Leaving to Africa 52:41 How Have You Changed 54:52 Preparations to Run the Entire Length of Africa 01:03:25 Getting Robbed 01:03:26 Being Kidnapped 01:10:05 Facing Death 01:24:14 Team Struggles 01:31:52 Was Quitting an Option? 01:36:18 Visa Issues 01:37:59 Nearing the End 01:45:12 Crossing the Line 01:45:44 What’s Next? 01:50:41 What Was the Goal? 01:55:36 Russ Inspiring Others 01:59:20 The Last Guest Question  You can donate to Russ’s charity fundraiser here: https://bit.ly/3Wr2WJR Follow Russ: Instagram - https://bit.ly/4djAL5I Twitter - https://bit.ly/3UFqZmV YouTube - https://bit.ly/3Up8YYH Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/3kxINCANKsb My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices