How Do You Rewrite Your Story? One Step at a Time | Robin Arzón [Best of]

From hostage crisis to fitness titan - In this best-of conversation, Robin Arzón shares her unstoppable journey defying limits. The author of "Shut Up and Run https://amzn.to/2X8g7Bk" opens up about how a traumatic experience fueled her pivot from lawyer to global phenomenon at Peloton, conquering ultramarathons with Type 1 diabetes along the way. Get inspired by Robin's "sweat with swagger" mentality and unapologetic pursuit of the unconventional path. You can find Robin at: Website https://www.robinarzon.com/ | Instagram https://www.instagram.com/robinnyc | Episode Transcript https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/unlocking-the-secrets-to-transforming-your-relationships-yung-pueblo If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Rich Roll https://episodes.fm/647826736/episode/Z2lkOi8vYXJ0MTktZXBpc29kZS1sb2NhdG9yL1YwL2U0MkVGOU1ERjk1SkZtTjZLZU1HNDFDWVNDRnRWRUwyQWhYUnNzWml1cTA about making the journey from practicing law and dealing with addiction to becoming a sober ultra-marathoner, entrepreneur, and successful creator. Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel https://jonathanfields.substack.com/aboutVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sponsors/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  A man walks in with a gun and proceeds to hold the entire bar hostage. And he said, "People are going to be leaving in body bags."

• 0:09Jonathan Fields?

  So how do you emerge out of that, like physically unharmed, but psychologically and emotionally?

• 0:14Speaker 00

  I remember just needing to like choose fear or the greater faith.

• 0:21Jonathan Fields?

  So what does it really take to rewrite your story and turn ambition into unstoppable action and incredible outcomes? Today, we're joined by Robin Arzon, former lawyer, ultra marathoner, bestselling author, and Peloton's VP of Fitness Programming, to unlock the secrets of resilience and radical self-belief.

• 0:41Speaker 00

  I really do fear mediocrity. Like, I think about my legacy. Like, what do I want to be talking about when I'm 90?

• 0:47Jonathan Fields?

  I think a lot of people don't look at life that way. They're constantly like, "What's the fastest, easiest path to get there?"

• 0:53Speaker 00

  I firmly believe the jewels of my crown are made of grit and hustle and sweat, and that it's because I know that journey, I know that path, it will always be worthwhile to me.

• 1:10Speaker 02

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• 1:43Jonathan Fields?

  Good Life Project is sponsored by Steel. So I am not in the studio today. I'm actually out on the trail in the Rockies at about 6,000 feet above sea level and boulder. The leaves are exploding with color and just stunning out. And yes, I'm wearing my favorite Steel hat, and just last night is when I won my favorite Steel jackets, which, if you know me, is not unusual. I wear the hat almost every day, and my Steel jackets pretty much live on me all fall and winter. There's even a Steel shop back in town, practically in my backyard. Here is why I love them. Steel is designed and tested in Jackson Hole at the base of the Tetons by locals who ski and bike and hike and climb and fish there pretty much every day. They have been at it since 2011, so they know warmth and they also know style.

• 2:27Jonathan Fields?

  Everything I have from them, it works great. It holds up in every condition and also looks awesome. And their hometown down is 800 Phil Down, but it feels more like just your favorite hoodie than a puffy. And ski season is almost here, so gear up now the way that the locals do. Go to stio.com/goodlife for 20% off your order. That's S T I O dot com slash good life. Steel dot com slash good life. Steel, designed and tested in Jackson Hole. Good Life Project is supported by Ernesta rugs. So a small confession, our front porch has been the most neglected corner of our home since we moved in. It's the first thing anyone steps onto and it's been kind of greeting people with a sad, too small mat.

• 3:09Jonathan Fields?

  Ernesta sent me their samples and now they're making us a rug. And the cool thing is for $10, you get five oversized 12 by 12 samples. So you see the colors at real scale in your own space before you even get it. So we lived with all five colors for a few days and cool morning light and golden afternoon light. And we're sure to be ross on the sky, but Caldwell just kind of kept quietly winning. The thing you're certain about isn't always the thing that fits. And because Ernesta rugs are custom size, cut to the ins, the one we ordered is made to our exact six and a half feet by nine feet space, not close enough. Visit ernesta.com and order five samples for only $10 and you'll get $50 toward any rug of your choice. That's E R N E S T A dot com.

• 3:56Jonathan Fields?

  Were you the type of kid where it's like you kind of saw parents as a doctor and a lawyer? You kind of like always assumed that was part of your path or not so much?

• 4:03Speaker 00

  Well, it's interesting because I view kind of the classic American dream through their work ethic and their narrative. So they, my mother's from Cuba, my father is from Puerto Rico. And so I literally saw them rebuild themselves. My mother tells the story about- How she taught herself English, watching PBS and Sesame Street, you know, at the age of thirteen. So witnessing that and then seeing them succeed, it was like I I understood the narrative of the of the hard work and creating yourself. I'm a really young age. And then I just assumed like if they can do that, I can do that too. And I have I have to. You know, I felt not pressure, pressure is the wrong word, but a sense of honoring where you came from.

• 4:44Jonathan Fields?

  Were they both first generation here?

• 4:46Speaker 00

  Yes, both first generation here.

• 4:48Jonathan Fields?

  Got it. Have they shared a lot of the stories, a lot of sort of like their early days with you?

• 4:53Speaker 00

  Yes, and it's fascinating because, you know, when I look at these old pictures, especially my my father grew up in poverty. But my mother, actually, in Cuba, was they were wealthy. They grew they grew up with in a way that I can't even imagine with with servants and farmhands and, you know, just really like elaborate birthdays and all these things. And then they come to Philadelphia, starting from nothing, you know, getting winter coats from the Salvation Army and, you know, a true evolution of like, you have everything you could ever want, then you have nothing, and then you're grateful for what you the little you do have, and you build from there. So that perspective, I think, has been always been part of my mother's story. And it's something I very much admire.

• 5:34Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I mean, it's so interesting to me also that you you said you didn't feel a sense of pressure, but like more of an internal sense of honoring.

• 5:41Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 5:41Jonathan Fields?

  So the choices that you made, it wasn't like you were being forced to like, I have to live up to their expectation. It's not obligation, but it's sort of like, it seems like there was something wired in you that just says like, they've worked so hard to be here. Like, something inside has to sort of honor that.

• 5:55Speaker 00

  Yeah, I feel like there's something really powerful. I mean, I was it's it's funny that I'm in fitness now because I used to be allergic to exercise. So I was the arts and crafts, straight A kid, right? So they really never, and I don't think they even would have had I not been a straight A student. But I I've really always had that in me and my sister as well. We were always, you know, just the academic children. But there is an understanding of like,

• 6:21Speaker 00

  Honoring your ancestors, like I saw something, a meme or something on Instagram. And the spirit of it was like, I'm gonna make my grandmother's grandmother proud. And I was like, whoa, like it stopped me in my tracks. It gives me full body chills right now because I think like, legacy is so powerful. And I think about that all the time. Like, I believe that our legacy is really just comprised of a lot of small decisions. And when I'm trying to make small pivots in my life, I think like, how will this contribute to my legacy, even in even in a point one percent way? And I really, I take that really seriously.

• 6:55Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, it's amazing too, because I think legacy, a lot of times, it can be a sword and a shield, right? So on the one hand, you can feel a sense of like, I have to do certain things because the expectation is like, that's the appropriate way to honor my legacy.

• 7:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:09Jonathan Fields?

  And but on the flip side, it can also be like, the appropriate way to honor my legacy is people who've come before me have worked so hard to create a level of agency and freedom.

• 7:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:17Jonathan Fields?

  That who am I not to step into my own sense of agency and do like the thing that I'm here to do?

• 7:22Speaker 00

  Well, both offer perspective, right? Because it's like, I would never, you know, what is it? It was just in the Beyonce Homecoming documentary, I think she quoted Maya Angelou, like, you can't be what you can't see.

• 7:33Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah.

• 7:33Speaker 00

  Like, I am so grateful that I was able to see strong characters in my life who were like, you just got to figure it out and do it. You know, had I had a different understanding of agency, I wouldn't end up being sitting here.

• 7:46Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. So you end up then, so you're, you're the kid who's arts and crafts and also academics. Where'd you end up going to undergrad?

• 7:53Speaker 00

  So I went to NYU undergrad and Villanova Law School. I was, I was in Gallatin, so it's a school you make up your own major. And it was the most amazing intellectual creative freedom I've ever had. Yeah, you really, you were able to take classes from all different realms of the university. And.

• 8:10Jonathan Fields?

  So what'd you make up?

• 8:11Speaker 00

  I studied.

• 8:14Speaker 00

  The social construction of reality, that was my senior thesis. So I took classes in politics and English. I took classes in the business school. I took classes, you know, I knew I was going to be going to law school. And the greatest advice my father gave me at that time was, study what you're interested in because you're going to learn how to be a lawyer when you're a lawyer. And they're going to teach you things in law school that are relevant to that canon, right? So do things that you're interested in. And I didn't want to be just a strict English major or econ major or politics major. I was like, shoot, if NYU has this offering, I'm going to take advantage and I'm just going to like, let my creativity fly. And thankfully, that's exactly what I was supported in that pursuit.

• 8:51Jonathan Fields?

  That's amazing. So you kind of knew going into that, though, that you were tracking to law school?

• 8:55Speaker 00

  No, I knew since I was 10 years old that I wanted to go to law school.

• 8:58Jonathan Fields?

  What happened at 10?

• 8:59Speaker 00

  I think, so honestly, I remember watching my dad grade. He is a part-time professor at Temple University Law School at the time, teaching real estate. And I remember, this is back when law students still had exams in blue books.

• 9:12Jonathan Fields?

  I'm raising my hand. I wrote so many blue books.

• 9:15Speaker 00

  So he, I remember him grading exams in blue books. And I remember being fascinated by like, how do you fill all those pages with a thought? You know, and at 10, I was like, am I ever going to have that many thoughts? You know, so I think it was just this understanding of like, that's a challenge. I think I could be up for that challenge. And I just always had it in my head that I would be a lawyer.

• 9:37Jonathan Fields?

  Ah, that's amazing. So you ended up going to NYU, but before you head to Nova, I guess it was your senior year at NYU where?

• 9:44Speaker 00

  Yes, approaching my senior year.

• 9:45Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, where you got involved in something that was pretty horrifying in these days.

• 9:50Speaker 00

  Yeah, I was, I was out with friends and in walks into the wine bar we were at. It was like a ball, amazing Friday night in New York City. The weather is good, like people got out of work early. Like, there's just such a vibe in New York City in the summer. And then unexpectedly, a man walks in with a gun and proceeds to hold the entire bar hostage. I mean, it really was like, as many times as I've told this story, when I look at the mental movie in my head, it's, it's in slow motion. So when I replay this, it's in slow motion. And I can literally see him walking in and brandishing the gun and grabbing me by my hair.

• 10:31Speaker 00

  I mean, I had clumps of hair ripped out from my head because he grabbed me so forcefully. And it was in this two-hour period that

• 10:41Speaker 00

  I had an acute understanding of my own, like, the inner transcript of my own inner monologue, or the transcript of my inner monologue, as well as, again, agency.

• 10:53Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, what, so, he comes in, he's brandishing a gun, he grabs you.

• 10:58Speaker 00

  I was, happened to be sitting at the stool closest to the entrance, and it's, it's still there in the East Village. And he, he grabbed me, and he said, "People are gonna be leaving in body bags."

• 11:11Speaker 00

  That, I mean, I was like, okay, this is, I, I, I always refer to it as time slowing down, like, really, like, I think, um, oftentimes when we experience trauma, we remember it in a myriad of ways, but, um, for me, it's almost like, when you're in a car and you have a fender bender, like, even those things I remember in slow motion, and this is, like, obviously, one of the most transformative, if not the most transformative, things in my life. So, um, yeah, so he, he, he basically, people who were at the bar went one of two ways. The other went straight back, which is the dead-end kitchen, which is basically a wash basin in a closet, or they may, went right, and they were able to exit out of a window in the bathroom.

• 11:57Speaker 00

  And I had nowhere to go, because I was with him, but my friends who were with me made it out of the bathroom. And then about 20 of us were dead, were in a dead end in this, in this wash basin kitchen area.

• 12:10Jonathan Fields?

  So what's going through your mind? If, I mean, things are happening in slow motion there. You're in a dead-end area with this guy.

• 12:15Speaker 00

  So, he hands me garbage, he, he shoves me to the ground and hands me garbage bag ties, and has, and tells me to tie people up. They were the kind of sliding garbage bag ties. And, um, I remember thinking, "I need to do what he's saying, so I don't die, but I also want us to be able to get out of these hand ties." So I remember doing them just loose enough.

• 12:41Speaker 00

  I don't even know how I was physically able to do it because I'm sure I was trembling or shaking. But yeah, so I did what he said. And then he proceeded to spray us with a flammable liquid. It smelled like kerosene or gasoline. And I remember the cut in my head burning so much. And I was just like, oh, wow, this is like, he really wants us to die. Because he started flicking a barbecue lighter above our heads. Then he grabs me and says, you're coming with me. And I was his human shield. He literally just held me in front of his body and then kind of showed me to the NYPD who are now outside of the

• 13:20Speaker 00

  bar. And so there was probably like, I don't know, a corridor length between the front door at Second or Third Avenue, I'm forgetting exactly where the front face of the bar is, and then where we were in the kitchen. And it was like, he would show me to the NYPD, and then he would close the swinging doors into the kitchen area. And that was it. Like, I was just like, okay, is this really like, the last chapter? Like, I don't believe this is the last chapter of my life. And for some reason, in that moment, I realized I have to humanize the situation. Because he was spewing all kinds of vitriol, and he was, a lot of times unintelligible and definitely angry. But it was also, then

• 14:02Speaker 00

  he started talking about his children. And I was like, okay, like, let's talk about the family angle. Like, maybe there's something. And I mentioned, like, there are people in here, they have families too. Like, what is it that you want? What is it that you want to get out of this? And I became this like, pseudo-negotiator at 20, having no idea what I was doing. But I was like, he needs to know that these people are humans too. And somehow, that let the conversation go on long enough for him. I don't know. I just wanted to like, keep the clock going. Like, how long can I keep the clock going until this ends?

• 14:34Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. How do you get out of it as it ends?

• 14:37Speaker 00

  So it ends. Thankfully, it ends with nobody dying. So that's that's a huge plus. So really, really brave woman named Ann-Margaret Gidley. She was sitting kind of in elevated in one of the wash basins. A lot of folks were on the floor, but she happened to be seated seated in a wash basin. And she saw that the perpetrator was struggling with holding me, holding the gun, holding a barbecue lighter, holding my cellphone, which he which he asked to use. And we were on the phone with 911. It was like, just really kind of chaotic. But she noticed when he would holster the gun in his in his jeans. And at one moment, when she saw him holster the gun in his jeans, she leapt and leapt him from behind.

• 15:21Speaker 00

  And then, I think a few folks, my back was turned. So I didn't see this, but I felt the sensation of falling. And then the NYPD entered. And that's that's when it was over. So, um, yeah, I have. It's crazy because it happened so long ago, but it really does feel like it happened yesterday.

• 15:40Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I think when something like that happens, I mean, it's like, I think it's always just beneath the surface. This was also, so you were talking New York City. This is 2002, 2003?

• 15:50Speaker 00

  This would have been 2002 because it was the summer before my senior year and I graduated in 2003, that May.

• 15:58Jonathan Fields?

  OK, so then with that timing, you would have been in New York the year before for 9/11 also.

• 16:04Speaker 00

  Mm hmm. Oh, yeah.

• 16:06Jonathan Fields?

  So this is, I mean, this alone is like seriously traumatic. I'm assuming being in college downtown on 9/11 for you

• 16:15Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 16:15Jonathan Fields?

  was pretty traumatic as well.

• 16:17Speaker 00

  Yeah, it was. And I it and I worked downtown at a law firm. I was serving as like a legal assistant. And I lived just below, like after 9/11, below 14th Street. It was like.

• 16:30Speaker 00

  It was total, I mean, nobody could even walk. It was like a war zone and they had it blocked off and you could only go down there if you showed proof of your address. I remember like the local like Union Square movie theaters were like playing free movies and people were just walking around like looking for any kind of connection, like anything.

• 16:44Jonathan Fields?

  Anything.

• 16:44Speaker 00

  Just any kind of connection. Um, and yeah, so I don't have, I've never even made that, I haven't even put two and two together that like as a young person, that's kind of a lot to go through within, you know, a span of 18 months.

• 16:59Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I mean, it's like these two life altering traumas are like stacking one on top of each other. So how do you emerge out of that like physically unharmed, but psychologically and emotionally?

• 17:10Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's, it's interesting. Like you wake up the next day and you look down and you're like, well, I've got all my limbs, I'm good. And um, NYU was really supportive. They immediately offered anything I would needed, free therapy, whatever it is. And I went to talk therapy and I just, I talked it out and I had no issue talking it out. But um, and I knew I wanted to finish school and I wanted to stay in New York and I remember just needing to like choose fear or like a greater faith. And I'm like, I have faith that I'm supposed to be here for a reason. Like, I'm just gonna keep doing what I do every day. But it wasn't really until I was in, and I was so in the throes of like getting ready for law school and you know, I was busy, right?

• 17:55Speaker 00

  So it's easy to kind of compartmentalize it. And it wasn't until I was really dealing with the stress of law school that I was like, oh, like I'm just beaten down. And I knew it wasn't just because of law school. And I looked at a pair of shoes, I don't even know if they were running shoes, in my closet and I just said like, maybe I'm just gonna jog to campus today. And I've never had the impulse to jog. I literally, my mom, I think my mom hates when I tell this story, but as a physician, I used to like sneak off and take a um, a script from her pad and write notes to get out of gym class, like totally illegal, but I was that, I had such a fear of physical activity because I told myself, you're not an athlete, you're gonna be picked last, you can't run, I got made fun of.

• 18:39Speaker 00

  Ironic, I got made fun of by a kid when I was like ten in gym class for the way I ran. So I always told myself, like, don't embarrass yourself, like, just don't even show up. So that was a very odd thought for me to think, let me just put these shoes on and run to class. But I did, and I just kept doing it. And I felt like, oh, I'm physically running it out, like, as the stronger I physically feel, I'm gaining a little bit of my power back. And I never before equated power, feeling powerful, with a physical understanding of like, space and movement. And that was a really big lightbulb moment for me.

• 19:20Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I mean, and it's also that, because you're essentially, it's like you're running the trauma out of your body at the same time. I mean, on the one hand, you're running into like a place of power.

• 19:29Speaker 00

  No, I was running it out.

• 19:30Jonathan Fields?

  Right, you're processing out of your body. And it's like, when you look at all the latest research that I've seen on PTSD, like, so much of the therapeutic world around that is coming around to the idea that like, we can't actually just treat the mind alone. Like, the body, it becomes traumatic, it becomes so physically embodied.

• 19:47Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 19:47Jonathan Fields?

  That like, you've got to actually add some level of physicality to it if you really want to process it.

• 19:52Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah, I'm a firm believer of that. And I don't think one, I could have done one without the other. Like, I think it was the right path. I think for a year, I just like, I was like, how many more times can I talk about this story? And then finally, I was like, well, I clearly, I'm like, I've got a heavy physical internal weight that I just need to start to like, chip away at. And that's what the runs did for me.

• 20:12Jonathan Fields?

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• 20:55Jonathan Fields?

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• 21:39Jonathan Fields?

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• 22:24Jonathan Fields?

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• 23:26Jonathan Fields?

  So the first time you lace up your shoes.

• 23:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 23:29Jonathan Fields?

  Having like really basically never moved your body.

• 23:31Speaker 00

  Yeah, like, yeah.

• 23:32Jonathan Fields?

  And then also, like, I've been through law school. I know what happens in law school. Like, you're just nonstop, heads down, like, basically, everything gets shut down. You put on your shoes and you run. Like, what's the physical sensation for you the first time you're actually like, I'm gonna go and just run?

• 23:47Speaker 00

  Um, I'm pretty sure it was like horrible.

• 23:51Jonathan Fields?

  Right.

• 23:51Speaker 00

  I think it was pretty horrible.

• 23:54Jonathan Fields?

  You know, that's hard.

• 23:55Speaker 00

  But you know it was out of necessity, and I think that's why, first of all, in terms of time management, I'm like, well, I could drive two miles or I could just try to jog it, right? And so for me, it was like, okay, well, this is practical because I'll still get there and I'll get my exercise. I don't have to carve out another 30 minutes of my day to work out. Not that I really was doing that anyway at the time. It was out of necessity because I was like, all right, well, I don't have a car. And this was like really before like apps and Ubers and you could just hail, like, you know, I was, this was in the suburbs that I grew, I went to Villanova. So this was Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, like, you don't, there's trains and stuff, but like, it wasn't really that easy to get around if you didn't have a car. And so, yeah, there was a practical omen, like, well, I've made it halfway, I better, I better get to class.

• 24:36Jonathan Fields?

  That's too funny. Did you have books like in the bag with you?

• 24:39Speaker 00

  I would leave my books. So I would either leave my books in the locker or have a friend take them.

• 24:46Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. So you start doing this, I mean, after the first time, did you know after that very first time that something had switched for you? Or was it just like you did it once, whatever, and then for some reason you kept going back to it?

• 25:00Speaker 00

  I think it was, um, I remember depositing a check at the bank and seeing a flyer for a 10K that happened to be the next morning. I didn't know what 10, how far 10K was. And again, I didn't have a smartphone, so I wasn't like, I was like, 10K, I don't know, whatever that is, I'll do it. Um, so I didn't look up the distance and mileage and not, I don't even think I would have understood in mileage, like what that even feels like, because you don't know what it feels like to run 6.1 miles until you do it. And I did it and it was really tough and I vowed that it would never be that tough again. So that was the kind of, then I had a goal anchored to the, to the experience. Then I was like, okay, now I know, I can physically do this. There's a distance and a time element. How can I play with that to make it, to maintain this momentum?

• 25:47Jonathan Fields?

  So you made the vow, it's never going to be this hard again. A lot of people will do that and they make the vow, I'm never going to do this again.

• 25:54Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 25:55Jonathan Fields?

  So my curiosity, like what happens in your mind that's so different than other people's minds that makes you say, huh, that was really hard. It didn't feel good, but it's gonna happen again and it can't feel the same way. Instead of, okay, check that box, that was brutal, never again.

• 26:11Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's so interesting. I think, um, I really associate discomfort with pride.

• 26:17Jonathan Fields?

  Huh. What's that from?

• 26:20Speaker 00

  I don't know. I, I just, I really feel, I think like I loved law school. Like I loved just being like, okay, you have like 500 pages to read tonight. Like, like not from a place of suffering or this kind of like martyrdom, but it's like, how, I, I love that sense of being gritty and feeling like, how are you going to rise above this? And how are you going to rise above this? And how are you going to rise above this? Um, and it was a unique experience because I actually hadn't had, like I knew how to, I knew how to be academic. I knew how to go and read and study for a test and write a paper. And this was really brand new. I'm like, I don't know how to do this. Like, and not in a, necessarily in a learned skill. Like, of course, if you don't learn how to play the violin, you're not going to play the violin. But this was like something really innate.

• 27:04Speaker 00

  Like you put one foot in front of the other and the simplicity of it was actually fascinating. Cause I'm like, I can't do this well, but it's also something I've been doing, walking around the world my whole life. So that kind, I think the simplicity of, of running allowed me to enter it in a way that was like.

• 27:22Speaker 00

  I'm just gonna own this in my way.

• 27:24Jonathan Fields?

  Hmm.

• 27:26Jonathan Fields?

  So what was that like? I mean.

• 27:28Speaker 00

  I mean, I needed, so I felt still intimidated by the running community. I wasn't a track star and I, you know, I saw people at these races with all the, all fancy stuff and kidded out and, and, and I like the idea of representing, you know, I wanted to show up with like, wearing gold rings and black eyeliner and like, wearing what I wanted to wear, like representing what I wanted to represent, or how I thought I was having a visual conversation with the world. And thankfully, throughout my running journey, I was really welcomed when I came back to New York and I started practicing law, I was welcomed by, you know, a running group called the New York

• 28:09Speaker 00

  City Bridge Runners. And they are a really amazing cobbled together group of like DJs and artists and people who never went to college and people who are lawyers like me and then doctors and like, it was a mixed bag of, of mayhem. And I was like, I can get down with this because we can show up to races like whoever we want to be. And so can the person who, you know, is wearing the same kit from their high school track meet. Like, cool, live your life. That's awesome. But I hadn't really seen a lot of that. So the, so running is a lifestyle, running is kind of an expression of a lifestyle, really came into vogue when I started falling in love with running. And then I happened to meet people, others who were willing to express running as a lifestyle. And we would

• 28:53Speaker 00

  go on, on runs at nine, 10 PM and then go out to gallery openings and clubs and dinners. And it was just like, we were a crew, you know? And that, that really emboldened me to be like, I have a voice in this space. And that was powerful.

• 29:10Jonathan Fields?

  Did you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn't somehow stumbled upon Bridge Runners? But do you think you would still have, like, would this entire journey have been just radically different had that that discovery never happened?

• 29:23Speaker 00

  I think the path would have been really different, right? So I think if I would have joined maybe a more traditional running group, I don't know if I would have truly fallen in love with running the way I did. Because I happened to sign up for a half marathon, sign up for a marathon, simultaneously start to run with Bridge Runners, really feel like I could get into my own with using running not only as a tool, but also as potentially a profession. So I know that I would have been in fitness anyway, but I don't know what, I'm certain that the path would not have been what it has been, which is primarily running, then writing a book, and then, you know, ending up with cycling and Peloton.

• 30:01Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I mean, because you, like, the phrase running as a lifestyle is is really interesting, because that's been around in a lot of different ways for a long time. But it's like, I think, I often wonder that if you don't find, like, part of the lifestyle is the culture of, like, that you share with other people who are doing a similar thing. And if the huge part of the existing culture, when you step into something new like that, isn't something that vibes with you.

• 30:24Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:25Jonathan Fields?

  So you have two choices, well, three choices, either quit, or just do it solo, assimilate into that culture, or find or create your own group where, so it's not just you always running in isolation, it's you, like, okay, so there are people like me in this space who we can actually create like a family around.

• 30:43Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:44Jonathan Fields?

  And we can share the love of running and also the other, you know, sort of cultural identifiers and things that are meaningful to us about the way we want to live in the context of running and also the broader life. And it's like, the, I feel like a lot of times, it's, that is as important as the actual exercise modality in what keeps you in it.

• 31:04Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah, the, like, I mean, I think, I know, community is the linchpin to most movements. And certainly, like, nobody's had an actual movement, like, if you can find a community you feel proud of, you're much more likely to keep coming back.

• 31:20Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. So you end up coming back to New York, you discover Bridge Runners, at the same time you're starting your law career.

• 31:25Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 31:25Jonathan Fields?

  Right? New York City. Not the easiest place in the world to practice law. I practiced here also. And you end up in a giant firm also, which the reputation for a lot of big firms in New York is essentially, okay, welcome to the firm. Here's a giant paycheck. We'll take your life.

• 31:46Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 31:47Jonathan Fields?

  What was your experience working?

• 31:49Speaker 00

  I worked my ass off. But you know, I knew that going into it. I didn't, and thankfully, like, I was a young person. I didn't have kids, still don't have kids. You know, I was single. Like, I was like, I'm going all in. And I actually have extremely, there were lots of tough moments, but I, when I look at, when I look back at that, part of my story arc, I actually have really fond memories of the law firm. It wasn't my passion, and I know that now, but it felt good to be challenged in that way. Like, I liked, I liked the challenge of needing to suss out, like, even at the junior level, as a junior associate, you know, these day-to-day problems. And it was during subprime, and I was working on a lot

• 32:30Speaker 00

  of SEC cases. And like, I mean, it's just like, it's so hysterical, because I went to law school so I didn't have to do math. And every day, I was speaking with, like, forensic accountants. I'm like, what is happening? But, um, yeah, I mean, I left as a rising, I think, a rising seventh year. So, and I was a summer associate also at the same law firm, Paul Hastings. And, you know, so that's a big chunk of your twenties to give to a place. And I really had a lot of admiration for the people I worked with. But there was no way I was going to continue counting down the hours until I could have, like, my 30-minute run, or my loop around the park, or my meet-up with bridge runners. I was like, this is nonsense. Like, I am literally at the office all day, counting down to when I can put, when I could

• 33:13Speaker 00

  feel like I'm putting on my superhero cape to, like, do the thing I was meant to do. It was definitely a two-year slow process of my departure, because, like, I like running. Okay, lots of people like running. How the heck am I going to monetize this if I'm not going to be an actual competitive professional athlete, you know? So that was the conundrum.

• 33:32Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I mean, and it's so, it's funny, there's so many parallels. I started out the SEC.

• 33:39Speaker 00

  Okay, I know about your days, gosh.

• 33:41Jonathan Fields?

  Which was interesting. I was like on the other side, like the emails that you'd be sending and stuff like that. And we were enforcement division in New York, so we were like constantly investigating people like in cinder block rooms and under secrecy. And then I went to a large firm in Midtown doing securities work and had a similar Jones. I realized that I was physically kind of dying inside. And I, for me, like the wake up call was I ended an emergency surgery when my immune system shut down and

• 34:10Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh.

• 34:11Jonathan Fields?

  Things weren't good and thankfully everything was fine. So I had a faster transition after that because my body was literally rejecting my career. But for me also, I was a kid who was deeply fascinated with movement and I was a gymnast for the first half of my life. So one of the things that I, and this is my curiosity with you, I kind of knew, like, once I decided, okay, so I'm out. I also knew, okay, I've invested a lot of money, a lot of time in this. I have this powerful prestigious job, an insane paycheck. You know, for somebody that was my age back then. And stepping away from that, you know, there was a lot of internal judgment. And I knew I was about to get hit with a lot of external judgment too, especially to step into the world of, quote, fitness.

• 34:55Jonathan Fields?

  Where I think a lot of people in the professional world, they're like, you cannot do, like, you're, you have whatever one wants. Why would you ever do that? Did you have those sort of like inner dialogues, like when you were during that two year window? Or were you just like, no, this is gonna happen?

• 35:11Speaker 00

  You know, it's interesting, and I get that question a lot, and I think I just had myopic vision for figuring it out. So there were practical elements, right? So like, I lived in a walk up. My entire law career, I lived below my means. I didn't want anything fancy. I didn't want to be saddled with a mortgage I couldn't afford. I didn't, I was just like, I'm gonna save, you know, live. I traveled a lot, you know, I lived. But I was like, I'm gonna make sure that I don't have to be at this job without having to ask for any support from my parents, which I never did. And so there was a practical element of like, how are you gonna pay your bills? How are you gonna pay your rent? How are you gonna live? Cool. So once I felt like I had that sorted enough, a little bit of runway, I took a leave of absence and I kind of started dabbling.

• 35:55Speaker 00

  But the, the external pressures.

• 36:00Speaker 00

  I think thankfully I was surrounded by people who were doing really unconventional things. Like when you're going on runs with graffiti artists and you know, occasional drug dealers and you know what I mean? Like these are people who are just like, living on their terms and good people, kind people. But like, they're doing their thing. And when you see that, it's almost like you can't be what you can't see. When you see somebody running literally to the beat of their own drum, you're like, how can I pave my own way? And thankfully, my family was really supportive. They always, first of all, like, you can't really, I'm not really one to receive a no very well. So I'm just gonna keep doing

• 36:39Speaker 00

  it, you know? And my family really trusted my instincts and my preparedness. But the, yeah, there was definitely a question mark of like, you're doing what? You're gonna go do like, I don't get it. Are you a blogger? Like, what do you do? You know? And a lot of those people aren't in my life anymore. And some of them now are on the other side of the screen when I'm teaching a Peloton. And I'm just like, hey, nice to see you again.

• 37:07Jonathan Fields?

  Right, right. No, that's awesome. My first step out was as a personal trainer.

• 37:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:12Jonathan Fields?

  Learning the fitness industry because I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted, I wanted to know the, the industry and find out what was broken, how to fix it. And the big concern for me was like, I remember literally like running around Central Park with clients. And I'm like, what if one of my old, you know, like zillionaire clients from the law firm sees me in tights and ripped up old t-shirt, like stretching a client on the grass in Central Park. And I was like, okay, so there was like, there was just an ego thing that I had to kind of work through. But what's fascinating about you is like, it seems like you constantly put yourself in scenarios where you are presented with the hard path and the easy path. And whereas a lot of people would be like, ah,

• 37:53Jonathan Fields?

  I'm okay with the easy path. You look at the hard path and you're like, oh, I like hard. Like, I can, like, this is, it's an imitation to you. Rather than something that says, you know, like, no, go the other way.

• 38:05Speaker 00

  I feel, I find the difficult path, it beckons. It really just beckons. And I've always understood.

• 38:15Speaker 00

  Hmm, that you have to make it matter in order to make it happen. And I think I make the difficulty matter to me. So whether it's a tough training run or a tough business meeting, or you know, just even days where you're just like, ugh, what is the point of this? You know, you have to kind of remember. And for me, you know, I have, I really do fear mediocrity. Like I think about my legacy. Like, what do I want to be talking about when I'm 90? Like, I hope I have really amazing stories to tell and kids and grandkids to make proud. And, you know, you know, and my mother to honor and my father to honor. I mean, that stuff like matters to me in a very, very palpable way. So I've just made that part of my story matter. And it is such an overarching thing that sometimes that can be a little bit like vague and overwhelming.

• 39:00Speaker 00

  But for me and my micro decisions, I really do think about that. And then sometimes it's a practical element of like, listen, I have this race to run. Just go and do it. Right. So it's like, it's like, I think it's layered motivation and layered kind of a layered approach to constantly reigniting that fire and constantly flexing that willpower muscle. And then I have my priorities. I say no to a lot of stuff just so I can have bandwidth and energy and dedication to the difficult path. Cause you can't be everything to everyone and I'm okay with not being everything to everyone.

• 39:30Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. Do you feel like that the fact that it's hard is a big part of what makes it worth it?

• 39:35Speaker 00

  Oh, my God, yes. I mean, if things were handed out, if running a marathon were truly, truly easy and, and you polled people and they were like, yeah, 26.2 miles, no biggie. And you get the medal, do you feel as proud? Or do you treat it like a pressure, you know, diamonds are on every block on the street in New York City, would they be as valuable? No. It's like you gotta, you have to earn your value. And I think that there is some kind of the currency of like energy and hustle and sweat and grit. Like I talk about being. Kings and queens, you know, and, and, and this kind of regal narrative of like stepping into your power and like not letting your crown slip.

• 40:18Speaker 00

  I firmly believe the jewels of my crown are made of grit and hustle and sweat. And that is because I know that journey, I know that path, it will always be worthwhile to me. Um, and even the missteps and even the failures are just feedback.

• 40:33Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. I mean, it's like the power of the long cut, you know, I think so many people just wake up in the morning and they're like, what's the shortcut that gets me from here to there? You know, and even if you find it, like some, a lot of times you don't, but sometimes you do. And, but then you get there and you're like, oh, well, that doesn't actually feel the way I thought it would feel. It's like, it's the long cut. It's like the doing the hard work. It's the putting your head down when it really sucks and, and staying in it, you know, not to the point where it becomes destructive, but it's the fact that you endured that, you know, and then you rose through it. That like, to me, that's always, that's what makes the outcome worth it at the end. So it's like, if somebody just showed up one day and said, okay, so here it is, like here's the answer, or here's the end, you know, you can check that box and move on.

• 41:18Jonathan Fields?

  It's kind of like, okay, then it just doesn't matter anymore, you know? But it's interesting because I don't, I think a lot of people don't look at life that way. They're constantly like, what's the fastest, easiest path to get there? Not realizing that there ain't going to feel the way you think it's going to feel unless you've earned your way there.

• 41:37Speaker 00

  And it's, yeah, and it's so ephemeral, right? So like, I think we look at life as being punctuated by these big achievements. So it's like, I'm getting this degree or marrying this partner and having this, whatever. And it's like, those may be moments fueled with pride and joy, but that is so fleeting. When you can start to find those little moments in the glimmers of all the everyday mundane stuff in the process, that's when you truly will achieve that, oh, that, that frequency. Like I just look at it like a, like a radio frequency. Like, how can you tune into that a little bit every day? Cause it's really like, you get your degree, how, how many people are still riding high from their college graduation day? Like, no, you don't even think about it anymore.

• 42:22Speaker 00

  You know what I mean? So these are just moments.

• 42:24Jonathan Fields?

  Oh, they gotta say in the law. Like, so many people point back to like whether they made law review. You're like 20 years ago, it's like top thing on the resume. It's a very, very strange, odd, weird thing.

• 42:39Jonathan Fields?

  And we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

• 42:43Jonathan Fields?

  Good Life Project is sponsored by Vinted. So here's a question that I have been sitting with. How many things in your closet were bought for, let's say, a version of you who never quite showed up? Maybe it's the tailored jacket for the dinners you were gonna go to, or someday pieces with the tag still on them. They're lovely clothes. They're just not yours anymore. That's where Vinted comes in. So Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where everyday people sell the clothes that they're not wearing to people who actually will. Listing on Vinted is quick and simple. You take a few photos, write a short description, and you're done. Once something sells, Vinted creates the prepaid shipping label for you. There are also no seller fees on Vinted, so whatever your piece sells for, you keep.

• 43:26Jonathan Fields?

  What I love about that is how it turns letting go into something that actually feels good. You get more room, a little extra money, and maybe a closet that reflects who you are right now. So see what's hiding in your closet. You might be surprised how much you can earn with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free and start listing with no seller fees, so you keep everything you earn. Good Life Project is sponsored by Bombas. So my wife Stephanie has been one of the great gift givers in our family. And her secret is that the best gifts often aren't the flashy ones. They're the ones that people reach for on any given day without even thinking about it. That's why so much of my list ends up at Bombas. Fuzzy Sunday slippers for the friend who lives in sweatpants from November to March.

• 44:07Jonathan Fields?

  Merino wool and cashmere blend socks for anyone who runs cold. That would be me, by the way. Ski and running socks for the ones who refuse to slow down. Also me, by the way. And water-resistant suede booties. So cushy. My executive producer Lindsay actually more or less lives in hers. And here's what else makes it a good life kind of gift. For every item you purchase, Bombas donates an essential clothing item to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased, one donated. Over 200 million donations and counting, so every gift you give is really two. So head over to bombas.com/goodlife and use the code GOODLIFE for 20% off your first purchase. That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash goodlife. Code GOODLIFE at checkout.

• 44:51Jonathan Fields?

  This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Ah, fall, that cozy season where we swap the swimwear for sweaters and sunnies for scars. But before the Halloween decorations are put away or Thanksgiving table has been set, there's already holly jolly music playing in the grocery store, reminding you that the year is coming to a close. Time to kick end of year into high gear. When you use Apple Card with Apple Pay, you earn 2% daily cash back on all purchases, including food, decorations, gifts, and more. Get a head start on your end of year purchases. Apply for your Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone today and start using it right away with Apple Pay.

• 45:33Jonathan Fields?

  Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. So you got to a point where you're like, okay, I'm at the end of my two years. I'm done. I'm out. Movement, exercise, fitness.

• 45:49Speaker 00

  Seven years.

• 45:50Jonathan Fields?

  Seven years. Right. But then there's like the two year window.

• 45:53Speaker 00

  Oh, right.

• 45:54Jonathan Fields?

  Kind of thinking, okay, so how do I, how do I make this transition? What's the first step out for you? What do you actually do?

• 45:58Speaker 00

  So I, I kind of put one toe out or one foot out. I took a three month leave of absence unpaid, but I was still kind of on, on the books and still had my health insurance, which is a big deal at the time. And I, I traveled. I did a bunch of races and I kind of put my name out there. I was like, I want to be able to get paid to like do social media storytelling about running. I want to, you know, I would just talk to anyone who'd listen. And at the time, the running group, Bridge Runners, was doing a lot of work with Nike. So I had a lot of contacts there. And then it was, I was back at the law firm for a few months and it was just coming up on the eve of the.

• 46:42Speaker 00

  2012 London Olympic Games. And I had started previously, maybe a year or two prior, a blog, a Tumblr, to document my first marathon training. And it kind of got a little bit of traction. The name of the blog was Shut Up and Run. And I was like, maybe I should just go to the Games and like, quote unquote, "report" from the Games. And the law firm was like, we're not giving you another law, you know, leave absence, either you're in or you're out. So I was like, gosh, I guess I'm out. And that was when I was truly like, I ripped off the Band-Aid, no more income, you're living on your savings, you know, the big deal. And I bought a plane ticket that cost more than my rent at the time for my one-bedroom walk-up, cost more than my rent. And I just hustled.

• 47:22Speaker 00

  I hustled to get interviews, I hustled to get tickets, I just reported in my way, in my kind of like, on-the-ground way, when Instagram was just really getting kind of, I guess, big. That was my point of view. It was like, this is, this is the hustler's point of view of the London Olympic Games as a non-professional athlete. And that gave me a little bit of visibility into like, just unchecking the boxes and perhaps creating my own way to do things. And I also look at it as an example of doing your homework and being prepared for the phone call.

• 48:06Speaker 00

  Like, I often say, a lot of people like to talk about Oprah, the Beyoncés, or these iconic people that they would love to just like, meet or work with. And my follow-up question is, would you be prepared if Oprah called tomorrow? Like, are you ready? Are you ready to like, do the work and have the conversation? And like, are you ready to meet that greatness with your version of greatness? And I had read a lot about Mark Parker, the Nike CEO. And I happened to see him in London in a shoe store. And the only reason I recognized him or knew anything about him was because I had done my research. And we just got to talking and he was like, wow. He just approached me, he's like, you have a great sense of style, you should have a blog. And I was like, funny you ask, I do. And I gave him like, this cobbled-together business card.

• 48:51Speaker 00

  I don't even know what it was, you know, but it was just like a reminder of like, you've got to be prepared for the greatness that you're asking for. And then I just so happened that same in the London Olympic Games trip, I met someone who was working on the agency side where Nike Women was their client. And then I basically left London with a job to work for Nike Women on their social media campaigns. So I left London, I came home with a job, I came to New York City and I was like, wow, I'm working on at this agency, we're doing all this creative work. And it was at the agency about six months in that I realized, oh gosh, I still don't like this. I want to tell my own story. I want to be able to monetize that.

• 49:32Speaker 00

  So that second leap was actually much, much scarier because I thought I had my dream job and I didn't. And even working with one of the best brands in the world, I didn't want to be behind the scenes. I didn't want to be that, you know,

• 49:47Speaker 00

  behind the cloak of the great and powerful Oz. I wanted to be like out there doing the thing, like building, building the Yellow Brick Road.

• 49:53Jonathan Fields?

  You wanted to be Oz.

• 49:54Speaker 00

  Well, no, because Oz was an illusion, right? So like, but me, using that same analogy, I wanted to be like, building the road to the Emerald City, a real Emerald City. Not just this illusion of like, oh, you're writing tweets and it seems you, you're writing about female empowerment, but like you don't actually feel empowered because it's still behind the scenes.

• 50:20Jonathan Fields?

  Which is kind of interesting how it comes full circle to the major you created as an undergrad.

• 50:25Speaker 00

  Mm hmm, literally.

• 50:27Jonathan Fields?

  Literally building the Yellow Brick Road.

• 50:29Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 50:29Jonathan Fields?

  Sort of like you were doing, you spent four years fundamentally studying. How do you do that? Like, what are all the universes? Like, what are all the different domains? And how do they come together to help like somebody actually do that, to create that reality?

• 50:41Speaker 00

  Well, it, when I was in school, I loved studying like the different ways.

• 50:48Speaker 00

  The medium contributes to the message. I mean, it's like classic, classic McLuhan, Marshall McLuhan stuff. But you know, it's like with the printed page, we had linear thoughts, right? You know, with the bards, there were oral conversations. The stories were circular. So I really do think about that stuff and I'm like, what's contributing to how I'm perceiving this story right now? Like I really, I get meta and I get meta often. And at that point in my life, I'm like telling the story. Like I'm writing copy. Like I'm actually telling the story, but I'm the freaking story. Like the light bulb went off and I'm like, I could literally charge for my opinions as a consultant and be making more money and it would feel more true to who I am. And that's when things changed.

• 51:30Speaker 00

  I stopped accepting free shoes and I started charging an hourly rate for my ideas. And I had no idea what I was doing and I had no idea what to charge, but I had to just like take that second leap because that felt more true to the course I needed to take. And thankfully, social media actually had like, and still has like a currency of relevance. So without that, I would have been, I would have been in bad shape. But thankfully, it was, it was part of the time when, when Facebook and Twitter and Instagram were becoming like relevant marketing decks.

• 52:01Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. I mean, it's also you, you saw that, you know, like you actually had your finger on the pulse of the fact that these things were allowing you to be an entity unto yourself, to have direct access. You know, like both of the people who might pay you as a consultant for your ideas, for your thoughts, for your voice, and also directly to the people who you might go out and say, like, come along with me. Like, let's build this yellow brick road together.

• 52:25Speaker 00

  Yeah. I mean, that, that thing.

• 52:26Jonathan Fields?

  It's like it didn't just drop into your lap. You cultivated sort of like the fierce sense of observation to just constantly see what's coming. It's like you said, when you were in, at the Olympics and you bumped into the person from Nike, he used the phrase, just so happened.

• 52:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 52:43Jonathan Fields?

  It didn't just so happen.

• 52:44Speaker 00

  True.

• 52:45Jonathan Fields?

  You know, like, I gotta believe in your reality and the life that you create. Like, there's very little that just so happens. It's like you're constantly out there making it happen. And I think that's a huge difference. When you said, you know, like, when Oprah calls, when whoever that person is you want to call, like, are you gonna be ready?

• 53:04Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 53:05Jonathan Fields?

  You know, that's not about waiting for the phone to ring.

• 53:08Speaker 00

  Oh, no, for sure.

• 53:09Jonathan Fields?

  That's about what you do. That's about stepping out and saying, I am going to constantly be out there making things happen. It may not be the ultimate thing that I want to happen.

• 53:18Speaker 00

  Right.

• 53:19Jonathan Fields?

  But anything that I can grasp, I'm gonna push and make it happen. So when you finally step out completely on your own.

• 53:25Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 53:26Jonathan Fields?

  At this point, how does the world respond to that?

• 53:30Speaker 00

  Oh, gosh. You know, on the creative side, you know, related to kind of being consultants on photo shoots and things like that, that worked pretty well. And I was sometimes, you know, casting campaigns. But from the writing side, I also fashioned myself like this burgeoning journalist. And I was like, oh, I'm just gonna like, write for magazines who were having, obviously we all know, that industry has had a lot of pressure in the last 20 years, 10 years especially. So I would pitch these articles to editors who may or may not know who I am, definitely probably didn't know who I was, and, you know, get quoted rates and stuff and be like, my jaw was just on the floor. I was like, oh, so this isn't like, you know, that was a rude awakening, a necessary awakening.

• 54:15Speaker 00

  And, but I just kept writing, and I just kept writing, and I just kept focusing on the ways, the things that I, I always say this in training, focus on what you can control. I was like, I can write at a laptop, I can keep pitching. And that process of like, writing and pitching and keep creating and writing and pitching, even though a lot of times I was told no, and it never actually got to, you know, an engagement with the magazine, at least I was like, constantly trying to understand the pulse of the industry and what people wanted to talk about. And then I would use my own blog and social media to engage in those conversations. Then my following grew, and then my presence grew. And so it was like, I channeled the no's into the only things I can control, which were like, my own platforms, my own yeses. And then finally, things, people started piping up and paying attention.

• 54:59Speaker 00

  And then, out of really...

• 55:03Speaker 00

  Kind of boredom, I decided, I just want to start teaching at my local spin studio because I love spin. And I had already my certification from when I was a lawyer because I just wanted to geek out on like the science of, you know, the conditioning of it, the science of conditioning. And that just really started because I was like, I have gaps in my day. This doesn't make sense. Like, let me just keep doing it. Because it wasn't necessarily that it was very lucrative. I just wanted to do it. And thankfully, that, the people there, I didn't know how to teach. I couldn't read, I couldn't listen to beats. Like, there were, when people under, like, my friends remind me of that time in my life when I was trying to learn how to be a spin instructor. And they were like, oh, my gosh, you would come home just like drained and frustrated and

• 55:43Speaker 00

  not understanding how you passed the bar exam, but couldn't do this. You know, and I'm sure you have times when you were a personal trainer, you're like, how was I like a high-flying attorney and now I can't teach somebody how to do a push-up? You know, it's very humbling because of very different skill set. It requires precision and it requires hard work. So thankfully, the folks at that studio really, really took the time to teach me how to be a teacher and how to be an instructor. And I'm incredibly grateful for that time. And that is what then teed up, you know, me reading about John Foley and Peloton and reaching out directly and saying, I'm ready for this.

• 56:24Jonathan Fields?

  And actually, I want to talk more. I want to dive into Peloton as well. But along the way, you know, actually, one of the things we haven't really shared is like, you're deepening into your own fitness. You're running more and more and more. You're starting to run longer and longer races and ultra marathons. But at the same time, you also end up getting diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

• 56:41Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I mean, I kind of, I literally, not that I forget. I never forget. But yes, that's a very integral part to the story. I came home from India after a trip with my mother and my sister, and I was just so dehydrated. And I thought it was jet lag. I'm like, this is weird. And of course, my mother, as a physician, was like, we've got to get you blood work. This doesn't make sense. And I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. My pancreas produces little to no insulin. So I'm insulin dependent and I have technology now, thankfully, that helps me with that. But that, I was already running ultra marathons at the time. I was running Already running 50 milers and more. And I think I already, I think I had like a few races like in the next month after my diagnosis.

• 57:23Speaker 00

  And you know, the, the doctor pulls out this, I'm a plant-based athlete and this doctor pulls out this like food chart with like, this is how many ounces are in a glass of milk and stuff. And I was like, I couldn't, I was like both like horrified and incensed. I'm like, this is not the conversation we're having. How am I going to run a 50 mile marathon, ultra marathon in six weeks?

• 57:49Jonathan Fields?

  With diabetes one plant-based.

• 57:51Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah, all of it. And I'm like, I'm not changing course. We're just gonna have to figure out how this adapts to me. Thankfully, I think if I hadn't already been an athlete, it would have been a lot tougher because, you know, I wasn't, I didn't, not type one, because I wasn't healthy. You know what I mean? Like it was, it's, it's an autoimmune condition. So that was, and I was already very self-aware of like, when I eat something, how do I feel? What are my energy levels? Like truly like any biohacking, I was kind of already on that trend. So now I just like have to do it as part of my day-to-day self-care. But um, yeah, that was really tough. And it was tough because a lot of folks in the medical community, at least the ones I had access to at the time,

• 58:33Speaker 00

  they like, didn't really get it. They're like, oh yeah, I had a patient once who ran a half marathon. I'm like looking at them like, you don't, this is my freaking life. And then, and I'm way more intense than one half marathon. You know, I'm gonna keep doing this and do it aggressively. So it's like, I worked so hard to create myself into an athlete. I wasn't gonna let this derail me. So um,

• 58:55Jonathan Fields?

  So how do you find the team from there? Right? Like, cause it's, so you go to somebody like, you know, your person who's normally, they're great. They're smart, they're skilled, they're accomplished, they're a great physician or team.

• 59:06Speaker 00

  Oh, for sure.

• 59:06Jonathan Fields?

  Right. But at the same time, you're not the average patient.

• 59:10Speaker 00

  Correct. And they admitted that.

• 59:11Jonathan Fields?

  You are on the extreme of what anybody with even the best training in the world is used to dealing with and used to advising and being in partnership with as a healthcare provider. How do you then assemble? A person or a team who is down with taking this journey with you and capable of just adapting on the fly and being gritty on the level that you are.

• 59:33Speaker 00

  You know, it's still, it's still a work in progress, right? So I obviously I have like baseline medical care that I get and blood work and you check your A1C and all that kind of stuff. But a lot of it was like taking it into my own hands and trial and error. And, and people ask me all the time, like, I don't get it. Like, I can barely go on a 30 minute run. Like, how do you do five hours? I'm like, I take big risks. Like, I'm not saying people should do what I do, but I was willing to take big risks because it mattered so much to me that it was like, okay, do I like totally suspend my insulin? Do I not, you know, do I need, how much do I need to eat? Like, you just figure it out. I needed to do it on my own terms and take risks and I haven't been, you know, I haven't had any serious medical scares.

• 1:00:16Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. What's on the other side of that risk for you, though? Because for you to say, okay, so I take big risks. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna go out and go run five hours. What's it in the name of? Like, what in your mind, what are you gonna get? What are you gonna feel? What are you going to experience that in your mind is like, oh, hell, yeah, it's worth it?

• 1:00:35Speaker 00

  I don't want to be defined by a medical condition. I don't want to be defined by, for the same reason that I don't want to be only understood as a Latina or a vegan athlete or, you know, my title at Peloton or a global ambassador for Adidas. Like, I don't want to be known by any one of those things. I decide who I am. And when I can own my, my own agency and, and reaction to some of these risks that maybe sometimes they don't always go so well, when I can at least own that, I feel like I, I'm at least dictating the story and it's not being dictated to me. And that's always gonna be important to me because I, I don't need to live for somebody else's title.

• 1:01:20Speaker 00

  I create my own titles.

• 1:01:23Jonathan Fields?

  So Peloton.

• 1:01:26Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:01:28Jonathan Fields?

  You're managing all of this and this is just managing feels like it's it's like actually not even doing what you're doing service like that word that word isn't right like you're embracing it you're just sort of like fiercely immersed in this process and from your experience versus you know with indoor cycling how does Peloton happen?

• 1:01:49Speaker 00

  So I've read about Peloton at well I've read about Peloton's CEO.

• 1:01:52Jonathan Fields?

  First we should probably explain what Peloton is.

• 1:01:54Speaker 00

  Yeah, so Peloton is a is a company that offers fitness products, a bike, a tread, and a digital app that offers content married with the hardware where you have live cycling, tread, or strength classes, yoga classes, meditation that you can access right from the comfort of your living room or at the at the reach of your phone.

• 1:02:18Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, or if you are lucky to be in New York.

• 1:02:21Speaker 00

  Or if you're lucky you can come come down, come on down to the New York City Peloton studios.

• 1:02:25Jonathan Fields?

  So how do you get involved in that?

• 1:02:27Speaker 00

  I read about the company and and I thought this is genius this is this is you want to talk about story arc this is like scaling fitness and entertainment and technology in a way that's ever been done before obviously there's lots of where there even at the time there were a lot of digital plays for fitness and YouTube it was like a black hole of fitness but this was modern and sophisticated and I had at the time a vision board of brands that I like admired and respected and I wanted to work with and Apple was on there and I remember reading about Peloton and thinking and then even I think the moniker at the time was like Apple of fitness or Netflix of fitness and we've well exceeded that in terms of a

• 1:03:11Speaker 00

  definition that's kind of one note but at the time it was pretty accurate and I thought oh maybe there's synergy here so I at the we weren't this is before the studios were even built we were filming the the first bikes weren't even in homes yet like this was really nascent.

• 1:03:26Jonathan Fields?

  So when was this then?

• 1:03:27Speaker 00

  So this would have.

• 1:03:28Jonathan Fields?

  Five years ago or?

• 1:03:29Speaker 00

  Been five years ago yeah just over five and a half years ago so I started the company. Five years ago, February.

• 1:03:34Jonathan Fields?

  Right. So you were there like in the really, really early days then.

• 1:03:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, I mean, not as early as the co-founders. But like, yes, like this is after like the after they got some money. The bikes are being built and now it's the time to hire the talent. So I was, I think that's third instructor hired at the company. And we were cutting shows, you know, literally from a closet. We refer to it affectionately as the closet. And this was, there was 30 people in a room. It was the co-founders, I mean, the CTO, like our former chief information officer, Yoni Feng, used to cut my shows. I mean, now we hire folks, much more junior folks to do that. So it was just like an all hands on deck, like we're just gonna get this off the ground. So it was really cool. It was a really cool time. And I remember it fondly because we were and we're and still are like incredibly scrappy.

• 1:04:22Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, I mean, it's interesting also because if you zoom the lens out, what they're doing as a company, as a brand, fits your mentality about doing the hard thing.

• 1:04:31Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:04:31Jonathan Fields?

  Because they like the fitness space has been really interesting for a really long time and brutally hard. But there have been so many people who've come and tried to figure out. And for those who've never tried it all, so like there's this fantastic programming and you can do in your own home, but they've also produced a bike, you know, like their version of an indoor cycling bike that you get at home, which is, I've ridden pretty much every bike on the planet. This thing just destroys them. It is gorgeous.

• 1:04:55Speaker 00

  Yeah, thank you. It is the best.

• 1:04:58Jonathan Fields?

  So but what they did was they're like, people for years in the fitness world have been trying to figure out, how do we, how do we create a modality where people can do it at home that accommodates everybody? It's actually fun, engaging, interactive, reinforcing. And there's a piece of equipment that is, you know, like a real investment also that goes along with it. People have been trying to figure out to crack that nut for a long time and nobody's been able to. And it's always been considered in the industry, super hard. And then Peloton comes along and they're like, we're gonna crack that nut, you know? And it's almost like knowing that nobody's been able to do it yet. People have been trying for years, but if you can, you know, like this is like the definition of blue ocean, right?

• 1:05:41Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:05:41Jonathan Fields?

  You'll own that for a window of time. And it's interesting to me that. You were attracted to that brand.

• 1:05:48Speaker 00

  Oh, it was.

• 1:05:49Jonathan Fields?

  It so goes along with who you are.

• 1:05:52Speaker 00

  It definitely does, and I'm glad they also saw, um, saw the synergy. Cause um, they really accepted me with open arms. Yeah.

• 1:06:01Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah. So you've been um, rolling with them for five and a half years now. You wrote a book also.

• 1:06:06Speaker 00

  I did. Yeah, during this time I wrote a book.

• 1:06:08Jonathan Fields?

  Right, just, just because, you know. Sometime I got like free time, just hanging out, totally bored, nothing else going on. I think I'll write it, because how hard could that be, right?

• 1:06:20Jonathan Fields?

  Um, which also takes the name up, I guess, the original blog, right?

• 1:06:22Speaker 00

  Yes, it does.

• 1:06:23Jonathan Fields?

  Shut and run, right? So why this? Like with everything else that you have going on, right? With your fierce commitment also to movement, to being out there, to being super active. And especially like, so I'm a writer, I'm a couple of books in also. It is a notoriously.

• 1:06:38Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:06:39Jonathan Fields?

  You know, like sedentary pursuit for a fixed window of time.

• 1:06:42Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 1:06:43Jonathan Fields?

  Why that? Like, where does that fold into your master plan?

• 1:06:46Speaker 00

  Well, you know, I, when I left law, I did an honest assessment of my skill sets. And I'm like, I know how to write, I know how to speak, I know how to engage people, I know how to lead. And I always wanted to find ways to still honor that. Cause that was one of the, those were the things I loved about being a lawyer was, where I actually loved writing briefs and stuff, even if the topic was a little mundane. So when I was appro, I was approached by an agent, like, hey, would you consider putting together a book proposal? May, let's see if anybody writes. And it, it was a crazy summer because I was already teaching at Peloton full time. I was approached by this book publisher, put together a very traditional book proposal, but also with more imagery, because I knew that my book would kind of be

• 1:07:29Speaker 00

  part training manual, part my own story, mini memoir. And then um, you know, a visual representation of like how I pursue sport, which I think is a very central element to my brand. Sweating with swagger, I think, is not only the visual conversation you're having with the world, but like how you step into power in your own way. And for me, that's always been, there's a stylistic element to that. And um, so anyway, put together the book proposal and then National Geographic contacts me to go on this trek in, through the Serengeti in Tanzania. And this was literally all happening, like my book proposal was due and then I was leaving in two weeks. And this was the exact time, and thankfully, like, we had some, some folks who, who, some publishers

• 1:08:13Speaker 00

  who were interested in the book. And my agent was like, I'm just gonna have to like, suss this out while you're gone. So I was gonna be completely offline, like, living in Tanzania for six weeks. And I was like, okay, I trust you. And then I got back from the Serengeti, and I had a book deal. And they were like, you have a, till this, they were like, ta-da, welcome home. You have four months to do this. And I'm like, oh, okay. It's like, watch what you asked for. You better be ready. So, yeah, I had to just do it. You know, I had a deadline. I treated it like a finish line. It was like, every day, you just chip away, you do it, you do it, you do it. That was a fascinating experience, but a necessary one, because I was stretched. And I, you know, I look forward to being stretched more.

• 1:08:52Jonathan Fields?

  Well, I mean, the book itself is gorgeous. And it's so interesting, because, and now, actually, to know that you did that in four months is kind of mind blowing, because the average person takes a lot longer to write a book, just the words, just the manuscript. And what you created is this, like, it's like, it is so you. It's gritty, it's alive, it's like, energetic, it's beautiful, it's filled with motion and images. And it's almost like, like, it represents your entire ethos, which kind of like, takes it all the way back to when you started with Ridge Runners. You're like, you know what? The universe of running has a culture which is pretty well defined, right? But that's not you. And it almost feels like this is a flag in the sand that says, like, you can be like this, you can like this, this

• 1:09:35Jonathan Fields?

  can be your aesthetic, and this can still be for you. And everyone's invited to this party.

• 1:09:40Speaker 00

  Right. And, or not, you know what I mean? Like, I think it's a statement of saying, do you want to show up to that marathon rocking a red lip? Or not? Do it. You know? And I, and that was very important. And it was kind of a line in the sand. And it's, it's essential for us to show the ways we can show up. And I've always felt incredibly proud of knowing runners who were willing to kind of be the kooky ones, be the unconventional ones, sometimes the fastest, oftentimes not the fastest. And guess what? We're still doing the damn thing, and we'll see you at the finish line. And that emboldened, I think, an entire

• 1:10:23Speaker 00

  Pedigree, I guess, if you want to call it a runner, who's just like, I'm still gonna own this part of my journey, even if I'm this minute mile, or this minute mile, or wearing this, or owning that, or wearing, you know, I often show up to races in like crazy gold jewelry, and that just became like my thing. Like, I had this insane panther ring that I brought with me on the Serengeti, and that we, each person could bring one thing. Mine was the most impractical. But I had to, that was like my power source. So, um, I, I wanted to unpack and demystify running. It can be, it's only as complicated as you make it. And I want people to, I want to meet people where they are and welcome them in. And so that was incredibly central to my mission with the book.

• 1:11:08Jonathan Fields?

  Yeah, it's funny. One of the questions that popped into my mind was when, you know, when people think of you, what do you want them to think of? But immediately, I'm like, when I think of you, it's like, there's no one thing. It's almost like, it's like, there's a fierce rebel in there that says, I am like, I don't want them to think of, like, like, how do you even process that question?

• 1:11:35Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I do think about it in terms of like, I often think about like, what are my values? Which then, that then goes into what are my brand values? And how do you post responsibly and speak responsibly, right? So like, once you get a certain amount of shine, like, you gotta take responsibility for that shine. And, huh, like, I, I know I live via hustler's ethos. And like, that word hustle means a lot to me. And it means that you're gonna continue choosing the sometimes, oftentimes harder, more difficult, uncomfortable path. I

• 1:12:15Speaker 00

  Also want to be, in a lot, in a lot of senses, unapologetic about who I am, because that doesn't come, you know, sometimes that might come from a place of ego. But really, I feel like I'm blazing sometimes a path for others to be like, you know what, like, she did that, and she asked for a raise? I'm gonna do that, too. Like, yes, let's talk about it more. Let's talk about more, about knowing our value and adding tax and illuminating each other's amazingness. Because I don't think we do it enough. Because I think, you know, the most simple example I use is if you see someone wearing, like, a wild outfit, and you're like, oh, I could never wear that. And then you look at him or her, and you think, oh, that's other. Like, why not you? That is the, that is the central question to my entire life,

• 1:13:00Speaker 00

  is like, why not me? Why not me? And that is what I propose to people, like, why not you? To be that person that you are admiring and maybe even a little jealous of? Because that means you care.

• 1:13:13Jonathan Fields?

  It feels a good place for us to start a full circle, too.

• 1:13:17Jonathan Fields?

  It's like we're getting right into the philosophy. So we're hanging out here in this container in the studio of Good Life Project. So if I offer up the phrase, "to live a good life," what comes up?

• 1:13:26Speaker 00

  Ooh, to live a good life is to tell stories in your final years that you're incredibly proud of.

• 1:13:38Jonathan Fields?

  Thank you.

• 1:13:42Jonathan Fields?

  If you love this episode, safe bet, you'll also love the conversation that we had with Rich Roll about making the journey from practicing law and dealing with addiction to becoming a sober ultra marathon entrepreneur and successful creator. You can find a link to that episode in the show notes. This episode of Good Life Project was produced by executive producers Lindsay Fox and me, Jonathan Fields. Editing help by Troy Young. Christopher Carter crafted our theme music. And of course, if you haven't already done so, please go ahead and follow Good Life Project in your favorite listening app, or on YouTube, too. If you found this conversation interesting or valuable and inspiring, chances are you did, because you're still listening here. Do me a personal favor, a seven-second favor, share it with Jonathan. Just one person. And if you want to share it with more, that's awesome, too.

• 1:14:27Jonathan Fields?

  But just one person even, then invite them to talk with you about what you've both discovered, to reconnect and explore ideas that really matter, because that's how we all come alive together. Until next time, I'm Jonathan Fields, signing off for Good Life Project.

• 1:14:47Jonathan Fields?

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