THE less-urbane members of cricket's fast-bowling collective might think he's describing a new range of hair-care products or pop music's latest boy band, but Brett Lee unashamedly talks of the epiphany he experienced last year.
The life-changing moment came during last September's one-day series in England when it became obvious to Lee his future as a Test paceman was in jeopardy.
For the second time in his career he had been forced to undergo surgery to his left ankle, and the surgeon's insistence that he take adequate time to recuperate meant he had spent five months out of the Australian team.
Over that period, his replacement Michael Kasprowicz had happily grasped the opportunity of a regular Test and one-day berth and Lee was aware that he would begin Australia's four-Test tour of India as little more than a net bowler.
It was then that the 28-year-old undertook a gruelling, painful and - at times - bloody regimen designed to win back his status as one of world cricket's most feared fast bowlers.
"I made the decision prior to going to India in October that, if I wasn't playing, I would use that time to get myself as fit as possible," Lee said yesterday as Australia prepared for the fifth and final one-dayer against New Zealand in Napier today.
"I don't know if it was an epiphany or a stage in my life where I knew I was at the crossroads and had to make up my mind which way I wanted to go.
"But I knew that I wanted to play Test match cricket, and I knew that once I finally got the ankle right, the only thing that could stop me was my fitness."
The comeback journey began with major surgery to his right ankle after he broke down at the start of last year's tour to Sri Lanka.
Ever since he was a teenager, Lee has experienced pain in his ankle which he always dismissed as an occupational hazard for fast bowlers, whose front foot repeatedly pounds into a rock hard pitch.
That pain level had gradually built up over the 2003-04 summer, and his impact waned accordingly.
"It was like someone sticking a knife or a chisel in the back of your ankle," Lee recalled yesterday.
The problem was diagnosed as a floating bone spur in his ankle, caused by the constant pounding of the base of his shin bone into the ankle joint.
After removing the floating bone, surgeon Kym Slater shaved off the base of Lee's tibia to prevent further impact injuries and - while the fast bowler was under anaesthetic - applied pressure of 15 times Lee's body weight to the leg to replicate the stress of bowling.
Satisfied the joint was fixed, Slater told Lee to keep off the ankle for a month before slowly beginning a rehabilitation program.
That meant, by the time he reached India last October Lee had a head start over most other international players because he had laid a fitness base the likes of which footballers achieve during pre-season training.
Then, in concert with training partner and budding all-rounder Shane Watson, who was also in the India touring party having recovered from a back injury, Lee got really serious.
"I wanted to make sure that when the Australian guys were training and playing that I was doing more, and that when they were sleeping I was training as well," Lee said.
"When the other players were getting ready for a game in the morning, getting up to have breakfast, I would have already done 50 laps of the pool with Shane Watson."
The man who craves 12 hours' kip per evening and claims he could "sleep for Australia" if it were an Olympic event, climbed from bed at 6am each day and swam 50 lengths of the hotel pool.
Twice daily he would tackle six consecutive 30m-40m sprints, rest for a few minutes then begin another set to simulate a long bowling spell. Three times a week he bowled 10-over spells at full pace.
There was the regular sessions of free weights, chin-ups and push-ups to strengthen his chest and shoulders, abdominal exercises to bolster his back, flexibility work and long end-of-day runs in the stifling Indian heat.
He also began boxing and had his forehead split open by team-mate Justin Langer during a bout in Mumbai.
His skin fold measures shrank noticeably, and his weight plunged from 92kg to 82kg during the seven-week tour. But most importantly, he was fitter, stronger and more free of pain than at any previous time of his senior career.
"That's what made last summer so frustrating for him. He knew he was in the best shape of his career and probably bowling as fast as ever, yet he just couldn't get a chance to play in the Tests," Australia captain Ricky Ponting said yesterday.
"He's certainly grabbed his opportunity in every game he's played since he came back, and I'm sure if he's given a chance to play in the Test matches (which begin in Christchurch next Thursday) he will do a good job there as well."
- ANDREW RAMSEY