Check out the video podcast on YouTube under Real Risk. Hugh Riminton is a citizen of the world. Growing up in Ceylon, then New Zealand before moving to Australia he has covered stories from around the globe. From the world’s most dangerous settlement of Soweto, the killing fields of Rwanda and the horrific cost of…

To finish the series, the frightening account of the shark attack that so nearly cost Chris Blowes his life. The attack ended with his two mates watching the shark swimming off with their friend’s leg in its mouth, towing his surfboard by the leg rope behind it. That imagery is so much worse than anything…

In this second episode of Life on a Line, we rejoin Chris Lemons on the seabed in the North Sea. His umbilical is severed, and he has switched on his bailout gas with the knowledge that in 8 minutes his gas supply will be exhausted and he will die… Make sure you listen to the…

The world of saturation diving is high tech, complex and fascinating. The physics and physiology present unbreakable rules that must be followed to remain safe. The  risks of decompression sickness, High Pressure Nervous Syndrome (HPNS), oxygen toxicity and inert gas narcosis are carefully managed. But perhaps the hardest part; living in the confines of the…

Image Surfer Today. Paddling onto a 70 foot wave must make every nerve in your brain scream STOP! The deafening roar, the wedge like tons of water curling over then hurling you down towards the reef visible beneath the shallows at the bottom of the drop. The explosion occurring all around as you reach an…

Image-Jimmy Chin.    Alex Honnold is cool. Beyond cool actually. His skill and calm transcend what most of us can conceive is possible. And yet when you chat with him he is immediately likeable and you can imagine hanging out. His enthusiasm makes you want to go climbing with him although in my case that…

Three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food. We all know the saying, but some people just refuse to acknowledge these kinds of rules. James Scott, a young medical student was such a guy. He left Australia for an adventure in Nepal, a clinical placement which would set him up for…

The documentary ‘Free Solo” based around the rope-less ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park by Alex Honnold had us all on the edge of our seats. I found myself holding my breath, at times barely able to look at the screen even though I knew Alex would ultimately succeed. To capture the drama…

Image from speedcafe.com When your father is Jack Brabham a three times Formula 1 World Champion, it seems likely that motorsport will be in your blood. And as it turned out all three of Jack’s sons took to the track like the proverbial ducks to water. David Brabham never intended to race cars, he was…

Image Robert Marc Lehmann. In this episode I talk with two good friends, cave divers Brian Kakuk and Dr Kenny Broad. Brian runs Bahamas Underground which offers guided diving to suitably qualified cave divers in the exquisite flooded caves on Abaco Island. But the beautiful crystal formations in the gin clear tunnels are only half…