The Rich Roll Podcast - How Josh LaJaunie Lost 200 Pounds, Ran An Ultramarathon, Transformed His Life Wholesale & Inspired His Community To Embrace Healthy Living

Episode Date: June 15, 2015

Josh LaJaunie is perhaps the most inspirational everyman example of healthy, transformative living I have ever met. After 151 episodes of the podcast, our first initial conversation back in December of 2013 (RRP 63) is to this day one of the most popular, most downloaded episodes in the history of the show. If you missed it, please make a point of listening to this amazing exchange here. That conversation transpired on Skype. We had never actually met. Now we have. At Healthfest in Marshall, TX a few months back I had the opportunity to spend an entire weekend with Josh. It was a memorable experience that left me more impressed than ever with this fine young man. Not just because he has overcome tremendous obstacles to restore and maintain his health. Not just because he continues to impressively evolve as an athlete and runner. But because of the exemplary human being he has become. A big spirit who continues to grow. A giant heart and shining example of service — constantly educating and inspiring his loved ones and community at large. The story — as laid out in his self-penned manifesto “Free Josh LaJaunie”– goes like this: In November of 2013, this guy I had never heard of called Josh LaJaunie tweeted me his before and after pictures. The change was so astonishing, my first thought was, can this be real? The 400+ pound guy on the left bore almost no resemblance to the guy on the right, a super fit, handsome young man running with a big smile on his face. Chris Farley had morphed into Bradley Cooper. But how? On a lark, I invited him on the podcast. I had no idea his story — more importantly his ability to own and tell his story — would be so extraordinary. The experience left me and everyone who tuned in indelibly changed. Ever since, I have felt inexplicably bonded to a guy I never actually met. In short, Josh accomplished what some would deem impossible, dropping over 200 pounds and a life-long addiction to unhealthy foods & lifestyle habits to discover a passion for running. A journey that led him to completing multiple marathons and more recently his first ultramarathon. He didn't just lose weight. And he didn't just keep the weight off. He became an athlete. A real athlete. Most impressive is how he faced, battled and overcame astounding, impossibly entrenched cultural obstacles to change everything about how he lives his life. A gift he now freely and quite joyously shares, permanently transforming the lives of everyone who crosses his path. Born & bred in southern Louisiana, Josh is a 100% genuine, authentic, self-avowed “swamp dweller” from Bayou Lafourche. A big kid with an even bigger heart surrounded by a loving nuclear and extended family united by their shared adoration of food. Josh was a standout high school football player, recruited to play college ball. But disillusioned by college life in Arkansas, he dropped out of school, only to return home, aimless and unmoored. He found work in the family construction business, but lived for the weekend – time spent hunting, fishing, cheering for his beloved New Orleans Saints, feasting on his favorite local delicacies — po boys...

Fixing the way I thought about myself and what is possible changed my life more than plants, more than running, more than any of these things. It's what went on inside my mind. That's Josh Lajani, this week on The Rich Roll Podcast. The Rich Roll Podcast. Hey, everybody. Welcome to The Big Show, where each week I probe the intellect and the spirit of the best and the brightest in health and wellness and fitness and diet and excellence and all kinds of other cool stuff to help you live and be better, to push you and me to unlock and unleash our collective best, most authentic versions of ourselves. My name is Rich Roll. I'm the host guy behind the microphone. Welcome. Thank you for dropping by. Thanks for subscribing to the show on iTunes. Thank you for clicking through the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. Can you

guys hear all that noise out there? All the honking and the sirens and stuff? I'm not in the garage. This can only mean one thing. New York City, baby. I'm in New York City. I love it. I'm here for like 11 days. The reason that I came here is I had an opportunity the other day to speak at Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Hall, perhaps the most storied, historic, famous auditorium in the world, if not the most. It's definitely up there. It was crazy. Like, I'm reflecting back on it. It's just insane how life works. Because if you had told me, I mean, certainly when you look back on the arc of my life, I mean, you know, 18 years ago, I was a hope to die drunk. The idea that I would be on stage at Carnegie Hall, I mean, you know, I was hoping to just stay alive. And even after Epic Five,

Ultraman, writing my first book, if you had told me then that I would have this opportunity, I would have said you are completely out of your mind. The only circumstance under which I could realistically imagine being at Carnegie Hall was if I was seeing a show or maybe they were employing me to like mop the stage floor or something like that. It's just super wild. And it was really cool to like be backstage and kind of see how the whole place functions. And you see all these old guys back there and you know, they've been there working for like 50 years and they've seen it all. Like every amazing, great creative talent has passed through there. Anyway, I'm just kind of feeling a lot of gratitude right now because, you know, I live life in bonus time. And the fact that I'm in a place

now where I get to do stuff like that just blows my mind and it gives me perspective. And it really has me reflecting on the limitations that I impose upon myself, right? Because generally, I'm my own worst enemy. And I think that's an apropos theme for today's podcast and today's guest, Josh Lajani. Josh Lajani is an extraordinary individual, kind of an everyman hero, I suppose. He was on the podcast originally in episode 63 back in December of 2013. If you have not listened to that, I strongly urge you go back and listen to it. To this day, after 151 episodes of the podcast, it is right up there on the top three or top five most popular,

most downloaded episodes ever. And the reason for that is everybody loves a great transformation story. And Josh is not, you know, out like breaking world records. He's really an everyman guy, an average dude who overcame extraordinary obstacles in his path to not only lose 200 pounds and keep it off, but to become an athlete. And he's like a beast of an athlete now. He's this super handsome Bradley Cooper looking dude. He's a runner. He's banging out marathons all the time. He's running ultras now. And it's a really amazing story. In addition, because he's just a beautiful guy with an amazing amount of charisma. And I just feel really bonded to him for some reason. Again, what's so amazing isn't just the 200-pound weight loss. It's how he did it. It's how he maintained it, and it's how he's transformed

himself into not just a baller athlete, but a real evangelist for healthy living and plant-based nutrition. And on top of all of this, he did it. He accomplished all of this in what is literally a nutritional desert, deep in the bayou of Southern Louisiana. There's no whole foods. There really aren't even any kind of nutritional role models that he could in-person look up to, in-person resources. This is a guy who basically was fed up with how he was living, how he was looking, how he was feeling, and he just made a decision to change. And he followed up that decision with consistent daily action. He just did it. And our first interview was on Skype. So I'd actually never met Josh in person until this event that I spoke at in Marshall, Texas.

It's an event that I remember when I decided or I agreed that I was going to do it. And I emailed Josh and I said, when I realized that Marshall, Texas, wasn't that far from where he lives in Louisiana. And I said, Hey man, I'm doing this thing. You got it. You got to make the trip up. You got to drive up and we got to hang out for the weekend. Sure enough, he was there. We got to hang out for like three days in person. And it was super cool. You know, I just feel really bonded to him. Almost like he's my little brother from another mother. And I'm more impressed with him than ever after hanging out with him. And I'm just so happy to be able to sit down with him in real life and get to know him better and share that with you guys. So again, please listen to episode 67 if you haven't already. It's amazing. And this episode picks up right off where that one left

off. And we're going to explore his continuing evolution as a runner, as a human, and as an inspiring example to all of us. And this is a conversation that's going to move you. It will erase whatever obstacles and excuses you rely on that perpetuate your bad habits that keep you stuck in reinforced denial. And by listening, my hope is that you'll realize that no matter what your circumstances or environment, that we all have the power to implement profound personal change beyond our collective imagination in miraculous and fantastic ways. So if I could go where I was once to speaking at Carnegie Hall,

and if Josh could lose 200 pounds and run ultra marathons, this should help you reflect and think on the limitations that you put on your life. So let's get down with the man who calls himself a self-avowed coon ass and learn more about how he makes it happen and how he's inspiring all of those in his community to live and be better. Enjoy. Right on, right on, right on. A little bit different than last time, like you just said. Yeah, it's a lot different.

I know. It's pretty awesome though. Yeah, it's cool to see you face to face. I mean, you know, I thought, like, if I come to Marshall and I get one thing out of it, which is to connect with you in person, then it was a worthwhile trip. And I walk into the convention hall on Friday night, and you were the first person I saw. It was so great to finally meet you and give you a big hug, man. I'm glad it was caught on film. You got to send me that picture. Oh, I will. I will. I will. Yeah. And I don't know, man. I was trying to think. I don't know what it is about you, man. I just feel connected to you and your journey. And your story is so extraordinary. And I was reflecting back on

just that I just had this spontaneous desire when you sent me that tweet that I was like, it had to be two years ago or something like that, about now, a year and a half or something. Yeah, it's a little over a year. Yeah, yeah. I was like, I got to reach out to this guy. And I get, people send me tweets all the time, but there was something about yours. I'm like, man, I got to get on this. I remember just dialed you up onto the podcast. I need to get you a better after break. Almost. Yeah, yeah, I know. We'll get some new pictures for this one. And kind of just dove into that podcast, not really knowing anything about you other than like the little bit that

you had on your website. And usually I prepare and I was like, well, I'll just check this guy out. And that was such an amazing conversation, you know, and it really resonated with people. You know, and I say this all the time, that I really think that that is what, you know, has made this podcast special and distinct from some of the other ones out there. Because as fun as it is to have people like Dean Karnazes on and people that you know, you're going to get a lot of downloads, that kind of stuff, it's guys like you that really move my heart, man. And your story just touched me. And ever since that moment, we've been following each other. It's not like we talk on the phone or anything like that, but I've been very emotionally invested in your journey.

That's crazy, man. I mean, I don't know really what to say. I'm just, I am so grateful for you reaching out to me. That has really changed me even more since that podcast. It's been crazy. And being able to really realize that I'm inspiring a lot of people.

Yeah, you are, man. Own it, brother. So it's kind of, that's cool. That is awesome. And it's also very inspiring for me. And it drives me. It keeps my fire burning bright. It really does.

That's cool. It really does. That's cool. It really does. That's cool. Well, yeah, I mean, it was a cool moment for me to be able to, you know, the podcast has grown considerably since then, but to be able to kind of introduce you to a bunch of people and share your story. And, you know, I'm sure a bunch of people like we're starting, you know, like sending you emails or whatever. Yeah. And I'm glad that that's, that that's a little spark for you. Because I think, I mean, I haven't gone back and listened to that podcast,

but from what I recall, I think I said something like, dude, you got to step up. Like, you got to get out in front of people and start sharing this story, because you can really help people. Yeah. And I've done that a couple of times. I get a little nervous standing in front of folks, you know. Well, so do I. Everybody does.

But it's something that I don't shy from. When I'm asked, I'll definitely go. And it's a new thing in the fold. It's good, man. Yeah. Was that cool that I called you out today? I didn't want to embarrass you or anything like that. No, yeah.

It was very surreal. I was sitting there taking pictures of everyone's in posting as the speakers were up. And I was like a deer in the headlights when you started talking about me. I didn't even think to grab my phone or take a picture. And I was just trying, trying honestly trying not to like shed a tear really because that's that's where i was emotionally at that moment i was like wow this is where i am right now that's right this is crazy it's cool i mean for beautiful for the people listening i gave a second talk i gave my main talk on friday night but today's saturday and i gave a

second talk um and instead of, because I told my story, I was like, well, I want to tell a couple other people's stories. So I kind of highlighted, you know, I showed some before and after pictures of you and I made you stand up. No, that was- And made the proclamation that you're going to be speaking at this event next year. I think that's going to happen, man. Yeah. I am game. Yeah, that's cool.

100% game. That's cool. So for people that are new to the podcast, maybe didn't catch our, you know, I don't want to go back through the whole thing because they can go back and listen to that. But why don't we like quickly, you know, recap the journey, you know, like take us back a little bit. Yeah. So essentially, I am born and bred Kunas. I'm from Nebai. That's where I grew up. We do a lot of things that can really contribute to poor health and obesity.

So that's essentially, long story short, that's what happened. Living my normal, typical Kunas lifestyle. We're not talking about a suburb of New Orleans. No, we're talking about down south. We're talking about on the bayou. And we do things differently. But we definitely, we party around food. We grieve around food.

You know, everything revolves around food. It really does. We live to eat and we're proud of it. And I had gotten to a point to where I was very unhealthy and very unhappy with myself and very overweight. And I was also educating myself at the same time. At my very heaviest, I was in school as a nontraditional student, and I was in my senior year. The big thing was I was nervous about getting in front of people with a big, giant belly and sweat on my brow because I'm big and heavy and hot and wearing a suit. Right.

And I was worried about that. I mean, at your heaviest year what are you topping out at 400 at least at least 400 um and so i started trying to fix that uh my uh senior year but before that the big shaker and you and you brought that up today which we didn't talk a whole bunch about it the last time was you know i've been been a Saints fan since I can remember being able to realize what football was. And all my entire life, it's been just common knowledge that the Saints are never going to win a Super Bowl. That's just accepted.

And here I am. My wife surprises me with season tickets in 06 for my birthday. So we go through a couple of seasons. And then lo and behold, here we are, 09, as season ticket holders, and the Saints win a Super Bowl. And it completely shook what possible and impossible was inside my brain. It seems maybe trivial to some people that football plays such a huge role, but it does. It's important to me. And so I was compelled to read Coach's book after.

So Sean Payton read a book about it. So that following summer, I read that book, and he talked a lot about some of the walls that he ran into coming from up north down to south Louisiana to basically get people shit together and let's go do something. Like culture clash. Right. What is it specifically about southern Louisiana? What is it specifically about Southern Louisiana? It's a little bit of laissez-faire, a little bit. I think it's maybe that French lineage or something.

We're not very specific about goals. Coach was trying to implement, like put a system in place to go get this specific thing, not win a playoff game. He wanted a championship. And that mindset, like what didn't exist even in the fan base, like, oh, that's a solid question. I mean, that's a pipe dream. Right, yeah.

So Coach was like. But the players aren't from Louisiana. That's right. But a lot of the peripheries as far as office, probably, and personnel and those things, a lot of Louisiana people involved in it. And basically, he said a lot about how he heard this recurring theme of, well, that's just the way it is down here. And he really bucked up against that.

Right, like, slow down. Yeah, and that's exactly right. Let me tell you, let me educate you about how we do things. This is how we're going to do stuff down here. And no, he said absolutely not. And so he just basically completely changed the culture of the organization. Right, from the inside out. From the inside out.

And that was powerful. It was him and Mickey Loomis. It's a big deal. They've really done something amazing. So that shook me. I was like, Coach is right. Because here I am wishing I wasn't fat, but that's just the way it is down here. I wish I could change it.

I wish I could eat better. I wish I could do these things. But we got Mardi Gras. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Christmas is right around the corner. What are you going to do? It's my mama.

You got to eat. is right around the corner. What you gonna do? It's my mom. You know, it's my mom. You gotta eat. And so that was the first thing that cracked the whole... That's what started it. It's so fascinating because

usually it's more of an internal thing, like something happens to you personally, but your personal relationship with this football team is so strong that it almost was like you, right? It does seem trivial, but that passion runs deep. It runs deep, and it's more than just football. You played football, just to be clear.

I played football, but it's also nostalgia, like memories, things that I think of that were going on as I was watching a football game. You know, sitting with my dad or those types of things that I remember. I just don't even remember, like, why I was hollering and screaming. But I knew that my dad had jumped up off the sofa and he was jumping up and down and screaming. And it was something good happened, so I would just mimic. And it's those little, like, so it's not just football to me. It's all of these periphery things that took place around this activity that sort of made it, you know, connect deep inside of me.

And it's a part of me still to this day on game day i'm a wreck you know every single game and this season was rough it was a rough season you know and yeah it's a good thing you're not 400 pounds now yeah right you might have to wait a little longer yeah there was a funny little side thing when i when we first got a season tickets i was still a big giant person and so we got to be really good friends with the people next to me because I basically shared like a quarter of her seat with her and uh so because I spilled over you know and um but what was really what really sucked was there were times in the dome where say Drew would throw a bomb, and everybody stands up. And I can't. I can't get up fast enough to see the receiver catch the ball,

so I have to avert my eyes to the big screen in the dome so I can watch the play come to fruition. And looking back on it, that's sad. That sucked. It was kind of embarrassing, too, to not be able to get up out of your seat quickly. Well, I would imagine that, you know, when you weigh 400 pounds, there's any number of indignities that you have to suffer. I mean, the obvious ones like going on a plane and stuff like that. Some of the worst ones.

Little things that, you know, somebody of normal size never even thinks about that you kind of have to deal with that kind of like stoke that like furnace of shame, you know, that you're private about and can't really talk about. Right. The things, yeah. The things like the airplane and the seats and all, you're right. But the private things were ten times worse. Like what? You could always laugh off. Yeah, you diffuse it like on an airplane.

Right. Look how funny, fat guy in an airplane. But it was things like, say, putting on socks. That should be something a 20-something-year-old man should not have a problem with. But putting on socks, I would break a sweat after my shower. And literally, you don't understand this belly. You can't get to your feet very good at all. Or even grosser,

ingrown hairs because you have skin touching on skin. Folding over. Right? And you have these weird, gross, I mean,

pustules that would grow from ingrown hair. It's disgusting. But you don't see, people don't see those. Yeah, yeah. It's just me and myself in the mirror being extremely unhappy about my physical condition. But at the same time, being jovial Josh, putting that facade on.

Yeah, because you've got to compensate, right? That funny guy. Yeah, you've got to compensate with personality. How did that work with your wife? Because you were big when you got married and she obviously loved you just for who you are and all of that. I was on a... It was funny. I was on a weight loss stint when I met my wife. So I've been up and down my whole life. So I was around 250 when I met my wife and um but she had known me for years like just you know just loosely we we weren't friends really per se we just knew each other and uh

so it was about I was about 250 when I met her and I just ballooned up to what you see in my wedding pictures and she never wavered she never never, the only thing, because she's a nurse, and the only thing she would ever say was, you know, all I would ever worry about would be your health. I really don't care what size pants you wear. I don't care how heavy you are, how many seatbelts you need on an airplane. It never bothered her at all. But what did bother her was my self-deprecating. That was more bothersome than physical appearance, for sure.

Yeah, the emotional landscape that comes with that because you become so self-defeating. Exactly. Because she's my most intimate partner. She's the person that sees the real me. And so a lot of times, you know, the big, funny, fat guy, Josh, that person, that guy, that facade is gone. And she gets to see the underbelly of the unhappy Josh. Right. Like when the door's shut and it's just you and you're going to bed or whatever,

and you can turn that off. Yes. And there's the real guy. Being able to change that about myself has been, I am more proud of that than any weight loss or any race, honestly. Did that require, I mean, was that a byproduct, a natural byproduct of losing the weight and becoming an athlete?

Or did you have to do additional work on that? I did therapy. I went to therapy. And I think more people should probably that are wrestling with things. And actually, the funny thing is that I didn't go until after I had started to lose a lot of weight. And I started realizing some things things I need to deal with some stuff inside my brain, inside my head. And I think more people should own up to that and be okay with it. Right. How do people feel about that in the bayou going to therapy? Yeah, they feel how they

feel, bro. I mean, you know? Well, that's a good, that's a profound statement because I think that just what you just said, you know, they feel they feel, is really what's allowed you to be able to do what you've got caught up in the chatter of what your friends and the people around you and your community would think. You would never have gotten off first base. I learned this real easy concept about moving energy inside. And I'd never – it sounds so hokey and weird and stupid when you're from where I'm from. Dude, I live in California. You can, you know, you can, I'm with you. Yeah, I know. I know you're with me. I think that's probably why we get along, right? You know, but I had never thought of it, thought of things, because I was talking to this guy about, you know, about being unhappy in certain

ways. And, and he had these exercises that he would just help me. Like he said, what you need to understand is you're, you have the power to move energy where you want, but you have to just realize it. And so he helped me do a lot of these things. I did he give you like specific tools to just some mantras and stuff that he would i could i can't remember him i always have to go would have to go to him to you know get the relief and um eventually it just was like i get it i get what he's telling me. And a lot of those things, to put it in a nutshell, were, hey, dude, stop stressing about things that you have zero control over. And instead, all of that energy that you're using on these things you can't control, how about you pour them into the things that you can control? And that's it in a nutshell. That's what I got from the whole exchange. And it was

pretty profound and powerful for me. Right. All right. So it's 2009, 2010, they win the Super Bowl. You read the book, you're inspired, you have your line in the sand moment. I mean, was there like a crystallized moment where you're like, I'm doing this, like I'm taking the reins here? Or was it a gradual progression of just reading the book and like wrestling with this idea of being different? Oh, that was much wrestling. Yeah. There was a lot of wrestling.

But so the big, broad idea of, hey, I'm going to fix this. And I think I wrote about it in that first little blog post that I did. Free Josh Legere. Right, right, right. The manifesto. Yeah. I love that thing, man. So where I really literally, and I'm not joking, I leaned into the mirror and I looked at myself.

And I had never done this before in my life. And I was crying because I was disgusted with myself. I used to literally stand in front of my bathroom mirror, and I would grab my belly with both arms. I would have a full two arms full of belly, and my belly would hang over my arms such that I couldn't see my arms in the mirror. And I would cry. I'd just look at myself, like, how is this ever going to go away? Yeah, how old were you? How is this ever going to go away? How old were you? Say 30-ish. So give me a brief flavor of the typical Bayou diet.

Well, I am blended between two very horribly eating cultures. Which are what? My dad is, I'm a Lajani, which we are from Dubai. We're from the swamp. My dad's family is- Bayou Lafourche. Bayou Lafourche. Lafourche.

Lafourche. But yeah, that's Dubai that we're from, and that's the name of our parish is Lafourche Parish. Do people speak French there? They do speak French there, yeah. So the older guys, still to this day, you can go to a gas station in Chag Bay if you're early in the morning, and you're going to find a couple of old coon asses rattling off French next to the coffee pot, guaranteed. But like crazy French, right? Not like French.

No, it's not. Right. It's a bastardized version of French, just like we speak a bastardized version of English, kind of. There's a lot of differences. But yeah, this is a coon-ass French, Cajun French. But yes, they do. My grandmother, actually, my dad's grandmother, my Lajani family is from Chacahula which is which is just a little dot on the map in the middle of the swamp and uh we would go visit her sometimes this is great grandmother we'd go

visit her sometimes and if she had friends over there was no english being spoken in the house at all it was all there's just a bunch of old ladies speaking French. And it was so neat. It was, nobody would understand what they were saying. Right. You know, it was like a French person

might not even understand. No, not even, especially a French person, probably, yeah. It's such a specific thing. Mm-hmm. So, all right, so that's your dad's side

of the family. That's my dad's side of the family. So we, so that's obviously comes with all of the Cajun cooking. Right. And so you know, that's where my Cajun. Jambalaya, the poor boys.

Right, all of that stuff. And the irony is my mama's side of the family is from North Mississippi. Terrible eating also, but it's more fat back and chicken fried steak and those things. Right. And so my mama's mama, my mama, I called her, which is a weird thing for South Louisiana to call a grandmother a memo. That's a Mississippi thing. But my memo, which is my mama's mom, she fed the hell out of us like crazy. My grandfather, who was my bam-bam, he really adopted.

So I got a memo and a bam-bam. So my bam-bam, he really adopted this South Louisiana culture got a memo on a bam bam right so my bam bam he really adopted this south louisiana culture they moved here in like 75 okay and he learned all of the gumbos and the jambalays and he learned how to make all of these things and it was like a cool new like look what i can do thing every time he would learn a new recipe and it was like we made we cooked all the time sat in the kitchen drank he drank whiskey i would fix his drinks for him and we cooked that's how that's how right that's how we existed yeah that was like the vortex of everything that was going on right so i was steeped in this bayou culture but but I was fed by North Mississippi folks.

Yeah, yeah. So it was double bad. It was really, it was double bad. If you, like if somebody's listening from Australia, they don't know what's what from Louisiana, like how do you in a nutshell describe like bayou culture or southern Louisiana culture? We country folks, we just country. You know, we're far away from things are changing now. Thibodeau is growing and becoming more, you know, modern, I'd say.

But we're essentially just country folks. And even our little speck of the country, though, is different from the rest of the country folks around our nation. As I'm sure is the same – I'm sure it's the same way in Australia. And I'm sure they have little micro cultures. I mean, it goes back to this idea that it is a really specific thing. I mean, it's not like, you know, you can go across America and you can get away from cities and they all have their specific idiosyncrasies, but there's something very distinct about Southern Louisiana. Well, the very distinct, I think, has a lot to do with our French lineage

and us being sort of outcast from an original land. And I really think that that still bleeds through to our populace today. We were the whole reason that the French Canadians were in Canada in the first place is because they were edgy. They were risk takers. They wanted to do something different. They set the hell with the status quo. They did all of these things.

They set the hell with the status quo. They did all of these things. And then they were ejected from that land and scattered around. And we have a pretty thick concentration of them. Yeah, it's concentrated there. So there's this idea that you're kind of given the Heisman of the outside world. Like, don't tread on me. We're doing our own thing down here. That's what's up.

That's exactly right. That's exactly right. And it works to our detriment sometimes. But it's preserved that culture. There's something beautiful about that. I'm proud of that. I absolutely want to. I mean, that's a big thing about you is that you embrace it completely. You love your family and your community and you give back to them. And that's obviously, your heart is in that. It's a big point of pride for you yeah yeah and a big development since the last time we spoke was my

tibetan run group yeah i want to hear about that it it's amazing it's it's it's it it's just random just like i was i you know when you said you're on Instagram, you blew up, you know, I can't wait to meet you. And I was like, this is so crazy. You're why I came, dude. Yeah.

When I agreed to do this event, the first thing I did is I emailed you because I was like Marshall, Texas. Texas is a big state. It wasn't until I like looked on the map and I was like, oh, I fly into Shreveport? Wait a minute. Let me look at this. Like, oh, that's not that far.

And I emailed you immediately. And I was like, dude, you got to drive up. I got to meet you. Oh, yeah. It didn't take long to respond either. I was like, we were actually laying in bed. And I told BJ, I was like, my wife. I was like, hey.

And she was like, yeah. Yeah, I'm bummed that she couldn't make it up. I would have loved to have met her. Yeah, yeah. She was too. She was bummed. So I want to hear about the running group, but let's go back to the timeline a little bit. So, all right, so you're immersed in this mashup food culture that's blowing you up.

It's blowing your family members up. And the patriarch of our family was 380 pounds my whole life. As a kid growing up, my grandfather was pushing 400 pounds. So that's the ideal man to me. And my dad was really, really young when I was born. So my dad spent most of his time working 80, 90 hours a week just keeping food on the table for his little micro family that he had started. So just by default, I was the first born. So until my brother came around, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. So I spent most of my

time with them. And my Bam Bam was way on a pedestal. And so if he's big guy, I want to be one too. And I would get that reinforcement from family members like, oh, you're going to be just like your Bam Bam. And I would get that all the time. So it felt like destiny to me. So you have this moment. You're grappling with this stuff, and you make this decision that you're going to start tackling this after you look in the mirror and you've snapped that denial.

So where do you go from there? What's the first? The first thing was, and we talked about this too, my buddy Jeff, who I've been friends with since kindergarten, he just called me randomly. I was on my way to school. I was actually circling the parking lot looking for space. And he's like, dude, I'm joining La Russa's in the morning.

You know, you coming with me? I was like, yeah, I'm going. And so that's where the working out started. And so it started for me. I was like, yes, I have to fix this. I have to do something different. So that was a big part of the inertia getting started. Having a buddy to do it with you.

Having a buddy. Like having the accountability that comes with that. Yeah, and we have no problem getting on each other about slacking, even though I'm honestly giving him a little bit of a break right now because he's not running. He's off the game? Yeah, he's killing me a little bit.

We're going to call him out right now. Yeah, but he's been making babies like a crazy person, so I cut him a little bit of slack. But no, so we got started working out, and I just wanted, I think it was the more educated brain that i had sort of cultivated for myself by going back to school and and it made more sense to me that you know rather than just uh for aesthetics it is important i am going to be older it is important

to be healthy so those those thoughts probably started entering my mind for the first time then but you had this idea of being in a suit and talking entering my mind for the first time then. But you had this idea of being in a suit and talking in front of people. Yeah, exactly. That was the first- That's kind of a goal, right? Right. That was a goal. I wanted to- So ironic because now you're in this position to do that. Yeah, it is.

That that was kind of like part of the initial spark. Yeah, it is. And so I was worried about that. So we spend time at La Russa. And like I was saying, at the beginning, I was so fat that it didn't take a whole lot of effort to get the weight off. It was just I was wiggling a little bit like we talk about. I would go in the gym and we would get started moving about, get sweating. But I was always with my whey proteins and doing all of these things but I was losing weight anyway were you trying to run a little bit too? not yet, not early

I was walking on campus bench press old football stuff I want to be strong I'm a big man pound the chest so that was how I was going to get healthy just be big and swole and get rid of this fat.

And that was the aim. So when does it transition into this idea? It transitioned later. So we did that in February. He called me in February of that year. His wife actually, it was kind of cool. She had found a note in her calendar that said, Josh and Jeff start LaRose today. It was so cool that she sent me a little picture of it.

Do you remember what date that was? Yeah. I don't remember the exact date, but it was in February. I remember that. And it was during the spring semester. February 2010. Yeah, 2011. Oh, 2011.

2011. So I graduated in December 2011 2011 so it was february 2011 and i had all of my i knew i had my business uh 409 uh class coming up and i knew i had all of these different presentations and so so february started and my only walking like i would walk around campus carrying a school bag a lot so and we'd have And I had some classes on opposite ends of the campus. And so I considered my walking around campus with my big ass and my big school bag part of my workout regimen. And then I would go to the gym and lift. But the running didn't even come into thought until later in that year.

I got closer and closer to graduation. I was feeling good about myself. I had lost 60 pounds or so. And at the same time, we're spending every weekend in New Orleans. My wife and I are. We love New Orleans, my wife and I are. We love New Orleans. And so at that same time, this idea of the Crescent City Classic that had already, I see all these people running around New Orleans and I see all these runners and it seems really cool. I always heard about the Crescent City Classic. I was like, what if I could run the Crescent City Classic?

That'd be huge. run the Crescent City Classic. That'd be huge. If I could go from where I was at the beginning of this year to the beginning of next year, I'm going to run a 10K. Six miles though. And so that's what me and Jeff, that's, I would say that was the beginning of the end of the old me, right? You set a goal. That's it. So everything snaps into focus. Then once you do that, like your life kind of structures around this idea of accomplishing this thing that seems impossible at the time. Yeah. And that was it.

And so after I did the first one, just like we were talking about before, it almost killed me. I was big and fat. I was 320. So I had lost even more weight by the time the race got there. So I had lost 80 pounds by that first race. And I finished, but like I was telling you, I wasn't proud of the finish. I had finished and that was my goal. That's all I deserved was just a finish. But when I got done, that was not good enough for me. I was like, no, man, I can do better than this. It's interesting because that easily could have been,

you could have gone left on that and just said, I did it. Yeah, I checked the box, never again, not doing that again. That didn't feel good. But instead, it just stoked your flame. It did. It sparked me because I had worked so hard to get to that point, and I felt like I had been bitch slapped a little bit. And I was like, so I kind of got indignant about that bitch slap.

I was like, you know what? And so I refocused, and my wife jumped on board with me that second year. My wife was like, hey, let's do this together, and we'll do a sub one hour of 10K. And I was like, whoa, that scared the shit out of me. And I didn't want to disappoint my wife because we were doing this as a team and I knew that she's a beast. And if she said that we were going to do that, she definitely was going to be prepared to do that.

So I better be able to follow. Better man up. Yeah, or she is going to punk me. What about your buddy I better be able to follow. I better man up. Or she is going to punk me. What about your buddy from the gym? Was he doing this stuff too? Not the second one, no. He did the first one with you though? He did the first one with me.

Yeah, and he helped me through. There's a lot of walk, jogging and that. Right. Things of that nature. But my brother did come in on the second one. My brother popped in with me and he started running a little bit, starting to idea, lose weight, and all of these things. But, yeah, the second one, we did get the sub one hour, and that felt really cool. But what happened before the second one, right before the second one, was a buddy of mine who was also training for the Crescent City Classic said, Hey, I'm reading this book called Born to Run, dude.

It just sounds like something that's right up your alley. I think that you would dig it. I was like, sure, man. I think I'm going to check'm gonna check it matter of fact no he gave me the copy he gave me his paperback copy i was like cool thanks and i read it and it blew me away it completely blew me away i was like wow people run like i'm thinking a 10k i'm thinking i'm running six miles you know and ultra marathon like marathons seemed unfathomable at the time. And ultra marathons, that was just crazy talk.

It wasn't even, I couldn't even talk about it. It's like telling a guy who's got five days of sobriety, you know, he's talking to a guy who's got 20 years. Like it just doesn't even, how does that even work? It just didn't compute, you know. But I was still intrigued. I was like, wow. But the biggest thing that Born to Run did for me was introduce me to Scott Jurek. And so I was like, this dude's an animal, and he doesn't eat meat at all.

He's completely plant-based. And that shattered my idea because I know some people, well, I knew one person that was vegan. Who was that person? She was not a good example because she's dainty and light and skinny and not pale. She's just a very white person. And she's very sweet and very compassionate. And's just a very white person. She's very sweet and very compassionate, and she's a veterinarian, and she's vegan. That was your frame of reference. That was my frame of reference. That's the only one I knew.

I was like, I can't be a vegan. I would look so silly that skinny. Meanwhile, you're weighing what at this point? You're worried about getting too skinny. Yes, exactly. You planted that seed. Yeah, it did. It started making you question a few things. And I was like, Scott Jarek's a beast.

I was listening to him. And so I was like, I have to read his book. So I got his book afterwards and I read that. And then after I read his book, I was like, is he an anomaly or are there others or what, you know? And I immediately went and I put, I just put in Ultra in my iPad on iTunes, on the iBooks app, you know, and up popped Finding Ultra. I picked the right title. Right, yeah.

I wasn't looking for another plant-based athlete. Not even close. You just wanted to learn how to train. You wanted to learn more about this ultra world. Right. These ultra marathons blew my mind, and I was very intrigued. So I started reading your book, and then lo and behold, I was like, wow, this dude, he's plant-based too? What's going on?

Because you started out talking. You were eating a lot like me, you know? And I was like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. And I was like, oh, this is his first step to becoming an ultramarathoner was adopting a plant-based lifestyle. Wow. And then immediately after your book, which yours was most compelling to me because Scott Jurek was a beast from day one. Yeah, exactly. He was born running.

He's just an animal. You know, he's just an animal. Whereas you resonated with me because it was parallel to mine, minus all the Ivy League stuff. And, you know, my starting point was a little bit different. I wasn't 400 pounds. No, exactly. But, yeah, you resonated with me because party animal, eat like a slob, that I identified. And you completely 180'd it.

And I was like, okay, I can do this, I think. And so that really sent the message home. I'm like, this is what you need to do. And I just committed to it. I had already committed to it after your book. but then I read Brendan Brazier's book, and that even just further solidified everything. And then Forks Over Knives, and then China Study, then Hole, then Esselstyn's book, and all these things. I just was gobbling up info, which I would have never done, probably, if I hadn't gone to school and gotten an education. Honestly, I would have never just gobbled up all of that text like that.

Right. I would have never done that. So your head's spinning like a top with all this stuff. And at what point do you tell someone you're thinking about this down the pipe? I told my wife first, obviously. She was okay because she never, besides cheese, it was okay. It was easy for her because she never really dug the idea. We would go to steak restaurants and stuff, and that wasn't her thing. It's a lot easier talking to women about this kind of stuff when it comes to your boys.

My brother literally said – because I, during my whole weight loss, remember, I had been on a weight loss journey for almost a year already. And so you maybe lost 100 pounds at this point, something like that. But were you starting to plateau? Yeah, oh, absolutely. Not only was I starting to plateau, but I was starting to, at certain points, man, I'm running so much. I'm working out so much. I can have whatever I want. Right, right, right.

Yeah, you're falling into that trap. And so I'm drinking a lot of beer and doing a lot of pull-buys. I'm still losing weight. I have some video of – I posted a screenshot of it with my pit, my barbecue pit, just recently, about for the 4th of July in 2012. And I was down 85 pounds at that point, but I had a pit loaded with just, we had all kinds of stuff, brisket. I mean, we were just loaded down. We had jambalaya going.

I'm running. It's nothing but a thing. But the weight loss had completely stopped. And I was like, eh. So real quick, tell me what a po' boy is again. A po' boy is a sandwich. It's a sandwich. Pulled pork or something?

It's an amazing sandwich. The protein on it is interchangeable. It's not really about which protein is on the sandwich. The po' boy is more about the bread. The bread is a specific, in my opinion, it must be on Leidenheimer loaf, which is a very chewy crust French loaf bread, long, skinny loaf. Leidenheimer is like a brand? Leidenheimer is a local brand. In my opinion, that's the only, that's po' boy. That's a po' brand leidenheimer is a local local brand that in my opinion that's

the only it's got to be that way that's a po-boy everything else is a sandwich so it's got to be a po-boy and my jam was fried oyster po-boys and there's a place in new orleans called domelisa's where the it's the best fried oyster po it's the it's insane it's insane and so my jam was leidenheim i mean a pope uh dominica's po-boy uh dominica's oyster po-boy large obviously and i would do um because i'm a fiend for zaps potato chips chips. So I would do the po' boy, the Zapp's potato chips. Usually they got a dill pickle one. I would do the dill pickle chips and a Barks root beer. That is my dream meal.

That was it, man. That was it. And I had that meal a lot. Right. I eat that a lot. And so you're rewarding yourself for all this running, which is doubling down on that. So the weight loss just stopped.

And then I actually went the other way a little bit. And when it happened, like I had noticed probably 10-pound weight gain at a certain point. I sort of was like, no, I'm going to go. No, I can't do this again. And I just, you know, that's when I was like, hey, the food has to change forever. And then that's just what I did, you know. So you make this commitment. Your wife knows about it at first, right?

Yeah. Well, no, get back to my brother. My brother. Your wife knows about it at first, right? Yeah. So what's the first? My brother, so I've been on this weight loss journey, and I had been trying to get my brother to come along with me. I love him very much. He's my brother. We're very close in age, and he has, by the way. But at the time, I was like, hey, Duss, we're going to do this together. So I would- What, go vegan?

Yeah, no, not yet. We were just losing weight at this point. So I was telling him about all of these things I'd learned. I was like, listen, now, you have to listen to these people with a grain of salt. And then I was like, just morph things to what you think and kind of – I was trying to coach him through my mindset as I was learning new information about losing weight and becoming healthy and all these things. And when I popped the – I think I'm going to go completely plant-based. He was like, bro, what happened to that grain of salt? I got dissolved. Yeah. I was like, yeah, you're right.

I was like, but just give me a minute. And, you know, everything wound up working out just fine. But at the time, he thought I was absolutely nut balls crazy. Right. But he's on board now. Yes. 100%. My brother is 100% plant-based my mom is my

sister is my brother-in-law my mother-in-law my wife that's amazing and my 80 year 83 year old grandfather yeah i want to hear more about that because we were talking about that the other day which is extraordinary um so all right so you jump you jump in and you're just doing it from the get-go, like whole hog right off the bat, like 100%? Everything. Or do you ease into it? I got rid of everything almost immediately except for feta cheese. That was the only thing that I had. And I was like, just this feta is not hurting anything because it's great on my salad.

And I lived that way for a while, and things were going great, and I watched Forks Over Knives. And then I was like, Forks Over Knives made me shed that last little morsel that I was holding on to. And that was it. I haven't looked back since. I haven't looked back since. I haven't looked back since. Did you go through like a couple weeks of cravings and detoxing, coming off that kind of food? No, I really didn't because it was like a project to me. So it never got, I never really, I still to this day, I don't know how I did it,

but it was some sort of mindset to where I got angry almost at the food. Like I said with the po' boy, me and po' boy, we have a term, we call it split draws, where you're not friends anymore. I asked you last time, how's it going with po' boy, and you're like, po' boy and I, we're not talking. We done broke up. Yeah, we over. We're over.

It's over, bro. And yeah, so that mindset, I think, really curbed my tendency to say crave things or really miss things. Because I was focused on, hey, I'm going to eat this way and then I'm going to get faster and I'm going to become a better runner. And next year for the Classic, well, what wound up happening is that next year for the Classic, I wound up chasing a poster. Which a poster is – this is a race of 25 plus thousand people. And if you get a top 500 finish, you get a poster. It's a limited edition poster. And I didn't know I wanted a poster.

I didn't know that. I didn't even know about a poster. All I know is I was running and i was getting faster and faster and i was i was trying to go sub 50 minutes that was my goal i wanted to get sub 50 minutes and then i had started running with this run group in new orleans i would drive from tibeto to mid-city and run with louisiana run company run group these dudes are insane fast and it's just me with my big ass just chasing them around going god and like we'd do a five mile route and by mile two i couldn't see anybody anymore i didn't even know if i was taking the right route back you know and i would just get

my way back to the shoe store and you know hang out with them for a little bit but anyway one day i went on a i didn't have a route planned i just got in with the lead pack of runners with the run group on a training run on a training run and i said i'm gonna just hang with these dudes and i'm gonna just i'm gonna try and lo and behold i know every because there's a five mile route a six mile route and a seven mile route seven mile route so when we didn't turn for the five mile route and we were running like a 720 pace the whole time which is at the time was insane fast for us so and we didn't turn to go back on the five mile route i was like holy shit we're gonna do six miles and then we didn't turn it to six mile i was like seven miles of this i don't know if i could do it and and um seven so

we did the seven mile route and then the last half mile they all just left me but i was still able to maintain like that 720 pace for seven miles and inside that training run i had run like a 46 minute five of 46 minute 10k i was like well there goes my four minutes faster than your goal time yeah i was like there, I was like, there goes my goal. I was like, so guess what? You need a new goal, bro. So that's what – so I didn't know what my new goal was going to be. So there was the Shamrock run, which I just finished. This is a little 8K in the city. And I ran that, and I was pretty quick.

I was almost seven flat for that 8K, which is almost five miles. It was right at five miles. And then afterwards, after the race, we were talking, and it was like – I was talking with some other runners and like dude you're getting close enough you might it might be poster time for you i was like what's a what poster time what are you talking about well for top 500 finish get a poster and uh i was like really okay i like this okay and i didn't know about the poster you could kind you could kind of like hang your hat on that. Yeah, it's like, oh, so this, I would be sort of like in a group of some of the 500 fastest runners in this race. Which, wow, that's cool. I'm coming from the back of the pack.

So I thought that was really, really cool. And they were like, but the trick is you have to get seated and be in a seated corral or you'll never be in the top 500. Oh, because you're back. You're too far back. Because you're going to be behind strollers and stuff trying to get in because they go off of gun time, not chip time. So I was like, okay, so here we go. And luckily I had met up with my buddy Jonathan and we ran a couple of 10Ks. Jonathan, and we ran a couple of 10Ks.

He told me about the seated thing, and he's like, you got to do a sub 45-minute 10K to get up in one of those corrals. So I did a sub 45-minute 10K and got into there. We actually did one together over the Luling Bridge. He and I did because when he found out that I was seated, he was like, dude, now I got to go get seated. So he – and I ran that race with him, but we both got, I could have seeded again that day. And so that was really cool. So here I am seeded and we get to the Crested City Classic and I'm like, feel like an elite. I'm up here where the Kenyans are. I'm not in their corral, but I'm up in the front.

You're right up in the front. Right. This is insane to me. in their corral, but I'm up in the front. You're right up in the front. Right. This is insane to me. And as a matter of fact, that morning in that seated corral is when he brought up to me the idea of running the New York City Marathon.

That's crazy. That's really cool. And so the gun goes off and I ran a 4303 that day. Did you get the poster? I got the poster. You got the poster. I was 429th. So you're like, that's like 33 minutes faster than the first time that you did it in a period of two years?

Yeah. My half marathon time is like 10 minutes or 15 minutes faster than that first 10K. That's crazy, man. And how long had you been plant-based, and what did that do to the weight loss and the running performance and the training and all that kind of stuff? Like, steep growth curve. I just blew up. When I really went, and not even just plant-based, but when I really went specifically whole foods, very clean, those things, the weight had started to slow down because I was almost done losing weight.

Because when I really committed to plant-based, after that first one hour, that whole year after I'd done that first one, I lost weight like crazy because I was training for my marathon, you know, because I did four marathons in 12 months the past year. Correct. Right. And so I lost tons of weight because I was doing, you know, I started off my first marathon. I was only running like 30 mile weeks.

I didn't realize that I needed to log a lot more miles. So I was easing myself in. And the first marathon crushed me. That's around the time that you interviewed me. I was about to run my first marathon. You were getting ready to run your first marathon. That's correct. But in retrospect, I think that probably was smart.

You know what I mean? Oh, absolutely. Instead of just ramping it up too quickly. That's why I'm taking this approach with the ultra marathons. I mean, I have people pulling me in different directions saying, hey, come run this one with me. Come run 100 miles with me. I'm like, no, I'm cool, man. I want to enjoy this with my people.

I want to do it bit by bit, bite by bite. I don't even know who to credit for, but they'll say the only way to eat elephants one bite at a time. That's kind of what I'm doing right now. What I think is interesting is that at some point along the way, you kind of made this decision that this was not about weight loss. This wasn't about a number on a scale. It wasn't even necessarily as much about being healthy, but you made this decision like, I'm going to be an athlete. I kind of talked about it earlier today.

You decided to tell this new story about who you are as opposed to like, I'm Josh, the overweight, funny guy. I'm Josh, the runner. I'm Josh, the athlete. And then you could kind of let go of that pressure of whatever the scale set and just focus on getting better as an athlete. And then I think, I think I recall you saying the last time we talked that that was like, you know, when everything, it was kind of a quantum leap in terms of like weight loss and then how you were able to like rapidly improve.

Right. terms of like weight loss and then how you were able to like rapidly improve right because the mind is so much more powerful than i ever gave it credit for you know i mean and when because i know so many runners i have so many runner friends that are like oh i don know, that's too fast for me, or oh, I'm just, you know, they sell themselves short a lot, and I don't think they really realize how powerful it is to say to yourself, you don't have to be arrogant about it, but we're bad, we're badass, we can handle this, and it takes that. We're badass. We can handle this.

And it takes that. And then in a race, you know, you're running, and I know that I have run myself to dry heaves on the track. I know from where I've come. And so when I'm in those last miles of a race, and, you know, no offense to anyone else in the race, but I see a guy that's ahead of me, a part of me thinks he doesn't deserve to be there. So I'm, and I think that that's totally natural and totally human. I think that's what we do, you know? But that's such a huge leap from being the guy who's, you know, kind of self-deprecating and, you know, and kind of privately shameful about your situation.

It all goes back to a strong, I'm going to try to keep a straight face, but a strong woman that could see what needed to happen for me, you know, and helped kind of gently steer me there. Because fixing the way I thought about myself and what is possible changed my life. More than plants, more than running, more than any of these things. It's what went on inside my mind in the beginning, right? And she was always able to see that better version of you locked in there. She's always thought, I'm so awesome, and I never could understand why. You know what I mean?

I never – and that's got to be frustrating for a person to be constantly telling somebody how amazing they are and that person is completely like, whatever. And being a complete rain cloud on any good things that she would say like, yeah, but I'm fat or la, la, la, you know. And so that has been the most, you know, how I've been able to, with help, switch some very simple things in my brain to make me more confident, like really deep confidence in myself that I can set this goal, this running goal. There's more complex life shit that is not so – that's one draw to running. It never ends. Yeah, it's like here's this thing that I'm in control of that I, it's very simple. All you have to do is go grind. And are you willing to do it? makes me a better person in all the rest of my interchanges with other humans or situations in my life. I'm with you, man. I mean, you know, particularly the part about having,

you know, a strong partner who can see the real you and, you know, locked inside of you. And I had a very similar experience with Julie. I mean, I was dense, dense and just physically heavy, but just kind of emotionally dense. And she was always able to see through that and believe that there was something better in there. And rather than push me to just hold that space for me to come out. And that's a very different thing from being somebody who's trying to force somebody to do something, but just holding that, like, neutral space and, like, never wavering in that belief is like this magnet, you know, like that's calling to you. And when the time is right, you know, to be able to kind of blossom out of that and step into it.

I mean, it's beautiful. It is, and it echoes a lot. Something that I've adopted lately is this sort of concept, this analogy that I use that I think of myself or try to think of myself as as a lighthouse. Right. And so all I can do is be steady and bright and and just shine as bright as I can and be a rock. You know what I mean? I'm unwavering. And I'm okay with being that. I'm okay with that.

And in a lot of ways, that's what my wife has been for me all the time we've been together. And so I learned that. And I'm trying to use that now in running and plants. I'm trying to use that same model just to not be pushy, but I'm going to be so bright. You can't miss me. You cannot miss me. And that's the point. There's a few things more powerful than that.

When you just stand firm in who you are. Yes. And, you know, you were talking about energy earlier. Like, people can feel that. They can feel that from a long way out, man. You know, when you're just standing confident in who you are, self-assured, you know exactly who you are, what you stand for, what's important to you. That's it. And you don't need anybody to tell you what's what.

That's when people are magnetized towards you. So as opposed to running around chasing people, seeking approval, or trying to petition people to come over to your way or any of that, it's none of that. It's just, this is who I am. People that are resonating on that vibration are going to come to me and then we can do something. That's it. And it's really cool that I had sort of adopted that thing in my head. And I even hashtag that sometimes, lighthouse, when I'm talking about stuff.

Oh, that's what that means. Yeah, yeah. And so- Because you've got some cryptic hashtags, brother. I don't know what you're talking about stuff. Oh, that's what that means. Yeah, yeah. And so, because I- You got some cryptic hashtags, brother. I don't know what you're talking about half the time. And that's on purpose, because the people that do know, know. Yeah, I know that. And it's like my thing. And so, it's cool.

Who dat? Right, yeah. Fat boy's doing it. Yeah, fat boy's doing it. That's what- And then I started realizing, okay, so I hashtag these things. So I need to keep doing it so I can connect. If anybody clicks on this hashtag, they'll see all of these posts.

Because I want to be able to – No one else is using that hashtag. Right, exactly. And, yeah, so – but I read a quote recently. It was a meme on Instagram. It said something like – I can't remember it exactly, but it said, lighthouses just stand there. They don't go around looking for ships to save. And I thought that was very poignant. of can turn people off a little bit, especially when you live where I live. If you're too sort of, you try to be too persuasive about it, it's a lot better, it's a lot more well-received if someone is approaching me.

Of course. That's not just southern Louisiana. That's no matter where you are. And so I've always tried to, even though I think I have the best idea that everybody should do, try to just be me. And when people have some, when they desire some specificity, you're probably not surprised. But I have tons of people who Facebook message me.

I don't know. I give people my cell phone number and email. I don't care. Holla. Let me know. You have a question. Careful, man. You better be careful.

I'm an open book. I'm an open book. And feel free. Ask away. And be careful. I'm an open book. I'm an open book. And feel free. Ask away. And they do. People ask. People ask a lot. And some of the most proud people that have asked or that I'm most proud of having shared with is some of my people that I know in the 3D world where we actually physically see and run with each other.

Some of my running buddies. It's been cool to have this pack. Yeah, I mean, I think that that's a really astute concept of how to effectively communicate. concept of how to effectively communicate. And I think it's something that, you know, is important, especially in the plant-based community because, you know, there's nothing that turns people off more than like a preachy vegan, you know. They turn me off. There's a big problem with that in, you know,

in that community with respect to outreach to mainstream Americans who are just living their life. And I don't begrudge them. Like I, you know, in that community with respect to outreach to mainstream Americans who are just living their life. And I don't begrudge them. Like I, you know, I think everybody has their own personal journey and their reasons for having the perspectives that they have. And, you know, I think it's probably fair to characterize, you know, people that are vegan, especially people that are vegan for ethical reasons, to be very passionate about it and frustrated when people don't see things their way and they want to profess and all of that. And they can't see that ultimately they're undermining their own goal by being that way. But I can understand it and I'm compassionate towards that.

But I think it is a far more effective way to just be the lighthouse. Be the lighthouse. And you've got to be in it for the long haul when you're the lighthouse. Right. That's a big commitment. That is a lot of responsibility. That is being on all the time. And I don't have a problem with it.

I love being on. On is my default mode now. And so I'm down. I'm cool. Right. All right. default mode now and so i'm you know i'm down i'm cool right all right so four marathons in one year you grew that gnarly beard for the new york city marathon yes that was the big one right that was quite a trip man that was that was a bucket list marathon and here i am a newbie runner you know running the new york city marathon and how long did you, you know, running the New York City Marathon.

And how long did you grow it? You were like, the thing was like, I'm not shaving until I come across the finish line. How long did you grow that nasty thing? So, it was gross. My wife, she's like, it smells bad. I hate it. Yeah, that wasn't like a Brooklyn hipster beard. That was like growing all over the place. Full grown caveman beard.

Yeah, so we trained for about three months, I guess. That was it? Yeah. You pushed some hair out of your face. Oh, yeah, man. Oh, yeah. Three or four months, maybe. I can't remember exactly.

So what was that like running New York City? Had you been to New York City before? Never. Wow, that must have been a trip then. Insane. Especially rounding the bridge into Manhattan where it's like running into the Super Bowl. Well, the big aha, like the big, holy shit, I'm in New York, was coming into the airport. And Manhattan's off to the right.

And I'm like, wow, Statue of Liberty. I was blown away the whole time. And I was like, oh, man, this is just, and, you know, I was emotional for that entire trip, you know, because look where I am. I've just come so far. It's just overwhelming at times, you know. And it's not like I've come so far and now I'm here. It's not like I've come so far and now I'm here. It's I've come so far and I'm still going. Like this moving, progressing is the new normal now.

Not like achieving a thing. And that too is profound. That's a major thing that happened in my head too. Meaning like there's no destination to this. There's to this, but it's just a continual evolution. There's little superfluous goals along the way, but the grind, and I don't say that in a negative way, it hurts to train really hard, but that's part of the draw because it makes you feel alive. Like, it makes you feel alive. Well, I mean, you're a pretty soulful cat.

And I think it's more – there's more to this. It's more complicated than, you know, I was fat and I wanted to get thin and I wanted to run a race and see what I could do. What were the questions that you were trying to answer about yourself that running helped you figure out, do you think? I don't know. I've never thought of it like that. It was, I guess, just being proud of myself was a big one. That was a big one for me. And I've gotten a taste of that. And I like liking me.

I like being proud of me. That was a big one. That's a big one that running has brought to me, I would have to say. That's a big one. And then running New York City. Running New York City. I mean, you – And the way I did it, too.

So I had to – I did a charity. I had to do the charity to get in. It's not like I can qualify for New York. Only elites qualify for New York. And not that I – They have a lottery. Well, yeah. To actually get in, to know that you're going to get in. Correct, yeah.

And so I had to do... Because my buddy, he got in, not through a lottery, but he got an invite and he was going. And so I was going to tag along. So I had to do the charity route to get an entry. So I did that. And a lot of the thing that made that possible for me was having been on your show. That made that possible, really, to raise the money to be able to go to the New York City Marathon. I had all these people that were interested in what I was doing and all this stuff.

And I was like, I'm going to be able to make it. Let me just stick it out there and see. And so people, I mean, you have no idea the generosity of the people that are connected to me through you. And I don't, it's impossible for me to thank you properly. No, no, that's a beautiful thing. I mean, that, you know, that's why I do this, man. It's like it's giving back. And it's like the more you give back, the more you get.

And my life is enriched by having you in it. And it just warms my heart to see you run with it and blossom, man. It's awesome. It's fun. It's fun to do it it really is and you got there got ran the race ran the race well before i ran the race my wife tried to make me well not that it had been very hard to make me cry at that point because i was very like i was on edge the whole weekend but she and and my friend Jonathan had been texting and arranging a surprise that she was going to meet me in the lobby the morning of the race.

And so the night before the race, however, she was in a 5K in New Orleans the day before. And she happened to get interviewed by the local news and i'm watching the news clip on online online and she says in the news clip essentially that she's flying tomorrow so she blew it and so already knew she was going be there and we walk out and lobby the next morning and she was there it's still very great it was amazing to have my baby there um with me you know and so that that was that was that was awesome that was awesome i love having her around me. The video that you posted after you finished. Yeah, I thought about it, almost didn't want to do it, but I felt like I had asked so much from everybody during my preparation for that race that, you know, let the walls down and just let that fucking hurt like nobody's business, my friend. That hurt me.

I was in the medical tent actually when I did that. Oh, you were? I didn't know that. I was sitting in a medical tent. I had people rubbing on my legs and covering me with blankets and trying to feed me chicken broth. I was like, no chicken broth. Like, trying to force feed you. Like, what is wrong with this guy?

Yeah. It's like, just hot water, please. And so, but anyway, yeah, the reason it hurt so bad is, you know, it was different. We had done our marathon training, you know, like everybody does. You get up in the morning you go do your long runs you do you have your normal rhythm all of the races i had done to lead up to that because i even drove to uh i drove to alabama and to northern alabama so i could run a half marathon in hills so i was trying to you know so but that's normal race time. That's like you get up, you go to the start finish line and you go run.

Well, the whole loop, I got, you know. The ordeal of getting to the start line in New York. Right. It was like a five hour ordeal. Yeah, I know. It's a whole thing. Like by the time you're at the starting line, you're worn out. Exactly.

And all of this logistics and thinking, you know, our brains are huge calorie hogs. And I'm just worrying and thinking. And, you know, five hours before race time, I have all of this. I got to get on a bus in Manhattan and ride the bus to Staten Island and get off and then find JT. And, you know, all of these different things. And we finally in the corral and we inching up to the thing. And so we start peeling off all of the clothes that we had, you know, keeping us warm. And so here, you know, I'm five hours in.

I should be done with the marathon already, and I'm just getting started. And so you go right straight up the Verrazano Bridge immediately, right, boom. Right. And it was a 20 mile an hour sustained wind that morning headwind headwind i didn't know that from from the verizono bridge pretty much to the queensborough bridge was against the wind and um but i was feeling good because i and my buddy johnson's like dude, mile one was 740-something. He's like, you may want to chill.

Chill out. Yeah. So, no, not mile one, mile two because it was on the backside of the Verrazano Bridge. But we were clipping along. I was feeling good, high-fiving people all the way through Brooklyn. Well, the amazing thing about that race is that there's, I mean, I don't know if there's any other marathon where there's so many people the entire way. Like you'll have patches of people on other marathons where there's, but literally the entire way, it's just lined with people. It was pretty kick-ass. And just the different neighborhoods and, you know, like you

go through the Hasidic neighborhood and the Puerto Rican neighborhood and like, you're just stimulated like the whole time. So it's easy to get swept up and caught up in the energy and go maybe a little bit harder than you should be. Yes, that's exactly. But I do that anyway. That's kind of my MO. That's kind of how I roll. You go out hard.

I go out hard and try to hold on for dear life at the end. That's just how I roll. And I try to not do that, but it doesn't ever really work out. Yeah, no. I feel like I'm a big guy, and I need to make hay while the sun's shining, and then I'll deal with the rest later. I'll deal with dying at the end of the thing or whatever. You're making it harder on yourself, though, I think.

Yeah, probably. You sound like my buddies. They all tell me this. Everybody tells me, dude, just chill. Yeah. They all tell me this. Everybody tells me, dude, just chill. Yeah.

But no, if I was given awards for that day, Brooklyn kicked ass, and up Fifth Ave was on the way into the park was badass. When you round into Manhattan, that's pretty extraordinary. I was kind of let down a little bit on first half coming down off of the Queensborough Bridge because it was so cold that morning. It was 39 degrees. That was another thing that, dude, 39 degrees with all of this wind and I'm in a racing, I'm in a

singlet. It's like, this is so out of my box, so out of my norm. But yeah, it was so cold and it was shaded right at the foot of the Queensborough Bridge on the Manhattan side. So it's even colder. So nobody was hanging out right there. So the wall of sound really wasn't there that day. It was kind of bummed.

I was like, oh, man. And then fighting all the way up there, up First Ave, that was brutal because it just got finished with the Queensborough. And it started to feel like work for the first time going up the Queensborough Bridge. And so I was in a lot of pain. And I was like, man, this is going to be a long marathon because I was already hurting in mile 15, 16. Started cramping in 18 i mean in 19 completely locked up and uh thank god my my buddy was there he's like punching me in the hamstring like dude let's go come on man you got it so um was able that from 19 to the finish line was just

basically me crying and gutting it out. Because I was like, all these people are looking at me. I know that I have to finish strong. And so I just gutted it out and sucked it up and kept pushing. Well, you weren't out of tears because when you made that video, man, you let it all hang out. Oh, did I? Yeah. I posted that

on my facebook page i thought it was beautiful you know just the fact that you were willing to be like that open you know and that vulnerable i think says a lot about your character and it was your podcast it was actually your podcast that inspired me to be okay with doing that and it was that preston smiles episode And he talked about love and he, and all of these things were, you know, just break the norm of that normal dude shit, you know? And, uh, so I was like, fuck it. I'm going for it. I don't care. I, this is a moment. Cause I just got off the phone with my mom and I was, my mom's like, you're in a medical team. my god and so and so i just i needed to do a post i i wanted to do a post and then i didn't uh have the energy to come up with anything to say i didn't want to type

anything you didn't have to and i just i just punched the thing and i just shared exactly what i was feeling at the moment and i hesitated for a second i was like no go for it and and i put that's why i just i think i only put hashtag love in the whole that's the only thing i wrote on it um it was extremely painful yet at the same time which is running does this crazy thing to you the more it hurts the more reward it feels like you know the more rewarding it is. And at that point, that was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life by far. It was brutal. Well, I appreciate you, you know, sharing through that video.

And I think that that's, you know, it was extremely human. And that's what allows people to kind of connect and identify with your story. And your willingness to allow yourself to be that guy, I think, is a testament to a strong sense of your character. It's like you're not threatened by being vulnerable. And that's powerful. I think that's real strength. And that's beautiful, man. You know, it didn't just happen by default. You know, it comes from trying to be better, you know?

Mm-hmm. And a lot of that better in me that I've strived towards is honestly, you know, and I'm not kissing ass or doing it. It has come from you, man. It has come from your book. It has come from doing 15, 20-mile runs, listening to your podcast, even though now that I run with buddies, they're cutting in a lot of my podcast time. You better tell them what's what now. Come on, priorities.

Yes. But, no, a lot of it has come from you. And, you know, I never had a big brother. I was the big brother. I was the big brother. I am the big brother. So I've always looked for that in my life, like a guy to look up to. I don't know if we have dads, but a big brother, it's a different type of a thing. And in some ways, I almost think of you like that.

Maybe that's too much, but it's true because you've achieved some things that I think are really cool and awesome. And like a little brother looking up to a big brother, you're like, I want to do that too. I want to be like that. I want to do this. And I think that's healthy. I think it's normal. I think that's how you find places you want to grow to. You know? Well, that's super kind of you to say, man. That means a lot to me. It really does. But at the same time, you do the work, you know?

And there's a lot of people out there that do a lot of talking and not a lot of walking. Yes, sir. So, you know, I'm interested in really getting to the bottom of why it is that you think that you were able to make this shift in such a dynamic and compelling and profound way, whereas other people struggle. Like you were rubber banding with your weight up and down. I think that's where most people are and remain. And you were able to break out of that and really like craft a completely new lifestyle. So when you look back on it now, I mean, I would imagine you have a little bit more perspective on it now than you did when we first talked. I mean, how do you, you know, conceptualize

that? And how do you kind of translate that to other people that are looking to you now saying, how do I do what you did, dude? Yeah, that's the million-dollar question. Yeah, you bottled that up, man. Oh, shit. You're talking Tony Robbins type shit. That's exactly right. That is the million-dollar question.

And just like how we talk about food and nutrition and how we look for too much specificity and answer sometimes about what we should eat and why and all of those things. I think a lot of – I think those – that same – Getting caught up in the details. Right. That's right. Exactly. I think it's such a complex thing. Right, exactly. I think it's such a complex thing. I think one big reason that I stopped yo-yoing was, just like I said a minute ago, was a big change, a big difference in my life was I had this really powerful, strong, confident woman in my life who believed in me. And that was a big one. That was a big one. Having that

unwavering rock of support, that's huge. That's a life changer, literally. It's a life changer. And that was one. And then there are things that happen, say, in a person's family, an extended family that, you know, maybe feuds or maybe deaths that adjust one's perspective. adjust one's perspective. And so these real, everybody has these things that affect them and put things in perspective. And I don't know how it, I don't know, man. I don't really know what I'm trying to say. All I know is I had a huge support system with just my wife. I have a family that I love dearly. Just like all families, there's been problems along the way. And my way, new way of dealing with said problems was to make me better. Does that make sense?

Yeah, I get it. I mean, most people would default in the other direction, like family crisis or dissonance or whatever it is. You ought to be doing this. Yeah, is going to make you probably more defeatist. Or I don't know, maybe I should speak for myself, but I would imagine, you know, it's more, it's easier to let something like that provide you with an excuse to shrink. Right. And that's what I had.

So to be able to take that and say, I'm actually going to flip that equation and use that to make me stronger. Yeah. That's an exceptional quality, I think. And I think because those problems, like those sorts of things and complexities and those were there my whole life. Right. The thing that's different is my wife. And I know that. And I didn't realize it 100%.

I've always loved her, but I never realized it in the magnitude that is reality, how big of a deal, how much she has changed my life. And so now going back to, you know, you got weird, complex family issues that are very profound in your life and there's no, seem like there's no solution to them. And yet you're maybe the person that people look to for answers. And so that was a big driver for me is like i don't i have all these i don't knows and then but i have but here's one that i can control and lo and behold me turning all of that focus inward wound up helping everything and it cool it's kind of cool wound up helping everything.

And a cool is kind of cool. When you were in the early days of this, I mean, did you have buddies going, come on, man, what are you doing? Like, yeah, right? Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say, so what's it like now? It's it's still like that yeah they're still trying to pull you back i have a very few they're not trying nobody's trying to

pull me back but people are still like whatever right you know um but uh move to california yeah no uh but you know i've surrounded myself with some really genuine people that get it. And I have lost, not lost, but some of my older friendships have kind of faded. Like, I wish they hadn't. Because I reach out, but we're not the same people anymore. Yeah, I mean, that's natural, though. When you grow, that landscape's going to shift. And it hurts a little bit because we've shared all these times together and all the...

And so, we haven't seen... You're not in the same place. Not even close. Not even close. Well, I mean, just as somebody who's kind of observed, you know, this trajectory from afar and, you know, based on Facebook and Instagram and very little else, I do see, you know, someone who really understands that in order to keep going and to keep what you have, you got to give it back. Yes, sir. Right? And I've seen you invest in your family and in your community and really step into this role of being of service, right?

In the capacity of a lighthouse or otherwise. But, you know, the impact on your family alone has been tremendous. Yeah. So you got your brother on board. Yeah. My brother lost 150 pounds. That's crazy. My grandfather lost over 150 pounds. And that's been a journey.

We were talking about that earlier today. We were listening to Dr. Robert Osfeld, who's going to be on the podcast soon, you know, and the other lecturers, Garth Davis. And you were talking, you were sharing a little bit about your grandfather's journey. Like he's made this incredible progress. How old is he now? 83. 83. So he was super overweight. He's lost a ton of weight. And you go with him to the doctor and you're kind of interfacing with the doctor and the protocol that he's advising for your grandpa. Like what does that look like?

Like what's going on? Well, he's been watching the weight loss for the whole time it's been happening. And he knew what we were doing. He's like, are you just losing weight? Are you trying to lose weight? And I explained to him how we were eating. And he's like, you know. What was the condition of your grandfather? My grandfather.

How did you convince an 81-year-old Cajun dude to start eating your way? Yeah, he's not Cajun, but yeah, I get your point. Yeah. Yeah, he's not Cajun, but yeah, I get your point. Honestly, he has dementia. And he's very easy to please these days, food-wise. And there's no really – you put it in front of him and he's happy. He's cool, which thank God for that.

Thank God. usually you get crotchety yeah oh trust me he's crotchety he's pissy as hell he's bossy he can't he can't he can't really formulate what he wants to say sometimes but he knows he wants to say it and it just comes out in f-bombs and swinging canes sometimes. He just comes out pissed off is all he can muster. But when it comes to the food, he's happy. And my mom really has embraced it. And my mom lives with him now and cooks for him and does all these things.

So my mom spends the nights with him, and I'm there with him pretty much every day. And my dad helps out too throughout the day. So we just basically just feed him and he eats what we eat and we only eat this way. But in addition to the dementia, I mean, what's his health condition? He's had AFib my whole life and being a really large overweight man is his enlarged heart and you know high cholesterol high blood pressure the whole the norm the norm and um so up until even like oh shoot we would go in there together we would both be fat you know and his cardiologist would say you know he would always be on his case about you should try to lose some weight mr allen blah blah blah and uh it would never happen and when it finally started did when it finally started to happen doc he was all pumped

he was excited and i was like i just want i'm he's like what are you doing and i told him and he was like okay and i told him about i told him about dr? And I told him, and he was like, okay. And I told him about Dr. Campbell. I told him that I read the China study. I told him about Dr. Esselstyn, all these things. I'm talking to a cardiologist. My grandpa completely blew his mind. You know, I swear, he tells me, you know, you might have a point.

He's like, I have like five stents. Because he was talking about the standard American diet. And so he's like, because have like five stents about because he was talking about the standard american diet and so it's like because i have five stents myself it's like yeah the cardiologist has yes yes yes so all right so so fast forward two or three visits, and every time, Bam Bam's losing more weight, losing more weight, losing. And I'm reading this whole time, and I'm like, hey, don't you think you ought to start coming off of cholesterol medication? He does not get dietary cholesterol at all, zero. And I don't know why he's on cholesterol meds. And so he weaned him off, and he's completely off of that now.

All the way off of statins. He's all the way off of statins. And his blood pressure, again, the blood pressure medicine was making his blood pressure too low, you know, so he's feeling bad. And he's like, well, he needs to come off it. So he's all the way off of that too. But he still has AFib. And I don't think that that's a condition that's going to go away with plants.

That's what I was talking to- Osfeld about. Osfeld about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He knows a lot about that. And so that's the only thing that's left is just he's on some memory meds and his Pradaxa for his AFib. For his AFib. That's pretty amazing.

Yeah. That's cool. So you got him going. Yeah. You got your brother. My brother. What about your moms? My mom's on board. Uh's cool. So you got him going. Yeah. You got your brother. My brother. What about your moms? My mom's on board.

Uh-huh. I still, I'm harder on my mom than anybody because she does a lot of, you know, the cooking for the family, for gatherings and stuff. And so I'm always on her case about adding oil to things and stuff like that. But for the most part, she really does really well. That's pretty extraordinary, man. She really does really well. That's amazing.

And so – And what about with kind of just the community at large? Like I know you've done like little group things and stuff like that, little workshops or whatever. Yeah, yeah. We have a new health food store in Houma. And she's got, you know, health food, like a little health food grocery. And she does yoga and she does a couple of other little things. And so she did this little health expo.

And it just so happens she's friends with a person in New Orleans whose vegan eats I always go to. It's a place called Three Potato Four, and it's just basically air-fried fries, I guess, is what you – it's just convection oven, and they have wedge-cut organic potatoes. That's what I do. Deep-fried. They just bake them or whatever. And so I went in there one day, and this woman that owns this place was there visiting with the lady from Houma that has this health food store.

And she's like, oh, funny you should walk in. This is Josh. And she kind of gave her crash course of my story. And she's like, oh, God, you have to come over. And so they set me up in a little room and invited people in to hear my story. And I just fielded questions. That's my favorite part about it is the questions because that's my favorite part about interacting with people is you ask me a question and then I get to formulate a response to you. I think that's the most productive way to speak.

Yeah, I mean, you can directly speak to their concerns. It's easier to just be genuine and authentic when you get up and you've got something prepared. How do you still be you and not make it sound like you're giving a speech? It's a tricky thing. I've said it so many times, I'm okay,

kind of okay with it now. It's still just a little awkward, obviously, for anybody to stand up in front of a room of people and talk about yourself. But this is your life now, man. It is. I mean, looking back, even two years ago, I mean, what do you – did you think that you would be kind of this ambassador of health, you know, this inspirational figure. No, not even. What do you think about that?

I think it's amazing and I love it. I think and I think that I could have never dreamed it back then is the most profound and important part. Because it's not always about, you know, that laser focus on that thing that you have. Okay, I've set this hypothetical, theoretical path, and this is where I'm headed. And putting the blinders on and going 100, I think it's great that I haven't decided to become this, that is just sort of life has grown into that. And I forget. I'm so pissed because I'm drawing a blank on a guy's name.

But somebody shared on YouTube. It's this Australian comedian. You might know who he is. Tim something. I can't remember. It's that hilarious fella he's i mean somebody sent me a youtube uh clip of a like um some speech he gave at his alma mater it was it was amazing but he said something i'm paraphrasing because i can't remember exactly but he said don't focus on the future too or you're going to miss the beautiful gleaming thing in the corner of y'all

or in the periphery or something like that. And to me, that's exactly it. That gleaming thing, that's serendipity. You stay on an honest grind and you stay moving forward. and you stay moving forward. But if you get too enthralled in the end game, you miss those beautiful moments that can happen just like that. Like you contacting me about doing a podcast. I was like, wait.

That was overwhelming that you wanted to talk to me. I would have never been able to imagine that. I love that it happened, but I could have never made it happen, planned for it. No, you can't plan these things. No, it's exactly right. So I love those things. Yeah, it's, you know, I mean, you could say destiny. It sounds so, you know, kind of lame or weird.

But, you know, it's sort of you've been, I just see somebody who's flourishing and, you know, blossoming into the person that they're supposed to become. And, you know, the more you can anchor yourself in the moment and pay attention and be present for what's happening around you. Yes, it's huge. and pay attention and be present for what's happening around you is when you, you know, that's when the universe conspires to step up and just kind of nudge you, you know, this direction or that direction. And, you know, it's like we were talking about before, it's an evolution, right? So, you know, there was a day, you know, when you were preparing for the New York City Marathon, that was your jam, right?

Like, that's what you're focused on. And now, you know, is it different? Like when you wake up and you know, like people are messaging you on Facebook and they want to know what you think and how can you help them? And, you know, how does that change what motivates you and what's important to you? Because that's been my experience. Like, you know, I travel around quite a bit. I do a lot of these kinds of events. Inevitably people are like, what are you training for right now? It's like, man, I'm training for life right now. You know, I'm trying to show up for what's up, you know? And right now it's like sitting down with you and being a Marshall and hanging out with Matt Frazier and Colin Campbell and Robert Ausfeld and Garth Davis and Chef AJ. That's what's up. And what's

important to me is trying to cultivate community around these ideas that can be helpful to people and impacting people in a profound way so that they have the tools and the inspiration and the resources they need to change their life. And if I'm out on my bike all day, that ain't happening. That's when I get the blinders on. And there's a part of me that wants to just be on my bike all day. I know how to do that. That's easy. There is comfort in that grind. I like that pain and I get soulless and I get a sense of self out of that, but that's not my life right now. And I'm okay with that, you know, because I think that I've been nudged, you know, to do this kind of stuff and, and I'm happy to do it and I love it, you know, and I'm showing up for it. And I see this, I see this happening

with you right now. Like you're just, you're a couple of steps behind, but you're stepping into it, you know? And I think that, you know, when you talk about a sense of self-confidence or a sense of purpose, this is just beginning. Oh, yeah. I told Jonathan that today that, yeah, just getting started, man. I've come so far, yet I feel like I'm in the infancy of what's going to happen. And that's like, I'm in the infancy of what's going to happen. And that's like keeps, that's like, I'm on fire, dude.

Where do you want to take it? That's the thing. I don't know. And it's frustrating as hell to a lot of people. I don't have a real clear crystallized answer, you know? And it's frustrating to me, but I would love to be able to just in a general sense help people, you know, in mass, right? Kind of like what you're able to do. Not just, look, I love

my people at home. I love my friends. And I want them. I want to help them. And some way it seems like there should be a way that through helping the people that I care about the most, I can help everybody else at the exact same time. Mm-hmm. And exactly how that painting looks, I don't know. But you don't need to know. Right? Right. Yeah. You't need to know. Right?

Right, yeah. You just need to be present. Yes, sir. That's exactly right. In recovery, you know, they use the word surrender, and that's easily misconstrued as some kind of idea that you're giving up, but it's really not that. It's an allowing, you know? It's like getting out of your own way and showing up for what's happening and learning to embrace that and be open.

And I think in that space is where you find those answers and you allow yourself to grow. And you don't have to have an agenda. You just have to keep doing what you're doing and being you and keep doing the work. And then that stuff shows up when it's supposed to show up and it's not going to show up the way you think it's going to show up. Right. It's not going to look like how you might imagine it might, but it's going to be what's supposed to be happening. Right. And that's exactly right. I keep alluding to it, but my group of buddies that I run with now,

the way that came about is just random girl in Thibodeau who made a Facebook group called Thibodeau Running Group. And I was like, wait, how did I not know about a Thibodeau running group? Oh, I don't know about it because it just happened. I'm the running guy, Thibodeau. Who's stealing my – How do I – well, me and Jonathan were running together at the point where we both were like, how do we not know about this group? And so we start – and that's exactly what I mean.

we start and that's exactly how that's exactly what i mean like i would i didn't plan i didn't you know it wasn't me that came up with the running group which maybe it should have been me that did it but i but i didn't plan that it just happened and really honestly i would have never guessed that i'd have had more people than just me and and Jonathan that like to run that much. And not only is there more, there's a lot more. And everybody kind of separates out according to pace because you get separated out in a group like that. And so our group, it's like a group within a group kind of, we've become very close, very close. And the food thing is actually, I guess I'm contagious a little bit because some of these guys are full bore plant-based runners now. Wow, that's crazy. 100%.

They're on board with Josh. Let's go, baby. And not only eating this way, but adopting the, I call it emptying the vessel when we work out. That's me. Lay it all out. Empty the vessel. Leave it all out on the road. If you got something left in that last couple miles, let's go ahead and burn it off. Let's get rid of it.

Let's empty the vessel. And it makes us better. It makes us stronger. And it's just quite a ride, dude. Like, I don't know. It's amazing. And it's one of those things that I never planned. It wasn't a part of a step.

It wasn't a step along the way to a thing. It's just, boom, hits you right in the ear hole like in football, the ear hole is a term when you get blindsided. But it's in a good way. Boom. It's like, wow. Whoa. And then all of a sudden, a guy that I'm hooked up with on Facebook

because of you comes to Thibodeau and runs. Hey, dude, I'm going to be in the area. I would love to meet you. Are you just visiting? Yeah, I would love to meet you and come run with the Thibodeau Run Group. That's cool. I feel like this is tripping, man. I love this shit.

This is insane. That's super cool, man. It's awesome. It is. I think it's a good place to shut it down. But we didn't even touch on the fact that you ran your first ultra 50-kilometer race. Yeah, I did. You did it in sand.

Yes, yes. You picked it. You didn't want to just pick a... I have to be honest. I was really more of a tag-along on that race. My buddies were prepared for that race, and they crushed it. They did a great thing. You did it, though.

They smashed it. And, yeah, I finished, and it hurt. That is my new hardest thing I've ever done that took New York's place as far as the pain threshold goes. That was powerful. And what's next? I'm signed up for 100K. Stepping up. But it's not until October.

That's good. You got time. Right. So my next next, though, is the Crescent City Classic. Right. So you got to go back and own it, right? You got to get another poster. Oh, a poster. Yeah, a poster. That's a done deal now. I'm not worried about the posterrescent City Classic. Right, so you got to go back and own it, right? You got to get another poster. Oh, a poster.

Yeah, a poster. That's a done deal now. I'm not worried about the poster. You passed that. You're over that. Now I have a – and I guess I'm going to – because I haven't really said it in specific terms to anybody. You're going to say it now.

I'm going to say it now. I really would love to be able to get a sub 40 minute 10K in the Crescent City Classic. What's the date of that? That's next weekend. Oh. That's next weekend. Yep. I've been.

You've been doing the speed work, I noticed. Yes. I've been going. Yeah. That's when my buddy Jonathan says, we know it's a good workout if Josh starts to dry heave. And that's where we go. That's where we go on the track is I run until my body just can't go anymore. And that feels like you have to, when you sharpen a saw, you have to remove material to make it better.

You have to break down your tissue to make it better. That isn't easy to do because we have resilient bodies. You have to go hard to really cause tissue trauma. And that's just my opinion. And that's the approach I take. Well, this podcast is not going to be up before that race is done. So I might have to dial you back up and get a little recap. So I'm going to hold you to that 39, sub 40, I'll say.

Because if you want to go 38, that would be all right. I'll try. I'll be shooting for a win, but I just don't think I'll quite get there. I like that. All right. So let's shut it down get there. I like that. All right. So let's shut it down with this. You're stuck in an elevator and somebody's in the elevator and they're like, Josh, man, how'd you do it? How can I make that shift?

What kind of wisdom could you impart based on your experience that you think might be helpful to somebody out there who's listening, who's inspired, but they're struggling? First of all, you need to fall in love with yourself. That is very important. Not in a conceited way, but you really need to genuinely love your physical body and your being. If you do that with 100% commitment, everything else will fall into place. That is my number one takeaway from all of this stuff, from all of the running and all of the plants and all of the weight loss and all of that stuff. Digging yourself, man, is most important.

And all of the other things will fall right into place if you can really, genuinely take that step. I think that's a good place to close it down. Word. I love you, man. I love you too, brother. That was awesome. I love it.

I'm so glad to meet you and do this again it's kick ass bro it's a gift man it's great super cool my weekend is complete you want to take us out peace plants how about a hashtag or two

hashtag a special Josh hashtag yeah well Hashtag. What's special Josh? Yeah. Well, one of my favorites, hashtag stop playing. Yeah, I like that one. Stop playing. Stop playing. Stop.

Stop that. All right, man. So if you're digging on Josh, the best way to hook up with him, probably on Instagram now, at Josh LaGianni on Facebook, on Twitter. You're all the same in all places. Instagram is my fave. That's my go-to. I love Instagram.

And it's just a way of getting information out into the general world in a more granular way. It's not from CNN and it's not from Fox. It's from everybody, from the Josh Lajonis of the world, from every man. And I just try to share as much of the fact-based knowledge that I've gained as I can. And that's it. All right, man. Keep inspiring, dude. I can't wait to see what you're going to do next. Me too.

All right. Now I'm really going gonna take us out all right peace plants okay so that was kind of amazing uh josh is really a special touched guy and i really hope that you enjoyed that he wanted me to let you guys know that he fell a little bit shy of going under 40 minutes in that 10K. He hit it at 4106, mainly because he took it out a little hot. He was at 1950 at the 5K. So maybe with a little bit of pacing, he can get under. We'll talk about that next time I have him on the podcast. Anyway, let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments section on the episode page

at richroll.com. Also, thank you for all the love and for sharing this podcast and for using the banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. Keep sending the questions for future Q&A podcasts to info at richroll.com. And for all your plant power needs,

you can find all that stuff on my website too. We've got nutrition products, we've got books, education products, 100% organic cotton garments, Julie's meditation program, everything you need to take your health and your life to the next level. Also got a couple online courses at mindbodygreen.com, the ultimate guide to plant-Based Nutrition and The Art of Living with Purpose, which is all about setting goals and kind of doing the internal work

to make sure that you're on the best, most righteous life trajectory for yourself. I'm really proud of those courses and you can find them on the homepage at mindbodygreen.com by clicking on video courses. Thanks for supporting the show. Thanks for telling a friend. Thank you for sharing it on social media.

And I'll see you guys next week. Make it a great one. Thank you for spending a couple hours with me today. I appreciate that. All right, make it great, you guys. Peace. Plants. Thank you.