A UFC Veteran's Take on Recovery, Mindset & Family ft. Josh Thomson | Ep. 55
About this episode
Josh Thomson shares his transformative journey from treating recovery as a weakness to embracing hydration and mental health after the loss of his father.
You can be the best in the world at something — and still be terrified you'd quit if it ever got hard enough. This week, I sat down with Josh Thomson — a former UFC and PRIDE fighter, Strikeforce World Champion, and 20-year veteran of the sport. For most of his career he treated water, rest, and recovery like weaknesses. Coaches drilled it into him: waters for the weak. Twelve ounces a day. Protein shakes and grit. Then his dad died at 46. And everything changed. Here's what blew my mind: the real turning point in his career wasn't a fight — it was grief. Losing his father flipped a switch. Six liters of water a day. Electrolytes. Ice baths. Actual recovery. His performances exploded. He dropped a bomb about the supplement world too — fighters failing drug tests because of contaminated products they bought right off the shelf. What you're putting in your body might not be what the label says. And the part that stuck with me most? Josh believes 30 to 40 minutes of movement a day would erase most of our mental health struggles. Not the gym. Just a walk. We get into brain trauma, addiction as a superpower, why nobody remembers your name (not even Jordan's), and the note he wrote his…
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