RIDEOUT: The Other Side of Hard

Cesalina Gracie had never climbed a mountain. She gave herself six and a half weeks to train, flew to Kathmandu and summited Everest on her first attempt, in the deadliest season in the mountain’s history. Three Sherpas were killed in the Khumbu Icefall while the route was still being set up. But the climb wasn’t the hardest part. Waiting at base camp for the summit window, the man running her expedition sat down next to her in her tent, put his hand on her thigh and whispered something she still refuses to repeat. She pushed his hand off and told him never to talk to her like that again. When the window opened he took the other groups up the mountain and left her at base camp. Then he canceled her Sherpa, ordered her down by radio from a hotel in Kathmandu, and assigned her a 20-year-old who had never climbed Everest. She prayed in her tent for a sign. A Sherpa with a speed record on the mountain walked in, heard her out and said, I’ll go with you. They were told not to call for rescue. They summited anyway. This week I sat down with Cesalina, a black belt from the family that created Brazilian jiu-jitsu and my daughter’s first coach. We get into a grandfather with 21 children, the Gracie Diet, a family where school is optional, moving to London alone at 17 with 1,000 pounds, four years off the mats and starting over at white belt, and why she built a jiu-jitsu program for women only. We also get into the part that never makes the highlights. Her first TV hosting job was the Rio Olympics, live in front of 70,000 people. Ten-hour training days in an altitude chamber, building Legos with frozen hands. The $250,000 VIP tents at base camp. The climber who turned around two hours from the summit and told her it wasn’t worth it. Her message to every girl and woman is simple. Never sacrifice your integrity to achieve your dreams. Hope you guys enjoy this one. Follow Cesalina: @cesagracie Her courses: cesalina.com Thanks to OMRE for supporting the show. Please take a minute to subscribe and leave a comment. It makes a huge difference. More about the show at theothersideofhard.com. Thank you to our sponsors OMRE: omre.co Code “RIDEOUT” Ken’s book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet Cesalina Gracie (00:56) Speak Up the Moment It Feels Off (06:13) Ken's Daughter's First Coach (07:01) The Posture of a Champion (09:07) Alone in London at 17 (10:34) Confidence Comes From Within (12:17) Sponsor Break OMRE (14:46) 21 Children and the Gracie Diet (16:27) An Italian Dad With Four Degrees (18:44) A Black Belt Is a Degree (19:37) First Time on an Airplane (20:15) A Red Belt Dad and a Ballerina Mom (21:17) Women Stopped at Blue Belt (21:37) Kyra Gracie Fought to Fight (24:18) Why the Little Girls Are Dangerous (26:16) A Movement for Women Not Against Men (28:30) Job Interview on Monday (29:05) Waitress at the First Hard Rock Cafe (31:26) The Queen of Firsts (33:47) Four Years Off the Mats (34:52) A Broken Tailbone at a Tournament (36:45) Hiding the Gracie Name in London (38:45) Dads Screaming in the Stands (43:08) Watching Your Kid Lose (47:12) Don't Let Them Quit (48:31) The Science of Self-Sabotage (52:29) Two Brothers and a Rapper Sister (53:03) Twelve Schools With Her Brother (54:18) Tolerated Not Celebrated (55:27) Translating Kill the Lion (56:11) You Belong in Front of the Camera (56:53) Booking the Rio Olympics (1:00:27) Why Not You (1:01:47) Skydiving With the Expedition Leader (1:05:25) Scared of Heights (1:07:10) Six and a Half Weeks to Prepare (1:09:34) The Invisible Contract (1:10:28) The Deadliest Season in Everest History (1:12:09) What Everest Costs (1:13:41) Training for Everest Since Day One (1:14:16) Ten Hours in the Altitude Chamber (1:15:55) Legos With Frozen Hands (1:20:47) The Descent Is What Kills (1:24:00) The $250,000 VIP Tent (1:26:37) Fifty Days Without a Heater (1:31:29) Not Married No Kids Now or Never (1:35:06) Ladders in the Khumbu Icefall (1:37:47) Turned Around 300 Meters From the Top (1:40:59) A Two and a Half Hour Head Start (1:41:26) A 70 Mile an Hour Windstorm (1:43:05) Too Cold Too Dangerous Not Worth It (1:45:15) Her Sherpa Gets Canceled (1:48:47) Two Bodyguards at Base Camp (1:49:43) The Boundary That Started a War (1:51:20) A Hand on Her Thigh (1:53:08) Don't Ever Talk to Me Like This (1:54:05) Ordered Down From the Marriott (1:55:11) A 20 Year Old Who Never Climbed Everest (1:56:02) A Prayer and a Sign (1:58:03) I'll Go With You (1:59:48) Don't Call Us for Rescue (2:00:54) 23 Hours of Climbing (2:03:53) The Sherpa Who Saved Her Life (2:06:34) Fifty Days Without a Shower (2:08:22) Ken Left Ironman in an Ambulance (2:11:04) The Sting of Quitting (2:12:04) It's a Decision (2:17:11) Never Sacrifice Your Integrity (2:18:56) Host Outro and Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eryk Anders was the last guy picked. He mailed 125 copies of his own VHS highlight tape to every school he could find an address for and heard nothing back. Then a running back didn’t qualify two weeks before the season, Mike Shula called, and Eryk showed up in Tuscaloosa in Timberland boots claiming he weighed 215. The scale was broken. Thirty minutes later he had a full ride to Alabama. He barely played for two years. After a bowl game where he never saw the field he told his dad he was transferring. His dad told him to stay and get the degree. He died that night. Eryk stayed. Senior year he started for Nick Saban, and in the national championship game against Texas, the team he grew up wanting to play for, he led the defense with seven tackles and the blindside sack and forced fumble that sealed it with three minutes left. Then football was over. Cut by the Browns. Cut in Canada. Arena ball. Cleaning factories with a water lance, a janitor at LabCorp, a customer service line where strangers cussed him out all day. He started MMA at 24 with no combat background, and his wife wrote a $3,500 check to pay off his car so he could quit his job. Two years to the day later he signed with the UFC. This week I sat down with Eryk to get the whole story. The UFC calling when he weighed 238 with ten days to make 185, then knocking out Rafael Natal in the first round. Twenty UFC fights, the Machida decision, the soccer kick in Lincoln, getting judo-tossed by Hector Lombard, 15 pounds cut in 90 minutes and a house bought after every fight. He won his last fight in March at 38, retired in the cage and now runs Ya Boi Fitness Academy in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. He calls himself a C-plus athlete. He just outworked everybody. Hope you guys enjoy this one. Follow Eryk: @erykanders Ya Boi Fitness Academy, Vestavia Hills, Alabama Thanks to OMRE for supporting the show. Please take a minute to subscribe and leave a comment. It makes a huge difference. More about the show at theothersideofhard.com. Thank you to our sponsors OMRE: omre.co Code “RIDEOUT” Ken’s book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet Eryk Anders (00:16) Born on an Air Force Base (00:45) Football Was a Religion in Texas (02:02) The Kid Who Wouldn’t Shower (04:12) A Nurse Who Retired a Colonel (06:01) A C-Plus Athlete Who Outworks Everyone (08:02) Friday Night Lights in Bulverde (09:10) 125 VHS Highlight Tapes (09:47) A Scholarship Out of Thin Air (10:33) Mike Shula Calls Hawaii (10:58) Timberlands and a Broken Scale (12:27) Sponsor Break OMRE (16:15) NIL Money and Back Pay (17:56) Don’t Give Them a Reason (18:58) The Dexter McCluster Story (22:16) Everything Turned to a Blur (23:06) Shula’s Oklahoma Drills (23:51) How Saban Changed Practice (27:48) Eating at 2 AM to Keep Weight (29:52) Mess Up at 100 Miles an Hour (32:20) Third-Down Pass Rusher (33:27) Benched in the Bowl Game (34:01) His Dad’s Last Advice (34:45) Texas in the Rose Bowl (36:18) The Sack That Sealed It (37:06) God Status in Tuscaloosa (38:36) Cut by the Browns (41:34) Canada and Arena Football (44:51) Booster Lunches and No Job (46:25) Cleaning Factories With a Water Lance (46:44) Janitor at LabCorp (47:03) Apache Helicopters for Sweden (48:20) Customer Service Hell (50:04) She Paid Off His Car (50:59) Two Years to the Day (51:38) The Amateur Grind (53:29) Wrestlers Make Champions (55:02) Cutting to 185 (56:21) His First Real Knockout (59:15) 238 Pounds and Ten Days Notice (1:00:46) 15 Pounds in 90 Minutes (1:03:46) The Fight Ready Fallout (1:06:34) Life on the Road (1:08:34) Philly Fight Culture (1:09:53) Ken Quit Cold Turkey (1:14:03) Judo-Tossed by Hector Lombard (1:16:44) The Divorce (1:19:29) His Son and His Stepson in Spain (1:20:59) 20 UFC Fights (1:21:43) $12,000 for His UFC Debut (1:22:20) The Soccer Kick Bonus (1:23:14) $260,000 for His Last Fight (1:23:45) Retiring on His Own Terms (1:24:25) What a Kids Gym Needs (1:26:42) Don’t Break Your Toys (1:27:12) Kids Who Can’t Do a Cartwheel (1:31:49) Take the Attributes Out (1:33:26) A House After Every Fight (1:34:27) Ya Boi Fitness Academy (1:35:22) Why Women Need Jiu-Jitsu (1:37:40) Host Outro and Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BeBe Winans grew up a block from Smokey Robinson in Detroit, shoveling his snow for $25 when everyone else paid $2. Stevie Wonder's house was behind theirs. He was the seventh of ten Winans kids, and when his four older brothers got signed by Quincy Jones, BeBe drove the van. Right out of high school he and his sister CeCe auditioned for a Christian TV network in Charlotte. She got the job. He didn't. Their dad wouldn't let her go alone, so BeBe went as her chaperone, planning to work at a grocery store. Then Jim Bakker walked into a rehearsal and told the two of them to sing "Up Where We Belong" as a duet. That is how BeBe & CeCe Winans started. Capitol Records followed, then gold, then platinum, then six Grammys. Whitney Houston sang backup on their first tour and made their outfits herself while Clive Davis lost his mind. What almost nobody saw was the hotel mirror in California at 33. BeBe was 255 pounds and couldn't get through two minutes on a treadmill. His trainer told him it took 33 years to get there, so give yourself more than three days. He got to 180 and never went back. He is 64 now, and I see him running past my house in Brentwood in the rain and on the ice, every day but Sunday. That is how we met. This week I sat down with my neighbor to get the whole story. The fourth-grade poem that made him a writer. Michael Jordan at a Detroit baggage claim telling him to put his head down and listen. Stevie Wonder calling him an incredible writer from the side of the stage. Dolly Parton at the register of the country store down the road. And the tour with CeCe next April, their first in 25 years. One of the kindest people I know, and one hell of a storyteller. Hope you guys enjoy this one. Follow BeBe: @bebewinans Thanks to ROKA for supporting the show. Please take a minute to subscribe and leave a comment. It makes a huge difference. More about the show at theothersideofhard.com. Thank you to our sponsors Our Title Sponsor ROKA: www.roka.com/ Code "RIDEOUT" Ken's book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet BeBe Winans (00:40) The Guy Who Runs Every Day (01:18) Jelly Roll Knows Him (02:21) Growing Up in Motown (02:41) Shoveling Smokey Robinson's Snow (03:58) Ten Kids and a Piano (05:16) The Winans and Quincy Jones (06:24) A Poem Called The Wind (07:28) A Catalog of 3000 Songs (08:36) Never Sing Your Own Demo (09:16) Sponsor Break ROKA (11:01) Meeting Whitney Houston (12:10) The Bodyguard Soundtrack (12:30) What the Music Means to People (13:10) Gladys Knight at the Ryman (15:17) Trading Names in a Blizzard (15:47) No Excuses in the Rain (16:10) Nothing Flexes Like Being in Shape (17:13) Rejected at the Charlotte Audition (18:15) Chaperoning CeCe at PTL (18:41) Jim Bakker Makes Them a Duet (19:54) Signing With Capitol Records (20:52) Gold Then Platinum (21:43) Keeping the Solo Rights (23:10) The Mirror in California (24:19) Two Minutes on a Treadmill (24:54) From 255 to 180 (25:45) A Banana in Every State (26:21) Not Donny and Marie (26:44) When One Winans Wins (27:39) Mom's 90th Birthday (28:52) Dad Hollering From the Front Row (29:12) Telling Mom She Can Retire (29:51) Ken Embarrasses His Daughter (31:33) Dad's Last Words (33:06) Sing for 12 Like It's 120,000 (35:37) Greek Theater and Carnegie Hall (36:04) Guards on a Train in Russia (38:44) First Tour With CeCe in 25 Years (39:21) Driving the Van for His Brothers (40:40) Whitney Houston Sang Backup (41:39) Whitney Runs the Tour Bus (44:46) The Lady Who Didn't Know Whitney (45:45) Stevie Wonder Sings Happy Birthday (47:05) Prince in the Next Seat (48:48) Michael Jordan at Baggage Claim (50:48) Dolly Parton at the Country Store (54:43) Ken's Mountain Lion (55:38) Cougars in Vancouver (57:16) Running With Rhinos in Kenya (57:35) Two Kids Who Don't Sing (58:55) Niece Deborah Joy on Greenleaf (59:20) Fifteen Cities in 2027 (01:00:28) Building the Show (01:02:25) Don't Get Addicted to the Applause (01:02:38) A Musical Bound for Broadway (01:03:17) The Business of a Tour (01:05:43) Pull Up Your Brave Pants (01:06:03) Private Shows and Oprah (01:07:24) Eight and a Half Miles Every Day (01:08:15) Lifting Right After the Run (01:09:43) See You in New York (01:10:06) Host Outro and Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Hodulich was a high school sophomore when he ran five months on a broken foot. The scan turned into a bone graft from his shin, two pins across his foot and three orthopedic surgeons before one of them would say he might run again. The pins are still in there 30 years later. He went on to run track at Auburn in the SEC, and then he built the hardest event most people will ever finish. Marc is the co-founder and CEO of 29029. Hike up a mountain, ride the gondola down, repeat until you have climbed 29,029 feet, the height of Everest, inside 36 hours. It is not a race. No clock, no trophy, no paid sponsors. It is walking. And since the first event in 2017, only 68 percent of the people who start have finished. A marathon is 98. This week I sat down with Marc, one of my closest friends, to get the whole story. Birmingham. Selling payroll door to door in Manhattan while working two other jobs. Six years in management consulting until a partner told him he did not want to go deep on anything. The Wall Street Decathlon he started on the side that raised millions for pediatric cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Meeting Jesse Itzler at their kids' flag football practice. Why 29029 has never taken a paid sponsor. The 80-year-old who called the event "frustratingly doable." And the summer he, Jesse and Colin O'Brady did 29,029 feet three ways, on the bike, in the water and on the mountain. We also get into the part that never makes the highlights. The day I quit at Kona. What I went through in Mexico. Why Marc deleted email off his phone. And what he means by fulfillment over achievement. Follow Marc: @marchodulich Thanks to ROKA for supporting the show. Please take a minute to subscribe and leave a comment. It makes a huge difference. More about the show at theothersideofhard.com. Thank you to our sponsors Our Title Sponsor ROKA: www.roka.com/ Code "RIDEOUT" OMRE: omre.co Code "KEN" Ken's book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet Marc Hodulich (00:48) Growing Up in Birmingham (02:08) The High School Miler (03:02) Running Track at Auburn (06:22) The Book Scholarship (06:53) Five Months on a Broken Foot (09:27) Raising Chase and Dylan (11:38) Sponsor Break ROKA (13:18) Preparing for an Empty House (15:19) Selling Payroll Door to Door (16:46) Six Years in Consulting (17:50) A Partner Calls His Bluff (18:26) The Wall Street Decathlon (19:44) Scared to Quit (21:11) Who's the Better Athlete (23:28) Bought Out by His Partner (24:26) Why 29029 Has No Paid Sponsors (25:46) The Origins of 29029 (26:14) Running to Flag Football Practice (27:19) Owning Everest in 36 Hours (28:42) An On Ramp to Trail Running (30:54) Earned Luxury at the Ritz (31:59) Sponsor Break OMRE (33:37) Early Mistakes at the First Event (34:29) Hard Things Change People (36:00) A 68 Percent Finish Rate (36:45) Quit Feeling Sorry for Yourself (38:19) The Average Participant Is 50 (39:36) The Day Ken Quit at Kona (40:42) Training for Bad Conditions (42:48) Fulfillment Before the Finish Line (44:07) Teepees at Snowbasin (45:14) It's All Free (46:05) Ken and Rob Show Up Cocky (46:58) Frustratingly Doable at 80 (47:56) No Awards for Finishing First (49:01) Lapping the Field at Whistler (50:22) Negotiating With Yourself (52:48) Honest Conversations on the Mountain (53:27) The Idea Behind TRAIL (55:01) Leadville and Telluride (57:14) Ken vs Tyler at TRAIL (59:12) The Triple, 29029 Three Ways (01:00:43) A 5.5 Mile Swim (01:01:32) Buying a Bike for the Climb (01:04:10) The Hardest Part Was Staying Present (01:04:48) A Text From Chase (01:06:18) Cramping on Lap Five (01:07:02) Whitecaps on the Lake (01:09:19) The Safety Kayak Wake Up Call (01:11:38) Ken's Topanga Canyon Crash (01:13:34) Sitting in It for a While (01:14:44) Joy in Other People Winning (01:15:43) Ray Hicks and the Big Cup (01:16:47) Knowing What You Don't Want (01:17:24) When Racing Becomes Performative (01:18:40) Five Days Off in Mexico (01:19:05) Uncomfortable Plant Therapy (01:24:05) 5 MeO DMT and Ego Death (01:26:18) Grateful for What Matters (01:28:01) Deleting Email Off His Phone (01:31:09) The Runner's High Afterwards (01:31:46) 29029 Goes to Verbier (01:33:26) Fulfillment Not Achievement (01:34:06) Host Outro and Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clay Moss looked like the healthiest guy at Ole Miss. He trained six days a week and got strep throat every other month for four straight years. Twenty-two documented cases. Every visit ended the same way: a steroid shot, a round of antibiotics, see you next time. Nobody asked how he was sleeping, what he was eating, or how much caffeine he was running on. He got his tonsils out after graduation. Six weeks later he had the worst strep of his life. Then medical school in Jackson, Mississippi, the only MD program in the state. He watched classmates go from all-nighters to Adderall to Xanax to sleep aids to antidepressants, and by fourth year he was sitting in the lecture hall where it all started, listening to fifteen of them compare prescriptions. When a doctor offered him Xanax for the panic attacks he had been having since sophomore year of college, he said no and started with sleep, food, meditation, and blood work instead. This week I sat down with Dr. Clay Moss, a Gulf Breeze kid who used to peek through the fence at the Andrews Institute on the walk home from middle school. We get into the 12.5-hour surgery that ended his surgeon dream four hours in, opening his Match Day letter on stage, why your doctor only gets 5 to 12 minutes with you, and what happened to him after the COVID booster that he didn’t feel he could say out loud in med school. We also get into the stuff you can use tomorrow. Why he picks the barbell over the treadmill, why a broken hip after 65 is so dangerous, hormone therapy for women, sun versus sunscreen, tap water, low-dose lithium, and what four sauna sessions a week does for you. Clay has ten months of residency left and 800,000 people following his work. Then he opens the practice 18-year-old Clay needed. Hope you guys enjoy this one. Follow Clay: @drclaymoss Thanks to ROKA for supporting the show. Please take a minute to subscribe and leave a comment. It makes a huge difference. More about the show at theothersideofhard.com. Thank you to our sponsors Our Title Sponsor ROKA: www.roka.com/ Code “RIDEOUT” AMP Fitness: amp.ai/rideout Ken’s book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet Dr. Clay Moss (00:15) Growing Up in Gulf Breeze (01:15) Dad’s Houseboat in Pensacola (02:23) Peeking Through the Andrews Fence (04:19) ROKA Sunglasses for Clay (05:49) The Only MD School in Mississippi (06:27) Trauma Surgery Rotation (08:32) The Teacher Who Said Never (09:13) Ken Meets the Panhandle (11:13) Sponsor Break ROKA (13:27) Sixty Percent Out of State (15:22) Chasing Good Mentors (16:17) No Such Thing as Optional Practice (18:34) Rushing Sigma Chi (19:56) Psychological Hazing (23:00) Nike Sponsors Sorority Rush (24:26) The Face of Functional Medicine (26:43) Five to Twelve Minutes Per Patient (27:32) Paying for Your Own Doctor (28:36) Fighting Insurance Denials (30:52) Twenty Two Cases of Strep (32:17) Nobody Asked About Sleep (33:14) The Practice 18 Year Old Clay Needed (35:23) Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later (36:58) Cash Pay Doctors Are Not Selfish (38:33) Sponsor Break AMP (39:29) Florida State Took 190 of 10000 (40:27) Meditation and Lifting in Jackson (40:47) All Nighters to Adderall (41:38) Fifteen Classmates on Antidepressants (44:42) Jelly Roll on Haters (45:50) Cold Calling the DMs (47:21) The Early Huberman Comparison (49:43) Drinking From a Firehose (51:09) The Twelve and a Half Hour Surgery (52:15) Finding Physical Medicine and Rehab (53:47) Match Day on Stage (55:58) Ten Months Left (56:58) A Fifty Patient Practice (58:55) Five Grand a Month for Insurance (01:00:46) Questioning Everything After Covid (01:02:22) The ER Visits He Could Not Talk About (01:03:26) First Panic Attack in Tallahassee (01:04:40) Turning Down the Xanax (01:05:43) Propranolol as a Safety Net (01:07:30) Cardio Versus Strength (01:08:56) Muscle as a Glucose Sponge (01:10:22) Ken’s VO2 Max at 55 (01:12:05) Breaking a Hip After 65 (01:13:45) Women Need the Barbell Most (01:15:24) Why HRT Got Demonized (01:17:53) Absolute Versus Relative Risk (01:20:31) Regrowing an Optic Nerve (01:22:49) Know Why You Take It (01:25:31) Sun Versus Sunscreen (01:28:48) Low Dose Lithium (01:31:08) Never Drink Tap Water (01:33:19) Sauna Four Times a Week (01:37:55) Not Running for Anyone Else (01:39:55) The REP Fitness Garage Gym (01:43:37) Ken’s Trip to Mexico (01:45:31) Ken’s DMT Experience (01:49:50) A Grandfather’s Secret (01:53:25) Tune Out the Negativity (01:53:51) Host Outro and Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

McKinnon Galloway was diagnosed with NF2 at 16 after a routine MRI for a volleyball concussion revealed two brain tumors. What followed was years of chemotherapy, a phase-one clinical trial, four brain surgeries, radiation, facial paralysis, a cerebral stroke, and the complete loss of her hearing. Her third brain surgery became life-threatening when doctors discovered that her tumor had developed an extensive blood supply. McKinnon nearly bled out, woke up fully deaf, and learned that complications had prevented surgeons from placing the auditory brain implant she expected to receive. Months later, another surgery left her struggling to walk and unable to move one side of her face. McKinnon also opens up about her father’s alcoholism and suicide, the strength she inherited from her mother, the realities of navigating healthcare and insurance, and the daily isolation that can come with deafness. Rather than disappearing into everything she lost, McKinnon built a platform that bridges the deaf and hearing worlds. Now followed by more than one million people across social media, she advocates for better deaf technology, clearer patient communication, and a more personal approach to medicine through her mission of “Humanizing Healthcare.” Follow McKinnon on Instagram: @mckinnongalloway Thank you to our sponsors Our Title Sponsor ROKA: www.roka.com/ Code “RIDEOUT” AMP Fitness: amp.ai/rideout  Ken’s book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet McKinnon (00:48) Living With NF2 (02:26) Growing Up Charlotte (04:20) Diagnosis At Sixteen (05:44) First Brain Surgery (08:16) Recovery And Questions (10:30) Roka Eyewear Sponsor (12:15) Costa Rica Sea Turtles (13:42) College And Family Strain (15:34) Trials Second Surgery (18:14) Losing Hearing Completely (20:55) Third Surgery Near Death (25:09) Deafness And Implants (27:08) Post Op Complications (30:56) Surgery Complications (32:54) Sponsor Break Amp (33:39) Mom Teaches Independence (35:37) Dad Addiction Spiral (40:55) Losing Her Father (45:03) Faith Trip Bethlehem (47:46) Radiation And Recovery (53:29) MRI Scare And Boston (57:20) Living With NF2 (59:51) Marriage And Work Talk (01:00:50) Insurance Costs Reality (01:02:44) Ambulance Bill Fight (01:03:48) Fees Everywhere Now (01:05:14) Tipping Gone Wild (01:06:18) Driving While Deaf (01:07:43) Handicap Parking Clash (01:10:01) Hardest Part Socializing (01:11:48) Hope for Nerve Repair (01:13:20) Deaf Tech Advocacy (01:14:00) Social Media Origin Story (01:17:06) Handling Online Trolls (01:19:49) Perks of Being Deaf (01:24:14) Humanizing Healthcare Mission (01:26:49) Authentic Content Approach (01:28:53) Brand Deals and Contact (01:29:53) Daily Work and Pivots (01:31:02) Wrap Up and Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Dawn Mussallem was a young medical student when she collapsed and doctors discovered a 15-centimeter tumor wrapped around her heart. She was diagnosed with stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and told she had only months to live. She endured chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and radiation while continuing medical school, eventually graduating first in her class. But surviving cancer came at another cost: the treatment severely damaged her heart. Dawn developed advanced heart failure, received a pacemaker and defibrillator, lost her husband to sudden cardiac death and spent years fighting to stay alive for her daughter. In 2021, with her organs beginning to fail, she accepted a donor heart from a woman who had used intravenous drugs and carried hepatitis C. That transplant gave Dawn a second life. Now an integrative oncologist, endurance athlete and Chief Medical Officer at Fountain Life, Dawn joins Ken Rideout to share what she learned through cancer, grief, heart failure and transplantation. They also discuss the fundamentals of longevity that matter most, including fiber, complex carbohydrates, strength training, VO2 max, heart-disease screening, organ donation and the role of nutrition in cancer survivorship. This is a story about accepting what you cannot control, refusing to surrender your purpose and making every day of a borrowed life count. Thank you to our sponsors Our Title Sponsor ROKA: www.roka.com/ Code “RIDEOUT” AMP Fitness: amp.ai/rideout  Ken’s book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet Dr Dawn (01:11) Ohio Roots and Early Running (02:35) Raising Healthy Kids (06:05) Athletics and Strength Training (09:15) College Fitness and Ms Fitness (10:41) Sponsor Break Roka Eyewear (12:22) Carbs Fiber and Performance (19:26) Path to Medicine and Mayo (23:21) Cancer Diagnosis and Survival (31:18) Chemo And Transplant (32:08) Hospital Bike Breakthrough (33:14) Exercise As Medicine (34:18) Transplant Process Explained (35:17) Isolation And Infection Control (36:26) Radiation And Tumor Limits (37:29) Heart Failure After Cancer (38:39) Fertility And IVF Struggles (41:07) Surprise Pregnancy Discovery (43:40) Postpartum Heart Failure Reveal (46:25) Diagnosis And Mayo Recovery (48:57) Devices And HRV Talk (50:36) Fountain Life Heart Data (53:44) Lifestyle And VO2 Priority (57:31) Precision Genomics Testing (01:01:32) Next Gen Lipid Drugs (01:02:16) Metabolic And Inflammation Tests (01:04:37) Loss And Resilience (01:07:21) Diet For Heart Reversal (01:10:35) Near Death And Transplant Listing (01:15:51) Donor Heart Dilemma (01:19:55) Transplant Recovery And Gratitude (01:23:35) Integrative Oncology Explained (01:26:05) Insurance And Breast Cancer Care (01:28:04) Hormone Blockers And Symptom Relief (01:32:09) Closing And Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Talansky didn’t get on a road bike until he was 17. Seven years later, he finished 10th overall in the Tour de France. Andrew joins Ken Rideout to tell the story of his unlikely rise from getting dropped on Miami group rides to competing against the best cyclists in the world. He shares how a running injury led him to cycling, why he left college to chase the sport, and how a brutal experience living and racing in Italy nearly ended his career before it truly began. Andrew also takes Ken inside the realities of professional cycling: training with Levi Leipheimer, exchanging words with Lance Armstrong during his breakout ride at the Tour of the Gila, receiving offers from the world’s top teams, and entering the sport as it tried to rebuild trust after the doping era. He explains why even elite amateur cyclists cannot comprehend the level of the Tour de France, what it feels like to descend at highway speeds in a crowded peloton, how riders recover and survive for three straight weeks, and why Alpe d’Huez became his favorite climb while Mont Ventoux became his hardest. Andrew also reflects on winning the Critérium du Dauphiné, walking away from professional cycling while still in his prime, the burnout and missing support that influenced his retirement, and how those experiences now shape his work helping athletes and organizations build healthier high-performance environments. Thank you to our sponsors Our Title Sponsor ROKA: www.roka.com/ Code “RIDEOUT” Timeline: timeline.com/rideout Code “RIDEOUT” Ken’s book now available here: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/ Chapters (00:00) Meet Andrew Talansky (00:13) Miami Cycling Roots (02:01) From Running To Bikes (03:45) Gear And Community Support (06:29) Tour Dreams And Fast Progress (08:57) The Real Pro Gap (13:38) Tour Chaos And Crashes (15:52) Risky Descents And Training (20:26) Winning Juniors And Nationals (23:35) Europe Reality Check (26:34) Cal Giant Breakthrough (33:37) Lance Moment At Gila (36:16) WorldTour Offers Roll In (36:32) National Champ Group Ride (37:41) Body Types and Weight (38:08) Doping and Eating Culture (39:47) Blood Doping Reality (41:10) Why Doping Felt Normal (42:52) Racing Clean After Lance (45:10) Joining Slipstream in Italy (46:52) Neo Pro Lessons and TT Talent (48:11) First Pro Race Breakthrough (49:40) First Grand Tour Vuelta (50:35) Olympic Deal Rumors (53:09) First WorldTour Win (56:27) First Tour de France Spotlight (59:55) Equipment and Team Specs (01:02:38) Tour Results and Final Day Rules (01:04:39) Peloton Sportsmanship and Cars (01:08:03) Alpe d’Huez Memories (01:09:06) Crowds Gone Too Far (01:12:43) Team Radio Tactics (01:14:26) Domestiques And Bottles (01:15:14) Hardest Climb Ventoux (01:16:01) Post Stage Recovery Routine (01:19:01) Tour Hotels And Logistics (01:22:10) Malibu Riding Stories (01:27:22) Burnout And Retirement (01:29:46) Dauphine Win Chaos (01:32:04) Cobbles And Roubaix Fear (01:34:40) Triathlon Reality Check (01:37:46) Performance Coaching Today (01:39:40) Wrap Up And Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices