BUD/S Pool Comp Almost Killed Me (Here's What Happened)
About this video
A former Navy SEAL recounts his BUD/S training experiences, focusing on the challenging underwater evolutions. He describes nearly failing the 50-meter underwater swim early in training and later struggling through the pool competency (OC8) test, which he credits visualization techniques for helping him pass. He also shares stories about serving as class comic, dealing with instructor pressure, and breaking his thumb during combatives training in SQT.
Key takeaways
- The guest nearly failed the 50-meter underwater swim on day two or three of BUD/S, believing he would black out, but managed to touch the wall and surface just in time
- The guest credits visualization techniques with helping him pass the pool competency test (OC8), mentally rehearsing problems during lunch before successfully completing the evolution
- The guest describes serving as class comic as extremely stressful, recounting how one comic was caught between contradictory orders from instructors and Master Chief Lash about drawing inappropriate images
- The guest broke his thumb during the multiple attackers drill in SQT combatives training when it caught on someone and bent backward, resulting in a class roll to 305
Episode details: published March 31, 2026 · 6K views · 22:29 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.
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