Endure Edge Podcast

MIKE HEWAN: COMFORT IS MAKING YOU WEAK | SUFFERING, DISCIPLINE & BECOMING STRONGER

What if the very thing you're trying to avoid is the thing that could make you a better human?

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Hewan, entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and CEO of LIFT FIT, for a raw and honest conversation about suffering, discipline, resilience, business, and the pursuit of becoming better.

Mike is someone who doesn't just talk about hard work. He lives it. From pushing his physical limits through intense training and trail running to building businesses and leading brands, his approach to life is rooted in a simple philosophy: growth happens when you're willing to step outside your comfort zone.

We get into what it really means to embrace discomfort, why discipline matters when motivation disappears, and how the lessons learned through physical suffering can translate into business, leadership, and everyday life.

But beyond the entrepreneur and the athlete, we explore the human being behind it all, the challenges, the mindset, the lessons, and the constant pursuit of becoming a stronger version of yourself.

IN THIS EPISODE:

* Why suffering can be one of life's greatest teachers
* Discipline vs motivation, what really keeps you going?
* Pushing physical and mental limits through training and endurance
* The mindset behind entrepreneurship and building successful businesses
* The story behind Ninja Puppy and Mike's journey with LIFT FIT
* Living your values instead of just talking about them
* The dangers of comfort, complacency, and wasted potential
* Finding purpose through adversity
* What it means to become stronger, physically, mentally, and as a human being

This conversation is about more than fitness or business. It's about taking responsibility for your life, choosing the harder path when it matters, and becoming someone you can be proud of.

One question to leave you with: Are you avoiding the very things that could make you stronger?

If this conversation resonates with you, hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE it with someone who needs to hear this message.

Drop a comment below: What's the hardest thing you've ever done that made you a better person?

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What does it actually cost to become exceptional?

In this episode, I sit down with one of South Africa’s most recognisable chefs, restaurateurs and creators, David Higgs, but this conversation goes far beyond food.

We talk about obsession. Pressure. Success. Failure. Family. Ageing. Discipline. The moments nobody sees when the cameras are off.

David opens up about the relentless pursuit of excellence, what success gives you, and what it can quietly take away.

We get into his relationship with exercise and cycling, why getting on a bike has become such an important part of his life, what physical suffering teaches you about yourself, and why sometimes you need to get away from everything just to hear your own thoughts.

We also talk about community, young people, nutrition and the responsibility that comes with having influence, and whether success means anything if you don't use it to create opportunities for other people.

This isn't a conversation about recipes.

It's a conversation about the man behind the fire.

How much are you willing to sacrifice to become great?

And when you finally get there…

How do you know when enough is enough?

This is David Higgs, raw and unfiltered.

What happens when there is nowhere left to hide?

No title.
No reputation.
No comfort.
No excuses.

Just you, your mind, and an ocean that doesn’t care who you are.

In this powerful conversation, Chris Oldnall takes us inside the mindset required to do what most people would consider impossible, pushing the human body and mind through extreme open-water swims while carrying a purpose far bigger than himself.

But this conversation isn't really about swimming.

It’s about suffering. Discipline. Fear. Leadership. Purpose. Resilience.

We talk about what happens inside your mind when the body is screaming at you to stop.

What separates someone who quits from someone who takes one more stroke.

Whether mental toughness is something you're born with, or something you build through adversity.

We explore the dangers of becoming too comfortable, what young men are missing today, and why meaningful suffering may be one of the most powerful teachers in life.

Chris also opens up about leadership, education, purpose, failure, fear and the responsibility that comes with trying to make a difference in other people's lives.

Because when you're 15 hours into the ocean, nobody cares about your achievements.

The ocean doesn't care about your position.

It doesn't care about your reputation.

It only asks one question:

Are you going to keep going?

This is a conversation about finding out who you really are when everything else is stripped away.

If you've ever felt stuck, comfortable, afraid, lost or unsure of what you're capable of...

Watch this one.

And ask yourself:

What is your ocean?

Behind the voice, the success, and the smile… Sam Lehoko was losing herself.

In this raw and powerful episode of The Endure Edge, South African radio personality Sam Lehoko opens up about her battle with alcohol, addiction, shame, recovery, and the moment she realised she could no longer recognise the person she had become.

But this is not just a story about alcohol.

It’s about pain.

It’s about identity.

It’s about the things we use to escape ourselves.

Sam shares what alcohol was really doing for her, what sobriety forced her to confront, the hardest person she ever had to forgive, and what it takes to rebuild a life when you have spent years trying to run from yourself.

She also opens up about finding love after healing, getting married, bringing two families together, and building a new blended family while learning what peace and healthy love truly feel like.

This is one of those conversations that goes beyond the headlines.

Beyond the public image.

Beyond recovery.

Because sometimes you have to lose yourself… to save your life.

Olympic medals. A world champion. One of the greatest swimmers South Africa has ever produced.

But behind the medals, the records and the moments of glory is a story most people never saw.

In this deeply personal conversation, Chad Le Clos goes beyond swimming and opens up about the weight he carried away from the pool, the pressure of being a champion, the expectations of an entire country, identity, trauma, depression, vulnerability, and the struggle to understand who you are when the thing that defined you starts to change.

We talk about the moment the fire disappeared. The loneliness that can exist behind success. The difficulty of admitting you need help. The relationship between pain and performance. And what it takes to rebuild yourself when winning no longer fixes what is happening inside.

This isn't a conversation about medals.

It's a conversation about the man underneath them.

Raw. Honest. Uncomfortable. Human.