As the super-fit star of last year’s edition of Channel 10’s rom-reality show The Bachelor Australia, Richie Strahan is already well-known to Australian TV viewers.

In a recent exclusive chat at Karma’s uber-relaxed Rottnest Island Resort, Strahan spoke excitedly about his new role as the Ambassador for 2017’s Karma Resorts Rottnest Channel Swim and about completing the grueling 19.7 kilometer event as well as his love of the holiday island which lies just off the coast of Western Australia.

According to Strahan, “just coming out (of the water) onto that beach (at race end) was such an extraordinary feeling.”

A passionate Western Australian local, Strahan says growing up in the West was a privilege as it gave him access to a wealth of natural wonders, including “Rotto”, as locals warmly refer to Rottnest Island.

When it comes to open water swimming, Paul Newsome is a man worth listening to.

For starters, he won the 46-kilometre Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, arguably one of the world’s most grueling open water swims, in 2013. Secondly, he is the founder of the UK and Perth-based Swim Smooth which is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading swim coaching companies. His coaching expertise is regularly sought out by professional triathletes and open water swimmers from around the world who descend on his Perth base for intensive Swim Smooth squad training.

And finally, he’s the pro-coach for this year’s (February 25) famous Karma Resorts Rottnest Channel Swim – an arduous 19.7-kilometre open water swim starting from the scenic white sands of Perth’s Cottesloe Beach and before finishing across the channel in Thomson Bay on Rottnest Island.

We recently spoke with Paul Newsome and asked for a few of his tips on how to plan for this year’s epic and some of his insights on what it takes to not only finish the Karma Resorts Rottnest Channel Swim but to finish in style …

#1 – Practice makes perfect