Ahead of China’s introduction to to its first-ever insane obstacle challenge, we sit down with the man who started it all, the founder of Tough Mudder Brit-born Will Dean to talk elements, obstacles and of course, mud…
The first event you held was in 2010. How did you start the Tough Mudder?
The event was definitely less sophisticated than the events today. It was me and my co-founder [Guy Livingstone] and we had four people helping us.
Six people?
Yeah. Now Tough Mudder takes, on site, about 300-400 people with security, construction, etc. [At the first one] we had 15 obstacles that we created in one week. We were very tired after that week.
Wow! And you chose Pennsylvania. Why?
The business answer is to catch the New York and Philly market. The truth is we couldn’t convince anyone to let us host our first event. Eventually we found this ski hill called Bear Creek. They were willing to let us go there so we paid a one-thousand dollar deposit. I don’t think they thought we’d even show up and they’d get a thousand dollars off of us. Almost 5,000 people came to that first event.
Nice. And from there it grew! You’ve been all over the world since, England, Australia…
When I first started doing it in America all the Americans told me this is too English and then I took it to England two years later all the English told me it was too American…
Ha, of course they did. Fast forward to now, six years later. You’re bringing Tough Mudder to Shanghai, or China for that matter, for the first time ever. What will the setup be like here?
This is the biggest city we’ve ever had an event in, so it’s hard to find a big open space. The venue will be a bit different [than other Tough Mudder events], but it will be big enough.
And what about mud? We don’t have much of that here…
Tough Mudder is used to producing events all around the world. In some places, like England, there is a lot of mud. But then there are places like Arizona where there is not much mud. We will find a way to make enough mud. We will have to bring in some soil since it’s a very urban environment, but we are used to doing it. I promise you, there will be enough mud.
Good, it wouldn’t quite be a Tough Mudder without that second element. So you said it will be different in Shanghai; how will the obstacles compare to other Tough Mudders?
The aim with every Tough Mudder is we build mostly the same obstacles, but no two courses are identical. But with the event here in Shanghai you’ll have all of the main obstacles (birth canal, block ness monster, etc.). Tough Mudder has experience building obstacles in Europe, America, Australia.. Some of them we will have to amend for local construction, but the obstacles will essentially be the same.
The obstacles seem pretty massive. How long does it actually take to construct the course?
The build out of the obstacles takes a month. Actually marking out the course, find the venue, that takes a year in advance. So you need about a month all in, but a lot of the activity happens in the final week.
Really? Only a month? I guess that’s longer than the original one which took a week… What about testing the obstacles though? How do we know it’s going to be safe?
In terms of testing the obstacles, we’ve already designed them and they've been signed off by engineers. We’re essentially using the same designs [from other events] so we won’t be testing/repeat testing. They’re all built with a huge amount of redundancy put into them. The oldest obstacles will also be signed off by Chinese engineers and [all obstacles] will be signed off by the Chinese government.
Alright, fair enough. Before you started breaking ground here, did you have any apprehension to bring Tough Mudder to China?
I think the really interesting thing is that everywhere you go in the world, the vibe at the event is a little different. Events in Germany feel a little different from events in the US or Australia. I’m sure the atmosphere here will be different as well, it’s a different culture, but that’s part of the fun. It’s still people getting muddy, having fun, getting a beer at the end. This is our first year, it’s a learning year, but we’ll take the momentum from this year into next year.
There was a study done at the University of Arizona that a Tough Mudder is 10 times safer than a triathlon. You’re also more likely to get injured driving to a Tough Mudder than doing the Tough Mudder itself.
On average, how long does it take for one to complete the course?
The average person is about four hours for the full, about two hours for the half. For the really in-shape people it will take two, two-and-a-half hours. But it’s a team event so most people do it at the speed of the team.
And what about physical requirements? Any restrictions?
On our website you’ll see information on how to train. I think the biggest myth about Tough Mudder is that you need to be in great shape. You need to be in okay shape, but because it’s about teamwork and camaraderie other people can get you through. And on a course we’ll have over 100 medics, 200 volunteers so if you’re not feeling well you can just put your hand up and someone will be there to assist you.
The team element is a huge part of Tough Mudder. It’s more about working together than trying to beat a time or others. How is that a reflection of yourself and what you do now?
My life is very different now. Being an entrepreneur you have to be very patient, you have to convince people of your ideas, you have to have a very clear goal in mind and then you have to work to achieve that. You need a lot of resilience and you have to work as a team.
Any final thoughts before the big day?
I’m really looking forward to this one, I think its going to be very special. I’ve done 21 Tough Mudders and I’ll do this one in China. I think it’s important as the founder and the CEO. For [this idea] to be an idea in my head, and now doing it in China.. it’s something I’m very proud of.
Tough Mudder Shanghai will take place on Oct 22 and 23. Event registration is still open.
[Image via IMG China]
0 User Comments