For Toni Enderli, the Open Sea Is the Ultimate Challenge

Toni Enderli is a rare breed. As an extreme ocean swimming athlete, he has accomplished some of the world’s most challenging world record-breaking ocean swims. Led by his personal ‘Live Life Now’ mantra, Toni has conquered some of the world’s most daring swimming feats, including the grueling English Channel (38km) and Hawaii’s treacherous Molokai Channel (42km) as well as constantly setting his sights on achieving yet another world-record-setting ice swim. Choosing to swim in just a Speedo, a swim cap, and goggles, he is the only athlete to have achieved a staggering 30 Robben Island crossings– one of South Africa’s toughest ocean swims characterized by an average water temperature of 13C.

Impressively, Toni is one of only a handful of South Africans to be taking on the mammoth Oceans Seven – seven of the world’s most grueling ocean swims, which incorporate the North Channel, the Cook Strait, the Molokai Channel, the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Tsugaru Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar. He is also an accomplished ice swimmer, having completed a mile in sub 5°C in the South African Ice Swimming Championships.  Always serving others, Toni’s phenomenal swim achievements are dedicated to raising funds and awareness for a variety of good causes.

Toni’s passion for excellence permeates every aspect of life. His side career in motivational speaking and coaching has been a direct product of his passion to help others excel by sharing his knowledge, skills, and unique experiences. In addition to thought leadership, he is a charismatic property expert and coach who invests in mentoring the next generation of tech-savvy, visionary property leaders. Here, he talks about his passions-  ocean swimming, mentoring the young, and helping others in every way he can. In Toni’s words: “No matter the battles you’ve been through – you can learn from them, grow and achieve what you thought was impossible”.  

Tell us a bit about you. How did you start your career in fitness?

I've been living in Cape Town my whole life. A few years ago my friend and I were at a restaurant talking about his mum who was dying of cancer at the time, and life in general. We realized, getting closer to 50, that we've only got half of our life to go to and we should do something about it! So, my friend and I promised that we would do something extreme, and decided on the Robben Island crossing. When we eventually got into the water, we asked ourselves “Are we absolutely crazy? How are we going to swim for three hours in 12 degrees?”

Sounds really challenging...

It’s something I really didn't think was possible. But after six months of training, we swam the Robben Island stretch and we finished it. It was the toughest thing I'd ever done in my whole life. I've never been a professional swimmer but I really fell in love with it, at that moment. We did another Robben Island swim and that led to one of my friends suggested we swim from Gibraltar to Morocco. The more I swam, the more I realized that you've got two choices; you can either challenge yourself or not. And I knew I really wanted to keep challenging myself.

So what are you focusing now on?

I'm busy training to do the Ocean Seven; there are more people that have climbed Everest than swam the English Channel, which is the summit of these channels. So in 2013, I trained for two years to swim the English Channel for charity, but after about nine hours in I got hypothermia and my team advised me to stop. I was very emotional because I felt I'd let the charities down so that day I just went back to the hotel to sleep. The next morning, I read in the headlines that there was another swimmer, someone who had been swimming next to me, who had been pushed too hard by her family that her body eventually gave up and she had died. That's when I realized that I do actually have to listen to the team. Sometimes it's good to fail because it makes you aware that you have to listen to your body and take advice from your team.

Was this an important moment for you?

Yes. Two years later, I went back to the English Channel and I finished it in 14 hours. That success led me to the Molokai channel, which was one of my toughest challenges. During that swim, I was swimming with poisonous jellyfish on my face and my body, we hit some strong currents. I knew that I had 10 km to go, which normally would take another three to four hours. I swam fiercely but ended up swimming in the same spot for four hours, and that really broke me -I felt I just wanted to get in the boat. My team asked me how I was feeling and I told them I was tired. They said, “Are you dying?". This pushed me for another hour but after that, I felt I had to give up.  But just as I was about to throw in the challenge, I saw the whiteboard with the motivational messages from my family which was exactly what I needed. I ended up reaching the beach in just under 21 hours.

An amazing experience indeed!

I managed the swim in 20 hours, 45 minutes, and it was one of the most humbling moments of my life. I realized then that the mind is a powerful thing. Pain is temporary, but victories are forever. We have actually incorporated that idea into our family life. I have taught my kids that if you've got a goal, you follow through with as much effort as you possibly can. Never, ever, ever give up. You're never too young, and you're never too old to reach your dream. Open water swimming has really changed the way I see my business, my family, my friends.

What do you most love about open water swimming?

When you get into the water, you disappear from the rest of the world. There's no technology there's no telephone, there are no people, even if you swim with someone else, they can't talk to you! The only thing with you is your own mind, your own body, and the ocean. So for me, that is very unique, you get away from the rest of the world. I don't think there's any other sport that actually enables you to be in your own underwater world. It becomes your unique planet where you're at the mercy of your own mind.

What have you learned from all those staggering experiences?

 What I've really learned is that if your wish is strong enough, and the goals big enough, you can challenge yourself to the maximum.  Many people think they are not fit enough, strong enough, or not fast enough. You need to have a goal big enough to motivate you, then to break the goal down and do it step by step until you achieve it. Sometimes people just don't put big enough goals out there to challenge themselves.