How an ex-special forces commando and a former elite endurance athlete can make you reach your goals
YOUR excuses won’t work on these two. One is an ex-commando and the other is an elite endurance athlete. Together they will make sure you reach your goals and become physcially and mentally fit.
These guys are the hardest men on the northern beaches.
Yes, they’re very fit and those muscles are real.
But, it is their mental resilience which is most phenomenal. These guys are like real life terminators. They will literally never give up.
Between them they have faced some of the toughest and most extreme situations known to man.
Jas Dolan is a former special forces soldier who fought in Iraq, captured pirates in Somalia and was the last line of defence against terrorists in Australia. He’s thrown himself out of helicopters, blown up doors and defused underwater explosives.
His good mate Craig Arnold could give Bear Grylls a run for his money. He’s an extreme endurance athlete competing in global adventure races, trekking thousands of kilometres across some of the world’s most treacherous terrain, including a 36-day crossing of the Northern Patagonian ice cap.
Now they’re using their combined experience to help train people’s minds, so they can tackle anything life throws at them.
“Most people make a change in their lives when something bad happens to them,” says Dolan, 32, from Manly, who was invited to meet Prince Charles last year in recognition of his excellent service in the military.
“Often it’s when people are told they are sick, or a relationship breaks up or they lose someone that they decide to do that something they’ve always been meaning to do, such as get fit and healthy. Sometimes that change comes too late.”
Dolan and Arnold — who bill themselves as elite physical and mindset transformational specialists — set up their business Million Dollar Fitness in North Manly two years ago.
They’ve worked with many people including the Sea Eagles, where they challenged the players to climb Mt Kosciuszko carrying kayaks.
They were also part of a team who took Andrew Morello, the first winner of The Apprentice Australia, to the summit of Mt Kinabalu in Borneo, last year, to prompt him into taking responsibility for his health. The 170cm entrepreneur has inspired many with his business acumen, but at 160kg, he is dangerously overweight.
“We encouraged him to get to the summit, playing video messages from friends and family to inspire him when he thought he couldn’t go on,” says Dolan, who hopes Morello will focus on his health as well as his wealth after the experience.
Dolan and Arnold say their previous careers help them to help others.
“You have to push yourself outside your comfort zone because it builds confidence and self-belief,” says Arnold, 32, from North Manly.
“I’ve done many things people would probably consider to be too hard. But if I hadn’t gone through hard times I would not be the person I am today.”
For Dolan, serving in the Iraq war at the age of 19 in 2003, was his hardest challenge.
“I was a young fella overseas in Iraq,” says Dolan, whose role involved jumping in RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) and boarding Iraqi military boats and illegal ship containers.
“There were times where we all had guns pointing at each other.”
Dolan’s physical and mental strengths quickly distinguished him and he was cherry picked for some of the toughest and most dangerous lines of work in the armed forces.
He says some days he did things he’s seen in action movies, such as sliding down an elevator shaft and breaking through the roof.
“I pretty much did things you see in the movies,” he said.
But the training was tough.
“They would play mind tricks on you. People would drop out, but I never gave up.”
He says after one particularly never-ending training session, which involved marching long distances with heavy packs and little sleep, they got back to the bus and were told dinner was waiting for them at their base. But, then the bus broke down and they were told they had to walk back to base — with their packs on.
“We all knew there was nothing wrong with the bus. It was part of the training.”
Digging deep is something Arnold has also had to do many times. While he has been brought to the near exhaustion during some of his trips, including a 640km trek through the Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia, it was a sky dive he believes was his most terrifying moment.
“I’d never jumped before and was doing a solo jump,” he says.
“It took a lot of mental focus and discipline.”
Dolan, who knows former military colleagues who have post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, says it’s important to promote fitness as a way of combating depression.
Shellee Henness, 26, from Freshwater, says Dolan and Arnold helped her through a tough time after a diagnosis for Crohn’s, an inflammatory bowel disease.
“I was probably at my lowest when I met them,” Ms Henness says.
“Six months on I’m now in remission for Crohn’s and I feel more positive and stronger in my outlook than ever before.”
Dolan and Arnold are offering someone the chance to win them as personal trainers for eight weeks. The competition launched last night. To register go to the Million Dollar Fitness Facebook.
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