Editors' Corner: I thought I could beat genetics with hard work. Was I wrong?

Editors' Corner: I thought I could beat genetics with hard work. Was I wrong?

From Swapmoto Live Podcast by Donn Maeda

May 1, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

Donn Maeda shares a personal story about his health struggles and the impact of genetics on his life.

Presented by Race Tech This is the audio from the Race Tech Editors' Column... I think that I have gotten many of my best qualities from my mom and dad. Mom was a great writer, and my dad was a hard worker who was one of the most creative people around. There are, however, things that my older brothers and I inherited from them that are not so desirable, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. While both of my big brothers have had to have open-heart surgery, I believed that I could beat the genetic course with hard work and clean living. I discovered mountain biking a dozen years ago, and I honestly thought that my secondary two-wheeled obsession would keep all of those important measurable levels on the right side of the scales. Boy, was I wrong. While some of you may have had better luck than me, I got a massive wake-up call last weekend that saw me hospitalized after a trip to the emergency room with a lethally high blood pressure spike that literally could have killed me. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday, some five days later, with a stent in my heart and four new prescriptions. To be honest, I never really get scared when I find myself in the ER with…

People in this episode

Host: Donn Maeda

Topics covered

  • genetics
  • health
  • mountain biking
  • personal experience
  • family history

Keywords

  • genetics
  • health
  • mountain biking
  • high blood pressure
  • open-heart surgery

Sponsors

Race Tech

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