Joe Petrowski: Quitting Rocket Science to Be a Pro Cyclist in France

Joe Petrowski landed a great job as an aerospace engineer right out of college. Then he got the bike racing bug. People told him to stick with his demonstrably awesome, impressive and very high paying gig. Instead, he quit to go live in at times dismal conditions to be a pro cyclist, first in the UK then in France. And if you’re not familiar with domestic pro cycling in France, teams there are known for their extremely old school, hardcore and at times totalitarian approaches. 

Joe had some great times and also often wondered if he had made a huge mistake and what the hell he was doing. He never stepped up to the World Tour, the highest level of the sport. 

And years later, he thinks going for it as a pro cyclist is one of the best and most important decisions he ever made. 

Eventually he left pro cycling and went into computer science, high frequency trading and to what he does now, working on the decentralized web at polkadot. 

People who stop doing the thing people who are not them tell them they should do to go do the thing they know they have to do intrigue me. That’s Joe.

Don’t forget, you’re the hero in your story, you are writing it every day, and when you hear the call to adventure, listen. It is after all, your story. Choose the Hard Way is the podcast about how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun. 

This episode is brought to you by The Better Lab. Sleep is the greatest performance enhancer on the planet and the science to improve sleep is straightforward. Putting it into action on your own can be challenging. That’s why I co-founded The Better Lab to help active people like you mindfully build conscious, science-backed practices to sleep better that stick. It’s just what works to help you get great sleep and you can get started today at www.thebetterlab.io. 

I make this podcast available for free and all I ask is that you go to the show page for Choose the Hard Way on iTunes and Spotify and hit 5 stars. To be in touch, DM me @hardwaypod on Instagram or email choosethehardway@gmail.com. Find Joe at https://petrow.ski/. 

Thanks to our sponsor The Better Lab

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