"I swing hard. When I connect, it's big.
When I miss, it's big ... and I swing again.
Go BIG or go home!" ~ Jim Dreyer
News
Here you will find the latest press releases, links to media coverage and to TV & film appearances.
Great Lakes "Shark” to Swim with Cannonball for Veterans
Dreyer announces new 22-mile swimming event in Chicago
September 713 2021 - Press Release
(Chicago, Illinois) Jim “The Shark” Dreyer is introducing a 22-mile public swimming event in Chicago and will himself swim all night with a cannonball to support disabled U.S. combat Veterans in July of 2022. Dreyer, age 58, of Grand Haven, Michigan, is an accomplished open water swimmer who has swum across all 5 Great Lakes and been recognized as a Stan Lee Superhuman on the History Channel for aquatic feats of strength.
BY ILSE HAYES THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH 2016
Jim Dreyer gave viewers some tips on staying safe off shore during the NBC 25 TODAY show Thursday morning.
*How Your Pants Can Save Your Life
*Surviving a Rip Current
*Saving a Life Without Losing Yours
The Daily News of Open Water Swimming
FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
Jim 'The Shark' Dreyer will attempt an unprecedented triple crossing of the Catalina Channel in 2017.
But it will not be a typical or traditional attempt. He is going to swim a bit further than the normal course, between Santa Catalina Island and the California mainland. He is going to swim between Catalina Island and the Battleship Iowa Museum in Los Angeles Harbor. This will add another 2.2 miles on each leg for a total of a 73.2-mile (117.8 km) three-way crossing.
And Dreyer is planning to go even a step significantly further.
He will swim with an 80 lbs. (36.2 kg) military backpack.
June 21, 2016 - Press Release
(Grand Rapids, Michigan) Ultra-Marathon Strength Athlete, Jim “The Shark” Dreyer, announced today that he will be launching a new series of world record athletic events in conjunction with appearing on the new TV show, Warrior Outdoors, scheduled to begin airing in the fall of 2016. Furthermore, beginning immediately, Dreyer declared that he will donate 50% of his speaking fees to the Warrior Outdoors mission of helping U.S. military veterans and homeland first responders afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), summarized as “Healing for Heroes.” Named a Superhuman, with his performance on the popular TV series “Stan Lee’s Superhumans,” and having set 19 world records, Dreyer has also been a mainstay on the speaker’s circuit.
Mighty Mac Swimmer wins famed car from Pfeiffer Lincoln Murdick's Fudge Run
September 19, 2015 - Photo & caption released to the media
.Steven Heaney of Maumee, Ohio, sits in the driver's seat of the Lincoln MKC he won, courtesy of Pfeiffer Lincoln, at the Grand Rapids, Michigan dealership this past Saturday. Dan Pfeiffer presents Heaney his prize from the passenger seat, while Mighty Mac Swim Event Director Jim Dreyer looks on. Heaney was one of the swimmers to successfully cross the Straits of Mackinac in the Mighty Mac Swim on Labor Day, and won the vehicle that Dreyer recently towed on a barge in a world record quest. The Pfeiffer Lincoln MKC served as a raffle prize that helped the swimmers and others raise over $400,000 in cash and in-kind contributions for Habitat for Humanity, making it the single largest fundraiser for the charity in Michigan history. Funds will be used to revitalize Michigan neighborhoods.
August 17, 2015
ST. IGNACE (AP) -- Heavy currents in Michigan's Straits of Mackinac foiled a long-distance swimmer's test: Swimming to Mackinac Island towing a barge carrying a vehicle loaded with fudge.
A Healthier Michigan - By Julie Bitely
August 12, 2015
Even though he’s recovering from a rotator cuff injury, Michigan native Jim Dreyer is set to attempt what’s arguably his most strenuous feat of strength to date.
On Saturday, Aug. 15, Dreyer will pull a new Lincoln MKC on a barge while swimming 3.58 miles to Mackinac Island. The total weight of his cargo is approximately 16.5 tons!
TRAVELTHEMITTEN.COM - By Chris Katje
August 6, 2015
If you don’t know the name Jim Dreyer yet, chances are you don’t know how determined the endurance swimmer is in completing challenges. Fresh off a rotator cuff injury, Dreyer will attempt to do the impossible August 15th. Dreyer, who has already swam across all five Great Lakes, will tow a new Lincoln MKC on a barge from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island.
The Daily News of Open Water Swimming
August 6, 2015
Fighting back from a rotator cuff injury, Jim Dreyer will attempt his most strenuous aquatic feat of strength to date on August 15th. The event, postponed from July 4th, will have Dreyer attempting to pull a new Lincoln MKC on a barge while swimming 3.58 miles to Mackinac Island in Lake Huron.
The weight of his unusual cargo is 16.5 tons.
Lakeland Boating Magazine - By Kim Schneider
September, 2015
If you’ve never heard of Jim Dreyer before meeting him on this summer day — on a hidden cove south of Saugatuck, Michigan — you might think he’s a tourist out for a casual vacation float. His mischievous, dimpled grin is hidden under a floppy fishing hat; his sandaled feet propped atop the inflatable yellow kayak like someone ready to do nothing but lounge in the sun.
But appearances won’t fool you for long. An orange head pops up between waves alongside Dreyer’s vessel, then another — this one in a bright green swim cap — as his hands gesture wildly while offering the swimmers tips on things like shoulder rotation and bilateral breathing (competitive swimmer jargon). You won’t see him on shore until the last of this group of nine swimmers has completed their 5-mile training swims, for this is one safety and mission-oriented swimmer, motivator and coach.
Lake Superior Magazine - By Molly Hoeg
July 29, 2015
One of the more widely publicized personal Lake Superior challenges came from ultramarathon swimmer Jim “The Shark” Dreyer of Byron Center, Michigan.
Jim is far from your ordinary swimmer. After nearly drowning at age 3, he didn’t learn to swim until three decades later as an adult when he also discovered an unusual talent. Able to swim long distances without tiring, he set some audacious goals.
WXMI FOX 17, by Bob Brenzing
June 30, 2015
BYRON CENTER, Mich. – For the first time in his super-human athletic career, Jim Dreyer has had to postpone an event due to injury.
READ MORE
FOX News Channel - Video & Article (article by Kelly Wright)
August 14, 2013
A week ago while co-hosting “Happening Now” on Fox News with my colleague Jenna Lee, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Dreyer. The native of Michigan is the only man to have set records for swimming across all five Great Lakes. It has earned him the reputation of being known as “The Shark.”
READ MORE
New York Daily News, by Nina Golgowski
August 14, 2013
He swam 51 hours while pulling a ton of bricks and overcoming hallucinations, GPS errors and feared moments of near death.
After what was expected to be a 22 mile, 30-hour swim towing two dinghies packed with 334 bricks, Jim "the Shark" Dreyer surfaced last Wednesday in Detroit with an incredible tale the tell.
READ MORE
Swimming to Detroit with a ton of Bricks
Feat of strength aims to raise funds & rebuild hope
July 23, 2013
(Grand Rapids, Michigan) World record ultra-marathon athlete and Michigan native Jim Dreyer announced today that he will now swim alone without a support boat, when he attempts to tow a ton of bricks 22 miles across Lake St. Clair to Detroit.
Rebuilding Michigan Brick by Brick
Feat of strength will fund building projects for Habitat for Humanity of Michigan affiliates
May 28, 2013
(Lansing, Michigan) Michigan native, Jim Dreyer, will attempt to tow a ton of bricks, swimming 22 miles across Lake St. Clair to Detroit this summer, in support of Habitat for Humanity. If successful, the swim, scheduled to begin August 5th, will be recognized as a world record. The swim will mark Dreyer's 50th birthday, which will also occur in August
Where does a "Superhuman" turn for support? Jim Dreyer turns to his "Superteam!"
"The Shark" salutes his Personal Sponsors who support him, the athlete, year around in all of his training and adventures.
Official Wetsuit
Official Health Maintenance Guru
© 2013 Jim The Shark Dreyer all rights reserved.