Bruckner Chase

ABOUT
At the age of 16 I found myself with a host father during a one-year exchange program who invited me to join him for part of the Big M Melbourne Marathon.  Probably 5 hours later I crossed the finish line of an event that I thought was only the domain for others.  My life since that moment has been about discovering my own potential, blowing away my perceived endurance limits and then using those experience to help others discover their own potential.  What we do IN the ocean makes us athletes.  What we do FOR the oceans and FOR our communities makes us watermen and waterwomen. 

FAVORITE PRODUCT
Skin Slick – As a surf life saving and ocean athlete if the salt water does not get you the sand and sun will.  From open water swimming to charging out on a surf ski or race board I can’t have stuff on my hands but also don’t need chaffing and rubbing to compromise a day or racing, guarding or training.  Skin Slick goes only where I need it, will never melt into my bag, is easy to reapply and stands up through the harshest ocean conditions.

How many pets do you have?
2

How many surf boards do you have? 

16

How many years have you been competing?
38

What temp is your favorite temperature?
58 

Proudest moment:
Winning the Pennock Island 8.4 Mile Swim in Alaska in a course record with my wife as my kayaker

 

 Favorite place to vacation and shy: 
Santa Cruz, CA – Monterey Bay and Nisene Marks

 
Do you prefer flip flops or shoes?:
Flip Flops

Earliest memory 
Ironic for someone who is known around the world as “The Swimmer.”  At the age of probably 4 or 5 I fell into a lake off a dock and was drowning.  My father jumped in fully clothed, held me and brought me back to the dock.


Greatest Inspiration 
Col Stewart Evans when being interviewed in 1967 on the beach of Bolinas, CA after becoming the first person to swim from the Farallon Islands to the mainland was asked, “ Did you ever thinking about quitting?”  His humble answer with absolutely no bravado from someone who fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, “Yes, Yes I did.”

Favorite place to vacation and why 
Santa Cruz, CA – One of the most ideal places I have ever called home.  From the mountains to the sea to the community that keeps Santa Cruz weird, this is the place I always go with Michelle to reconnect and recharge.  Monterey Bay launched my career in this ocean focused world, and these waters are still the most humbling and empowering that I know.