For many Mudders it was the dream job. The chance to come to a top secret location at an undisclosed time to meet with the masterminds behind obstacle innovation in the UK and test out some of their latest inventions.
Hundreds applied but only one was chosen.
Introducing Chief Obstacle Tester Nick
Nick is a freelance dance teacher from London and he inspired us with an application video all about taking chances, getting outside of your comfort zone and challenging the norm.
It was clear to us straight away that he understood what Tough Mudder is all about and that he would be willing to face anything we threw at him.
We sat down with Nick to find out what went down at UK Beta Testing.
What made you apply for this role?
I’d done a few Tough Mudders before, and I had such a good time – they were a challenge and I had a good laugh with my mates. The opportunity to get involved with shaping the obstacles for next year was one I didn’t want to pass up, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a day!
What attracted you to Tough Mudder in the first place?
As much as I love my sofa and my bed, I also love being active and being outdoors. My friends had done Tough Mudder events before and they all knew I would love it as soon as I gave it a go. With a little peer pressure I signed up and did one, and I haven’t looked back – I’ve now done 4 events and got 2 more planned!
What do you think made you stand out against other applicants?
I’m quite a laid back easy going person, I’m generally quite positive and I love making friends, all good traits when you need to make friends with strangers to help get over one of the Tough Mudder obstacles. Also, I’m a ballet teacher, and was keen to show that dancers can be just as tough and adventurous as anybody else out there.
Do you think the skills you have learned as a ballet teacher helped with navigating the obstacles?
With every / any obstacle which needed balance, everybody was definitely watching me, expecting me to have a great sense of balance. Hopefully I passed the test! For ballet specifically, my favourite part of ballet is partner work, or “pas de deux”, which definitely has cross over to Tough Mudder. When you lift your parnter in ballet, you need to have a combination of trust, timing, teamwork and strength – which are all thing you need when helping your team complete an obstacle.
What made you change careers?
I had an office job and was working as a dance teacher on the side, eventually I realised dancing was more fun than the 9-5 so jumped into teaching dance with both feet. I love the variety, and working with and meeting a whole range of people each week.
How’d you find the Obstacle Testing day?
It was a proper good day out! It was great to meet the other testers on the day and play around on the new obstacles, and the Tough Mudder team and everyone involved were great, and looked after us all really well.
Do you think people will enjoy the new obstacles? Which aspects did you like the most?
Some of the new obstacles were fun, some were challenging, and some were straight up terrifying! On a couple of the more intimidating ones I really had to take a deep breath and mentally compose myself before I gave it a go, but I know that Mudders will feel a bigger sense of achievement and be totally pumped after completing them! On the whole, there should be a nice variety of obstacles for everyone to enjoy.
What were your favourite parts of the day?
Every time I approached a new obstacle, my mind was working overtime to try and figure out what on earth the Tough Mudder team were going to ask us to do – there were definitely some weird and wonderful ideas being thrown around! By the end of the day, my arms were aching, I had bruises in all sorts of weird places and an amount of muddy water up my nose, but I felt great and definitely slept very well that night!
New obstacles will be revealed on 8th November – so keep your eyes peeled.