Meet the guy who did 24 hours of cardio - Blindfolded!

Last month Mick Stuart set himself a challenge. To be locked inside a gym for 24 hours, completing AMRAP between an Assualt AirRunner, Assualt Fitness AssaultBike Classic and burpees. Oh and he'd be blindfolded the entire time! The goal - to raise awareness around the struggle soldiers and their families face when transitioning from the Defence Force to civilian life, while also raising $5,000 for Mates4Mates. A not-for-profit organisation that supports current and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members (and their families) who are wounded, injured or ill as a result of their service for our country.

We caught up post-event to see how it all went!

Tell us about yourself

I'm a country boy, raised in Northam NSW in a little town called Tenterfield. After High School, I moved to Brisbane to study Animation and game design. I worked a variety of jobs while studying bartender, cleaner, etc. Until I eventually ended up working at a large alcohol retailer. Four years of that had me move up the ranks to beer master (aka taster) and I was tipping the scales at over 150kg!

I knew I needed to make a change. So I did.

I started running, doing burpees (because they were the two most hated exercise I knew) and lifting in my carport with rusty old weights. But it worked! I was down to 94kg when I decided to enter into my first half marathon. After that, my friends started coming to me for fitness advice so I became a trainer to help them.

Ten years later I now compete in a variety of sports and events (OCR, Crossfit, Enduro, Strongman, etc) and I continue to educate and develop every day individuals all over the world.

Run us through the challenge and what you needed to do

Last year I did a 12-hour challenge where I did a series of workouts in a gym, no music, no outside contact. It was great. This year I wanted to do something more mentally challenging and use it to raise money for an organisation. (Mates4Mates)

This challenge I had to go 24 hours without sight, completing as many reps and metres as possible across three exercises. Think of it like this:

8 Rounds of

60min AMRAP Assault Bike
60min AMRAP Air Runner
60min AMRAP Burpees
Blindfolded the whole time.

Is this the craziest thing you've ever done?

By far the craziest... I have always been one to push boundaries and limitations on what my body can do, but this was the biggest by far.

How did your wife feel about it all?

Not worried at all. I’m lucky enough that she has more belief in my abilities then I do sometimes. She supports me 100%. I was both excited and scared. I kept fluctuating between 'keen as hell' to 'what have I gotten myself into'.

What was your first hour like?

The first hour was pretty chilled, to be honest. I knew I had to just relax and get comfortable fast with my surroundings. So I focused on my nasal breathing techniques to be as calm as possible.

Did you feel like calling it off at any point?

There was a dark moment about 10 hours in where I didn’t think I was going to make it. My body started getting that grinding feeling of pain, but I knew I just had to push through.

Did you reach your goals?

Yep, I raised $5600 which was great.

What's next for Mic Stuart and where can we find you!?

I have Spartan 50km Ultra Beast early November in Victorian Hinterlands. Then resting and preparing for next year. Current events on focus are:

And as for my next fundraiser event, I want to run from Brisbane City Hall to Tenterfield 250km in order to raise funds the farmers affected by the recent fires and drought.

You can follow me or reach out to me at
Instagram: @mick_stuart_coach
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveLifeUncaged/
or at Club Bunker in Brisbane, Newstead.

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Gym and Fitness happily supplied an Assault Air Runner for Mick to use during this challenge and for the weeks leading up to it.

Here at Gym and Fitness, we love being able to help people live longer, healthier and happier lives. Which is why we offer sponsorship to community groups, charities, team and individuals in endeavours big and small.