G’day,
We’re Reidy, Whippet, Harries, Corey and Juliana!
You may know us for saving lives on the hit TV series Bondi Rescue, but there is something much more important that we have in common; and that’s our passion to inspire kids to lead healthy and active lives.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
Today in Australia, obesity is becoming more and more prevalent and it’s sparking a huge concern for generations to come. It increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and plenty of other major health concerns. We want to help put a stop to this and create a youth moving movement!
In Australia alone, 25% of children aged 2 to 17 are overweight or obese. This increasing rise in obesity is seeing type 2 diabetes diagnosed in younger and younger people every day. Did you know that type 2 diabetes represents 85-90% of all diabetes cases in Australia?
Diabetes is the epidemic of the 21st century, and the biggest challenge confronting Australia’s health system. With your support we need to act now and support a healthy future for all Australians. As well as being lifeguards and role models all around the world, we want to use this profile to put a stop to childhood obesity and get our new and upcoming generations moving more!
HOW ARE WE GOING TO ACHIEVE THIS?
We’re going to set up a Question Your Impossible campaign with Diabetes Australia. Lucky for us, we know that in up to 58% of cases, type 2 diabetes can be prevented by maintaining healthy weight, being physically active, and following a good eating plan.
The Question your Impossible Project is about giving kids the knowledge and inspiration to achieve things they never thought possible. It’s about showing them that through hard work, perseverance and consistency they can achieve any goal they set themselves and whilst doing this they live a healthier and happier life.
SO, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
Our Impossible Challenge:
As lifeguards we want to be role models. We want to lead by example, so we’re setting a goal and questioning our impossible.
We’re inviting you to join us on our journey to inspire your very own challenge. We all know the benefits of setting healthy and achievable goals; don’t forget that working towards them is rewarding and fun too!
We’re going to set an Impossible Challenge where we’ll train hard, eat healthy and inspire you to do the same. Importantly we’re documenting the entire journey so we can continue to share it and inspire people all over the world to do the same.
So what is our impossible challenge? We’re going to paddle the 53 kilometres across the Channel of Bones in the famous Molokai to Oahu world championships of paddle boarding.
Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships (M2O)
Together, we’re going to participate in the 20th anniversary Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships! A race so tough that every finisher in the competition is considered an individual champion.
This annual race challenges every paddler’s physical and mental endurance and is a deeply personal experience. It One of our fellow buddies here at Bondi Rescue made a solid attempt a few years back. Unfortunately his race ended 5km before the finish line in a medical emergency.
We will paddle a gruelling 53 kilometres across the Channel of Bones in the famous Molokai to Oahu world championships of paddle boarding. The race starts on Kaluakoi Beach on the north shore of Moloka’i and finishes in Maunalua Bay on the south shore of O’ahu.
The M2O is an open-ocean endurance Paddle board challenge; it attracts men and women from over 20 different countries. Top athletes typically complete the crossing in less than five hours, riding mid-channel waves that can crest more than 12 feet and carry paddlers hundreds of meters at a time.
Otherwise known as the Moloka’i Channel we’ll all be faced with challenging conditions as we try to navigate the fastest downwind route over one of the deepest channels of water in the world. Not to mention the tiger sharks that apparently swarm these waters!!!
We’re focused on the finishing line, but are all very aware of the incredible challenge required to get there. For more information on the M2O including its incredible history please visit http://www.molokai2oahu.com/
The Moloka’i-2-O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships is on Sunday, July 31, 2016.
Garmin Kids Active Camps
We’re going to run Kids Active Camps along the way in our training regimes. With the support of Garmin we’ll tour the country and host kids active camps in locations around Australia where childhood obesity, and type 2 diabetes are highly prevalent.
During the kids’ active camps, we will educate and inspire kids to question their impossible with information and tools to achieve things they never thought they could. Together we all believe that with the right tools and encouragement we can ensure kids are pointed in the right direction for a fit and healthy life.
Question Your Impossible Documentary
With the incredible support of YOU and RJ Media we’re going to make a documentary of all of the above. Importantly, this documentary has the capacity to keep the story alive and continue to be shared around the world. We want to create ground swell with the Question Your Impossible campaign. With promises of being aired nationally on free to air television and internationally in 50 countries via National Geographic Channel, we think we can do it!
Raise money for Diabetes Australia
In addition to Questioning our Impossible and sharing our story, we want to shine a light on creating a healthy future generation and raise important funds for Diabetes Australia. We want to encourage today’s youth to develop and set personal goals and challenges around greater health awareness.
We need to raise $75K! The reason we need to reach $75K is that the amazing RJ Media have made an in principal agreement that if we can reach this goal they will produce a documentary of the entire project. Along with this promise comes the incredible reach of national domestic free to air television and internationally into over 50 countries via National Geographic Channel. WOW!
Executive Producer of RJ Media commented:
“RJMedia is just excited to be part of the wonderful project & to be associated with such a worthy cause. Diabetes affects people right across Australia and through the TV special we can promote a powerful, positive message. Leading by example, the Bondi Rescue crew will bring the topic to life”.
Richard adds: “It’s not only a great story following the life & times of the Bondi Rescue crew heading to Hawaii to take on the impossible; it’s also a great way to promote a powerful message to a national & international audience”.
Domestically the program will air on national free to air television and internationally into over 50 countries via National Geographic Channel.
Over the years, RJ Media has been fortunate enough to produce over 1000 hours of programming sold to markets all over the world and we believe this project has the potential to be a huge success. It’s not only a great story as the documentary will follow the life & times of the Bondi Rescue crew heading to Hawaii to take on the impossible; their training and preparations it will also work in association with Garmin and Diabetes Australia to convey key message and promote a powerful message to a national & international audiences.
Raising money for Diabetes Australia
In addition to Questioning our Impossible and sharing our story, we want to shine a light on creating a healthy future generation and raise important funds for Diabetes Australia. The more money we reach over the target means the more funds we can contribute to Diabetes Australia too! There are no limits.
With any project comes challenges.
As a group of friends and colleagues working together for a worthy cause, we believe our challenges will be minimised by YOU all supporting our efforts.
The biggest challenge will be falling short of our financial goal and losing the amazing opportunity to take this story all over Australia and around the world with the amazing contribution that RJ media have made. We need to get there!
Let’s do this Australia!
n.b. On a side note we also think challenges are healthy. We dont see them as roadblocks. We wouldn’t be questioning our impossible if we didn’t think there was going to be some challenges ahead.