The Athletic Philosopher Podcast

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 23 A Love Letter To Canadian Sports

A special episode, the first recorded from my new home in the United States after growing up and living my whole life in Canada. As a Canadian sport historian, it felt appropriate to talk about what I love most about Canadian culture and spirit, and that means explaining why we love winter sports and why they are our best national identifier.
Come along on this broad exploration of historical facts, expert historical interpretation (I did write a book on all this!), and true sentiment around the best parts of the Canadian national spirit. 
No matter who lives on this land, or when, it's always the same, the way to thrive in this harsh environment is to meet it head on with sheer will and determination to play through the misery in sports and games. 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 22 How I used the Endurance Mindset to manage Moving Countries

In this episode I dive deep into the chaos of my life over the past month as my family picked up and moved from a rural Ontario village to the North Chicago suburbs. 
This move has been a tremendous trial of having things be completely outside of your control while being uncertain in each important variable. Such trials swallow people and families whole. I recognized early on the true challenges due to my endurance training background and coaching and used it to successfully navigate the stress of moving countries with two young kids, without being in control of any of the process.
I want everyone to appreciate how valuable training and competing in sports aimed from your heart really DOES allow you to bring the best of yourself to life's true trials and tribulations outside of the arena. This is me living it, practicing what I preach, and thriving through the storm.
Be grateful for the challenge, for it's what allows us to rise and grow towards our true potential! 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast: Episode 21 You need to be Courage-Maxxing through sport

Episode 21 is a clarion call to action for how I want you to approach 2025. No more living behind fear and calling it a 'justification.' 2025 is the year of Courage. Instead of letting fear determine our course, let's together determine to move through fear with righteous action.
I explore the connection between daily training and competing in sports with generating real courage in our lives to become bold in living as an individuals aimed at our passion and potential. 3 Aristotle quotes on courage frame the episode and teach us that sports are perfect places to train courage in a real way that can be transferred outside of a sporting context.
I hope this inspires you to become courageous to create a life more closely aligned with your heart and to move through the fear of living your best life. 2025 is the year of Courage! 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast Episode 20: How Sports Create Your Master Winter Mindset

This episode is a nice overview of the winter mindset I've cultivated for the past 10+ years after learning deeply about the history of winter sports in Canada as a PhD student. For me, the winter is the season of growth.  I want everyone to understand how to thrive in winter instead of being ground down by it's constant challenges.
I go back to my own transformation in mindset on the winter and how early Canadian sport nationalists inspired me to stop complaining and begin adventuring in winter by playing sports and embracing the lessons the season can teach us. 
There's no shortage of practical tips and advice on how you can thrive in the winter by embracing sports and physical activity as the engine to power you through to spring.

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 19 Know Thyself Through Sport with Dennis Michael Hynes

For this episode I welcome the excellent Dennis Michael Hynes (@HynesDm) onto the podcast for an open exploratory conversation. I'm inspired by Dennis' creativity in his golden years to use physical training as a place of creativity and growth. He provides deep takes on why we need to embrace challenge and I've enjoyed our online interactions immensely. This is our first time talking in person and it was like we've known each other for decades.
We spiraled deep around idea of presence, truth, effort, and intention in the broad world of sport. Notable conversations centered around Rene Descartes dualist conception of a human against the Classical Greek ideal of embodiment and a dissection of Marshall McLuhan quotes to understand how sports slow us down to rediscover the inner signal that reverberates inside each individual.
The main goal of this conversation was to explore ideas openly with curiosity and not put pressure to produce a 'conclusion' but instead to open up more questions and lines of interest. I want everyone who listens to see what it's like to engage in a philosophical discussion but also to inspire you to become open, creative, and courageous in exploring the meaning of movement to knowing yourself deeply and truly. 
 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast: Episode 18 Interrogating the truth of sports and philosophy with Brent M

I'm excited to welcome Brent from the excellent @AimingUpPodcast to the show to dive deep into the connections between sport and philosophy. We circled hard around the idea that sport and philosophy both aim us towards truth as the best connection between the two. From the recent Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight, the athletic scandals of the 2024 Olympics, and probing our own minds and experiences, this discussion touched wide and deep.
This discussion is a great example of being open and curious in pursuit of greater understanding, exactly the type of message I share all the time about using exercise and sport. Amazing episode that revealed a lot of new ideas and refurbished frames to help us find more courage to face the truth in sport and philosophy.

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 17 Unlocking the Good Life Through Sport with Keith Marquis

This is a special episode where I dive deep with my Tribal Training teammate Keith Marquis about his experience the past year building up towards IronMan Florida. It's the most intimate look I've given yet of how I coach my guys and girls towards their best selves through athletic competition.
Keith and I began talking shortly before he raced IronMan Florida in 2023 and I began helping guide him through a period of unspeakable tragedy and loss in his family and small community right after he punched through at the race. He wanted to share how conversations with me, and the right support from our team, helped steer him through turbulent times. Ultimately, his story reveals the beauty of sport to help us know ourselves deeply, the gives us the strength to face adversity outside of the arena, and to fill us up to serve and be a leader to others during those dark times.
Thank you Keith for being you, for having the heart of a champion, and showing what determination, grit, and resolve for yourself can do when surrounded by the right people who care. Ultimately, this episode is confirmation that opening up the heart, filling it up with your passion, and then serving others with that energy, is the blueprint for the living the Good Life through Sports. Love you Keith, can't wait to get into the arena together next year! 
*There was a slight technical issue, my laptop ran out of battery right at the end, so I clipped a separate ending with just myself, sorry to cut you off like that Keith!*

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 16 IMFL '24 and the construction of personal narrative through competition

In this episode I go over my recent race experience as a coach at IronMan Florida. Serving alongside Tribal Training head coach Ryan Dreyer, I fulfilled my role as Tribal Prof live coaching 10 of our athletes across the finish line.
Rather that just give an account of what happened, I take care to describe why these races give us a moment to investigate how we create the 'stories we tell ourselves about ourselves." It's a way to see the momentous moments in our lives as building our legend and myth in real time. My account of this race is how it aids in narrative construction.
I go over my own narrative construction this year, becoming a coach and realizing and living out that earned authority. Rather than detailing each of the 10 athlete and 2 coach narratives, I hone in on 1 particular story of an athlete to demonstrate the power of using these races to learn about ones self, to gain self knowledge on the path to self mastery.
Inspired by all 10 athletes hitting the finish line in their own style, this one is for you champions! 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 15 The Most Meaningful Run of My Life

It's not the big race, the dramatic landscape, or the personal record that make the most meaningful run. In this episode I talk about how a seemingly ordinary 4 mile road run in the country roads outside my small village turned into a powerful moment of meaning, something deeper than anything I've ever experienced on a run before. 
I put on my historian hat to describe the run, why it meant so much, and how another dramatic event six years earlier set the stage for this incredible full circle moment. I promise, you will get goosebumps at how this all unfolded.  Plus, I get to flex my skills at synthesizing disparate events with a narrative context to produce interpretive clarity, after a few episodes of playing the philosopher. 
In the end, it's all about keeping your heart open to the possibilities that any moment can become overwhelmingly meaningful if you're present and willing to see the truth. 

The Athletic Philosopher Podcast - Episode 14 Exploring The Ideal of Physical Ruin

I return to philosophizing in real time on this latest episode, swirling around the idea of taking yourself to and beyond physical ruin in a racing context. Inspired by two athlete coaching calls with my Tribal Training I wanted to take some space and explore what 'going to the limit' looks like for different individuals. Given that we take these athletic journey to better know ourselves and aim towards our best version, it's important to understand what drives breakthroughs in different athletes. 
For some athletes, they require an overwhelming amount of physical pain in order feel transcendence through competition. They prepare themselves mentally and physically to blast through pain and finish a race no matter what. These are the people who will hobble on injured legs and will not be denied.
There are other athletes however that don't require that intense physical crucible, instead battling their minds and spirits in a willpower struggle. They seek the moment in the dance when they hear the excuses starting to pile up and endeavor to breakthrough those self imposed mental limits.
In the end, exploring different 'quit' scenarios and how different types of athletes push through teaches us that individual journeys require individual metrics when it comes to toughness, grit, determination, and transcendence. It's just different for each of us!