Q: How did you prepare yourself physically for that difficult coal-shoveling job on board the ship?

A: "Thanks to endless hours of training in the weight room, and countless squat kick combinations in martial arts, my legs and stamina were in great condition."

Q: Do you believe in mind over matter? I mean at what point does your mental drive take over the physical? I cannot believe you survived that hurricane storm at sea.

A: "It is a two-part question. Physically you hit the wall no matter what sport you are engaged in. It depends how badly you want to achieve something. Look at athletes in marathons. They push themselves mentally, blocking out fatigue and physical limitations. The storm was another matter. It seems that when you are in a desperate life and death situation, you draw on a combined force of physical mental and spiritual. I would never have made it if any of those three were missing (see chapters 22-23)."

Q: You mention that you had done feats of strength. Can you elaborate on that?

A: "I was a club champion in pull-ups, dips and push-ups. I did one thousand push-ups in 52 minutes. A year later I appeared in Boston on the NBC local Prime Time Show, performing feats of strength: pull-ups with 50 lbs around my waist, parallel dips with 100 lbs and push-ups with 200 lbs on my back."