Built Not Born Podcast: Mike Thomas — Swimming into the Fire (Episode #17)
Mike Thomas is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a 7x All-American swimmer and a member of Cal Berkeley’s 2019 NCAA National Championship Swim Team.
Mike attended Hatboro Horsham High School outside of Philadelphia, where he broke the National 100m Backstroke record during his junior year and was one of the top swim recruits in the nation coming out of high school.
After an impressive 4 year swim career at Cal Berkeley, where he also competed at the Olympic trials, Mike Thomas traded diving into the swimming pool for jumping into wild fires.
Mike began training to become a wild land firefighter for Cal Fire and soon found himself on the front lines battling some of the largest wildfires in California State history.
Mike and I discuss what it’s like to be on the front lines of historic wildfires, his training to become a Swift-water and flood rescue technician and his current job of paramedic.
Mike and I also get into what he calls the toughest challenge he ever faced, the untimely death of his dad who was diagnosed and battled with leukemia during his junior year at Berkeley.
At 24 years old, Mike is the youngest guest we’ve had on the podcast and one of the most impressive. You can’t help but be impressed and motivated after you speak with him. It’s remarkable how he tackles the obstacles life throws at him and the tenacity and focus he attacks the goals he places in front of him.
Thank you for listening.
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Enjoy my conversation with Mike Thomas, 7x All American, member of Cal Berkley’s 2019 National Championship Swim Team, Wild Land Fire Fighter and Paramedic.
“Life is Built, Not Born.”
Joe Ciccarone
