 Nims, how are you brother? I'm good Chris, how are you doing? Yes, wonderful. As I was saying before, one day we can meet in Nepal and do some climbing and we won't have to speak over Zoom but you know. Hey, hey, well we're adapting and hopefully next year my man, this is positive, I'm sure. Yes, I want to stand on the top of Mount Everest with you. Hey, we're going to make it happen, buddy, we're going to make it happen. Yeah, it's Chomalunga and also Sagarmata as well, so yeah. Yes, I remember in Westerners, they ruin everything. No, it's okay, it's all right, you know. There are some of the words in English that I cannot pronounce as well, so it's all right. Well, let me just start by saying, I've just read your book, just finished it 10 minutes ago. Oh, I can't be speechless because I have to say something. What I would say is what an amazing read written by an amazing man, it was just absolutely great. I'm not just saying this, I read lots of books, here is some of my mountain books. Jesus, oh my god. Yes, I love to live vicariously through other people's adventures when I'm not doing my own adventures, right? I just, I think it's the best way to live. Your whole story from beginning to now, obviously it's not the end and it's just everything I try and teach my young people that watch the podcast, you know, dream big, believe in yourself, don't listen to the naysayers because that's almost everybody these days, right? Yeah. And smash your goals and once you start smashing them, you don't stop until you've completed such a well written book, so exciting. They say page turner and you know, that's an easy word to say, but it really was just, you know, you cannot put this book down, folks, please believe me. Sorry, I'm talking a lot, but it's, I've got a lot to say that your character is just such a shining example, Nim, such a good representation of the British forces, especially our elite forces, such a credibility to Nepal and the Gurkhas. And as I always say, it's better, better to die than be a coward. Yeah, thank you, Chris. You know, wow. So it's a really, you know, humbling, you know, I would say acknowledgement and comments from you, buddy. And yeah. And then, as you know, Christian, everything what I do in life, I did 100%. And believe it or not, you know, writing this book was definitely one of the hardest thing I have ever done. I'm not sure if I'm going to write another book, if I'm honest, because you know, when you write something, it becomes black and white. Then it becomes, you know, it's a concrete. And, you know, to write this amount of enormous book from, you know, up to this stage. And it's kind of, you know, like, I wouldn't say my, you know, it's my autobiography, but it's almost that. So covering from, you know, how I grew up, you know, in a very, you know, a small humbling background with almost nothing, you know, to joining into the garricas, you know, filling in a first attempt and making it happen, obviously. And then even going into these special forces and, you know, and then serving, you know, with the forces for 10 years and then resigning everything when, you know, I had better offer from, you know, like even our friends from SAS and all that and just to lead completely what I had and to go, you know, and do different, you know, completely different thing. Yeah. And I just wanted to do a justice, you know, to the story. And every time when I was like, when I felt like I was going to die on the mountain, I was like, you know, not today, because I didn't want anybody to tell my story, because that would never be fair. And, you know, as I keep saying, there are so many layers that I wanted to represent from this book and wanted to, you know, bring the justice to so many inequality and all that has been in the past and also like to inspire the younger generation about, you know, and how much you can push and what you can achieve if you truly believe in yourself and if you put your heart, mind and soul into it. So it was really hard. Chris, I must say, you know, for the last, you know, almost 10 months, I've been working really hard with, you know, obviously Matt, who helped me to write this book. And it's been nonstop. And yeah, I'm glad it's out. And I'm really excited rather than being nervous, you know, when the something, you know, of the significance comes out, you know, generally people are nervous as well. Because you don't know, but you know, I'm very confident because I get 100% and I couldn't give it any more. And everything what we know, what I have written on the book is a statement, you know, everything is backed up by evidence. No one can argue that. So it's really like down to earth, black and white, honest and fair, you know, kind of, you know, story. Yes, and it comes across that way. I think I'm on my sixth book now. It's the one I'm finishing now is my third memoir. And when you write your first one, yeah, you're, it's like having a baby. You put everything in, you're honest, and you're opening yourself up. But here's the thing. You're not writing for the naysayers that always just, they're just going to be negative because they're not happy in their lives. Right, you're writing for the people whose lives you're going to change. Right. And they always say you only need 1000 people that believe in you to make a correct, you know, to keep your career going. And that's, you're not, you're not going to hit you're not going to hit with everyone. And after like your third book, you just, you don't even look at the reviews anymore, because it doesn't, you know, you're going to get people that just, oh, he's spelt this wrong, or, you know, he said this, and, and it's just the way, it's the way life with the keyboard has become, but you put your money where your mouth is, you did what you set out to do. Your book is an honest account of that. And, and like all good memoirs, you've talked about your, your human side. I don't want to say weakness because, you know, it's not the right word, but your human side and people are going to love that. Thank you. Thank you, Betty. Yeah, I'm afraid, you know, like it was such a, with one book to, to write such a huge story. And, you know, we're running out of force and we had to condense, you know, some of the, of the, you know, part of the story. But I think it's very punchy and it will take you to the summit and, you know, bring it down, deep into the ocean. And everything is a roller coaster because my whole life was a roller coaster. It's written so well. I love the way you didn't go too much detail on every piece, because it would have just become da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah. You know, you're, you're, you're obviously a good editor, I'm assuming, because that's a real, real skill. It takes many years to learn that in itself. Also, because what I didn't want to write is just the book about the mountain. You know, if people want to read the, the, let's say, for example, just on Everest, you know, like standing at 1,848 meters and all that, then there's Wikipedia, there's like hundreds of books. What I wanted to write about is about my experience, you know, of course the challenges and how people can relate that challenge in their own life and how can they achieve their new possible. You know, every day, of course, there will be like, there is a problem in life. We all have problems and there will be a problem when you climb these big mountains, but every problem has a solutions. You know, and then I think once people take that kind of an approach and all that, and I hope, you know, a lot of people will get of it, at least a few stuff from this book. I love the way as well. It's one of the only mountain memoirs. There is another, there's one more here, which is quite, this is quite a sad book by Maria Coffey, who lost her husband on that or her boyfriend on the mountains. And that is the only other book I read that talks about all the partying that goes on. And for our friends at home, this man is drinking all night and then climbing an 8,000 peak, literally running up it the next day. And I really love that. I just loved it. I loved the way you just smashed it. Yeah, the biggest thing is like, you know, of course, I'm not like, you know, promoting, you know, all about, you know, like, it's just about being happy, a bit of, you know, celebration, you know, like just to give an example, like, you know, I opened the route for everybody else on K2 with my team, got back down, you know, no sleep at all. You know, obviously, it was a massive celebration because, you know, people were so happy and thankful for me and my team because we opened the route for everybody else. And I had even changed my plan for the people out there because I wanted to go and climb road peak first. But when I found out the expectation from people and the hope from the people was, I would open the route for K2. I just didn't want to let the hope down because, you know, hope is such a big word. And I keep saying in the book that hope is a God. So, yeah, I changed my plan, did all this stuff in a massive celebration in the base camp. I probably have, like, in a three hours rest in a whole of, like, I would say three days plus. And I went to the summit of road peak, but it was epic, you know, where our oxygen ran out, you know, we were kind of lost on the mountains. And it's great to be, well, as I keep saying, you know, there were so many points where, you know, I thought I was going to die. And obviously, I'm not in a date. I'm alive and happy to be covering those story and details and how I boxed this problem as I obviously, you know, go in and face these challenges. So I'm sure the readers would find that quite interesting. Nims, you stopped to rescue people in the death zone when the rest of their team had left them. And I don't say that as a bad thing. I haven't been up there, but I can fully appreciate its life and death. And you're exhausted. And it's someone struggling for the for the average, averagely good climber, you've got to save your life and get down. But you actually stopped and you're on the radio, you're calling to bait to the camps below to can you get more oxygen up to us? And, and you saved lives and you even carried one gentleman down. He was so ill that he died as you were carrying him down it off. Yeah. And as you know, and I came from, you know, the Gherka, you know, the British Gherka background and you guess, first of course, this background, you know, we have never left anyone behind in the war. And I wasn't certainly not going to do on the mountain, you know, of course. So yeah, and it's good to keep that, you know, kind of the ethos and principal values, you know, that, you know, I learned from, you know, from my life with the British forces, because, you know, I spend majority of my life with the British military, then that's who I am. And of course, I'm now taking into completely different endeavor and all that. But you know, and that's why, you know, when people say, you know, names, who are you give me a sentence, I say, okay, I'm Nim style, I'm born in Nepal, but I was raised in, in the British military. Well, then I became pretty much, can I say badass on the big mountains, you know, yeah, don't take that too seriously. But yeah, I'm trying to be, I'm trying to be. Yeah, it's a dream, isn't it? Many young, young men in Nepal is to join the Gherka, because it's historic. I only realized reading your book that there's actually three Gherka regiments in different countries. Yeah, that is my, and it's a huge selection. Like, for example, when I first went for the selection, they were like 32,000 young men, you know, trying to obviously, you know, go for the, for the recruitment, and only 320 made it. You know, no wonder why I fell on the first attempt, obviously. I wasn't expecting that, but hey, you know, like, I bought made it on the second attempt. Yeah, it's really tough challenge. And you've got to obviously, you know, quite, you know, educated as well, because they do really, you know, tough tests on English, maths and science. There's a physical test, there's a medical test in all sorts of tests. So, yeah, there was an article names I read. Oh, my gosh, we're talking about 30 years ago now. So, back when I was joined the Marines, it was an article about the recruitment process up in the Himalayas, before the modern day, where now you have, you know, recruiting stations and this. Yeah. And back then a guy would like, walk around the villages, you know, offering the opportunity to the young men, they would then turn up at some outpost in the middle of nowhere. They had to be a certain weight, they had to have all their teeth checked and all this. Oh, yeah, massively, massively. You know, you need to have like perfect, you know, line teeth and, you know, yeah, everything get checked, you know, you cannot look ugly as well, apparently. How did you pass then? Oh, my, I don't know, tell me about it. Is that, is that a big thing? Because one of the best times in my life, one of the best course I have ever done was the British Paracourse. And I did, I actually did one and a half of them because the first one I did was cancelled halfway through because of the first Gulf War. And spending time with the Gherpas was just magical. They loved to disco dance. It was just incredible. All over the floor. And they were so kind, so humble. Yeah, it was very special, but I could fully appreciate, especially now as I've travelled the whole world many, many times, that the difference in culture for a young man from the mountains to suddenly be put in the British military. And just like trying to understand the military sense of humour must be. Oh, it's massive. And imagine, Chris, like, you know, well, when I first liked doing the Gherpas, you know, obviously you think of England, as soon as you think of England, you think of, you know, Big Ben, you know, like London Eye, in the Buckingham Palace and all that. And obviously past the slicks. And I thought I was going to see that. And I landed at London Heathrow. And it was raining sideways. And we were like put into the coast. And then we drove like hours and hours. And, and next time we woke up was in Catrick. And I was like, is this really England? It's worse than Nepal. And I was meeting, obviously, it's up in North, so I went to boarding the school. So I thought, you know, my English was really good and all that amongst obviously the Nepalese community and all that. At least. So I tried to have this dialogue with this obviously in a bit of a counterpart. Jesus Christ, I had no idea what he was saying. And, and of course he was, you know, like a Scottish lad who I figured out later on, you know, down in the career. And I was like, what school did I went to? What did I learn? I can't even like, stick to this guy. So, you know, like, you know, even covering those kind of, you know, like really minor but important details of how kind of in like challenging it can be as a guy to, to fit in the guy, because as a Nepalese, then to fit within the UK, special forces. And because, you know, when you join a special forces, you cannot have any witness, you cannot be like, oh, he's a, he's a guy or you can build this and that. No, you need to have that special forces is standard. And to be able to operate and to be able to meet that criteria. And it's, it's not easy. It's not easy. Well, you know, have to work twice harder for sure. I don't think anyone's going to say that's easy. So, Nims, were you the first Gherka to join the special boat service? Oh, mate. Yeah. Yeah, mate. Made it. Made the cut, I would say. Congratulations. What, what a great accolade to have for the rest of your life. Oh, mate, thank you so much. And, you know, you know, and the reason why I joined the SPS was, and I worked with the Marines in, in Afghanistan in seven when I was serving the characters. And, you know, they were so humble. They were really, you know, one of the finest soldiers I have worked with. And, but then they were like so nice. And, you know, and kind of like Gherka ethos kind of fitted with them, rather than, you know, being, you know, full on, you know, yourself and all that. And of course, you know, you, you do have some of the regiment within the military. But of course, that all, that is also good in their perspective, but it's about recognizing who you are and where do you fit. And for me, I wanted to, to obviously, you know, go into, into SPS. And I kind of knew that, you know, there's a diving aspect of them, of the, you know, of the job as well. And I was kind of going to make it even more challenging. So, yeah. Was it difficult? Because I only learned to swim. When I, when I say swim, I mean, swim properly, because obviously to join the commandos, you've got to be able to pass the swimming test and the falling off the diving board in all your equipment, right? And I scraped through that. But I only really taught myself properly how to swim when I was 48, 47. In fact, I started at 46 and I could swim one length with a swimming pool. And then I had to stop and hold on and breathe so I wouldn't drown. Within two years, because I set my goal on triathlon, I was doing quadruple Ironman. So four, four Ironmen, like in one go. Yeah. So that's a 10, well, nine mile swim, right? But, but even still, I'm, if I stop for one split second, I'm just sinking, right? Was that difficult for you coming, coming from a landlocked country? Yeah, of course, you know, it was tough, you know, but as I say, you know, like, if you put, if you really want that, you know, there's nothing such as impossible, you know, from not knowing how to swim. And I started in a training for it. And, and then one of my training design, you know, before I went for the selection for the SPS was I used to wake up really early in the morning, two o'clock, carry, you know, like 75 pounds to, you know, like, and then do like 20 in a kilometer tab, do normal day military work. And in the evening, I'll just do like, you know, free runs. I dropped my obviously back in a bargain and all that and run back. Then I used to go for swimming, which I used to do like, and I eventually managed to do like, you know, freestyle like 100 meter, 100 lens in 25 meter length. But it was tough to get over there. But hey, you know, there's nothing in if you put your hard mind and soul, you can obviously, you know, achieve that. So yeah, but of course, you know, coming from landlocked country, you know, only I know how much, you know, dedicated and how much, you know, hours and, you know, commitment and positive minds that I need to have in order to accomplish that. So yeah. Were you okay with the diving? Because I've done, I've done a fair bit of diving. I've been very lucky I've been on an expedition to Antarctica and dived on icebergs and that kind of thing. I'm still like that with it though, you know, in a dry suit. I found it really hard, the buoyancy. Yeah, let's put it this way. If you are carrying about like, you know, 32 KZ with full weapon, you know, all, you know, max everything. And then, you know, you're assuming at night in the three kilometers, you know, in January and December at night, you must be pretty mad if you say you're super loving, but I didn't complain about it. I should say that. No complain, but yeah. Let's talk about Everest and I'm just gonna, I'm not going to apologize here to people because I know it's very cliche that if you're a tourist, you climb Everest. If you're a mountain climber, you climb the other more challenging peaks like K2, Annapurna, etc. I completely, I get that right. But me, I grew up with Chris Bonnington, one of my books here. Yeah, you know, the north face of Everest was just the biggest challenge back in the day. I've obviously watched everything I can on Discovery Channel about climbing this mountain. And yeah, it is, it's a dream of mine. I think, you know, definitely, you know, we're gonna make a dream come true. We're having a chat here. You know, I would, you know, the best thing, you know, first thing first, you just say that people call Everest is a tourist mountain and all that. I completely disagree. I had a meeting with my whole mess now, you know, the guy who climbed all the 14 peaks without supplementary oxygen, you know, back in the day, he's still legend. He's the legend. And we had a chat and he asked me, Nims, what do you think is the hardest mountain to climb in the 1000s? And I said, if you remove all the manpower, like, you know, everything, and if you have to just climb on your own, Everest will be the hardest. You cannot even get through the Kumbhaisfall. So it's not easy mountain. Everest become a bit easier because there are like a lot of, you know, like serpahs, you know, working over there, but it's still 9,000 meters very. And I know, you know, people just complain from the decks, you know, you, they have never been on the, on the death zone. It's easy to say that, but waking up, you know, like, well, even climatizing for one month, you know, where you're like, head is pounding, and every day is a struggle. And then, you know, as soon as you leave the base, come you up to climb through this dangerous, but beautiful, you know, Kumbhaisfall. And after that, then you got to climb this boat, say, well, which is like 55 degrees. And then you go to like in a camp for, and then there's another like 1000 meters. So it's not easy. And, and if people are saying that, just ask them, have you climbed it first? And if they say yes, then you can comment. But if you haven't, then don't, you know, be that person. Don't be that person, guys. You know, if you haven't been in that shoes, don't complain. All right. So to be honest, now going back into your dream, you know, yes, and obviously through years of, you know, like training and obviously developing this high altitude stuff, I have a guiding company called, you know, elite expert. And what you can do is, you know, we can definitely help you. You know, we will train you at 6000 meter first, 7000. And then we'll take you to one 8000 meter peak and then Everest. But all this can be achieved if you got like a bit of money and time can be achieved in two years. Well, in two years, you can just probably have to dedicate around four months of your life. And that can be achieved through a bespoke training and all that. So, yeah. Good. Yes, I think it's that the climbing snobbery, isn't it? Like in all sports, people resent the fact that there's people like me. I just want to climb Everest. I understand mountaineering is beautiful. It's a great sport. I get to be in the mountains and appreciate the environment and the people that you, I get all of that. But I just have a go to climb Everest. Yeah. And also, Chris, everybody has got, you know, their own strength and weakness. For example, I cannot be as good as like Sir Albert Einstein. I cannot be like him. But then, let's say, for example, if like a person like him wants to climb Everest, what's wrong with climbing Everest with a little help from somebody else who has got the experience? Because every human cannot be good at everything, you know, but it's the experience that you are learning in life. And everybody gains something from the adventure. Everybody gains something from the challenge, from the endeavor. So it's a different way of Everest, I guess. And then if you are trying to be the best mountaineering in the world, then it is different thing. But if you want to have that experience and if you are climbing for your personal challenge, if you are trying to raise, you know, money for the charity by taking your personal challenge and endeavor, of course, it's a good thing. So, you know, I'm not here to educate everybody else, but I have been in this 1000 meter peak, you know, that's my home ground. That's where I'm most alive. You know, no one can even argue that. So coming from that perspective, I can definitely have that say. So yeah. Hey, and thank you for your offer. That's good. I'm one step closer now. That's amazing. You mentioned Reinhold Messner and his partner was Peter Harbler, wasn't he? Yeah, yeah. And I met him in Meyerhofen in Austria. He's got a ski school there. So, yes. These people were legends, weren't they? They climbed Everest without oxygen when nobody thought it was possible. Yeah, exactly. So, you know, like I had a really good chat with Reinhold and he was very positive. And he was like, you know, when everybody said that in terms of mountaining, well, those people who knew how difficult it is to climb big mountains, they were like, it's not possible. It's not happened. But then when we had a chat at Nanga Purbot Basecamp, I think you see that fire in me and how much like I'm going for it. It's like, you're crazy, man. I think, you know, Nims is possible. You can do it. And he said, maybe even though if you do it in a year, it's good. I said, no, Reinhold, the mission is 14 picks, seven months. And if I pass that one day by seven months, I feel my mission is like, you're in a good military. We had a great conversation. He is a really nice person. Yes, good. Well, they say it takes one to no one. Yeah. And your approach, there's two different kind of approaches to climbing a mountain like Everest, aren't there? There's the one is you pay quite a lot of money to join one of the guiding companies. They provide your equipment. They'll do your training. Then you go up to camp one, camp two, back to camp one, maybe back to base camp. And all there's what you did your first time, which is just rock up there, hire the equipment that you haven't brought from home. Go up on your own. Did you have one Sherpa with you the first time? Yeah, I had. Go up with your Sherpa, come down once for the acclimatization and then climb the whole thing in pretty much one go. Yeah, the only thing with that is because, you know, like for me, I knew my body really well. And, you know, of course, I think I have got some sort of, even though I didn't grow up in high altitude, I grew up almost at, you know, 500 meters. And that is even, you know, less than the height of, you know, a place like Salmonie and all that. So, yeah, but somehow, but I have been trained by the best and all that. So, yeah, I am a speed climber, I'm a speed and endurance climber. So I do have a bit of, you know, those. And I'm just trying to maximize that in a potential. Yeah. Yeah, so for our friends at home, Nims has this amazing ability to almost charge, well, to charge up the mountains. And if you know anything about mountain sickness, the pulmonary edema and these horrible conditions that can affect your brain and your lungs to be avoided at all costs. And they tend to affect pretty much most climbers at one stage. Nims has the body that and the conditioning that he can kind of surpass that to a degree, obviously, we're all human. Yeah, we are human. And Chris just to say that I also had in a pulmonary edema before I suffered that massively as well. So, yeah, it's just about, you know, just to all the people who are listening, this is the biggest thing about high altitude mountaineering or any endeavor is about knowing your own body and how you maximize that. You know, for example, sometimes let me give an example, you are like, you know, hiking up to this in a high altitude. And if you just push that because you can push, you can just climb a bit extra harder, but then you don't have the knowledge and you don't know that your body well, then by keep by pushing that extra few hours and slipping at that altitude rather than stopping and assessing that couple of hours can change the whole dynamic. So if you feel like that, you should stop and then you could be only one day late. But then if you push that in a couple of hours, and then you mess that up, you're going to have pulmonary edema or cerebral edema, then you're going to have to evacuate from the mountain and and then there's no medications that going to cure this, you have to get off the altitude. So it's all about in knowing your body in depth and how you use that to the best advantage for the mission that you're doing it. And it's with every sport, I guess, mastering your body by yourself and then using that knowledge to, you know, to attack the mission, I would say. Yeah. And then sorry, Chris, and then the biggest thing here where you kind of, you know, put that as a baseline is do not compete with anybody else. If you just try to be best, and if you try to compete, you know, be better than who you are yesterday, then you are in your own momentum, you are in your own rhythm, you are in your own pace, and then you you do so much better if you take that approach. So yeah, try that guys, if you haven't already, but hey, hey. Did you, you must have saved yourself a lot of money or funding, as it's referred to, by taking that kind of guerrilla approach? No, no, no, you know, like it was really tough because it was kind of, you know, a plan that or a vision at that point or an imagination at that point where nobody believed it. So just to give you an example, three months prior I left, you know, England for Nepal. Three months, I didn't have anything, but by the time I flew from London history, I only had 5% of the funding and that's me including putting the money from my house, from remortgaging and all that. So it was a really tough challenge, but what I was really sure was as I keep climbing this mountain as the style, in a style that I have said I would climb them in a way I would climb them. I was kind of, you know, like optimistic that, you know, people will support and it will take only, you know, a million people to keep one pound and I had that vision and I didn't like, you know, let that get away and slowly as soon as I went to Annapurna, opened the route for everybody else, then obviously did the rescue and I think people started, you know, knowing about the endeavor and all that and yeah, I call this project as a people's project from every level because, you know, later on obviously the big sponsors started coming in and all that, but mostly also, you know, like it was through the crowd funding. So yeah, it was a massive endeavor in all levels. Yeah, I think if you go back in the old days to say the 60s and 70s where people were first climbing these very high peaks, back then for the people at home watching it or reading it in the newspapers because obviously as at the very early days of television, it was about king and country and this now, I think for people, it's about seeing somebody do something that they don't feel that they can do, you know, we have this, you know, this Xbox culture, we don't get out and live our dream, we sit inside playing our dream on an electronic game and when we see someone like you names, it's like wow, there's something there, do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, I think, you know, the first one what you said was I really liked it, you know, nowadays we are in this time in this era particularly, it's not about in a country and all that, it's about the people, it's about how we connect the people, how we do, you know, together to survive and then to pass the positive message across and all that, so yeah, and it was really nice to, you know, and the second point you mentioned was, you know, these days obviously, you know, a lot of our younger generation is stay at home and then they get into this like computer game and all that. Yeah, but you know, of course, you know, like the classic example is there's a massive mountain, there's like great climbing outside and people still go to Indoor Wall because they don't want to be wet or etc, so yeah, it's okay, but you know, everybody has got their own choice and all that and I'm not here to say what we used to be doing and all that, but it's about, you know, thinking from the broader perspective and you know, because the outdoor, the adventure, it gives you something that nothing can give you, it's an amazing playground, you learn so much just being outdoor, it's so good for your mind, for your mind, it's so good for your health, because you know, when you see the nature, nature just heals everything, so yeah. And you, I guess, one benefit of the social media generation is your Instagram picked up a lot of support, didn't it? Yeah, obviously, you know, at the start of, you know, 2019, I didn't even know how to use Instagram and all that, and yeah, it kind of started picking up and all, yeah, and it's really, you know, glad to be, you know, having that a bit of, you know, I wouldn't say influence or power because I don't think I'm at that level yet, but being able to tell my story and fight for the cause, you know, and have that voice to speak to the people, because in the end of the day, I know myself, you know, for me the biggest thing money never buys me, it doesn't. That's not my agenda. If money was my priority, guys, I would have never left in SBS when, you know, sacrificing almost a million, you know, in the dollar worth of pension, and I wouldn't have certainly rejected the offer from, you know, like, you know, our friends, you know, of the road, and all that. And then if you check out, and I'm not that kind of person, so I know for myself, I'm true, I'm all about being fairness. I'm all about being honest, and all that. So at least I have that, and then people cannot, you know, buy that from me, and I'm a pure soul. I am a true guy. So being able to be able to represent, you know, not only myself, for those people around in the world, where, you know, where I cannot be bought by money and all that, I think it's a really good power to have, buddy. You're being very humble, Nims. We should tell people that you are asked to join the SAS. I mean, come on. That's how many people get asked. Most people have to prove themselves. I know you had already done that, but that is quite some story. But, you know, I came from, I mean, it's not only about me, as I keep saying, and, you know, for me, whatever I do in military or wherever, you know, it defects the bigger group. I came from the garrick. The garrick as I'm known for, you know, being bravest, being loyal, you know, and, you know, I, it wasn't only about me, Chris, you know, and I'm not that kind of in a person. So I have to think for the bigger picture and all that. So, yeah, if it doesn't, you know, even it's, even though we all are, we all operate under the umbrella of, you know, Her Majesty the Queen, you know, British Armed Forces, but it's still, you know, under that, there's a layer. And, you know, if I can have that in my personal integrity, I don't think, you know, I can be talking about bigger things. So, yeah. I'm guessing you still have your kukeri. Like, is that, that's with you for life, right? Yeah, man. I have it. I got, you know, like, couple here. I have it. But you get, you get, you know, you get one given when you're passed out with the garrick as and all that. So, and yeah, I watched, there's a great documentary on YouTube for anyone that I suggest everyone watches it. It's about the guy in I'm guessing Kathmandu. He's, he makes the kukeries. Yeah. And they're, they're all made individually. It's not like in a factory or something. They're all handmade. Yeah, I think guys, take that link if you, you know, yeah, yeah. Are they, are they a good knife? Awesome. They're amazing knife, you know, and then that's why, you know, we have a massive history with kukeri and all that. And yeah, it is, you know, it can be used for so many purpose, obviously. Yeah. Yes. Enough said about that. Because we don't want to go into detail. Yes. Yes. Should we say, should we mention some of your sponsors, Nims? Because I know that is such a difficult thing to raise the money. Yeah. I know what it's like because I approach Richard Branson just like you did. I did one better than you. He actually wrote back to me. Really? Yeah. Oh my God. How come I didn't even get the respawn and it was like proper hand written and it was like in a sealed as well, properly. So, because I had loads of sponsors and all. So I'm just going to like quickly go, go and obviously, you know, you know, tell them all because, you know, it's not right to give, you know, one credits and not to others. So yeah, you know, like so many like any sponsors obviously came into this one and people supported, you know, the partners were like Bremon, you know, Celso, Osprey, you know, DZ2L, and Ann Middleton, who's a great friend. And then Tuvi Ferme, you know, he's one of the sponsors who just, you know, who didn't ask for anything else. He just, you know, sponsored the money and he's like, yeah, brother, you know, there you go. I really want you to do well and I really want you to smash this project. I don't want you to do anything Instagram posts. I didn't want you to say anything. So I think that's what true sponsorship is. So yeah. And so I select so. But yeah, I got like, you know, really good other sponsors from, you know, Summit Oxygen, you know, Elite Timon and Adventures. And there were so many like kid as well, where I got from Inmarsat, you know, that's where I was, you know, using the internet and all. We got Hamai still through that, the gear that I use, you know, designed by, you know, our special forces, brother, branding science, the list goes on, you know, yeah. And then, you know, a lot of also funding came from the crowdfunding from the normal people. So yeah, massive thanks to everybody else, you know, it's not the size of money you give guys, it's about, you know, what you felt that you could afford to give and you gave it from your heart. So thank you. Yes. Yes, really well done, everybody. Was it hard? Your dream is coming true. You're clearly going to nail these peaks in seven months. But of course, you couldn't get permission for Shishapangma. Yeah. That was in China. And that was obviously a big political, you know, this is where politics comes in, right? Yeah. I know you're a man that takes one day at a time. But that must have played on your mind a bit. Oh, must have been. I knew that my first application was rejected when I was on K2 before opening the lines for everybody else, you know. But, you know, I had, you know, problems like that, you know, more than, you know, like I would say, you know, hundreds of problems like that, you know, so I kind of rebox it, you know. But, you know, when I came to that, it stays, you know, I also have loads of connections in Nepal, loads of friends. And, you know, a lot of people, you know, kind of wanted it from their heart as well. And a lot of, you know, like friends from all over the world, you know, when I said I almost gave up, they also wrote a letter to, you know, the Chinese authorities. And that's when it really becomes people's project, because everybody wanted me to completed that. So yeah, it was really humbling to see, you know, people from all over the world, you know, kind of, you know, like wanting, you know, to see this completed. So it was really good. Yeah. I think we should mention, and you mentioned this in your book, Nims, that because you were a Nepalese climber, you didn't get the focus. And I know you don't want the attention. I really get that. But the funding that would have come with the media would have been handy, right? Would have taken the pressure off. You are absolutely right, buddy. And then there's no lying in that, because it is a bitter truth. It is, you know, and for a fact, if I was in any western, you know, climber or if it was in European and all that, it was even the sad to say, one of the sponsors who could support it means like Nims, you didn't get any sponsorship because, you know, are you because you are brown? But I was like, yeah, that is a brutal honesty. But I didn't, I didn't let that, you know, you know, get into me. And but he was honest. And I don't know, man. But for sure, if it was done by any other people, you don't have been, you know, bigger than how it is. And of course, that would help for the sponsorship and all that. But hey, it's all right. We always think positive. At least, you know, we get it done. You're always done. We're good. You know, always get 100%. And it's still positive. So yeah. So congratulations on your MBE. I bet when you were a child in Nepal, you never expected that one. No, nobody. Yeah, thank you. You're welcome. And that was that was for the rescue I did in 2016. And, you know, saving the Gherka expedition from failure in 2017. I still need to go and pick it up, buddy. Yes, you're a natural decision maker and leader, aren't you? When you're when you're on in situations like on the mountain, a lot of leaders just fall apart. They don't have that. The thing in their heart, do they, you know, they and when people get scared, they go to the rulebook. Right? You know, yeah, but also like the way of, you know, my leading was completely different. You know, if you put the interest of your team members, you know, into your heart as well, that's when you become successful. And then being as a leader, you also should be able to lead from the front, you know, when there's a time and you should be able to know when to step back exactly. And it's all about the bigger picture, you know, so like just to give you an example, all my team members who climb normally, if people are climbing Everest, they would take someone who has climbed Everest before, let's say K2, someone who has climbed before because he knows the route and all that, but I didn't do that. I kind of put my team members into a completely different new mountain. So it was something for them as well. Yes, we didn't need the route, but, you know, I was pretty much content with the ability of making it to the summit. But when there's like, you know, the interest of, you know, the other team members as well in your heart, then, you know, I think you become successful. Yes. Yeah. And it's actually come from the heart. And then some leaders, you know, they fake it. And then I had like, I learned so much, you know, throughout my whole career and all that, you know, there will be like some leaders who just want to be leader and they are like true leaders and all that. So, yeah, it's a, you know, and then as I keep saying, if you really, you know, put the interest of your men, you know, they're working with, you know, hard as well, then you achieve the bigger goals. And that's for any companies or anything else. And if you're the owner, CEO, if you just have the only interest for yourself, you know, you're not going to grow massively because everything is a team there. You made a lot of people's dreams come true, Nims. And, you know, they will be forever grateful to your leadership. Thanks. Thanks, Chris. And there's one part in your book that I really resonated with me. Which one? It's when you're on an expedition and you want it to work more than everybody else or you want it so bad. And it's the bit where you said you're always the first to wake up and in some days you just wish somebody else would wake up first. Yeah, as a team as well. And sometimes, you know, like, of course, that was my project. That was my reason and idea. My team members, they came to support and all that. But then everybody doesn't necessarily have the same drive and all that. And it's so good to, you know, wake up at one o'clock when you're sleeping, you know, here at the sea level and you're in a comfortable home. But then when it's like minus 45, minus 50, you know, waking up with, you know, in that sleeping bag where the cold layer of snow is touching your face and all that, then it takes a half an hour to put the boot. And at some point I was just expecting, you know, come on, guys, at least somebody like wake me up, you know, at this stage of the project. You know, we've been so far now, you know, and I was just like making the joke out of them like, come on, lads, you know, please, please, I always so happy if somebody put an alarm before I just say, hey, names, come on, let's go. But, you know, unfortunately, I have to be only, you know, always that person to do that. But hey, hey, it's all right, you know, I have the, you know, the kind of special forces training about being the discipline and all that. Whereas, you know, my team members, you know, not necessarily they came from that background. So yeah. And how is it when you go back to Nepal now? I'm thinking about Sherpa Tenzing. He, I mean, he was such a national hero, wasn't he? And it affected him quite a lot. Yeah, it's good, I think. And to be honest, I think I just got awarded a Presidential, President's Medal as well in Nepal. But I think it's a different way, but not necessarily as a good or bad. But, you know, I think when I was no one, when I had no money and all that, you know, nobody kind of came to help. But then now obviously, you know, I can, I can go and stay free in five-star hotel and I can go and do all that. And I have that luxury. It's good to have that. But I was like, I wish I had that when I was, you know, when I was no one. But, you know, unfortunately, you know, you have to own your respect as well, you know. So, yeah, it's like egg or chicken. But hey, I'm happy. I'm always happy to, you know, go back over there. You know, it was, you know, of course, that's where I was born. My dad is still in Nepal. And obviously my brother, Jude, and his family. So, and a lot of my team, well, all my team members are there. So it's a family. Good. And what's your next project? You're going to be sick of people asking you this. Oh, because, you know, I cannot, you know, announce that. It's a very secret, buddy. Yeah. But it's going to be something massive and equal to be in all that. So, yeah, it's not, it's not celebrity big brother, is it? I think I might win that. I think you'd win that hands down. If there's one thing the British public like, it's a humble, nice person. And this is my guest today, folks. Yeah, well, but also, like, if you're two, it's a soul, man, you know, people will be like through the board. So you just have to, like, bring your different character. But I have got different characters, you know, learn from me, these personal forces, you know, when you get to disguise and all that. So it's okay. Are you going to bring a dog there? Sorry. No, it's okay. Are you going to announce your project soon? Or is it just a way? Yeah, it depends, buddy. You know, you see, you know, I have the purpose and I in everything what I do in bigger in my life, I need a purpose. I need a big purpose to do these bigger goals. I have a purpose now. So yeah, let's wait and see. Yes. Good. So finally, Nims, what was it like? The last peak was Shishipangma, right? Yes. What was it like to summit? What was your feeling? I think, you know, when I was the most, I still remember, you know, like my happiest moment was never on the summit, you know, like for me, in relation to Shishipangma, I was going from camp two and I knew I was, I knew it was given. We completely opened the new route there as well. But I know, in the process of that, I just had like no snow tears coming through my eyes. And but the most happiest part was when I finished that project, you know, my mom came to pick me up. And when we arrived in Kathmandu, there was a massive, you know, welcome home program. I had never seen like this, buddy. Like, there was so much media and it was like, I only see that, you know, when like David Beckham's arriving in Kathmandu, and every like, you know, newspaper, like those, you know, like, you know, reporters were fighting to have an interview and all that. So I was like, Oh my God. And there was a band and then my mom saw that. And obviously, my mom had doubted my project before and all that. But then when she saw everything and all that, she was just really happy. And I was I was just happy to see her happy, mate. So that's the highlight of the trip. And how was your mom's health now? Because she was having operations. And you obviously had that worry in your mind when you're tackling these mountains. Yeah, man. Unfortunately, I lost her in February. So she's no more with us. Oh, I didn't know that. So yeah, are you okay? I'm okay, buddy. I'm okay. Hey, well, you're a survivor. That's that's for sure. Now, the last thing I want to ask you, Nims, is what what is your message for for the young people out there? What what what can we be saying to them? Well, believe in yourself. Believe in your vision. Not let anybody tell you that you cannot do things that you are impossible because only you know yourself better. No one can make that decision for you. So if you believe in something, put your heart, your mind and your soul dedication, work hard into it, and you will be successful. Brilliant. What a great point to end the podcast. Nims, just just stay on the line so I can say a proper goodbye to you afterwards. But thank you so much on behalf of everybody on behalf of the brotherhood on behalf of people that are struggling and need a need a visionary. And on behalf of the bought the t-shirt podcast, thank you so much. I hope you'll come back and tell us how the book launch is going and how how your next adventure is going to pan out. And to everybody at home, massive love to you all. I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have. If you could like and subscribe, that's going to help. And we'll see you next time. All right, buddy. See you all and thank you so much for listening to this guys. You have a great day. Nims Guy, thank you. Hello, friend. I hope this finds you well. My name's Chris Thrall. I'm a former Royal Marine's commando and I fought my way back from chronic trauma and addiction to live, work and travel in 80 countries across all seven continents, achieving all of my dreams and goals along the way. Now I pass my simple system on to other people, but I can only help you if you like and subscribe. So please do so because you get one life and if you live it right, one is enough.