About this episode

Abbas Nazari shares his extraordinary journey from being a refugee to becoming a HYROX elite athlete.

In this episode of the Rox Lyfe podcast, we chat with Abbas Nazari. Abbas has an extraordinary story. Born in Afghanistan, he fled the country with his family as a child and eventually found himself aboard an overcrowded refugee boat carrying hundreds of people across the Indian Ocean. After the boat’s engine failed and it began taking on water, they were rescued in an incident that became an international political story. We discuss Abbas’s childhood in Afghanistan, the journey his family made in search of safety and what he remembers about believing, at just seven years old, that he might not survive the crossing. Abbas also talks about starting a new life in New Zealand, how those experiences shaped his perspective and resilience, and why he now sees that difficult period of his life as a source of strength. We then move into his HYROX journey, including racing in the Elite 15, qualifying for the 2027 World Championships in Hong Kong and the training lessons he has learned along the way. Finally, Abbas shares his thoughts on keeping HYROX and athletic performance in perspective, why consistency matters more than constantly training hard and what he hopes people take away from…

People in this episode

Host: Greg Williams

Guest: Abbas Nazari

Topics covered

• refugee experience
• resilience
• athletic performance
• HYROX training
• personal growth

Keywords

• refugee
• HYROX
• athletic training
• resilience
• personal story
• New Zealand
• World Championships

Sponsors

MyProtein

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Afghanistan, New Zealand

More episodes of Rox Lyfe - The HYROX Podcast

• The HYROX Data That Could Make You Faster - Roxfit · September 3, 2026 · 59 min
• The Elite HYROX Athlete Using Data and AI to Find an Edge - Maarten Enthoven · August 27, 2026 · 1h 2m
• HYROX ERG Secrets, The HYROX Cruise and the Future of Young Stars · August 20, 2026 · 1h 21m
• HYROX Training, Running Progress and Breakthrough Performances with Jack Driscoll · August 13, 2026 · 54 min
• HYROX Erg Technique, Training Tools and Race Performance with Lars Rademaker · August 6, 2026 · 1h 5m
• HYROX Training, Fatigue Management and Race Performance with Aaron Woodman · July 30, 2026 · 1h 4m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Rox Lyfe - The HYROX Podcast podcast page.