Raymond on his sporting background\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>I didn\u2019t really have a relationship with sport growing up<\/strong>. As a kid, I didn\u2019t have great hand-eye coordination, was kind of lanky and awkward. I got teased for being gay before I even knew I was gay myself. The first time I really stepped foot in a gym was in my mid-20s.<\/p>Raymond on his OCD\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>I got involved in triathlon as part of something called exposure therapy<\/strong>, which was part of my OCD recovery programme. For me, the OCD was related to pandemics, germs, contamination, freak accidents and mortality. <\/p>I\u2019ve had OCD since I was a kid and it had a big impact on my life<\/strong>. When the pandemic hit, it was like all my worst fears coming true, because things that I\u2019d been doing and was being told weren\u2019t rational were all of a sudden being normalised.<\/p>Then my best friend Maya was diagnosed with terminal cancer<\/strong>. It took my compulsions to a heightened level where I didn\u2019t leave my apartment for several months. <\/p>When I entered the recovery programme<\/strong>, we said let\u2019s think of something that will be motivating, that will bring you into a community, but that will also represent all of your irrational fears. We came up with the triathlon.<\/p>Raymond on triathlon\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>The very first triathlon I did was the Santa Barbara Sprint in 2021<\/strong>. It\u2019s an incredibly short beginner course, but you\u2019d have thought I was doing an Ironman<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>I carb loaded<\/a>, I tapered<\/a>, hardly slept the night before and it was a 40-minute race<\/strong>. I was so excited. It was a big milestone and Maya was still alive at that time. She wasn\u2019t able to be there, but she was so thrilled.<\/p>Raymond on<\/strong> his epic triathlon challenge\u2026<\/h2>I heard about the World Marathon Challenge [seven marathons on the seven different continents in seven days] and I just became completely transfixed by it<\/strong>. I thought, I wonder if anyone\u2019s done this as a triathlon? I wanted to do something that would physically demonstrate the power of investing in therapy.<\/p>Raymond cycling across ice in Novo, Antarctica, as part of his epic, global triathlon challenge. (Credit: Chris Joubert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>We did our first triathlon in Novo, Antarctica<\/strong>. Then we went to Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza (Brazil), and ended in Miami. Being able to do anything in Antarctica was an honour. It was the high and the low, for sure. <\/p>I\u2019d prepared to do a frozen-water swim, but at the last minute I had to switch to skis because the lake was completely frozen over<\/strong>. Then I was biking on pure ice, so the amount of times I fell\u2026 I thought I had a concussion, I was bleeding, it was gnarly.<\/p>When I got to Cape Town I donated my thermal wetsuit<\/a> to the Cape Town Triathlon Club<\/strong> but I hadn\u2019t realised that it was winter in Madrid and the water was about 4\u00b0C. It was freezing, there was ice in it, and I only had a regular wetsuit<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>Raymond on the physical challenges\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>
Raymond on his OCD\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>I got involved in triathlon as part of something called exposure therapy<\/strong>, which was part of my OCD recovery programme. For me, the OCD was related to pandemics, germs, contamination, freak accidents and mortality. <\/p>I\u2019ve had OCD since I was a kid and it had a big impact on my life<\/strong>. When the pandemic hit, it was like all my worst fears coming true, because things that I\u2019d been doing and was being told weren\u2019t rational were all of a sudden being normalised.<\/p>Then my best friend Maya was diagnosed with terminal cancer<\/strong>. It took my compulsions to a heightened level where I didn\u2019t leave my apartment for several months. <\/p>When I entered the recovery programme<\/strong>, we said let\u2019s think of something that will be motivating, that will bring you into a community, but that will also represent all of your irrational fears. We came up with the triathlon.<\/p>Raymond on triathlon\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>The very first triathlon I did was the Santa Barbara Sprint in 2021<\/strong>. It\u2019s an incredibly short beginner course, but you\u2019d have thought I was doing an Ironman<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>I carb loaded<\/a>, I tapered<\/a>, hardly slept the night before and it was a 40-minute race<\/strong>. I was so excited. It was a big milestone and Maya was still alive at that time. She wasn\u2019t able to be there, but she was so thrilled.<\/p>Raymond on<\/strong> his epic triathlon challenge\u2026<\/h2>I heard about the World Marathon Challenge [seven marathons on the seven different continents in seven days] and I just became completely transfixed by it<\/strong>. I thought, I wonder if anyone\u2019s done this as a triathlon? I wanted to do something that would physically demonstrate the power of investing in therapy.<\/p>Raymond cycling across ice in Novo, Antarctica, as part of his epic, global triathlon challenge. (Credit: Chris Joubert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>We did our first triathlon in Novo, Antarctica<\/strong>. Then we went to Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza (Brazil), and ended in Miami. Being able to do anything in Antarctica was an honour. It was the high and the low, for sure. <\/p>I\u2019d prepared to do a frozen-water swim, but at the last minute I had to switch to skis because the lake was completely frozen over<\/strong>. Then I was biking on pure ice, so the amount of times I fell\u2026 I thought I had a concussion, I was bleeding, it was gnarly.<\/p>When I got to Cape Town I donated my thermal wetsuit<\/a> to the Cape Town Triathlon Club<\/strong> but I hadn\u2019t realised that it was winter in Madrid and the water was about 4\u00b0C. It was freezing, there was ice in it, and I only had a regular wetsuit<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>Raymond on the physical challenges\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>
I\u2019ve had OCD since I was a kid and it had a big impact on my life<\/strong>. When the pandemic hit, it was like all my worst fears coming true, because things that I\u2019d been doing and was being told weren\u2019t rational were all of a sudden being normalised.<\/p> Then my best friend Maya was diagnosed with terminal cancer<\/strong>. It took my compulsions to a heightened level where I didn\u2019t leave my apartment for several months. <\/p> When I entered the recovery programme<\/strong>, we said let\u2019s think of something that will be motivating, that will bring you into a community, but that will also represent all of your irrational fears. We came up with the triathlon.<\/p> The very first triathlon I did was the Santa Barbara Sprint in 2021<\/strong>. It\u2019s an incredibly short beginner course, but you\u2019d have thought I was doing an Ironman<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p> I carb loaded<\/a>, I tapered<\/a>, hardly slept the night before and it was a 40-minute race<\/strong>. I was so excited. It was a big milestone and Maya was still alive at that time. She wasn\u2019t able to be there, but she was so thrilled.<\/p> I heard about the World Marathon Challenge [seven marathons on the seven different continents in seven days] and I just became completely transfixed by it<\/strong>. I thought, I wonder if anyone\u2019s done this as a triathlon? I wanted to do something that would physically demonstrate the power of investing in therapy.<\/p> We did our first triathlon in Novo, Antarctica<\/strong>. Then we went to Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza (Brazil), and ended in Miami. Being able to do anything in Antarctica was an honour. It was the high and the low, for sure. <\/p> I\u2019d prepared to do a frozen-water swim, but at the last minute I had to switch to skis because the lake was completely frozen over<\/strong>. Then I was biking on pure ice, so the amount of times I fell\u2026 I thought I had a concussion, I was bleeding, it was gnarly.<\/p> When I got to Cape Town I donated my thermal wetsuit<\/a> to the Cape Town Triathlon Club<\/strong> but I hadn\u2019t realised that it was winter in Madrid and the water was about 4\u00b0C. It was freezing, there was ice in it, and I only had a regular wetsuit<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>Raymond on triathlon\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>
Raymond on<\/strong> his epic triathlon challenge\u2026<\/h2>
Raymond on the physical challenges\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>
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