One of the best parts about selling rowing pads is getting to know the rowers we meet and the ways our products have made a difference in their practice—on the erg, in the boat, and often, both. In 2023 we were contacted by a group of men preparing to attempt an incredible journey: rowing across the ocean from California to Hawaii as part of the 2024 World’s Toughest Row. Their goal? Raising money for Parkinson’s Disease, a debilitating progressive disorder caused by degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls movement.
Once we learned more about the team, named Human Powered Potential, and their mission, we knew we had to shine a spotlight on their inspirational story. [Photo credit above: World’s Toughest Row]
GET TO KNOW: Team Human Powered Potential
Team members: Brendan Cusick, Peter Durso, Scott Forman, Pat Morrissey, and honorary member and fundraising lead Matt Ackerman
Back story: Brendan, a certified human potential coach and mountain athlete, and Scott, an ER physician and endurance athlete, had met each other when they were both professional mountain guides. Together they decided to attempt The World’s Toughest Row. They bought a boat and found a third crewmate in Peter, also an ER physician and former competitive swimmer. The crew agreed that the Michael J. Fox Foundation would be the beneficiary of their fundraising efforts.
Initially Patrick, a lifelong athlete and father of 2 who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019, and who was a close friend of Brendan’s in Colorado, was to be the spokesperson for the team, but at some point he decided he wanted in on the action. If the journey went well, Pat would become the first person with Parkinson’s to row across the Pacific. The team was now ready to endure months of training to prepare for the race!
Behind the name: The crew made the 2,800-mile ocean journey with no motors—100% human powered. But before they would power themselves across the Pacific, team HPP had more than 125 years of human-powered experience between them, including climbs on 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas; single-push alpine ascents in Alaska, Canada, and South America; ultra-running, cycling, and skiing events; and the Race Across America (RAAM). [Want to learn even more about the team and how they came together? Check out this CNN article.]
“The goal of Human Powered Potential is to explore and expand humanity’s capacity for endurance—mental, physical, and spiritual—while engaging in endeavors intended to test our limits.”
Their mission: To raise money to support research into finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.
The HPP boat: The American Spirit, a Rannoch 45 concept boat constructed from fiberglass and carbon fiber with a hull length of 28 feet.
THE CHALLENGE: World’s Toughest Row 2024
The Pacific edition of this annual race encompasses a technically challenging, wild and bio-diverse 2,800-mile course, across the mid-Pacific ocean from the start line in Monterey, California, to Hanalei, Kaua’i.
Key dates: Launched on June 8, 2024; arrived on the shores of Hanalei on July 19.
Days at sea: 41
What they ate: Dehydrated meals, along with high-calorie snack food—enough to fuel each rower with 4,000-6,000 kcal per day.
What they drank: Desalinated saltwater, made via solar-powered equipment.
Teamwork: The team was entirely self-supported as they rowed 24 hours a day, in intervals of two hours on, two hours off. (View the HPP instagram feed for awesome video footage of the crew out on the ocean.)
Total Money Raised for Parkinson’s Disease:
$41 million (nearly double the initial goal!)
Q&A with Captain Brendan Cusick
Rowing Pad: What was the biggest challenge for you, personally, during the crossing? Was it what you expected or something different?
Brendan Cusick: The biggest challenge for me on the crossing was adapting to the physical and mental challenges. We had very big ocean conditions for the first week, including 30 to 40-foot waves and 30-knot winds hitting the side of the boat. This, along with the sleep deprivation and getting used to the shift patterns, was a huge challenge. All occurred in the first week. Once we adapted and the ocean calmed, we fell into a really good rhythm and strength improved.
“I tried not to allow any expectations to come forth and instead just go with what is. Expectations can be unfortunate if we let them guide us. Instead, just embrace what is happening.”
—Brendan Cusick, Human Powered Potential captain
RP: How did you enjoy the rowing aspect of this great accomplishment?
BC: Rowing was a part of my childhood—in an 18-foot pacific Whitehall, crabbing and fishing on the north coast of California. I then departed for the mountains and would not have foretold I would return to the sport. I truly appreciate what it brought for me. The simplicity yet the hard effort made it very rewarding.
RP: How are Patrick and Matt Ackerman [team members who both have Parkinson’s Disease] doing? Is Patrick still rowing as a way to alleviate some of his Parkinson’s symptoms?
BC: Pat and Matt are doing well. Pat continues to row on his erg a couple of times a week and enjoys the active asymmetry of rowing to help with his PD.
RP: We were happy to send some of our rowing pads to the team ahead of the big voyage. We would love to hear how you used our products during training as well as during the actual crossing.
BC: We used a variety of the pads during training to see which ones would go on the crossing, and ultimately selected the thickest and softest ones. We had a huge variety of seats to mitigate potential sores as the rowing time increased. We used Rowing Pads for the first week, then each of us rotated with what worked for each of us for the duration of the crossing.
RP: Excellent. Perhaps there’s a market for butt pads designed specifically for incredible ocean crossings. Any future plans for the Human Powered Potential team that you can share with us?
BC: Team HPP is moving forward to support those with Parkinson’s to complete audacious challenges and raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Stay tuned as these projects come to fruition.
We will be watching, Brendan. Our heartfelt congratulations to the Human Powered Potential crew on this monumental achievement and contribution to Parkinson’s research. We hope the push for a cure finds success during all of our lifetimes!
To learn more about Human Powered Potential, their incredible voyage, and their fundraising efforts, visit www.humanpoweredpotential.org.
