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CBJ is part of a rare group of runners with multiple 100-mile jackets from World's Toughest Mudder. He recently took on the Arizona Monster 300, so we sat down to dig into how he trained, why he signed up, what really happened at the aid stations, how he made it to the finish, and what's next. We are proudly supported today by speedlabs.co Energy Gum and Energy Gummies. Speed Labs products are formulated to help you power through your toughest workouts, long meetings, or late-night study sessions – with no mess, no shakes, and no crash. Just fast, effective energy when you need it most. Use code ORM25 for all 2025 Spartan Race, Spartain Trail, and Tough Mudder races for a 20 percent discount. Follow Christian Brown Johnson. You can listen to the podcast here or the link above. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels
ROI! Return On Investment? Ritual Of Indulgence? Robust Oral Idol? ROI Podcast™ hosted by Law Smith @LawSmithWorks and Eric Readinger... Here's the episode description fo sho fo sho wrote Law Smith and Eric Readinger piggyback off the previous episode hitting the back walls about hilarious chaos behind Tampa's 2 Bears 5K race. Law shares his adventures sprinting through Raymond James Stadium in American flag speedos, awkward celebrity run-ins with comedians Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura, and funny mishaps you won't hear anywhere else. Expect wild stories, comedic insights, and candid celebrity gossip—all served with ROI's signature humor. Buckle up comedy fans, this one's a ride. N.O.R.E. Noreaga, Comedian Meat Dave's Dave Williamson, Dean Akers, Jason Kelce, Bo Allen, Former All Pro and former Buccaneer Ryan Jensen, Buccaneer OG Cody Mauch, Buccaneer C Graham Barton, All Pro Buccaneer OT Tristian Wirfs, Barstool's Frank The Tank, Kevin KFC Clancy, John Feitelberg, Mike Calta, Por Osos Vodka, 2 Bears 1 Cave, Spartan Race, Oddsox, Alexis Fawx. Host Law Smith shares an unforgettable encounter with the genuinely gracious Alexis Fawx. Dive into candid, hilarious reflections on dating app mishaps, eyebrow disasters, and navigating today's relationship minefields. Laugh, learn, and improve your emotional intelligence by decoding life's subtle absurdities—only on ROI Podcast®. Episode sponsored by @ZUPYAK https://www.Zupyak.com → promo code → SWEAT @Flodesk -50% off https://flodesk.com/c/AL83FF @Incogni remove you personal data from public websites 50% off https://get.incogni.io/SH3ve @SQUARESPACE website builder → https://squarespacecircleus.pxf.io/sweatequity @CALL RAIL call tracking → https://bit.ly/sweatequitycallrail @LINKEDIN PREMIUM - 2 months free! → https://bit.ly/sweatequity-linkedin-premium @OTTER.ai → https://otter.ai/referrals/AVPIT85N Hosts' Eric Readinger & Law Smith
Can you lead a family if you occasionally blow up? Would your partner stick around if you tore a tendon and couldn't walk? And is “for better or worse” really unconditional… or just marketing?In this jam-packed Better Than Perfect episode John and Nicole tackle the minefield of leadership under stress, gender-split loyalty stats, and whether divorce courts are fundamentally unfair. Expect blunt takes, real injury stories, and a debate guaranteed to split the room 50/50.⏱️ Timestamps (approx.)0:00 – Why John says “If I yell, I've failed” — the leadership-temper dilemma2:00 – Spartan Race carnage: pushing through pain or proving nothing?6:00 – Living with the injury: daily tasks, ego hits, and hidden resentment10:25 – “In sickness and in health” stats: do men bolt more than women?14:00 – Conditional vs unconditional love: where each partner draws the line18:30 – Non-negotiables in marriage: attraction, effort, and respect24:00 – Leading while wounded: should vulnerability ever show?30:50 – Money, power, and attraction loops no one admits37:58 – Divorce court fairness: stacked deck or mindset myth?41:30 – Action plan: frameworks for crisis leadership & relationship growth47:36 – Rapid-fire takeaways + next week's teaser
Ep 216 This week Peter discusses his upcoming Spartan Race, Baseball Tournament, and Marathon. He talks about the importance of staying active as we get older, and how it improves quality of life.. He also discusses the importance of being able to debate, without it being an attack on a persons character.
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 64, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix welcomes special guest co-host Derek Talbott from The Shifted Hunter. In this episode, John and Derek combine their two shows to discuss recent concerns about public land. In this robust conversation, they discuss the growing threats to public land access and why hunters, runners, and outdoor communities need to unite. They explore: The politics behind land transfers and sales, why this issue affects hunters, anglers, and trail users alike, what we can do to protect these wild spaces, how two very different communities are fighting for the same cause, whether you're chasing elk or finish lines, this episode is for you.
Recevez 10% de remise avec le code HYROX10 : https://bit.ly/nutripure-extraterrien-hyrox”Rejoindre le programme Rox Evolution : https://bit.ly/roxevolutionAngie, alias Angélique Chetaneau, est infirmière, ancienne militaire avec 18 ans de service, et passionnée de sport. Dans cet épisode, elle raconte son parcours atypique : d'une enfance marquée par une pathologie cardiaque à ses exploits en Spartan Race, Decafit et Hyrox.Elle revient sur ses années dans l'armée, ses défis physiques, ses expériences en compétitions internationales (avec quelques anecdotes surprenantes), ainsi que son approche de la nutrition, de l'entraînement hybride et de la récupération.Un témoignage inspirant pour les fans de sport, de dépassement de soi et de récits authentiques.Épisode disponible sur Youtube également
In today's episode of Waking Up With Melissa, we're diving into the five mindset shifts I experienced completing a Spartan race—and how they directly mirror the challenges we face in business, leadership, and personal expansion.This episode is a call to anyone on the edge of their next level. From redefining success to choosing courage over comfort, I'm breaking down the powerful lessons that emerged from the mud, sweat, and monkey bars… and how these exact principles are what will grow your business and deepen your embodiment.A BREAKDOWN OF THIS EPISODE00:00 Why I signed up for a Spartan race (and what I didn't expect)04:39 Discomfort as an initiation, not a punishment09:53 Decision-making is your power move (not perfection)16:28 Redefining success, failure, and what it really means to “win”24:02 You are your only competition: growth over egoPS: Doors are officially open for Unleash & Unveil Your Soul Business 16.0! If you're ready to align your purpose, business, and abundance in 2025, head to iammelissaruiz.com/uuysb and apply. Let's build the empire that matches your soul.
This week we're talking about The Old Glory Ultra Relay. Army veteran Jason Wood shares how he and a team of 12 vets from Team Red White and Blue will begin running, non-stop from San Diego, CA to Washington DC. We talked about how this feat is even possible, and the route they will travel. Wood also shared how his own battle with PTSD, and depression almost ended his life. Saved after initially discovering joy from challenges like The Spartan Race, he ultimately began competing (and winning!) several ultra distance competitions. Wood also talked about Team Red, White and Blue, a veteran group that helps fellow vets overcome life's challenges through building an athletic community. Donations from the Old Glory Ultra will help Team RWB build even more events and make a significant change in the current mental health and suicide crisis among veterans. FOLLOW the epic Old Glory Ultra Relay and DONATE to Team RWB here: https://teamrwb.org/old-glory-ultra-relay Contact Phil Briggs, Host, CBS Eye on Veterans phil@connectingvets.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 63, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix welcomes special guest co-host Christopher Mellott. In this episode, John and Chris define what a mantra is. They provide various examples of the multitude of mantras that exist in the world. Then they turn to a conversation on how mantras can be turned into action, helping you achieve your athletic goals.
Jon shares his fitness journey, discussing the challenges he faced while trying to maintain his exercise and diet during a recent trip to Australia. He reflects on the importance of setting realistic goals, embracing grace, and adjusting his nutrition plan to include more protein and carbohydrates. Jump in!NEURISH Powder Supplement info:Learn & order at: myneurish.com Use promo code MTM for an exclusive discountJoin us and our MTM Team in Granbury Texas, for the Spartan Race (5k Obstacle course) October 19, 2025 all info here: https://mentalkingmindfulness.com/spartan-race-2025Timestamps:00:00: Progress and Challenges03:00: Embracing Realism and Grace05:58: Nutrition Insights: The Protein Challenge09:02: Carbs and Protein Intake14:01: The Role of Grace and Self-Compassion17:06: Insights from the Journey19:54: the Community Support
What's up, y'all? This week on the podcast, I sit down with Coach Kevin Brewer, a U.S. Navy veteran turned Spartan athlete, mindset coach, and weight loss mentor with an inspiring story of resilience. Kevin opens up about his battle with injuries and illness, and the long, winding journey to reclaim his health through discipline and mindset work. We dive into the challenges of navigating today's overwhelming maze of health advice, online gurus, and misinformation, and Kevin shares how these experiences shaped his mission to help others cut through the noise. We talk about the often-overlooked biases in “healthy” eating advice, and the need for validation when building new habits. Kevin also offers insight into the world of Spartan Races—from how the courses are structured to what challenges him the most. But beyond physical strength, we explore the power of vulnerability in coaching, the importance of being authentic, and why people helping people might just be the most underrated force for good in the world. For more on Kevin, head over to @coachkevinbrewer on Instagram. Follow the link below to work further with Coach Kevin https://shorturl.at/aEvfk We want to shout out @johnsfitmeals Head over and use promo code Mahoney10, and you'll get 10% off. Thank you, again, to everyone for listening to and supporting the podcast up to this point. Below, you'll find info on where to find the shows and social media. Tell a friend to tell a friend. Listeners get 20% off their purchase at simpleleaf.com and bjjwholesale.com with the code "BJJWIKI." Go check out @socialmediastrategiesthatwork. The account is operated by friend to the podcast and frequent guest @bjjmomma. Go give a follow and listen to @so_you_like_horror on Instagram and listen to the new episodes on Spotify. https://spoti.fi/3Jqrrxj The show is available on MANY PLATFORMS. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook.com/offthematspodcast Instagram @offthematspodcast TikTok https://bit.ly/3FTEZAd WRITE INTO THE SHOW Email: offthemats2020@gmail.com
The New England OCR Expo returned for its 4th year and it was the second time being at the venue of Ultimate Obstacles! Katelyn spent the whole time at our table trying to get some more people to follow our social media and subscribe to the show. Mike spent the entire event interviewing all the vendors, some athletes, and plugged into the speakers for the speeches, and awards. The day went by way too fast and there were easily 20+ people who we wish we interviewed to have on the show as well! This episode is part 2 of 2 and has the Teddy Bear Crawl announcement, speeches, awards, and about 9 more interviews! Go back to check out part 1 of our coverage of this event! Start – 3:45 – Intro 3:45 – 8:07 – Quick News 8:07 – 9:10 – Content Preface 9:10 – 11:15 - Teddy Bear Crawl Announcement 11:15 – 37:21 - Athlete Interviews (Brian Kellogg, Mario Valentin, Emma from Tough Mudder and Spartan Race, Lucas Borgatti and Roman Golisano, Taylor Feebas) 37:21 – 1:31:00 - Speeches (Steve "Bacon" Martin, Dan McDonald, Eric Matta, Billy Richards, Josh Fiore, Alex Catz, Kelly Sullivan, and Evan Perperis) 1:31:00 – 1:42:17 - Awards 1:42:17 – 1:52:40 - More Interviews (Luccketta, Nathan Lambert, James Golisano from Naticook Challenge, and Just Right Entertainment) 1:52:40 – End – Outro Next weekend we will be up to Katelyn since Mike is taking on his first Spartan Ultra in New Jersey! ____ News Stories: Karin Abrahamsson (Karlsson)'s Baby Carter and Steven's Farm Turns 20 Spartan San Diego Sprint Podiums Mythic Race Podiums Spartan Italy National Series Gubbio Beast and Sprint Podiums Spartan Germany-Austria Series Munich Super Podiums DEKA Fit Anaheim Podiums Spartan Dubai Super and Sprint Podiums Scythe Mowing Secret Link Papaw Eras Secret Link Cashew Headphone Secret Link Period Shame Secret Link Car Waterslide Secret Link ____ Related Episodes: 164. 1st Annual New England OCR Expo Preview with Steve “Bacon” Martin! 165. New England OCR Expo and Party! 320. The Return of the New England OCR Expo with Steve “Bacon” Martin! 323. The Second New England OCR Expo with Vendors! 381. New England OCR Expo! (Part 1: Vendors) 382. New England OCR Expo! (Part 2: Athletes, Speeches, and Staff) 431. The Return of FIT Challenge with Athletes and Robb McCoy! 432. New England OCR Expo 2025! (Part 1: Vendors) ____ The OCR Report Patreon Supporters: Jason Dupree, Kim DeVoss, Samantha Thompson, Matt Puntin, Brad Kiehl, Charlotte Engelman, Erin Grindstaff, Hank Stefano, Arlene Stefano, Laura Ritter, Steven Ritter, Sofia Harnedy, Kenny West, Cheryl Miller, Jessica Johnson, Scott "The Fayne" Knowles, Nick Ryker, Christopher Hoover, Kevin Gregory Jr., Evan Eirich, Ashley Reis, Brent George, Justin Manning, Wendell Lagosh, Logan Nagle, Angela Bowers, Asa Coddington, Thomas Petersen, Seth Rinderknecht, Bonnie Wilson, Steve Bacon from The New England OCR Expo, and Robert Landman. Sponsored Athletes: Javier Escobar, Kelly Sullivan, Ryan Brizzolara, Joshua Reid, and Kevin Gregory! Support us on Patreon for exclusive content and access to our Facebook group Check out our Threadless Shop Use coupon code "adventure" for 15% off MudGear products Use coupon code "ocrreport20" for 20% off Caterpy products Like us on Facebook: Obstacle Running Adventures Follow our podcast on Instagram: @ObstacleRunningAdventures Write us an email: obstaclerunningadventures@gmail.com Subscribe on Youtube: Obstacle Running Adventures Intro music - "Streaker" by: Straight Up Outro music - "Iron Paw" by: Dubbest
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 62, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix welcomes special guest co-host Christopher Mellott. In this episode, they discuss Care, Concern, and Accountability, and balancing all three when runners cheat or if a race participant or volunteer behaves negatively. They also discuss why rules matter and the distinction between the spirit of the rule versus the letter of the rule. An interesting conversation that explores the facets of ego, character, and integrity, as well as what happens when something negative reaches the court of public opinion.
Kevin BrewerTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Kevin Brewer. Kevin is a U.S. Navy veteran, who served for 7 years in multiple overseas duty stations; before being employed by both the Department of Justice (DOJ) & the Department of Defense (DOD). In this episode, we chat about why he joined the Navy, and what his job was in it. We discuss his duties as a cryptologic technician, and what his role was in narco terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking, counterintelligence, and counter terrorism. Kevin has Top Secret security clearance, and I ask him to tell me all of the secrets! He politely declines, and then we move onto his health issues. While serving in Afghanistan, Kevin developed several serious health issues which culminated in his gaining nearly 100 pounds, and an inability to exercise, run, or even walk to the refrigerator. He was in a pretty dark place both physically and emotionally. He ended up doing a ton of online research and began to figure out some things that turned his health around. Kevin changed his diet, adjusted his mindset, and sought out specialized STEM CELL treatment. Slowly things began to change. Kevin lost some weight, started narrowing down the food items that were triggering him and causing inflammation, and eventually lost the weight. He gives most of the credit to a change in his mental performance and adjusting his perspective. Now Kevin has acquired a depth of understanding with regard to 'Mental Performance Mastery' & 'Heroic Performance', as well as regularly competing in Spartan Races. Kevin's new mission is to share what he has learned and spread the knowledge he has gained during this process. He has a daily affirmation podcast called RISE AGAIN FROM THE STRUGGLE, which has released nearly a thousand 1–2-minute episodes of encouragement & inspiration. Follow Kevin on Instagram at Coach Kevin Brewer and check out his podcast everywhere podcasts are available.
The New England OCR Expo returned for its 4th year and it was the second time being at the venue of Ultimate Obstacles! Katelyn spent the whole time at our table trying to get some more people to follow our social media and subscribe to the show. Mike spent the entire event interviewing all the vendors, some athletes, and plugged into the speakers for the speeches, and awards. The day went by way too fast and there were easily 20+ people who we wish we interviewed to have on the show as well! This episode is part 1 of 2 and mostly has vendors interviews (see time stamps for specifics) while part 2 will have the Teddy Bear Crawl announcement, speeches, awards, and about 9 more interviews! Start – 5:27 – Intro 5:27 – 10:24 – Quick News 10:24 – 12:14 – Content Preface 12:14 – 2:15:09 - Interviews (MMB Performance Coaching, Run Slower, Isagenix, The Plunge Experience, OCR Buddy, Clear Path for Veterans, Vermont Rocks, Giv Soft Butter, Operation Enduring Warrior, Underdog Fitness, Engineer Nutrition, Bella Visions and Taureau Media Group, Bartlett Design, Obstacle Wonderland, Epic Race Training, Athletic Brewing, Oscar Mike, It Starts Here Fitness, Lionhearts Fitness, Jamie Gillon, Max Body Solutions, Dan McDonald from Tough Mudder and Spartan Race, Savage Race, Neighborhood Ninjas, Evan Perperis, and Teddy Bear Crawl) 2:15:09 – End – Outro Next weekend we will be releasing part 2 of our coverage of the New England OCR Expo! ____ News Stories: Helix Obstacle Going to Spartan Middle East Community Still Waiting for Deka World Championship Shirts, Medals, and Awards Rebecca Hammond Returns to Hybrid Racing Spartan US National Series Race Charlotte Sprint Podiums Spartan Mexico National Series Race Acapulco Sprint Podiums Spartan Stadium Los Angeles Podiums Tuscaloosa Gauntlet Podiums Spartan Honor Series San Diego Super Podiums Deadlift Mile Secret Link Morning Run Secret Link Hand Greeting Secret Link Dad Jokes Secret Link Pet Seagull Secret Link ____ Related Episodes: 164. 1st Annual New England OCR Expo Preview with Steve “Bacon” Martin! 165. New England OCR Expo and Party! 320. The Return of the New England OCR Expo with Steve “Bacon” Martin! 323. The Second New England OCR Expo with Vendors! 381. New England OCR Expo! (Part 1: Vendors) 382. New England OCR Expo! (Part 2: Athletes, Speeches, and Staff) 431. The Return of FIT Challenge with Athletes and Robb McCoy! ____ The OCR Report Patreon Supporters: Jason Dupree, Kim DeVoss, Samantha Thompson, Matt Puntin, Brad Kiehl, Charlotte Engelman, Erin Grindstaff, Hank Stefano, Arlene Stefano, Laura Ritter, Steven Ritter, Sofia Harnedy, Kenny West, Cheryl Miller, Jessica Johnson, Scott "The Fayne" Knowles, Nick Ryker, Christopher Hoover, Kevin Gregory Jr., Evan Eirich, Ashley Reis, Brent George, Justin Manning, Wendell Lagosh, Logan Nagle, Angela Bowers, Asa Coddington, Thomas Petersen, Seth Rinderknecht, Bonnie Wilson, Steve Bacon from The New England OCR Expo, and Robert Landman. Sponsored Athletes: Javier Escobar, Kelly Sullivan, Ryan Brizzolara, Joshua Reid, and Kevin Gregory! Support us on Patreon for exclusive content and access to our Facebook group Check out our Threadless Shop Use coupon code "adventure" for 15% off MudGear products Use coupon code "ocrreport20" for 20% off Caterpy products Like us on Facebook: Obstacle Running Adventures Follow our podcast on Instagram: @ObstacleRunningAdventures Write us an email: obstaclerunningadventures@gmail.com Subscribe on Youtube: Obstacle Running Adventures Intro music - "Streaker" by: Straight Up Outro music - "Iron Paw" by: Dubbest
In this episode, Coach Mario breaks down what it means to truly train for the demands of a Spartan Race. You'll hear how different elements of training come together to prepare you for hills, carries, and grip-heavy challenges — and why adapting your workouts to the race environment matters.If you're currently training or getting ready for your next Spartan, this one's for you.
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 61, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix and co-host Thomas Stott give updates on the Silverheels Trail Runs Permitting process before diving into a conversation about chasing an experience (the journey) rather than a destination. They discuss how people tend to become good at helping others meet their needs along the way and how that helps individuals find what they've lost or need while in the mountains. They also discuss the differences between introverted and extroverted trail runners, how to recognize the signs of one over the other, and how to be respectful of one another's "bubble" while on the trail.
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In this episode of Off the Crutch, we're talking all things adapted fitness—why it matters, how it builds community, and what accessible fitness really looks like.In 2014, Jake Weiner founded ZOOZ Fitness in Los Angeles with a mission to help individuals with disabilities thrive physically, mentally, and socially. With a background in psychology, marketing, Judo, and personal training, Jake recognized a need for more inclusive fitness opportunities and set out to fill that gap.What started as personal training sessions in local parks with just the basics quickly grew into something bigger. Today, ZOOZ offers private, semi-private, and group classes in Woodland Hills, CA, and throughout the greater LA area, with plans to expand across California and beyond. On April 5th, there will be a Spartan Race at Dodger Stadium, so anyone in the LA area, please check it out. https://race.spartan.com/en/races/los-angeles-stadiumFollow ZOOZ Fitness @zoozfitness or go to zoozfitness.comSend us a textFollow me on social media at @offthecrutch, or e-mail me at offthecrutch@gmail.com
In this special edition of the HPRS Podcast, Race Director John Lacroix discusses the framework of community within ultramarathon running from 20 years ago, the two pockets that currently divide the sport, and how the behaviors of a small subset of runners within the community threaten to tear what remains of the community apart.
Wow, we talked to everyone! About to run out the door so wanted to get this to you asap. Will update names and links later, but everyone gets their name on the microphone. Both male and female podiums as they came in, plus so much more. Use code 2024-ORM for all Tough Mudder and Spartan Races for 20 percent off. Support Us On Patreon for LOTS MORE behind the scenes. You can listen to the podcast here or the link below. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels.
Nicholas Klingensmith says that he grew up a punk and not so nice kid. As he will describe, he was quite self centered, but it was all a façade. He will tell his story of finally realizing that he needed to change both his thinking and his concept of himself. Nick is a type one diabetic. He also is a 4-time cancer survivor and he has a number of herniated disks. He also is a recovering alcoholic. Nick finally realized he had to change after being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel the night before he was to deliver sales speech. Nick was ejected because he was in, as he says, a “drunken haze”. Today Nick is a successful author, a public speaker and a successful obstacle course racer and so much more. He also is a survivor of the October hurricane that struck near his home in Tampa Bay Florida. We talk about all of this during this episode. Nicholas talks about resilience, controlling fear and even why he and his wife made the conscious decision not to evacuate their home as the hurricane approached. Nick offers many insights about how we all can learn to control fear and not only survive obstacles that are put in our way, but he will talk about how we can truly overcome them. As he will tell us, it is all about choice and making informed decisions. This episode to me is especially poignant because so many of the things we discuss are illustrations of what is going on all around us. I think Nick's experiences and the stories he tells about them are the kinds of things to which we all can relate. I hope you like Nick's discussion and that you will let me know your thoughts. About the Guest: After being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel in a drunken haze, jeopardizing his career and relationships, Nick Klingensmith had to make a change. A 4-time cancer survivor, type-1 diabetic, recovering alcoholic with herniated discs, nerve damage and sleep apnea, he defies it all when he finds Obstacle Course Racing. Refusing to accept his limitations, he's completed over 100 Spartan Races, 6 Major Marathons, several Ultras and scores of other obstacle and endurance events. As someone who has walked the path of a sales professional, Nick is an expert in propelling other achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts, by inspiring them to take purposeful action towards their goals. Nick is a raw and passionate storyteller who holds nothing back when revealing who he used to be and the person he is now. A true testament to the power of resilience, with an unwavering belief in his purpose to overcome obstacles and inspire others to do the same, Nick delivers powerful and transformative speeches, drawing from personal experiences to illustrate the extraordinary potential of pushing through adversity. 1) The power of perseverance: Pursuing personal growth and overcoming obstacles for success 2) Pursuing Something Greater: Taking Risks, pushing boundaries and exploring your unlimited potential 3) Living Inspired: Embracing Purpose, overcoming adversity, and finding belonging Ways to connect with Nick: Instagram: @stridemotivation https://www.instagram.com/stridemotivation/ TikTok: @stridemotivation https://www.tiktok.com/@stridemotivation?lang=en Twitter: @stridemotivatio https://twitter.com/stridemotivatio YouTube: @stridemotivation https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOiV2sNB3g4meufvBg3a9sA Threads: @stridemotivation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nklingensmith/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069207242260 www.stridemotivation.com Email: nick@stridemotivation.com About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset, where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet unexpected. Boy. It's been a crazy time in the world in general, and for our guest, Nick Klingensmith, it's really been kind of unexpected. Nick lives down in the Tampa St Pete area, and we as he knows, and I know, just went through a week ago hurricanes down there, which tells you about when we're recording this. He lost power for a while, but Nick is a pretty resilient guy, and he's going to going to talk about some of that. He's a keynote speaker. He's an author. Does a lot of different kinds of things. He is a coach, conducts master classes, and some things happen along the way that caused him to get to be where he is today. So we're not going to give any of that away. I want Nick and and while I'm Nick to talk about it and you to hear it, so we'll leave it at that. Nick, thanks for being here, and welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Nick Klingenmith ** 02:20 Michael, thank you so much for having me. I'm I'm really excited to be here today, Michael Hingson ** 02:24 and I'm glad I was out in Southern California. Actually, that's not totally true last week or when the hurricane hit. I was in Kansas City and so but I one of the people who spoke when I was there was an economist who lived down in Florida, and I don't know exactly where she lived, but she went out as soon as her talk was over to get back to Florida, because she felt that her home was right in the middle of everything. So gosh, what do you do? Nick Klingenmith ** 02:53 I'll tell you. Man, with the hurricanes, the most dangerous thing you can do is the reactive decisions before the hurricane. And part of what I'm talking about is being right where we are, right just north of St Petersburg, just north of where ground zero was supposed to be, right up until the like the late hour. You know, there's a lot of factors you have to consider when you like what want to evacuate or not. You know, we have a senior dog. We can't we can only drive so far with him. We have a reactive dog. There's only so many places we can take him, and if you didn't leave early, you risk running out of gas on the side of the highway. So there comes a point where, you know, we decided it our house was as secure as a home can be, even for a direct hit, we're just going to ride it out. We buttoned down. We were as safe as we could be. But, you know, with people telling you, like, run, run, run, right? Like, well, I have a friend who evacuated to Sarasota, where the direct hit actually ended up being, you know, I mean, where was I going to go to? To Orlando. It was directly in the path of the storm. Where was I gonna go? To the mountains? Because clearly, that's not so safe after all, the 72 hours leading up to a hurricane where just everybody panics and, you know, I think honestly, and this is what we'll unpack here, what I've learned from what not just not what I've been through, because what I've been through didn't teach me anything. It was what I had to what I had to do to put it all in perspective, and didn't understand it, but all those lessons in resilience give you the ability to pause and make better decisions in the face of adversity well, Michael Hingson ** 04:32 and that is absolutely true. You know, should you have evacuated well? You know, as you said, there are a lot of ways to go. And the question is, where could you really go? You'd have to leave really early to make sure you could evacuate far enough away. But then, as you said, you have a dog that that can't travel this far, and that becomes an issue. Just, you know, Nick Klingenmith ** 04:56 I'm not Florida. Man, all right, right. I am. Out three and a half miles from the shore. Yeah, I am just beyond, like, the line of demarcation, but if I was on the other side of the bridge, there's no way I would have stayed. Yeah, you Michael Hingson ** 05:12 know, well, you know, you can only do what you can do and decide what you can decide. But the real issue, as you point out, is being able to pause and analyze it. And one of the things that I love to tell people is I love information. For me, when September 11 happened, there were a couple of times I asked people like an FBI agent, what's going on, and they wouldn't tell me. And I understand why, intellectually, they wouldn't because they didn't want to cause panic. As we were coming out of the stairwell, none of us knew what happened. The hundreds of people on the stairs didn't know. Of course, people always say, well, you're blind. You didn't know. Well, that has nothing to do with it. The plane hit on the other side of the building, 18 floors above us, and you know, the reality is, we don't see through concrete, steel and rebar. So the bottom line is, none of us knew, and when I asked, he said, Well, just no time to tell you, but I'll take you where you need to go, me and other people who are with us. I wish he had told me, it would have changed some decisions I made, but I also understand why he didn't. He didn't know me. He didn't know whether I panic or go crazy or whatever, and and so he did what he did. And actually, I shouldn't say that I would change what I did and the direction that we went I might have. But the bottom line is, it's all about being able to pause and analyze, and you have to have the information to do it. And you clearly were in a position to have as much information as you could have and make the decision that you made. Nick Klingenmith ** 06:48 You know, when you hear seals describe like certain engagements and these split seconds that go by, and just the decision making process and the the way that, you know, time slows down for that. I mean, that's what they train for. That's why they train through adversity, and that's, that's how I look at more adversity now. And it's not that I welcome it. Don't get me wrong, you know? I mean, who really wants bad things or uncomfortable things? You don't want them. But I like to say this because somebody had asked me once that, if I wasn't a diabetic, would I be a better athlete? And I said, No, if I wasn't a diabetic, I wouldn't be an athlete at all. I wouldn't have become one so. Well, why is that I have these tools? I've accepted that life is always going to keep coming, so I just don't need to panic anymore. I know I have the tools and ability to slow down and make that decision making tree to get through it. Michael Hingson ** 07:46 Yeah, okay, and that makes sense, but it is this, we, what if everything in the world anyway, too many people, what if everything, well, what if you weren't a diabetic, would you have done? You know, we, we, we always have to see those questions coming at us. And it's unfortunate that all too often we What if so much that we create a lot of fear that we don't need to create, yeah, which you know, makes sense. Tell us a little about if you would. I love to start out this way, the early Nick growing up and all that, and kind of what, what started you to where you're going and where you are, Nick Klingenmith ** 08:26 man, I was a little shit. There you go. Michael Hingson ** 08:29 That's Thanks for being on the podcast. Nick, we just summarized. No, no, go ahead. I Nick Klingenmith ** 08:35 was such a punk, not a bad not like a I didn't like to get in trouble, but I, I was a little punk, you know, from the time I was a little kid. And I think I realize now, you know, part of, part of what I've uncovered in my history here is that my my father left me, left my mom, not me at a very young age. I grew up on an island, all right, it wasn't an after school special. He moved down the road, but the problem was that my mom wasn't she was still active with drugs, and she simply just wasn't capable of actually like caring for me. And so I grew up not necessarily looking for other people's validation so much as trying to prove that I didn't need it. So, I mean, I had a, I like, I was, I had a side hustle when I was in the second grade, like, I was hustling kids playing cards out of the playground, like, I just kind of like to buck the rules. I liked, I liked the bad guy in the movies. You know, it was, that's who I related to. But that, that sort of grittiness, actually turned into something after a while, because as I continue to look at myself as more independent and having to do it on my own, I also started working at a young age. I went to a boarding school for high school because I wanted a better education. Something else. I sought out myself, financial aid. I sought out myself. I went to college back. At the University of Massachusetts, and I also paid for that. Paid my own way through summer jobs and well, the last 20 years. So that was all working for me as something for a very long time, I was active in life. I like to play sports. I played competitive beach volleyball for 20 years. I I like to I liked to socialize. I often find myself in relationships, and there just came a point, though, where that sort of me against a world attitude changed. It was something that was giving me fuel and armor for a long time, right when I found out is that it was actually more like the rally cry of the victim mindset that I had been developing. Michael Hingson ** 10:45 So what happened that brought that realization and that change? Nick Klingenmith ** 10:51 I needed to start having real things happen to me, such as the four times I've been diagnosed with cancer. I'm a type one diabetic. I just celebrated 10 years of recovery from alcoholism. I have seven herniated discs from two different rollover fatality car accidents, nerve damage in several areas, sleep apnea. I almost died from meningitis. All those things had happened, and all those things had only contributed, though, to the victim mindset. It wasn't until I became an obstacle course racer, until, actually, after my boss walks in my office and challenges me to do a Spartan Race. And this was at a time where I was on top of the world. At that point, I was two years sober. I was a VP of sales. I was doing really well in my career. I was in a new relationship with an amazing woman that's now my wife. And I had just decisively beaten cancer for the fourth time, and I was I was kind of stuck, and so when he challenged me to do this obstacle course race with him. I knew I needed a change, and I didn't know what it was, so I said yes to this event. And it was through that process that I began to defy everything that I had previously believed about myself. I had created such limiting beliefs. I had created this narrative again, me against the world. I'm the victim poor me, right? I was convinced that I couldn't run because of my diabetes. I couldn't adventure because of my sleep apnea. I'd always be a piece of crap because of my addiction. When I went out there and I did my first obstacle course race. So I'm out there in the woods, crawling under barbed wire, carrying heavy objects, climbing up ropes, swinging from things, just like a little kid out there in the world with no fear and no doubt. And it wasn't me against the world, it was me in the world. And I felt just liberated. And I realized that everything I had convinced myself before of that had been a lie, and I didn't know yet what I had just, you know, told you about the victim mindset. It was just that point, I realized I was capable. I had this blank slate in front of me, and so for the next six, seven months, I got into this world of endurance sports and obstacle course racing. And I was improving through better nutrition, better exercise, yoga, meditation. I was improving through mind, body and spirit in all aspects of my life. And that's when I was in a second car accident, and that's where I got several more of my herniated discs, and that's where I got nerve damage. And the same day that happened, my cat of 12 years died, and 10 days after that, the lady who hit me died. And even though all I was doing was sitting at a red light when that happened, I felt responsible, and I was home couple weeks later, just heartbroken and devastated. You know, the last six, seven months have been like a dream to me. I felt like I was becoming this better person in all aspects, and now I felt like it was being all taken away from me, and you want to give up. And I'm sure I'm not the only person who's ever felt that way. I just didn't know what that meant. So I kept going to work. So I keep taking showers, I keep walking the dog, I keep meeting my responsibilities. And so I decided to put another race on the calendar, and when I was trying to train. I just I wasn't in it, and I was listening to this, like motivational compilation on YouTube, this guy's going back and forth about, are you a survivor? You are or victim? Are you a victim or survivor? And that's when I realized that even though I had already been progressing and I had just like found this new found lifestyle that I was still playing the victim. I was still saying, Woe is me, why me? Why me? And I? When I recognized it, that's when I realized that it's also a choice. You may not have chosen to be a victim, but you do choose to remain one, and I decided that that point that I will not be defined by my adversity, but rather. They're my triumph over it, and so it's been a decision. I have to only what. There's only one way I can tell that story, and it's a long version. Michael Hingson ** 15:07 No, that's fine. You know, one of the things that that I realized during September 11, and it was partly because as tower two was falling and I was falling and I was running away from it, one of the things I said to myself was, God, I can't believe that you got us out of a building just to have it fall on us. And I'm a guy who has a lot of faith and so on, and I don't tend to panic. But I said that, and then immediately I heard in my head of voice as clearly as you hear me now, that said, don't worry about what you can't control. Focus on running with Roselle, who is my guide dog, and the rest will take care of itself. And I've adopted that mindset, which is really what you're saying. Focus on what you can control. There are things that happen to us that we didn't and wouldn't have any control over them happening. I've been well, I'm still yet to be convinced that we truly could have predicted September 11 as a country and stopped it. I don't think that we had the information, which says something about what a team dedicated to trying to create so much chaos and destruction was able to do because they functioned as a team. But the bottom line is that they did what they did. I don't think we could have stopped it, but what I do have control over is how I deal with what happened. I couldn't control what happened, but I can deal with what happened, and I think that's the important part of it, you know, I think Nick Klingenmith ** 16:42 part of what you just it's not that you can do with it. I think the difference is you recognize it as yours to deal with. That's the first step. You know, too often we we refuse to recognize that we have an option, just because we don't like the options and dealing with it. We have to accept whatever happened happened. I have to accept that I'm a diabetic. I said this in a speech the other night. I said, like it's I'm not to blame that I'm I'm a diabetic, but when I take responsibility for being diabetic, I can be an ultra endurance athlete. Gotta accept our starting line, whatever, whatever that is. And, you know, there's a friend of mine, she's also a diabetic. She has a kind of a special something. I don't really understand diabetes thing, but, you know, she she, she struggles because she tries to control it, instead of just manage it, or instead of live with it. You know, they're basically kind of, now I'm going to mess this one up, but she doesn't focus on what she can control. She's so focused on what she can't. Mm, hmm. And that's what keeps Michael Hingson ** 17:57 her stuck, yeah, and it happens so often, which is one of the things I talk about in my new book that we published in August of 2024 the book called Live like a guide dog, is that we What if everything to death. And the problem is well over 90% of what we what if about we don't have any control over. And that's the difference between us and dogs. Dogs don't do what ifs. And on September 11, when I was working with my fifth guy, dog, Roselle, nothing directly, really threatened her, and so as soon as we got home, she is ready to play. It was all over, and it's because she doesn't deal with it the way we have taught ourselves, or have been taught, to deal with things. And we What if everything so much that we create a lot more fear in our lives than we need to have, which is, which is so unfortunate, if we could learn to step back from that the Nick Klingenmith ** 18:52 the speech I gave the other night told my story, as well as centered on a couple of themes that really would have resonated with that particular crowd, but one of them we talked a lot about, was fear was one that they kept kind of bouncing around after the fact. And I say that fear only exists in my imagination, and it's only power sources me, and it's that we suffer more from our own imaginations than we do reality. Sure, we create these things, but if we take just even a moment, and it's hard, even if you think, even if you think through logically, I don't think you can necessarily think through fear. And I'll, I'll speak to that in just a moment, but look back at all the times we were afraid. I found no monsters under the bed or in the closet. Like 90% of the things that I've been afraid of. Also, not only can I get out control, but they also haven't happened, right? Most of them will never manifest. You know, that said, the reason I think that you can't net even though you should be able to logically think through fear and understand that it probably doesn't exist, fear also hits on our emotions and stuff like that. So you. The I do believe that we can then move beyond fear, and therefore action is how we conquer fear. Michael Hingson ** 20:07 Well, I think that, I guess I differ just a little bit. I think fear is a real thing in a sense, and partly it's a physical physiology, physiological reaction. I will never tell people not to be afraid, because I don't think that overall, we can do that. But what I tell people absolutely is you can learn to control fear and use it as a very powerful tool to help you. If you choose to do that, fear is is something that can cause you to focus, or if you don't learn to control it, it will overwhelm you, or, as I put it, blind you or paralyze you. But it is, it is there, and maybe the time will come when we can completely eliminate the concept. But mostly it's there, in part, because it's a physiological thing that we also encounter. But again, you mentioned the seals earlier, and they've learned to control fear. They're not going to tell you they're not afraid, but they're going to tell you that they can control it and use it to their advantage. Um, Nick Klingenmith ** 21:12 we don't. We don't differ at all. By the way, the because I didn't fear itself isn't, isn't real. It's our fears are liars, those, most of the time, are the manifestations of the doubt. Fear, of course, is a real thing. Here's what I like to say, Okay, I'm with you, yeah, because I'm afraid of snakes and heights, yet I spend my weekends crawling around swamps and climbing up mountains. But it's not because I'm unafraid. It's I move beyond the fear. I do it anyway, and it I'm still afraid. I'm never going to handle a snake if I see one on the course, I'm going the other direction as fast as I can. It's just that I've, I have to find a way to not let it prevent me from living my life. And so I look for those things to you know, whatever I step into fear, I create. I make my world broader. But I don't know if you ever read the book, fear is fueled by Patrick Sweeney, great book, but he really talks a lot about the difference between fear and courage. Because or being fearless, you'd have to be a sociopath. Yeah, you'd have to have a complete disconnection from reality. And plus, like you said, Fear is very healthy. It is a good idea to fear the hot flame over the stove. It's a good idea to fear the Mack truck going down the highway if I want to go run into the street. Also, fear can be an indicator. You know, I when I was afraid for my job, I knew it's because I wasn't doing it. If I'm afraid for my home, it's because I'm not financially prepared. You know, if fear tells me what's important to me as well. So it's not always a bad thing, like, like we've been saying, though it's what you do with it or what you do about it. So Michael Hingson ** 22:51 you wouldn't even want to pick up a garden snake or a king snake or anything. Oh, no way, huh? Nick Klingenmith ** 22:57 I don't care if it had, like, tickets for Vegas and a cure for cancer in its mouth. Put that demon thing, that demon cord away. Michael Hingson ** 23:07 Well, I have, I have played with some snakes, but I also recognize that they're, they're not like me, and you have to be cautious even among the most non poisonous snakes, and that is something that we have to deal with. But I guess I don't fear them. I'm probably more cautious around a black widow spider than a snake than my wife. There you go. Well. But the other part about snakes is, of course, not knowing necessarily, if I encounter snakes, what they are, I'm going to probably avoid them until I know a whole lot more from somebody else about them. And if I hear rattlers, I'm going to definitely deal with that accordingly and freeze or whatever. So Nick Klingenmith ** 23:55 that's why my fears are rational, because you would be naturally afraid of the potential consequences of the snake, which is what we should be afraid of, right? If we're getting afraid of something, right? I'm afraid of the snake. I'm afraid it's of its sheer existence. My Michael Hingson ** 24:10 My brother in law, when he was a kid, my wife used to tell this story, and her parents told the story, and they all passed now, but he came in one day, or came from somewhere, and he was holding a Black Widow and going, Yeah, that's really strange, but eventually he let it go, but he was just holding on to it and showing it to everybody. Fine. I don't think he would do that today, though. Yeah, Nick Klingenmith ** 24:41 Mo, I feel like again, maybe logic and thinking prevents us from doing really silly things like that from time to time. Yeah, there Michael Hingson ** 24:48 is that. On the other hand, I've never been a skier, and I'm not afraid of skiing, but I love to tease people and say I'm not going to go skiing, because I know what happened to Sonny Bono and I know. Those trees are out there waiting for me. And no matter where I am in relation to the trees, they're going to come out and get me. And in reality, I know intellectually that if somebody said, Come on, really ski. If I were up in an area where there was a ski resort and we had snow and all that sort of stuff, and there was a reasonably gentle ski slope, I would try it, but it's fun to tease people and say, heck no, I'm not going to go out there and let those trees get Nick Klingenmith ** 25:28 me. I think what you just said is kind of important, because I look at it like hot sauce, all right. I when I was younger, I could eat the hot or the hot. Nowadays, not so much, but I still enjoy hot sauce, but if it gets too hot, I can't enjoy it at all. It will ruin the entire meal. I can't even eat it. And that's sort of where the fear comes in, or doing things that we're fearful of, because if you just throw me right into it, that's not going to be exhilarating, and that's not going to be something I'm going to come back from and want to come back from and want to do again and say, I conquered that. That's not going to expand my universe. That's going to send me crawling under the bed. So, yeah, if you don't like the ski, if you're afraid of the trees, the bunny slope is where you need to be. Well, Michael Hingson ** 26:14 having having never skied, I would want to start out there anyway, but, um, but I know intellectually, I'm not really afraid of it. I've just never really been around skiing. Now, my wife was in a wheelchair her whole life, so we really never were up visiting her, her brother, my brother in law, or in any other area, when we were really around in a skiing environment, which is what it's really about i i would never avoid skiing, but it's just not the thing that is the most exciting thing for me to do. I've ice skated in my life, and I was out on an ice skating rink for a few hours, and at the very end, I fell and sprained my ankle. And I haven't really been ice skating since, but I am, but I I'm not afraid to go do it. It's just again. It's not something that that I've done, but I, I think life is an adventure, and I love to explore things. And you mentioned hot sauce, there used to be a show on Food Network with Bobby Flay, and I'm forgetting the other guy, who was, oh, I'm blanking out on his name, but it was called grilling and chilling. And he was from, he owned a restaurant down in in Philadelphia called Jack's Firehouse. And we ended up having to go there. Well, we'd end up going there. Didn't have to go there, but Karen, my wife, and I, went there. They have something there, which is made of the hottest peppers and so on that. You can imagine. It's called hot lava, and they bring you a bowl of it, and I touched my finger to it, and then just tasted my finger, and I went, I'm not going to eat that stuff. That's just too hot for me. But again, I can say safely that if I had to, because I didn't have any choice, I wouldn't be so afraid that I wouldn't do something like eat it if it had to be on something to make it edible or whatever. But I do think you're right. I think that fear is really all about what we do and how how we learn to control it, and that's the important part about it. And all too often, we just don't learn to do that. And so as you point out, well over 90% of the things that we fear never will come to pass, never have come to pass, and we're just the ones who are creating the environment that makes it so much scarier for us. Nick Klingenmith ** 28:36 Plus, are we really afraid of the thing, or are we afraid of the consequences of the thing, yeah? You know, when you really take it all the way back down to the thing you're most afraid of, you may realize what you're most afraid of is a nuisance and not a catastrophe, right? Michael Hingson ** 28:55 Yeah? And, and for me, um, I'll, I'll face consequences, and what I the only thing I want to as much as possible know is what the consequences are, and then I'll make a, what you would call a rational decision as to whether I want to do it. But I can take the basic fear out of the situation and turn it into making it somewhat analytical. And the result of that is that it becomes what we're talking about here, which is a choice, you Nick Klingenmith ** 29:29 know, I'll take it back down in the beginning, because I'm sorry, did I cut you off just now? No, no, okay, you know the decisions that went into the storm, right? So we, I gave you the reasons as to why we were there, but why we decided to stay. But then there were other things to consider. Um, I mean, the house is, like, rated for whatever the wind the windows go 140 like it's a new roof, blah, blah, blah, like it's, it's about as safe as it can get, all right, we we weren't going to die. We weren't going to get flooded. We sandbagged. Everything we did, all this, whatever. So then the decision had to be like, if it is bad, we have to understand, if there's like, catastrophic damage to the area and something goes wrong, they're not going to be able to get to us. So we might be without days. You know, we know. We knew we would lose power. We might be without food, water and access to other human beings and communications for up to, like, a week. So we prepared for that. That said, right, we were as logically prepared as possible. When you're sitting in the middle of a cat four hurricane, I'm not going to tell you I wasn't scared. I mean, like you could look out the window and even the middle of, I mean, it was, it was late when it hit, I mean, trees that don't move were swaying hard back and forth, and you weren't totally unsure that one of them wasn't going to end up in your living room. So those were completely natural fears, even though I was as secure as it could logically be. It's a cat four hurricane, and it can do what it wants. Michael Hingson ** 31:00 Did did you though, while that was happening and you were seeing all that, did the thought also flash in your mind? Yeah, but I did make the choice to stay here so I can deal with it, or I will deal with as best I can. I Nick Klingenmith ** 31:13 was already prepared for, you know, in my mind I had, I mean, by the door, we had two doors that were accessible because we barricaded everything else up. And by each of them were, you know, shoes, towels, wet gear, things of case I needed to, case a tree came through and crushed and I had to do something I don't know, whatever, like, you know, the the car was in a position. If we had to bug out, we could bug out. If it, you know, we kept the lifted vehicle here, move the other one down the road. Preparations were about as made. But this is where obstacle course racing literally taught me the process to this. Because I love running Ultras, 50 Ks, you know, 70 obstacles up mountains, 10 to 12 hour days of just misery, because everything will go wrong. Everything will go wrong. Whatever your race plan is, things are going to go wrong. And so I've literally just been practicing tackling one unexpected obstacle at a time, and that's all it is. It's a mental process of right? You prepare for what you can and when things happen, you have to just pause and say, what is the obstacle? What is the challenge I'm facing? What is the outcome I need, and what needs to be done to achieve it? Go Michael Hingson ** 32:29 deal with that obstacle, and then go to the next one. That's Nick Klingenmith ** 32:33 That's it. I mean, if, if Windows got punctured out, and then we do this, if something else happened, then you begin to prioritize, protect the dogs. My wife is fully capable of taking care of herself and also doing things to protect the home. So we had our assignments, but instead, you know, because of that, she fell asleep in the middle of the worst of it, which is a good thing. The dogs were comfortable. Nothing bad happened. And I mean, we lost power. But whatever that happens. Michael Hingson ** 33:01 I was in a sports car rally once, and I was the navigator, so the the course, the instructions were in braille, and I started to read it, and then, and I was reading to the driver, so that the driver followed directions, and I started to get a little bit ahead, and the driver said, no, no, no, don't do that. All I want to know is, what's our next job? And that struck a chord with me, because I I realized, Oh, he wants to focus on just the one thing which makes perfect sense. And that's been a and I was like, 13 at the time. That was a life lesson, though, that I that I really took to heart. Again. You can think about all sorts of things. You do need to make preparations, but when you're in the middle of something, ultimately, you've got to deal with it one step at a time. It's Nick Klingenmith ** 33:57 It's like chess. You want to consider all your moves, but you only make one move at a time, and I'll tell you, this is something that is so idiot proof I hate that it's taken me 45 years to really get the hang of it, but there's been no better teacher for me in that than sobriety, because I truly learned one day at a time, living and as an entrepreneur and A new speaker and a new coach. This past 18 months, it's sometimes been hour at a time living because life continues to happen, but the way that I will solve most of my problems is with the new action. And so I and you can't just ignore things all the time, but I can say for one hour, I'm focused on this right now. And I literally will say out loud often, no, I'm doing this right now. I'm doing this right now. Even on my run, sometimes I'm like, nope, hey, I'm here right now. Michael Hingson ** 34:51 Do you do things like, when you're running, listen to podcasts or anything like that, or do you just focus on the running? Neither I listen to music and day. Mean, okay, well, so you you do other things while you're running. Okay, why? I shouldn't have just said podcast. But rather, I pay Nick Klingenmith ** 35:07 attention to because I run by heart rate. So it'll be like 10 minutes at this zone, 10 minutes at this zone, back and forth. So I have to pay attention. But I set my watch to heart rate. I don't even look at the pace and and so I have to monitor that loosely every, you know, just a little bit at my watch. Also, I will have to look at my diabetes, my blood sugar, every 10 minutes, 15 minutes or so. But beyond that, glucose monitor, yeah, I have it on my phone, yeah. So I'll do that. And then, other than that, I listen to music, and my playlist is very eclectic, but I, I will daydream of things, you know, this is where I set and just daydream of really big goals, or race goals or life goals, and just just fantasize like just, let's say it drift away into that. But running Michael Hingson ** 35:59 gives you the opportunity to do that, which is what's so cool. I There are things that that I do that I call them sort of brainless activities, but I do them with the idea that while they're going on, I can be thinking about other things. I don't have to focus my full attention on them. And the result of that is that I do accomplish other things, or I set goals, or, as you say, daydreaming things happen because of that. Nick Klingenmith ** 36:28 And for me, I learned a long time ago. Even though I can be a fierce competitor, I'll go back to my beach volleyball days. Let's say you and I met before the game. You were we're going to play against each other, and I liked you. We were casual with each other. Whatever I would play great. But let's say for some reason we didn't like each other, and then all of a sudden I was kind of pissed off. I would play terrible. I I don't play well, like that. I play well, and I'm loose having fun, yeah. And so since I run my heart rate, I am acutely aware of what a negative a negative thought does to your body, because I literally will turn my thoughts to something negative. And even though I am not making any more effort, I'm not running any faster, my heart rate is jumping six to eight beats a minute. Yeah, so that's also why I don't want to solve problems when I'm out there. You know, that's where I do want to drift away, because when I'm in my work day, right? I'm not daydreaming, I'm working. I'm focused on tasks and things that I can do with other people or places that are required to do during work time. Michael Hingson ** 37:37 But it's great to have the opportunity to just let your mind go. And I think we need to do more of that. One of the things I also advocate a lot is that people should take time at night, when they're falling asleep or just before, and be introspective, think about what happened during the day, and do it in a in a constructive way. Never say, why did this fail? Why was I a failure here? But rather, what can I learn from this that didn't go as well as I expected? I've learned to not ever call myself my own worst critic anymore. I'm my own best teacher, and that's the way it should be, because first of all, it's a positive thing, and secondly, I am my own best teacher. No one could teach me anything. They can provide me with information, but I really have to teach myself and understand it and emotionally and intellectually deal with it. But I think it's it's so important to have that time just to let your mind go off and do things. Nick Klingenmith ** 38:36 One of the worst things as people that we do is we start the day with yesterday, yeah. And one of the ways to prevent that, which takes practice, because we're used to it, is we also have to finish the day the day before. So like you're talking about, and this is part of my sobriety, too. It's take that daily inventory, and then I like to after doing sort of doing that exercise myself, I'll also say a nightly prayer, and then I'm going to meditate for at least five minutes, sometimes 30 to 45 probably five. And at that point I'm not trying to think about anything. And I go that that point is when I'm I'm listening or, right, you know, just trying to clear it out. But I think I remember a couple years ago, I was training for this race, and it was a big race, 50k mountain race, and I started to kind of have a panic moment of like, Oh, my God, I have to do all this training. What am I going to do? How am I going to prepare for this? I'm never going to do it in time. And so I asked myself, well, what's the most important thing I need to do right now to hit my goal? And the answer was, I needed to make sure I woke up to do my training in the morning, because that's the only other thing I can impact right I can't do anything about the next three months. So then I asked myself, well, if I need to make that happen, what is the most important thing that needs to happen right now for me to hit my goals? And this is when I was stretching and meditating at night. And I was like, well, I need a good night's sleep so I'll wake up and exercise. Okay, what's the most important thing I can do right now to make sure I have a good night's sleep? Go to sleep. Mountain came down to one breath. Yeah, I hear you. And that's it. I mean, it's I have it written on my whiteboard over here. It says, break things down to the stupid Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 40:26 and eventually get to sleep. Nick Klingenmith ** 40:28 I mean, it's just the one, the baby steps that I can take. I remember, I was reading Miracle Morning at that same time, and I used to, because I was, I was struggling, and so I was using my meditations for visualization, and I was spending too much time there trying to create a future. And it wasn't giving me that relaxation, and it wasn't. It was actually stressing me out more, and I just needed to relax and just to focus on the single most controllable thing I could and just taking it, you know, take some pressure off myself, and that really was such a simple fix. Michael Hingson ** 41:01 Yeah, I hear you, if I may, you've talked about being sober now for I think you said 10 years, yep, what? What led you to finally make that decision that you had to change and be sober. Nick Klingenmith ** 41:17 My final drunk was very public. And by what I mean by that is I was supposed to be the speaker at my company's conference the next day in Vegas, and instead, I got thrown out of the hotel and trespassed in the middle of the night for trying to have sex with a hooker in a broom closet after apparently getting in a fight with somebody. Well, my girlfriend slept down the hall. I wasn't allowed back at the hotel. Told my boss, my lawyer, I lied to my girlfriend about whatever we were getting thrown out of. It took about five hours for us to get a new hotel, and when my head finally hit the pillow, I said out loud, I don't want to live this way anymore. But that was just the final moment. Because what led up to that was I was a very highly functional alcoholic, and I had been for only a number of years. To be honest, I had alcohol wasn't a big part of my life for a while, and then when it came back in, it came back in rapidly. And so really only a period about five or six years I became a highly functional alcoholic, and I mean highly my career flourished during this time, you know. And the thing is, I didn't I wasn't an everyday drinker. I didn't get drunk every time I drank, and bad things didn't happen every time I did, but more and more, my decisions were getting more selfish, my behavior was getting more destructive, and alcohol was just playing more of a bigger role in my life. So I it was when I got cancer the third time that gave me the excuse I needed to crawl deep into the bottle, because at that point it was already sort of critical mass. I wouldn't go anywhere unless I knew I was going to get drunk. Everything was selfish. I didn't know about it. I didn't think about it, and I was actually ready to quit because I didn't like the way other people would talk about me. So that sounds like a healthy reason, right? And so so I tried to quit on my own, and I spent a couple months just white knuckling it, and I tempted fate, and I went to every happy hour. I threw beer Olympics in my house. And I just, I think I wanted to prove that I could do both without, you know, be who I was, without being who I was. But what I also didn't realize at a time that alcohol wasn't the problem. Alcohol was just a symptom. Who I was was the problem. And so when I got cancer for the third time, they told me they couldn't operate. Um, spoiler alert, the tumor's still there. It's been there over 10 years, but that gave me an excuse to crawl deep into the bottle. And so for about a month, I mean, I just, I was drinking at that point, because who's going to mess with me, right? I have inoperable cancer. That was the excuse I needed, and it that's what really led me to take the gloves off, which led me to Vegas. So I tell you, this cancer saved my life, because I would have died for my drink and long before I would have died from the cancer. Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 44:19 I hear you. Well, you've said that you recognize that you didn't overcome adversity. You survived it. What does what does that mean? And how do you overcome adversity? Nick Klingenmith ** 44:29 I understand surviving it is when? How did I how do I say it for someone else? You know? It was because, as I'm standing there in the totality, here's the thing I told you, how I was growing up. You know, this sort of independent kid? Right child of neglect grows up to be independent, weird, right child with trust issues grows up to be self sufficient, cool, but at some time along the way, that just becomes resentment. It and fear, and it works against us, and that's what creates a little bit of the victim mindset, and so, and it's easy to get that way when bad things happen to us, we feel like it's unfair. I mean, it's just natural. Nobody's immediately like, oh, I guess it's just my turn. So I think living with all those things. But this is where, where part of it gets confusing is I survived something, and people would tell me how tough I was. I would all I did was not die from cancer. I didn't do surgery, I didn't prescribe treatment. All I did was not die. I didn't cure cancer for anyone else. So I survived it. I didn't overcome it. All I did was show up to a doctor's appointment like, I'm lucky that I got thyroid cancer and not prostrate cancer. That's it. So I didn't overcome anything. I'm a diabetic. I'm still diabetic. How did I overcome diabetes? By having it. No sir, I was surviving it. All I was doing was being diabetic, but the mindset of thinking that, man, maybe when am I going to get a break? All these things keep happening to me, happening to me. When you think that way, you're not overcoming any of it. You are just surviving it. And you know what? God bless you. Because I know it's hard for a lot people go through a lot, and it's sometimes hard to handle. To overcome it, though, we have to do something with it. That's how you overcome it. I'm a diabetic who helps other diabetics realize they can be ultra endurance athletes. I race with the words fuck cancer written across my chest. I'm currently fundraising for the American Cancer Society for men were pink. I do what I can to help other people who are hearing cancer. I have cancer for the first you have cancer for the first time. That's how I get back there. I try to help other alcoholics recover and get sober. I write books and share about my fears and things that other people can relate to in the hopes that they, too, can overcome those obstacles. And that's how I overcome it. Those things lose power over me now, yeah, Michael Hingson ** 47:08 and I think that last sentence is the real key to the whole thing. You're not giving them power. You're you're putting your power in your mindset elsewhere. You're not giving power to diabetes. Yeah, it's there. You're not giving power to drink. Since you become sober, have you ever taken a drink anymore? No, not at all. So you know you you took away the power, and you're putting the power into the mindset and all the things that you're expressing, which is so important, I think again, that's so much of what most of us tend not to learn, that a lot of the things that we deal with, we deal with because we give them the power, rather than moving forward and putting the power where it really needs to go. Nick Klingenmith ** 48:04 It's we raise, we raise kids this way, man. And I mean, they're raising the moment to say it's not fair. Wait, everyone's supposed to get a turn, and that's not true. Well, everyone does get a turn, but they get it in a different way, and something I've come to appreciate, because here's here's something that if I wasn't a speaker, and if I had not written a book, I would never talk about cancer, because I feel like I'm sitting at the kitty table, and it'd be, quite frankly, like it's hard for me, like I had an easy road, considering cancer. I'm alive. I've had multiple surgeries, but I mean, God, compared to what so many people that I know have gone through and the people that we've lost, it took me a long time to be okay with the fact that I'm alive and to realize too that that's not something I need to apologize for, but especially if I'm gonna be a speaker and talk about having cancer, and in any way, let that, like me benefit from that, then I have to do something with that. That's what gives me the fuel. And I didn't know how to it was the first time that that I wrote f cancer across my chest. It was because a friend of mine had told me about their diagnosis and they were struggling with it, and I just, I didn't know how to help them, and I just, I just wanted to let them know they weren't alone. So literally, that morning, at five in the morning, I grabbed Sharpie and I wrote it on my chest, and I went out and I did the race, and I was expecting people, their kids around. I was a little iffy about using the F bomb, but I think cancer deserves all four letters, and everyone intended to agree with me that day, I was really surprised at just people tell me about their their loved ones they've lost, or the people struggling with it, or about their the people that have thrived. And I mean, I love hearing the survivor stories, because you don't hear enough of them, yeah, and it, what I've realized is you just. People know they're not alone. They just let it's like you're just letting people have told me about, like, their four year old niece while under the barbed wire crawl of a race. I mean, like, clearly, they they need to share. And so if that's if I help even just that little bit, then that's the role I get to play. And I say, get to play. And Michael Hingson ** 50:19 I'm with you. I hear you. I talk about resilience, I talk about teamwork and trust. And, of course, tell my September 11 story. And I decided to start to do that. Well, first of all, it was my wife and I together. We decided that I should do that, because if we could help people move forward from September 11, and then, of course, later, from so many other things, teach people that blindness isn't the problem they think it is, and teach them about guide dogs and other things like that, then it makes life worthwhile. So I love to tell people today that what we decided was that selling life and philosophy was a whole lot more rewarding and satisfying than managing a computer hardware sales team and selling computer hardware, and it is Nick Klingenmith ** 51:03 the other night. The conference I spoke at was a sales conference for a company in the logistics industry, but I've been in that industry for 20 years. I've spoken at least at a dozen conferences. However, all of them, except this one, were on sales or logistics, this one was on fear and overcoming adversity and finding purpose and finding purpose in your team and just thriving and leading the charge. And it was, it was such a different experience, and so much more fulfilling, yeah, in that 45 minutes than any of the time I'd ever spoken on another stage. Michael Hingson ** 51:46 What do you think is your your greatest strength as a speaker? What do you really bring to speaking that makes you so successful at it? Nick Klingenmith ** 51:56 I think that this will change over time as but I'm going to say right now, it's, it's simply my authenticity, and maybe not even that may not even change over time, but I'm very raw. I'm very vulnerable. I hold nothing back, and the thing I hear most about myself is that I'm relatable, and so I would say that would be be a differentiator, especially if you consider and this isn't a bad thing for someone who is far more known or professional or more of a brand name. It's not like they're not being raw and authentic, but it gets lost on their it gets lost on their audience over time, and you know, when they're more mainstream. Michael Hingson ** 52:41 What do you think the the most powerful technique or tool is that you use that people do relate to in store, in in speaking, Nick Klingenmith ** 52:53 I speak directly to them and share personal stories. Yeah, that's yeah. I mean, that's it. When I say I I should send you the link later, but I the talk I did the other night. I Maybe it's nervous energy, but I am just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. But I'll tell you what, I made eye contact with every single person in that room, every other second throughout the thing I was I speak to them, and they are personal stories, then they're completely naked. There's nothing that I won't hold back because you know who I am now the obstacle course racing book, right? None of that matters if it's not, if I'm not completely honest about who I was, if I try to sell myself as having been someone else or something else, then I'm not going to help anybody. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 53:46 Well, and I find, as a speaker, that stories, and they have to be authentic, has to be you, but that stories make a difference. And I've, I've been in situations where a speaker's bureau hired me to go and deliver a speech, and I get there to find out that the speakers bureau was totally inaccurate and incorrect as to the kind of the organization that it was that I was going to speak to. And it taught me to learn that I have to customize every talk I give, and I need to be able to adjust, if you will, on the fly. Sometimes, in the case of one particular talk that I gave, it was a totally different kind of environment. What I was led to believe, fortunately, I could find stories to tell these people that showed that I related to them, and I got invited back to other parts of the organization later because of that. But I think that stories are the most important thing that we as speakers can bring, and they have to be true. They have to be authentic. Can't make it up. People can see through that. A mile away, Nick Klingenmith ** 54:58 I feel like I have to tell the. Vegas story. It's the lowest moment of my life, and if it just it also just speaks to all of it in one incident. So it's kind of like it, but if the person who needs to hear it, you know, I, I don't want someone to just see who I am now and not relate Michael Hingson ** 55:22 well, this podcast is all about unstoppable mindset. What are some ways to develop an unstoppable mindset? Do you think Nick Klingenmith ** 55:28 for one we got to go through to get through it, we have to develop what we've been talking about, this sort of obstacle immunity, or at least this understanding that there's always going to be a next challenge. If we ever think that the mountain will be climbed. We can't be unstoppable. We simply have to accept that the purpose of life is to continue to climb. That's that's one thing, and how do we keep how do we keep doing that? Then achievement. I'm highly achievement driven. You can call it motivated, but I don't think so. I have to look for carrots. So whether it be personal, professional, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, some sort of development is also how we continue to develop that unstoppable mind. Because the only way to be on there's we can't be 100% unstoppable. We always have to continue to progress and to toughen up and to keep moving for it, one of the things though, that has to be ultimately critical. And people talk about this, but I don't know if they really spend enough time on it. Self belief is the gateway to an unstoppable mindset. You have to believe it before you can see it. Michael Hingson ** 56:32 Yeah, I'm listening. I just agreed with you. Yeah, Nick Klingenmith ** 56:36 no, I know I was I was cutting, I was stopping. Michael Hingson ** 56:39 Yeah, I agree, though. I mean, you've you've got to believe it, and you have to believe it intellectually and in your heart, you have to believe it emotionally as well. It is, as I said, if, if you're not authentic, people will see through you a mile away, no matter what I when, when I started selling, I took a Dale Carnegie sales course, and one of the things that I learned in that course is that the best salespeople are teachers. They're counselors, they guide, but because they're teachers, they also adopt. If they're really successful, stories, they can tell you stories that you, whoever you are, can relate to. And so they've they've analyzed and they understand what you need, and they can tell you stories to show you why what they have will work, or the other side of it is won't work. And I've had that situation happen where I've been selling a product and went into a meeting and learned that clearly what we had didn't work, and it's a choice. Do you still try to push your product on them or not? And I think that that's the worst thing that you can do, is to push a product that's going to jeopardize any relationship you have. And I've told customers in the past, here's why my product won't do what you need. Here's what will. And the result of that has always been calls later that say we really appreciated what you had to say. We've got another opportunity, and you taught us what we need to know your product is perfect. We don't want to put it out to bid. Just tell us a price and we'll order it today. Order it Nick Klingenmith ** 58:23 today. In the book I published a couple months ago, selling inspired, I actually talk about what I call being a bar stool sales person. Nick Klingenmith ** 58:34 Just tell personal stories like pretend you're at the bar talking to the prospect, and convey those things, because people do want to buy from people these days, it's tricky, because they are heavily gravitated towards convenience, but so we have to change our approach on how we get to know them, or, more importantly, let them get to know us, especially if you're buying virtually, like a lot of people are These days, it's not the bar stool salesman has to, has to become a social app sales person, essentially. But people buy from people make it easy for them to get to know who you are. Connect on a different level. Because, I mean, I'm even part of a a Spartan group. Excuse me. There's about 15,000 of us in this Facebook community, and we are very strict about not promoting businesses and services and stuff like that. You know, this is supposed to be about obstacle course, racing, tips, tricks, positive vibes, whatever. But I recently suggested, and we just actually implemented something that we're calling it the the What is your profession? Because there's 15,000 people. Now I don't know the 15,000 but I'm actually close. I know several 100, and I'm actually close with several dozen. If any one of those people has a service that I need, I'd rather buy from them, sure. And if any one of them is like, Hey, I do this, and that they're getting the message from me, like you. Said, Hey, Michael, can you do this? Here's my email. Send it done? Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 1:00:08 yeah, it's still connectionalism, and no matter what, you've gotta be able to connect or you've gotta create an environment where people want to connect with you again, though, that has to be authentic. You can't just fake it. That'll never work. It's Nick Klingenmith ** 1:00:27 actually, it's hard for a lot of people. Now, I've been lucky for a while because couple things, going back in time, I've actually just been highly passionate about sales. So as far as like social content, I'd post sales, stuff, whatever. But I say that I'm lucky because of my story. I mean that would be like, you say your story. And what I mean by that is we have something different to talk about. I don't have to talk about being a speaker. I talk about things that are helpful to other people, and it just makes it easier, like, easier to engage now with, like, one of the guys that I'm coaching, he has no earthly idea how to start building or putting out any sort of content. And I'm like, bro, what do you like? He's like, like, just and so he actually posted something about the NHL that night, and it got decent content and feedback. Because I was like, he's like, You know what LinkedIn is not for? I go Shut up if we were at a standing at the bar together, like having a at a networking event. I don't want your spec sheet from your company. Yeah, I want to know what you're interested in and get to know you. So tell me, let people get to know you. That's it. Because when they click on your profile, if they don't, if all they see is your business brand, they're like, Okay, great, moving on. Michael Hingson ** 1:01:34 Yeah, it is, it is. It is crazy. We you talked earlier about how we bring up kids, and we bring up children in such a strange way. They don't learn to overcome fea
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 60, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix brings us full circle on how our federal land management partners' current issues could negatively impact trail and ultra events. During the discussion, John highlights the timeline from June 2023 to the Present in discussing how we arrived at this moment and the real-life ramifications of budget shortfalls, cuts, and worker layoffs could have on our sport. John then expresses the importance of continued advocacy by our user group and being intentional by doing more to give back to the agencies that have afforded us the use of public lands for our events and those like them and the need to stop requesting new permits or permits for events with greater impacts.
IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon hosts Gwendolyn Bounds, author of "Not Too Late," on the Purple Patch podcast as part of the Win Cycle series, which focuses on performance in various aspects of life. Alongside Purple Patch Fitness Co-Founder Kelli McMaster, Gwendolyn shares her journey from an unathletic childhood to becoming a competitive Spartan racer in her 40s. She emphasizes the importance of mindset, commitment, and breaking routines. Gwendolyn discusses the transformative power of obstacle course racing, which improved her health, work performance, and overall life satisfaction. She highlights the significance of community and coaching in her journey. The conversation also touches on the benefits of integrating physical challenges into one's life, regardless of age or current fitness level. If you have any questions about the Purple Patch program, feel free to reach out at info@purplepatchfitness.com. Purple Patch and Episode Resources Learn more about Gwendolyn Bounds and her book, “Not Too Late: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age” at: www.gwendolynbounds.com Check out our world-class coaching and training options: Tri Squad: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/squad 1:1 Coaching: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/11-coached Run Squad: https://www.purplepatchfitness/com/run-squad Strength Squad: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/strength-1 Live & On-Demand Bike Sessions: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/bike Explore our training options in detail: https://bit.ly/3XBo1Pi Live in San Francisco? Explore the Purple Patch Performance Center: https://center.purplepatchfitness.com Everything you need to know about our methodology: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/our-methodology Amplify your approach to nutrition with Purple Patch + Fuelin https://www.fuelin.com/purplepatch Get access to our free training resources, insight-packed newsletter and more at purplepatchfitness.com
What does it take to turn a felony conviction into a story of triumph? In this powerful episode, Derek Tsuboi opens up about his transformation—from legal struggles and hidden truths to Spartan race glory and entrepreneurial success. With raw honesty, he shares how embracing authenticity, enduring hardship, and redefining failure led him to reclaim his life. Don't miss this exclusive conversation about resilience, redemption, and the power of owning your story.--------- EPISODE CHAPTERS ---------(0:00:01) - Journey From Felony to Spartan Races(0:06:14) - Journey of Redemption and Transformation(0:20:07) - Navigating the Road to Redemption(0:32:27) - Courthouse Wedding Miracle(0:39:39) - Learning From Mistakes, Building a Future(0:43:19) - Enduring Challenges of Entrepreneurship(0:53:14) - Failure on Path to SuccessSend us a text
Some CrossFit affiliate owners believe the CrossFit Games are a powerful marketing tool for their gyms. But is that really true? In this special episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper challenges the idea that the Games help affiliates and explores what must change to make them a win for more than just elite athletes.Coop explains why Games exposure doesn't translate to measurable benefits for affiliates and encourages CrossFit to look to other fitness competitions that are thriving.He highlights what Hyrox, Spartan Races, the Rogue Invitational and fitness festivals such as the Arnold are doing well, and he explains how CrossFit can learn from them.It's time to rethink who the Games are really for. Tune in to hear Chris' take. If you missed any of the other episodes in this special series, check them out via the links below.LinksHow to Save CrossFitQ&A With CoopSave the Affiliate MovementGym Owners UnitedBook a Call 00:47 - The purpose of the Games3:15 - Should HQ scrap the Games?4:22 - Hyrox and Spartan6:20 - The Rogue Invitational7:43 - Fitness festivals
Back with another episode to help you train smarter for your next obstacle course race. Learn how to train better to increase performance without damaging your body in the process. In this episode I talk all about core training. Everyone knows that you need a strong core. But what does that really mean? There is much confusion about the core because it has so many different functions. I share what your core actually is and the primary functions it has. Once you understand this you can get a better idea of how to train it properly. Enjoy the episode. Links mentioned in the show: The Body Pod: https://myhumehealth.com?bg_ref=OmkL9jt7FG Use code OCRUNDERGROUND Certified OCR Specialist: https://ocrunderground.com/certified-ocr-specialist/ Finding Neutral Spine: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHp3qYkJhSp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== 90/90 Breathing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOX76u4lNLg Good vs Bad Posture For Core Training: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBMlHERTFvN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Anti Extension Exercise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSMdx-poyIA Anti Rotation Exercise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8U07aBDRtY Anti Lateral Flexion Exercise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfsnf8rfaa4
"If we want more books written about the sport, we need to buy books written about the sport" is a phrase that Mike and many others have repeated for years regarding OCR! Due to this we have had a few authors on the show ranging from Des Linden to Gwendolyn Bounds! Tara Pipia reached out to us about her book "Sober Up: Spartan Style" which was published in December of last year! As described on the website, the book "sheds light on how Spartan Race and DEKA, Spartan's partner sport, have reconnected individuals with themselves and others, particularly after struggling with substance misuse. Highlighting the pressing issue of the current drug epidemic, Dr. Pipia advocates for the integration of Spartan Race and DEKA into rehabilitation centers, envisioning a supportive and healthy environment for individuals upon their release." Be sure to check out her book on Amazon and follow along with Tara on social media! Start – 2:47 – Intro 2:47 – 8:38 – Quick News 8:38 – 9:16 – Content Preface 9:16 – 1:10:44 - Tara Pipia Interview 1:10:44 – End – Outro Next weekend we aren't sure what we will release yet! ____ News Stories: Join Us @ ROXFIT hosted by Mud Sweat Tears Crossfit Use Code ADVENTURE for 15% off your next Obstacle Wonderland Weekend Josh Chace and Molly Bought a House Kris Rugloski and Austin Azar Anniversary Trevor and Stephanie Garcia Cichosz Pregnant with Twins Lauren Weeks Achieves Hyrox World Record Joe Nuara's Baby Team USA OCR: Women and Men Spartan Kids European Championships Training with Libbie Joyce Spartan Houston Super Podiums NAS Sports 400 Meter Finals Hyrox Glasgow Podiums Spartan Las Vegas Super Podiums Spartan Atlanta Beast Podiums Spartan Mallorca Beast Podiums Spartan Atlanta Super Podiums Recycled Sculptures Secret Link Simon Says Secret Link Bull Wheelbarrel Secret Link Wittle Mistakes Secret Link Deep Thoughts Secret Link ____ Related Episodes: 326. Des Linden and Her New Book “Choosing to Run”! 388. “Not Too Late”, New Book By Gwendolyn Bounds! ____ The OCR Report Patreon Supporters: Jason Dupree, Kim DeVoss, Samantha Thompson, Matt Puntin, Brad Kiehl, Charlotte Engelman, Erin Grindstaff, Hank Stefano, Arlene Stefano, Laura Ritter, Steven Ritter, Sofia Harnedy, Kenny West, Cheryl Miller, Jessica Johnson, Scott "The Fayne" Knowles, Nick Ryker, Christopher Hoover, Kevin Gregory Jr., Evan Eirich, Ashley Reis, Brent George, Justin Manning, Wendell Lagosh, Logan Nagle, Angela Bowers, Asa Coddington, Thomas Petersen, Seth Rinderknecht, Bonnie Wilson, and Steve Bacon from The New England OCR Expo. Sponsored Athletes: Javier Escobar, Kelly Sullivan, Ryan Brizzolara, Joshua Reid, and Kevin Gregory! Support us on Patreon for exclusive content and access to our Facebook group Check out our Threadless Shop Use coupon code "adventure" for 15% off MudGear products Use coupon code "ocrreport20" for 20% off Caterpy products Like us on Facebook: Obstacle Running Adventures Follow our podcast on Instagram: @ObstacleRunningAdventures Write us an email: obstaclerunningadventures@gmail.com Subscribe on Youtube: Obstacle Running Adventures Intro music - "Streaker" by: Straight Up Outro music - "Iron Paw" by: Dubbest
What started as a podcast to learn more about a longtime OCR/ORM supporter turned into a walk down memory lane, where we got a closer look at some great past OCR events through the lens of the Midwest. You can find the entire Book of OCR here. Use code 2024-ORM for all Tough Mudder and Spartan Races for 20 percent off. Support Us On Patreon for LOTS MORE behind the scenes. You can listen to the podcast here or the link below. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels.
Veejay Jones, Ryan Maguire, and Anthony J Eardley won The 2025 Team Dubai Games. Support and Connect: We are proudly supported today by speedlabs.co Energy Gum and Energy Gummies. Speed Labs products are formulated to help you power through your toughest workouts, long meetings, or late-night study sessions – with no mess, no shakes, and no crash. Just fast, effective energy when you need it most. Use code ORM25 for all 2025 Spartan Race, Spartain Trail, and Tough Mudder races for a 20 percent discount. You can listen to the podcast here or the link above. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels
In this episode of the Addict to Athlete podcast, Coach Blu Robinson interviews Kevin Brewer, an intelligence analyst and Spartan athlete, who shares his transformative journey from military service to overcoming significant health challenges. Kevin discusses the discipline learned in the military, the mental and physical struggles he faced after service, and how he found resilience through small, sustainable changes in his lifestyle. He emphasizes the importance of mental performance, the power of movement in healing, and the significance of taking gradual steps towards recovery and personal growth. In this conversation, Kevin Brewer shares his journey of personal growth and resilience, emphasizing the importance of incremental improvement, letting go of the past, and embracing challenges. He discusses his experience with Spartan races, the support from loved ones, and how he channels pain into purpose. The dialogue highlights the significance of mental resilience, self-awareness, and the principles of mindful performance that can help individuals overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. Takeaways Kevin Brewer emphasizes the importance of military discipline in personal growth. He faced numerous health challenges after military service, including anxiety and physical pain. Kevin's turning point came when he decided to fight for his life after a panic attack. He learned to adapt to pain, which almost led to his demise. Kevin focused on sustainable changes in his diet and lifestyle to regain control of his health. He believes in the power of small steps, starting with one pushup a day. Mental performance is crucial for overcoming physical challenges and achieving goals. Kevin advocates for a 4% increase in comfort zone to promote growth. He highlights the importance of movement in healing and mental clarity. Kevin's journey illustrates the connection between mental and physical health. Incremental growth can lead to significant change. Letting go of the past is essential for moving forward. Embracing challenges can lead to personal growth. Support systems play a crucial role in recovery. Channeling pain into purpose can be transformative. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Journey 02:56 Military Discipline and Personal Growth 05:58 Health Challenges and Resilience 09:00 The Turning Point: A Fight for Life 12:02 Adapting to Pain and Finding Solutions 14:57 Mental Performance and Sustainable Change 18:07 The Power of Small Steps 20:59 Finding Balance and Progress 23:59 Conclusion and Future Aspirations 24:32 The Power of Incremental Growth 25:36 Letting Go of the Past 26:55 Embracing Challenges: The Spartan Journey 28:47 Support Systems in Recovery 31:02 Channeling Pain into Purpose 33:16 Overcoming Mental Barriers 39:09 The Importance of Mental Resilience 43:31 Mindful Performance Principles Please join Addict to Athlete's Patreon support page and help us turn the mess of addiction into the message of sobriety! https://www.patreon.com/addicttoathlete Please visit our website for more information on Team Addict to Athlete and Addiction Recovery Podcasts. https://www.AddictToAthlete.org Join the Team! Circle, our new social support event, along with the team and athlete communication platform, is designed to help us break free from doom scrolling and shadow banning and foster stronger connections among us. Follow the link, download the app, and start this new chapter of Team AIIA! Join Circle https://a2a.circle.so/join?invitation_token=16daaa0d9ecd7421d384dd05a461464ce149cc9e-63d4aa30-1a67-4120-ae12-124791dfb519
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 59, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix and co-hosts Thomas Stott and Megan Storms, dive into Belongingness Theory. In this episode, the trio explores what it means to belong. Deeper than that, we discuss the importance of belonging and the many ways in which HPRS promotes and supports belonging within our series. Also discussed is Dunbar's Number, a concept that discusses how many meaningful connections each of us is able to make. A thought-provoking episode on the WHY.
Your Weekly dose of current news from the OCR and adventure running scene with Pub landlord Alan and Regular Ian If you have any questions about the show or are interested in advertising with us then please contact admin@ukocr.com Find out more about UKOCR by clicking Here Support UKOCR on Patreon Here or Buy us a beer if you like what we do If you want to join the Spartan Hurricane Heat try code POD30 first and if it sayd no, then try code POD20
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 58, HPRS Race Director John Lacroix and co-host Thomas Stott welcome our newest co-host, Megan Storms, to the program. In this episode, we get to know Megan, her life in general, her journey into trail and ultra, and her journey to HPRS. We discuss why she believes in the HPRS community. Then, the three dive into talking about a whole myriad of things in a witty, fun, and off-the-rail conversation.
Faye Stenning is back on the show for the first time since the end of 2021! We cover some of her 10 year history of obstacle racing, and hybrid fitness racing. Plus, Faye shares insights into her latest venture—Fit with Faye—a new chapter in her coaching and business journey. Support and Connect: Faye Stenning | Fit With Faye We are proudly supported today by speedlabs.co Energy Gum and Energy Gummies. Speed Labs products are formulated to help you power through your toughest workouts, long meetings, or late-night study sessions – with no mess, no shakes, and no crash. Just fast, effective energy when you need it most. Use code ORM25 for all 2025 Spartan Race, Spartain Trail, and Tough Mudder races for a 20 percent discount. You can listen to the podcast here or the link above. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels
Kelton Shelley shares his extraordinary journey from childhood leukemia to becoming a dedicated endurance athlete, highlighting the power of resilience and the importance of investing in oneself. His story inspires listeners to face challenges head-on and embrace their unique paths to success.• Definition of 'deposit' in the context of personal growth • Kelton's childhood in Utah and initial passion for sports • Overcoming leukemia and the pivotal role of family support • Transition to endurance sports and the significance of hard work • The challenges and triumphs of participating in Spartan races • Insights on dealing with pain and mental perseverance • The balance between racing and playing drums in a metal band • Setting future goals and embracing life's adventures • The deeper meaning of adventure as a continuous journeyWant to be a guest on Journey with Jake? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake To sign up for my newsletter and a chance to win a Sacred Spaces Gift Box please visit www.journeywithjake.net/newsletter. To learn more about Sacred Spaces Volume 3 please visit www.colleenaviscoaching.com/events. Visit geneticinsights.co and use the code "DISCOVER25" to enjoy a sweet 25% off your first purchase.
Take a run with The Human Potential Running Series podcast. For Episode 57 HPRS Race Director John Lacroix provides his data collection and analysis for ultramarathon running in 2024, and where the sport finds itself today. Less "address" and more conversation amongst friends, John highlights the triumphant year that ultra had and his reasons for being cautiously optimistic with the numbers and the earth-shattering struggles we're about to face with permitting.
Tired of falling off the fitness wagon every January? Spartan founder and endurance legend Joe De Sena teams up with triathlon champion Aaron Gesell to share the ultimate formula for staying motivated, crushing your goals, and transforming your life. They dive into a powerful 3-step system that has helped countless individuals turn their fitness aspirations into lasting success. Discover how to set "scary" goals that push you beyond your limits, create an unbreakable support network that keeps you accountable, and shift your mindset to make fitness a natural part of your lifestyle—not just another chore. Timestamps: 00:20 Intro 00:49 Taren Gesell, endurance athlete and motivator 01:13 Why motivation fades and 3 tips to stay on track. 02:45 Setting scary goals and building accountability 03:31 How fitness transforms identity through community. 06:03 Overcoming the fear of joining fitness groups 07:57 Joe's global running group experiences 09:34 Embracing humility and consistent improvement 11:05 How athletes support beginners 12:15 The humbling impact of endurance races 14:01 Taren's app and its focus on long-term motivation 15:38 Joe's pull-up journey and daily commitment. 16:36 Training insights from world champions 17:45 Where to find Taren and his resources 18:12 Bringing triathletes to Spartan Races. Connect to Taren:
In this episode, Joe de Sena sits down with the remarkable Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum - a doctor and a powerlifting enthusiast with a passion for helping people transform their lives. Dr. Jordan shares valuable insights on how to break through your limits and transform your life. They explore why strength training is skyrocketing in popularity, how it can supercharge your physical and mental health, and the secrets to staying motivated when the couch looks too tempting. Dr. Jordan shares his journey from motocross injuries to becoming a leader in combining fitness with medicine, proving anyone can adapt and thrive. Learn the truth about common fitness myths, like women “getting too bulky,” and find out the simple, no-excuses routine anyone can follow to get stronger and healthier. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a total beginner, this episode is packed with actionable tips, inspiring stories, and game-changing advice to help you level up your fitness journey. Timestamps: 00:20 Intro 00:54 The rise of strength training as a top fitness trend 02:22 Merging strength training with medical expertise 05:12 Misconceptions about strength training 07:01 Why starting exercise is harder than continuing it 08:46 Evolutionary reasons behind avoiding discomfort 11:55 The importance of setting fitness goals to stay motivated 13:50 AI help to visualize and achieve fitness progress 14:49 Minimum exercise for health benefits 17:22 Creative exercise solutions without gym access 19:11 Myths surrounding running and physical adaptability 20:59 Strength benchmarks and the average deadlift 22:06 Invitation to a Spartan Race event 23:53 What is strength and how to increase it? Connect to Dr. Jordan:
Support and Connect: Maggie Thorne We are proudly supported today by speedlabs.co Energy Gum and Energy Gummies. Speed Labs products are formulated to help you power through your toughest workouts, long meetings, or late-night study sessions – with no mess, no shakes, and no crash. Just fast, effective energy when you need it most. Use code ORM25 for all 2025 Spartan Race, Spartain Trail, and Tough Mudder races for a 20 percent discount. You can listen to the podcast here or the link above. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels
This episode is one of the most raw and inspiring conversations I've ever had. I'm sitting down with Nick Klingensmith, a guy who's been through more than most of us can fathom. He is a four-time cancer survivor, Type 1 diabetic, recovering alcoholic, and obstacle course racing beast. But here's the kicker: it's not what he's been through that defines him; it's how he shows up every single day.Nick's story isn't just about survival; it's about thriving with purpose. We dive into what it really means to embrace vulnerability and confront ego head-on. You'll hear how Nick turned fear into fuel, tackled nearly 100 Spartan Races, and reframed his mindset to achieve what most people would call impossible.This isn't just another feel good story, it's a wake up call to stop letting fear hold you back. If you're tired of playing small, if you're ready to push past your limits, or if you just need that spark to reignite your purpose, this episode will hit you right where it counts.Let's go ALL IN.We Meet: Nick Klingensmith, Stride Motivation, LLCEpisode References:Sufferfest - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sufferfestNick's Book - https://www.stridemotivation.com/through-the-fireConnect:Connect with Rick: https://linktr.ee/mrrickjordanConnect with Nick: https://www.stridemotivation.com/ Subscribe & Review to ALL IN with Rick Jordan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RickJordanALLINAbout Nick: After being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel in a drunken haze, jeopardizing his career and relationships, Nick Klingensmith had to make a change. A 4-time cancer survivor, type-1 diabetic, and recovering alcoholic with herniated discs, nerve damage and sleep apnea, he defies it all when he finds Obstacle Course Racing. Refusing to accept his limitations, he's completed over 100 Spartan Races, 6 Major Marathons, several Ultras and scores of other obstacle and endurance events. As someone who has walked the path of a sales professional, Nick is an expert in propelling other achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts, by inspiring them to take purposeful action towards their goals.
Today's Conversation with our returning guest, Nick Klingensmith, gives us a motivational episode about achieving personal and professional goals in freight! Nick highlights the significance of breaking down larger ambitions into manageable daily tasks, building supportive systems and habits, focusing on one key task at a time, fostering long-term success, and enhancing overall well-being and productivity! About Nick Klingensmith After being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel in a drunken haze, jeopardizing his career and relations, Nick had to make a change. A 4-time cancer survivor, type-I diabetic, recovering alcoholic with herniated discs, nerve damage and sleep apnea, he defies it all when he finds Obstacle Course Racing. Refusing to accept his limitations, he's completed over 100 Spartan Races, 6 Major Marathons, several Ultras, and scores of other obstacle and endurance events. As someone who has walked the path of a sales professional, Nick is an expert in propelling other achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts, by inspiring them to take purposeful action towards their goals. Nick is a raw and passionate storyteller who holds nothing back when revealing who he used to be and the person he is now. A true testament to the power of resilience, with an unwavering belief in his purpose to overcome obstacles and inspire others to do the same, Nick delivers powerful and transformative speeches, drawing from personal experiences to illustrate the extraordinary potential of pushing through adversity. Nick's books on Amazon: Selling, Inspired!: A Mental Endurance Guide For Enduring Sales Performance THROUGH THE FIRE : The story of the 4-time cancer survivor, type-1 diabetic, and recovering alcoholic who became an obstacle course racer and defied it all. Connect with Nick Website: https://www.stridemotivation.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nklingensmith/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069207242260 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOiV2sNB3g4meufvBg3a9sA TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stridemotivation?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stridemotivation/
2025 is my year to push limits, heal deeply, and transform my health—and it could be yours too. In this solo episode, I'm sharing my bold health goals: training for a grueling 10K Spartan Race, healing my C-section scar with cutting-edge tools like red light therapy, tackling stubborn eczema by optimizing my gut microbiome, and mastering healthier cooking. I'll reveal the fitness apps I swear by, recovery hacks like sauna therapy and LMNT electrolytes, and the probiotics making a difference for me and my baby. Ready to level up your health goals? Let's crush them together! I TALK ABOUT: 5:30 – Training for a 10K Super Spartan race 12:10 – Home gym essentials and my favorite fitness apps (Peloton, Sweat app) 17:00 – Recovery tools: Sauna therapy for longevity and inflammation 20:30 – LMNT electrolytes for hydration support 21:45 – Healing my C-section scar through massage, red light therapy (Kineon code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY), and core strengthening 27:50 – Importance of pelvic floor physiotherapy for scar mobility and overall recovery 34:30 – Eczema remission through gut health and microbiome testing ( Tiny Health microbiome testing code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY, probiotics from BiOptimizers code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY, Muskoka Tallow, Cod liver oil) 41:50 – Evivo and BioGaia probiotics for babies and the impact of C-section birth on microbiome 43:10 – Mastering healthy cooking for family meals with nutrient-dense foods (Wild Meadow Farms proteins and homemade bone broth) SPONSORS: Join the Health Optimization Summit to learn from top wellness experts, experience cutting-edge biohacks, and connect with a vibrant community—all while optimizing your health in an inspiring environment. Use code BIOHACKINGBRITTANY to get 10% off. Your smile deserves a glycerin-free and fluoride-free toothpaste from Wellnesse. Use BIOHACKINGBRITTANY for 12% off. RESOURCES: Optimize your preconception health by joining my Baby Steps Course today! Optimize your preconception health and fertility through my free hormone balancing, fertility boosting chocolate recipe! Download it now! My Amazon storefront LET'S CONNECT: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Shop my favorite health products Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music
Nick Klingensmith and Joe Lynch discuss the logistics of success: a mindset for unstoppable growth. Nick is the Founder and CEO of Stride Motivation, a company dedicated to transforming lives through inspiring keynote speeches and mindset coaching. Nick is an expert at helping achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts. About Nick Klingensmith After being thrown out of a Las Vegas hotel in a drunken haze, jeopardizing his career and relationships, Nick Klingensmith had to make a change. A 4-time cancer survivor, type-1 diabetic, recovering alcoholic with herniated discs, nerve damage and sleep apnea, he defies it all when he finds Obstacle Course Racing. Refusing to accept his limitations, he's completed over 100 Spartan Races, 6 Major Marathons, several Ultras and scores of other obstacle and endurance events. As someone who has walked the path of a sales professional, Nick is an expert in propelling other achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts, by inspiring them to take purposeful action towards their goals. Nick is a raw and passionate storyteller who holds nothing back when revealing who he used to be and the person he is now. About Stride Motivation Stride Motivation, LLC is a dynamic company dedicated to transforming lives through inspiring keynote speeches and mindset coaching. Rooted in the inspiring journey of overcoming significant health challenges and personal struggles, the company serves as a beacon for achievement-driven professionals and leaders. Through compelling storytelling drawn from the world of endurance racing, Stride Motivation empowers individuals to conquer fear, rejection, and self-limiting doubts. Specializing in coaching sales teams and remote professionals, the company imparts valuable insights on developing a resilient mindset for success. Stride Motivation is not just a company; it's a catalyst for helping others discover their inner strength, reach their goals, and become the best version of themselves. Key Takeaways: The Logistics of Success: A Mindset for Unstoppable Growth Nick Klingensmith and Joe Lynch discuss the logistics of success: a mindset for unstoppable growth. Nick is the Founder and CEO of Stride Motivation, a company dedicated to transforming lives through inspiring keynote speeches and mindset coaching. Nick is an expert at helping achievement-driven professionals and leaders to overcome fear and rejection and push past self-limiting doubts. Transformational Focus: Stride Motivation is dedicated to transforming lives through impactful keynote speeches and mindset coaching. Inspirational Leadership: The company is led by Nick Klingensmith, a passionate storyteller and four-time cancer survivor who shares his experiences to inspire others. Target Audience: It primarily targets achievement-driven professionals, helping them to overcome fears and self-limiting doubts. Coaching Emphasis: The coaching provided by Stride Motivation focuses on resilience, personal growth, and embracing one's purpose. Goal Pursuit: Stride Motivation aids individuals in pursuing their personal and professional goals. Engaging Approach: The company uses engaging storytelling techniques to connect with the audience during speeches and coaching sessions. Mindset Transformation: The emphasis is placed on changing mindsets to foster positive thinking and encourage actionable steps towards self-improvement. Learn More About The Logistics of Success: A Mindset for Unstoppable Growth Nick Klingensmith | Linkedin Stride Motivation | Linkedin Stride Motivation | Website Instagram: @stridemotivation TikTok: @stridemotivation Twitter: @stridemotivatio YouTube: @stridemotivation Threads: @stridemotivation Email: Booking@stridemotivation.com Selling, Inspired! A Mental Endurance Guide For Enduring Sales Performance THROUGH THE FIRE : The story of the 4-time cancer survivor, type-1 diabetic, and recovering alcoholic who became an obstacle course racer and defied it all Becoming a Better Salesperson with Nick Klingensmith Building Resilient Sales Teams with Nick Klingensmith The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube
It's been 2 years since the Unbreakable Spartan NFT Pass went on sale. Let's talk to two people who made the investment. Has it been worth it? What are some of the benefits? Plus we learn what happens at the end of the year Unbreakable Events, and what may happen in the future. Support and Connect: Kevin Gregory | Cory Edwards We are proudly supported today by speedlabs.co Energy Gum and Energy Gummies. Speed Labs products are formulated to help you power through your toughest workouts, long meetings, or late-night study sessions – with no mess, no shakes, and no crash. Just fast, effective energy when you need it most. Use code ORM25 for all 2025 Spartan Race, Spartain Trail, and Tough Mudder races for a 20 percent discount. You can listen to the podcast here or the link above. All other Obstacle Racing Media Links. Intro Music – Paul B. Outro Music – Brian Revels
Gabby Reece speaks with Joe DeSena, the founder of Spartan Race, about resilience, parenting, and the importance of physical challenges. They explore Joe's early life, the lessons learned from his pool business, and the journey to creating a global fitness brand. The discussion delves into the role of parenting in nurturing toughness in children, the impact of technology on youth, and the significance of delayed gratification. Joe shares insights from his experiences and emphasizes the need for uncomfortable parenting to foster resilience in the next generation. In this engaging conversation, Gabby Reece and Joe De Sena explore the journey from humble beginnings in the pool business to the high-stakes world of Wall Street, emphasizing the importance of resilience, community support, and personal growth through physical challenges. Sponsors: Timeline is offering 10% off your first order of Mitopure. Go to timelinenutrition.com/GABBY and use code GABBY to get 10% off your order. OneSkin: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code REECE at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Cornbread CBD: My listeners will receive 30% off your first order by going to cornbreadhemp.com/GABBY and using the code GABBY at checkout. Chapters 00:00 The Resilience of Humanity 00:57 Introduction to Joe DeSena and Spartan Race 03:08 Joe's Early Life and Influences 06:00 Lessons from the Pool Business 09:06 The Journey to College 12:56 The Importance of Delayed Gratification 17:03 Physical Challenges and Tenacity 20:07 Nurturing Resilience in Children 22:58 The Role of Parenting in Toughness 25:54 Balancing Toughness and Compassion in Parenting 29:50 Navigating Technology and Parenting 33:00 The Impact of College on Joe's Life 35:54 Transitioning from Pool Business to Wall Street 45:31 The Journey from Pool Business to Wall Street 48:21 The Transformation Through Physical Activity 51:11 Overcoming Adversity in Event Planning 54:18 Resilience and Faith in Business 58:34 Lessons from Early Challenges 01:01:50 The Importance of Community and Support 01:03:48 Navigating Business Challenges During COVID-19 01:09:27 Leadership Lessons Learned 01:12:58 The Balance of Leading and Following 01:14:51 Maintaining Personal Health and Fitness 01:20:16 Aging and Endurance 01:22:12 The Power of Incremental Improvement 01:25:32 Finding Your True Self Through Challenges To learn more about Joe Desena, check out his website: https://joedesena.com/ For more Gabby: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabbyreece/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gabbyreeceofficial The Gabby Reece Show Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEINLNlGvIceFOP7aAZk5A resilience, parenting, Spartan Race, Joe DeSena, toughness, fitness, delayed gratification, personal growth, technology, college experience, Gabby Reece, Joe De Sena, Spartan Race, resilience, business challenges, physical fitness, leadership, personal growth, COVID-19, community support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices