You all know about Bruce Gordon, the everyday hero from Colorado who has decided to swim the Kaiwi Channel. That’s 26 miles of open ocean between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Molokai.

It’s filled with sharks. Jellyfish. Dangerous currents and huge waves.

In fact, it’s one of the Oceans Seven, which are seven of the most difficult swims in the world. No one has ever completed all of them, that’s how difficult they are.

So, yeah, Bruce’s decision to swim the Kaiwi Channel is a pretty amazing and ambitious goal, and we’re glad to say Life Shotz is part of Bruce’s everyday training.

But we do more than help Bruce build endurance and recover from intense workouts. Last weekend Bruce came to Coeur d’Alene to swim Lake Coeur d’Alene, and we were there to support him.

For every mile of his swim, 21TEN was beside him, tossing him liquefied food, water, and Life Shotz, and we were there to encourage him, to admire his toughness, and to show him that what he’s doing is so much more than one guy swimming a long ways.

After all, Bruce’s Kaiwi Channel swim will benefit the Fisher House Foundation, a charity that helps military families to stay close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

His Coeur d’Alene swim was also proof that you can accomplish anything when you want it bad enough. When it becomes part of the vision of who you are and will become, you can make it happen—whatever it is.

That’s why the 18.5 mile swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene was so powerful. It was the furthest Bruce had ever gone, and he didn’t know how it was going to work. Would his body take it? Would he have the endurance to keep swimming? Was he mentally tough enough?

It was all a complete unknown—like most things in life.

Working in shifts with several small boats, the 21TEN support crew was there from the moment he stepped into the water. As the temperature rose and the lake became crowded with boats, the 21TEN crew helped guide and protect him.

Each time he rested, he told them what he was thinking, about how his vision was keeping him focused and how his body was just doing what it was supposed to do.

But even “resting” wasn’t really resting. Instead he just treaded water. He never touched the boat. All together, he “rested” nearly 40 times—and that added nearly an hour to his total time.

That’s a lot of treading water.

But through all the pauses, 21TEN was there. Chief Visionary Officer Richard Brooke was even there for most of the swim.

And when Bruce felt the sand of the Coeur d’Alene Beach 12 hours later, in the pitch black of an Idaho night, it was an amazing experience to watch him climb out of the water, almost like Superman.

A handful of supporters and surprised beach goers were there to greet him. One girl even asked for his autograph.

And we’re glad she did, because Bruce is the type of hero we all need to admire. Best of all? Bruce says he feels great and can’t wait to keep training, and he swears that he couldn’t have done it without Life Shotz.

Cheers,
Melissa