But the Corrimal man who shares his name with the legendary American actor and director does feel lucky - lucky to be alive.

After three kidney transplants and a lifetime of dialysis, the 36-year-old must also have some of the tenacity of "Dirty Harry" for he has set his sights on a grand goal.

Mr Eastwood wants to become Australia's first triathlete on dialysis.

"It took my darkest days to get to what I call a 'lightbulb moment'," he said this week. "Last Christmas, after some 30 years of dialysis, I'd literally had enough.

"I travelled to Melbourne to tell my mum that I was going off dialysis - a decision which would have killed me within days - and told her to plan my funeral.

"But on the way back up the coast, I stopped somewhere and was reading the story of Shad Ireland - the world's first triathlete on dialysis. I knew that I wanted to do that, too."

Fast-forward eight months and he's training hard, has lost 21 kilograms and is well on his way to his goal of completing the Batemans Bay triathlon in March next year. He's also feeling more positive than he has in years.

"I got tonsillitis when I was four years old and developed a strep infection which killed off my kidneys," he said.

"When I was seven years old, I had my first kidney transplant. When I was nine, I had my second transplant - getting the kidney from my father who had committed suicide. That still affects me deeply. I had the third transplant when I was 21 - it nearly killed me."

Mr Eastwood has been told by doctors that a fourth kidney transplant would almost certainly kill him. He's also been told he won't make 40 and that his training regime is adding further stress to his body.

"I've never let anything stop me - even when it probably should have," he said.

"My whole life I've been labelled as sick, as disabled, told that I should be dead. But I'm still here.

"There's a lot of things I will never do - but this is one thing that I think I can achieve."

Mr Eastwood has gained a lot of support, and has been filmed for an episode of the Foxtel show Fit'n'Flexed, which is expected to air in November.

He'll start off with some smaller runs, including Run Wollongong in October.

As for his namesake? "I wish I had his money," Mr Eastwood jokes.