#17 Rory Southworth Cold-Water Swimmer, Free-diver, Trail Runner, And All Round Superhuman

One Wild Life Podcast with Abbie Barnes

Rory Southworth is what most people would call superhuman. He spends much of his time undertaking interesting challenges across the hills and mountains of UK, often involving cold water swimming, free-diving, skiing, hiking, trail running, cycling, or, really, anything outdoors.

He is passionate about sharing his adventures across his popular Instagram platform, and for me, is a shining light in the industry, never failing to offer an inspirational or reflective post, coupled with a huge smile that leaves you feeling pumped to get up and moving seconds later. Rory says that ‘Sport is so intrinsically linked to my mental health that movement is beyond crucial to my happiness.’

The list of Rory's adventurous achievements is too long to list here, but in the last few years he has completed 100km of English Skiing; in summited all of the Wainwright Outlying Fells; Run across Lancashire; finished a Virtual Everest Expedition; and

completed swimming the length of all the Lake District Tarns (deeper than 5m), to name but a few. He is a freelancer and ambassador for Salamon, Speedo UK, Ordnance Survey, and Rubicon Raw, and has a background in product design, putting on events for Digital, creative and tech businesses.

He cares passionately about the environment, and this comes across in all that he does, and despite facing a few health setbacks in recent years, he continues to adapt and overcome, saying that ‘Comfort is being in the places that give you joy’ - and without question, this is the outdoors for Rory.

In this episode we take a deep dive with Rory into what draws him to bodies of water across the UK, and why just the UK. We pick apart his mental resilience strategy, learn about kit needed to wild swim, and find out his top tips for anyone looking to brave the wet wherever you call home!

Follow Rory on Instagram