Curtin Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate Laurence Goodacre has always had a burning desire to make waves around the world, so much so that he set a new Guinness World Record of becoming the fastest human to swim in all five oceans.
Spending 65 hours flying in the air, 20 hours driving, and swimming seven kilometres in less than eleven days around the globe, including swimming alongside dolphins in the Arctic Ocean and seals, whales, and penguins in the Southern Oceans – Laurence and his team made their dreams a reality.
From sunny days to snowstorms, Laurence shares how a work trip to Mongolia became the catalyst that propelled him to new heights.
What motivated you to become the fastest human to swim all five oceans?
I’ve always had a burning desire to do something no one had ever undertaken. That’s always been sitting dormant in me, and I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity.
I’ve always been adventurous, I grew up in a cycling family, my brother and sister were both national champions, which naturally propelled me into cycling as a young child. But, in my early 20s I was burnt out and didn’t own a bike for 10 years.
While I was living in Mongolia for four years during COVID, I got back into endurance cycling and that’s when I got really excited about the limits of what the body can endure.
Three years ago, after COVID had ended in Australia, I had a desire to become the fastest human to swim all five oceans, and I couldn’t stop myself.
I believe that Mongolia was the catalyst for my return because I was in a very different environment and surrounded by some amazing athletes and healthy people who got me back into doing the things I love. I truly believe having the right network around you can propel you to new heights.
How did you physically and mentally prepare to swim all five oceans?
There were many mental hurdles and logistical nightmares that came with racing around the world in record time.
My preparation had three components: a physical, climatization, and mental aspect.
To set the world record, we had to swim a minimum of a kilometre in each ocean. We did more than 1.5 kilometres in most oceans, but I was also training to do cold-water swims without a wetsuit, under the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) regulations. When in Antarctica we didn’t wear a wetsuit if the water was below five degrees. This may sound funny but swimming in the Arctic Ocean felt warmer than I had envisioned, which only made me think of the growing impacts of global warming on our oceans and the world at large.
Cold-water immersion was a big part of my physical training for Antarctica, but mentally it changed my life.
For at least a year and a half, I was mentally and physically preparing my body to go into hypothermic stage two, so I had to practice consistent and efficient swimming techniques to ensure I was not submerged for too long.
There were times when I doubted my ability. Times when I had negative thoughts swirling in my head, questioning whether I could physically do it, so it was important I put myself in these situations during training to help me push past this uncertainty.
Mental and physical preparation go hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other. Unlike endurance cycling where you can often see what’s in front of you, this expedition was different. I had to not only physically prepare my body for some of the world’s harshest environments, but I also had to prepare my mind to adapt to being exposed to these demanding conditions.
Did you have any nerves during the five oceans expedition?
While I was training to go into hypothermic shock, I had the best support people around me, including a hypothermic recovery coach and doctor, but the nerves still got to me.
Most of the time, I probably had the easiest job because I just had to get in the water and swim, whereas my team had to worry about all these other elements.
At the end of each swim and recovery session, we had a debrief session where we would reflect as a team on things we had learnt and how we can adjust to make things better.
During one of our debrief sessions, we realised that five to 10 minutes before I hop in the cold water, I had tunnel vision and would immediately block out what my team were saying. This was an important learning curve as it made us realise that I had to become more mentally prepared and focused if we were to achieve the world record.
Finally, what are your top tips for stepping outside your comfort zone?
1) Surround yourself with great people.
Surrounding yourself with great humans opens a world of possibilities. Having a supportive network around you gives you the confidence to talk about your goals and concerns.
2) The 70 per cent factor.
One thing I’ve learnt in life is that we are never going to be 100 per cent ready. I found with this expedition that you could only prepare so much, sometimes we don’t know all the answers and that’s okay. Most part, it’s about just getting started even if you don’t ‘feel ready’.
3) Have the conversation.
This expedition wouldn’t have happened without a conversation. Four years ago, I was on a call with an individual and told him about my trip to Antarctica. Through this conversation, I learned that he had been visiting Antarctica for the past 17 years and had his own vessel. This conversation then sparked another about sponsorships. Through having these conversations, I discovered that more and more people wanted to get behind my crazy idea. Sometimes you will get far more out of a conversation with another person than learning by yourself, you never know where it may lead.
Laurence Goodacre, Senior Global Manager for Quarry, Construction & Tunnelling at Orica.
Graduating from Curtin with a Graduate Certificate in Business (2018) and a Master of Business Administration (2023), Laurence is an experienced Operations and Commercial Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the mining and metals industry. Currently, Laurence works at Orica and has been with the company for 16 years working across all corners of the globe. A passionate adventure-seeker, Laurence has set a World Record for being the fastest human to swim in all five oceans in less than eleven days.
