The Zack Arnold Podcast Using the Athlete’s Mindset to Hone Your Creativity & Productivity | with Vashi Nedomansky, ACE
Many people assume that career goals and health goals have to be mutually exclusive (waiting for the next hiatus to start a diet or exercise program? That’s what I thought). What I have found through years of coaching students in the Optimizer coaching & mentorship program is that once a general baseline of health and good habits are set, lifestyle and career goals can absolutely work hand in hand.
Today's guest, editor Vashi Nedomansky, ACE lends a unique perspective on this topic. Before he was editing and consulting on projects such as Sharknado 2, Deadpool, House of Cards, and Gone Girl, he was playing professional hockey in the NHL for the New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings. This unusual career path has taught him the skills and mindsets to keep his body and mind in top condition while also honing his creative and mental faculties to meet the demands of working in Hollywood editing bays.
This conversation reveals the similarities in maintaining a balanced life in two seemingly disparate professional careers while highlighting the common habits and routines necessary for that balance. If you are tired of sacrificing your health every time you are on a job, this episode is going to give you some easy tools and tips for building fitness into your workday. And if you are hoping to increase your value as an editor, gain speed to get the job done faster, and improve your mental energy so you have more time outside of work, Vashi is a wealth of information. That’s why despite this being an older interview pulled from the Fitness In Post archives I chose to share it with you because it provides just as much (if not even more) value today.
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Here's What You'll Learn:
- Why he likes editing all different types of projects, formats, and genres.
- Vashi's background of how he defected from Czech Republic with his parents as a kid and grew up watching movies with his mom.
- How he simultaneously played hockey in high school and college while making short films with a VHS camera that weighed 40 pounds.
- The uncanny similarities in Vashi's introduction to editing to my own personal story.
- He always had the mindset that he had to train physically and mentally to expand his horizons and give himself options.
- Vashi's process of consciously living with his footage before he even starts editing.
- How the demands of professional hockey compare to film editing.
- The one word that makes the difference in being successful in your career (HINT: it's not talent).
- Ways to systematize your editing workflow to gain efficiency and speed.
- Exercise is a way of life for Vashi and he prioritizes it every day.
- The different ways he exercises his brain and keeps his mental skills up to task.
- His role on Deadpool and Gone Girl helping to set up the Adobe Premiere Pro work flow.
- He values sharing and showing things with no agenda.
- KEY TAKEAWAY: You only need to focus on the NEXT most important thing to do.
- How inner confidence plays a role in your career and your well being.
- Fitness tools he keeps in his office to keep in shape during the day.
- PRO TIP: 'Greasing the groove' by doing small bouts of exercise during the day will eliminate the guilt of not having time to do a "workout" after a long day of editing.
Useful Resources Mentioned:
FiP Podcast Ep60: Legendary Film Editor Walter Murch on Surviving 50+ Years In Post
How to Establish a Morning Routine
TED Talk: Amy Cuddy – Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are
‘Captain of Crush’ grip strengthener set
Healthy You® Spiky Massage Ball 3.15" / 8cm - Orange
Ep123: The Solution to Your Sedentary Lifestyle | with Ben Greenfield
Amazon.com : power tower pull up bar
What Happened When I Replaced Coffee With 30 Seconds of Exercise
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Ep55: How Tiny Changes Can Create Remarkable Results | with James Clear
Ep117: Carol Littleton, ACE on The Secret to Surviving 40+ Years Working In Hollywood
Ep120: It’s Never Too Late to Get Stronger (and Become a Ninja) | with Ginny MacColl, ANW
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Guest Bio:
Vashi Nedomansky is the first professional hockey player to become a Hollywood film editor with 9 feature films to date. Owner of VashiVisuals.com he shares his filmmaking experiences from the trenches and his love of cinema. Editor of Sharknado 2 and worked on Gone Girl, Deadpool and lover of exercise and potato vodka.
Show Credits:
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.
The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).
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