Lessons From the First Human to Do an Ironman-Distance Triathlon in Antarctica

Even when you’ve dealt all your cards, just remember you always have an ace up your sleeve— your mind.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. At first all you see is darkness and all you hear is your rapid-fire heart rate. You can’t tell if you’re feeling intense pain, or if the pain is so bad you feel numb. You’re in the arctic, swimming. Your thoughts tell you none of this makes sense. You have almost two and a half miles to cover and are constantly vigilant for ice packs and leopard seals. As you exit the water, droplets on your face freeze instantly and crack your skin. You realize you forgot a towel.

Next your vision goes white. You’re biking on ice in an endless tundra, but it’s more like plowing through snow and falling every 30 seconds. Your average speed is 2mph and you have 112 miles to go. You have to do the same loop over and over more than 40 times. There’s no end in sight, no cheer zones, no music, no other athletes. It’s just you and the danger. Crevasses, hypothermia, unpredictable blizzards. Autopilot kicks in and mental strength is the only thing keeping you going. Your team steps up to keep you fed, hydrated, and as safe as possible while they too face life threatening dangers. 27 hours later, you finish the bike ride.

The marathon immediately follows. Weather turns for the worst and the team makes the call to take shelter in the tents. 90 mph winds bury your tent in snow and pelt it with ice. You run out of food in the tent. By the time it clears, you’re back out there to finish the last miles. Your body enters survival mode and is under severe stress. Being in control of your mind becomes the only thing that matters. After 72 hours, 54 minutes and 9 seconds, it’s done.

That’s only the brief version of what Anders Hofman endured on his ironman-distance triathlon in Antarctica in February 2020. This wasn’t an organized race, it was the idea of a 28-year old management consultant who wanted to prove to himself that limitations are just perceptions. He’d go on to not only break through his own limitations, but other people’s too. He changed the paradigm of what we thought was not humanly possible.

Aside from being the first athletic feat of it’s kind, it was also a full polar expedition to the ends of the earth, that came with close brushes with death and many unknowns.

Anders and his Project Iceman team returned to solid land March 13, 2020 only to be greeted by a global pandemic. Since then, they’ve been working on a film documenting Project Iceman. Yes Theory once again demonstrating their commitment to making things happen on their own merits, declined a big-box streaming service and made this independent film happen through NFT’s with the support of over 14K people in over 72 countries.

Going on a Pilgrimage to see Project Iceman in New York

Last weekend I flew to New York City for the red carpet premiere of the Project Iceman film, produced by Yes Theory and Seek Discomfort. A few years ago Yes Theory had announced Anders as their first sponsored athlete to support his endeavor and show the world that limitations are perceptions. Project Iceman was a single drop of water that sent a ripple effect that’s now blanketing the world.

A ripple effect is perhaps the best way to describe the Yes Theory community. It’s a mindset that our biggest growth happens when we step out of our comfort zone. While I’ve personally experienced their ripple effect in my own life having gone to Paris with a stranger and paragliding with my Uber driver, but on Sunday at the premiere I witnessed it in hundreds of others.

While people traveled from all over the country (and world) to watch the film, it was about the experience of being together in New York, meeting up with other attendees, forming friendships, meeting Ammar Kandil and the team from Yes Theory, Anders himself, and members of the film crew.

I arrived knowing not a single person and left with at least 20 new friends. After the film I attended the VIP happy hour with a fascinating mix of “Seekers”, Hollywood actors, YouTubers, podcasters, filmmakers, students, entrepreneurs, and many more. Everyone who was there had made an effort to be there because it was important to them. Because they knew it would make them a better person, a better friend, and better contrbutor to the human existance. 

Those of us there had shared a unique perspective of the world and our role in it. There was instant camaraderie of mutual trust and friendship— regardless of who you were. That’s what makes the Yes Theory community so special and makes it the epicenter of this ripple effect.

8 reflections extracted from my experience at the Project Iceman Premiere:

1. The ordinary can do the extraordinary. Everything around us called life was made up by people no smarter than us. And we can change it, we can influence it. Anders was a regular guy working as a management consultant in Denmark, he wasn’t a professional athlete. Yes Theory started as four strangers in college who became friends and started a Youtube channel with no clue where it would lead. All of us have the potential within us to do the extraordinary. What matters is what your mind perceives as possible. We were there to remind each other of what is possible despite your internal narrative and what other people think.

2. It’s not about the destination or the journey, says Ammar. What matters most is the company you keep. The people around you. Because if you’re on the path to doing something meaningful, the journey sometimes sucks. It’s challenging. So one of the only things you can control is who you get to do this with.

3. As I sat in the audience, I peeled my eyes away from film for a minute and looked around at the audience. You could see the inspiration glittering in people’s eyes and feel the energy in the room. I saw Eric Tabach jump up from his seat, the first one to start the standing ovation. He was glowing with pride for his friends. I guarantee every single person left feeling hopeful and more empowered to make the most from their human experience. It reminded me of the word, Ubuntu, meaning "I am because we are."

4. Don’t get attached to the outcome of something. It’s about who you get to become along the way.

5. Success isn’t linear or finite, it is infinite. Success looks different for everyone. For one person it might be the challenge of being one in a million and trying to stand out from the rest. For others it might be facing the challenge of being the first one at something. It’s less about being someone who inspires, and more about being inspired by others and using that to fuel your growth.

6. Be present and grateful. Twice during the premiere, Staffan, the Emcee, made a point for us to take a deep breath together. Our focus returned and energy settled. He thenencouraged us to pat ourselves on the back and thank ourselves for being there. We often don't take time to express gratitude toward ourselves for doing things that make us feel happy and alive. This was one of those moments where I genuinely felt grateful for my own efforts of being at the premiere.

7. Project Iceman was the Stockdale Paradox in full force: You must retain faith that you will succeed in the end, regardless of the difficulties... AND at the same time you must confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

8. Even when you’ve dealt all your cards, remember you always have an ace up your sleeve— your mind. The limitations we set on ourselves are most often just imaginary. The mind is what holds us back the most. Anders shows us what happens when we break free from our own illusions of our limits. None of us would have thought any lesser of him had he called it quits during his attempt. But Anders shows us that when external factors are out of our control, we must revert back to the only thing we can control. Our mind. (Get a better understanding of the dangers of the Arctic and the power of the mind with this article I wrote about Endurance, the Shackleton expedition).

On the train back to the hotel around 1:30am, still energized from the evening, I took out my phone to type my learnings and emotions in my Notes app while they were still fresh. Then I saw a few others board the train I recognized from the premiere. One of them got out a physical journal and started writing. The experience had been so impactful that we both had to write it down and reflect on it. Our minds have been stretched to new dimensions and reminded that whatever we can conceive in our heads, we can achieve.

PS: Project Iceman team, Yes Theory, Seek Discomfort… you’re creating a ripple effect in all directions. Thank you for consistently showing us we can live life in extraordinary ways and for creating a community of belonging and friendship.