Two Years Later: What the Pacific Row Taught Us and What Comes Next
In June, 2024, four men set out to row from California into fog, gentle seas, and the unknown.
What followed was 41 days on the Pacific Ocean. Thirty-foot waves. Forty-mile-per-hour winds. Hallucinations from sleep deprivation. Seasickness that left half the crew unable to row. A broken oar. And a question that surfaced on day three, in the pitch black of a storm, when two rowers were down and the other two looked at each other and wondered: can we do this?
They could. And they did. Team Human Powered Potential completed their 2,800-mile row from Monterey, California, to Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, on July 19, 2024, becoming the first four-man American team to complete the mid-Pacific crossing, with Patrick Morrissey becoming the first person diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease to row across the Pacific. Along the way, they raised $43 million for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
But this was never just a row. It was a mission built on the belief that endurance, vulnerability, and community can change the trajectory of a disease that affects 1.2 million Americans. What started as four friends on a boat has become something much bigger: Human Powered Potential (HPP) is now a nonprofit foundation that supports other athletes living with Parkinson’s to take on extreme endurance events to raise funds for a cure and to inspire others living with Parkinson’s to keep moving, as research shows that exercise may help slow progression of the disease.
HPP’s “Second Wave” will kick off in April 2027 with an all-women’s row team that intends to become the first team to row the +5,200-mile Great American Loop around the eastern United States—with 100% of what they raise through Team Fox, the grassroots fundraising community of The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), going to support Parkinson’s research.
Since the row, Team HPP has continued to stay closely connected to MJFF, spreading the message of endurance in the face of immense challenges and hope in continuing to raise funds for a cure at MJFF events around the country. As HPP marks the 2-year anniversary of the Pacific row, we sat down with each of the founders to reflect on what their row taught them, what they’ve been up to since their epic adventure, and what excites them about what comes next.
PATRICK MORRISSEY
HPP Co-Founder | First Person with Parkinson’s to Row the Mid-Pacific
“I always talk about finding a cure in my lifetime, not just finding a cure.”
Patrick Morrissey was 48 when he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in 2019. A former Colorado State Wrestling Champion and NCAA Division 1 wrestler at Cal Poly, he’d spent his life in motion: mountain biking, hockey, skiing, the 24 Hours of Moab. Movement was never a hobby. It was how he processed the world.
When his friend Brendan Cusick asked him to be a spokesperson for the Pacific row, Patrick agreed. But as the team trained in California, still searching for their fourth rower, one question wouldn’t let go: “What if I became the fourth?”
The wrestler in him knew what it would take. Eighteen months of training later, he was on the water, managing his Parkinson’s symptoms in two-hour shifts, adjusting medication around seasickness, and rowing through moments when his body tried to shut down. His teammates adapted around him. When he needed rest, they covered. When he came back, he rowed.
Since the row across the Pacific, Patrick has served on the MJFF Patient Council, advocated on Capitol Hill at the Parkinson’s Policy Forum, and walked alongside 3,000 people at the 2026 Unity Walk in Central Park. Patrick was also recently honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with its Medal of Courage award. His approach to Parkinson’s carries the same discipline that defined his wrestling career: exercise is non-negotiable, advocacy is constant, and the mission is personal.
“What makes me most proud today is knowing we reached more than 26,000 individuals and changed the mindset of many people living with this disease,” he says.
“I am proud to have shown the world that a Parkinson’s diagnosis does not define who you are or dictate what you can achieve.”
When asked about watching the next wave of HPP prepare for the Great American Loop, Patrick says: “My hope is that they shatter records, reach an entirely new audience, continue to normalize the fact that movement is our best medicine, and show that together we can keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible.”
BRENDAN CUSICK
HPP Co-Founder | Team Captain
“This crossing was so much bigger than the four of us.”
Brendan Cusick grew up on the Northern California coast with an 18-foot rowboat on Big River in Mendocino. He spent his twenties guiding in Alaska, North Cascades, Bolivia, and Ecuador for the American Alpine Institute, then pursued mountain expeditions in the Himalayas through the mid-2000s. Adventure wasn’t a phase. It is the through line of his life.
The idea for the Pacific row started in 2021 when Brendan heard a podcast conversation between Rich Roll and ocean rower Jason Caldwell. “This sounded really hard,” he says, “but right up my alley, with physical endurance, mental resilience, and mother nature all intertwined.” He called his longtime friend Scott Forman. During the informational call for the Great Pacific Race, Scott texted him: “Let’s buy the boat.” By fall 2022, they owned the American Spirit.
Brendan was the one who approached Patrick about the row. “I have or had friends with the disease,” Brendan shared. “As we explored potential teammates, I asked Pat that he support our endeavor in some way that brought deeper meaning as someone with Parkinson’s.” To everyone’s surprise, Patrick ultimately decided that he wanted to join the row. The team and its purpose crystallized.
On the water, Brendan served as captain, holding things together when the ocean tried to break them apart. On day three, with two teammates down from seasickness and a storm bearing down, he and Scott looked at each other and had the same thought: could they do this? “Intuitively, Scott and I came to the realization that this crossing was so much bigger than the four of us. From experience, we also knew that whatever was transpiring now would eventually change.”
That philosophy carried the team through 41 days. Brendan turned 50 on day 24, celebrated with a lemon meringue pie and custom sun shirts, three of which read, “This was not my idea.” His said, “This was my idea.”
That simplicity stayed with him. Brendan describes the pull of ocean life through an analogy: “It reminds me of the Zen master who achieves enlightenment, and he’s chopping wood and carrying water. Even after enlightenment, he just chops wood and carries water.” On the boat, life was reduced to three tasks: row, eat, sleep. “I can only do one thing at a time, and I only had three things to choose from. Life can be so demanding and chaotic, and just simplifying it down and reminding myself of that is something I cherish now.”
Two years later, Brendan is leading HPP’s evolution into the adventure philanthropy the team envisioned during the crossing.
“When we started our campaign, we began to recognize the power and influence that our story was having,” he says.
“We envisioned that we would love to continue this journey. Not necessarily the four of us, but to find other unique, crazy people who want to take on something that’s extremely challenging and to do it for something bigger than themselves.”
Second Wave’s upcoming adventure carries on HPP’s legacy of extreme endurance for a cure for Parkinson’s. Brendan’s advice for the Second Wave: “Practice, prepare, and be kind. Know that each will find demons during the campaign, and how you support each other is what will bring strength and resilience for success.”
SCOTT FORMAN
HPP Co-Founder | The One Who Texted “Let’s Buy the Boat”
“The row taught me that strength is not the absence of vulnerability. Strength is what emerges because of vulnerability.”
Scott Forman met Brendan in the summer of 1994 in Bellingham, Washington, where both were guiding for the American Alpine Institute. He went on to become an emergency room physician. Brendan continued pursuing mountain expeditions. They settled near each other, Scott in Albuquerque and Brendan in Durango, rekindling their love for adventure with trail running, ski mountaineering, and bike riding.
In 2021, Scott spent his 50th birthday in the Grand Canyon with Brendan, and they joked about doing another adventure for Brendan’s 50th birthday. A few years later, they’d end up crossing the Pacific together with Patrick and Peter. What stays with Scott most aren’t the waves or the finish line. It’s the bond forged between the four men.
“Forty-one days at sea stripped away every pretense. What remained was trust, vulnerability, and brotherhood. Two years later, that may be the greatest gift the ocean gave us.”
He thinks about vulnerability differently since the Pacific. “For forty-one days, there was nowhere to hide. Every fear, every doubt, every limitation eventually surfaced. The breakthrough came not from resisting those moments but from embracing them. That experience changed how I approach life.”
Scott has continued supporting HPP’s mission, helping build the organization’s future and encouraging others to pursue challenges connected to purpose. Reflecting on the growth of HPP from a single row to a movement, Scott shares: “The mission is now bigger than the original four founders. The emergence of the Second Wave is proof of that. New leaders are stepping forward, bringing new perspectives, energy, and possibilities. That’s how movements endure. They evolve. They grow. They invite others to carry the mission forward.”
Scott also shared his advice for the HPP’s Second Wave team, which is currently training for their journey, “Trust the process. Remember that your greatest strength will not come from your muscles. It will come from your relationships. And allow yourselves to be vulnerable. The moment we stop pretending to be invincible is often the moment we discover how strong we truly are.”
PETER DURSO
HPP Co-Founder
“We did a thing. We did it together. It couldn’t have been done any other way.”
Peter Durso was a former triathlete, competitive swimmer, and bike racer who never says no to an adventure. He and Scott had been in residency together, and when the opportunity to row the Pacific came up, Peter’s answer was characteristic: “I couldn’t say no to an opportunity like this. To do something accomplished by fewer than 100 people, potentially historic and unquestionably life changing.”
On the water, Peter was the team’s resident swimmer, drawing on his experience as an all-American high school swimmer, triathlete, and swimming coach. He was tasked with jumping into 13,000 feet of open ocean to scrape barnacles off the hull when conditions allowed. He held no illusions about what the crew was enduring relative to the Parkinson’s community they were rowing for: “Our willingness to endure for this period crossing the Pacific Ocean is minuscule compared to the greater endurance that people with Parkinson’s must face daily.”
While the row itself is a “shifting collage of images and emotions,” Peter vividly remembers first hearing, then seeing, the crowd of friends and family cheering for the team as they turned the boat into Hanalei Bay. Since the row, Peter’s rowing machine has remained folded up against the wall. But the impact of the row continues to reverberate. He’s continuing work as an emergency medicine physician and recently started coaching high school swimming again.
“More important than the impressive fundraising numbers were the tens of thousands of people who followed our campaign and the awareness we generated,” Peter says.
“I hope that ripple of awareness becomes a swell and grows into an unstoppable wave of a movement. Through HPP, I want to continue to help people with Parkinson’s accomplish things they could only ever dream of and do more than they thought possible.”
Second Wave team captain Ashley Ellis is certainly carrying this torch. Peter continues with advice for Second Wave: “Have the grace to acknowledge your limitations and accept those of your teammates. Ask for help if you need it. Offer it constantly if you don’t.”
WHAT COMES NEXT
As the Second Wave prepares to row the Great American Loop in 2027, HPP is growing into exactly what its founders hoped it would become—a movement.
“Our motto is ‘inspired to endure.’” Peter says. “I personally hope that our small part will contribute and inspire others to embark on adventures that further the greater community.”
Two years ago, four men rowed into the unknown and discovered a blueprint for turning physical grit into a movement for a cure. And their journey is just getting started.
“We showed the world that the human spirit is still capable of extraordinary things,” Patrick says. “If my story inspired even a few people to reclaim their identity and keep moving, then every single mile of that ocean was worth it.”
