The Diary of a CEORuss Cook (Hardest Geezer): I Haven't Told The Whole Truth About Africa!
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,015 words- 0:00 – 2:03
Intro
- SBSteven Bartlett
When I say day 102, does it bring back any memories?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. It's the only YouTube video that I didn't release. My name is Russ Cook, and I'm attempting to become the first person ever to run the entire length of Africa. It was probably the hardest part of my whole life.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What happened?
- RCRuss Cook
So going down this dirt path, and two blokes on a motorbike pull up. I knew that if I'm on the bike for longer than half an hour, it's bad news. Ended up spending seven hours on a motorbike going into the jungle. I was getting kidnapped.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Your partner told us that she thought you had died.
- RCRuss Cook
I mean, I thought I was gonna die as well.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Were you thinking about people back home? Russ, I don't think many people know that you did all this stuff before Africa. At 22 years old, you become the first person to run from Asia to London. You buried yourself alive for seven days. You pulled the car as well, which is pretty fucking crazy. What were you looking for?
- RCRuss Cook
God, that's one hell of a question, man. Things had got pretty bad. I wasn't speaking to my family. I was drinking and gambling. I would wake up throughout the week just bursting into tears crying.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You had dark thoughts?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. But ultimately, you know, no one was gonna come and save you. It just had to be me. And I thought Africa would be the best adventure ever.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But 8:30, you start pissing blood.
- RCRuss Cook
I knew it was bad. It'd probably end.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You get robbed at gunpoint.
- RCRuss Cook
They got passports, money.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And then a falling out amongst the team. You've not talked about this in detail either.
- RCRuss Cook
I just blew up, shouting at everyone, throwing chairs.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What happened?
- RCRuss Cook
Well-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Congratulations, Diary of a CEO gang. We've made some progress. 63% of you that listen to this podcast regularly don't subscribe, which is down from 69%. Our goal is 50%. So if you've ever liked any of the videos we've posted, if you like this channel, can you do me a quick favor and hit the subscribe button? It helps this channel more than you know. And the bigger the channel gets, as you've seen, the bigger the guests get. Thank you, and enjoy this episode.
- 2:03 – 5:50
Russ' Childhood & Being Rebellious
- SBSteven Bartlett
Russ, you know, you're someone that has achieved and has pursued really anomalous feats in their life, feats that most of us as Muggles would never have the insanity-
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
... to, to take on. So I was, I was so curious to understand from your perspective, what are the dominoes that fell in your life that led you to be the guy that sits here, that everyone around the country and around the world is perplexed and astonished and inspired by?
- RCRuss Cook
Hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Where does it start?
- RCRuss Cook
God, that's one hell of a question, man. Uh, I think really I had quite a normal upbringing. And maybe that's like the basis for why I ended up doing all this kind of stuff. Um, yeah, like Dad, uh, my early memories of like my dad were he was a very hardworking man. He cut metal for a living. And didn't really see that much of him when I was young. He would be out working 13, 14 hours a day, come home, metal dust all over him. Mum would look after me and my brothers, and, um, I think he kind of instilled the, like that hardworking mentality in me. And you know, a lot of the, a lot of the dominoes fell from that really.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And what was your mum like when you were growing up?
- RCRuss Cook
My mum was very, what I'll always remember about my mum is she really enforced it in us to be li- polite. Sh- that was like a big thing for her. So always like, "Yes, yes please, thank yous." Uh, whenever we'd go round to people's houses, she would just like make sure that we behaved well, and all of this kind of stuff. And, uh, like her, her dad is like military man.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
So 18 to 65, always in RAF, like very well respected. Um, so I think she got that from him, and that's what she passed down to us. But she was like very caring. She, her, her whole life was her kids really. So yeah, like a lot of respect for my mum.
- SBSteven Bartlett
The absence of your father-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... you said a second ago that because he was quite absent, your mother kind of carried the responsibility of raising the kids-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... herself. Do you reflect on that and, as you look back on your life, understand how his absence had an impact on you? Because before, before this conversation today, I got to speak to, my team and I got to speak to lots of people around you-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... as you know, 'cause I'm sure they're all-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... little snitches. So we spoke to your girlfriend, we spoke to your dad.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Um, spoke to your team, spoke to everyone around you privately, um, and got all of their take, sort of perspectives and stuff. And it appeared from those conversations that the early sort of absence of your father had a pretty big impact on shaping you as an individual.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, I mean, I guess I think my, I, I, now I'm, now I'm older, I just look at it like my dad was doing everything that he could to provide for his family, you know. Like I think he took that responsibility really seriously. Um, and yeah, I mean, I, it's hard to, hard to really contemplate how that affected me. But the, the, the few things I did see of my daddy was just always, like he ran a marathon when I was a kid, and I remember that being like a big... You know, he'd always talk about willpower. And he didn't say much, but like he was more of a man of he did things rather than spoke about them.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
So he'd go out and work really hard, or he'd go and run a marathon. And I'd see these things happening. You know, he'd come home from working, he'd be knackered, and he'd be on the sofa and like he kind of just, that was the way he led, you know?
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's a generational thing in many respects, isn't it?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause
- 5:50 – 12:00
Relationship With My Parents
- SBSteven Bartlett
my, my dad's, I feel like is very much the same. I don't think we had many deep conversations at all.
- RCRuss Cook
Nah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But he, they, he led by example in the sense that he worked hard, loved his family.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Um, that marathon your dad ran-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... did he do things like that a lot?
- RCRuss Cook
Um-Not really. He was s- he was working pretty much all the time, so he'd do... He, uh, he ran two marathons, one when he was 31, one when he was 40. But, like, he used to take me out on runs when I was quite young and, you know, he'd, he d- wouldn't really say anything, but it was more just me seeing it that I think was important for me. And that's how-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
... he operated, you know.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What about affection?
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) Uh, yeah, no, my dad's, uh, my dad or my mum aren't very affectionate people.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
I don't think I've, don't think I've ever seen them like even kiss, maybe, maybe once or twice when I was young.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
But like, you know, the "I loves using," "I love using" stuff like this wasn't words that got thrown around in our family. Not that they didn't m- not that they didn't mean it, I just think that like we're, we're, our family's a bit stiff like that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Hmm. Not all families have the tools.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you know what I mean?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs) They just, maybe they didn't get them from their parents.
- RCRuss Cook
No, that's, I think that's exactly it, you know. And I think when, as I've got older and I've understood like where they've come from and their parents and their upbringings, then it's like, makes sense.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But it didn't make sense?
- RCRuss Cook
Didn't make sense at the time. It's hard to, like when you're young, it's re- I found it really hard to make sense of a lot of things. I was one of them, like had a lot of questions.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
Hard to find the answers, but I kept digging.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What kind of questions did you have?
- RCRuss Cook
I guess it was more stuff like I, I was finding it hard to find my way in the world, and es- especially when I got to like teenage years and I'd be like, "How do I do this? Or how do I, you know, how do I build a career? How do I make money? How do I do all of these things? How do I navigate friendships and relationships?" All these kind of complex, "How do I find meaning in my life?" Not that I was directly asking those questions, but they're the kind of things you're, I'm prodding at that age. And I think, y- y- you know, from my parents, it was, it was quite hard to find those answers just because I think they, we all struggled with communicating like that, you know.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Uh, when you were 13, 14 years old-
- RCRuss Cook
Hmm.
- 12:00 – 17:04
Trying To Get People’s Attention
- RCRuss Cook
- SBSteven Bartlett
... acting out and disrespecting people, so that's why I'm asking about the cause of it 'cause, you know, sometimes when you hear kids doing that kind of thing, you kind of think they're trying to, they're acting out to try and get some attention and then th- they're kind of like rebelling from-... you know, authority because they feel, I don't know, disconnected in some way or whatever?
- RCRuss Cook
I think that's maybe it, you know. Like, it's probably part of it. I'm not, I'm not exactly sure why. Um, but that's, that's kind of what happened. And I think I was, I had a lot of energy, a lot of motivation, viciously ambitious, but didn't really know how to apply it, where to apply it, to get what I wanted. And I was looking around me for... I think I was looking around searching for the guidance that, that would help me, but I wasn't really finding it. So I was just trying to make... I was just basically discarding things that I thought weren't important, pe- or opinions that weren't important or weren't gonna get me where I wanted, and I was just looking for, looking for it. And, yeah, that's kind of how things started unraveling and I ended up moving out. And that, that induced a quite tasty few years in itself.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When you say moved out-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... do you mean like organized the removal van and-
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
... had an apartment you were moving into? Or wha- what was the day like when you moved out?
- RCRuss Cook
Uh, it was quite a messy, it was quite messy for a couple of years in there. Like, I remember my parents sent me up to my granddad in Scotland one summer when I was like 15, and this was kind of the start of when things were going quite bad. Um...
- SBSteven Bartlett
Your parents were doing okay?
- RCRuss Cook
My parents were doing okay.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. But then, so then, and then I remember one night they moved all my stuff to my other granddad's house and changed the lock on the door, and they were like, "You're not coming back." And I kicked the door in. Uh, and bowled in. So, it was kind of happening for a while, and then it got to the point where I remember my mom being like, "Y- you need to go." And I was like, "Cool." It wasn't like a out the door with tail between my legs or anything. It was like, "I don't need you anyway. See you later." Like-
- SBSteven Bartlett
At what age? 15, 16?
- RCRuss Cook
I was about 17.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. And then, um, I organized a flat. It was the cheapest flat I could rent in Worthing and I was still, I was at college. So I was working about four or five part-time jobs, just like cleaning. I was up on my bike going to Waitrose cleaning toilets in the morning before college and then finished that and st- I went into sales at first.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You know when they change the locks on the door and tell you that you can't come back home?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
If I asked them at the time why they'd done that, what do you think they would've said?
- RCRuss Cook
They would've said like, "This guy needs humbling. He's, he's, he doesn't know anything about the world. He's very arrogant, very disrespectful."
- SBSteven Bartlett
And then in hindsight, as you sit-
- RCRuss Cook
Totally right. Yeah. Totally right.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But you, you must have empathy for that kid.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Because you now un- you look back as an adult, you can understand the complex range of emotions.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause there's no ki- kids aren't like... They're not born to be like terrorists like that.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Uh, I, I, well, I get it from, I think now I'm older I just get it from both sides. Like, it, it's really difficult, it was really difficult for them to manage that t- like complex kind of personality. And it was also really hard for me to express or communicate my- in a way that was, I was gonna get myself listened to. I wasn't doing that. I was just like totally (laughs) totally trying to run everyone over, you know?
- SBSteven Bartlett
You wanted to be heard?
- 17:04 – 19:29
Distancing Himself from Family
- SBSteven Bartlett
moved out sort of 16, 17 years old, how was your relationship with your parents from there?
- RCRuss Cook
Terrible.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Really?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Didn't speak to them for a long time. Uh, even up until, I would say up until probably the last year is, is, couple of years it's been pretty .......................... But, um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
You're 27 now.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
We're talking about when you were 17.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's, it, there was, there's moments in there where it's got better and then got worse and got better. But for, for a while it's, yeah, it was tough.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When you, you knew at 17 years old they changed the locks, you move out.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I'm sure your response was, "Hard-ease geezer."
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Because it always is, right? (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Like you said, it's just, "Fuck it. I don't care." (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
"I'll figure it out."
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But at, at, at some deeper level you're, I think we're all bullshitting ourselves to, if we say that it doesn't have an impact. 'Cause I can relate. I remember the call to my mom at 18 and telling her I was leaving university and I remember what she said to me.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I can't repeat what she said because it's so vicious.
- RCRuss Cook
Really, yeah?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah, it's like you're, it's so, it's so vicious, one of the things she said to me. But it was hard-as-geezer exterior.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And then at some deeper level...... on certain days-
- RCRuss Cook
Oh, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... you know, cet- it would catch me in the off day.
- RCRuss Cook
Oh, 100%, man. Like, and I think the hardest keys are kind of appro- like, that aggressive approach to it is just, like, a way of coping with it. I've, uh, every now and again, you know, like, the emotions would roll out, and, you know, I'm not denying that for a second. I remember seeing... I moved out and then I think I saw my dad maybe, I can't remember how long after it was. A f- a good few months, maybe a year or so, and it just made me cry just seeing him. So like, the- the emotions were always there, but to kind of get through it, it was like, "Right," you know, "fuck everyone."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why did you cry when you saw him?
- RCRuss Cook
Just 'cause I think, like, there's always a part of me that understands that my parent... There is no, there is no one else in the world that loves me like my parents do. And like, no matter what they do or, like, how bad- badly I felt I'd been wronged or... Which I wasn't really, they were just trying their best. Like, I always knew that, you know, whatever happens, these, these are the two people that actually care about me the most.
- 19:29 – 21:06
The Impact of Russ' Girlfriend
- SBSteven Bartlett
I think so many people are probably in that situation right now where they, they love that person-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... but they don't know how to build the bridge, both people.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And it takes two to build a bridge, so like-
- RCRuss Cook
It really does.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... they can't build it, I can't build it-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... so w- we love each other but we're fucking at war.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Or...
- RCRuss Cook
I think, like, a big part of that for me, in building that bridge, was actually my girlfriend when I was away.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Oh.
- RCRuss Cook
'Cause she, she went over and she went round the house and spoke to them loads, and she's... 'Cause even before I left, like, I went round to see both my parents before I left, but it was the first time I'd seen them in, like, God, maybe like a year and a half, two years.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Really? You hadn't seen your parents in two years?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Before you left?
- RCRuss Cook
Yes, s- before I left for Africa. We'd spoken, me and my girlfriend had spoken a lot about these kind of things and how, like, important we want family to be, and she... Like, I, I felt like at a loss making that s- that step. I just didn't really know how to do it, what to say, blah, blah, blah. But she kind of, over this year, has really, like, done a lot of, in that sense.
- SBSteven Bartlett
People might think this is sexist, but I do think women have more tools. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Oh, 100%. 100%.
- SBSteven Bartlett
My girlfriend's the same. If my girlfriend... Me and my mum sometimes don't speak for prolonged periods of time, and my girlfriend, like, insists upon it-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... and, like, dragged me down to Plymouth and was like, "We're going to see her." And-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Oh, mate, I couldn't agree more. I d- especially with me and my girlfriend's dynamic anyway, like, that's really... She's... I look at her like a, like a wizard in that sense. I'm like, "I don't know what I'm doing," but she-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
... she's got that under control, which is amazing.
- 21:06 – 22:29
Moving Out as a Teenager
- RCRuss Cook
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you're 17 years old, you've moved out, you're on your own. What's the plan?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, wow.
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Um, yeah, so I remember I had this flat in Worthing, it was the cheapest flat available on Rightmove. 450 quid a month, which is more than I could afford but I was like, "Right, let's do it." F- um, was working a bunch of different jobs, trying to finish college, kind of scraped through, and then I, um, I actually was watching... (laughs) This, this is so cringe, but it's funny. I was like one of them lads that watched Wolf of Wall Street and was like, "This is it for me." Do you know what I mean?
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
I'm the, uh, this is the game. I'm gonna, I'm gonna become a million- millionaire doing sales stuff. So I went and got a few sales jobs. Um, made some actually not bad money for, for my age, but really didn't enjoy it. And, you know, ended up with that kind of lack of guidance, so I ended up just doing the things that felt to me like the most fun or the most, like they would bring, in my naivety, they would bring me the most meaningful experiences at the time. Which ended up being going out a lot with the boys and drinking and, uh, gambling, and that's kind of what my life was for the next kind of two, three years
- 22:29 – 26:08
Going Down the Wrong Path
- RCRuss Cook
after that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Were you, were you, uh, addicted to gambling?
- RCRuss Cook
Um...
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause I was reading through your story and speaking to some of your friends, and they told me that there was s- some instances where you, you basically lost everything you had and had to borrow money off your, your missus at the time.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Oh, mate, it was, it's embarrassing to even talk about. Like, I remember, you know, I didn't have much money, but I'd done one night on roulette, I'd done about two, I think it was over two grand on online roulette just sitting there on my phone late at night just tapping away. And that was kind of everything I had at the time. And plus the overdraft, plus every, all the rest of it. And I had to, I was too embarrassed to say anything, so I told my missus, like... Oh, I think I just made up some bullshit lies about what this, x, y, z, and said like, "Oh, I need to borrow money for rent and stuff this month." There was a moment there where I was like, "Okay, this really needs to stop," and I just went on every single gambling website I could find and did the self-ban thing. Never gambled since.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And the alcohol?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, I mean, I think the alcohol stuff was just like binge drinking culture. I wouldn't say I, like I was a alcoholic or anything like this. That was just the only way I could really... The only thing I looked forward to. I'd ha- I'd hate my job, so I'd hate work all th- throughout the week, but I'd be like, "All right, Saturday with the boys, or Saturday drinking this, whatever, going out here," was like the thing that I looked forward to. That was the only thing I was really living for.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Was there part of you, throughout that period of your life, when you're, you're working in sales, you're gambling too much, you're drinking too much-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... I heard you were overweight at the time as well.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Was there a part of you that, sort of a voice inside your head that was saying like, "Come on, Russ. Like, this isn't it"?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Definitely. Um, I was so miserable, man. So, so miserable at that time. I really struggled. I remember I would like wake up throughout the week just like crying. Just, just so miserable.Um, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You'd wake up through the week crying?
- RCRuss Cook
Just like, th- I'd wake up, like supposed to go to work. I just be, I'd just be like so upset. Just be like the worst, so miserable.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I, I w-
- RCRuss Cook
Couldn't just fathom... I was like, "Why is, why is life this..." (laughs) "Why does it suck this much?" You know? Like I really had no... (exhales sharply) Felt like I was kinda trapped. Lack of connection I think was a big part of that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You had people around you though, but you just-
- RCRuss Cook
Not-
- SBSteven Bartlett
... weren't, weren't connected.
- RCRuss Cook
(sighs) So, not, I didn't... I mean, I had like a few, a few of my boys, but I, I wasn't speaking to my family at all at this time. Um, (smacks lips) well, I guess I was just doing a lot of things that would make you miserable. Like I was, I had no control over my finances 'cause I was pissing away everything that I earned on roulette. I was, the only things I looked forward to was going out and getting pissed, which I could, which would make me feel like shit as well.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
And then I would go to work and hate working every day. So like, it's n- doesn't take a genius to work out that's going to be a pretty miserable (laughs) existence, you know?
- SBSteven Bartlett
And you didn't have family around you?
- RCRuss Cook
Didn't ha- yeah, didn't have like many deep connections, so.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How old were you at that point in your life?
- RCRuss Cook
So that would be like 18, 19. 17, 18, 19, 20 maybe, just about.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So if you had to give me a, a word to summarize your sort of mental health throughout that period, what would you-
- RCRuss Cook
Hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How would you describe your mental health?
- 26:08 – 30:54
Russ' Mental Health
- SBSteven Bartlett
that you can recall?
- RCRuss Cook
Um, yeah, I mean, I rememb- like, I, I do remember just... (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
You don't want to talk about it.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You, you, you go at your own pace. You tell me what you're comfortable talking about.
- RCRuss Cook
I, I mean, I, I remember (sighs) days, like I said, I'd wake up crying. Speak to my boss, I remember even one day with my boss, h- speaking to him on the phone, just bursting into tears crying. And I think what was hard is that I didn't understand anything, I didn't understand why. You know what I mean? I didn't have the tools to really make any sense of w- of the situation. 'Cause, you know, l- now, I'm seven, eight, nine years older, I can look back and go, "Yeah, well, it's what happens when you gamble loads and you piss all your money away and you drink loads and you don't have anything in your life that's gonna bring you any meaning or fulfillment." It's obvious. But at the time, I didn't know that. So that kind of sense of helplessness was a really big weight on me and it just felt like I was never gonna be able to shift it. I think that was the dif- the most difficult thing. I was like, "I don't know how I'm gonna get out of this."
- SBSteven Bartlett
You had dark thoughts.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
The most dark thoughts.
- RCRuss Cook
Pretty... yeah, pretty much.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That season of your life, y- I've heard you kind of describe it as a rock bottom-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... moment. And it's interesting because there are so many people that are somewhere along that journey where they're struggling, they've, they've got that sense of helplessness that you've described.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And they're searching for answers. In, I think in some respects, thinking about some people I've spoken to recently, they, they've kind of given up believing that they can solve this, because it's gone on for too long.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And, uh, uh, as you said, they don't even know what's causing it. They just feel it.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
They feel it intensely. I've got fr- a couple of friends that are really going through that at the moment. And I wonder, I always wonder to myself like, how does someone get from that moment, their like personal rock bottom, what does it take to get them starting to climb?
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause that's why, that's why I'm asking these questions. I see it in your story. I see you going further and further and further and further and further and further down.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Reaching this rock bottom moment, and then in that rock bottom moment, you have some of the, the, I think the darkest thoughts that anyone can have, and then something causes you to make a decision.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. I think there's a few different things that went into that melting pot. Um, I think actually a massive thing was like things like listening to podcasts. Like I said, I did... I remember listening to like Joe Rogan a lot back in the day, and, um, he's like... I remember the Jordan Peterson, there was a Jordan Peterson episode ages ago, and it was, it was like a classic thing, but that really kinda hit me, and that's what I like. I love listening to him now, and I know he's a bit controversial these days, and people have X, Y, Z to say about him, but for me, like just having... That was like my, uh, guidance in a lot of ways, and I think so blessed to have been born in this generation where the guidance can come through all of these online resources, whereas before, you know, like 20, 30 years ago, maybe that would never have come for me, and maybe, uh, 20 years later I'd still be in the same spot. So like, incredibly grateful for that. But then-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Can I ask a question on that?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, go on.
- SBSteven Bartlett
In, in that moment when you were 19 years old-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... and you're s- searching for guy, do your parents know what you're going through?
- RCRuss Cook
No, I don't think so. No.
- 30:54 – 33:11
What Would Russ Say to His Younger Self
- SBSteven Bartlett
a real cost to that, isn't there?
- RCRuss Cook
There is, yeah. I guess.
- SBSteven Bartlett
There is this, there... You know, these things, I always think with these things, keeping them to yourself doesn't mean that they stay inside. It means they express themselves in other ways.
- RCRuss Cook
Hmm. Yeah, smart.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You know, so... (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
You're smart. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's a little bit... I say it with a lot of people, so I've, I've come to learn about myself. But I, I've come to... One of the things I've definitely come to learn is that keeping it in doesn't actually keep it in. It just comes out in other ways.
- RCRuss Cook
It makes it like a pressure chamber-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
... and then you get your little escapes, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. Someone will say something to you, "Get the fuck up!" (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah. (laughs) Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Or some people expresses themselves in pornography addictions or gambling addictions. They're trying to find other ways to ease-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... the burden of having to hold onto that, all that stuff.
- RCRuss Cook
Or running the length of Africa. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah, yeah. Exactly. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Um, so they, they had no idea?
- RCRuss Cook
No.
- SBSteven Bartlett
If you could go back and have a word with him when he's woke, woke up on that morning-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... when you were at your, your rock bottom and he's crying and he doesn't wanna go to work and he's thinking about dark, you know, dark thoughts. If you could go back and just have a telephone conversation with him now, what would you, what would you say to him?
- RCRuss Cook
Whoo. I, I guess I do, I do have empathy for that guy. I think the thing, the thing that, that I needed to hear that which was the most, which actually got me to, forced me into action, was like, "I need to take responsibility for my own situation here." So like, that version of me at 19, 18, 19 was very much one that looked at my outside world and blamed everyone else for my problems. Like, oh, it's 'cause my parents did this, or my boss did this, and all of these other things. And I didn't need anyone else to come in and say, "Oh, it's not your fault. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." I needed someone to go, "That's the fucking world, mate. Get used to... Like, do something about it or don't. It's up to you." So, that's probably the message that I would give. Maybe I'd deliver it in a nice, little empathetic way-
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
... but ultimately, you know, no one was gonna come and save me. It just had to be me.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And you talk about this,
- 33:11 – 36:09
Russ' Epiphany
- SBSteven Bartlett
um, I was reading s- s- different sort of seasons of your life and there's this one moment where you were in a nightclub and it seems like you have a bit of a-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I don't know whether you were on something or you were drinking-
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
... something, but it seems like you had a little bit of a dance floor epiphany moment-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... at, at 2:00 AM, 3:00 AM in the morning.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, so I think it, it had been leading up to this, 'cause I would, I'd been, I'd been finding life really difficult for a while. And I was doing all these different things trying to find something that I could put my energy into that would give me something positive in return. And I'm, yeah, I remember being in The Arch in Brighton and just being like, "I need, I, I, I need to sort my life out here, like what am I doing?" And I've fallen for one of them, like, mirror, bit pissed, look in the mirror moments, going, "Fucking hell." And then ran home about 11, 12 miles, took me ages, I was so unfit. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Sorry, you ran home from the nightclub?
- RCRuss Cook
Ran home from the nightclub.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why?
- RCRuss Cook
I, I don't know really. It was a bit Forrest Gump-y in the way it was just like, I just felt like running kind of vibes. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs) At what time, sorry?
- RCRuss Cook
Like 3:00 AM, 2:00, 3:00 AM, something like this.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You ran 12 miles at 3:00 AM?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Oh, it took me ages.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Drunk?
- RCRuss Cook
Oh, yeah, I was totally off it, yeah. Um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Sleeping on the side of the road?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Took a little power nap in Shoreham on the pavement. But, yeah, I mean, so I ran that mara- well, I ran that a little bit and then a mate of mine that I'd been mates with for a long time had, had just started getting into running properly and he'd signed up for a half marathon and he said to me, like, "Come and run it," like, "Let's do it. I'll train with you," blah, blah, blah. And I think that was the moment where I was like, "Oh, this might be something that I can do." Like, "I've, I'm out of ideas here," you know? "I need something." So I, I literally just on, on a whim was like, "Fine, let's do it." Signed up, and then he took me out training. Um, we did the half marathon. Then a few weeks later we signed up and did the full marathon. And that process was like a huge relief for me. It just made... It, for the f- it made me really like... It hammered in the sense that if I do something positive, it will pay itself back to me, you know? Like that accountability of like, go and do something good. Here we go. And you can see the improvements coming week, by week, by week. And it, and I think it, that's why I love running so much, like, 'cause that's it in its simplest form. It's like you go out, run, it's really shit, and, but then you keep going, you keep going and now a month later you can run a half marathon, or two months later you can now run a marathon. And it was that process of going from someone that I, like, I couldn't even run around the block and then I could run a marathon. And I was like, "Shit, this is, this... I've got something here," like, "this is how we progress."
- 36:09 – 36:57
The Feeling of Progressing in Life
- RCRuss Cook
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's really the word, innit? Progress, that feeling of progress, like you, you learn. 'Cause that becomes a metaphor for life, like, "I set out to do something and I got better at it. I progressed-"
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
"... and I accomplished something."
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's a, that, that's a pretty strong, transferable idea for the rest of your, like, for everyone's life-
- RCRuss Cook
Exactly.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... to learn that lesson.
- RCRuss Cook
That's kind of what happened for me. I, I managed to like save up some money off the back of run, ran these marathons and then-... it's, like, stopped drinking as much, stopped, I v- wasn't gambling anymore, and saved up a bit of money for the first time. And then a few months later I decided, "Right, just been off all these cleaning jobs, I'm gonna go and travel the world with my" (laughs) few grand that, that I'd managed to save up.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And where did you go around
- 36:57 – 37:53
Travelling the World Running
- SBSteven Bartlett
the world traveling?
- RCRuss Cook
Did a bit in Europe then went over to Africa, got to Kenya.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
Did, did some, I was really into my run at this point as well, I was training really hard every day. It was like my l- I was living and breathing it. Went to the training camp ca- th- this village called Iten, which is like home to some of the best long-distance runners ever. Uh, like Kipchoge's from there.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah, yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
All this kind of stuff. Just trained with them, got my ass whipped up pretty good. And that just, I met an Italian guy who'd been cycling around the world for six years, super inspired by his story, how he was living, what he was doing, and decided, like, I want to, I wanna do, I wanna try and do something like that. And I was, I was pretty good at running by now, so then I first kind of conceived the idea of running from Istanbul to London. And th- that, that was the next... I was like, "All right, that's what we're going for."
- SBSteven Bartlett
I
- 37:53 – 40:05
First Challenges
- SBSteven Bartlett
don't think many people know that you did all this stuff-
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
... be- before Africa.
- RCRuss Cook
No, I don't think so, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I don't think they do. I don't think people, I was speaking to my mates, I was like, "By the way, do you know he, he, like, ran, he was the first person to run from Asia to London?"
- RCRuss Cook
Mm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And people were like, "No."
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
They just know that you ran Africa. And then all these other things you did beforehand, but 22 years old you become the first person to run from Asia to London-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... because you ran from Istanbul to London. Um, you completed 71 marathons in 66 days through 11 countries. And you had no team with you.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You basically just did it on your, y- by yourself and your, your phone was dying and all that stuff.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When you told your family and other people that you were gonna run from Asia to London-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... at 22 years old, what was their response? 'Cause that would be the first big...
- RCRuss Cook
Most of them were like, "Yeah, you're," like, "You're gonna, you're gonna die." Or, like, "That's not gonna happen." I remember pretty much everyone being like that. I can probably count on one hand the amount of people who actually thought I c- I was gonna do that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What did your parents think?
- RCRuss Cook
Can't actually remember. I don't know if I was speaking to them very much at this time, to be honest.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Oh, really?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. My, I remember my little brother was the only one that was like, "Yeah." He's the only one I remember being like, "Yeah, he's def- he's gonna do it."
- SBSteven Bartlett
What was that like? You know, 'cause you're on your own.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's different to the Africa run.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But this time you're on your own for that whole, that whole journey across A- Asia to Europe.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What's, what's that like?
- RCRuss Cook
It was th- an amazing adventure, man. It really was. It was, it was tough though, like really tough being by myself the whole time. I would literally run a marathon, I'd have a little bag with a hammock and toothbrush, toothpaste, phone, and just find a couple of trees at the end of the day, sling the hammock off, and go again the next day. So, yeah.
- 40:05 – 43:28
Doing Things That Aren’t Considered Normal
- SBSteven Bartlett
Did you speak, who, were you speaking to anybody, anybody back home a- around that time?
- RCRuss Cook
No, not really.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You must look at that objectively and go, "That is not normal behavior."
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) Um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
And then, and then from that, I ask, I go, "So what is it that's abnormal about you? Because y- you're performing unnormal behavior."
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
"It's super inspiring, but it's not normal. It's not typical."
- RCRuss Cook
That's a good question, man. I'm not really sure. Yeah, it wasn't normal. Yeah, I guess it definitely wasn't normal. But I think-
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs) I love that you're just figuring that out now.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Um, I think, you know, I met this, I met this Italian guy and he'd been cycling around the world for six years, and he showed me his setup. He had nothing on him, really. He had, like, he had basically nothing but he just had a coffee kettle. That was the only thing he really cared about. So meeting these kind of people just made me realize, like, what is normal? Who even cares about normal? I don't care. I just, like, this, this is normal, this guy cycling around six years. Why not? Like, he seems like he's had a pretty good adventure. I want a bit of that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And Africa, specifically Kenya, I've been there, certain parts of Kenya can really teach you that you don't need much.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's what primal...
- RCRuss Cook
Exactly. I think it was just a different way of looking. That's what the only, I mean, it is the classic traveling, like, "Oh, go travel and find yourself, blah, blah, blah." But it do- you know, s- sometimes meeting these people from doing the craziest stuff and from different cultures will just make you look at things in a different way. You know? Even, I found that coming back to London now, and it's like all of you c- I'm, I'm back into the mode of, like, "Oh, you need to go and get a flat and you need to go and live somewhere and blah, blah, blah." And I'm like, "Hold on a minute. Like, I don't need, why do I need to do any of this?" You know?
- SBSteven Bartlett
You, you must realize upon returning to the UK how much people are kind of programmed.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Yeah, and I just, I guess, th- the, uh, the Ageless Island one was the first time I was just like, "Pfft, just give it a go. What's the worst gonna happen?"
- SBSteven Bartlett
And at the end of that run, your father joins you.
- RCRuss Cook
Um, yeah, so my, I remember my dad, my dad came up to London and saw me. It was, he said that he was proud of me. And I remember that hitting 'cause, like, he didn't say it often but when he says it, you know, it's pro- I can imagine your dad being similar, that kind of thing where-You know he means it when he says it. And I think that's, like, one of the most powerful things a dad can say to their son. Like, "I'm proud of you, son." Even that makes me emotional just saying it. Like, thinking about it, I'm like, "Wow." Um, so yeah, that was nice.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And he, he ran the last day with you?
- RCRuss Cook
He ran, like, the last five K, I think. Ran last... We had... Yeah, ran the last five K. And my... I was actually joined for the last couple of days by the mate that got me into running in the first place, which was really cool as well.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Interestingly, there was no followers.
- RCRuss Cook
No. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
There was no YouTube views. There was no headlines.
- RCRuss Cook
No, no, no.
- SBSteven Bartlett
There was no BBC articles. There was nothing.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Most people don't even know it happened.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- 43:28 – 45:11
Returning from the First Trip
- SBSteven Bartlett
media stuff.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You then get back to the UK to much different fanfare than you got back to this time.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You go back to your parents' house?
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Couple of days in, everyone's looking around, going...
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What's that like, a couple of days in?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. I mean, I remember my body being pretty... in a pretty bad way after that. I couldn't even walk. Like, I was really struggling. Uh, my body was really hurting. And, uh, (laughs) uh, got back into the country. I was skint 'cause I'd done all my dough on this Ageless London Run. And then my dad was like... I remember (laughs) me speaking to my dad, he's like, "What are you doing? You're lazy. Like, get a job," or something. So, I was like, "Oh, fuck. All right." And then went and got a...
- SBSteven Bartlett
How did you feel when you heard that?
- RCRuss Cook
It... I... It was hard at the time 'ca- I just... I, I was h- I was... it... I was really struggling 'cause I'd just been away for a whole, you know, for about a year or something. Done this big thing, finally finished, and, and I was like, "Oh, that's reality slapping me in the face again." But yeah, I mean-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Were you pissed off?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, I was. Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When he told you to get a job?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. I was fuming, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why?
- RCRuss Cook
Because I was, I was just n- mentally just absolutely done in, and physically done in. And then he'd, like, just been like, "Oh, I'm so proud of you." I remember him being like, "Oh, I'm so proud of you. You've achieved more in, in your life already than I ever have," blah, blah, blah. Like... And it really felt like, oh, I'd made a bit of a breakthrough there.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What do you mean breakthrough?
- RCRuss Cook
Just, like, I felt like he respected me more. That he'd actually seen that I'd... I was capable of doing something, um, that he thought was good.
- 45:11 – 47:16
Burying Himself Alive
- RCRuss Cook
- SBSteven Bartlett
You hadn't felt that before?
- RCRuss Cook
Not in that way. Not in that way.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What did you think that he thought of you, growing up? When you were sort of 19 years old and you're gambling and doing-
- RCRuss Cook
Uh, like, probably just disappointed. Um, yeah. Disappointed, a bit of a loser. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
You eventually end up burying yourself alive-
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
... which is, um, really fucking bizarre.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's a ton of events I didn't, I didn't see coming in your story.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So, you, you do this run at 22 years old.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Um, there's sort of a two-year gap between then and when you bury yourself alive. What are you doing for those two years?
- RCRuss Cook
So, I was just working bits and pieces here and there, really. Um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Back to normality.
- RCRuss Cook
Pretty much. Like, I fi- I f- I finished the Ageless London Run. And in, in my head from then I was like, "I would really love to make this kind of thing a career somehow. Don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I would love to be able to do that." And then that kinda started, like, a three or four year process of working out, okay, you know, if we make content then maybe brands will sponsor that, and then I can go and do adventures with that money. But that... It took a long time to kind of put those pieces of the puzzle together. Like, I... that was never the... really what I was thinking of when I did Istanbul to London. I f- chucked a few photos up on Instagram just for, really for my boys to see. Be like, "I'm out here in Serbia camping," or whatever. Um, but yeah. But then I, you know, did the Ageless London Run. Figured out if we make some content, then that's how we're gonna do it. Buried myself alive, pulled a car for a marathon. Then the Africa planning started happening.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You buried yourself alive. You asked your parents if you could bury yourself in the garden, they told you to fuck off. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Oh, yeah. (laughs) Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yes, got there. I remember that now. Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You buried yourself alive for seven days-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... in underground. You basically just dug a hole-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... in a tin
- 47:16 – 49:15
Russ DM’d Steven Before Going To Africa
- SBSteven Bartlett
can and jumped in the tin can, and then they, they buried you there. Um, and then eventually the plans, as you say, you, you pulled the car as well. Which is crazy. Do you know, when I, I actually found out all this stuff, which was a shock to me, was, I don't know, a week or so into your run in Africa-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... I saw you pop up on my feed. And then, as you know, I clicked on your profile, and then I clicked on the DM box-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
... and you sent me a DM.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And the DM you sent me was in May the 5th, I think it was 2022. So, it was a long time ago. It was two... more than two years ago now. And paraphrasing, 'cause I know you-
- RCRuss Cook
Speculative, what next? (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. (laughs) No, no. Just-
- RCRuss Cook
I bet you get these kind of DMs all the time though.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. I, I missed it. I didn't see it. So, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't see it at all. But, um, it's funny. It's funny 'cause I actually replied to you exactly one year to the day-
- RCRuss Cook
Really? Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... from when you sent me a message. Or, I replied to you on May the 5th as well. But you emailed me on May the 5th, 2022. And in that message you said some nice things. And then you said, "You'll probably get a lot of these DMs, but let me explain why this one is special and exciting."
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) Oh, you've proved yourself out as
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
... this is it, so go on. Yeah, go on. Oh, yeah. 'Cause it's bad-ass.
- SBSteven Bartlett
No, no, no, no, no. Just, uh, you know, "I'm an endurance athlete. In 2019 I was... I was the first person to run from Asia to London. In 2020 I pulled a car for a marathon in record time. In 2021 I got buried alive with nothing but water, and I livestreamed it for an entire week. And in 2022...""I'm starting a mission to become the first person to ever run the full length of Africa." You sent me that DM two years ago, um, hoping th- that I could assist you in some way with the, the Africa leg of that.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And when I saw that, the most shocking part was that you'd done all of these other things and I'd never, ever heard about any of them.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And then in that message you explained to me, 'cause it was a very, like, long message, and you really, it was a really thorough message. You explained that this time would be different. People would actually know because you'd figured out content.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And you'd got some good people around you. And you'd spent almost two
- 49:15 – 50:05
Why Africa?
- SBSteven Bartlett
to three years thinking about this Africa run before you even, you set off going.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why Africa? Why was that the plan?
- RCRuss Cook
Well, I knew that Africa hadn't been done before, and it's one of the few things left that hadn't been done, so that was probably one of the big reasons. Also, like, Africa's not very trav- like, not very well traveled. Not many people, tourists, not many tourists go there, and I thought it would be, like, the best adventure ever. So that's why I decided to do it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you were gonna run from the bottom of Africa to the top.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How long did you think it was gonna take?
- RCRuss Cook
Two... I thought it would take 240 days. That was my goal. I was gonna do 360 marathons in 240 days. It didn't quite work out (laughs) .
- SBSteven Bartlett
How long did it take in total in the end?
- RCRuss Cook
It took 352 days. Long time.
- 50:05 – 55:40
Meeting His Girlfriend Before Leaving to Africa
- RCRuss Cook
- SBSteven Bartlett
But there was lots of hurdles along the way. Before you set off, I think it was four to five months before you set off, maybe six months.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You meet a young lady called Emily Bell.
- RCRuss Cook
Ah, yeah. Yeah. Um, wow, what a girl. What a woman.
- SBSteven Bartlett
S- was it six months before or something? Was it-
- RCRuss Cook
No, I act- I, I met her... We first met at one of our mutual friend's birthday party.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
And I said to my friend, like, "Why have you never introduced me to her? She's beautiful." And then, um, then that started, like, a three-month process of me trying to convince her to go on a date. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Any luck?
- RCRuss Cook
It took a while, but we got there eventually. We got there eventually. Um, actually, we had a Secret Santa going, and I think one of my friends did me a solid and kind of, like, rigged the Secret Santa, so I got her.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Oh, nice.
- RCRuss Cook
And then I got her, uh, tickets to go to Comedia, a comedy club in Brighton. I got her two tickets, and I was like, "Well, you could, like, you could take me, I guess."
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) And then, um, yeah, so then that's, that's... When we first started dating, about... Y- uh, this Africa thing was already in the works, so it was quite complicated. But then before I left, we were like, "Right, let's do it," and we kind of, like, we spoke on the phone every day. And, mate, I was one of these people if you'd asked me two years ago could that have ever worked, like, 14 months away we spent from each other, I'd be like, "Nah, that's never gonna wa- never gonna work." But I think... We, we spoke pretty much every day for hours whilst I was running, if I had signal. And the o- the, the kind of stuff that we got to speak about and really go through in depth on is the kind of stuff that I think in a lot of relationships would just get swept away in the rigmarole of the day-to-day life. So I'm actually super grateful for that time, and, like, really proud of her and us for, like, navigating that kind of weird situation.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Knowing your childhood, and knowing the early model of relationships that you experienced-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... of this mother and f- this father didn't s- seem like they always had the best time, little bit distant, the affection wasn't there-
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... when you go into a relationship, there must be a part of your subconscious that still has that model of relationships front of mind. So you must be, in some respects, like I am, to be fair, or at least, uh, like I was until I was about 27, 28-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... when I had my first relationship. I had my first relationship at your age. Um, an avoidant.
- RCRuss Cook
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause you hadn't learned, you didn't have the tools to be affectionate and to be open.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, totally avoidant. Still am, a bit.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But, but when you met her-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... you hadn't done, had those deep conversations.
- RCRuss Cook
Nah, c- I think... Oh, it's her, credit to her more than me. She, she kind of brang that out. Uh, I w- I didn't have the tools to go, t- t- t- to do any (laughs) of that stuff, to be honest, you know. She's just... I think sometimes, like... I don't know, I think, I just think we fit really well, like, together. Uh, what I can do well, she can't, and what she can do well, I can't. Like, it works.
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's so interesting, because we got to have a conversation with Emily.
- 55:40 – 57:27
How Have You Changed
- RCRuss Cook
for her as well. And I just think, like, the level of desire to, to make that happen was, like, really high. So I've just- I think before, I wasn't very willing to compromise on a lot of stuff. I was like, "Ah, I'm doing my thing, you either fit in or you don't. See you later. Whatever."
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Whereas, with (laughs) Emily-
- SBSteven Bartlett
It reminds me of me.
- RCRuss Cook
With Emily, I was like, "Oh, like, she's special. I really wanna make this work, and I'm, I'm gonna have to..." There's- it's actually a benefit to me if I can compromise because she- that kind of- having that connection will also bring a lot to my life and I need, I need to. I need it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
She kind of got over the fence. She got over the wall of the castle and managed to invade and change you from inside.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But you didn't wanna let anyone over the fence.
- RCRuss Cook
Nah, nah. Is that how it's been for you as well then, or-
- SBSteven Bartlett
100%.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I met, I met a person who I cared about so much-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's what- exactly what you said, that I was finally willing to compromise-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... on things. Before then, it was like, as you say, my way or the highway. Like-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... don't get in the way of my dreams.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You're either on the bus or you're off it.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But not like I'm willing to go in a different direction in some areas of my life here. And it's- I think that's good news for a lot of people that are avoidants because it offers us all hope that, you know, we'll, we'll meet someone and they'll be worth it, um, and they'll help to rewire some of the evidence we have from our earliest years about what relationships are and aren't, and the freedom they make us compromise and all of those things. She sounds like a really wonderful person.
- RCRuss Cook
She is, man. She's great. She's the best. I love her to bits.
- SBSteven Bartlett
They always say you strengthen a relationship by going through something difficult together.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And that's exactly what happened j- as you ran the length of Africa. The, the really remarkable thing was I was reading about
- 57:27 – 1:04:15
Preparations to Run the Entire Length of Africa
- SBSteven Bartlett
your preparation for this trip. And, to say the least, Russ, you were ill-prepared. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You, you landed in South Africa with 10K, which is 4% of the money that you would need to make it the whole way. I mean, there are so many other things here. You, you knew that you couldn't get through, I think it was Angola?
- RCRuss Cook
Algeria.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Algeria. You knew you couldn't get through Algeria because they don't issue visas if you're not in the country.
- RCRuss Cook
They'd denied our visa already, yeah, and they don't issue visas when you're not in the country. We'd already left, so.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you just thought, "Fuck it, I'll figure it out when we get there."
- RCRuss Cook
Pretty much.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What is that mentality? Because there's so many people that need everything figured out-
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... and all the answers, and to feel that s- psychological feeling of, "I'm ready."
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You don't seem to give a fuck, frankly.
- RCRuss Cook
I don't think I was afforded the luxury of being able to, you know, wait, really. We were running out of money. It was, it was now or never. I've- y- you know, make it work with what you've got or don't do it, basically. And I was like, "I think we could do it."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Where did this 10K come from?
- RCRuss Cook
Well, we actually got 50K to start with from an investor.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
That- he was a mate of a mate I'd managed to persuade to give us some money to get things going. But-
- SBSteven Bartlett
What was in it for him?
- RCRuss Cook
He g- he's got a percentage of, like, everything we make off the back end.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- RCRuss Cook
So he's d- he's done all right, but he was a risky, risky-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
... risky, risky one. Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's one hell of a... yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
Risky one for sure. I think he- it was more like a he just wanted to see it happen, you know. He was a fellow Worthing boy, year younger than me, has made a b- bunch of money in crypto and, yeah. So he fronted the first bit of money to get us going, and 50K was more than enough to get us going. But what ended up happening is that th- the mission got delayed more and more. We had some people involved at the start that kind of... Long story, they kind of said that these things were gonna happen, blah, blah, blah, brands were gonna happen, all of this stuff they were trying to make happen. None of it ended up coming to fruition.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Did they take money?
- RCRuss Cook
They didn't take any money, no. They, um... but we ended up burning through a lot of the money before we- w- we were supposed to be on the start line with like 50K and we ended up... Months rolled by, we wasted money on XYZ Ideas, didn't come. S- so we- basically, it got to a point where I kind of got rid of all these people. Start line, 10 grand. I was like, "If we don't get funding within, you know, if we don't get any kind of sponsorship within the first month, we're- this is game over 'cause we've run out of money." Said to all my team, "Gonna have to delay your wages," et cetera. Just really tightened up. And then I got a message from some, some bloke from Dragons' Den like two weeks in. (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Who- who, James? (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. No, so, mate, I mean, I don't know. I- pe- this is another thing that people probably don't know that you were like such a massive part of the story. Like, you know, when, when you messaged, I r- I remember being in South Africa, I think it was about 10 days, two weeks in or something like this, got a message from you that was like, "Oh," like, "Just seeing what you're doing," something like this, "Love it." Like, "If you need any help, let me know." And I was like, "Oh." Mate, you should've seen it. I r- I rang Emily up, I was like, "You're never gonna believe who's just messaged me." Like, it was crazy. You know, obviously, you all got sorted out, Perfected Head got sorted out, two unbelievable sponsors.
- 1:04:15 – 1:08:46
Getting Robbed
- SBSteven Bartlett
approach you, they try and take your stuff. I think (laughs) you give them a lift home. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) Yeah. That was two- two guys came up to me whilst I was running at night. One- one came in front of me, one came behind me, and I kind of instantly knew that this was a bit shaky. And I, um, I just went a bit mad. Just, like, weighed up the situation, just started acting a bit crazy. Started, like, beating my chest and shouting and stuff to try and, like, put them off, 'cause I could- I got the feeling like, "Okay, they're gonna- this is an attempt, but they haven't gone straight in with the robbery. They're kind of feeling it out." So I was, like, trying to give them enough of a reason to think that I'm crazy enough that it's just not worth it. It kind of worked.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Sorry, you started beating your chest?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I started beating my chest. I started shouting. I was- they- 'cause they just joined- they- I was mid-run, and they'd joined me running. Like, one in front, one behind.
- SBSteven Bartlett
They were running-
- RCRuss Cook
They were running it- like, they-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Ah, okay.
- RCRuss Cook
I think they- it was a situation where they were trying to feel me out, you know. Like, "Should we rob this guy?"
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay, let me see.
- RCRuss Cook
This kind of thing.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
And I just thought, "If I can put them off enough."
- SBSteven Bartlett
So, can you describe to me what you-
- RCRuss Cook
I literally beat my chest.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- RCRuss Cook
I was just like, "We're running, but ah!" Like, just going totally a bit- just to make them think, like, "Oh, this guy's a bit, you know- he's a bit off it. Maybe we just get the next one."
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs) Did you learn that somewhere, or was that, like, a plan you had?
- RCRuss Cook
No, that was just purely, like-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Or was that just a reaction?
- RCRuss Cook
... I think it- you react differently to different situations. Like, we've been robbed at gunpoint where there's a gun in my face, and I'm not gonna start beating my chest 'cause-
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
... I don't want a bullet in my head. But then there's other times where you think, like- you're kind of looking at them going, "He's actually a bit nervous to rob me."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Okay.
- RCRuss Cook
"So if I can put him off enough, then he's just not gonna bother," which was that- that situation.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So what happens then? You start beating your chest, acting like a lunatic?
- RCRuss Cook
Start beating my chest, acting like a lunatic. The one guy- the run- the guy running behind me ended up dropping off, so then it was just the guy in front of me. He was- he was quite a small guy anyway. And I was like, "I don't reckon he's about it." And then, um... (laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
So you're telling me you're the hardest geezer. (laughs)
- RCRuss Cook
(laughs) And then we ended up speaking a little bit, and he was like, "Oh," like, "my friend was gonna rob you, but we're not h- but he's gone, we're not gonna rob you." And I was like, "Oh, your friend was gonna rob you, was he? Yeah. Like, nice." Um, and then, you know, I actually ended up speaking to him. And he was saying, like, he's just- he needs some money to, like, feed his family and stuff. He was living in a township next- next to the road, which was, like, pretty bad conditions. And I was like, "Look, mate, my boy's gonna come pick me up in a couple minutes. Like, we'll give you some food." And he was like, "Right. Sweet."
- SBSteven Bartlett
You fed the robber?
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah.
- 1:08:46 – 1:25:05
Being Kidnapped
- RCRuss Cook
robbed, but no one died.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You lost the cash you had, the equipment, and, and your passports, which is probably the most annoying thing of all those things.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah. Yeah. That, that cost us, like, at least two or three weeks in terms of ha- going to reget visas and things.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Day 50, you get to day 100, and you're... Day 102.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When I say day 102, does it bring back any memories?
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm. There's a couple (laughs) . Couple. Um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Congo.
- RCRuss Cook
Congo. DRC. Yeah, that was one hell of an experience, that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You described this as probably the hardest part of the whole trip.
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm. Probably the hardest part of my whole life.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Really?
- RCRuss Cook
Mm-hmm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You've not talked about this much in detail either, for some reason.
- RCRuss Cook
So we made a YouTube series online which kind of followed the whole thing. It's the only YouTube video that I didn't release, because it was quite... It's a difficult one at the time as well, because it was the hardest time for us as a team. And we, we... There was a lot of arguments, lot of fallouts around that. And I didn't think that the video that we made was really what told the story how I wanted it to be told.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What happened?
- RCRuss Cook
So, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You're emotional about this.
- RCRuss Cook
Yeah, I mean, it... Yeah, that whole thing was, was mad. The... So we got to DRC. I think day 100, we got to DRC. It was hostile from the start. Um, we'd, we'd been warned loads about it, about the country. It's one of the poorest countries in the world. It's quite known for corruption. And we, we'd been sent the videos of the c- the craziest things happening there. And I think we were all a bit apprehensive.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You'd been sent what kind of videos?
- RCRuss Cook
The craziest sh- Like, people getting shot, chopped up, all kinds of stuff. Um, yeah. It was... It, it definite... Like, it... I mean, I don't know how much I can really... Or what... What I would say about DRC is that we spent a few days there. My experience was very subjective. It's to- It's a massive country, loads of people, loads of great people, but my personal experience of the small amount of time I spent there was, was a bit rough. But yeah, we... I mean, we landed in the country, crossed the border. It was a very chaotic border town. We had people from the get-go very not, n- not very happy to see us at all, shouting at me whilst I was running, trying to, like, exploit us for money, officials, all this kind of stuff get- trying to get money out of us. And we'd heard about all of this from people traveling, so we kind of half knew what we were rolling into. But it was... It really created a kind of atmosphere that was difficult, challenging. Um, yeah, I mean, the day before day 102, we had a guy come up to... A guy came up to me with a rock, spikes in the rock. And he was like, "I'm gonna, like, smash your head in with this." And he was speaking French, so I didn't really get it, but Harry spoke French. So he's basically threatening us with this big spiky rock that he had in his hand saying like, "Give me three quid," the equivalent of three quid, "or I'm gonna, like, start smashing you all up." (laughs) And, uh, like we... So we... I gave, I think, gave him a quid in the end 'cause I'm not getting my head smashed in over three quid, but also I didn't wanna, like, get word around that there was a bunch of people just throwing money around to anyone that would threaten them. So, yeah, I mean, woke up day 102, I was running 100K that day, and I felt very anxious from the get-go. Really, like, really finding it difficult already. Ran... Left my, left the boys in the morning like I normally do, ran 20K, then ran another 20K. Start, we took a turn off onto a dirt road, so the boys had planned this route to, to, went down this dirt road. Then the van basically, the support van couldn't get to me. So, the boys sent a guy on a motorbike.And so I'm running along this dirt bike, and this guy on a motorbike k- keeps trying to stop me. And I was so, like, scatty already that I was... I didn't wanna stop for... He was trying to get me to stop, and I was like, "Nah." I'd had it the day before, people trying to stop me on motorbikes, and it was all a bit... Didn't, didn't feel great. Like, I was, I was quite anxious about the whole thing. Anyway, eventually, I did stop. He gave me a note that basically said, like, the boys can't get round to where we were gonna meet, but they're gonna go to this other place and meet there. And, um, it was about 20K through the jungle. No roads, like, barely even a path. I was just kind of, like, whacking my way through bushes to get to this meeting point where I was gonna try and find the boys. Run out of water. Phone's got no signal. And I'm going through these, these bushes, stumble into this village, and 'cause... I think 'cause of the experience that I'd already had in the f- first couple of days at DRC, I was very much like, I just wanna get my head down and get through these places as quickly as possible with less fuss as possible. So I'm running through this village, and, like, people are shouting at me and stuff and I'm like, "Okay, this is happening all the time now. Like, just carry on going, carry on going." But I think I upset quite a lot of the village by doing that, and then the chief of the village comes over and then, you know, before you know it, I'm, like, surrounded by half the village. They're all, like, very upset. They don't get what I'm... They don't get who I am, what I'm doing, why I'm there, and they start trying to, like, say that I need to give them money. I didn't have anything on me. So then, like, the chief of the village kind of got some people away and he got two blokes, took me out into the bush with machetes, and I was bricking it. (laughs) Yeah, I was absolutely bricking it. Um, thinking, like, every, all, ev- my mind's totally racing at this point. I'm like, "What?" Like, "What is going on here? Why, why am I going out to the bush?" Like, "This doesn't make any sense." I, I... Like, "I- i- is this a shakedown?" Like, "What is the worst happening? Don't know." And then got out into the bush. I basically emptied all my bags, had some biscuits, gave them the biscuits and then just darted. And then I was just like, "Right, beeline for this meeting spot." And m- m- mind's totally frazzled at this point. I've got... I'm hearing motorbikes coming, I'm hearing people. I'm tr- jumping in bushes. Like, totally just a- kind of off it here. Um, kind of get through this jungle bit, get to this meeting spot. The boys aren't there. Now I'm really like, "Oh, this is bad," 'cause I'm about 50-something K in, I'm dehydrated, I've got no water, I've got no signal, and I don't know where the boys are, don't know how, where, how to get to them, and I'm in the middle of the jungle, and I know that there's... Like, I've upset a lot of people in the local area and I've just ran away from them all. And I... Ah, like, "This is bad. (laughs) This is bad news." Anyway, I f- I figured out that the tarmac, the last known bit of tarmac was, I think about 15 or 20K away. And I was like, "All right, I reckon I can just about make it there, and if I make it there then that, that makes sense that the, the boys... That's the last bit they could get to."
Episode duration: 2:03:02
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