No Retreat, No Surrender

By: Oscar Chalupsky, Graham Spence

Narrated by: Malcolm Gooding

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

Few athletes hold a record comparable to that of Oscar Chalupsky. He made history at the age of fifteen as the first person to win both the Junior and Senior Ironman titles on the same day at the South African National Lifesaving Championships, he was the country’s spokesman at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and he is a multiple-times global surfski champion, having won the internationally famous Molokai to Oahu World Surfski Marathon championships in Hawaii a record twelve times—his most recent victory being at the age of forty-nine.

Then, in 2019, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable bone marrow cancer and told he had six months to live. But as with everything else Oscar does, he is determined to emerge victorious. He continues to paddle kayaks, play golf, and with a combination of medical treatment, exercise, iron determination and unconquerable optimism, he has defied every doctor’s prediction to date. How does he do it?

In this audiobook, Oscar relives some of his most exhilarating and nail-biting races, and shares the lessons he has learnt from winning on the international surf lifesaving, kayak and surfski circuits as well as running several successful businesses. The final chapters recount his courageous battle against cancer, the vital support of his family and friends, and his refusal to let the deadly disease dictate his life.

No Retreat, No Surrender is an uplifting account of grit, perseverance, talent and attitude, vividly capturing the determined mindset of an inspirational sporting legend.

Campaigning for Cancer NPC is a registered non-profit organisation in South Africa with charity no. 096-145-NPO. Five percent of the royalties * received by the author from this audiobook will be made available to Campaigning for Cancer, which helps to facilitate solutions with regard to cancer prevention and treatment and represents patients with regard to legislation, healthcare costs and healthcare delivery.

*Proceeds described means cash-price or cash-equivalent price less sales taxes.

©2022 LAPA Publishers (P)2022 LAPA Publishers

A great listen

All South Africans who participated in Surf Lifesaving or Canoeing will thoroughly enjoy this audio book

Inspiring

very inspiring life story about one of the best surfski racers EVER. I have to listen to it again so i can retain it all.

Exhilarating Tale

Oscar’s memoir is an inspiring story of resilience and perseverance. He is without doubt one of the greatest athletes of all time. His mental strength like many of those in the pantheon of sporting greatness is what sets him apart. This culminated in his Molokai World Championship at the age of 49. This is a must listen and moves at a blistering pace from one international event to another. I highly recommend it.

The grit. The fight. The incredible feats.

This didn’t and doesn’t only ring true with my fight, but listening to the insta clear overcome and the grit and strength makes this inspirational. Loved every minute of this book.
Thank you, Oscar.

It’s a very inspiring book

I can highly recommend you listen to it, especially if you are into SurfSki or any kind of water sports. Go check his website. There’s lots off tips and tricks.

Amazing guy!

Loved hearing the story in the ‘voice’ of someone I know peripherally and have watched tons of videos of and especially hearing his own real voice at the end of each chapter. Nice to have a similarly-accented narrator. But the recording seemed choppy, like some paragraphs had been performed on a different day with different audio settings and plunked in to place. Also didn’t need to have explained what “lessons learned” are after the first time. I doubt someone is listening out of order, one definition should suffice. Overall very pleasant though!

Beyond Inspirational - Life Changing

After hearing a radio interview with you, seemingly by chance I decided to listen to this book. Little did I know how life changing it would be. So much of your story resonates with as I embark on my own cancer journey. I was deeply touched when I reached out to you and to my surprise I received numerous replies. You have inspired me, probably more than you’ll ever know to fight this disease (again). Thank you switching on the light at the end of the tunnel.

Absolute must read for all

I remember sitting at a mutual friends beach cottage when I was younger. Oscar said proudly “I’ve never had a headache”. At the time I laughed but thought, “it’s Oscar, anything’s possible”.

It’s been about 15 years since then and I still remember that moment vividly. It’s also taken that amount of time to understand how the mind can contribute both positively and negatively to all aspects of life, no matter how big or small.

Oscar - you continue to amaze me.

Great read!!

Fairly interesting

Too much talking about each and every race which all really sound the same. Narrator gave the impression of arrogance on behalf of the author