NSP:314 Nordic Endeavour Ocean Rowing and Sailing + Neurodivergence with Josh Halley

: spearfishing neurodivergence ocean rowing

NSP:314 The Nordic Endeavour, NZ Tahr Hunts & Near-Blackout Lessons | Josh Halley

Josh Halley is back — the Shetland Islands spearo, filmmaker, and certified chaos merchant behind the Souls Untapped YouTube channel. Last time he was on (ep. 206) he was chasing pollock in North Sea washing machines. Now he’s planning to row the entire coastline of Norway with three mates including an ex-Norwegian Olympic rower and freediving coach, shooting fish and cleaning up the ocean along the way. In between, Shrek and Josh unpack some genuinely gold content: the “100% framework” for safely assessing your dive capacity in tough conditions, a near-blackout in Papua New Guinea that changed how Josh breathes forever, the mouthfill EQ technique that finally unlocked depth for him, and why you should never chase a 50+ kg dogtooth tuna without a working alarm on your dive watch. If you love adventure, raw honest storytelling, and practical lessons paid for in blood, sweat and jungle tent living — this one’s for you.

Josh Halley @soulsuntapped Spearfishing Gallery

Important Timestamps

  • 00:00:00 — Cold open: Josh’s quote about holding his first breath — and what happened next. Sets the tone perfectly.
  • 00:00:35 — Shrek intro: Who is Josh Halley, what’s the Nordic Endeavour, and why this episode matters
  • 00:01:30 — Event shout-out: Eden Spearfishing Challenge, June 6 — hosted by Southern Zone Spearfishing on Facebook
  • 00:01:50 — Promo: Three spots left in the July 1770 Agnes Water beginner retreat; Sail & Spear trips in August filling fast
  • 00:02:00 — Baby news: Shrek and his wife are two weeks from welcoming their fifth child — and first daughter
  • 00:04:00 — Josh is back: Souls Untapped returns to the podcast 100+ episodes after episode 206, with more facial hair and more story
  • 00:04:30 — Shetland geography lesson: what a “voe” is, why Shetland sits almost exactly halfway between mainland Scotland and Norway, and why Fair Isle sounds unhinged
  • 00:07:30 — The Nordic Endeavour announced: rowing the full length of Norway’s coastline with Glen Sadler (ep. 227), ex-Norwegian Olympic rower and freediving coach Martin Helseth, and adventure athlete Anders — departing July 12
  • 00:09:00 — The mission behind the row: ocean cleanups through freediving in coastal communities, charity fundraising, and Josh’s personal goal of self-discovery — plus how they landed a major communications company as a sponsor
  • 00:10:30 — Training row in Norway: Josh and Glen’s first face-to-face meeting after years of calls — eight hours rowing, couldn’t put their own pants on at the end of it
  • 00:12:00 — The boat “Little Nell”: fibreglass, ~6–7m, sleeping cabins fore and aft, and heavier than expected when loaded with dive gear and four blokes
  • 00:13:00 — Norway’s appeal: tidal cod in a 40m-wide fjord entrance, halibut hunting, fjords you’d never see from the open ocean — why they’re threading the inside route instead of the safe offshore line
  • 00:18:00 — ADHD and self-discovery: Josh opens up about neurodivergence, the highs and lows, and why expedition-style trips are the best classroom he’s ever found for understanding himself
  • 00:22:00 — New Zealand tahr hunt: helicopter into the South Island with Irish mate Darren, a whiskey-fuelled 21-hour drive, climbing into cliff faces after nothing for days, and the moment Josh disappeared into a black void of monkey scrub with a rifle above his head
  • 00:32:00 — Hunting vs spearfishing: the patience gap — why hunters will sit all morning watching nothing, but spearos bail on a spot in two minutes, and what Josh has taken from one discipline to improve the other
  • 00:33:00 — New Zealand spearfishing: Mokohinau Islands with the Chasing Gallaher [CHECK: confirm spelling] crew, finally getting close to a kingfish vortex, and the chaos of helping Rudy land a 30kg king with two spears and a lot of grunting underwater
  • 00:43:00 — Float line vs reel gun safety: real talk on line management with big pelagics, two mates who lost gear, and why you need to relearn float line skills before you go chasing wahoo, yellowfin, or dogtooth
  • 00:50:00 — The washing machine kingfish: a tidal pinnacle in the middle of nowhere, Ollie Craig, a mask ripped clean off mid-fight, and what happens when your line wraps your GoPro housing instead of your arm
  • 00:53:00 — Papua New Guinea: tent living in the jungle, ear infections from the “Bali doctor” [CHECK: Josh said Bali — he means a remote local medical setup], bad nutrition, and two days of relentless diving before Josh’s first dogtooth
  • 00:58:00 — Near-blackout in PNG: the moment Josh felt his body “go” — the twitches, the terror, and why he almost didn’t recognise it for what it was until it was nearly too late
  • 01:00:00 — The 50kg dogtooth that got away: spotting what might be the biggest fish he’s ever seen at depth, checking his watch alarm, and consciously choosing not to chase it
  • 01:05:00 — Alarm watches for spearfishing: how Matt Hill’s training in Bali introduced Josh to depth and time alarms — and how that subconscious check saved him in PNG
  • 01:08:00 — LMC on the surface in Bali: the sunfish that spiked his heart rate, a deep dive that went slightly too long, surfacing then losing consciousness — Matt Hill’s immediate rescue response, and how Josh had to relearn freediving from scratch after
  • 01:11:00 — Overbreathing and hyperventilation explained: Shrek breaks down the CO2/O2 relationship and why “breathing up” can actually tank your performance and safety as you get more experienced
  • 01:12:00 — Luca’s PNG technique: watching a 40m diver hunt dogtooth with barely a kick, spending 30+ seconds dropping in near-static, working through 20 contractions before surfacing — the most relaxed aggressive spearing Josh had ever seen
  • 01:14:00 — Mouthfill EQ game changer: the technique Matt Hill taught Josh that finally cracked depth below 20m — one fill, one equalisation, done
  • 01:16:00 — The 100% framework: how solo diving, thick wetsuit, strong tides, a camera, and an anchored boat all bleed your available dive capacity — and why assessing your percentage before every session is a non-negotiable
  • 01:19:00 — Supporting the Nordic Endeavour: the £250 Club (your name on the boat), charity plans for mental health and Norwegian rescue (RS — Norwegian equivalent of the RNLI), and how to follow along on the journey
  • 01:21:00 — Future vision: Josh and his partner — who is studying psychology with a focus on neurodivergence — want to run ocean therapy events combining spearfishing and mental health support
  • 01:22:00 — New Nikon Z underwater photography rig: Josh’s new camera, plans for an underwater housing, and his vision for feature-film-quality adventure content from the Nordic Endeavour

Links Mentioned, Partner Deals and Discounts + Froth

Connect with Josh: https://www.soulsuntapped.co.uk  https://www.instagram.com/souls_untapped

 https://www.youtube.com/@SoulsUntapped

Nordic Endeavour: https://www.instagram.com/nordic_endeavour_2026

Episodes mentioned:

Noob Spearo ep. 206 — Josh Halley first interview

Noob Spearo ep. 227 — Glyn Sadler ocean rowing

Luke from Aquatic Rehab episode 

Book mentioned: Scattered Minds by Gabor Maté 

Audible — free audiobook + 30-day trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/noobspearo

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