Brett Rapkin: Olympics, depression and the weight of gold

Brett Rapkin joins me to discuss his new HBO documentary, The Weight of Gold (HBO), regarding the mental health of Olympic athletes.

BIO:

Brett Rapkin is an Innovative Emmy award-winning Writer/Producer/Director with a deep track record of success in developing, producing, distributing, and promoting premium content across platforms and budgets.

In 2016, Brett Rapkin won his first Emmy Award and also released his first narrative feature film as writer/director. "Spaceman," a feature film starring Josh Duhamel as gonzo MLB pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee was released theatrically and across VOD platforms by Orion/MGM on August 19th, 2016.

"Welcome to Dodgertown," narrated by Vin Scully and Larry King won a 2016 Emmy for Best Sports Special and was produced by his production company, Podium Pictures.

Rapkin grew up playing year-round baseball in Los Angeles and attended The University of Arizona. Shortly after graduating, he ventured to Cuba with a small crew to direct the documentary film that would eventually become "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey."

In 2003 he moved to New York after an offer to be mentored by the principals at Black Canyon Productions, the multiple Peabody and Emmy Award winning sports film production company. During that time he wrote, produced, and directed projects with and about Rod Stewart, Bode Miller, and many others.

His award-winning second independent documentary film "Holy Land Hardball," premiered in 2009 and was also well received.

Since then, he has worked with clients including NFL Media, ESPN, HBO, Showtime Red Bull, GMC, Michael Phelps, Apolo Anton Ohno, Shaun White, and many more.