“
The Channel has changed my life.
It wasn't easy until now,
” says Steve in his fluffy voice.
In 2017, he explains, he divorced, and his three children distanced themselves.
“
It was a very difficult period.
I lost everything.
I stayed in a shed for a year to sleep and wash myself with a jet of water.
I had to turn the negative into a positive.
“So far, Steve, from a family of great athletes (his brother is a cycling record holder), has had a thousand lives.
He was, among other things, a journalist, wildlife photographer, visual artist and even Jet Ski world champion.
“
When I was young, my grandfather used to take me to see the departures for the Channel crossings, not far from here.
I told myself that this was going to be the challenge of my life.
To pass this yellow buoy, he needs a coach, but in France, open water swimming does not have as many followers as in England.
He hears about the British Kevin Murphy, 68 years old at the time, 34 crossings to his credit, including 3 round trips.
“
He had a club in Dover.
Over there, everyone swims, grandpas, grandmas, it's in the culture.
After several training sessions at the
beach's "
swim zone ", the "King of the Channel" agrees to train him, on one condition: to follow his program for three years.
A year to learn, a year to understand, a year to get through.
35 hours of fighting against yourself
On a physical level, he had to abandon his marathon body and train to withstand the conditions of the crossing, the temperature of the Channel hardly exceeding 15°C in summer.
By mimicry, he decides to eat like seals, which stuff themselves with oily fish before their migrations.
It takes 47 kg, including a majority of brown fat, which will serve as much insulation as fuel.
"
I didn't invent anything
", smiles the one who thus inherited his nickname of "Stève le Phoque".
He finds a niche to undertake his crossing, in August 2020, while swimmers around the world are stuck at home.
35 hours of struggle against oneself to become, as we said, the first Frenchman to complete this crossing since its invention in 1875.
Since then, he has also crossed Lake Baikal in a relay, Loch Ness, and in August 2022 became the first Frenchman to complete the Triple Crown circuit of Monster Lakes, in the United States.
The year 2017 is almost a distant memory.
“
I get a lot of messages on Instagram.
Everyone has a piece of me.
I say this without much pretension, but many people have changed their lives thanks to my story.
A notoriety that prompted him to publish with Michel Lafon, in March 2023, a biography on his story, co-written with the journalist from L'Équipe David Michel.
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