I have very little time to read currently in between setting up my new business, being a dad to two very cheeky little 2.5 year old girls and training and preparing for the next round of my expedition.

However one book I thoroughly enjoyed and specifically made time for was ‘One Life One Chance’ by Australian adventurer Luke Richmond.

I enjoyed it so much in fact it deserved a review here!  I met Luke a few years back through a mutual friend in Phuket where he was based as a crossfit trainer.  Whilst I don’t know him well, after reading his book I learnt our lives seemed to have been almost mysteriously intertwined having visited/lived/climbed and partaken many  of the same activities and places.

His story is told with humility and is beautifully edited to make it easy to read.  It  had me enthralled from the start, so much so that I read it in three sittings (actually while I was lying in bed after I put the girls to sleep).  He grew up in humble beginnings in the outback of Australia.  This area is so remote there are no schools so he was educated through listening to a teacher conduct classes through a radio system.  He spent time at cattle stations in the heartland of Australia (like Avon Downs) that I rode my bicycle past last year.

After leaving school he joined the army and I loved the journey he takes the reader through with the incredible insights into just how gruelling the military training is.  He also spent time serving in East Timor where I spent time after calling into in our rowing boat.  After leaving the army his life took a turn for the worse when he moved to London and got tied up in a lifestyle which lead him into an addiction to drugs.  Having made the move to London myself I could also relate to this part of the story except the drugs scene! He managed to prise himself away and move to Thailand where he immersed himself in physical training  and Muay Thai fighting.  And the photo’s of his transformation in the book show a ripped hulk of a man, honed to physical perfection. This is where he got his life back on track and started into the world of adventure.

The remainder of the book covers his attempts to climb the world’s seven summits (highest mountain on each if the seven continents), his world record row across the Atlantic Ocean and his move into the extreme world of base jumping (jumping off a cliff or solid object like a bridge/building or antenna with a parachute).  Base jumping is a pursuit that I do not share his passion for, but I particularly enjoyed learning about this journey and the motivations and mindsets it takes to be a participant in this activity which has such a fine line between life and death.

Before and after Luke’s Atlantic Row

If there was anything in his story I would have liked to hear more of, it would be about the interactions within his teams, both the good and the bad. I know from personal experience, that mountaineering and ocean rowing expeditions are high stress environments where there are always conflicts and disagreements and it can be interesting to see how different teams handle these dynamics.

To order your own copy go direct to: https://www.olocadventures.com/product-page/luke-richmond-one-life-one-chance