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Milly Pickles
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On 2 September 2023, fitness and motivational influencer Milly Pickles became the first ever amputee to participate in Red Bull 400: the world’s toughest 400m race, which sees competitors from across the globe sprint up a ski jump in Slovenia with a brutal 140 metre elevation from start to finish. Milly is elated with her performance and has released a vlog of her experience on YouTube here.
In 2017, Milly was electrocuted, leaving her with serious injuries and ultimately resulting in her right leg being amputated. Despite this adversity, Milly has established herself as a successful motivational speaker and fitness coach, amassing over 400,000 followers on TikTok.
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Transcript
Millie's Historic Race
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to this episode of the UK Run Chat Podcast. I'm Joe Williams, and in this episode, Michelle will be back speaking with Millie Pickles. On the 2nd of September, 2023, fitness and motivational influencer Millie Pickles became the first ever amputee to participate in Red Bull 400.
00:00:18
Speaker
This is the world's toughest 400m race which sees competitors from across the globe sprinter up a ski jump in Slovenia which has a brutal 140m elevation from start to finish. Millie is elated with a performance and has released a vlog of her experience on YouTube of which we will share the link in our show notes.
00:00:41
Speaker
In 2017 Millie was electrocuted leaving her with serious injuries and ultimately resulting in her right leg being amputated. Despite this adversity Millie has established herself as a successful motivational speaker and fitness coach amassing over 400,000 followers on TikTok.
00:01:02
Speaker
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00:01:17
Speaker
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00:01:47
Speaker
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The Accident and Hospital Experience
00:02:12
Speaker
Enjoy.
00:02:13
Speaker
Hi Millie, thanks so much for joining us on the UK Ranchette podcast today. Would you like to give us a brief introduction to our listeners about yourself? Yeah, of course. So, hi, I'm Millie Pickles. I'm 26 years old, but when I was 20, I had an accident. I was electrocuted and I lost one of my legs. And for the past six years, it's been a real journey and I've just completed the Red Bull 400, which is the world's steepest race
00:02:40
Speaker
ever. So it's, yeah, it's been a real good journey the last six years, but that's, yeah, that's, that's been me for a while. Wow. So can you tell us a little bit more about your accident then and what happened there and, you know, how life has changed for you since then? Yeah, of course. So I was a university, I studied marketing and I had an internship.
00:03:02
Speaker
And I got it at Chelsea Football Club, which I was so happy about. And when I was two months into my placement, it wasn't at Chelsea grounds, but I had an accident and I got electrocuted and I was fighting for my life and both of my legs because originally they said that they thought I was going to lose both my legs. And as you can imagine, as a 20 year old, that was quite a lot to take in. And I was in hospital for two and a half months.
00:03:30
Speaker
And I had over 25 surgeries because I was internally burnt. When you're internally burning, you just keep on burning. And it was like I was being electrocuted constantly for about two weeks, which was unbelievably painful with infections. And, you know, I was on so many drugs, I had no idea what was going on. It was just a crazy time.
00:03:49
Speaker
And yeah, so they kept doing debridement and I remember seeing my leg and I just thought, this is really not in a great way. And one leg was responding really well, but the other one not so much. And I remember the surgeons came into my room and they were speaking for so long. And I remember them just weighing up the pros and cons of whether I should keep my leg or not.
00:04:10
Speaker
And because I had that two week period of seeing my leg and knowing how much pain I was in, it was almost like I mentally prepared myself for it to be amputated before it was.
Acceptance and Positivity
00:04:20
Speaker
So when the surgeons came into my room, yeah, they were trying to say it was like gauge whether I should keep my leg or not. And obviously they had to cover all wrists and everything like that. And I just remember them talking for ages and I said, I'm so sorry to interrupt you, but I've seen my leg is in a bad way. I know it needs to go be amputated.
00:04:37
Speaker
and they asked me if that was the right decision and I said yes 100% and then they agreed with me and I think making that decision at that age is quite a large one to have on your shoulders but
00:04:48
Speaker
I really just didn't want to be coming in and out of hospital for two years plus trying to fight for a leg that's clearly gone. And I just wanted to have a good life. And so I just wanted to get back to that. And I just thought, leg or no leg, I'm so grateful to be alive. And I just, yeah, I took it in my stride, bizarrely. And for those months I was in hospital, I was obviously on a lot of drugs. I was really trying to get a lot of sleep in to recover. And then when I got to a point where I was like, okay,
00:05:18
Speaker
really start focusing now. I started learning Spanish which is quite crazy to do in the hospital but my favourite nurse was Spanish so she would come into the room and would put posters on the wall with Spanish words and English words and I'd be trying to learn them and every morning I'd ask for my breakfast in Spanish
00:05:36
Speaker
and it was just such a nice family feel that I had within hospital and I was also reading a lot. I was also on my own a lot because I was in the side room because I was more likely to get infections from other people so I had to be kept separate and it was actually quite lonely but I was very glad I had my family visiting me every single day because they are amazing.
00:05:56
Speaker
And I, it's funny because with surgeries, I had so many people were like, oh my gosh, that's awful. I hope you're okay. But for me, I blooming love going for surgery because I was always on my own in that room that when I would go to surgery, which is on the fourth floor, like four floors down beneath me, it was like a trip. It was a day out for me. I would go, I'd leave the room in my bed. Everybody would be waving me off.
00:06:20
Speaker
I would be going down to see different people. I'd see the anesthetist. I would be, you know, because I got to know them very well because I was in hospital for so long. I'd get to see the recovery nurses and it was like this trip day out and I loved it. And my family would always, you know, come to me with like a subway or a Starbucks or something afterwards because I was told I had to eat a lot. So I always thought it was a good thing. And when I actually left hospital, I cried because I didn't want to leave because it became my second home. So I think a lot of people
00:06:50
Speaker
find that a bit strange because when you're young and you're losing your leg and you know I mean to be fair at one point what the most negative I think I probably felt throughout that whole experience in hospital was the thought of that nobody would fancy me anymore because I just felt like I looked really ugly which is ridiculous and
00:07:09
Speaker
my brain started to go down like a negative path but then my family would just be like Millie if people don't fancy you they're not worth your time anyway so I actually started to view my leg as a benefit because I thought well if people are going to be like that don't want them in my life. That's the most negative I felt towards it throughout the whole time in hospital because I actually coped really well
00:07:30
Speaker
I was like, I believe it was a big joke on the ward that I was the therapist for people because I'd be giving advice to other people about, you know, if they go for an amputation, I'd be reassuring them.
00:07:40
Speaker
even if it was nothing to do with me, I'd go and check in with them and be like, you okay? And that was when I got onto the ward when I got out of that side room. So yeah, my hospital experience I really enjoyed. But when I came out of hospital, I then really was just waiting for my prosthetic leg and I had about a month or two. And so my whole focus was always, what can I do that I couldn't do before? Because
Post-Accident Goals
00:08:06
Speaker
I had all this spare time. I was like, okay, while I was working at Chelsea, what can I do now? I've always wanted to learn to DJ, so I was learning to DJ. I wanted to do marketing courses to benefit me. That's also just reminded me, when the surgeons left the room, I'm just going back in time now, but when the surgeons left the room after weighing up the pros and cons of losing my leg, instantly in that moment, again, I was like, okay, what could I do now that I couldn't do before? And then the first thing I said to my parents was, well, at least I can be in the Paralympics now.
00:08:34
Speaker
oh yeah yeah because i was just always like okay what what can i do what can i do because i was trying to look at the positive side of it rather than the negative because i think you have a choice right and it's so easy to go down a negative path and i just wanted to always choose the positive so i think for the past six years that's what i've always been doing and i've always set myself goals so after i got my prosthetic leg
00:08:55
Speaker
I was told that I was very determined and I walked a lot quicker than the average because I just really wanted to get back to my life and yeah so I just always really pushed myself so then within four months of coming out of hospital I returned back to Chelsea Football Club because it was an internship I thought I don't want to miss out on this opportunity it's good for my career I want to do it so I went back to work which I was very happy that I did and then when I finished my internship it was like okay what's my next goal
00:09:22
Speaker
and that was to get a first at uni because i thought i didn't nearly die to not get a first so i channeled all my energy into that but the thing is at the same time i was concerned that what if
00:09:36
Speaker
I'm not actually coping with what's going on. I have been really okay. I'm focusing on the next thing, goals. I'm not reflecting on the situation enough. I'm very self-aware. So I was concerned if I was just pushing it away rather than dealing with it head on. So I had three therapists and there was nothing wrong. And even to this day, there still isn't. And I think that comes down to the fact that I am so unbelievably grateful to be alive.
00:10:01
Speaker
I think my accident has really taught me the value of life because it's so nearly taken from me and I think the main thing the overarching impact my accident has had on me is the fact that I just want to do the most live the most and really make the most of my life and really help people because as much as I love my job at Chelsea I just realized there's more important things in the world and I
00:10:24
Speaker
want to make my impact essentially which is kind of how I start social media. So yeah that brings me back to when I finished uni got my degree. It was almost like this point in my life where I was like okay I need to sort myself out because
00:10:40
Speaker
Even though my mind was so strong and I was focusing on the next goal and things like that, physically I was really struggling because obviously I lost my leg, I gained so much weight because I was more immobile and in hospital I was told I need to eat a lot so obviously I was eating Subway, Starbucks, all these things and I got into a really bad eating habit that just never left and then I started binge eating and I was not exercising at all and it got
00:11:07
Speaker
bad so when I finished university it was like okay right and I need to sort myself out now and so that's when I started going to the gym which was scary in itself by the way because I always wanted to go to the gym I was always so keen but so scared so I never went and I
00:11:25
Speaker
the night before my accident, coincidentally, finally plucked up the courage to join the gym, and then my accident happened.
Fitness and Paralympic Aspirations
00:11:30
Speaker
So when I re-entered the gym, I was way, way heavier, had no idea what I was doing, had lost my leg, was weak, and so I was even more intimidated than before. But I got PTs, I really stuck it out, and I just, yeah, I wanted to, essentially, it was important, essentially, to even walk better. I just really wanted to sort myself out, so that's what I did. And then,
00:11:54
Speaker
that's when I got to a point where I was like, okay, running. I told myself and my parents within that very initial stage, okay, I need to go to the Paralympics. So I was training for that for two years, got a running coach and that progression in itself with the running is crazy because I used to run before. So to learn how to run again, but in a completely different way was actually, I saw as more as like a fun, exciting challenge. Yeah.
00:12:20
Speaker
but I did that but then I just kind of fell out of love with it because I didn't want to compete and it put a lot of pressure on me for that so I was doing that but simultaneously I went back to work at Chelsea football club after university and
00:12:38
Speaker
how i started social media was kind of an accident to be honest with you when i first lost my leg a lot of people were curious about the physio so i shared that really early on and then i just stopped and
00:12:52
Speaker
When I went back to social media is because in February, like near the beginning of lockdown, my mom was like, why don't you just start that again? Because all I was desperate to do was find people like me because there was no one that I could find. And I just wanted to see someone else that was ahead of me. I wanted to see other amputees in the gym. I was Googling, trying to figure out how to exercise and do things as an amputee.
00:13:13
Speaker
and there was literally nothing out there so my mum said just start posting again and you might be able to find people so I did and I remember I downloaded TikTok because my sister had TikTok because she's older than me and I thought I thought it was a kid's app so the fact that you've got it I'll download it
00:13:29
Speaker
but um yeah so she she's the reason I downloaded it and I remember there was this challenge going on this trend at the time and it was a flexibility challenge and everybody was really flexible I am not but what I do have is a fake leg that I can take off so there were like marker points all around my head that I had to hit so I just used my leg and oh I see arms
00:13:50
Speaker
And I just uploaded that to put onto Instagram and then it went viral and it got nearly 2 million views. And I was like, what on earth? So I just really started pushing that whilst I was working at Chelsea. And that's how I've kind of grown to do what I do now. But I'm so glad now, because I've met so many other amputees, I've become the person that I never had to other people, which is like my number one goal. And when they tell me that, it means a lot. So yeah, and then that brings me to, I guess, the Red Bull 400.
00:14:20
Speaker
Oh yeah wow I mean I've got goosebumps just listening to you talk about what you've been through Millie and you know your positivity and just ambition is amazing really. Yeah I just think it's because I just yeah I just know how lucky I am to be here. That really comes across yeah and yeah so would you like to paint our listeners a picture of what the Red Bull 400 race is first of all?
00:14:47
Speaker
So the Red Bull 400 is the world's toughest steepest 400 meter race. It is a ski jump. It's the Olympic ski jump where they held the World Cup in Slovenia and Red Bull 400 is you have to run up it. It's ridiculously steep and for me as an amputee that is like danger zone because
00:15:10
Speaker
you really struggle with hills and rocks and it was grass and rocks and it was a huge hill. So I have never been put in a scenario like that before.
Red Bull 400: Emotional and Physical Journey
00:15:20
Speaker
I actually had no idea if my prosthetic leg would be able to cope with even being that steep because would it slip? I don't know. I didn't know what leg to use as well and neither did my positives because you don't know what's best for that. So I had to try and practice going up a 14 degree hill yet.
00:15:37
Speaker
the Rebel 400 goes up to 78 and I thought 14 was steep. So we were trying to figure out what prosthetic leg and I literally had no idea. I was doing it until about three weeks before and I did six days of training and I also haven't walked at all for three months of this year.
00:15:53
Speaker
and I've probably trained about 25 times and I say about it is 25 times I know it because I track it because I'm really cool. So like I was not prepared physically at all for the race but for me when like Red Bull contacted me and said are you interested and I'm a bit of a yes man now so I was like yes I am and I was a little bit scared but
00:16:19
Speaker
I just thought to myself, my mind will get me through it because your mind is way more powerful than your body. Your mind gives up before your body does. Yeah. So yeah, I worded that correctly. I thought I didn't then. And so I just thought my mind will get me through it. And oh my gosh, though, I was such an emotional wreck within the last 30 minutes building up to the race. It was crazy. What was going through your mind then when you got there and saw the slope?
00:16:44
Speaker
so I saw it the day before and I actually practiced going up it and I was like yeah this is fine and I wasn't scared I saw it and I thought I just want to run up it now like I have this like I'm the sort of person that when I have energy it's like I just want to run around it's like a child pretty much and so when I saw it I was like let me just run up it and then the day before
00:17:03
Speaker
I was the first women's race and my boyfriend Liam he was the first men's race and so he was before me and he was at 12 and I thought I was at 230 but turns out I was at one I was only an hour later
00:17:16
Speaker
So when I found that out, instantly that threw me off because I thought, well, I'm not mentally ready for it to be in an hour. And then I went up to go see him at the end on the ski lift because I wanted to be with him when he finished. And when I was walking along, that put me into a bit of a weird state because I thought,
00:17:34
Speaker
oh my god i'm not ready for this and i my leg was really hot i had to sort out like there's so much i had to prepare with my leg i had to go like to this building that was far away had to sort out my hair like i you know just all the little things you want to do before and i was up there i basically i was going up with a ski lift and i was starting to really cry because it was a really pivotal moment for me because it it showed to me like how far i'd come and the fact that
00:18:02
Speaker
when I was in literally just came out of hospital there was the tiniest slope like not even like five degree angle and I had to go up it and I was unbelievably weak I couldn't stand up straight I was bent over like I was having to really hold on to this like hole to like really pull myself up and the fact that I was about to take on the world's toughest steepest race with no training not walking for three months having a prosthetic leg having three toes on my human foot I don't even have a big toe
00:18:28
Speaker
so it's harder to balance and I just thought what on earth am I about to do? So it was all mixed emotions because I just thought what on earth is going on? So proud of myself. It was just this really bizarre moment for me and then I got to the top and I was thinking oh I really hope that Liam will give me some good tips here.
00:18:47
Speaker
And imagine, I see this boy coming up, Steve is, Steve is Hill. He is struggling. And so, you know, as somebody who's like really struggling that they just don't even want anyone near them. And I could sense that he would not, he would not speak.
00:19:02
Speaker
he was dying on the floor, he couldn't even drink his drink, he poured it all over himself. Like he was a mess. And I was looking at him thinking, oh my God, what on earth am I about to do? And considering he is ridiculously strong physically and mentally, like he's so strong mentally, that I just thought, if you're like this,
00:19:23
Speaker
What on earth am I going to be like? And I know how my leg loves to twist around. Sometimes it thinks it's like when I'm in the gym or whatever, it likes to fall off. And so I just thought, you can just imagine what was going through my mind. I thought, oh my God. And then I'm running out of time and I had to go down the ski lift. I had to go sort myself out.
00:19:44
Speaker
I was just an emotional wreck. I just couldn't stop crying. And then I walked into this glass door. My glasses broke and fell on the floor. I was running out of time. I then had to run to the front start line and it was two minutes to go. And I realized that I left my number in the building. So someone had to go and run to get that for me. And it was all very chaotic. I didn't really get much time to warm up. And then I got to the front line. And then because I was the first amputee to ever do it,
00:20:11
Speaker
the people were calling me out on the speaker and then everyone was staring at me and then the speaker was like 10 seconds and I in that moment I thought oh my god and I just had to really tune in and I said to myself Millie you've got this you're strong you're capable you've got this and I was just staring forward like Millie and I was getting myself into that focus beast mode and I was like you can do this
00:20:36
Speaker
and then the gun went off and I just went so it was it was messy before but I've got myself in the zone. Yeah so talk us through those first moments as you started the climb kind of what's what's happening in your body what are you thinking what are you feeling?
00:20:51
Speaker
So I was just focused. My strategy was to go to the far right because I had no idea how I would actually cope that I was like, okay, if I go on the right by the side, if I fall, I can hold on to something because there was this like wood panel. So I went to the corner and I just thought I am not looking up at all for as long as I can.
00:21:12
Speaker
And because I did not care about the time at all, I did not care about winning. It was just, I don't even know if I can actually finish. I don't know if it's physically possible that I wanted to make sure that I was safe. And I'm usually really bad at pacing myself, but I was like, Millie, go slow. Cause I just, from a, from a safety benefit, I didn't know if I was going to tumble down the hill. So I was just going slow. I was looking for foot soles where people had been before.
00:21:38
Speaker
to try and make it easier for me and it was more a bit like rock climbing and I was talking to myself as I was going up and I even said oh this is quite fun it's like rock climbing and when I started to really struggle and get out of breath I spoke to myself and I was like Millie stop really breathing through your freaking mouth because I'm such a mouth breather I was like stop it and I was like you've got this you've got this and
00:22:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think finding the places my feet actually really distracted my brain from the actual race because I was trying to focus on something else. And so it actually held my prosthetic leg as well because there were already footprints that made my leg feel a tiny bit more secure.
00:22:19
Speaker
So the first like 200 meters, I was okay. But then after that, it was like, oh my God, this is getting so steep now. And there were points that I was slipping. I was having to carry my prosthetic leg up with me rather than use it because it's got a carbon fiber foot. So it has a bit of a bounce. And that's why I couldn't use the running blade because with a running blade, you have to push into it to propel you forward. But because it's so steep,
00:22:45
Speaker
you can't push into it. So the walking leg was actually better. But then it got to a point where, yeah, it was so steep that I was kind of dragging it up with me. But when I was really struggling, I was just counting to 50. And then when I got to 50, going back to zero, because I was, again, trying to trick my brain into thinking that I was OK. And then I looked up, and I remember seeing the inflatable Red Bull thing, which is at the top of the grass.
00:23:14
Speaker
Yeah. It tricks you into thinking that's the end, which is quite nice, actually, but it's definitely not the end. So I got to that point and then I stood up because there's like a small little bit of flat area before you get onto the massive incline, which is, you know, built by men or women, but, you know, handmade. So I stopped for like 40 seconds just to gather myself mentally to be like, OK, I've got this. I've done the hard part. Hilarious. I thought that was the hard part was definitely.
00:23:42
Speaker
I was like, oh my God. So, yeah, I was like, okay, I just have some water. I was like, I've got this, I've got this. No part of me thought I can't do this. I just was like, Millie, like, I was so focused on just doing it and, you know, distracting my brain, trying to think of things to get me through that.
00:23:59
Speaker
I've watched back videos and people are speaking to me and I don't have a clue what they were saying. Like I was so in my own mind, just trying to focus. Yeah. And I knew my leg was really hot and sweaty, but I wasn't even aware of any pain or anything. And that's not to say that there wasn't. It's just because I was so not thinking about anything else. I was just really just trying to focus on, you know, looking for the foot placements or the numbers or, and just giving myself positive affirmation, essentially. But when I got to the last bit,
00:24:30
Speaker
Oh my god. It was so hard to think you're already so fatigued at that point and then you get to the worst part at that point it's like oh my gosh and because I then had already looked up I was continuously looking up and it felt like it was never ending it was just forever forever to go
00:24:50
Speaker
and I wanted to stop so many times and I couldn't, purely because there were so many people on the side cheering and I'm very lucky and grateful that they did call my name out a lot on the speaker to say I'm the first NPT because everybody knew my name, which I think is very rare in these sort of races.
00:25:07
Speaker
and so everybody was just shouting my name and they had these things in their hand like shaking them there was so much noise and I was also kind of like I kind of wish they weren't cheering my name because I'd love a little breather right now because pushing me forwards I feel like I can't stop which is a good thing really so um yeah I kept on going and oh yeah just never ending and then what I looked for was my boyfriend's voice because like if he if I could hear his voice I knew I was near the end
00:25:34
Speaker
And then it's really quite nice because I was looking down the whole time near the end because I was counting. I stopped counting to 50. I was like, OK, well, I'm not far off now, so I'll count to 30.
00:25:44
Speaker
I got to 30 and I thought, really? I was like, okay, I'll count to 40. I got to 40. I thought, really, I'm not there yet. And I got to like 44, 45 and I did it. And looking back at the videos, I see my boyfriend Liam like running along with me and cheering me. And it's honestly so lovely to actually see what he was doing. Cause I couldn't, I was just hearing it. But when I got to the end, oh my gosh, like when I stood up
00:26:11
Speaker
I had to grab someone to hold on to them because it was like I was going to fall and I went and sat down and weirdly I was really chatty. In fact, my boyfriend, I think if he saw me first, he probably would have thought this was easy. So I got the short end of the stick really because I saw him.
00:26:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think I was just in shock that I'd done it and all I wanted to do was just talk about the race and it hadn't hit me. I was really happy that I did it. I couldn't believe that I did it but I felt like it hadn't hit me and I think over the past
00:26:48
Speaker
like week and a bit since then. I'm crying every day. I'm crying numerous times a day because I am just in shock and I'm so proud of myself. I'll probably cry in a minute to you, but I really am because I had no idea if it was even possible. No amputees ever done it. It's danger zone. I, yeah, it was scary.
Mindset and Upbringing
00:27:09
Speaker
And the fact that I've actually done it and I keep thinking back to that video of when I was younger, just come out of hospital, couldn't even do the smallest slope. And I just think how on earth I did that. And I think
00:27:18
Speaker
It just really proves to me how far I've come. And yeah, I just, that's the proudest moment of my entire life for sure. So yeah. What an achievement. Yeah, I'm very proud. I mean, so do you think that all the, you know, all the trauma that you've been through over the last few years, has that contributed to you being able to say yes to more things? Do you think it's that attitude that you've kind of really interested in this because
00:27:46
Speaker
A lot of people would look at that race and say, that's too hard. And yet you did no training. You've had a really challenging year. And instantly your reaction is let's give it a go. Yeah. I don't do it. So I'm really interested to kind of figure out, you know, what, what makes you think that you can do these things, you know, have you got any advice for people when they're faced with something like that? Really?
00:28:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think your mind is so powerful. And like I saying, if you tell yourself no, you won't. If you tell yourself you can, you will. And I think
00:28:17
Speaker
it's all about the small habits and tasks that you set yourself for the most important because like throughout my whole entire life, if I didn't wanna do something but I said I was gonna do it, my mom would make me stick to it. If I was going out and had one plan and I got a second better offer, my mom would be like, no, keep to work, do the first one. You can't just change it for a better offer. And I think my whole upbringing with that has kind of taught me that if you're gonna do something, you gotta stick to it. If you believe you can, you will.
00:28:45
Speaker
i've always had a really strong work ethic and i've definitely got that for my parents and my mum she said she's going to do something she can do it my mum is like multifaceted she can do everything and i think having that upbringing makes me see that and so
00:29:01
Speaker
yeah, technically everything that I did with this race is impossible. I've done the impossible and it's because of your mind and I think even with saying if you're going to get up at 5am and you don't, it's essentially you're losing trust within yourself because you said you're going to do something, you won't, then you don't believe in yourself and if you don't believe in yourself then you're not going to say yes to things because you're going to think you can't do them.
00:29:23
Speaker
And I like to say that it's similar to if you were meeting up with a friend and then they kept saying, can't calm sorry, last minute, you're going to lose trust in the fact that they don't they don't stick to their word. They're not going to do it. And so I think having those small things that you say you're going to do actually sticking to them really do compound because then you're able to believe in yourself. And when you believe in yourself, you take action.
00:29:44
Speaker
And I think self-belief and action hand in hand are what gets results. And so I think it's all about what you believe in yourself, you stick into your routine habits and having discipline. And I think being resilient as well, which links into all of those, because I think resilience is the most important skill to have. Yeah. I just definitely say that. Yeah. I think not being afraid to try something and you not be able to do it, you know, that's so important, isn't it? Because you never know. Yeah.
00:30:11
Speaker
I genuinely believe that everybody can achieve anything, like anything, if they set their mind to it. I really do. I think people can heal themselves if they're really ill from their mind. I think it's so powerful. And I think people should be more open-minded to that, I think. I'm generalizing here, obviously. But yeah, the amount of people that say, oh, I couldn't do that, I couldn't do that. And I think that's the first issue. You're telling yourself you can't before you've even tried. That's not the attitude to have it.
00:30:38
Speaker
The attitude going into something is more important than the actual thing. And yeah, I think, like with my accent as well, I think if I was really negative, there's no way like I would have coped. If I allowed myself to think, oh, why did this happen to me?
00:30:54
Speaker
Essentially, your brain, right? It's a problem solving device. So no matter what question you give your brain, it's going to find the answer. So in my accident, if I said, Oh, why did this happen to me? My brain will find reasons as to why I'm such a bad person that happened to me. It's all about feeling your brain in my question. So I didn't think that I thought, okay, what can I do now that I can do before? What can I do now? What am I in control of? How can I help myself? And it found the answers. So I think it's all about the narrative in your mind. And so essentially, if you believe you can't or you're
00:31:24
Speaker
you're thinking reasons as to why you can't you will never ever ever do it ever. Yeah that's very very wise advice actually so completing the Red Bull 400 then has that I mean you've essentially raised your game there haven't you as to what you can achieve you know has it changed your perspective on your own kind of physical capabilities and what you can do if you've got any any plans to do anything else now? I definitely have plans that's for sure I think
00:31:53
Speaker
I think with the Rebel 400, it just taught me, it was more of like a check-in, a test to myself because the fact that I did it, it proved to myself that no, like I am strong, I am resilient, I am determined, I can do these things. And I think it's important to have those regular check-ins throughout your life because I could have easily been like, oh, I dealt with my accident well, but that was a one-time thing. Cause you know, I'm emotional or I can't do this. And it's easy to get trapped into,
00:32:23
Speaker
negative thinking habits even within that. So I really advocate people doing new things just to test themselves and learn more about themselves. And I actually think with Rebel 400, I think anybody who's struggling mentally should do it because doing it and that feeling at the top when you finish, the sense of fulfillment and achievement you get, it makes you believe
Future Challenges and Marathon Plans
00:32:44
Speaker
in yourself.
00:32:44
Speaker
Day to day I'm thinking, well, I can do that because I did the Rebel 400, I climbed the world's steepest race. So of course I can do an extra five minutes on the stepper, or I can go and do this, I can do that. So I think it's such a good way for you to believe in yourself, to do things that you didn't think were possible. And I think people should do it more. And because of that, I'm like, I've got the challenge bug now, I just want to do everything.
00:33:06
Speaker
So for me, because I did the 100 metre sprints for two years, I then fell out of love with that and I haven't done long distance running before losing my leg and I've only run, I think, 3k. So for me, I will and want to.
00:33:23
Speaker
do a marathon, but not just be like, okay, I'm going to do a marathon. I've got to really build up to that. So, you know, do a 5K, do a 10K, half marathon and build myself up. Cause I have no, again, I have no idea how my leg will cope. I don't know what to expect. So I think gradually building up, I also want to take people along that journey with me because it shows other people that they can do it too. And, um, I think really seeing all the individual details of building that process up will help people see that they can, um,
00:33:52
Speaker
And so, yeah, I think it would just be a really cool experience and learning lesson for me and for other people and to go from 3K to a marathon.
00:34:01
Speaker
would be insane. And I definitely am going to do that. But then there's also little other challenges that I'd love to do, like a tough mudder. And I just think doing other ones like that for fun is also really good. So I'm open to anything and everything to be honest with you. I just want to live my life, do as much as I can, hopefully help and inspire people along the way. And yeah, just just have fun. That's what life's about, right?
00:34:25
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, it is. And you are, you know, you're grabbing life by the horns, aren't you really? It's amazing to see. And so I mean, what, what piece of advice would you give to people then? They were listening today and just thinking, I'd like to take on a challenge. I don't really know if I can do it. What would you say to them? Well, you absolutely can. I don't even know you and I believe in you, because it all starts with your mind. And I think
00:34:49
Speaker
If you think that you can't, baby steps. You don't need to go from zero to 100. If you want to go on a run, literally go do jog 100 meters. It's all about building it up and believing that you can.
Advice on Self-Belief and Goals
00:35:01
Speaker
I'm a huge advocate of that. And there's also people always like you. Everyone starts as a beginner and you'll be able to communicate and message other people online and find people like you.
00:35:11
Speaker
because you're not alone. And yeah, I think as well, if you if you focus on your mental strength, resilience, you look into self development stuff, you know, doing affirmations, visualizations, meditation, maybe if you feel too intimidated to even start training for anything, even in the smallest part, like jogging 100 meters, start with your mind, because your mind is obviously more powerful. And if you believe that you can't
00:35:37
Speaker
issues more with your mind. So yeah, looking into self-development, reading books and educating yourself because then you will actually start to believe, hang on, I can actually do this because the content that you consume really helps you to push you forward. So it depends on where you're at. So either do self-development stuff first and then try and do the running or whatever it might be.
00:35:59
Speaker
or do both at the same time or message somebody that, you know, is like you. You could do it with a friend if you're feeling too scared. There's always options. So don't just think, oh, I can't do it. Just think, okay, I'm not feeling too comfortable with this.
00:36:13
Speaker
and then maybe journal it out. Why am I not feeling comfortable? And every time you give an answer, question it again, why am I feeling that way? And then you'll get to the root reason. And then from that point, you can be like, okay, this is my issue. This is what's really going on. What can I do now to help me get out of that? And then is it talk to a friend? Is it join a club? Whatever it might be. And then you're on the path. It doesn't matter how far along you are, you're on the path. And if you stick at it and your consistency is most important, you will get there. And there's always an option.
00:36:43
Speaker
So don't just think I can't and never think about it again because you'll be so proud of yourself once you've achieved that thing and that feeling in the world is like the most important thing I think. So yeah I hope that helps. Yeah that is super advice thank you and I think just little things like the way we speak to ourselves as well we need to be kind to ourselves don't we before anything else. Yeah but also the awareness around that
00:37:07
Speaker
I think we're so mean to ourselves all the time, and I'm sure I'm still guilty of it, and you don't even realize you're doing it. So even just getting a pad and pen, or even on the notes page, every single time you realize that you're saying something horrible to yourself, write it down. Because then you start to see patterns in your thinking of how you're treating yourself, and you wouldn't treat your friend like that. And I think once you have the awareness of that, you then are able to overcome it. And when you realize those thoughts are going into your brain,
00:37:32
Speaker
flip it be like okay I don't look fat and ugly I'm actually really beautiful and confident and like you just try and flip it and then over time you are you start to believe it so yeah the narrative you tell yourself is the most important and is what will make you succeed or not.
Social Media and Sharing Experiences
00:37:49
Speaker
Definitely so well thank you Millie it's been absolutely fascinating chatting to you. Where can our listeners find you?
00:37:57
Speaker
So Millie with a Y, always remember that one. And I'm on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. And yeah, come follow so you can see what my next challenge is. Yes. And the video of the Red Bull 400 is on YouTube. I watched it the other day. It's amazing if you want to really see how steep that slope truly is. I really enjoyed the video. Well, thank you so much. I really enjoyed it. Yeah. Thank you, Millie. It's been lovely chatting to you. Thank you.