Who is Mike McCastle?

Mike McCastle, U.S. Navy veteran and founder of Twelve Labors Project, is an expert in mental strength development and peak performance.
As a world record-setting athlete and internationally acclaimed performance coach, McCastle redefines the limits of human potential while helping others do the same.
Driven by a deep sense of purpose, McCastle enlists years of acquired knowledge, experience and training on a mission to complete 12 seemingly impossible feats of human strength and endurance.
Known for his unorthodox, innovative and highly effective training methodology, McCastle coaches individuals and teams towards achieving their most ambitious goals.
Bringing his inspiring story, practical lessons and ‘no excuse’ mindset to every engagement, McCastle has established himself as a highly sought after motivational speaker.

efforts featured in

12 Labors Project

Hardship
Reveals
Purpose.

Heracles, known for completing 12 seemingly impossible “Labors”, is the greatest hero in Greek Mythology. His attempts to find purpose in life by overcoming great obstacles gave rise to lessons that apply today.
Heracles possessed the ability to consistently persist in the face of adversity—a defining trait we all should emulate. Despite being stricken with great hardship and tragedy in life, with each labor Heracles made the world a better place and inspired others to do the same.
Hardship reveals purpose. By overcoming our fears and greatest challenges, we become the heroes of our own stories. **The journey of Heracles is the journey of every human being on the planet.**
Mike McCastle‘s 12 Labors Project is driven by a commitment to completing 12 seemingly impossible physical feats that redefine the limits of human potential and inspire others to elevate beyond their own fears, adversity and imagination—all in service of a greater cause.

Herculean Tasks

Mike’s commitment to completing 12 seemingly impossible feats of strength & endurance is driven by deep purpose, a passion for fitness and service to others.

Red Bulletin Magazine

““Mike McCastle’s record-breaking feats, inspired by the 12 Labors of Hercules, are mindboggling journeys to the outer limits of mental strength.””

— Maureen O'Hagan

The 12 Labors of Mike McCastle

Over the past few years, McCastle has completed 5,804 pull-ups in a single day, pulled a 5,000-pound truck across the Mojave Desert, and climbed a rope the equivalent height of Mount Everest. How on earth has this Navy SEAL dropout accomplished some of the craziest physical feats in recent memory?" - Julian Smith

Outside Magazine

World Pull-up Record

Performing 5,804 pull-ups within 24 hours while wearing a 30 lb. pack to honor wounded veterans solidified two things for McCastle: Failure isn’t final and nothing is impossible with the right mindset.

Navy Times

22 Mile Truck Pull

Death Valley is the hottest place on the planet. McCastle tested his mastery of mind and environment to help address a tragic statistic plaguing the U.S. veteran ranks.

Navy Times

13 Mile Tire Flip

Less than 24 hours after the death of his father, McCastle dug deep within himself and found the will to flip a 250-lb tire for 13 miles in service to a greater purpose.

Men's Health Magazine

World Record Ice Immersion

Marcus Aurelius said, “The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.”
In a charitable effort to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder his father lived with, McCastle embodied the Roman emperor-philosopher’s words in a chilling feat of mental strength and willpower.

New York Post

Mount Everest Rope Climb

In a monumental effort to honor his late father, McCastle climbed a rope the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest in under 27 hours.

Whidbey News Times

training Colin O’Brady

Mike trained world renowned explorer, Colin O’Brady, for two historic firsts: A solo, unsupported, unassisted crossing of Antarctica and a man-powered row across the Drake Passage. A detailed account of his Antarctic crossing and the role McCastle played in his physical preparation can be found in the New York Times best-selling memoir, The Impossible First.

Colin O’Brady shares details of his training with Mike in preparation for his multiple world record-setting Arctic row across the Drake Passage on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.