Ross Youngman: swimming beyond limits, finding purpose through challenge

What drives a man in his sixties to swim 15 hours across the English Channel, battle currents around Manhattan, and traverse freezing Tasmanian rivers? For Ross Youngman, the answer isn’t about proving anything to anyone else. It’s about staying curious, building connections, and discovering what’s possible when you refuse to let age define your limits.

Ross’s journey into marathon swimming began with a boozy conversation among old university mates. At 52, after decades in investment management across New York, London and Sydney, he found himself at North Stradbroke Island with two former high school swim team captains. Somewhere between one and three in the morning, they decided to honour their childhood hero Des Renford by swimming the English Channel as a relay team. What started as an alcohol-fueled dare became a catalyst for reinvention.

For midlife men navigating transitions, Ross’s story offers a powerful framework. He didn’t abandon his successful finance career on a whim. Instead, he strategically built optionality. While working, he completed a Master’s in Coaching Psychology at Sydney University, reconnected with swimming, and laid foundations for multiple possible futures. He waited until his kids finished high school before ramping up training, demonstrating that reinvention requires thoughtful preparation, not reckless leaps.

The swimming became Ross’s meditation and mental training ground. Four mornings a week in the pool, Saturday ocean swims building from 10 to 30 kilometres, and the discipline of nutrition planning during marathon efforts. But the real reward wasn’t the achievements. It was the community. Training with swimmers decades younger kept him mentally sharp. The intergenerational connections worked both ways—younger swimmers sought his career advice whilst he absorbed their energy.

After eight years as CEO of Ausbil Investment Management, Ross recognised the signs many midlife professionals face. The dopamine hits from promotions no longer satisfied. Using self-determination theory’s framework—competence, autonomy, relatedness and purpose—he assessed what was missing. The answer led him to take a calculated break and ultimately land his dream role as CEO of the General Sir John Monash Foundation, overseeing Australia’s premier postgraduate scholarship programme.