Send us a text Welcome to the Clever Dicks Swim Podcast, where we dive into the stories of passionate open water swimmers who push the limits of endurance and determination. Today, we’re talking to Jan Steenkamp, an inspiring swimmer based in Auckland. Jan’s journey in the water began in high school, but it was eight years ago when he decided to get back into the water with a mission. In one of the most ambitious feats in the world of open water swimming, Jan attempted the daunting 80km...
Send us a text In this episode, we dive into the swim journey of ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler, whose relentless determination took him from a debilitating shoulder injury to one of the most awe-inspiring endurance feats in New Zealand’s waters—his 99km, 33-hour swim from Great Barrier Island to Takapuna. Jono shares the mental and physical battles he faced, from hallucinations to the discipline required to balance elite-level swimming with everyday life. We explore the mindset that fuel...
Send us a text Today, we’re a little late in flying the flag in support of Nick Edwards, who made a gallant effort for 13 hours swimming across this massive stretch of water called the Cook Strait, battling fierce currents, icy temps, and unpredictable conditions. Unfortunately the ocean was not working with Nick today and the cold and huge currents put an end to his swim. But, he was not out there swimming on his own - his swim was to raise awareness for ovarian cancer, a disease...
Send us a text Milton Brest is not just a businessman from Johannesburg—he’s a force of nature. A former karate athlete, he has taken on some of the world’s most extreme open-water challenges, from braving the icy waters of the Bering Strait to swimming the treacherous currents around Alcatraz and Robben Island, meeting Eskimo's and swimming at the Base Camp of Everest. Training just steps away from the legendary Ellis Park Stadium, the home of Springbok rugby, Milton is no stranger to discip...
Send us a text Episode 35 sees the Clever Dicks chat with a true force in the world of open water swimming, Wellington’s very own Corrina Connor. She’s conquered the relentless currents of Foveaux Strait, battled the unpredictable Cook Strait, and taken on the vast, stunning Lake Taupō - completing New Zealand’s prestigious Triple Crown of Swimming. But Corrina is much more than just an endurance athlete—she’s also a musician, a librarian, and, as anyone who knows her will tell you, an absolu...
Send us a text Welcome to Clever Dicks, where we dive into the stories of extraordinary athletes who have redefined their sports and inspired the world. Today, we spotlight Mary Fisher, one of New Zealand’s most decorated Paralympic swimmers. Born with a visual impairment, Mary didn’t just overcome obstacles—she shattered records. A Paralympic gold medalist, world champion, and multiple world record-holder, she dominated the pool in events ranging from sprint freestyle to backstroke and medle...
Send us a text Today, we're thrilled to introduce a guest who’s taking the open water swimming scene by storm: Alex Dunkley. Alex is a young swimmer from Auckland starting out on his open water journey and learning some of the tricks of the trade. Recently back from a swim camp in Australia, although dominant in New Zealand, Alex now knows he have massive room for further improvement. Known for his lightning speed and unwavering determination, Alex has carved a name for himself as an unstoppa...
Send us a text Amy is the first person to swim the 29.7 miles or 48km's from San Francisco to the Farallon Island, dodging the sharks and the cold. She chats about balancing shift work as a pediatric nurse and her training, being a granny, and some of her other swims including swimming around Manhattan Island, Gibraltar Strait, North Channel and the Catalina Channel. Tough lady!
Send us a text In this episode, Jim interviews Duncan! As some of our listeners may know Duncan swims with an intellectually handicapped young Fijian swimmer, Shazeel. Duncan and Shazeel recently swam 20 km around Rangitoto island in the Hauraki coast, right next to Auckland. We talk about what it means to be a support swimmer and how Shazeel's mum helps, gets him ready and ensures he understands as well as possible. We then talk about the practicalities of the swim, clockwise or anti-clockw...
Send us a text In this episode, Duncan & Jim chat with Cameron Stanley, an ex-national swimmer and all-around great guy. Cameron's impressive swimming career saw him represent New Zealand and hold a national backstroke record, showcasing his talent in the pool. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he also set a world record for the ice 100m IM, proving his resilience in some of the coldest waters imaginable. After his competitive days, Cameron moved into coaching, sharing his expertise...
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Laura Quilter Laura is a competitive swimmer who has represented New Zealand at the commonwealth games and at world championships. She also represented New Zealand at surf lifesaving and was surf lifesaving sportswoman of the year in 2013. We met Laura in Alexandra where she came down to try and set some world records in the shorter events (which she did) but the stayed on and did the 500m and 1km. Laura is a great advocate for swimming ...
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Dan Abel. Dan is a Christchurch based swimmer who runs a swim consultancy. And we cover what that means, teaching & coaching swimming, organising events/safaris and advocating for swimming where ever he can. The talk was wide ranging covering his swimming career, his views on what is happening with swimming in New Zealand and so much more.
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Colin McLeod. Colin lives in the outer Hebrides which is part of Scotland. He has done some amazing swims, even though the water there must be quite cold (he happily uses a wetsuit). Many of his swims are for charity, he has supported quite a few in his time. Currently he is attempting to swim the same distance as from Land's End to John O'Groats, 841 miles in under a year. I'm sure he will have completed that by the time this is release...
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Sheryl McLay. Sheryl used to be a competitive marathon swimmer and has swum many of the great marathon swim, Cook Strait, English channel & Taupo. After stopping to swim competitively Sheryl carried on coaching swimmers and organising swim events. We talk about how Covid made it too hard to continue organising events and how local/smaller events are harder to run now. Sheryl is a life member of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand and i...
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Ben Clavel. We met Ben when he came over to New Zealand from Australia to swim at our Ice Swimming pool championships. Ben hasn't been swimming for long, but already has achived more than many others. He got started as a means to support his kids who were into swimming, and then got going in his own way. He swam the English Channel in a relaym with almost no ocean swimming experience, and if that was not enough decided to come to NZ with...
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Brent Bythell. Brent is a disbled swimmer from the top of the south island of New Zealand. We first met Brent at the St Bathans openwater ice swimming event in 2023, and later at Alexandra ice pool champs in 2024. We talk to him about why he started cold water immersion and the road to ice swimming. (he hasn't had a hot shower in 8 years!). But that's not all. Brent also is a world record holder and has a place in the Guinness book of wo...
Send us a text In this episore Duncan & Jim talk to Peter Plavec. Peter has done numerous ice swims with a number of ice kilometers and an ice mile. He gives us lots of nuggets about how he approaches cold water swimming and we talk about what it is like in Europe. He is very active on Instragram so if you would like to see what he is up to, here's a link. Peter Plavec on Instagram
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim speak to Ruth. Ruth grew up in Spain, then spent some time in Chile before settling in New Zealand. Ruthy (as most peope refer to her as) loves the pool, but took up openwater swimming in NZ with the Kohi Kippers. Ruthy has swum Lake Taupo and the Apolima Strait, both big swims with their own challenges. A passionate swimmer she even talked Duncan to a standstill!
Send us a text In this episode Duncan & Jim talk to Ram Barkai. Many people will know of Ram as the founder of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA), but there's more to Ram than that. Before founding IISA he had done numeraous adventure swims, including a massive swim along the Orange river in South Africa over 4 years. He organised 'freedom' swims from Robben Island at Cape Town, and even did the swim at night. He took Duncan on his first Ice swim in South Africa, not sure h...
Send us a text The New Zealand Ice swimming pool championships occured from 9 - 13 July 2024. Duncan & Jim were there (and did some swimming) and got to speak to a number of swimmers there. We talked about our swoms, why we do cold swimming and asked others why they swim in cold water. An interesting group of people and interesting answers. If you want to know why people do it, or if you are curious and want to learn more then this episode is for you.