The Rich Roll Podcast - From Soccer Star to Sports Agent — How To Pursue Your Dream Job, The Elements of Athletic Greatness & Running on Plants

Episode Date: June 23, 2014

Must be nice to have your life [sneer]……I wish I could…. [fill in the blank, with scorn]….but some people have to work for a living [biting sarcasm]. The easy road is to resent those that have what you want. Or at least more of what you wish you had. Actually it's more of a cop out than an easy road. But a cop out most of us take (usually unconsciously), which in turn leads to nothing good. Envy, anger, denial, self-loathing and defeatism are but a few of the common and predictable human emotions most likely to arise by default when confronted with that rare person living a fully actualized, aspirational life. A rewarding life where work and play are merged. A life that from the outside makes everything appear smooth, easy and obstacle free. You know the kind of guy I'm talking about right? Guys with names like Elon, Biz and LeBron. How annoying! I get it. But I also understand that annoyance is just a mild form of resentment. And resentment is an emotional luxury I personally can't afford. Because it inevitably leads me to a place of deep suffering. Meanwhile, the object of my deep resentment remains blissfully unaware of my inner turmoil, continuing that envious life of authentic expression unperturbed and none the wiser. All the more maddening! So begins the downward shame spiral. Now let's try a different tactic. Instead of foisting negative energy outward upon this unassuming third person, let's instead turn that powerful forefinger around — the one that loves to point and judge. Instead, let's look within with honesty. Let's accept where we are and invest in the plausibility of a positive new, forward moving trajectory. Let's take action based on belief in your own personal potential and deservedness. And let's embrace the process of unlocking and expressing your best, most authentic self to the fullest of your abilities. Yeah I know. Easier said than done. This is where today's guest comes in. Not because he's going to give you some version of “10 Steps To Live Your Dream Life” (for the record I can't stand articles that involve numerical lists, but I digress). But rather because sometimes a good old fashioned inspirational story well told is just about the most powerful thing imaginable when it comes to catalyzing positive change. A seismic shift in how we contemplate our lives, behave and interact with our environment and others that can lead us on new trajectories that permanently change our lives for the better. Daren Flitcroft I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's fun to have well known people on the podcast. I know that I will get more downloads and rise up the iTunes charts when I host a celebrated guest with a huge following. That's cool, but that's not really what this mission is all about. The real joy is introducing you guys to someone you have never heard of. Someone you might otherwise never encounter your entire life. From an uninformed perspective just an average person we can all relate to, navigating life on life's terms. Struggling with the same things we all grapple with — finances, health, personal satisfaction, relationships, you name it. But someone I find special. And inspiring. Daren fits the bill. When he arrived at UCLA from Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2008 as a young scholarship athlete, everything seemed to be falling into place for Daren. Just another step closer in the unfoldment of his dream: becoming a professional soccer player. But Daren's vision ended abruptly when he suffered a career-ending injury. Adding insult to this injury? It occurred before he ever played a single college game.

Welcome to the Rich Roll Podcast, episode 92, with Darren Flitcroft. The Rich Roll Podcast. Hey, everybody. How's it going? Thanks for tuning in. Welcome to the show. Not surprisingly, my name is Rich Roll, and I'm your host. And I'm super glad that you dropped by today. If you're new on a weekly basis, and for free, always for free, I might add, I do my best to bring you guys the best, most forward-thinking, paradigm-busting minds in wellness, fitness, athleticism, creativity, diet, nutrition, art, entrepreneurship, personal growth, and spirituality. The people who are rocking the tools and the knowledge and the experience and the inspiration that you need and that I need to discover, uncover, unlock, and unleash your best, most authentic self. So, let's see.

so let's see uh first of all i want to thank everybody for all the comments from last week's show with the cow spiracy guys that was uh that's intense stuff man and uh believe me i realize and understand that uh the message that these guys are putting out uh pushes buttons. It's not comfortable. And when you pull covers and start to see how they pack the sausage, pun not intended, pun intended maybe, or see how things actually are, how things actually work. Yeah, it can get intense. We don't always want to know that truth, right? But hey man, this is what we got to do. The stakes are high. And we're at that critical moment in the evolution of the planet where we're either going to make the decisions that are going to save us, or we're going to blindly propel ourselves forward into scenarios that are going to bury us and the planet. And that's not good. Personally, I'd like to see us avoid that.

If for no other reason than my selfish interest in having a nice planet for my children when I'm long gone. You know, I'm a man of, I guess I would say tempered optimism. And I believe that if you present people with the truth that together we can unite and do the right thing. And that's why it's important to me to have guys like Kip and Keegan on the show. And even if it does ruffle a feather or two, even if your worldview is different, it's cool. But I think that we can no longer really safely nap in the warm embrace of denial and expect that things are going to go well. We're past that point. And speaking of optimism, I just returned from Tucson, Arizona, where I was

a speaker at MindBodyGreen's first summit. It was called Revitalize. It was at this really cool resort called Miraval out in the desert. And it was about 150 thought leaders, wellness leaders that all got together basically to hang out, really. About 40 or so of us presented talks. I was included as one of those people. Mindbodygreen.com live streamed all of the talks and the panels on their site as it was happening, which was pretty cool. And they're going to be editing all the talks and presenting them one by one on their site and sort of TED talk kind of style over the next, I guess, like couple weeks. So I'll keep you posted on when my talk goes live. It's a 15 minute talk based on my blog post about why you should stop hacking your life

and invest in the journey. And I'm happy with the talk and how it went and can't wait to share that with you. So I'll keep you posted on that. But it was really cool to just rub elbows and spend quality time with so many fascinating and inspiring people and a lot of alumni from the podcast. I got to lead and hike, lead a hike and a run with Hilary Biscay, which was really cool. Hung out with Joel Kahn, the vegan cardiologist, Joe Cross from Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Dr. Frank Lipman, the functional medicine doctor who I had on a podcast last winter. I did a bunch of meditation classes with Charlie Knowles, who's been on the show. I did yoga with Tara Stiles,

drank juice with Jimmy Rosenberg, who is the founder of Evolution Fresh. That's the cold press juice that you can find at most Starbucks. And got to have some pretty interesting conversations with Dr. Mark Hyman about the future of medicine. You might know Dr. Hyman as one of the sort of star talking heads in the documentary Fed Up that's out right now. And it was really, really interesting. Many, many fascinating people. I hope to bring a bunch of them to you guys via the podcast in coming months. fascinating people. I hope to bring a bunch of them to you guys via the podcast in coming months. And to top it off, we even had like a private concert from, it was like a little acoustic private concert from Feist and Ed Drost of Grizzly Bear, which was really cool. We got to sit

literally right next to them as they played by candlelight under a full moon in this little outside Kiva kind of meditation amphitheater, just a hundred of us, private concert. It was amazing. And my main takeaway from this weekend experience is that there is incredible power in community. And despite differences in opinion and perspective, particularly on kind of quibbling details, by finding ways to work together, I think that that is a powerful way to begin to shift perspectives and habits of the planet by collaboration, igniting positive change from within and outside the system, I guess, to change how we perceive wellness across all categories, diet, medicine, disease, prevent disease prevention, alternative modalities of healing the environment, our relationship with technology, and importantly, our relationship with ourselves, right? So okay, today's show, every once in a while, I like to introduce you guys to people who you know, they're not famous, or they're not celebrities, but people that I personally find special and inspiring on some level.

And today's guy fits that bill. Darren Flitcroft joins us today. He's a very enterprising young man. He's a dynamic, energetic, former college scholarship soccer player from UCLA turned young soccer agent. Soccer agent on the rise, Jerry Maguire style. This is a guy who's immersed in the world of football, football in the European definition of the word. And I think that's apropos, given that we're in the midst of the World Cup, to share this conversation with you guys today. So Darren basically spends his time scouring the country looking for and scouting for emerging professional soccer talent. And so we get into a lot about his opinions on what divines or makes the difference between somebody who's a decent athlete and sort of being able to kind of see the potential for stardom and what those qualities are and how he's able to identify those in the course and scope of what he does for his job.

I became friends with Darren a couple of years ago. When he reached out to me, he was experimenting with a plant-based diet. And he was getting really into running and preparing for his first marathon. And he was just eager to learn as much as he could. And he's gone on this journey, this journey with plants and this journey with running and kind of discovering and unleashing his inner, you know, athlete beyond the world of soccer. And I think it's inspiring and it's interesting and it's informative, mainly because his story is really relatable to so many people out there and probably a lot of you who are

listening because he's just a guy looking for a way to feel better and perform better. And he's been able to do this and how he did it and how he keeps it up despite a super hectic work schedule and a travel schedule that has this guy on a plane all the time or kind of traipsing up and down the East Coast, visiting colleges, et cetera, um, is interesting. Uh, you know, he's able to maintain this lifestyle and this diet, uh, in a way that probably would have left most people, uh, back in the fast food drive-through window. And so it's really interesting to, to hear from him, uh, about how he does it in any way, any event, Darren's a great guy. He's got a strong message. He's got fascinating insights into sport and athleticism again, you know, like what distinguishes a good athletic prospect from a superstar. And he's just simply a guy with a

bright future ahead of him. He's one of the good guys. He's one of the guys that you want to see win. And so it was a pleasure to sit down with him and to get to know him a little bit better and to share his story with you. So hope you guys enjoy it. So hope you guys enjoy it. We're brought to you today by recovery.com. I've been in recovery for a long time. It's not hyperbolic to say that I owe everything good in my life to sobriety. And it all began with treatment and experience that I had that quite literally saved my life.

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you name it. Plus, you can read reviews from former patients to help you decide. Whether you're a busy exec, a parent of a struggling teen, or battling addiction yourself, I feel you. I empathize with you. I really do. And they have treatment options for you. Life in recovery is wonderful, and recovery.com is your partner in starting that journey. When you or a loved one need help, go to recovery.com and take the first step towards recovery. To find the best treatment option for you or a loved one, again, go to recovery.com. go to recovery.com. Actually, we've only like been together in person like a couple of times, maybe once or twice.

Yeah, once or twice. You passed off the soccer tickets at Plant Power Avenue. Yep, exactly. Is that actually Midvale? Yeah, it's Midvale. Midvale and Westwood. So did I tell you that my first apartment in Los Angeles was on Midvale?

No, you didn't. I think it was literally like a block from where I met you that day. Really? When I first came to LA, yeah. That's trippy. I know. Well, I figured like I was moving from San Francisco and I thought, I'm coming to LA, but I want somewhere where I can like walk around

and I don't have to drive and I can be close to work. And I was like, Oh, Westwood, you know, it seemed cool. But like now after living in Los Angeles for as long as I have, I was like, why did I move to Westwood? But you live there, but you went to college there. I didn't go to college there. Maybe on some level I was trying to perpetuate some kind of college existence. Well, that's what I'm doing. Free dorm. You still eat at the dorm. How come it's still free for you? I got a hookup.

I was nice to one of the managers there and gave him some Galaxy tickets or shoes throughout my years there. So he still hooks it up when I'm in town. So it's on the DL. Well, now everybody knows, man. Everyone knows. Your magnetic card is going to get it.

I thought maybe you had some hacker who recoded your card or something to let you in. Still have the card to get into sporting events and stuff. Oh, really? Keep that on the deal too. Oh yeah. Nobody's going to hear that. So how many years out of UCLA are you now?

So I graduated June, 2011. So three years almost. Uh-huh. Almost three years. It's flown by. It seems like forever ago. Uh-huh. I was just visiting one of my

friends uh teammates up in seattle who plays up there and we were just talking you know it seems like it's been ages ago but really it's only been three years three years yeah well yeah but you're still living in westwood and still eating in the dorm so i mean no wonder i don't want to leave i don't want to leave i mean do you go to like the frat parties like are you still socializing with people that are in school yeah i mean the, some of the people that are still there are still, uh, you know, I was there when they were there and some of the athletes, um, you know, uh, actually one of my good, uh, girlfriends, she's staying around for another year to do gymnastics. So she's, uh, you know, she's doing the fifth year, sixth year, seventh

year thing. Kind of like me. Right. I got you. So yeah, you, you, you might as well be like taking some classes, getting your master's in something at night if you're going to be living and hanging around there. Yeah. So, uh, so, um, do you, uh, do you, you don't, you probably don't eat out that much, do you? Cause I just ate at native foods the other day when I was in Westwood. Sometimes, sometimes native foods. You're fully, you're, you're fully 80, 10, 10 now. So you're probably just doing it all at your house. Yeah. For the most part, have people over cook out and, um, you know, real food daily sometimes,

you know, if I need to got guys coming into town, visiting and stuff like that. So, so I try to be flexible, whole foods, love whole foods. So, well, everything's in walking distance from where you are there. So that makes it easy. So let's take it back a little bit. I mean, we both kind of grew up in the same general vicinity, right? You're from like Great Falls or Great Falls, Virginia. Where'd you go to high school? Langley. So right about a mile away from the CIA. So that was, that was cool saw the occasional uh you know wrong turn into the CIA uh entrance and it was like guards descending on that total pat down you know I never saw it but you know some people talk that you know sometimes people took the wrong turn and there might have been illegal

immigrants or something like that and they got sent back but it definitely was like a like a serious serious thing if you turned in there uh uh, it was the right, right before the right into my high school. So it was, uh, you know, you gotta be on your toes. So, so I'm sure like tons of, uh, tons of the kids you went to high school with their, their dad or their parents, some parent worked at CIA probably. Yeah. And my grandfather did. So, I mean, that's why we're i guess still in the area and um you know most most of my friends their their parents have something to do with uh you know washington or the cia or something like that so you know but is your dad like a secret op or something i don't think so yeah he has some crazy you know he has some stories you're not exactly

sure though yeah no he has some stories about his about uh grandpa that you know he has some stories you're not exactly sure though yeah no he has some stories about his about uh grandpa that you know he's told us a little bit nothing you know too extreme but you know had to dash out of the philippines late at night one night in singapore and uh you know my grandfather was pretty high up there during the vietnam war so my dad has some pretty crazy stories. Wow. So that's intense. So what is your, what's your nationality? So I'm actually, I was adopted from Columbia. Oh, you were? Wow. Yeah. So my parents through an orphanage foundation adopted me about, I don't know, two years, two, two months old. Right. So I was out in Bogota, Colombia,

and they came down and it was actually 1990. So the World Cup was going on down there. So my dad tells me stories about how we stayed for about a month and a half in Colombia and they experienced their first real World Cup down there. You were getting imprinted on at a young age. I was getting imprinted at a young age to to do what i do now but uh so yeah and grew up in in virginia my entire life um great falls is you know you were

in landon right you know the culture kind of but yeah yeah it's a bubble so being that kid from you know the adopted kid from columbia definitely uh you know it was different right for sure very different so your grant so your grandfather was a v was a Vietnam vet, but did your dad work in the government? No. So my grandfather was a Marine, got recruited to the CIA, worked his way up the CIA. And so that's what originally brought the family to the Langley area? Yeah, I think they, you know, my, my mom's from there. My dad, uh, was actually in boarding school a lot growing up and, and, uh, ended up going to

Princeton, like my, my grandfather. And I think they just settled in the Northern Virginia DC area because, because that's where family was. So, uh, but my dad actually started a construction business with my grandfather on the tail end of my grandfather's, you know, work tenure and, and just kind of stuck with it and it's made it into a pretty, pretty good business. Right. Right. Right. Right. When you, when I hear like Princeton and CIA, it reminds me of that, uh, completely underrated Matt Damon movie where he's the, the early days of the the, at the early days of the CIA, like the foundational years of the CIA where they go in for the Bay of Pigs operation.

He's kind of, what's that movie called? Oh, it's going to bug me. I only know the porn series. No, no, no.

This is like for real. Like, uh, actually he was in that too. Robert De Niro directed this movie. It's, it's quite exceptional. Yeah.

But it's really like, it's very, it's like dead serious. Angelina Jolie plays his wife and he's like super into being a secret CIA dude. I need to check that out then. We'll talk about that later. But, um, but anyway, it's funny cause growing up in DC, yeah. Like, you know, I lived in a middle-class neighborhood growing up, but like we had like everybody in my neighborhood, you know, work for the government. Like the director of the FBI lived literally right around the corner from us. And, you know, in a modest, what people don't realize is like these government salaries,

these guys aren't getting paid anything. They have power, but they're all living in like, you know, pretty like modest abodes or whatever. But anyway, and it was, I guess it was kind of i mean i was just a kid but i guess it was supposed to be kind of not a secret but you weren't supposed to really know like where people live but uh every time it snowed like our street would get plowed right away and and not only they do that they would plow directly to the guy's house and plow his driveway just so they could make sure that like he could get out and get to work you know because in dc like they have they kind of have enough snow removal stuff to deal with it if you get a light snow but if you get a lot of snow it's just like they freak out

just forget it you know like everybody just stays home yeah but uh but that's cool so so when does um when does soccer start to come into the equation when you're a kid? So, you know, my parents, my dad was a big time swimmer in college. I didn't know that. Yeah. And he swam at Princeton. He swam at Princeton. He didn't qualify for the Olympics. He's probably like my age.

No, he's a lot older. Is he? Dad's 64. 64. Yeah, so. Well, I'm like closer to his age than I am to your age. That's true too. But, you know, for that, he never put pressure on us to swim and stuff, but

he was pretty adamant about us, you know, trying everything, you know, staying open. And so grew up playing basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, even it's a big time over there. And, um, you know, after a few incidents of baseball, he took me off the team. It was just a little too boring for me. It's not going to happen. Yeah. And I was actually a big-time basketball fan, loved Allen Iverson growing up.

And then I came to a realization that I wasn't going to be six foot. And so I kind of, you know, honed in on soccer. But soccer kind of just happened. I made a team that i didn't think i was going to make and that gave me confidence and it just did you play like like in i mean i don't know what it was like when you were growing up but when i was a kid in dc i mean as it is in la i mean it's a huge participation sport like every kid plays soccer but it's not in the context of the school it's like a club exactly msl or yeah it's not in the context of the school. It's like a club. Exactly. MSL or yeah, it's called.

No, exactly. You know, every kid was, was on a club team, you know, you grew up playing on club team. You know, when you got to high school, you would play on the high school team, but your first, you know, your primary team was club. So, um, I played, you know, I played on a small club team cause I actually got cut from the A team growing up. And, um, I was on this, uh, this lower team, uh, going into high school and ended up making, um, it's called the ODP regional team, which identifies like the 50 best players from here to Maine. And, uh, that was cool. How old were you? So what grade was that? That was eighth grade. Oh, in eighth grade. So it's like pretty early on. It's like, oh, you know, you're on a different level. But I didn't think like, I didn't think so. I got cut from this team like two years

ago. I was playing, you know, on JV, if you will, of club. And it was cool because I made this, but you know, I had people hating on me for sure right like you didn't deserve it yeah exactly so um I moved to a different team after that and um the next year came around and I did the same kind of thing I made the regional team and I think I got more respect after that right you know two times maybe it's not so lucky right so you make that team and what does that, what does that mean? Like what, in terms of like where you're at with the game? So at that age, it's just, it's more about bragging rights really. I mean, obviously if

you make that team, uh, you're on, you know, people's radar, college coaches radar. So it kind of puts a, you know, an X on your back when you're playing in your club games and stuff like that, because guys are like, Oh, this guy, you know, he's a good player. He made the regional team, et cetera, et cetera. But does that region, did that regional team play together and like travel around and play other regions or just a label? It's a label really. I mean, you, you get invited into regional camps later on in the year with that group of kids or from that pool of kids. And it helps identify players with their national team. But I was never fortunate enough to make a camp, really, for the national team.

I got sick. I would be hurt. I never really got a full shake. But like I said, it led to greater things for sure. Right. So, all right. So, you know, so what's going on 9th, 10th? Like, is your progressing?

Is your soccer continuing to progress? So, I switched teams. Our team traveled everywhere. Dallas Cup is a big tournament. A lot of international teams come. Surf Cup is out here in San Diego. It's a big, uh, big tournament played down in the polo grounds out down in San Diego, um, Disney cup. So we were fortunate to travel around quite a bit. And, uh, my freshman sophomore and junior year. And that led to, so you're on a club team that was like that good

that you guys were cruising all over the country to play yeah and it was fun it was exciting right um a lot of weekends on the road and you know they really became your family and you guys you're kicking it with and um you know i was able to get a lot more exposure for an east coast kid because of that and that led to the uclas the santa barbara's of the world the kind of of, um, getting no, you know, wind. So the colleges are, you're on the radar, they're tracking you and all that kind of stuff. Yeah.

Right. So that by the time you're, you're coming into your senior year, uh, you know, are you getting calls from coaches and going on the recruiting trips and how's that? Yeah. So it, uh, you know, it comes thick and fast for sure uh it started happening um going into my junior year so um we actually uh my friend teammate good friend of mine growing up in great falls we were both pretty good and on on the you know national watch list uh we went to ucla my junior fall met with the coaches you know

first time in westwood and it kind of was you know eye-opening breathtaking all at the same time and i mean you'd been to california though for these games but just never to westwood never to ucla right and you know they had us through paulie pavilion they took us into the, you know, athlete training center there and, um, you know, girls were around and, you know, just it, the, the whole vibe was, you know, amazing. So did they have like, uh, like a special weekend set up where they bring a bunch of recruits out at the same time and they got it fully dialed in terms of like what your, your social agenda is going to be, or is it just, you came out on one weekend and this was early enough in the process where it's an unofficial visit oh right yeah that's different from right exactly

so they were not really supposed to be there exactly 100 so they were trying to keep it low key while also saying we want you guys right um so that was and they can't show you too much of a good time exactly it. Yeah. Yeah. So it gets a little hairy, but it, they, they did good enough for me and, um, it got time to choose, uh, spring of my junior year. And obviously my mom wanted me to stay on the East coast. I had Wake Forest and UVA in the plans. I think UVA was just too much of like high school. A lot of my friends went there and stuff. So I wanted a new experience. Uh, the only other school that was kind of in line was Notre Dame. But when I went there, it was 34 degrees and like freezing rain. So, uh, you know,

when it came down to pros and cons, I think my dad had the final say and he's like, when are you ever going to get a chance to go to California again? And, you know, I. The choice was made. Yeah, the choice was made. I couldn't, I couldn't, you know, go against that. Right. That's cool. But no Princeton for you.

No. I mean. They probably don't have, like, probably have a club soccer team. No, they have a soccer team. But it's just, you know, you have to have good grades to get in. They don't really produce any money. Are you saying you didn't have good grades? I just wasn't.

I actually had better grades in college than high school. I think that was just girlfriend issue and just soccer. Distractions. Yeah, just distractions. But yeah, I wanted to go to Princeton, but it just didn't work out. Right. I know what you're saying about the UVA thing, though. I applied there, too, and I had the same kind of feeling and my parents, of course they wanted me,

you know, my mom wanted me to stay on the East coast, but you know, I, I remember very vividly, like when I saw Stanford for the first time and I didn't think that I was going to go there, it was like an afterthought. I was going to stay on the East coast and just being like, Oh dude, you know, like going down Palm drive, I'd never seen anything like that. You know, I'd been in California once for a swim meet, but it was mission Viejo down. So it was like nothing like Stanford or whatever. And I just remember, you know, the decision was made immediately before I even met anybody there, you know? So I know what that's like, um, being an East coast boy, right? A hundred percent. And at the time, I mean, who were the players in soccer in terms of like NCAA rankings and

how did it all shake out in terms of like, you know, the top teams? So, I mean, UCLA has always been a top team, you know, going there, I knew it was going to be stiff competition. You know, UVA was big time. Wake Forest, I think just came off either a national championship or like three straight Final Fours, something like that. So, you know, anywhere I went, it was going to be tough. But that's kind of why I wanted to do it.

I mean, yeah, because I think like at least on the high school level, like soccer is a much bigger deal on the East Coast than it is in California, or at least that's the way it was when I was a kid. I don't know what it's like now but is that your um college locker i mean on the on the west coast you only have traditionally ucla it's like the powerhouse i think at stanford it's a club sport when i when i was in school there it wasn't it wasn't even a varsity now it is yeah is it a varsity sport yeah but ucla um is definitely know, traditional powerhouse, if you will, on the West coast, but on the East coast, you have the UVA's, um, ACC's is King, um, Indiana's pretty good program

historically. So it definitely is a East coast, you know, Midwest kind of sport, I guess. And how does it work, uh, in terms of, uh, it work sort of like, is there a tournament like basketball? Like where you determine the top team? You know, depending on the conference, you have a conference tournament. The Pac-12 UCLA doesn't. So it's just based on standings during the season.

You know, there are at-large bids. But instead of basketball where there's 64 and what six or four teams that play in or something like that uh for soccer it's just strictly 48 so you have the top 16 seeds get buys for the first round and then the other 32 teams play um the first weekend and then it goes down and is it like world cup where it's in different places and then it all ends up or like it's always at the higher seed school up until the final four which is for whatever reason usually in a freezing location it doesn't make any sense that's crazy yeah i think it like 2010 was in santa barbara and you know it was perfect final four but for ours when we made it to the final four my senior year um it was in Birmingham Alabama in December so it was you know

pitch was frozen and people watching were you know uh so it wasn't you know it's kind of kind of weird right and so so was that the highest uh that you guys rose when you were there you were final four your senior year yeah what happened there um so senior year we uh we didn't start out too hot we were probably i think one two and one or something like that first four games and you know kind of in the back of our head we've my three years prior to that we were always we should have won like two national championships i would say right but we just for whatever reason kind of underachieved and so we thought oh gosh we're doing it again and um we turned it around and um got to the to the final four against unc who was everyone was saying that was like the national championship game um and we end up uh tying 2-2

in regulation um we're up 1-0 they tied it 1-1 we go up with 15 minutes left or something like that and then they score like five minutes left to go in the game and uh we lose in penalty kicks it was like yeah it's heartbreaking and uh but i mean the one consolation i guess was people were saying that was like one of the better games that they've ever seen so and what what position were you playing so i was in high school i grew up and i got recruited as a as a winger um but i actually I actually, you know, tore my leg up pretty bad and my knee, uh, going into my freshman year. So that, uh, that ultimately decided my career there. It was actually like the last practice before I headed out to Westwood. Yeah. That must've been like, were you just completely freaked out? I actually took it. I, I was, you know, I didn't know what was going

on. I was so in shock that I, you know, didn't cry, didn't, you know, make excuses. I just kind of happened the first like six months I toured, I think in end of July and I left for LA, you know, the beginning of August, just all, everything happened too fast to like even process it. Um, yeah, I mean, I wish I got a fair shake for sure playing wise, but I mean, I wouldn now being a sports agent but you know I always intended like I think most people do to to be a professional first and uh after blowing out my knee uh that first like four month period in school was, you know, was tough. I was spending, you know, preseason when everyone else is getting to know each other and everything on the field, you know, in my dorm room, leg up, ice pack on and kind of by myself.

six months of school was, was a definite change from being in Virginia with all my friends and being the guy and coming to LA and not having anyone and being the guy in the, in the dorm by himself. So it was tough. And did that, I mean, did that heal up? So you were able to play ultimately, or did that just, that put the, the, you know, that was, you were done. Yeah. No, I didn't know that. Yeah. So, I mean, it was, you know, I was still a were done. Yeah. No, I mean, I didn't know that. Yeah. So, I mean, it was, you know, I was still a member of the team. I was still out there practicing and played in a few games, but for the most part, it really, it really, uh, you know, messed me up because I came back too soon. I tore my hamstring, led to compensation. So like, it just, you know, it was a mess. You never were able to put it together exactly

man i'm sorry to hear that i didn't know that i mean it was a blessing in disguise in a way as are so many things yeah and you think it's the worst thing ever it turns out you know in retrospect you're like that was awesome yeah no definitely yeah so i mean how does that uh you know how does the agenting thing i mean sports agents are like, when you think of it, it's sort of like that pie in the sky thing. Like, it sounds like, it sounds cool. You know, like when you're in high school, you're like, that would be a cool job, you know? But then you're like, yeah, but how does anybody do that? Like, it just seems like impossible. You know, like there's only a few guys in the world. I was definitely, I was definitely that kid

watching entourage in high school. What was it, Arliss? Ari Gold. Arliss is what people were telling me to check out Arliss, but that's before me. That predates Entourage, right. But I wanted to be Ari Gold kind of thing, or Arliss, if you will. And I had that goal. If you look at my UCLA soccer bio,

you know, it says, you know, majoring in business, uh, economics or whatever to be a sports agent. So I always knew I wanted to be, it just got, you know, sped up a little bit with the injury. Um, but that was the one good thing about being at UCLA is like the connections and the people that you're around because that 100% got my foot in the door. Um, I mean, Oh, look over there across the street, there's this huge, powerful sports agency. Exactly. No. And I actually, I didn't know that, you know, I should have known that something like that was in the cards. Cause my first day, uh, you know, at, at soccer practice at UCLA, they were going out to the track for

fitness and I was on the side cause I, my knee, I was on crutches and, um, someone calls out to one of my teammates, you know, says something like, are you going to fail it again this year? And I look behind me and it's Barry Bonds. Like Barry Bonds is just, you know, talking smack to my, uh, my teammate. I'm like, yeah yeah that doesn't happen at the typical college it doesn't so um that was my first experience but you know I grew up or I played with uh in my first two seasons about 10 professional players and I didn't know that at the time but you know after my first season they got drafted and after my second season they got drafted and after my second season, they got drafted. And after my sophomore season, so this is the winter of 2010, I kind of got my act together after a few years of college, really getting after it.

Sent my resume out to a bunch of agencies, both in D.C. and back here in LA and, um, only heard from a couple. Um, and maybe that, you know, that's how it is. Right. Um, well, it's a weird thing. It's kind of like a lot of the entertainment law firm, boutique law firms out here, like in the Beverly Hills area where, um, they're very small and insular and, and they're, they're only going to hire somebody who has experience, you know, but you can't get experience unless you get hired. This is this weird catch 22. Or unless you're a family member or something like that. Right. You're like, somehow, you know, somebody who knows somebody, or you can finagle your way

into some kind of unpaid internship, I suppose. Yeah. I mean, Wasserman's a little bit different than that. Cause it's, it's big, you know, there's a lot of people there. No, a hundred percent, but that's little did I know that three of my teammates that season, you know, a couple of months earlier had gotten signed by, you know, the boss now Richard Motzkin of soccer. And so, um, you know, when I sent my resume to Wasserman, they saw that I was at UCLA, they saw who my coach was. Um, they asked my former teammates now, you know, professionals,

and I got good recs. And so I got an interview and I didn't screw up too badly. So then they, they asked me to do an unpaid internship in our, our office in DC. So, oh I was in DC, um, the summer 2010 going into my, going into my junior year of school. So, um, which is great. I mean, so it's been almost four years, I guess, almost four years, like off and on with the company. But like I said, I mean, uh, Moby Akugo, Mikey Stevens, and, um, Kyle Nakazawa were three of my my three of my teammates who definitely put in a good word and Bruce Arena, who is arguably the, you know, the most successful U.S. coach in history. His son was my assistant coach at UCLA. Oh, wow. So, and Richard Motzkin, you know, uh, my, my, uh, you know, tutor, my mentor, you know, reps him. So that kind of, you know, that helped, uh, tremendously. Right, right, right. So you're, so you're living the dream, man. You're actually doing what you

wanted. You're, you're becoming what you want. You are what you decided when you were younger, you wanted to become. Yeah. It's kind of, it of it's pretty cool yeah it's pretty cool for sure it's uh so is it like being re gold it's like there's moments where i see it i haven't gotten there yet you know it's definitely you've only been there how long were you an unpaid intern before you started to get paid and have this so i did i did it for that summer unpaid uh was asked back the following summer, decided to do it out in L.A., and I got paid that summer. And then after we lost in the Final Four and PKs to UNC, I ended up full-time going into it.

And the way the soccer season's set up is that in the fall you play, so then everyone's set up so that they're done with school in December, and then the MLS draft is in january so players have about a month to get ready there's a combine and then there's a draft so i went into it i started representing a couple of my teammates and uh obviously with the help of everyone else you have to talk them into it. Like, are you really a sports agent? Are you just fronting? I mean, they knew, you know, they knew my motive all along. So, you know, they were ready for it. They were ready for it.

This day was always coming, right? Definitely. So, I mean, it definitely helped to have some guys who were willing to take that jump with me and understood it. But I mean, there's, it's a team at Wasserman for sure. So, you know, Richard, Aaron Maynes, these guys have my, you know, have my back. So they're supporting me all the way. So, so, so in soccer, it's really all about January and MLS draft. Like that's what you're gearing. It's like, it's like that movie draft day, right? Like it's all coming down to

that day. Definitely in the U S for sure. And for college kids, you know, that's the period of time is August is preseason from August to December. If you're lucky, it's the season and the finals. And, and then from December to early January, you're really just prepping for this combine and the draft in mid January. And so, and a huge part of your job, I mean, based upon just following you on Twitter and Instagram is, uh, you're just scouting these guys and you're traveling all over the country, visiting these colleges and watching these guys and, you know, trying to figure out who your, you know, who your clients are going to be. And then also, you know, visiting your clients on all the various MLS teams. Yep, exactly. You know, it's, uh, you have to obviously juggle everything and, um, you know, sometimes you wish you could be at two split, you know, two places at one time, but, um, I like being out there and seeing stuff for my own, you know, myself, because, um, you know, the difference between, I think soccer and other sports right now is the journalist side, you know, they're

trying to get ahead, and so they're pumping people that might not deserve it. They're trying to create dramatic stories. Exactly, trying to get readers and stuff like that. So you have people talking about a player who might not be that good, and so it's really good to be out there and to see it for yourself. Right, can't trust what you're reading. Exactly.

So I like doing that. Being in California, it's a hot it for yourself. Right. Can't trust what you're reading. Exactly. So I like doing that. You know, being in California, it's a hotbed for sure. And then, you know, on the East Coast, you have the various markets with Philly and New York and all the way up to Boston. So you're able to get a fair amount in. So how often does, I mean, and this is coming from somebody who like, this is a world I really don't know that much about.

You know, forgive me if I'm ignorant. But how often is it that a kid will come up, either out of high school or out of college, just take the leap to a European team and just forego the whole MLS thing? It's happening more and more now. I think in 2008, Rich signed the first homegrown player, the first guy to bypass college altogether. Uh, and, um, and now it probably happens, you know, 10, 15 times a year. Whereas, you know, the, just six years ago, there was only one. Right. And obviously, you know, in this culture in America, it's definitely, oh, man, you're you're foregoing college. That's like a huge step. What are you doing? You know, and where else in England?

That's normal. You know, school is secondary to soccer for sure. And guys leave for a lot less than what these guys are here in the States. So, I mean, when you look at, at, at soccer in the United States, still by a landslide, it's the biggest participation sport that we have, right? Like more kids play soccer than any as youngsters than any other sport, right? Is that true? No. Yeah, it's true. Right. It's gotta be true. I mean, it's easy. You roll the balls out and kids go play. Yeah. Exactly. Get around in the, the in the yard so then something happens along the line where it's not translating at the highest highest level like at that super upper echelon level so what is like what is you know what could be better or what's missing or what's different

i mean obviously we don't have the rabbit you know culture here that exists in united kingdom or yeah not yet right it's spoken like RLS. So not yet. I mean, well, what's the difference, you know, is it just culture? I think it's a little bit of culture, exposure, um, dollars, you know, all this comes into, uh, comes into the mix, but I think it's growing and it's grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years. And so MLS is healthy. It's healthy. The attendance is high. Like these teams are profitable.

And most of the teams are profitable. Whereas 15 years ago, they were having teams, you know, out of the league because they couldn't be funded. You know, I think in 2001 or two, you know, Tampa Bay mutiny and Miami Fusion were cut because it just wasn't you know they were trying to build this league and they were dying and now you have you know just last week atlanta has given given the team you know next year new york city fc is going to have a team in orlando city so you know it's just growing and i think beckham's going to get a club here soon so right right um we need we need like some star power though too you know it's sort of like

is landon donovan he's yeah is he retired now landon's still playing but he's kind of in the latter part of his sort of in the twilight of his career yeah so we need another you know we need a guy like that we need somebody that we can decorate that we can prop up and create you know a narrative around that gets people excited exactly and i think what you know we've seen it over the last you know three world cups now is you know the world cup is a big big boost for american soccer and that's why it's great that it's you know here in june um you know everyone rallies around everyone loves you know seeing the seeing the teams and you know taking the extended lunch breaks and stuff to to go root on you know england versus algeria or whatever it is and i think that all collectively benefits you know the game of soccer

here because it creates new fans right so um and you also see it i I mean, my best friend, Andy Rose, who I was up in Seattle visiting, you know, his girlfriend is Ryan Bradley, whose brother is Michael Bradley, who is probably the best American soccer player right now, who just decided to leave Europe, to leave AS Roma, one of the best Italian teams to come back to MLS. And he, just to, he, the level of play is growing. He doesn't think it's a step back and the money is getting better. And he wants to be a part of a good league and a growing league. And I think more people are, are, are seeing that and, you know, realizing that MLS is, you know, is serious and they're trying to make a, you know, a step forward for sure. Interesting. I mean, what is the salary differential like on average?

Like obviously if you're back, you're some huge star, you're getting ridiculous amounts of money at your FC overseas, but in terms of like a journeyman player on a European team versus like, you know, more of a top tier player on the MLS? Like, is there still a huge? Yeah. I mean, there is a big discrepancy for sure in these salaries. In January of next year, there's going to be a new collective bargaining agreement. And I think, you know, the players, while they're not excited about a potential lockout. And, um, I think, uh, they are excited about the prospect of, you know, increased wages and a little bit better playing conditions. And, you know, frankly, I think it's deserved. Yeah. And when you're looking at, uh, when you're looking

at these players, you're scouting them, you're traveling around. I mean, what is it, what is like the defining quality that you're looking for other than the obvious, like, Oh, he can, he can really play, but like, what makes the difference between somebody who's good and somebody who you can see like huge potential in stepping into some big shoes? You know, I personally have a weak spot for people that like fight through adversity and, and kind of, um, um you know haven't always been the the top prospect and it's tough because a lot of these kids are the top prospects right but there is you know a difference between who's the best guy at age 16 and who's maybe the sixth

or seventh guy and within a year you know it's the vice versa right and you sound like kevin costner and draft day yeah so i haven't seen the movie it's the vice versa. Right. And you sound like Kevin Costner in draft day. Yeah. So I haven't seen the movie. It's all about draft day. So you obviously saw the movie. Yeah. I didn't see the movie, but I mean, it's, you know, for me, it's obviously skill, but it's also what's between the ears. And if the kid is a good kid, a quality kid, he's not tweeting stupid stuff. And he's actually, actually you know he's focused on becoming a professional player so obviously that has to do with research like talking to the club coach and talking to you know friends and family and just kind of getting an entire picture of a kid because

now you really have to see draft day yeah i need to go see it but and not that it's the greatest movie in the world but like just what you said is very similar to what that character actually goes through in the movie. But anyway, yeah, that's interesting. I mean, it's, you know, so many things come into play in terms of, you know, how potential talent is going to develop. And it's so much more than, you know, your skill, your footwork or your skill level.

It's like, what kind of teammate are you? You know, is your head screwed on straight? Are you making good decisions off the field? You know, all of these things that, you know, it's your, your considering whether they're going to be suitable as a professional, you know, quote unquote professional and being a professional is like, this is, you know, this is so much more than how many goals are you going to, are you capable of scoring? Yeah. You don't want, I mean, you don't want them to sign the piece of paper and think that it's over. You know, I try telling them that congratulations, it's your first contract, you know, it's a big deal, but you know, we want two, three, four contracts, you know, it's not the, it's the first step of a long, long career. And that's what we hope from you and want for you.

But you can't be complacent because someone's right on your heels. He's going to sign next year, next month. And how does it work? Once you get these guys signed with these teams, then what happens in terms of trying to get endorsement deals? And do you work that whole side of the business as well? Yeah. I mean, we're fortunate because of the size of Wasserman. We're able to have like a team that's purely based on trying to find those marketing opportunities and endorsement deals. And for soccer, obviously it's not as glamorous as, you know, our basketball guys, you know, Russell Westbrook's in the office and he has, you know, New York times interviewing him for, for fashion

week and things like that. And, um, but I mean, you're trying to find them free swag or, or trying to find, you know, some, uh, some marketing opportunity that, that gets them a little bit of exposure and, and, you know, really helps build the really helps build the players brand, but also the sport. Right. So give a little background on what Wasserman does and all the tentacles, because it really is quite an amazing organization that really has its finger on the pulse of so many different things that allows you to really leverage all of that for the benefit of the people that you're working with. Yeah, no, it's, it's amazing. And, you know, when we have the guys and their families come to the office, it's kind of sells itself, uh, cause it's, it's right down, down there in Westwood and it's, it's pretty sweet. Um, but Wasserman was started by Casey Wasserman, uh,

son of, of the Lou Wasserman, the big know Hollywood mogul and you know he wanted to do what his grandfather did and he wanted to make not a movie empire but a sports industry empire so he started acquiring you know different practices throughout the early 2000s and you know he acquired Richard Motzkin and Dan Siegel my two bosses and uh in 2006 right before the 2006 World Cup and um you know we've obviously built one of the most successful you know if not most successful soccer branches in the U.S. but he also you know we represent basketball Arne Tellem who Arliss has actually been rumored to be about. He's the inspiration.

Yeah, Arne is just, you know, down the office from us in soccer, and he represents, you know, the big-time basketball players. You know, most notably, recently, Jason Collins, you know, who came out as the first openly gay basketball player. Right, right. Derek Rose, who unfortunately has been injured a little bit, but was an MVP not too long ago. Football, Andrew Luck.

Baseball. But also we have an entire corporate consulting group who does the marketing rights and naming rights for a lot of stadiums and a lot of companies, a lot of projects. And marketing, like I said. We have guys that do that and try to build um you know opportunities for our guys off the field to generate some more income so our satellites in la but we have i mean our headquarters everywhere

our headquarters is in la but we have uh you know an action sports steve astovan down in Carlsbad with the motorsports. Um, we have offices in New York, uh, DC, Raleigh, and we have an entire, you know, very successful UK group, um, in London and then various agents and offices throughout Europe to kind of help build our football practice for sure. That's crazy. That's, uh, it's funny cause, um, well, for listeners that don't know, you would write, you referenced Lou Wasserman, who essentially is for people that don't know. I mean, he's responsible for sort of almost, almost, you know, creating the Hollywood that we know today. Like Hollywood is a very different place before that guy kind of, you know, pioneered some new ways of doing business and created kind of a lot of the systems and sort of the way that business is done to this day.

Right. And and he was always known for wearing these huge glasses. Right. And I had the good fortune of meeting meeting your your boss, the boss boss, Casey, recently. And I saw that he had the glasses in a lucite case behind his desk which was really cool and he really has i mean super nice guy avid cyclist you guys they represent a bunch of cyclists too yeah i think you have mark cavendish exactly so yeah i mean amazing uh all the different you know even you think like a big sports is i mean obviously i'm sure the bet the bread and butter of the, of the business is football, basketball, you know, what you would expect. But the fact that, you know, you have agents working in all of these other, you know, more sort of niche considered

sports is pretty awesome. It's cool. No, I mean, I actually, I was invited to the draft day premiere in Westwood because, um, our marketing division had some of the basketball players coming in and right. And there are football players taking that in, but was unable to do it but um things like that you know it's just on a daily you know daily occurrence that you know you could get roped into something that you had no plan on doing but just because you're in the office and we have so many things together it must be like every day you must be like oh my god look over there like who's that you know yeah walking through the down the hallway right it was crazy today i mean this month really is the busiest time for our basketball group because they're signing all the the college prospects and the draft is not not too far away but they they have everyone in westwood they house them here

they take them to workouts and stuff like that. But, you know, you randomly, you randomly don't know, you know, what seven footer just passed by you because you take the corner a little too quick and you don't have time to see them. So, yeah. That's pretty cool. But you're, uh, but you're getting ready to move, right? Yeah. Uh, I think I'm going to do the cross country trip this week, actually. Oh, you are? Wow. Just put everything into my car and just drive east. I'm going to... So, I mean, it sounds like life in LA is pretty good. So why would you pick up and go east? No, I have reservations for sure. But I think right now for me to really grow as an agent,

I think I need to move to DC, back to DC and work with Dan Siegel, who's, you know, been another huge, huge part of my, uh, my working life and is really like my father figure on the East coast. I mean, Rich has been, has been my guy here and has really taken me under his wing. But, um, I think for now, just for a lot of reasons, it's, it's good to change your pace. I got you. I would imagine also in for a lot of reasons, it's, it's good to change your pace. I got you. I would imagine also in terms of, of scouting and everything, I mean, you could hit so many colleges in such a short period of time, just up and down the Eastern seaboard. It's probably a lot more easy for you. And that's, that's a huge advantage. And that's

something that, you know, will be great. And also the fact that Rich told me that, you know, I can come to LA whenever I want, you know, that gives me some flexibility. All right. Well, we got to get to the part about like how we, how we actually hooked up here, like how we actually met. Like, I'm just trying to remember how we first, how, what the first, you know, shot over the bow was, I think like you were just starting to play around with your diet and running and things like that. Right. And you, you were playing around with a plant-based diet yeah um i think it must have been on twitter though no i think what happened was casey actually casey um you know he knew i was like he knew i was prepping for um my first marathon and i just started that just cause now I'm out of school.

Like I don't have anything to do, you know, anything to focus on, no soccer practice. And I was starting to gain some weight and wasn't having good habits. And he kind of said, you know, you should check out this book and it was your book. Oh, cool. Yeah. I love that. So Casey Wasserman is referring my book. Exactly. And this And this has been when he was first starting too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I checked it out, and I was instantly hooked. I read the book in a matter of days. And I actually had my grandfather was sick,

and that kind of was the starter for me, adapting a more healthy lifestyle, quote unquote. But my healthy lifestyle wasn't that great. And I started doing, you know, messing with like paleo and a lot of like protein shakes and stuff like that. And it wasn't, you know, it wasn't good. Right. So you were doing, you were playing around with paleo when you were on the team at UCLA, right? We talked about this before. What was your, yeah. What was your experience with that? Just, I mean, I got super lean i got cut but it wasn't i didn't feel good you know trainers didn't think i was like energy level or something

exactly didn't think i looked good or healthy and had blood work done and it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't good you know right i was calcium deficient i was hey that's the wrong bike julie comes in yeah you're bringing Tyler's bike I think Greg wants to grab my bike yeah you're the wrong many bikes in here I know it's okay you don't have to be we're not in a radio studio yeah this is the first time I'm meeting Julie there you go I'm a little grab that some butterflies right now I know what it's okay um but yeah i wasn't healthy you know hormone levels all messed up i thought i was i mean i looked good i was um you know guys were commenting oh wow you look you know you're shredded yeah but it was not healthy and uh but

i was in denial kind of you know i was like i'm eating more than anyone like i was just not eating the right so when you were starting to. This was when you were still... This predates marathon. Yeah, exactly. Okay, right. But then... But then you're starting to work as an agent, and then you're getting used to the sedentary work life, right?

Yeah, and just traveling and stuff like that. And I just kind of lost... I was trying to survive in the agent world, kind of, you know, um, you know, going from having maybe three hours a day of having to do something in college to, you know, not knowing what I really have to do in the life of an agent. So I was just, um, so then, yeah, I ran into Casey. Casey, um, mentioned your book. I read your book. I was hooked. You know, I started, um, slowly, slowly incorporating more and more of the plant power stuff and, um, you know, started seeing, started seeing, you know, results feeling better, but couldn't, you know,

couldn't kick the, you know, occasional pizza or Diddy Reese cookies in Westwood. So I think that's important though, because it's important to talk about that and to be kind of open and transparent about that. Because I think a lot of people think like, oh, if you can't just, you know, make the switch like boom, you know, overnight and be super hardcore, if you can't make that work, then like, you know, either, either the program doesn't work or it's not, you know, it's just not possible or it's too hard or something like that. And it's like, we're human beings. We have to like evolve into these things. Like it's not an overnight thing. Like you got to like adjust slowly and, you know, step into it and allow yourself to like, you know, screw up or whatever and be

cool with that as long as you're kind of continuing to move forward. No, definitely. And it was hard. I mean, it took, took a while. We ended up meeting at that, at, uh, for coffee that one day. Right. And that was really, you know, that was awesome. Um, and kind of as a kickstart helped it even more. And so that when I met you that time, that was still pretty early, pretty early. You were early on. See, I thought you were like full on at that point. I was, you were like, that was like a year and a half ago. Yeah. That was a little while ago. No, I was just like, you know, I was getting into it, you know, I was probably like good on the, during the week and bad on the weekend kind of thing. And, um, I ran my first marathon I had, you know, in Carlsbad.

I think it was 13, Carlsbad 2013. And I did fairly well, but like I wasn't anywhere near, you know, 80-10-10 or, you know, doing it right. You know, I was definitely, I went to my friend's house the night before, stayed at his place. And his mom was making me, you know, marathon food before, but it was pasta laced with butter. And I didn't know she put cheese on it before she put the marinara sauce on it. And I just felt terrible. But what can you do? She's feeding me.

She's housing me. I can't. But I ended up running it pretty well. And that got me hooked for the next one. So then I did the next race in June. And I was little bit better and, um, and it just kind of snowballed. And I finally, you know, I found, uh, you know, after your Michael Arnstein, um, interview or podcast that definitely interests me. And I've slowly started to, you know, eliminate more of the, you know, I used to do protein powder and stuff like that,

kind of like what you were saying and, you know, slowly started honing in on what works for me. And I'm not fully raw, but like, I'm definitely, you know, mostly fruits and vegetables during the day. And then at night I probably have some rice and beans or last night I had some potatoes and stuff like that. So. Right, right. So you're not, so you're not like eating, you're not just eating, you're not like Arnstein where you're just eating bananas or durian rye or something. No, but it intrigued me. Yeah. It's interesting, you know, and you probably heard, did you listen to Mac Danzig? So he's, you know, he's all about it now. He's loving it. And it's interesting to hear that. Like, you know, I eat tons of fruit and vegetables, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't characterize myself as 80-10-10. I'll eat a typical plant-based, but like a cooked dinner.

I'll have rice and beans and lentils and just different kinds of things. So I don't know if that probably doesn't really qualify as 80-10-10 strictly or whatever. I mean, I'm less concerned about labels and how I feel and always continuing to try to improve. I mean, I'm less concerned about labels and how I feel and always continuing to try to improve. You know, that's the biggest takeaway that I've gotten from you and others is that it's more about the lifestyle. You know, you always preach, you know, sustainability and it's so true. Like, you know, if you shouldn't do something, if you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't do something if you can't sustain it. And it's a hard process to get to it because you gotta. Yeah. Sustainability comes from making shifts slow, you know, tiny little changes over time that you can incorporate

into your life without like, you know, some kind of like end point or, you know, deadline or something. Yeah. It's hard. When you started playing around with this, I mean, what were the differences that you started to feel or experience versus what you were experiencing when you were playing around with paleo? Yeah, no, I mean, when I was paleo, I had headaches. I had, you know, I was extremely hungry. I was starving. You know, I was eating three or six meals a day, but I was eating, you know, this amount, that amount. You know, I was very. So you were trying to be very careful about your calorie amounts or was this like, were you doing like a super low cal?

Low carb. Oh, low carb. That's what I meant. Very low carb. So I just didn't feel good didn't have any energy and so then i transferred over to to this and it was like night and day i started like you said in your book many times like you had too much energy you didn't know what to do with yourself and that's really what like i gotta go yeah get the next marathon i gotta do

the craziest thing just just go run. Like, you know, people are like, why, how can you do that? Well, try it. And you, you know, you might see. You'll realize. So, so how did you, how did you, how did that impact your running? Do you think like, what, what, how did those times come down or how did it impact your day-to-day training? So the, I mean, the biggest thing was weight.

You know, I've lost probably 15 solid pounds since 14 months ago or whatever it was. Um, and then just recovery time, you know, people say it and, you know, I'm starting to believe it. You know, I was telling you, you know, on Friday, uh, I ran four hours, I ran a marathon and change, and I woke up the next morning and I ran another 20 and there's no way that I could have done that. A year and a half ago when you first met me. A year and a half ago, my first training run was two hours and I went around UCLA about three times, maybe like 12, 12 miles. And I couldn't walk in the office like the rest of the day and the day after. And so just like. You ran

a four hour marathon and then you woke up the next day and went running again. Yeah. Ran three hours the next day. So, yeah, it's crazy. So what do you,, I probably put 15, 20 dates with some water and blend it up. You said, you said data raid, not Gatorade, not Gatorade, Gatorade. So you just blend up dates with water. And, and, uh, you know, if I have extra, then I drink it before I run. And I kind of sip on it every 20 to 30 minutes throughout my run. And it does, does the job, does the deal, man. Yeah. yeah yeah that's cool and uh so that's it no other like you know when you're in four hours i'm chilling like i was telling you i'm not running like exactly i'm not running too hard you know when i'm doing marathon training it's different you know sometimes i try to practice like i will in the race where i will have like a

all gels instead. Um, brazier was nice enough. You know, he sent me some Vegas stuff. Um, so I have those packets at home and I've used those and I use those in my last race, but, um, I try to keep it simple. You know, I like the fact that, you know, if you can get it from just natural foods and stuff like that, I, I stick to that. No doubt, man. So you're getting ready. So the next race is North face 15 mile. Yeah. North face endurance challenge in June, I think June 7th or something like that. Uh, in DC. So it'll be a hot one, but it's going to be nice and humid. Yeah. I mean, it's different. It's a, it's so much different when you go running in DC, the DC, you know, the, the, in the summertime versus out here, it's a completely different experience.

You're sweating before you can take your first step. But I mean, I'm, I'm used to it. Like I know what I can expect this year. I did it last year. I did the marathon last year. Um, but it's going to be, it's going to be a challenge, but I'm ready for it. Yeah. Cool, man. So are you just, uh, you coming up with your own plan or how are you figuring out how to prepare? Actually, uh, a guy, you know, guys who's a fan of yours, I think, I forget how we got hooked up, but he like commented on my Instagram or something like that and noticed that I

was, you know, getting into running and he emailed me and we hooked up and he actually sent me over a plan. His name is Rob Ricardo actually. Oh, nice man. So yeah, the guy's, the guy's a legend. So I guess he's taking classes and he's trying to get, be a certified, uh, you know, trainer and stuff like that. But he sent me over, you know, a detailed, um, workout plan for the next, it's a, I think it was a 12 week plan. So I've been doing that, busting that out. And other than the runs, like what other, what, what other kind of things are you doing to prepare it? Like, you know, are you doing the foam rolling and the core work?

Like what are the other, um, I do light lifting, lower body, I do squats and stuff. Um, I do, you know, I have a foam roller. i've done a little bit of yoga um who is it tara styles is that uh-huh yeah i've seen i'd kind of get her youtube videos up and try to cool try to work off that and uh i play a little soccer here and there my co-worker aaron he sometimes needs bodies out there for uh his santa monica airport league uh so i get out there and do a little cross training that way yeah does that get your uh like competitive juices flowing or do you just feel like that's that's that was before you know now i'm a runner yeah there's times where i have to like be conscious of you know if i'm too explosive or if i try to go you know that's you

know i might be out you blow it out again? Like, are you like, I mean, were you told like you just can't play soccer? No, no, no. I'm less worried about my knee. It's my hamstrings. Like I feel like if I get in, I mean, speed was my big asset and shiftiness. And, um, you know, when I got back from my knee injury, I blew out my, my hamstring. Like, and so it just, it knee injury, I blew out my, my hamstring and so it just, it didn't, it wasn't good.

My gait was all messed up and that's what, um, really led to me focusing on core work and stuff. So I do do a lot of core work and that like helps tremendously with my alignment and all that when I'm running. So, and how is it when you're, you're trying to eat your meals in the, uh, like the UCLA commissary in the dorm? Like, can you get what you need to eat there? it's pretty sorted out so i'm hijo there i mean yeah so i'm the the the the nice uh mexican or latin american workers there they know who i am and so

um you know they might have you know fried rice out, but in the back they have brown rice. So, you know, they'll see me there and like, you know, quiero arroz moreno and boom, I get my brown rice. So, and they bring out all the fruit to you. Yeah. No, I mean, UCLA is actually, I mean, I don't know if they're just saying that or if it's actually true, but I think they're like the number one, you know, cafeteria, um, you know, service in the country. And I'd believe it. I mean, they have no specific cafeterias on campus where you can get, you know, there's one that's predominantly for, for health. Um, so, I mean, they're good about their stuff for sure. So you're doing this thing, like, I mean, a year and a half ago, did you think you were going to

be like a plant munching, uh, ultra runner? It's like, it is a little bit different than the soccer world. Yeah, no, it's, you know, coming from DC, uh, you know, this isn't exactly, uh, their cup of tea. You know, I always grew up coming back late from soccer practice, having an entire Domino's pizza by myself or, you know, I know what that's like, you know, you know, the afternoon cafeteria, you know, three hamburgers and three sides of fries or something like that. And, um, but no, I mean, I, I love it. I think it's definitely, you know, it happened for a reason and LA is definitely a hotbed for this kind of stuff, but, um, I'm starting to turn people over on the East coast a little. Yeah. So that's what I wanted to get into next, which is like this sort of, you

know, advocacy that you're doing. So you started up this thing called Vita Planta, which is like your homegrown like juice company. So you're making, you're brewing up all these crazy potions in your apartment. Right. And then you bring them to Wasserman and you hand them out. And like, what's, so what's the, that's the, that's the most flackack i'm getting from from my customers back in the office for leaving is uh there's no more green no more no more juices but now i spent 13 for their yeah the earth bar juice or whatever exactly um no i mean i got my vitamix and i was hooked you know i when my grandma bought it for me like a year ago or

something and i just started blending up drinks for myself. And Aaron, actually, my colleague, was like, you know, I'm going to do a juice, you know, juice cleanse. You know, I was like, oh, how much does it cost? It's like $280 for three days. I was like, all right, I'll have fun with that. He did it. And then, you know, he's like, you know, I want to keep doing, you know, having it. And I was like, all right, I'll make you one.

He's like, I'll pay you. And, you know, I was like, all right, what's it. I was like, all right, I'll make you one. He's like, I'll pay you. I was like, all right, what's good? I was like, four bucks. He had the first one, and everyone saw this, seen it. Whitney, who works with me too, she was great. She came up with labels and stuff like that, and I started putting them on the mason jars. It went from two to four to,

I think I was at one point like serving 18 or 20 people. So do you get like a little cart and you're pushing it right down the hallway? You're like, great. Get your green juice. Exactly. No, I just, there's a, there's a refrigerator, um, that I just would put them in there and, uh, you know, people act on good faith. You know, you don't take someone else's, but there is the occasional green juice dealer. Um, you know, it's hard to get mad at them for stealing green juice though. Right. Exactly. Someone's pimping. Well, it's personal though. It was a little more personal, but like, yeah, if somebody's, if somebody's stealing that to get healthy, like, yeah, what kind of moral transgression is that? Yeah, exactly. Um, that's cool. So are you going to continue to do that in the D how many people

are in the DC office? Yeah. But you just take it out on the street though. Exactly. And it's cool because, and I mean, I'm sure you feel the same way, but I mean, people are starting to, to dig it and, you know, at first they're making fun of you for just eating the green juices or the bananas or whatever. But intrinsically, they're into it. They're curious about it, and they start asking questions, and then they start adopting it. One of my best friends back home, standard American white boy, doing the hot dogs and burger grill, you know, on the weekends is now, you know, running every day. You know, he's like, I'm addicted now. Like, you know, what do you do for shin splints? Things like that. But, you know, he's hooked and,

you know, he's sending me Snapchats of, you know, his ripe bananas and stuff like that. So, you know, it's a risque for Snapchat. Exactly. I mean, it feels, it feels good, you know, to be helping some people. Um, yeah. And I think Casey even said, he's like, yeah, you know, Darren brings me my green juice in the morning. Now, now what is he going to do when you're gone? I don't know. I mean, I'm sure he could, he could probably, probably express it. But I'm interested in how this has, you know, your enthusiasm. I mean, because like at least on social media, you're always sharing. You're always trying to put a positive message out about like lifestyle fitness and diet and nutrition.

And you're showing what you're eating and your blends and all this kind of stuff, which is great. You know, it's like now you're, you know, it's like you took, you know, what I delivered in the book. And now you're doing your own version of that, and that's what I love. That's the movement. That is the plant power revolution. But what happens when you take it to your clients, like the players? You're around all these athletes all the time, right? And what is the typical soccer diet, and how are you kind of talking to these guys about nutrition, especially your clients who you have a vested interest in succeeding?

You know, I mean, you've said it best. You can't preach it, really. You just got to live it and focus on you, and that's what I've been doing. And, you know, I get some of my boys. You know, I love Andrew Farrell. He's my guy. You know, he kind of put me on the map. He was the number one draft pick and- Too fast, too Farrell.

Exactly. Because you're always tweeting that guy. Yeah. You know, he's my boy out of Louisville, you know, the South. And, you know, he's got some, you know, strict food, you know, cravings and stuff like that. And I don't force anything upon him, but, you know, he's curious, you know, I got him your book, um, last year cause he was curious about it. And, you know, he's starting to implement little things here and there. And, um, hopefully, you know, he starts fully on the bandwagon, but, you know, I have another, you know, other friend and client, um, who, you know, asked me, emailed me, asked me for some recipes and things like that.

And I shot him over Brendan's new, you know, cookbook and, you know, they're excited about it. So, you know, just trying to educate them if and when they ask. Yeah, that's cool. I think Brendan has done some stuff in the soccer. I know he made a video with Landon Donovan. Yeah. He's worked with teams specifically, but but yeah and he's got that new magazine right a new magazine so you know I've he's asked me and I'm trying to help him um especially this next issue coming up he's trying to get a few of our guys for a world cup edition if you will and um but no he's been he's been great and you know I've tried to plug as many of my guys in there as possible and um try to you know and when they do that they you know they're wondering who brendan is and

things like that and what thrive is all about and they get they get interested and curious and they ask about it and you know the really the big thing is you know education like you said and trying to get the message out there and it doesn't matter you know who's doing it or how but as long as as long as it's out there. And how's it going to go when you get to DC? Where are you going to be eating? Where are you going to live? Are you going to live in DC proper?

Are you going to be out in Virginia? Yeah. So the first month I'm probably going to be at home. You know, it's crazy to think, but my mom is just like you. Why are you coming home? You know, what do you want to do here? And I was like, Mom, you don't want to see me on a

daily basis? She's the one who didn't want you to go to California in the first place. She's complaining that you're coming home? Yeah, exactly. So I'm a little, I don't know what's going on. But yeah, I'm going to hang out in Great Falls for a little bit and try to figure out where I kind of want to live in Arlington. That's where all the

young kids live these days. Is it? Yeah. Clarendon. Really? Yeah. That's the place now. Yeah, man. What's going on there? That's so cool. I mean, just where all the young, the young, it used to be Adams Morgan. Yeah. You know, my generation. I mean, that's where the bars are some, you know, some of the bars that they go do now, but, um, we'll figure it out and see, but I mean, it's definitely going to be adjustment, you know, but I, you know, being a college kid kind of adapting this lifestyle, it hasn't always been easy and, but, you know, you kind of learn to embrace it and, you know, you, you'll get the occasional, like how many bananas for lunch today, you know, there's cool stuff happening in DC though. I think you'll find that there's a lot more people, uh, more interested in

it than you might imagine. And, you know, I spoke at the DC veg fest the past few years and got like huge crowds and like people, you know, it's there, you know, there's a lot of interest there and a lot of people that are, you know, on, on point. So I think you'll be surprised, you know, it's hard to compete with like Venice, California, there's nothing like it, but, but I mean, I think that you'll be, you're not going to have any trouble finding like-minded people there. No. And I mean, that's, that is the coolest thing about it, you know, finding you, you know, and, and other people that you can share this kind of, you know, lifestyle with and, uh, this message it's, it's fun, you know, it's, it's, it's cool. Well, I'm going to put all the pressure and heat on you to, you know, push it through the professional sports world now. No. And that's what I want. Like I said, you know, I, I am,

you know, definitely grateful for you and helping me, uh, get to where I am and, um, we'll still lean on you for sure. And, you know, if you need anything on my end, for sure, you got it. Thanks. I appreciate, uh, the kind words. Um, but it's just been fun to kind of watch you, uh, you know, watch your career blossom. You know, it's like, it's weird because, you know, I'm almost 48. It's like, I could, I could be your dad, you know, but I don't feel like I relate to you like that. I feel like I relate to you as a friend and that feels good and I think that you know for me the most important thing is that whatever like information or inspiration

that I've been able to provide that you just you know you pass it on and you're definitely doing that which is great yeah and I think like you know what's cool to see too is that you know obviously you listen to the show so you know like the theme of the show really is, you know, beyond like what you're putting in your mouth, it's like, how are you, you know, how are you living? Like, are you living to your potential? Like, are you, are you as actualized as you can be? And there's always things we can do to improve, but really, you know, how do we, how do we live the, the, the life that we always wanted to live? And, you know, for the most part, most of the guests and myself included as the host, it's like, we went through a bunch of bullshit before we figured out, like

we had to course correct and like, you know, dig ourselves out of all kinds of holes to like do all this soul searching and waste a bunch of time. And you're kind of like, yeah, you've had your, you know, your life isn't perfect. And, you know, I'm sure you wish you could have been on some level, a professional soccer player could have at least played at UCLA, but that led to what you're doing now, which is what you wanted to do. And you're doing what you wanted to do. So for people out there who, you know, who maybe aren't doing that or are looking for some insight or inspiration as to how they could kind of begin the process of trying to be the thing that they always wanted to be? I mean, what kind of words could you impart? Yeah, no, I mean, I think,

you know, you talk about it being your authentic self. It's hard, right? I mean, especially being young, it's you have so many things pulling at you and so many distractions. But, you know, if you can really hone in on what you want to be and how you want to do it, I think whatever step it is. For me, I didn't know I had, but I just did it. I just sent my resume out to as many, probably like 20 or 25 agencies or talent firms, just hoping I could get something.

Um, and you know, at UCLA, I, you know, made it, made it a point to not just stay in the bubble, um, with the soccer team. You know, I, I mean, a lot of it had to do with my injury the first year where I was kind of ostracized anyways, but like I made a point of making friends with my volleyball friends down the hallway in the dorms or made a point of making friends with my volleyball friends down the hallway in the dorms or made a point of, um, kicking it with the water polo guys, you know, after practice or, you know, making friends with the, you know, with the gymnastic team, you know, things like that, just casting a wide net and making friends and connections in, in different, you know, different sports. Cause I knew like, that's what I ultimately wanted to do. So, I mean, just, you know, obviously in this business, you kind of have to be a go-getter and you have to,

you know, have a certain goal and, and want to achieve it, but, you know, kind of spreading your tentacles and getting out there and, and, um, showing face is, was the biggest thing for me. I mean, I think one thing that, that I've noticed about you is that you're pretty, I mean, you have a very outgoing personality and you're a people person by nature, but you're not afraid. You know, it's like when I was 22, like if you said, Hey, you should call up this dude who's 47, you know, who wrote a book that you liked and like, see if he wants to meet you. Like, I would never do that. I would have been terrified, you know?

And you're like, Hey man, let's meet. And I'm like, okay, cool. And like, but you're, I'm sure if you did that to me, you're doing that all day long with all kinds of people. And so your sort of sphere of, you know, contacts and influence grows exponentially as a result of that. So I see somebody who's very kind of industrious with respect to your relationships and not afraid to kind of, you know, connect with people. No, I appreciate that. I mean, that means a lot. And I think, you know, Richard Motzkin, um, you know, my boss and my, my father figure really here in LA,

you know, my boss and my, my father figure really here in LA, you know, he, he says, you know, ask a question. Cause you know, if you don't ask it, you won't get the answer. You know, if you don't go for it, you won't know. And the worst thing you can do is not ask the question or not do what you want to do. And so, you know, I kind of, I learned that pretty early on, I would say. Yeah, you can be nervous. You could have butterflies. You could be scared, but ask the question because it might happen. I asked my boss for LA Golding tickets the other day, and he made it happen for me.

Things like that. You just got to be a go-getgetter you don't know if you don't put yourself on the line exactly and so i think it's about and that i think with that comes this idea of allowing yourself like giving yourself permission to fail like you know if you do that like it may not work out but you have to be okay with that either way you know because it's not about it's less about what happens and it's more about just the doing of it right you don't learn unless you fall on your face. You know, I've learned that already, you know, in the little time that I've

been working is, you know, you, you know, you come in last if you don't try. And if you, you do fail, you pick yourself up and you actually do, you know, you try again and you're most often stronger because of it. You know, it is cliche, I guess, because people say it, but it, you know, I've learned from experience that it's true. And, and I think for, for people, you know, coming up or, you know, in a hard spot, like the thing to do is to ask. And the thing to do is to try and, and you don't know if you don't do those things and if you don't dream big and do it, then you never know. Was there ever a moment in your short lived career, my short life where you were like, I can't do this. Like I'm in way over my head.

Like I don't even know what I'm supposed to be, you know, like I should just go back home to DC. I mean, there, there are definitely times, you know, early on where, you know, I didn't know if I was cut out for it. You know, I got burned a couple of times and, you know, I kind of started out good. I had my few teammates that signed on with me and they were pretty good players. And, um, you know, I kind of put a lot of pressure on myself to continue that and, you know, signing Andrew and him being the number one pick was amazing. And, you know, I kind of put a lot of pressure on myself to continue that and, you know, signing Andrew and him being the number one pick was amazing.

And, you know, that doesn't happen most often for, you know, rookie agents, if you will. Um, and so that put a lot of pressure on me and, um, you know, I got, I'm naive in the sense that I like to give people a fair shot and, you know, I don't think that people have bad intentions or ulterior motives. And so, you know, I got burned a couple of times last year by people that way and it hardens you up pretty quick, but I, my style, I definitely like to give people the benefit of the doubt, you know, and it's, it's hard, it's a tight line to, to, to walk. But, um, you know, after a couple of those instances, you know, there were definitely times where I was questioning, am I right for this or

I'm cut out for this? Like, do I have the heart for this? Um, but at the end of the day, it always came back. Do I love what I'm doing? You know, and I do, you know, I always wanted to be this and, you know, I'm not there yet. You know, I'm, I'm doing it, this and, you know, I'm not there yet. You know, I'm, I'm doing it, but I, you know, I'm not where I want to be. And, uh, well, just here's a, here's a little lesson for you on that. That's you'll never get there. You get there, there's another place where you don't want to go. So let go of that right now. Save yourself a lot of anguish. Good note, duly noted. Um, but yeah, but yeah i mean it's it's been hard at times but you know nothing worth having in life comes easy yeah cool man well i think you got a bright career

how do you appreciate it and uh just keep eating plants keep running dude i'm gonna keep doing it yeah man all right well you're gonna stay in touch when uh you get to dc yeah i expect i expect you to to run with me when you get out i think we'll be we're we're looking at visiting there at some point this summer either july or august i'm not sure bring out the whole family because the little little girls haven't seen the museums and all that kind of stuff so my parents live they live in georgetown so they want to they want to see everybody so i'll be out there and dc is a great running city right along the canal and stuff there's so many great places to run there yeah national mall i love it when i stay at my parents house in georgetown just to be able

to go down run along the river run over the bridges you know all that kind of stuff kind of close to the office so i could always meet you halfway yeah where's the where's the office there it's like arlington road in bethesda so i mean it's like that's where i grew up yeah i was right by landon it's like uh yeah i mean that grew up. Yeah. It's right by Landon. It's like, yeah. I mean, that's my old neighborhood, man. Exactly. So I could meet you halfway and we could do something. Work it out. Cool, man. All right. Well, thanks for, uh, thanks for stopping by, man. Appreciate it, man. It's an honor. Give, uh, DC a high five for me. I will do. All right, man. You're keep inspiring people. Appreciate it. Cool. So if people want to hook up with Darren,

find out more uh your what's the best place twitter at Darren yeah Darren Flitcroft twitter instagram same thing and you just started a new instagram for a vita planta or a twitter for that right both twitter and who's gonna run who's gonna be who's who's gonna run vita planta so it started out like Rich's daughter, Eden. Um, she, she came up with the idea and so we kind of started it. She was managing it first for a little bit and you know, I'm starting to pick it up. So it's more, you know, regular, but, uh, yeah, we'll see. I'm going to turn it into like a real business, right? I'm going to try to, all right. A little side business and then who's, you know, we'll see what happens.

All right, cool. All right. So that's it. And then that's it. You don't have like a website or anything like that, right? Yeah. You want to learn more about Wasserman. They just go to the wall. What's the Wasserman website. You know, it's pretty, I mean, most agencies, they don't put anything up. You go to like CAA or UTA. It's just like a, like all it is is a page. It's just a phone number. And that's it. What's the deal with that?

This like bit like super secret yeah you don't want anyone to know what's going on i think uh i mean like you said it's insular like people are trying to keep it you can't even like find bios of the agents or like you know and it's weird like agents are like if you try to find out you go online and like google the name of like a ca agent you don't find that much stuff like their whole thing is about like staying out of that right being incognito and stuff that's kind of the allure you're a little too high profile on social media to be an agent then you get in trouble with the boss man no i mean i don't know it's all for me it's you know it's all in good fun and i'm i love being there for my clients and stuff you know this last weekend my my boy dylan serna scored his first goal and I was there

and I was able to see him afterwards and stuff. And just being able to, you know, give him some, some love Twitter wise and stuff. So that's good. All right, man. Appreciate it, Rich. Get you home now. Thanks, man. You want to take us out?

Nah, it's all you. All right. Peace. Blance. All right, everybody. That's our show. Hope you dug it. I hope that this episode helps enhance your enjoyment of the World Cup. If you're inspired by Darren to get more plant-based, well, what are you going to do about that? Well, you can go to mindbodygreen.com. You can find both of those on the homepage or click on video courses on that site. I'll take you right there.

Of course, go to richroll.com for all your plant power provisions, our nutritional products, our garments, t-shirts, our cookbook, our meditation program. It's all there. And we've got this new product that I'm really excited about. It's called Ion. It is an electrolyte replacement drink. And it's really cool. And I'm going to take a minute and tell you a little bit about it because I think there's a lot of confusion out there about replenishing your electrolytes. and after our workouts. But how do we usually do that? Well, we grab one of those sugary drinks that's in a bright color and we down that and think, oh, I'm replenishing my electrolytes. And the truth is that electrolytes really shouldn't be purple, green, or orange, nor should they be wed to all of this sugar and additives and artificial everything. In addition, most electrolyte supplements really don't even properly replenish your electrolytes because they're not balanced, right? They're generally high in sodium,

but they're really off the mark when it comes to the other important electrolytes like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. So ideally, we need to replace our electrolytes in the same proportion in which we sweat them out, right? It's common sense. But that is what ion is all about. It is a capsule, you just swallow it with some water. And it is in the same proportion and balance in which we sweat it out. So if you want to find additional information about it, I talk all about it. And we have some cool infographics and stuff like that on my site. Just go to richroll.com under products. You can find it and give that a gander.

I want to support the show. The best way to do that is tell a friend. Just spread the word. That is something I appreciate greatly because I know you guys are doing that out there. You want to take it to the next level, bookmark the Amazon hyperlink from the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com on the homepage there. You can bookmark that and then it's right up there on your browser. Every time you go to Amazon, you click that link, takes you there, get what you're going to get, and it does not cost you a cent extra. But

Amazon kicks us a little commission change. And that's really helped put some wind in our sails. So thank you so much for that. You can also donate to the show. There's a donate button at richroll.com. And please, and thank you for sharing your enjoyment of this show on Instagram. I love that the pictures of people working out or in their commute or what have you, you know, wherever you are, when you're listening to the show, sharing it on Instagram is really cool. And I dig it. So please keep that up. Make sure you tag my name at Rich Roll or hashtag RRP so I can see it and send you some love. So that's it. Until next week when I'll be back with another great show. Enjoy the beginning of summer. Eat your greens, drink your greens, grow your greens,

be your greens. And in the words of Darren, Vita Planta. See you next week. Peace. Plants.