World Champion Nick Parkes “I Was Dead for 20 Minutes!" - The Power of CPR to Save Lives (Including YOURS!)

1. Short Summary

In this extraordinary episode, World Champion open-water swimmer Nick Parkes joins Barry Eustance to tell the story that transformed his life.
During a competition, Nick suffered a cardiac arrest in the water, nearly drowned, and was clinically dead for 20 minutes.
Thanks to immediate CPR and the rapid response of an air ambulance team, he survived.
Today, he dedicates his life to raising awareness of CPR’s life-saving power and campaigning to change the stark reality that 1 in 11 people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest will die.

2. Key Themes and Takeaways
How a world champion athlete suffered cardiac arrest mid-competition.
The chain of survival: CPR, rapid response, and expert intervention.
The terrifying statistic: 1 in 11 people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest will die.
CPR is simple, fast to learn, and the only tool most bystanders will ever have.
Why hesitation kills - and how confidence saves.
What it means to be clinically dead for 20 minutes - and come back.
Nick’s mission as a Cardiac Champion, raising awareness across the UK.
The emotional impact on survivors, responders, and families.
The cultural need to normalise CPR knowledge for all ages.
The empowering reality: you can save a life.

3. Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction and Nick’s background in elite open-water swimming
03:45 – The competition: when everything changed
09:55 – Cardiac arrest, drowning, and being clinically dead for 20 minutes
14:20 – CPR: the battle to keep Nick alive
18:40 – The air ambulance team arrives
23:55 – Waking up: confronting survival
29:30 – The 1-in-11 statistic and the CPR knowledge gap
35:50 – Why CPR must become universal
41:10 – Nick’s mission as a Cardiac Champion
47:20 – Reflections on purpose, fragility, and action
54:00 – Final message: anyone can save a life
4. Links
BHF RevivR – Learn CPR in 15 minutes
https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/how-to-do-cpr/learn-cpr-in-15-minutes
Nick Parkes – JustGiving Fundraising Page
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nick-parkes
BBC News Tells Nick's story
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ngdqwnrdro
The Sixsess Consultancy – Home
https://sixsess.org
Be World Class – Home
https://be-world-class.com
Be World Class Performance Conference 2025
https://be-world-class.com/world-class-performance-conference-2025/
The Sixsess Consultancy’s Be World Class Performance Conference Summary
https://sixsess.org/2025/11/02/be-world-class-performance-conference-2025-facing-and-achieving-the-impossible/
The Sixsess Consultancy’s Be World Class Performance Conference Summary Golden Thread Summary PDF
https://sixsess.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/The-Sixsess-Consutancys-Summary-of-BWPC-2025-Summary.pdf
Keywords
Nick Parkes, The Sixsess Consultancy, Barry Eustance, cardiac arrest survivor, CPR saves lives, British Heart Foundation RevivR, BHF RevivR, learn CPR, cardiac arrest awareness, air ambulance rescue, drowning and CPR, elite athlete cardiac arrest, world champion swimmer, sudden cardiac arrest, out of hospital cardiac arrest, CPR training, emergency response, survival story, Cardiac Champion, life saving skills, public health awareness, leadership and purpose, human survival, inspirational stories, trauma recovery, saving lives through CPR,

I hope you really enjoyed our podcast and found it to be inspiring and insightful.
Please remember to LIKE our podcast and please DO SUBSCRIBE !!
I really look forward to reading and replying to your thoughts and comments.
Many thanks
Kindest regards
Barry