David Goggins

David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL and is the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including two Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man), and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training. As a Navy SEAL, Goggins was one of an elite group of men regularly sent on some of the toughest missions in the world, but that just wasn’t enough. Goggins needed yet another challenge, so he set about conquering the hardest sporting events known to man. He is now considered to be one of the greatest endurance athletes in the country.

In less than four years, Goggins completed more than 30 endurance races, including multiple ultra-marathons, triathlons, ultra-triathlons, bike races, and arduous mountain ascents, setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. In 2007, shortly before he was diagnosed with a hole in his heart, Goggins completed 203.5 miles in the 48-Hour National Championship endurance foot race, beating previous records by 20 miles and earning a spot among the top 20 ultra-marathoners of the word. His extraordinary achievement earned him a feature story in Runner’s World, where he was named a “Running Hero.” The Navy even asked Goggins to be their “poster boy” by appearing in a recruiting commercial. He even formerly held the Guinness World Record for completing 4,030 pull-ps in seventeen hours.

But all the awards, medals, and accolades mean nothing to Goggins – that’s not why he does what he does. To him, it’s all about achieving his personal best and pushing well past his comfort zone. Goggins chooses to run the toughest races and put himself through some of the hardest military training programs in the country to test himself… to see what he’s made of. For him, physical tests are journeys of self-discovery, and endurance is like a meditation that strengthens his faith. No other experience makes him feel more clear, focused, and alive.

Growing up in Buffalo, New York, and rural Indiana, Goggins is all too familiar with the struggles of dealing with an abusive father, suffering at the hands of violent racism, and living with the harsh realities of being raised by a single mother trying to give her son a better life by working three jobs. Barely graduating high school, he was constantly told he was too dumb, too sick, or too fat to achieve his goal of a career serving our country. Goggins never let slim odds or daunting circumstances get in his way, hold him back, or make him a “victim.” He chose to instead overcome and prove the naysayers wrong. And while on that path, he has managed to raise more than $2 million for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

His constant conquering of adversity has made Goggins a much sought-after public speaker. His bold, “no excuses” approach gets him regularly invited to speak at college campuses and business forums, as well as to top sports teams like the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks. What they get is a crash course in personal accountability – Goggins is all about owning his failures and learning from them. For him, today’s too-often norm of coddling, entitlement, and playing the blame game is simply unacceptable. He’s pure old school, and that’s precisely what makes him one of a rare and unparalleled breed of men.