Spencer Matthews: Habit stacking allows me to take on more extreme challenges

Aoife Barry meets Spencer Matthews as his recovers from Project Se7en that saw him complete seven Ironmans on seven continents to fundraise for charity

Spencer Matthews during his marathon, which was part of a full IronMan undertaken in Antarctica for Project Se7en

Spencer Matthews has been on quite the life journey. When the public first encountered the Eton-educated cheeky chappy, he was a notorious bad boy on the 2011 season of E4’s scripted reality show Made in Chelsea. But by 2018, Matthews had embraced stability via marriage to Irish model Vogue Williams. Then came another recent swerve: Matthews’ endurance athlete era.

In 2024, his Great Desert Challenge saw him complete 30 marathons in 30 days, breaking a world record. At the tail end of 2025, he completed seven Ironmans on seven continents for Project Se7en, raising funds for UK charity James’ Place.

Spencer Matthews undertaking a 180k bike ride in Antarctica for Project Se7en

The 21-day challenge ended in early December. When he speaks to  The Irish Examiner, Matthews, aged 37, is tanned and upbeat. He’s in one of his children’s closets — he has three youngsters under seven, Theodore, Gigi, and Otto. Behind him hang rows of tiny glittery dresses and jumpers. How’s he doing?

“I feel wonderful, mate,” he beams. “It was a surprisingly fast recovery. I feel healthy, fit, happy, fine.”

Matthews stops himself. In a sign of how much he has changed, he adds: “‘Fine’ is not a feeling, I’ve been told before… I felt a real sense of accomplishment.”

Matthews is well used to travel. Born in the UK, in 1995 he moved with his businessman father David and artist mother Jane to St Barths in the Caribbean. They bought the Eden Rock hotel, transforming it into a luxury resort beloved of A-list celebrities. These days, Matthews’ Instagram is littered with pictures of his various global challenges, and of holidays with Vogue — usually skiing; budget travel is not exactly in Matthews’ remit.

Digging deep in Dubai during Project7, where Spencer Matthews completed IronMans on seven continents.

Project Se7en was “pretty epic”.

“We went from London to Arizona to Cape Town to Perth to Dubai to Rio de Janeiro, and then down to Antarctica,” says Matthews. But an Ironman triathlon is gruelling. At each stop Matthews undertook a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride, roughly London to Manchester, followed by — deep breath — a full 42.2km marathon. Then factor in travel on top of that. Here’s a typical day. “We finished Arizona at 10pm, got to sleep at about midnight, left the hotel at 4am, and then at 10pm got to the hotel in Cape Town, and then at 4am we’re in the water again.”

Perhaps the stunning surroundings took the edge off?

“There was the most beautiful sunrise in Rio, an incredible sunset in Perth,” says Matthews, adding with a laugh. “But, you know, it’s not like you’re sightseeing.”

Swimming 3.4 km in Rio during Project Se7en where Spencer Matthews completed IronMans on seven continents.

The most extreme Project Se7en location was Antarctica, home to the South Pole and entirely covered by a thick ice sheet.

“It’s barren, it’s raw, it’s quite dangerous. If you’re not properly equipped and you get locked outside, you’re going to be in all kinds of trouble,” says Matthews. “The night before the Ironman began, the entire shack that we were staying in was shaking.”

During his swim in Antarctica for Project Se7en Spencer Matthews had to wear a special wetsuit due to the ocean's low temperatures

Even the wildlife can be deadly — one of his fears was a leopard seal attack during his swim.

It takes serious mental fortitude to undertake a challenge like Project Se7en. Matthews has become fascinated with “human potential”, as shown through his pivot from his shared podcast with Vogue to his own Untapped podcast, where he interviews athletes and business leaders.

But how does he personally do it?

A tough moment for Spencer Matthews in Rio de Janeiro during Project Se7en, where he completed IronMans on seven continents.

“I think if you compound positive, good habits over time, you do begin to notice quite a big difference about how you show up,” he says.“If you regularly go to sleep and wake up at the same time — it’s called sleep consistency — you’re going to feel better. If you have high cholesterol, for example, if you make a habit of drinking Benecol every single morning, that’s good to lower your cholesterol because of its plant stanols. But make a habit of it.”

He was recently in Ireland to talk about habit stacking at an event sponsored by Benecol, but maintains this approach has benefitted him personally.

“I was genuinely so excited to be in Dublin to be part of the Benecol panel event. For me, success has never been about big dramatic moments — it’s about the ordinary, everyday things I do without fail, and how stacking those habits consistently is what allows me to take on more extreme challenges and achieve my goals,” he says.

He is philosophical about his behaviour: “In life, it’s nice to experience lots of things, isn’t it? There’s very few stones that I’ve left unturned. I at times have looked back at my former self with disgust and shame. I feel a little bit less like that now, because obviously without that person, I probably wouldn’t have made the huge effort to become the person I am today.”

Heading off to do Ironman races on seven continents must have been a worry for his family, but Matthews says he’s surrounded by a great team.

A lot of things that feel dangerous sometimes aren’t, and you need to rationalise that and just be logical with how you face the danger

But he knows from personal experience how risky challenges can get.

“I lost my brother [Michael] in 1999 to Mount Everest. Everest is certainly a more commercial experience now than it was then. But that doesn’t change the fact that very little is in your control,” he says. “When you’re crossing through the Khumbu Icefall at 3am, if a large shard of ice that weighs 400 kilos slips and lands on you, you’re gonezo. And there’s no controlling that.”

Although he made a documentary, Finding Michael, for Disney+ about his trip to Everest to try to retrieve his brother’s body, Matthews rules out ever scaling the peak himself: “That is something I wouldn’t put my parents through, because of Michael. There’s not enough that you can control. I look at things and make my own logical assessment on whether or not I believe it to be dangerous enough. Project Se7en was on the very edge of that.”

As an example, he says: “The cycling in Cape Town was very dangerous. Huge headwind. We kept getting blown into the oncoming traffic lane by a gust of wind that we had no control over. I’m not too sure at the age of 37 with three children and a wife, that I’m going to bother putting myself in that level of danger again.

On his 180km bike ride in Cape Town, South Africa for Project Se7en

Project Se7en prep took up most of his 2025, so over Christmas he dialled things down: “That was nice, just to decompress and chill, watch films, spend time with the kids, have the odd drink.”

But he didn’t relax too much: “I’ve had issues with alcohol in the past. Boredom is a… I hate the word ‘trigger’, but it’s probably worth using in this context.”

He tends to “slip into worse habits, I suppose, when I’m bored”. Keeping very active and busy helps.

While he was completing Project Se7en, his wife Vogue was in the jungle for I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

“Our challenges obviously were very different from each other’s,” he says. “Vogue will always beat me in a popularity contest I think, so she was exactly where she needed to be, and mine was obviously of a slightly more physical nature. I was very proud of her. I thought she showed real guts and determination.”

In 2026, he plans on focusing on his alcohol-free beverage brand CleanCo, as well as fundraising challenges.

“When I was a lot younger, I would just bounce around things,” he says. Now, he’s better at focusing. “I’m pretty good at just existing in the here and now. If you find yourself constantly chasing that next thing, it’s like a dog chasing its tail. You never quite get there.”

Spencer was in Dublin recently with Benecol for a talk about habit-stacking.