Ex SBS soldier and double world record holder Dean Stott shares an exclusive with TOPP.

Dean was one of the first army soldiers to make it through the gruelling, six-month Special Forces selection process to join the Special Boat Service (SBS). The next stage of his military career took him to some of the world’s toughest and most unwelcoming places – hostile environments in which his life and the lives of others were constantly under threat. This real-world experience, in tandem with his elite Special Forces training, is what enables Dean to do things that terrify normal people. Today, he continues to live by the Special Forces ethos: The Unrelenting Pursuit of Excellence.In 2016 Dean began training for the biggest challenge of his life. His plan was to cycle the entire 14,000-mile length of the Pan-American Highway (PAH), the longest motorable road in the world. There was just one problem. Despite his long military career and proficiency with a huge range of vehicles and weaponry, he had never cycled more than a few miles. But Dean believes in the ability to adapt to new challenges; in having the confidence to overcome the insurmountable. Together with his wife Alana, he prepared to do more than just complete the ride. He was going to do it faster than anyone had ever done it before. He passed through 14 countries on his expedition, cycling for an average of 10 hours per day. He experienced extreme terrain from the Atacama Desert to the mountains of Alaska. He even rode through a tornado. In the final stretch, he rode for 17 hours and he covered 340 miles on his longest stint.