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PAUL DEGELDER /

Interviewed By Julia Wheeler

'Improvise, Adapt, Overcome' - Paul Degelder

Hot Topics Of The Podcast

• Paul never wanted to be a shark diving motivational speaker
• Paul's background and the early days of bars, rap and drugs
• Army life
• Paul's rapping background - believe it or not, involved Snoop Dog!
• How changing perception of situations, rather than your circumstance changes your life
• Paul's childhood dog attack
• How Paul got into bomb disposal diving
• Paul’s shark attack where a Bull Shark took his arm and leg in Sydney Harbour
• Why Paul wouldn't change what happened
• How his shark attack was medically treated
• The mental healing process after losing two limbs to a Bull Shark
• Paul shows off his prosthetic hand
• Girl issues of a robot life
• Paul's initial pain of losing his leg
• How Paul got through the shark attack and moved on
• Amazing quote - "Never feel bad about feeling bad"
• How the ocean and swimming with sharks is not a trigger for Paul after the shark attack
• We shouldn't be afraid of sharks, they should be scared of us
• Paul's job with Discovery channel
• 3 tips for people afraid of sharks
• How Paul has changed his life post-attack to preserve the marine environment

Paul De Gelder

Paul de Gelder chased adventure wherever he could find it, from his wild ride as a hoodlum teen and his whirlwind lifestyle working to hauling his way up to the elite echelons of the Australian Defence Forces as an Army paratrooper and then a Navy bomb disposal diver. But trouble hunted him down in the form of a 9ft bull shark in February 2009 while diving for the Navy. Paul lost two limbs, and his career as a daredevil diver was flung into jeopardy.

Drawing on everything his eventful life had taught him, Julia talks with Paul openly about how he left nothing to chance in his recovery and how he fought through excruciating pain, smashing challenge after challenge and becoming an advocate for the oceans and where he learnt to hand feed Bull Sharks, Hammerheads, Blue Sharks, dive with tiger sharks and even Great Whites without the protection of a cage.

Paul speaks candidly and humorously about overcoming adversity, embracing change and turning fears into your greatest strengths to create an amazing life personally and professionally. He has also been a guest on every major Australian TV talk show and many in the U.S. He starred as a guest trainer on the Biggest Loser Australia and has hosted over 18 documentaries for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week with his latest alongside Robert Irwin.

Megastar Will Smith Featured Paul in his Facebook series “Bucket List” as his shark diving mentor and UFC hall of famer and now WWE star Ronda Rousey was taught how to hand feed bull sharks by Paul for a Shark Week special. Paul also became part of an anti-poaching team in Africa to hunt poachers and film the amazing work done by the Rangers there for “FEARLESS”, aired on NatGeo.

In the years since the shark attack, Paul’s life has changed in every aspect. Paul has travelled the world as a top motivational speaker, passionate environmentalist, adventurer and mentor to school kids. He has spoken at venues across the globe, from the United Nations in New York and the US Navy in San Diego to Military celebrations in front of thousands and keynotes for multimillion dollar corporations and charity organisations around Australia and Asia.

Paul has been touted as one of the top 15 inspirational Australians and top 10 speakers and now based in Los Angeles - listen to his awe-inspiring interview with Julia Wheeler because it will open your heart and mind at how you may approach life, a little differently.

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What. Are you serious? It’s true; there’s actually talk of men becoming infertile by 2048 because of plastics. A must listen-to episode, we take you into the hardcore activism of Kate Nelson, AKA ‘Plastic Free Mermaid’.

Truth be told, for at least half a century, scientists have been worrying about sperm.

In 2017, it got worse. Results came in after a high-impact meta-analysis reported that average sperm counts among “Western” populations have decreased by 50% since the 1970’s.

Kate Nelson has been disposable-plastic-free for over ten years now, starting her journey volunteering at the Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society. Kate learnt that plastic does not biodegrade. Shocked. Horrified. Kate packed her bag and ventured out to the Great Pacific Trash Gyre collecting samples. When Kate pulled up the trawl, it was full of tiny micro plastics. It was then that Kate realised the severity and scale of this issue and immediately turned hardcore zero-plastics advocate.

Of course when infertility and plastics came across Kate’s path after continuing her studies and reading Dr. Anthony Jay’s "Estrogeneration," a book discussing a class of Estrogen mimicking chemicals, and how our daily exposures can cause weight-gains, depression, and infertility, we thought this would be the topic to cover. Read Kate’s finding here.

“It was not easy. Becoming aware of the tons of plastic in my life was a massive wake up call. I was contributing to the garbage dump in the precious sea that I loved so much. It has been an organic, natural, humbling journey full of learning. The reason I have been able to sustain such a drastic shift, is because of the incredible results of eliminating plastic from my life by abstaining from things packaged in plastic”.

Kate has lobbied against governments, pitched to corporates, spoken at schools all over the world and met with any politician who would hear her and now it’s your turn to listen to the dirt on plastics and infertility.

Hot Topics With Kate Nelson

‘HOW PLASTICS ARE MAKING US FAT, SICK AND INFERTILE’

@plasticfreemermaid

• Julia is curious; plastic is so prevalent today, how is it possible to avoid it entirely?

• Paul's pouch-sweater business idea

• Kate tells us why you should you avoid plastic? The answers will shock you!

• Kate freaks Julia and Paul out when explaining what happens when and how we ingest plastic

• Phthalates and Bisphenol

• Kate! Where do you get all this information on plastics?

• Plastic is effecting our genitals… and Paul’s penis size and his baby divers!

• Shanna Swan - Author of ‘Count Down’ claims we are likely to be infertile by 2048 because of plastics…!

• Dr. Anthony Jay wrote "Estrogeneration," a book discussing Estrogen mimicking chemicals.

• We're seeing a huge angle on sustainable products like paper bags and straws, is this enough?

• What is Kate’s most vivid memory of plastic's effects on the environment?

• Are beach-cleans a waste of time?

• Who are the multi-national plastic offenders, and how do we change the system?

• How can we play our part if we can't regulate these companies?

• The cost of anti-plastic life is prohibitive

• Let’s talk clothing and plastic

• Are any clothing companies taking an environmental stance?

• So how do we get rid of the plastic we've created?

• How do individuals move away from plastic?

• Shop local - Farmers markets all the way

• How are companies not being held accountable for the destruction of the environment?

• Blaming the consumer and the invention of the recycle bin

• Kate, what do you want to say to people still using high amounts of plastics?

• If companies won't change themselves, how can we create meaningful change in the world?

• Kate's new book - I Quit Plastics

• Home made products to avoid plastics

• Kate's resources

• Kate's eco-survey

• Plastic in sanitary products - how to avoid

• Why wouldn't anyone want to invest in ethical industries

• Are we hopeful we can change?

• Seaweed as a plastic alternative

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