The King Of Impossible

Colin O’Brady conquers the world

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Here in the States, the day after Christmas is an amorphous time, a non-holiday that seems as if it should be one. On this day in 2018, it was a holiday like no other for Colin O’Brady. After spending 54 days utterly alone, with no support, no help, and pulling a 375-pound sled, he ended his 932-mile solo journey across Antarctica to become the first person to successfully traverse that wildly forbidding continent alone.

His quest, dubbed “The Impossible First” by O’Brady and his wife Jenna Besaw, was unthinkably risky, and some might say the 33-year-old was out of his mind, which, of course, he was. And that is one of the secrets to the success of his crossing: He is an expert at not letting his mind get in the way of reaching his goals.

In the year since O’Brady established his legend, he has spent his time and energy on imparting that lesson. “Growth happens outside the comfort zone,” he recently told BOSS. “We all have these fears that often hold us back, but I also find the reward of stepping outside that comfort zone, getting beyond your fear, there’s so much growth that can happen there. Even if things don’t go perfectly well, there’s so much tremendous growth.”

Personal growth is another realm of expertise for the Washington-born athlete, an avid swimmer recruited by Yale University who earned a bachelor’s in economics between meets. After graduation, he grabbed his backpack and surfboard and set out to see the world — until tragedy irrevocably changed the trajectory of his days. While he was in Thailand, a fire caused burns over 25 percent of his body, mostly on his legs and feet. Doctors were convinced he’d never walk normally again.