David Goggins 17/02/1975 Navy Seal, Ultra Runner, Motivational Speaker & Author
"WHO'S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS?!?"
Bad-Ass Qualifications
- Lost 106lbs in 3 months allowing successful application into the Navy Seal Reserves.
- The only individual to go through the Navy Seal "Hell Week" 3 times.
- Successful completion of many ultra marathons, including the MOAB 240.3 mile race.
- Previous record holder of most Pull Ups in 24 hours with 4030 Pull Ups.
- Self-published his best-selling book "Can't Hurt Me" in 2019.
This man, who grew up surrounded by violence and racism on the streets, an abusive father and a range of learning difficulties has shown the world just how far human potential can be pushed. From the moment he quit his job, spraying for cockroaches in restaurants, and laced up his shoes for his first 1/4 mile run, this man defined bad-ass.
As a young man weighing close to 300lbs, having been rejected by several Navy Seal recruiters, Goggins lost 106lbs to get to achieve the weight standard required just to get into the reserves. This he did through hours of cycling, workouts involving sets of 300-500 reps per exercise, a restrictive eating plan, teaching himself to swim, and above all, hundreds of miles of running.
As part of BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal) training, the appropriately named "Hell Week" is world renown for it's excruciating intensity. Hell Week is 130 hours of continuous physical training, mental endurance and voluntary suffering. This involves lack of sleep, constant cold, endless workouts and a tidal wave of abuse from instructors looking for the slightest crack in any would-be recruit. Daring anyone to quit.
In his first "Hell Week", Goggins got injured and was forced to start right at the beginning again. In his second, Goggins fought through stress fractures, broken bones (literally held together with duct tape) and stayed in the fight until he couldn't move his legs. In his third, Goggins displayed the mental toughness beyond what is even required of Navy Seals. Whether carrying a boat overhead through the surf, or logs up steep terrain, Goggins found a way.
What he has named his "Cookie Jar", Goggins took every moment he suffered through (and still voluntarily suffers through today), opens this "Cookie Jar" and takes out a past accomplishment. Whether it was the weight loss, getting through his childhood, getting through Hell Week, Goggins repeated this process again and again until the job was done. And instead of being persuaded to ask himself "Why am I here? Why am I doing this to myself?", Goggins was able to turn that around into "How do I get through this?".
This mentality served Goggins exceptionally well throughout his military career. As well as succesfully completing Navy Seal training, he went on to complete Army Ranger School as well as Air Force Tactical Air Controller training.
Early on in his career, Goggins was tasked with raising funds for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, an initiative providing financial assistance to the families of special forces personnel to ensure education and welfare. To achieve this, Goggins searched online for the toughest running races on the planet. What he found was the BadWater 135 Ultramarathon, a gruelling 135 mile foot race beginning in California's Death Valley.
Just to get in to this race, Goggins had to qualify. Having never ran an ultramarathon before, Goggins was told that to become eligible for Badwater, he would have to take part in the San Diego 100, an event where athletes would continuously run a 1 mile track for 24 hours. If Goggins could get 100 miles in that time, he would be considered for Badwater.
In a field of athletes built for endurance, Goggins, a 6'2, 190lb marine, took to the front of the pack on this qualifying race. Soon enough, he found himself being overtaken, his legs turning to tree trunks, to the point where he could barely move.
At the 70 mile mark, the body gave in. His partner, and on course race manager, informed him that he was going far too slow to hit the 100 mile mark. On fractured shins, under-fuelled and underhydrated, Goggins was somehow able to go one more mile. And then another. And another. Somehow willing his body to run through the worst physical suffering he had ever endured.
After 19 hours and 6 minutes, Goggins had completed a grand total of 101 miles. Following this, after a significant period of repairing his broken body, Goggins contacted the organiser for Badwater once again. This is what that organiser said:
"The idea of a 24 hour race is to run for 24 hours. You only ran 19".
In spite of this, Goggins got into Badwater. And completed Badwater. Got into the Ultraman World Championships Triathlon. Completed that. Furnace Creek 508 cycle, Badwater again,countless marathons, and in 2020, the MOAB 240 Ultramarathon.
But this still wasn't enough. Once again for charity, Goggins took on yet another daunting task of challenging the world record for most pull ups in 24 hours. At the time, this stood at 4020 pull ups.
Goggins failed his first attempt. As well as his second. But on his third, having calibrated every last detail and having stuck rigidly to his training plan, Goggins took the record, replacing it with his own of 4030 pull ups.
To this day, Goggins continuous to push on. Having published his story in his book "Can't Hurt Me", as well as touring the United States as a motivational speaker, Goggins is unquestionably one of the toughest, most resilient and mentally strong individuals on the planet. His presence on this list is assured.
"Everybody wants a quick fix. You may get results, but they won't be permanent. The permanent results come from you having to suffer."
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