Self Propelled

Self Propelled is a podcast that explores the process of choosing the road less travelled, and the secrets behind maintaining momentum and drive once the choice is made. Join host Dave Cornthwaite for travel stories and conversations with entrepreneurs, athletes and adventurers who need nothing more than a good idea to add fuel to that pilot light burning deep within us all.

One Week in Valais

In August 2020, between the first and second Covid lockdowns, Active Traveller Magazine invited me to join filmmaker and photographer Dan Wildey in the Swiss region of Valais. They set us a challenge to explore four different regions of Valais: Morgins, Nendaz, the Aletsch Arena and Saas Fee. You can read my article about the trip and watch Dan’s film on active-traveller.com and to find out more about Valais, their website is valais.ch/shop

09-22
24:18

Sarah Outen (#2) - London to London Via the World

This second of a two part interview with Sarah Outen tells the story of her astounding four year journey around the globe from London to London.  Sarah tells us about adapting as plans change, the art of control (and not having it), and how the idea for journeying on land was brewed in the middle of the ocean. And there's a human side to Sarah's adventures too, including an unforeseen blossoming romance and the inspiring tale of Gao, who proves that planning is not an essential factor in embarking on a big challenge. Read more about Sarah's work on her website, and if you're on the Instagram she's worth a follow there, too > > > If you enjoy this podcast and would like to say thanks and support future episodes, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you all so much for your support!

11-08
02:02:58

Sarah Outen (#1) - Rowing Across the Indian Ocean

Sarah Outen is right up there as one of the most engaging adventurers of the modern era. Her feats, resilience and storytelling bring to life parts of our planet that many will never visit. We enjoyed our chat so much it was split into two parts, and in this first episode we discuss what led Sarah to adventure, and the trials and tribulations of her first record-breaking journey, across the Indian Ocean in a rowing boat. Read more about Sarah's work on her website, and if you're on the Instagram she's worth a follow there, too > > > If you enjoy this podcast and would like to say thanks and support future episodes, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you all so much for your support!

10-16
01:01:32

Laura Kennington - An Adventure Athlete who has paddled, pedalled and swum her way to a new career

Laura Kennington has an impressive list of adventures under her belt and whether she's kayaking down the Volga or practicing her Russian accent on stage at a festival, she's always a good soul to follow. In this episode Laura shares her lessons, misadventures and ideas behind making a career out of using your body, well. Find our more about her adventures on her website and check her out on Instagram. Her book, Kairos, is out now.

10-09
48:01

Justin Jones - Crossing the Ditch, Antarctica, the Australian Outback and the Chasm between Solo and Family Adventuring

Justin Jones is one of Australia's best known explorers and mixes a unique sense of humour with a deep insight into what adventure really means for life, family and business. In this episode he chats to Dave about his life of pursuing far off goals, including kayaking across the Tasman, skiing across Antarctica and, later, walking across the Aussie outback with his wife and toddler.  Enjoy this episode and check out Jonesy's channels: Personal Website: http://www.justinjonesy.com Family Adventures: https://thejonesys.com/ @justinrjonesy on Instagram and Facebook > > > If you enjoy this podcast and would like to say thanks and support future episodes, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you all so much for your support!

08-28
01:18:38

Anna McNuff - Why Paper Clips Help When Writing Adventure Books, Creating Work That Has a Positive Impact & Dealing With Online Trolls - Otherwise Known as Dream Dumpers

Anna McNuff is an adventurer, speaker, bestselling author and self-confessed mischief maker. Named by the Guardian as one of the top female adventurers of our time, and Condé Nast Traveller included her in a list of the 50 most influential travellers in the world.  She is an ambassador for Girl Guiding in the UK and has run, swum and cycled over 20,000 miles around the globe.  Anna's website is at www.annamcnuff.com and you can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @annamcnuff > > > If you enjoy this podcast and would like to say thanks and support future episodes, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you all so much for your support!

06-14
01:03:55

Richard Harpham - The Long Distance Kayaker and Cyclist Who Also Managed the Ghanaian Winter Olympic Ski Team

Richard Harpham is an expedition kayaker with thousands of miles of paddling and skiing adventures under his belt. He runs Canoe Trail, which offers nature-filled canoe, kayak and SUP experiences in the English countryside, and after London 2012 he co-founded Inspired Life inspired project which has so far engaged over 35,000 young people  And to add to the variety, Richard also managed the Ghanaian Ski Team at the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 Richard has a personal website as well as one for Canoe Trail, and you can also follow @CanoeTrails on Instagram and Facebook

05-31
51:26

Keiha Dhruev - The Climber and Ultimate Beastmaster Contestant With a Passion For Mathematics

Keiha Dhruev Is a climber, Coach and Educator whose climbing has taken him all over the globe, developing new boulders in India. He also made it to the semi finals of the Netflix show Ultimate Beastmaster. Keiha is currently taking a break from the norm to explore different to deliver the teaching of mathematics outside of the classroom.  Give him a follow on Instagram: @keiha_d

05-18
36:46

Tom Allen - How a Long Distance Cyclist Ended Up Creating a Walking Trail

Tom Allen describes himself as a self-unemployed creative explorer, but that doesn't necessarily do him justice.  He's an adventurer, author, blogger and co-founder of the Trans Caucasian Trail, and he called in from his current base in the South Caucasus. Tom's website is http://tomallen.info and he's also on Instagram at @tom_r_allen

05-14
56:41

Steve Backshall on the Wonders of Fatherhood, Building An Adventurous Career and the Ups and Downs of Celebrity

Steve Backshall is a naturalist, presenter, climber, diver and adventurer. He has presented hundreds of television episodes over the years, and right now you can tune into the most reason season of Steve's show Deadly 60 on the BBC iPlayer... During COVID-19, every Wednesday at 9:30am Steve hosts a livestreamed wildlife homeschool on www.facebook.com/stevebackshallofficial/ And his new book, Expedition, is out now > > > If you enjoy this podcast and would like to say thanks and support future episodes, you can buy me a coffee! Thank you all so much for your support!

05-08
36:09

Caroline Southwell - Exploring the Magical World of Human Design

Caroline Southwell is an Online Educator and Transformational Specialist who helps entrepreneurs, change makers and leaders increase their impact on the world. For your free human design chart head to https://www.jovianarchive.com/Get_Your_Chart And then visit Caroline's Human Design Website: at http://HumanDesignBasics.com.au for a free starter course online that walks people through the most important basics on the chart. If you're as hooked and amazed about Human Design as I am, please consider her next courses, which are paid but worth digging deeper into.

05-04
36:34

Nigel Vardy - There's a Reason They Call Him Mr Frostbite

Some people call him brave, some call him mad.  To face the thin air at high altitude takes a bit of both, but to Nigel Vardy, there is nothing like being on a high mountain.  Losing limbs to severe frostbite would put off all but the few, but to Nigel it was the springboard to climb, achieve and conquer. Over the past 30 years he has climbed around the world, set mountaineering records and spoken to schools and businesses across Europe. He continues on life's adventure, forcing new boundaries and new experiences every day of his life... As Nigel says - "I don't want to die in an unused body…” His website is www.mrfrostbite.com and Facebook is www.facebook.com/NigelVardy.MrFrostbite

05-01
57:23

Anna Lundberg - Why Resilience and Meaning Are More Important Than Happiness or Pleasure

Anna Lundberg is the founder of One Step Outside, which helps experienced professionals around the world build businesses and create a lifestyle that allows them an unimagined sense of freedom outside of the 9 to 5.  Since leaving her corporate marketing job in 2013, she’s now reimagining what success looks like and she’s passionate about inspiring and supporting others to do the same. Found out more about Anna's work through http://onestepoutside.com

04-27
21:38

Alex Cooper - Freelancing as a Comedy Writer, Why Dating Sober is Important, and Some Handy Techniques for Isolation Survival

By day Alex Cooper works in advertising as a freelance writer and director of comedy adverts and spends his spare time writing and acting in his own comedy sketches. Alex has also written articles for the Metro about alcoholism, mental health and sober dating. You can find out more about Alex on www.alexpcoop.com and @alex_p_cooper on Instagram

04-25
36:54

From Tragedy to Triumph, and Hosting One Track Dance Parties During the Coronavirus Lockdown

Charlotte Fowles is a coach passionate about helping lost, frustrated or bored professionals rediscover their freedom and purpose.  And most recently she's come up with a novel way to bring people together during these Coronavirus times, hosting one-track parties three times a day via Zoom. Found out more about Charlotte's professional work on http://charlottefowles.com And join her One Track Dance Parties on The YesTribe Facebook group @ www.facebook.com/groups/theyestribe

04-20
37:41

Nicola Moss - Burnout, Rediscovering Self and the Most Important Two Letter Word

After burnout in 2005 Nicola Moss took time out to follow her adventurous spirit by travelling much of the world on foot, by train, plane, sailing across the Pacific & living in trees and on tropical islands with local clans. She soon realised that not all journeys involve flights, faraway places and crazy adventures, the journey starts within. Her website is www.nicolamoss.co

04-17
01:05:33

Josh O’Boyle - Coronavirus and Sporting Events, The Fred Whitton Challenge and Living Humbly

Josh O’Boyle is a sports event manager who has worked on some of the UK’s largest national and international sports events, including the Tour de Yorkshire and the 2019 Road Cycling World Championships. Josh also manages the Fred Whitton Challenge, which is considered the hardest sportive in the UK.

04-13
25:42

Matt Sandrini - Breaking Patterns and World Records (Almost)

Matt Sandrini is an author and performance coach who helps entrepreneurs focus and take action. He also likes to push his limits, he's a marathon runner and he's done some random things, like attempting to break the world record for most knuckle push-ups in one minute. His website is www.mattsandrini.com

04-10
30:53

Isla Marsh - The Nomadic Life of a Snowsports Instructor

Isla Marsh is a snowsports instructor who loves the outdoors, adventure and cold water swimming.  She spends her time between Japan, France, the UK and Australia and recently was given 24 hours to get out of France as Coronavirus sent the country into lockdown. We spoke just after she arrived back into the UK.

04-06
21:14

Sean Conway - Why Failures Are Just Hiccups, and How to Build a Career in Adventure

Sean Conway is an endurance athlete and adventurer, the first and only man in history to cycle, swim and run the length of Britain. He’s also cycled around the world, crossed Europe on a bike faster than any other human, and, this is probably my favourite adventure of his, he once climbed Kilimanjaro dressed as a penguin. The sheer scale and number of Sean’s adventurers are laid out in full on his website, seanconway.com

04-04
01:09:21

Recommend Channels