#501 Duarte Mendes Marine, Firefighter, World Champion

 In this episode I sit down with Portuguese firefighter and world champion firefighter athlete Duarte Mendes to discover the man behind the medals. We talk about growing up in the small Portuguese town of Avis, the values and work ethic his family gave him, his four years serving in the Portuguese Marines, lifeguarding and the journey that eventually led him into a career with the Lisbon Fire Brigade. Duarte gives us a fascinating insight into professional firefighting in Portugal, including 24-hour shifts, specialist diving operations and the demands of serving one of Europe’s historic capital cities, before we get into nearly a decade of firefighter competition, becoming a world champion, winning internationally, how his training and recovery have evolved and the sacrifice required to compete at the highest level while remaining an operational firefighter. But perhaps most importantly, we talk about family, purpose, the possibility of eventually stepping away from competition and why becoming a good person matters far more to Duarte than any medal he could ever win. Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HEREPodcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HERE Please check out our Partners supporting this episode areWilliam Wood Watches - Discount code FFPODCAST gives the user 10% off full range on websitePBI high-performance fabrics GORE-TEX Professional ClothingMSA The Safety CompanyJAFCOSend us Fan MailSupport the show***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew