Swim Lessons: The Nick Irons Story

Nick Irons learned his father had multiple sclerosis when he was 12 years old, but it wasn't until 10 years later when Nick came home to Maryland from Los Angeles during the holiday season and saw his father walking with a cane that the seriousness of the disease hit him. On his flight back to LA, he saw the Mississippi River from 30,000 feet and resolved to do something to help his dad.

So he turned down a job on the "Friends" pilot, quit his dead-end PA gig on "American Gladiator," and dedicated his life to training full-time to swim the length of the Mississippi River as a fundraiser for research in to a cure. With his family and the help of many total strangers along the way—including one who had a vision quest of his own—Nick embarked on a 4-month, 1550-mile life-changing journey.