Interview with Katie Spotz

This past weekend, I had the chance to chat with the individual who became the youngest person to ever complete a solo row across the Atlantic Ocean. This individual is Katie Spotz. As stated on her website (katiespotz.com), “she is an adventurer and safe water activist.” Through many different projects, she has generated thousands of dollars in support of these campaigns. Katie’s many different adventures have been well documented, as they have been featured in Sports Illustrated, CBS Evening News, Anderson Cooper 360, ABC News World News with Diane Sawyer, and many others. Along with being a world-class adventurer and safe water activist, Katie is an inspiring speaker. She has spoken for many different audiences and is very well respected in that setting. I strongly recommend reading about her story and if you have the chance to listen to her speak, I would take advantage of the opportunity. During this interview, I have provided you with her responses on how these different adventures helped her grow as a person and an activist.

What inspired you to pursue all of these different adventures, from running your first marathon to an Ironman triathlon?

Most of my life I was not a star athlete. The position that I played the most was the bench! Then, at 18 I signed up for a walking and running class in college. I started running a few times each week and week by week I would run a few miles more. After doing a ten mile run, that's when I considered doing my first endurance challenge – a 26.2 mile marathon. I saw people of all walks of life completing the run and it made me realize that we are all much more capable than we think.

Did you ever see yourself doing these various adventures when you were growing up?

Not at all. When I was growing up the thought of rowing an ocean or cycling across America didn't even cross my mind. I didn't know it was possible and never heard of anyone doing something like it. However, I would have mini-adventures of my own. I remember how amazing (and exhausting!) it felt to cycle twenty miles with my dad to the beach. My dream job as a kid was to be a bicycle messenger.

Which project that you have worked on would you say was the most memorable?

Each adventure has been very special for different reasons. While the row was the most challenging and rewarding, I feel like my first marathon was just as important. If I didn't take that first step it wouldn't have led to the rest of the adventures. The marathon was mentally challenging in that I spent some much time and energy worrying about it and doubting myself, instead of just having focus on the run itself. Once I realized that we truly can do anything we set our minds to everything became much easier and I trusted the process.

Why has the safe drinking water campaign always been so important to you?

 I was in class and my professor mentioned that the wars of the future would be on water. It was like someone told me the wars of the future would be on air! I didn't understand the world water crisis living one of the greatest sources of fresh water on our planet. After learning all the facts I knew I wanted to help. The water crisis is huge but it's a problem with solutions. There are ways to help like digging and drilling wells, capturing the rainfall, and protecting mountain springs. After traveling to Kenya it's given me that extra boost of motivation to find more ways to help and I am continuing to work with an amazing charity called H2O for Life to inspire schools in America to help schools all around the world get clean, safe drinking water.

Can you talk about your trip to Kenya as a part of the safe water project?

 The different athletic events and campaigns have raised more than $250,000 for safe drinking water projects around the world. A huge portion went to support schools in Kenya and about a year after the row I was able to visit some of those projects. After traveling to Kenya it's gave me that extra boost of motivation to find more ways to help and as a result launched a campaign called Schools for Water. It was a way to challenge ten schools in the states to help ten schools in Kenya. The schools raised more than $100,000 or enough to help 10,000 students gain access to safe drinking water. To celebrate, the students gathered and broke the world record for the most people carrying water jugs on their heads!

What was the most challenging aspect of your 3,038 mile solo row across the Atlantic Ocean that spanned 70 days, 5 hours, and 22 minutes?

 The sleep deprivation was brutal. I would not be able to sleep more than a couple hours because the crashing waves against my boat. I reached a point that I was so tired that I couldn't sleep because my body was so used to the lack of sleep.

Is there any advice you could give to people looking to do something adventurous and how should they go about doing so?Sometimes the biggest hurdle is ourselves. When I was a bit younger and looking at other people's adventurous lifestyles, I remember feeling a bit jealous. But that mindset did not get me to the adventures so I started to look at what was within my reach. Adventures are available to all, whether it means sneaking in a two hour row across a lake or 70-day row across an ocean.

Katie in the boat she used in her solo row (Source: NESN)

Katie has been a true inspiration to myself and many individuals around the world. I would like to thank her for participating in this interview and wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.