At any moment, your could life could turn upside down. When tragedy strikes, what do you do?How you navigate events beyond your control reveals character. And character is something today’s guest possesses in abundance.Faced with a rare form of deadly cancer, Tommy Rivers Puzey—affectionately revered across the world as ‘Tommy Rivs’—refused pity. Instead, he doubled down on gratitude. He chose to learn from his suffering, expand his capacity to love, and more than anything, see the pain he endured as a teacher.A poet of endurance and philosopher of the human spirit, Tommy is a highly credentialed elite marathoner and ultrarunner with many victories and accolades to his name. He’s also an anthropologist, linguist, doctorate of physical therapy, and massage therapist who has worked with some of the best endurance athletes in the world. But more than anything, he’s a man who is universally beloved for his kindness, generosity, and soulful grace.In the summer of 2020, Tommy fell gravely ill with an extremely rare and advanced form of lung cancer that very nearly killed him—and most likely would have killed anyone else. But Rivs isn’t just anyone. Rivs is Rivs. He survived.Today Tommy shares his potent story, beautiful perspective, and copious wisdom in a beautifully vulnerable and heart-centered conversation for the ages.Without mincing words, this is an extremely real conversation about what it’s like to approach death.It’s soulful, at times emotional, and overall, a celebration of the human spirit in all its boundlessness.It’s a reminder that life itself is an absolute miracle.And it’s a powerful testament that gratitude, positivity, service, community, and love—mostly love—are what life is all about.To read more click here. You can also watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Note: This conversation was recorded on October 13th, 2021, and thus prior to Tommy’s most recent and perhaps most courageous and astonishing endurance feat to date. A mere year from having to relearn how to even walk, Tommy completed the NYC marathon. It took him over nine agonizing hours—7 hours longer than his 2:18 PR—but that nine hours was globally celebrated all over the world, including a must-read profile in the New York Times entitled, Cancer Nearly Took His Life. But the New York Marathon Awaited.Tommy is an exemplary human. A quiet and introspective mentor to many, he’s someone I aspire to emulate, a man who comports himself with an admirable degree of dignity, grace, humility, and generosity of spirit.It’s an honor to help share his powerful and inspiring story.Peace + Plants,Rich

Why is creativity vital? What is the nature of culture? And why is pursuing happiness futile?Today we tackle this terrain and so much more in today’s rendition of ‘Roll On,’ wherein myself and my undefeated podcast co-pilot Adam Skolnick ‘get back’ to our original old school format.Aside from serving as my magnanimous sidecar hype-beast, Adam Skolnick is an activist and veteran journalist best known as David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me, co-author. Adam writes about adventure sports, environmental issues, and civil rights for outlets such as The New York Times, Outside, ESPN, BBC, and Men’s Health. He is the author of One Breath and is currently using the ‘new dad’ excuse to avoid working on his novel.Today’s discussion includes the following topics: Remembering British photojournalist Tom Stoddart & Australian swimmer Jason Plummer; The ascent of Norwegian triathlon dominance; The Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery verdicts; Oscar Pistorius’ prison transfer & restorative justice; Lawsuits involving Tyson Foods and Impossible Foods; Toby Morse’s new children’s book ‘One Life One Chance’; and ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ & ‘The Velvet Underground; documentaries As always, we close things out by taking a few listener questions. Today we answer: How do optimize your caloric intake for recovery when intermittent fasting? Is happiness something that can realistically be achieved?  How do you draw a line between people-pleasing and living a life of service? Thank you to Al from Washington D.C., Kendall from Boulder, Colorado, and Abby from Colorado for your questions. If you want your query discussed, drop it on our Facebook Page or better yet leave a voicemail at (424) 235-4626.To read more click here. You can also watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Enjoy the show!Peace + Plants,Rich

What does it take to achieve the impossible? Don’t set limits. And never quit. Ever.The full embodiment of this ethos, today’s guest has never met an obstacle she couldn’t overcome, transcending every limit ever placed upon her. Her secret?Never give pain a voice.An extraordinary athlete and absolute force of nature, Leah Goldstein has lived one of the more interesting lives you will ever come across.After winning the Bantamweight World Kickboxing Championship at just 17 years old, Leah walked away from a bright future in competitive martial arts to join the Israeli Defense Force, becoming a Krav Maga specialist and the first female Elite Commando Instructor before a storied career as an undercover Special Forces intelligence officer.In yet another dramatic life pivot, Leah then embarked on a professional cycling career. A devastating crash ended her Olympic dreams, her pro career, and nearly her life. After being told she might not walk again and certainly would never race again, Leah remained undaunted, ultimately reinventing herself once again as an ultra-distance cyclist.In 2021, at age 52 (and entirely plant-based) she became the very first woman in the 39-year history of RAAM—the 3000-mile Race Across America transcontinental cycling race—to beat everyone, including all the men, and outright win the solo division.Today she shares her story. It’s a wild ride.Today’s conversation traverses the vast diversity of Leah’s life experiences and accomplishments—and the mindset that fuels her ability to face fear, overcome adversity, and transcend limits.It’s a conversation about grit, perseverance and work ethic. The importance of life pivots. How to expand your capacity to endure. And the ‘never quit’ drive required to do amazing things.It’s also about bullying, sexism, and channeling pain into achieving impossible goals.But more than anything, this exchange is about the importance of heeding your inner voice—and tapping the hidden reservoirs of potential that reside within us all to make audacious dreams manifest.To read more click here. You can also watch it all go down on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Leah may be extraordinary. But the wisdom and experience she shares is applicable to all.May her story spark your flame—and elevate your life aspirations.Peace + Plants,Rich

The core of every hero’s journey is a desire to step into the unknown, seek adventure, and above all, embrace metamorphosis.For Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Mike Posner, that meant trading the comforts of Hollywood for a Mount Everest base camp—and ditching the tour bus to instead walk across America.Let me explain.After skyrocketing to fame following the release of his debut song Cooler Than Me, Mike built a career writing infectious pop meditations (that have accrued billions of streams) for some of music’s biggest stars—people like Justin Beiber, Pharrell, Maroon 5, Tom Morello, Snoop Dogg, Nick Jonas, and Avicii. As follows, he also built a life on womanizing, partying, money, and fame.In our last exchange back in 2019, Mike and I discussed his moment of awakening—the events that led him to give away all his possessions, buy a van, and live more simply. But much has changed for Mike since we last sat down. Over the last two-plus years, he’s walked 2000+ miles across America and followed it up this past year by summiting Mt. Everest, racking up a depth of experience-based wisdom along the way.Mike moves through the world with such a beautiful, heart-centered perspective. I appreciate the way in which he wears his heart on his sleeve, his ability to lean into vulnerability, and the manner in which he confronts struggle with curiosity.Today’s exchange is centered on his quest for meaning and authenticity. It’s about channeling pain into art, grief into gratitude, and above all, redefining yourself and self-imposed limits.Note: Mike was kind enough to perform a few songs live in our studio, so please stick around to the very end, as he takes us out with a performance you will not want to miss.To read more click here. You can also watch listen to our exchange on YouTube.I’m proud to help share my friend’s experience, wisdom, and infectious hope. It’s truly magical, and my hope is that you find it as moving as I did.Peace + Plants,Rich

Across the world, untold millions fall prey to some form of addiction. If you or someone you know suffers in silence, there is hope. Today’s episode casts a light on this epidemic of darkness and paves a solution-based path towards hope.A recovering alcoholic myself, I’ve danced with that darkness. Tasted the desperation. And felt the loneliness.Time and again I failed at arresting a disease hell-bent on killing me.Until that is, I let go of everything I thought I knew about how to live, think and be—and let others help me.The solution required an education.Given the ubiquity of addiction, it’s an education I feel a responsibility to share.Towards that end, today’s episode—the third installment in our burgeoning, deep-dive Masterclass series—explores the nature of addiction, the misconceptions that perpetuate it, and the many solutions available for confronting and ultimately overcoming it.For those unaware of this new semi-regular format, today’s episode is a compilation of 10 incredible and unique perspectives on addiction and recovery taken from previous conversations.My hope is that these stories bring you greater understanding, empathy, and perhaps a modicum of peace—and for those currently suffering, tools and encouragement to finally arrest the beast and embrace help.The visually inclined can watch it all unfold on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Big thanks to Dan Drake for his instrumental help crafting this very special episode.Masterclass Series: Click here to listen to our first deep dive on the microbiome, and here for our second on mental health. The full episodes for all guests featured in this episode can be found in the show notes below.Final Note: This conversation traverses difficult emotional terrain. If you are struggling, please raise your hand and reach out for help. You can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP and if you are experiencing suicidal ideation, know you’re not alone. I encourage you to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1(800) 273-TALK.I sincerely hope you find this experiment helpful and instructive—and/or that you share the episode with those who could benefit from it.Peace + Plants,Rich

Conquering a historic feat of stratospheric proportions nobody thought possible, today’s guests will challenge every assumption you ever harbored about the outer limits of human capability.In 2010, Jason Lester and I were the first to complete EPIC5—5 consecutive iron-distance triathlons on 5 Hawaiian Islands in just over 6 days.I’m proud of that accomplishment. More proud that it has inspired others to rewrite their rulebook on personal possibility.But today’s guests James Lawerence—aka The Iron Cowboy—alongside his wife and co-captain Sunny Jo Lawrence, somehow makes my resume just sound…cute.In 2015, the father of five did something I was convinced was impossible when he completed 50 iron-distance triathlons in 50 states in 50 days—a stunning feat chronicled way back on episodes 149 & 166, in the documentary The Iron Cowboy: The Story of The 50.50.50, and in his book, Redefine Impossible.But as many of you already know, James recently topped that seemingly untoppable feat by completing truly one of the most astonishing achievements in the history of voluntary human endurance—101 iron-distance triathlons in 101 consecutive days.In case you don’t quite grasp the enormity of this truly epic feat, let me spell it out. Beginning in March of this year, James climbed out of bed, swam 2.4 miles, jumped on his bike and rode 112 miles, then completed 26.2 miles on foot, repeating this routine every day without missing a single day, for 101 days in a row.That’s 14,200 self-powered miles!Today James and Sunny tell the tale in a warts-and-all conversation that is not to be missed.In addition to breaking down the enormity of this feat—a team and family endeavor in every respect—James and Sunny drop a full-fledged masterclass on mental toughness. Where it comes from, how to strengthen it, and how to ignite the power we all possess to endure the unimaginable.We also discuss the critical role that leadership, family, teamwork, community building, and service play in accomplishing audacious goals and how presence and mindfulness hold the key to unlocking the impossible.This is a powerful conversation that just might forever change your perspective on human potential broadly, and personal possibility specifically.To read more click here. You can also watch listen to our exchange on YouTube.I have tremendous respect for these two. I love them dearly. And I’m proud to share this candid, behind-the scenes excavation of one of the most mind-bending experiences I’ve ever been privileged to witness.Enjoy!Peace + Plants,Rich

Adventure begins when things start to go wrong. So stop looking for the shortcut. Embrace the difficult journey ahead.Few embody this ethos better than today’s guest Jason Caldwell.An extraordinary adventure athlete and beautiful beast of a human, Jason holds 11 world records set across 5 continents and 3 oceans, including a 320-mile unassisted traverse of the Namib desert (the longest desert trek across Namibia), captaining the fastest team to row across the Atlantic Ocean unsupported, and most recently, victory in the Great Pacific Race as captain of the fastest team to ever row from San Francisco to Hawaii, a feat Jason and his 3 teammates accomplished in just 30 days 7 hours, smashing the previous world record by an astonishing 9 days.In addition, Jason is the CEO of Latitude 35, an experiential leadership and high-performance team building consulting company. He’s a widely sought-after public speaker on the Fortune 500 circuit and has taught at some of the country’s leading business schools, including Wharton, Columbia, Berkeley & West Point.This is a conversation about what is required to tackle and accomplish audacious goals.It’s about cultivating resilience, perseverance, and risk-taking. It’s about honing the willingness to fail, leveraging drive, and celebrating humility.It’s also about ‘healthy quits’—the importance of knowing how, when and why sometimes it’s crucial to just call it a day.But more than anything, this conversation is about the critical nature of team building. It’s about leadership through experience. Why success is never a solo affair. And how to get the best out those in your orbit.If you’re into wild stories of adventure this one’s for you. But you don’t have to be the slightest bit athletic to gain significant value out of what Jason shares today.To read more click here. You can also watch listen to our exchange on YouTube.My hope is that this conversation inspires you to reevaluate your limits, find power in your community and invest more in adventure.Needless to say, Jason has lived a wild life. This conversation nearly passed 2.5 hours—and I feel like we only scratched the surface.Peace + Plants,Rich

Dadding. Surfing with Zuckerberg. Celebrating Ten Thousand’s glorious new FAR line with Robbie Balenger. And of course, the Adam-Brogan faceoff we’ve all been waiting for.Welcome to another hotly anticipated edition of ‘Roll On,’ wherein myself and my undefeated podcast co-pilot Adam Skolnick (and our intruding guest Brogan Graham) hone on matters of contemporaneous import, and more than anything, get a bit silly.Aside from serving as my magnanimous sidecar hype-beast, Adam Skolnick is an activist and veteran journalist best known as David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me, co-author. Adam writes about adventure sports, environmental issues, and civil rights for outlets such as The New York Times, Outside, ESPN, BBC, and Men’s Health. He is the author of One Breath and is currently using the ‘new dad’ excuse to avoid working on his novel.This episode unfurls in a fashion unique.We start off with the half-cocked banter you’ve come to know and love. Adam and Brogan hash out their drama. We discuss the nuances of being a new dad. And the importance of showing up for your kids and partner.We then close things out with my conversation with ultra-runner and friend of the pod Robbie Balenger, which was recorded at Ten Thousand’s live event at the Legendary Explorer’s Club in NYC, where we celebrated the launch of my Free Association Run (FAR) kit—a collection of men’s running gear.To read more click here. You can also watch listen to our exchange on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Listener Stories: There’s something potent and important about your journey that others can benefit from hearing. Learning is a communal act. And this podcast is merely a conduit. I’d like you to consider sharing your journey of transformation with me, specifically how this show has helped shape it.Leave us a voicemail at (805)-421-0057 to share your story and the wisdom you’ve gleaned from the podcast, and your message could very well be aired in a future episode.Enjoy the show!Peace + Plants,RichHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like many, I despair of our country’s division, which is rapidly expanding in lockstep with our inability to productively communicate alongside growing distrust in institutions and the media.Also like many, I want solutions. Much of this rests with us. But we also need leadership.Across the political landscape, most elected officials understand this problem and its gravity. However, very few proffer solutions beyond the beaten path. Even fewer demonstrate a good-faith willingness to tackle the dilemma with solution-based action.Today’s guest Andrew Yang is an exception to this pattern.For those unfamiliar, Andrew is an entrepreneur turned politician best known for his 2020 presidential run and subsequent New York City mayoral bid. He’s the man who pioneered a national conversation on the power of universal basic income (UBI) to address maladies produced by widening wealth disparity. And he’s a leader I find genuine in his commitment to the greater potential of our democratic experiment, bringing forth original and bold ideas to the national conversation—ideas not always in his best self-interest.Part memoir, part campaign trail exposé, Andrew’s latest book, Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy, is an instructive read on the damaged state of politics and political media as well as the broadening national divide that is eroding our humanity. A roadmap on how to repair the broken spokes of our democratic system, it also serves to announce the creation of a new third party—the Forward Party—part of Andrew’s plan to redress democratic dysfunction by disrupting America’s two-party duopoly.Today Andrew shares his story and vision.This is a relatively partisan-fee conversation about how to reimagine the democratic experiment for the betterment of all.We discuss the merits of universal basic income, human-centered capitalism, the problems with our gerontocracy, and what we need to truly progress as a nation.In addition, we discuss the perils and merits of a third political party; the role of new media in politics; the advantage of open primaries and rank choice voting; the importance of grace and tolerance; and how to modernize government’s anachronistic bureaucracy.To read more click here. You can also watch listen to our exchange on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.This conversation was an absolute pleasure. I sincerely hope you enjoy it in the spirit in which it is offerredPeace + Plants,Rich

What happens when you’re massively rich, famous, and rewarded for living a life of over-indulgence?If you’re lucky, you awake one day to realize that a life of sex, drugs, rock & roll—a life you were convinced would make you happy—only leaves you empty.You then embark on a Victor Frankl-esque search for meaning that ultimately leads to spiritual awakening and a path towards purpose, self-actualization, and service.This is a story that recurs on this show in many forms.Today’s version of that story comes in the shape of Adrian Grenier.You know Adrian as an actor—he’s appeared in many films and television projects—but of course, most well known for his portrayal of Vinnie Chase in the HBO hit show Entourage, a dizzying and meta experience for Adrian that in so many ways came to parallel his own life.But Adrian has evolved past this archetype of adolescent id, trading Hollywood for a ranch outside Austin, Texas. He’s matured into a regenerative farmer, environmentalist, and founder of the Lonely Whale Foundation. He’s also an impact investor, leading DuContra Ventures as co-founder and Chief Experience Officer.A heart-centered community builder who cares deeply about our symbiosis with self, each other, and the natural habitat we share, today Adrian shares his worthy story.It’s about the hidden, ugly truths that lay beneath the modern American dream. It’s about the work required, and beauty to behold, in wrestling with the soul. It’s about endeavoring to connect with and express that which is more fundamental and meaningful. But most of all, it’s about finding ways to be in service to a better world.To read more click here. You can also watch listen to our exchange on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.This one is soulful—I hope it resonates with you as deeply as it did with me.Peace + Plants,Rich