A Royal Marine and a Rowing Machine. What’s That All About?

"And so, carrying a 26kg rowing machine, I covered the 700 kilometres, including 3 mountains, in 13 days. On my best day, I covered 40 miles and on my fastest day, I set a 4.1 mile an hour pace. And in all, I gained 25,000ft."

Jesus Christ, was my first thought, the man's a bloody machine. My second thought was to commiserate his poor feet. Did he have any left?

The concept of former Royal Marine, Matthew Disney's challenges might seem perplexing - after all, why on earth would you choose to carry a 26kg rowing machine 700km, taking in 3 mountains, in order to row the height of each summit? And on that note, why would you choose to climb the height of Everest on a stair climber of all things? Why would you choose to run 100 sprints at a sub 5-minute mile pace? Or run 81 miles in the middle of a storm? None of it makes any sense!

But the very fact you're reading these words might just prove the reasoning behind it all. Does the idea of a man heaving a rowing machine up 3 mountains not pique your interest, even just a little? Does the news of a man and his team catching hypothermia running a ridiculous distance in a storm not make you raise an eyebrow? Of course it does.

WHY? Is usually the first question. Why would a man choose to do that? Fundraising? It has to be about more than just fundraising; he could have had a bake sale for godsake. No, there has to be more. And so you begin to question what brings a man to this point of pushing his body to the brink. And then you begin to question what has brought you to the point of reading about a man pushing his body to the brink. And now you're thinking. Wondering. And perhaps here we begin to see the reason for it.


I caught up with Disney just after his latest challenge to get his take on inspiration, exercise, adventure and his extraordinary mindset.

(Challenge one: 100 sprints at sub-5-minute-mile pace)

'Why' seems too obvious a question, but it has to be asked. Quite used to it by now, Disney's answer has been thoroughly honed and he explains his seemingly ludicrous plan as having three clear aims: 

Number one is to push his body as far as possible and see what he's capable of.

"Have you reached the point? Have you reached the edge yet?" I was curious. Here's somebody with an attitude never to accept 'okay' or 'that'll do'; a person with a taste for pushing their own boundaries as far as possible.

Disney explained he'll never be there, he'll never reach the edge. Firstly because to actually do that would be to kill yourself in the process, he put quite bluntly. Secondly, because every challenge pushes the line a little further. It's an endless and tantalising chase.

And the line, for Disney, has been pushed a fair distance so far. The next logical question, of course, is how do you go about training for these sorts of challenges?

"I didn't, actually," Disney says, humorously. "The truth is, as a Royal Marine I've been training since 2006."
It's something that never leaves you; the mindset as well as the fitness regime.
"We would do something called 'yomping', which is essentially carrying heavy gear over disgusting ground in disgusting elements."

(Challenge four: 700km, 26kg rowing machine, 3 mountains)

The second reason for these challenges is to raise funds. 

All funds raised are going into a split pot, Disney explained, between two life-changing causes.
The term 'life-changing' shouldn't be taken lightly here either, for the work both The Royal Marines Charity and Rock2Recovery not only changes the lives of serving personnel and veterans alike but quite often saves those lives too.

With an interest in veterans' mental health (newbies to this blog: you've been missing out, go catch up!), I wanted to know: "Where would you say we are, as a country, in terms of having the right support in place for the veteran community?"

"We'll always be playing catch up," Disney reflected.
As much as it's great that mental health within the military is becoming less of a taboo subject, it now means charities and organisations like The Royal Marine Charity and Rock2Recovery are dealing with an influx of veterans coming forward - from as far back as the Falklands - and they are constantly trying to get a cap on it.

"It's been an uphill struggle because the government have refused to acknowledge the problem," he goes on.
It would open a whole can of worms they don't want to deal with.
Just this year, The Royal Marines Charity used £2.4 million of funds raised to build a new walk-in centre for marines suffering from PTSD as well as their families. This has been built outside the current Commando Training Centre in Devon and, as practical as this may be, it should perhaps also act as a symbol to our government it should not have been a charity paying for this vital resource.

"Getting the government to acknowledge and take some responsibility is the last hurdle."

But while this may still be a struggle, it's heartening to hear about the depth of support being provided by both The Royal Marines Charity and Rock2Recovery.
Rock2Recovery, founded by two former marines in 2012, helps all members of the armed forces in distress, bringing many back from the brink of suicide. Through a team of coaches, ambassadors and supporters, Rock2Recovery will not hesitate to make house visits, take drop-ins, and endeavours to answer any call of distress 24/7, acting to save and change the life of any veteran in crisis.

(Part of the core Rock2Recovery Team)

Through this year's challenges, Disney has raised over £15, 205 - and counting - for this work to continue.

Of course, the third reason for attempting these feats is to try to inspire others.

Not necessarily to inspire others to do the same, but to do something. To step out of the bounds of being comfortable and taste what they might be capable of.

Speaking a lot about the mindset of courage, determination and unselfishness RM training brought out in Disney, I wondered how you could inspire this sort of mindset in people with no military training, and who perhaps this mindset doesn't come naturally to.

Disney told me about a biker he had come across during his latest challenge. The man's bike had conked out halfway up a hill and he was struggling to push it the rest of the way up - presumably to get a bump on a downward slope on the other side. Disney stopped, rowing machine slung over one shoulder, and asked if he could help. 
"You look like you've got enough on your plate!" The man sounded surprised, yet Disney insisted.

It's seeing this sort of thing that helps people engage. Despite hardships, people see the smile and the natural want to help another person, and the wider public can connect with that. It sparks a little of the unselfish spirit, and perhaps that extra piece of determination a person needs to tackle their own personal challenge.

"So what's the next challenge?" I pried.

"I'll be announcing the next challenge on my page on the 1st of August," Disney replied, wryly. "But what I can say is that each challenge trumps the previous."

"Do you think it's working? Are these challenges making the difference you hoped they would?"

"Since the 4th challenge, the page has gained an additional 1600 followers, one of the videos had 1.1 million views, another post had 3200 comments, and it's raised £15, 205 for the two causes.
But it was when Charlie Hobson from Rock2Recovery contacted me to let me know a veteran who had been following my story had come to realise he was suffering from PTSD and reached out to the organisation that it really struck me. If doing these challenges has meant one person has reached out and been helped then it's been worth it."

Disney RM
www.facebook.com/DisneyRM/

Rock 2 Recovery
rock2recovery.co.uk

The Royal Marines Charity
theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk

Royal Marines Support Hub Information
theroyalmarinescharity.org.uk/news/work-starts-on-2-4-million-royal-marines-support-hub-at-the-commando-training-centre/?fbclid=IwAR1T_PVpdy1_VLPgcIPBH6XrorHFWJC0U7UytZszIXIdXMb58sXjmm-nkm0