Plainfield Gym Owner Takes on Navy SEAL Challenge to Honor Heroes & Inspire Others
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n his youth, Jim Beebe, owner of Unbreakable Athletics Academy in Plainfield, loved working out and living a healthy lifestyle.
But like many, when he went to college, the “freshman 15” became a reality — with weight gain, bad food and beer.
However, once Beebe became a father, he changed his personal goals and was eventually offered the experience of a lifetime.
“I had become really unhealthy, but when my son was seven or eight, he said he wanted to be an athlete, and that was sort of a bottoming-out moment for me,” Beebe says. “I needed to get myself in shape, lead by example and show my kids how to live a healthy lifestyle.”
After 15 years in the finance industry, Beebe switched gears in 2013 and became owner and head coach at Unbreakable Athletics. It led to publishing a book, “Athlete Builder: The Blueprint to Build Champion Athletes,” and launching his “Athlete Builder” podcast.
The weekly podcast is what led Beebe to a unique challenge.
“I interview a lot of people in Special Forces, Navy SEAL veterans and others,” he says. “Kenny Bigbee, a retired Navy SEAL and owner of DragonFly Martial Arts Academy in Plainfield, was on the podcast, and he introduced me to Bill Brown, also a Navy SEAL who runs the New York City SEAL Swim each year.”
The NYC SEAL Swim is an all-day event starting in Liberty State Park in New Jersey, where participants jump into the Hudson River and swim to the Statue of Liberty. There, they do 100 honor pushups and 22 pull-ups — symbolizing the average number of veterans who die by suicide every day.
The athletes then swim from the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island, where they do another 100 honor pushups and 22 pull-ups. From there, they swim across the Hudson River to Battery Park in Manhattan. They pick up an American flag and run to the World Trade Center, completing another 100 honor pushups and 22 pull-ups. The event concludes with guest speakers and benefits the Navy SEAL Foundation.
The foundation supports wellness programs, higher education and other needs — addressing gaps found in Department of Defense and Veterans Administration programs.
Approximately 350 participants raise a minimum of $2,000 each, often collectively generating more than $800,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation.
Brown invited Beebe to participate, but at first, Beebe said he wasn’t prepared. He had just turned 50 and was primarily a strength trainer without endurance swimming experience.
Though it would be a challenge, he chose to accept it anyway.
“I trained for a year,” he says. “I had to learn how to swim, and that first day, I did 10 lengths in the pool and had to rest after each length. Fast forward one year, and I’m swimming three miles without stopping.”
On Aug. 16, 2025, Beebe joined hundreds of others for the annual event.
The group ran into some challenges this year that were not typical in the past. Due to recent tropical storms on the East Coast, the Hudson River current was severe.
“It’s normally a 30-minute swim to the Statue of Liberty, and 45 minutes in, we weren’t getting there,” Beebe says. “Some of the guys were saying we should call this event. I felt like on a good day, this was going to be hard for me, and I think with the current challenges, the event was beyond me.”
As they moved into the second swim toward Ellis Island, Beebe and one other participant chose to sit it out.
“I felt confident about my decision but felt horrible emotionally,” Beebe says. “The next leg of the swim was supposed to be about 30 minutes, and the current was so strong, guys were finishing in 10 minutes. You had 350 people trying to climb up to the barge, and they were smashing into it. Several got sucked up under the barge, and one guy got a broken hand.”
Beebe says it was the first year the current caused major issues and the first time the Navy SEAL Foundation called off the final swim portion of the event.
“In the end, everyone was fine,” Beebe says. “There were a lot of safety precautions, and no one was seriously hurt, but I think I made the right choice for myself.”
With the challenge behind them, participants resumed the day. They grabbed their flags and began the run to the World Trade Center.
“Overall, the day was awesome,” Beebe says. “Running through the streets of Manhattan, the bagpipes are playing, the weather was perfect, and I met so many new people. Everyone was positive and willing to help each other. We heard from 9/11 survivors, a Navy SEAL Team Six member and veterans coming back together. It was super moving, and I was so happy to be a part of it.”
Would he do it again?
“Never say never, but I think I need a couple of things,” he says. “I need to train in open-water swimming. A lot of these guys live on the coast and are trained for that type of swimming. I don’t want to be a liability. Secondly, I’d like to have a teammate. Many of them showed up in a group of two or four.”
More importantly, he’s proud of his accomplishment and the example he’s set for his training facility and his family.
“It feels cliché to say it was about the journey and not the destination, but really, all the fears and insecurities I had had to be broken up and smashed through,” Beebe says. “It’s a huge feeling of confidence I’ve gained. I’m healthier, I can swim two to three miles, and when your family wants to do things like this, there’s nothing better than that. My daughter has been training and practicing and just made the rowing team at her university. My son plays football for Ball State. It’s a blessing.”
Navy SEAL Foundation donations are accepted all year. Find Beebe’s page at impact.navysealfoundation.org/fundraiser/6145281. Hear Beebe’s full account of the 2025 NYC SEAL Swim on his Athlete Builder podcast, Episodes 101 and 102.
