Ray Zahab is one of the most amazing people on earth who you’ve probably never heard of. So, why did Hollywood superstar Matt Damon make a documentary about Ray?

Here’s his story: When Ray turned 35, he took a good look at his life, and all he saw was a guy sitting on the couch smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. He decided to make a change. Never an athlete, he started with running, but thought it was incredibly boring.

What wasn’t boring was Ray’s fascination with mental challenges. He had to know if he could convince his mind to allow him to completely reinvent himself. Boy, did he ever! Now, just a few years later, Ray is the top ultramarathoner in the world. He just completed a run across Antarctica, all the way to the South Pole. That’s 700 miles. And he did it in 33 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes. No human has ever done it faster.

Along the way, he’s dealt with altitude sickness, vertigo and some world-record-setting blisters. The temperatures plunged to 40 below zero. Every step was as mentally grueling as it was physically. Ray says when you run distances like that, you have a lot of time to think.

He has been blown away by the plight of the people in many of the places he’s run, and he’s dedicated his life and his accomplishments to bring awareness to their needs. If you’re interested in learning about someone who has the type of idealism you thought just didn’t exist anymore, listen to Ray Zahab run through his incredible transformation from a sedentary nobody to one of the most amazing men alive.

Click here to listen to Ray’s previous appearance on the Growing Bolder Radio Show.