TED Talk: 1.5 million views
Colin's TEDx talk 'Change Your Mindset and Achieve Anything,' which covered his Explorers Grand Slam journey, amassed 1.5 million views.
Snapshot · The School of Greatness
54 Days Alone in Antarctica, Pulling 375 Pounds | Colin O’Brady
Explore episode
Jul 3, 2026
Where this was said
Athletes He Admires: Kobe Bryant on Ice
At 1:04:30 · chapter starts 1:03:30
Lewis asks about the athlete Colin most admires, and Colin pauses before giving a genuine, unscripted answer: Kobe Bryant — despite being a Portland Trail Blazers fan with all the attendant Lakers antipathy. [1] — Colin O'Brady "On the sixth day of the Antarctica crossing, Colin downloaded a Kobe Bryant interview from Lewis's podcast. Kobe's message — I'll just outl…" 1:04:00 On day six of the crossing, having just surpassed Lou Rudd for the first time, Colin played a School of Greatness episode featuring Kobe. The specific message that landed: Kobe's description of simply outlasting opponents by staying in the gym one hour longer. Colin immediately translated this into a tactical rule for Antarctica — if Lou goes 10 hours, I go 11; if Lou goes 11, I go 12. He extends the lesson to his creative work: studying the 'game film' of public speaking and writing, constantly improving the craft. The revelation that a Kobe interview on Lewis's own podcast influenced one of the world's most extraordinary athletic achievements is a moment of genuine, mutual surprise.
Kobe on Ice: The Work Ethic That Beat Lou Rudd
On the sixth day of the Antarctica crossing, Colin downloaded a Kobe Bryant interview from Lewis's podcast. Kobe's message — I'll just outlast everyone, stay one hour longer — became Colin's tactical strategy against the more experienced British explorer Lou Rudd. He went 10 hours when Lou went 9, 11 when Lou went 10, and never relinquished the lead.
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