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

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

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

• 0:00Rich Roll?

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• 0:44Rich Roll?

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• 1:04Josh LaJaunie?

  Fixing the way I thought about myself and what is possible changed my life, more than plants, more than running, more than any of these things. It's what went on inside my mind.

• 1:17Rich Roll?

  That's Josh LaJohny, this week, on the Rich Roll Podcast.

• 1:34Rich Roll?

  Hey, everybody. Welcome to the big show, where each week I probe the intellect and the spirit of the best and the brightest in health and wellness and fitness and diet and excellence and all kinds of other cool stuff to help you live and be better, to push you and me to unlock and unleash our collective best, most authentic versions of ourselves. My name is Rich Roll. I'm the host guy behind the microphone. Welcome. Thank you for dropping by. Thanks for subscribing to the show on iTunes. Thank you for clicking through the Amazon banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. Can you guys hear all that noise out there? All the honking and the sirens and stuff? I'm not in the garage. This can only mean one thing: New York City, baby. I'm in New York City. I love it.

• 2:18Rich Roll?

  I'm here for like 11 days. The reason that I came here is I had an opportunity the other day to speak at Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Hall, perhaps the most storied, historic, famous auditorium in the world, if not the most, it's definitely up there. It was crazy, like, I'm reflecting back on it, it's just insane how life works, because if you had told me, I mean, certainly when you look back on the arc of my life, I mean, you know, 18 years ago, I was a hope to die drunk, the idea that I would be on stage at Carnegie Hall, I mean, you know, I was hoping to just stay alive. And even after Epic Five, Ultraman, writing my first book, if you had told me then that

• 3:02Rich Roll?

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

• 3:46Rich Roll?

  on the limitations that I impose upon myself, right? Because generally, I'm my own worst enemy. And I think that's an apropos theme for today's podcast and today's guest, Josh LaJohnnie. Josh LaJohnnie is an extraordinary individual, kind of an everyman hero, I suppose. He was back on, he was on the podcast originally in episode 63 back in December of 2013, if you have not listened to that, I strongly urge you go back and listen to it. To this day, after 151 episodes of the podcast, it is right up there on the top three or top five most popular, most downloaded episodes ever. And the reason for that is, everybody loves a great transformation story, and Josh is

• 4:30Rich Roll?

  not, you know, out like breaking world records, he's really an everyman guy, an average dude who overcame extraordinary obstacles in his path to not only lose 200 pounds and keep it off...

• 4:45Rich Roll?

  But to become an athlete, and he's like a beast of an athlete now. He's this super handsome Bradley Cooper looking dude. He's a runner, he's banging out marathons all the time. He's running ultras now, and it's a really amazing story. In addition, because he's just a beautiful guy with an amazing amount of charisma. And I just feel really bonded to him for some reason. Again, what's so amazing isn't just the 200-pound weight loss. It's how he did it. It's how he maintained it. And it's how he's transformed himself into not just a baller athlete, but a real evangelist for healthy living and plant-based nutrition. And on top of all of this, he did it. He accomplished all of this in what is literally a nutritional desert. Deep in the bayou of southern Louisiana.

• 5:30Rich Roll?

  There's no Whole Foods. There really aren't even any kind of nutritional role models that he could in-person look up to, in-person resources. This is a guy who basically was fed up with how he was living, how he was looking, how he was feeling, and he just made a decision to change. And he followed up that decision with consistent daily action. He just did it. And our first interview was on Skype. So I'd actually never met Josh in person until this event that I spoke at in Marshall, Texas. It's an event that I remember when I decided, or I agreed that I was gonna do it. And I emailed Josh and I said, when I realized that Marshall, Texas wasn't that far from where he lives in Louisiana. And I said, "Hey, man, I'm doing this thing. You gotta make the trip up.

• 6:13Rich Roll?

  You gotta drive up and we gotta hang out for the weekend." Sure enough, he was there. We got to hang out for like three days in person. And it was super cool. You know, I just feel really bonded to him, almost like he's my little brother from another mother. And I'm more impressed with him than ever after hanging out with him. And I'm just so happy to be able to sit down with him in real life and get to know him better and share that with you guys. So again, please listen to episode 67 if you haven't already. It's amazing. And this episode picks up right off where that one left off. And we're going to explore his continuing evolution as a runner, as a human, and as an inspiring example to all of us. And this is a conversation that's going to move you.

• 6:56Rich Roll?

  It will erase whatever obstacles and excuses you rely on that perpetuate your bad habits, that keep you stuck in reinforced denial. And by listening, my hope is that you'll realize that no matter what your circumstances or environment, that we all have the power to implement profound personal change beyond our collective imagination in miraculous and fantastic ways. So if I could go where I was once, just speaking at Carnegie Hall, and if Josh could lose 200 pounds and run ultra marathons, this should help you reflect and think on the limitations that you put on your life.

• 7:39Rich Roll?

  So let's get down with a man who calls himself a self avowed coon ass, and learn more about how he makes it happen, and how he's inspiring all of those in his community to live and be better. Enjoy.

• 7:58Rich Roll?

  Ride on, ride on, ride on.

• 8:01Rich Roll?

  A little bit different than last time, like you just said?

• 8:03Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it's a lot different.

• 8:04Rich Roll?

  I know. It's pretty awesome, though.

• 8:06Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it's cool to see you face to face.

• 8:08Rich Roll?

  I mean, you know, I thought, like, if I come to Marshall and I get one thing out of it, which is to connect with you in person, then it was a worthwhile trip. And I walk into the convention hall on Friday night, and you were the first person I saw. It was so great to finally meet you and give you a big hug, man. I'm glad it was caught on film. You gotta send me that picture.

• 8:33Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, I will, I will, I will.

• 8:36Rich Roll?

  And I don't know, man, I was trying to think. I don't know what it is about you, man. I just feel connected to you and your journey. And you know, your story is so extraordinary. And I was reflecting back on just that I just had this spontaneous desire when you sent me that tweet that I was like, it had to be two years ago or something like that about now.

• 8:55Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it's a little over a year. Yeah, yeah.

• 8:57Rich Roll?

  I was like, I gotta reach out to this guy. And I get, people send me tweets all the time, but there was something about yours. I'm like, man, I gotta get on this. Like, I remember just dialed you up onto the podcast.

• 9:07Josh LaJaunie?

  I need to get you a better after.

• 9:08Rich Roll?

  Almost, uh, yeah, yeah, I know. We'll get some new pictures for this one.

• 9:14Rich Roll?

  And kind of just dove into that podcast, not really knowing anything about you, other than like the little bit that you had on your website. And you know, usually like I prepare. And I was like, well, let's check this guy out. And that was such an amazing conversation, you know, and it really, uh, it really resonated with people, you know, and I say this all the time, that I really think that that, that is what, you know, has made this podcast special and distinct from some of the other ones out there. Because as fun as it is to have people like Dean Harnaz is on and people that you know, you're gonna get a lot of downloads, you know, that kind of stuff. It's, uh, it's guys like you that really like move my heart, man. And your story just touched

• 9:56Rich Roll?

  me. And I, ever since that moment, even, you know, we've been following each other. It's not like we talk on the phone or anything like that. But I've been like very emotionally invested in your journey.

• 10:05Josh LaJaunie?

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

• 10:31Rich Roll?

  Yeah, you are, man. Own it, brother.

• 10:34Josh LaJaunie?

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

• 10:47Rich Roll?

  That's cool.

• 10:49Josh LaJaunie?

  It really does.

• 10:49Rich Roll?

  That's cool. Well, yeah. It was really, it was a cool moment for me to be able to, you know, the podcast has grown considerably since then, but to be able to kind of introduce you to a bunch of people and share your story. And, you know, I'm sure a bunch of people like were starting, you know, like sending you emails or whatever.

• 11:06Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 11:06Rich Roll?

  And I'm glad that that's, you know, a little spark for you because I, you know, I think, I think, I mean, I haven't gone back and listened to that podcast, but from what I recall, I think I said something like, dude, you gotta step up, like you gotta, you gotta get out in front of people and start sharing this story because you can really help people.

• 11:21Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah. And I have, and, and I have, I've done that a couple of times. I get a little nervous standing in front of folks, you know, but.

• 11:28Rich Roll?

  Well, so do I. Everybody does, you know?

• 11:31Josh LaJaunie?

  But it's something that I don't shy from. When I'm asked, I'll definitely go. And it's, it's a new, it's, it's a new thing in the fold, you know?

• 11:41Rich Roll?

  It's good, man. Yeah. Was that cool that I like called you out today? Like I didn't want to embarrass you or anything like that.

• 11:47Josh LaJaunie?

  No, yeah. It was, it was actually, it was, it was very surreal. Like I was sitting there taking pictures of everyone's, you know, in posting as, as the speakers were, were, were up. And I was like a deer in the headlights. When you started talking about me, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't even think to grab my phone or take a picture. And I was just trying, honestly, trying not to like shed a tear, really? Cause that's, that's where I was emotionally at that moment. I was like, wow, this is where I am right now.

• 12:17Rich Roll?

  That's right.

• 12:18Josh LaJaunie?

  This is crazy.

• 12:19Rich Roll?

  It's cool. I mean, for the people listening, I gave a second talk, I gave my main talk on Friday night, but today's Saturday and I gave a second talk. And instead of, because I told my story, I was like, well, I want to tell a couple of other people's stories. So I kind of highlighted, you know, I showed some before and after pictures of you and I made you stand up.

• 12:38Josh LaJaunie?

  No, that, that.

• 12:39Rich Roll?

  And, and made the proclamation that you're going to be speaking at this event next year. And I think that's going to happen, man.

• 12:44Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, I am game. Yeah. 100% game.

• 12:48Rich Roll?

  That's cool. So for people that are new to the podcast, maybe didn't catch our, you know, I don't want to go back through the whole thing because they can go back and listen to that. But why don't we like quickly, you know, recap the journey, you know?

• 13:00Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 13:01Rich Roll?

  Like take us back a little bit.

• 13:02Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah. So essentially I am born and bred.

• 13:07Josh LaJaunie?

  Kunaas, I'm from Nabaia, that's, that's, that's where I grew up. Um, we do a lot of things. Um, that can really contribute to, you know, uh, uh, poor health and obesity and so that's essentially, long story short, that's what happened. Living my normal, typical, uh, Kunaas lifestyle.

• 13:27Rich Roll?

  Right. We're not talking about like a suburb of New Orleans. Like we're talking down south.

• 13:32Josh LaJaunie?

  We're talking about on Nabaia and, um, and we do things differently, uh, and, but we definitely, we party around food, we, we grieve around food, you know, um, everything, uh, revolves around food. It really does. We, we, we live to eat and we're, we're proud of it. And, um, I had gotten to a point to where I was very unhealthy and very unhappy with myself and very overweight. Um, and I was also educating myself, uh, at the same time at, at my very heaviest. I was in, in school as a non-traditional student and, and I was in my senior year. Now, the big thing was I was nervous about getting in

• 14:15Josh LaJaunie?

  front of people with a big giant belly and sweat on my brow because I'm big and heavy and hot and wearing a suit.

• 14:24Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 14:24Josh LaJaunie?

  And I was worried about that.

• 14:25Rich Roll?

  I mean, at your heaviest year, what, what are you topping out at?

• 14:29Josh LaJaunie?

  Four hundred at least, at least, four hundred. Um, and so I started trying to fix that, uh, my, uh, senior year, but before that, the big shaker, and you, and you brought that up today, which we didn't talk a whole bunch about it the last time, was, you know, I've been a Saints fan, like, since I can remember being able to realize what football was. And all my entire life, it's been just common knowledge that the Saints are never gonna win a Super Bowl.

• 15:02Josh LaJaunie?

  You know, it's just, that's just, you know, accepted. And here I am, I, my wife surprises me with season tickets in oh six for my birthday.

• 15:12Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 15:13Josh LaJaunie?

  So we go through a couple of seasons and then lo and behold, here we are oh nine as season ticket holders. And the Saints win a Super Bowl and it, it, it like completely shook what, what possible and impossible was inside my brain. It seems maybe trivial to some people that football plays such a huge role. Uh, but it does. It is important to me. And so I, I was compelled to read Coach's book after. So Sean Payton read a book about it. So that following summer, I read that book and he talked a lot about some of the walls that he ran into coming from up north

• 15:54Josh LaJaunie?

  down to South Louisiana to basically, you know, get people shit together and let's go do something.

• 16:02Rich Roll?

  Like culture clash, I mean.

• 16:03Josh LaJaunie?

  Right.

• 16:03Rich Roll?

  Like what, what's specific? What is it specifically about like Southern Louisiana?

• 16:07Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it's a little bit of

• 16:11Josh LaJaunie?

  we're kind of like laissez faire a little bit, kind of, you know, the, I think it's maybe that French lineage or something that just kind of, we're kind of not very specific about um, goals and, and these like, like what Coach was, Coach was trying to implement assist, like put a system in place to go get this specific thing, not win a playoff game. He wanted a championship and that mindset, like what didn't exist even in the fan base, like, oh, that's out of the question. We, I mean, what do that's a pipe dream. Right. Yeah. So Coach was like.

• 16:48Rich Roll?

  But the players aren't from Louisiana.

• 16:50Josh LaJaunie?

  That's, that's right. So, but, but a lot of the, the peripheries as far as office probably in personnel and those things, a lot of Louisiana people involved in it. And he, and, and basically he said a lot about, um, how.

• 17:05Josh LaJaunie?

  He heard this recurring theme of, well, that's just the way it is down here. And, and he really bucked up against that.

• 17:12Rich Roll?

  Right, like, man, slow down.

• 17:13Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, and that's exactly right.

• 17:15Rich Roll?

  Let me tell you, let me educate you about how we do things.

• 17:18Josh LaJaunie?

  This is how we're gonna do stuff down here. And, and no, he said, he said, absolutely not. This, and, um, and so he just basically completely changed the culture

• 17:29Josh LaJaunie?

  of, of the, the organization.

• 17:32Rich Roll?

  Right, from the inside out.

• 17:33Josh LaJaunie?

  From, from the inside out. And that was powerful. It was him and, and him and Mickey Loomis. It's a big deal. They, they've really done something amazing. So that shook me. I was like, Coach is right. Because here I am, wishing I wasn't fat, but that's just the way it is down here. Um, you know, I wish I could change it. I wish I could eat better. I wish I could do these things, but you know, we got Mardi Gras. You know?

• 18:00Rich Roll?

  What are you gonna do?

• 18:00Josh LaJaunie?

  What are you, what you gonna do? You know?

• 18:02Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 18:02Josh LaJaunie?

  Um, Christmas is right around the corner. What you gonna do? It's my mom, you know, it's my mom. We gotta, you gotta eat. And so that was the first thing that cracked the, you know, the whole, that, that's where, that's right. That's what started it.

• 18:17Rich Roll?

  It's so, it's so fascinating because usually it's more of an internal thing, like something happens to you personally. But your personal relationship with this football team is so strong that it almost was like you, you, right? Like, it's, it does seem trivial, but like, that passion runs deep.

• 18:34Josh LaJaunie?

  It runs deep and it's more than just football because it's the person.

• 18:37Rich Roll?

  You played football, just to be clear, yeah.

• 18:38Josh LaJaunie?

  I played football, but it's also nostalgia, like memories, things that I think of that were going on

• 18:49Josh LaJaunie?

  as I was watching a football game, you know, sitting with my dad or those, those types of things that I remember. Just don't even remember, um, like, why I was hollering and screaming, but I knew that my dad had jumped up off the sofa and he was jumping up and down and screaming and it was something good happened. So I would just mimic. And it's those little, like, it's so, it's not just football to me. It's all of these periphery things that took place around.

• 19:21Josh LaJaunie?

  This activity that sort of made it, you know, connect deep inside of me and it's a part of me still to this day. On game day, I'm a wreck, you know, every single game and this season was rough. It was a rough season, you know.

• 19:37Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it's a good thing you're not four hundred pounds now, right? You might have to wait a little longer.

• 19:42Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, there was a funny little side thing. When I, when we first got our season tickets, I was still a big giant person. And so we got to be really good friends with the people next to me because I basically shared like a quarter of her seat with her. And so, because I spilled over, you know. And, um, but what was really, what really sucked was there were times in the dome where say Drew would throw a bomb and everybody stands up. And I can't, I can't get up fast enough to see the receiver catch the ball. So I have to avert my eyes to the big screen in the dome. So I can watch the play come to fruition and looking back on it, that was, that was, that's sad, you know?

• 20:23Josh LaJaunie?

  That, that sucked. It was kind of embarrassing too, to not be able to get up out of your seat quickly.

• 20:28Rich Roll?

  Well, I would imagine that, you know, when you, when you weigh four hundred pounds, there's any number of indignities that you have to suffer. You know, I mean, the obvious ones like going on a plane and stuff like that.

• 20:37Josh LaJaunie?

  Some of the worst ones.

• 20:38Rich Roll?

  Little things that, you know, somebody of normal size never even thinks about that you kind of have to deal with. That, that kind of like stoked that like furnace of shame, you know, that you're private about and can't really talk about.

• 20:49Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, the things, yeah, the, the things like the airplane and the seats and all, you're, you're right. But the private things were ten times worse.

• 20:59Rich Roll?

  Like what?

• 20:59Josh LaJaunie?

  You could always laugh off like.

• 21:03Rich Roll?

  Yeah, you diffuse it like on an airplane.

• 21:05Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, ah, look how funny if that guy on airplane, you know? But it was things like, say, um.

• 21:13Josh LaJaunie?

  Putting on socks. That should be something a twenty something year old man should not have a problem with. But putting on socks, I would break a sweat after my shower, this is in literally. You don't understand this belly, you can't get to your feet very good at all. Or even grosser, ingrown hairs because you have skin touching on skin, right? And you have these weird gross, I mean, pus jewels that would grow from an ingrown hair. It's disgusting, but I would, you don't say, you, people don't see those. It's just me and myself in the mirror, being extremely unhappy about my physical condition.

• 21:55Josh LaJaunie?

  But on this, at the same time, being jovial Josh out, you know, putting that facade on.

• 22:00Rich Roll?

  Yeah, you gotta compensate, right? Yeah, you gotta compensate with personality. How does that, how did that work with, uh, with, with your wife? Cause you, you were pretty, you were big when you got married and you know, she obviously loves you, you know, just for who you are and all of that.

• 22:15Josh LaJaunie?

  I was on a, I was on a, uh, it was funny, I was on a weight loss stint when I met my wife. So I've, I've been up and down my whole life. So I was around two fifty when I met my wife. And, um, but she had known me for years, like just. You know, just loosely, we, we weren't friends really per se, we just knew each other. And, uh. So it was about, I was about two fifty when I met her and I just ballooned up to what you see in my wedding pictures. And she never wavered, she never, the only thing, cause she's, she's a nurse.

• 22:53Josh LaJaunie?

  And the only thing she would ever say was, was, you know, all I would ever worry about would be your health. I really don't care what size pants you wear, I don't care. How heavy you are, how many seat belts you need on the airplane, it never bothered her at all. But what did bother her was. My self deprecating. That that was more bothersome than physical appearance.

• 23:18Rich Roll?

  Yeah, the emotional, the emotional landscape that comes comes with that because you become so self defeating.

• 23:24Josh LaJaunie?

  Exactly. And cause, cause she's my most intimate partner. She's the person that sees the real me. And so a lot of times, you know, the, the big funny fat guy, Josh. Um, that person, that guy, that facade is gone and she gets to see the underbelly of the unhappy Josh.

• 23:46Rich Roll?

  Right. Like when the door is shut and it's just you and you're going to bed or whatever and you, you can turn that off.

• 23:51Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes.

• 23:51Rich Roll?

  And there's the real guy.

• 23:53Josh LaJaunie?

  Being able to change that about myself has been. I, I am more proud of that than any weight loss or in any race, honestly.

• 24:04Rich Roll?

  Did, did that require, I mean, did that, was that a byproduct of natural byproduct of losing the weight? And becoming an athlete? Or did you have to do additional work on that?

• 24:14Josh LaJaunie?

  I did therapy. I went, I went to therapy and I, I think more people should probably. That are wrestling with things. And actually the funny thing is that I didn't go until after I had started to lose a lot of weight. And I started realizing some things are, I need to deal with some stuff inside my, my brain, inside my head. And I don't know, I think more people should own up to that and be okay with it.

• 24:35Rich Roll?

  Right. How, how do people feel about that in the bayou going to therapy?

• 24:39Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, they feel how they feel, bro. I mean, you know?

• 24:42Rich Roll?

  Well, that's a good, that's a profound statement because I think that just what you just said, you know, they feel how they feel. Is, is, is really what's allowed you to be able to do what you.

• 24:51Josh LaJaunie?

  That's exactly right.

• 24:52Rich Roll?

  You got caught up in, in, you know, the chatter of what your friends and the people around you in your community would think. Uh, you would never have gotten off first base, right?

• 24:59Josh LaJaunie?

  I learned this real easy concept about how, about moving energy inside, you know? And I'd never, it sounds so hokey and weird and stupid when you're from where I'm from.

• 25:11Rich Roll?

  Dude, I live in California. You could, you know, you can, I'm with you.

• 25:14Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, I know. I know you're with me. I think that's probably why we get along all right, you know? But.

• 25:22Josh LaJaunie?

  I had never thought of it, thought of things, because I was talking to this guy about, you know, about being unhappy in certain ways and, and he had these exercises that he would just help me. Like, he said, what you need to understand is you're, you have the power to move energy where you want, but you have to just realize it. And so he helped me do a lot of these things. I mean,

• 25:49Rich Roll?

  Did he give you like specific tools to?

• 25:51Josh LaJaunie?

  Just some mantras and stuff that he would, I could, I can't remember them. I always have to go, would have to go to him to, you know, get the relief. And eventually it just was like, I get it. I get what he's telling me. And a lot of those things, to put it in a nutshell, where, hey dude, stop stressing about things that you have zero control over. And instead, all of that energy that you're using on these things you can't control, how about you pour them into the things that you can control? And that, that's it, in a nutshell. That's what I got from the whole exchange. And it was pretty profound and powerful for me.

• 26:31Rich Roll?

  Right. Alright, so it's 2009, 2010, they win the Super Bowl. You read the book, you're inspired, you have your line in the sand moment. I mean, was there a, like a crystallized moment where you're like, I'm, I'm doing this, like I'm, I'm taking the reins here? Or was it a gradual progression of just, you know, reading the book and, and like wrestling with this idea?

• 26:53Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, there was much wrestling, yeah. There was a lot of wrestling, but the, so the big broad idea of, hey, I'm gonna fix this. And I, and I, and I think I wrote about it in, in, in that first little blog post that I did.

• 27:08Rich Roll?

  Free Josh Leggero.

• 27:10Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, right, right.

• 27:11Rich Roll?

  The manifesto. I love that thing, man.

• 27:14Josh LaJaunie?

  So where I really, literally, and I'm not joking, I, I leaned into the mirror and I looked at myself. And I had never done this before in my life. And I was crying because I was disgusted with myself. I used to literally stand in front of my bathroom mirror and I would grab my belly with both arms. I would have a full, two arms full of belly. And my belly would hang over my arms such that I couldn't see my arms in the mirror. And I would cry. I'd just look at myself and like, How is this ever gonna go?

• 27:46Rich Roll?

  Yeah, how how old were you?

• 27:48Josh LaJaunie?

  Uh, say thirty-ish?

• 27:52Rich Roll?

  Uh huh. So give me, give me a, give me a brief flavor of, of the, the typical Bayou diet.

• 27:59Josh LaJaunie?

  Well, I am, I am blended between two very horribly eating cultures.

• 28:07Rich Roll?

  Which are?

• 28:08Josh LaJaunie?

  My, my dad is, I'm a Lojani, which we are from the Bay. We're from the swamp. My dad's family.

• 28:15Rich Roll?

  Bayou La Forge?

• 28:16Josh LaJaunie?

  Bayou La Fouche.

• 28:17Rich Roll?

  La Fouche?

• 28:18Josh LaJaunie?

  La Fouche. Um, but yeah, we, that's the Bayou that we, that's the Bayou that we're from. And that's the name of our parish is La Fouche Parish.

• 28:26Rich Roll?

  People speak French there?

• 28:27Josh LaJaunie?

  They do speak French there. Yes. So the older guys, still to this day, you can go to a gas station in Chag Bay if you're early in the morning. And you're gonna find a couple of old coon asses rattling off French next to the coffee pot guaranteed.

• 28:40Rich Roll?

  But like crazy French, right? Not like French?

• 28:42Josh LaJaunie?

  No, it's not. Right. It's a bastardized version of French, just like we speak a bastardized version of English, you know, kind of, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of differences. Um, but yeah, this is, this is, this is a coon ass French, Cajun French, you know? But yes, they do. My grandmother, actually, my dad's, my dad's grandmother, um, my Lojani family is from, from Chacahula. Which is, which is just a little dot on the map in the middle of swamp.

• 29:13Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 29:14Josh LaJaunie?

  And, uh, we would go visit her sometimes. This is great grandmother. We'd go visit her sometimes. And if she had friends over. There was no English being spoken in the house at all. It was all, there's just a bunch of old ladies speaking French. And it was so neat. It was, I, nobody would understand what they were saying, but you know, it was.

• 29:34Rich Roll?

  Like a French person might not even understand.

• 29:36Josh LaJaunie?

  No, not even, especially a French person, probably, yeah.

• 29:38Rich Roll?

  It's such a specific thing. So, alright, so that's your dad's side of the family.

• 29:43Josh LaJaunie?

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

• 29:49Rich Roll?

  Jambalaya, the.

• 29:50Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, all of that stuff. And the irony is, my mama's side of the family is from North Mississippi. Terrible eating also, but it's more, you know, fat back and chicken fried steak and those things.

• 30:03Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 30:03Josh LaJaunie?

  And so my mama's mama, my memaw, I called her, which is a weird thing for South Louisiana to call a grandmother a memaw. That's a Mississippi thing. So, but my memaw, which is my mama's mom, she fed the hell out of us, like, like crazy. My grandfather, who was my bam bam, he really adopted, alright. So I got a memaw and a bam bam, right? So my bam bam, he really adopted this South Louisiana culture. They moved here in like seventy five, okay? And he learned all of the gumbo's and the jambalayas and he learned how to make all of these things. And it was like a cool, new, like, look what I can do thing every time he would learn a new recipe.

• 30:45Josh LaJaunie?

  And it was like we made, we cooked all the time, sat in the kitchen, drank. He drank whiskey. I would fix his drinks for him and we cooked. That's how, that's how.

• 30:57Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 30:58Josh LaJaunie?

  That's how we existed.

• 30:59Rich Roll?

  Yeah, that was like the vortex of everything that was going on.

• 31:02Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. So I was steeped in this Bayou culture, but, but I was fed by North Mississippi folks.

• 31:10Rich Roll?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 31:11Josh LaJaunie?

  So it was double bad. It was really, it was, it was double bad.

• 31:15Rich Roll?

  If you, like, if somebody's listening from Australia, they don't know what's what from Louisiana. Like, how do you in a nutshell describe, like, Bayou culture or Southern Louisiana culture?

• 31:25Josh LaJaunie?

  We country folks. We just country, you know? We're far away from, things are changing now. Tibbito's growing and becoming more, you know, uh, modern, I'd say. But we're essentially just country folks and.

• 31:44Josh LaJaunie?

  Our, even our little speck of the country though is different from the rest of the country folks around, you know, our nation, as I'm sure is the same, I'm sure it's the same way in Australia and I'm sure they have little micro cultures.

• 32:00Rich Roll?

  But there's, I mean, it goes back to this idea that it's, that it is a really specific thing. I mean, it's not like, you know, you can go across America and you can get away from cities and they all have their specific, you know, idiosyncrasies, but there's something very distinct about some of these.

• 32:16Josh LaJaunie?

  Well, the very distinct, I think, has a lot to do with our French lineage and us being sort of outcasts from an original land. And I really think that that still bleeds through to our populace today. We were, the whole reason that the, of the, the French Canadians were in Canada in the first place is because they were, they were edgy, they were risk takers, they wanted to do something different. They said, they held with the status quo. They did all of these things. And then they were, they were, they were ejected from that land and scattered around and we have, you know, a pretty thick concentration of them.

• 32:57Rich Roll?

  Yeah, it's concentrated there. So there's this idea that like, you're kind of giving the Heisman of the outside world, like, you know, just don't tread on me. Like, we're doing our own thing down here.

• 33:05Josh LaJaunie?

  That's what so, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. And it, and it works to a detriment sometimes.

• 33:10Rich Roll?

  But it's preserve that culture. There's something beautiful about that.

• 33:13Josh LaJaunie?

  And I'm proud of it. Absolutely.

• 33:15Rich Roll?

  I mean, that's a big thing about you is that, you know, you're not, I mean, you embrace it completely. Like, you love your family and your community and you give back to them and, and that's obviously, you know, your heart is in that. It's a big point of pride for you.

• 33:29Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah. And a big development since the last time we spoke was my.

• 33:36Josh LaJaunie?

  Typical run group.

• 33:37Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm. Yeah, I want to hear about that.

• 33:40Josh LaJaunie?

  It it's it's amazing. It's it's it's it's just random, just like I was, you know. When you said you're on Instagram, you you believe, you know, I can't wait to meet you. And I was like, this is, this is, this is so crazy. And I and I.

• 33:57Rich Roll?

  You're you're why I came, dude.

• 33:59Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 34:00Rich Roll?

  When I when I agreed to do this event, the first thing I did is I emailed you because I was like Marshall Texas. Texas is a big state. It wasn't until I like looked on the map and I was like, oh, I fly into Shreveport. Wait a minute, let me look at this like, oh, that's not that far. And I emailed you immediately. And I was like, dude, you got to drive up. I gotta meet you.

• 34:16Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, yeah, I didn't take long to respond either. I was like, we were actually laying in bed and I told BJ, I was like, my wife, I was like, hey. And then she she's like, yeah.

• 34:26Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I'm bummed that she couldn't make it up. I would love to have met her.

• 34:29Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, yeah, she was too. She was. She was bummed.

• 34:32Rich Roll?

  So I want to hear about the the running group, but let's go. Let's go back to the the timeline a little bit. So so all right. So you're immersed in this. This mashup food culture that's that's blowing you up, blowing your family members up. I mean, you're.

• 34:44Josh LaJaunie?

  And the patriarch of our family was three hundred and eighty pounds my whole life as a kid growing up. My grandfather was pushing four hundred pounds. So that's the ideal man to me. And and my dad was really, really young when I was born. So my dad was spent most of his time working eighty, ninety hours, weeks, just keeping food on the table for his little micro family that he had started. So just by default, being the only, I was the first born. So until my brother came around, I was I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. So I spent most of my time with them and my Bam Bam was way on a pedestal, you know. And so if he's big guy, I want to be one too. And every I would get that reinforcement from family members like, oh, you're gonna be just like your Bam Bam.

• 35:30Josh LaJaunie?

  And I would get that all the time. So it felt like destiny to me.

• 35:33Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm. Mm hmm. So you have this moment, you know, you're grappling with this stuff and you make this decision that you're gonna, you're gonna start tackling this after you look in the mirror and you're, you've snapped that denial. So, you know, where do you go from there? Like, what's the first?

• 35:49Josh LaJaunie?

  The first thing was, and we talked about this too, is my buddy Jeff, who I've been friends with since kindergarten. He just called me randomly. I was on my way to school. I was actually circling the parking lot, looking for a space. And he's like, dude, I'm, I'm joining La Russa's in the morning, you know, let's, you come in with me. I was like, yeah, I'm going. And so that's, that's where the working out started. And so it started for me. I was like, yes, I have to fix this. I have to do something different. So that was a big part of the, the getting, the inertia getting started.

• 36:20Rich Roll?

  Having a buddy to do it with you, like having the accountability that comes with that.

• 36:24Josh LaJaunie?

  And yeah, and we have no problem getting on each other about slacking, even though I'm honestly giving him a little bit of a break right now because he's not running and he's

• 36:32Rich Roll?

  He's off the game?

• 36:33Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, he's killing me a little bit.

• 36:35Rich Roll?

  We're gonna call him out right now.

• 36:36Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, but he has been, he's been making babies like a crazy person. So I cut him a little bit of slack. But no, so we got started working out and, uh, and I just wanted, I think it was the more educated brain that I had sort of cultivated for myself by going back to school and, and it, and it made more sense to me that, you know, rather than just, uh, for aesthetics, it is important. I am going to be older. It is important to be healthy. So those, those thoughts probably started entering my mind for the first time then.

• 37:09Rich Roll?

  But you had this idea of being in a suit and talking in front of people, like that was kind of a goal, right?

• 37:14Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. That was a goal. I want

• 37:15Rich Roll?

  So ironic because now you're in this position to do that.

• 37:17Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it is.

• 37:19Rich Roll?

  That that was like, kind of like part of the initial spark.

• 37:22Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it is. And so I was worried about, I was worried about that. So we spend these, we spend time at La Russa. And, and like I was saying, At the beginning, I was so fat that it didn't take a whole lot of effort to get the weight off.

• 37:35Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 37:36Josh LaJaunie?

  It was just, I was wiggling a little bit like we were talking about.

• 37:39Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 37:39Josh LaJaunie?

  I would go in the gym and, and we would get started, you know, moving about, get, get sweating. And I, but I was always with my weight proteins and, you know, doing all of these things and, but I was losing weight anyway.

• 37:51Rich Roll?

  Were you trying to run a little bit too?

• 37:52Josh LaJaunie?

  Not yet.

• 37:52Rich Roll?

  Walking around?

• 37:53Josh LaJaunie?

  No, not early. No, I was, I was walking on campus.

• 37:56Rich Roll?

  Hitting the weights.

• 37:56Josh LaJaunie?

  Like trying to get bigger. Bench press, like old football stuff, you know, I wanna be strong.

• 38:01Rich Roll?

  Well, that's what you knew.

• 38:01Josh LaJaunie?

  I'm a big man, you know, that's what, pound the chest and, and, and, um, so that, that was the, that was how I was gonna get healthy, is just be big and swole and get rid of this fat. And that, that was, that was the aim.

• 38:15Rich Roll?

  So when does it transition into?

• 38:17Josh LaJaunie?

  It transitioned later, so that, we did that in February. He called me in February that year. Um, his wife actually, it was kinda cool. She had found a note in her, in her, uh, calendar. It said, Josh and Jeff start LaRue's today. It was so cool that she sent me a little picture of it.

• 38:34Rich Roll?

  Do you remember what date that was?

• 38:35Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, well, I don't remember the exact date, but it was in, it was, it was in February. I remember that. And it was so during the spring semester.

• 38:43Rich Roll?

  February two thousand ten.

• 38:44Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, two thousand eleven.

• 38:45Rich Roll?

  Of two thousand eleven.

• 38:46Josh LaJaunie?

  Two thousand eleven. So I graduated in December two thousand eleven. So it was February two thousand eleven. And I had all of my, I knew I had my business, uh, four oh nine, uh, class coming up. And I knew I had all of these different presentations. And so, so February started and my only walking, like, I would walk around campus carrying a schoolbag a lot. So, and we'd have to, I had some classes in, on opposite ends of the campus. And so I, I considered my walking around campus with my big ass and my big, and my big schoolbag. Part of my workout regimen.

• 39:20Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 39:21Josh LaJaunie?

  And then I would go to gym and lift. And that's what, that's what is, but the, but it, the running didn't even come into a thought until later in that year, we got, I got closer and closer to graduation. I was feeling good about myself. I had lost sixty pounds or so.

• 39:39Josh LaJaunie?

  And at the same time, we're spending every weekend in New Orleans, my wife and I are. We love New Orleans. And so at that same time, this idea of the Crescent City Classic that had already, I I see all these people running around New Orleans and I see all these runners and it seems really cool. I'd always always heard about the Crescent City Classic. I was like, what if I could run the Crescent City Classic? That'd be huge. If I could go from where I was at the beginning of this year to the beginning of next year, I'm gonna run a 10K. Six miles, though. And so that's what me and Jeff, that's that's that's. I would say that was the beginning of the end of the old me. Right?

• 40:24Rich Roll?

  You set a goal.

• 40:25Josh LaJaunie?

  That's it.

• 40:26Rich Roll?

  So everything snaps into focus then. Once you do that, like your life kind of structures around this idea of accomplishing this thing that seems impossible at the time.

• 40:35Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah. And and that was it. And so after I did the first one, and just like we were talking about before, it almost killed me. I was big and fat. I was 320. So I had lost even more weight by the time the race got there. So I was I had lost 80 pounds by that first race. And I finished, but like I was telling you, I wasn't proud of the finish. I had finished and I had that was my goal. That's all I deserved was just a finish. But when I got done, that was not good enough for me. I was like, nah, man, I can do better than this.

• 41:11Rich Roll?

  It's interesting because that easily could have been, you could have gone left on that and just said, I did it. Yeah, I checked the box. Never again. Not doing that again. That didn't feel good. You know what? And but instead it like just stoked your flame.

• 41:22Josh LaJaunie?

  It did. It it sparked me because I had worked so hard to get to that point and I felt like I had been bitch slapped a little bit. And I was like, so I kind of got indignant about that bitch slap, you know? I was like, you know what? And so I refocused and my wife jumped on board with me that second year. My wife was like, hey. Let's do this together and we'll do a sub one hour of 10K and I was like wow. That's that scared the shit out of me. So I and I didn't want to disappoint my wife because we were doing this as a team and I knew that she's a beast and that if she said that we were gonna do that, she's definitely was gonna be prepared to do that. So I better be able to follow. Right. I better be.

• 42:07Rich Roll?

  Better man up.

• 42:08Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, or she is gonna punk me.

• 42:10Rich Roll?

  What about your, your buddy from the gym? Was he doing this stuff?

• 42:13Josh LaJaunie?

  Not the, not the second one, no.

• 42:14Rich Roll?

  Gotcha. He did the first one with you though?

• 42:16Josh LaJaunie?

  First one with me. Yeah. And he just, he helped me through. Um, there's a lot of walk jogging and that.

• 42:21Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 42:22Josh LaJaunie?

  You know, things of that nature. But, but my brother did come in on the, the second one. My brother popped in with me and uh, he started, you know, running a little bit, starting the idea, lose weight and all of these things. So, but yeah, the, the second one, we did get the sub one hour. And um, that felt really cool, but what happened before that second, before the second one, right before the second one was a buddy of mine who was also training for the Crescent City Classic said, hey, I'm reading this book uh, called Born to Run dude. It just sounds like something that's right up your alley. I think that you would dig it.

• 43:05Josh LaJaunie?

  I was like, sure, man. I think I'm gonna, I'm gonna check. As a matter of fact, no, he gave me the copy. He gave me his paperback copy. And I was like, cool, thanks. And I read it and it blew me away. It completely blew me away. I was like, wow, people run like, I'm thinking a 10K. I'm thinking I'm running six miles, you know, and ultra marathon, like marathons seemed unfathomable at the time. And ultra marathons, that was just crazy talk. I, it wasn't even.

• 43:35Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 43:36Josh LaJaunie?

  I couldn't even talk about it.

• 43:37Rich Roll?

  It's like telling a guy who's got five days of sobriety, you know, he's talking to a guy who's got 20 years. Like it just doesn't even, how's that even work?

• 43:45Josh LaJaunie?

  It just didn't compute, you know, and I was, but I was still intrigued. I was like, wow. And, but the biggest thing that Born to Run did for me was introduced me to Scott Jurick. And so I was like, this dude's an animal and he doesn't eat.

• 44:02Josh LaJaunie?

  Plant, I mean, he doesn't eat meat at all. He's, you know, completely plant-based. And that, that shattered my idea because I know some people, well, not, I knew one person that was vegan.

• 44:16Rich Roll?

  Who was that person?

• 44:17Josh LaJaunie?

  She was not a good example. Because she's dainty and light and skinny and not pale, she's just a very white person. You know, she's, and she's very sweet and very compassionate and she's a veterinarian. And she's vegan. And that was.

• 44:36Rich Roll?

  That was your frame of reference.

• 44:38Josh LaJaunie?

  That was my frame of reference. That's the only one I knew. And I was like, I can't be a vegan. I'm gonna, I would look so silly, that skinny and, you know.

• 44:49Rich Roll?

  Meanwhile, you're having, weighing what?

• 44:51Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, oh, yeah.

• 44:51Rich Roll?

  At this point, you're like worried about getting too skinny.

• 44:53Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, exactly, exactly. And.

• 44:57Rich Roll?

  But planted that seed.

• 44:58Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it did.

• 44:59Rich Roll?

  It started making you kind of question a few things.

• 45:01Josh LaJaunie?

  And I was like, Scott, Eric's a beast. I was listening to him, you know, and so I was like, I have to read his book. So I got his book afterwards and I read that. And then after I read his book, I was like, is he an anomaly or are there others or what, you know? And I immediately went and I put, I just put in Ultra in my iPad on iTunes, on the iBooks app, you know? And up popped Finding Ultra. I wasn't looking for.

• 45:31Rich Roll?

  I picked the right title.

• 45:32Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, I wasn't.

• 45:35Josh LaJaunie?

  I wasn't looking for another plant-based athlete, not even close.

• 45:41Rich Roll?

  You just wanted to learn how to train.

• 45:42Josh LaJaunie?

  I wanted, these ultra marathons, right, these ultra marathons blew my mind and I was very intrigued. So I started reading your book and then lo and behold.

• 45:53Josh LaJaunie?

  I was like, wow, this dude. He's plant based.

• 45:56Rich Roll?

  What's going on?

• 45:57Josh LaJaunie?

  Cause you started out talking, you were eating a lot like me, you know, and I was like, wait, wait, wait, wait. And he was like, oh, this is the, his first step to becoming an ultra marathoner was adopting a plant based lifestyle. Wow. And then immediately after your book, which yours was most compelling to me because Scott Jerk was a beast from day one.

• 46:19Rich Roll?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 46:20Josh LaJaunie?

  He was like born, like exactly, he was born running. You know, he just, he's just an animal. Whereas you resonated with me because it was, it was parallel to mine. Minus all the Ivy League stuff and.

• 46:37Rich Roll?

  And you know, like, and I was, my starting point was a little bit different, you know, I wasn't four hundred pounds.

• 46:43Josh LaJaunie?

  No, exactly. So, but yeah, you resonate with me because party animal, eat like a slob. I that I identified and you completely one eightyed it. And I was like, okay, I can do this, I think. And um, so that really sent the message home. Like this is what you need to do and I just committed to it. I had already committed to it after your book, but then um, read, I read Brendan Braeger's book and, and that even just further solidified. Everything and then, then Forks Over Nod and then China Study, then Hole, then Esselstyn's book and all these things.

• 47:22Josh LaJaunie?

  I just was gobbling up info, which I would have never done probably if I hadn't gone to school and gotten an education. Honestly, I would have never just gobbled up all of that. Text like that.

• 47:35Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 47:35Josh LaJaunie?

  I've never done that.

• 47:36Rich Roll?

  So your head's spinning like a top with all this stuff. And at what point do you like, tell someone like you're thinking about this?

• 47:44Josh LaJaunie?

  I told my wife first, obviously, and she, she was okay because she never, besides cheese. It was, it was okay, it was easy for her because she never really dug the idea. We'd go to steak restaurants and stuff and she, it wasn't, that wasn't her thing.

• 48:00Rich Roll?

  It's a lot easier talking to women about this kind of stuff. You know, but what, when it comes to your boys.

• 48:05Josh LaJaunie?

  My brother was, my brother literally said, he, cause I, during my whole weight loss, remember? I had been on a weight loss journey for almost a year. And already, and so.

• 48:19Rich Roll?

  And so how, so you're, you maybe lost a hundred pounds at this point, something like that, but were you starting to plateau?

• 48:24Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, oh absolutely. I was, not only was I starting to plateau, but I was starting to at certain points, man, I'm running so much, I'm working out so much. I can have whatever I want.

• 48:33Rich Roll?

  Right, right, yeah, you're falling into that.

• 48:34Josh LaJaunie?

  And so I'm drinking a lot of beer and doing a lot of po' boys. I'm still losing weight. And I have some, a video of, I, I posted screenshot of it with my pit, my barbecue pit, and I, just recently. About for the fourth of July in two thousand twelve, and I was down eighty-five pounds at that point, but I had a pit loaded. Just, we had all kinds of stuff brisket, and I mean, we were just loaded down, we had jambalaya going.

• 49:01Rich Roll?

  I'm running, it's not, it's nothing but a thing.

• 49:03Josh LaJaunie?

  But the weight loss had completely stopped, and I was like, eh.

• 49:07Rich Roll?

  So, real quick, tell me what a po' boy is, again?

• 49:09Josh LaJaunie?

  A po' boy, a po' boy is a sandwich. It's a sandwich.

• 49:15Rich Roll?

  Pulled pork or something?

• 49:17Josh LaJaunie?

  It's an amazing sandwich. The, the, the protein on it is interchangeable. You, it's, it's not really about which protein is on the sandwich. The po' boy is more about the bread. The bread is a, a specific, in my opinion, it must be on Leidenheimer loaf. Which is a very chewy crust, French loaf bread, long skinny loaf.

• 49:44Rich Roll?

  Leidenheimer's like a brand?

• 49:45Josh LaJaunie?

  Leidenheimer is a local, local brand. In my opinion, that's the only, that's a po' boy. Everything else is a sandwich. So it's gotta be a po' boy. And my jam was fried oyster po' boys. And there's a place in New Orleans called Donald Lisa's where the, it's the best fried oyster, it's, it's insane. It's insane. And so my jam was Leidenheim, I mean, a, a po', uh, Donald Lisa's po' boy. Uh, Donald Lisa's oyster po' boy, large, obviously. And I would do, um, cause I'm a fiend for Zapp's potato chips, so I would do the po' boy, the Zapp's potato chips.

• 50:29Josh LaJaunie?

  Usually, like, they got a dill pickle one, I would do the dill pickle chips, and a Barks root beer. That is my dream meal, that was. That was it, man. That was it. And I had that meal a lot.

• 50:42Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 50:42Josh LaJaunie?

  I eat that a lot.

• 50:43Rich Roll?

  And so you're rewarding yourself for all this running, like just doubling down on that. So the weight loss.

• 50:48Josh LaJaunie?

  So the weight loss just stopped. And then I actually went the other way.

• 50:52Rich Roll?

  Hmm.

• 50:52Josh LaJaunie?

  A little bit. And, and when it happened, like I had noticed probably 10 pound weight gain at a certain point. I sort of was, I was like, no, I'm gonna go, no, I can't do this again. And I just, um, you know, that's when I was like, hey, the food has to change forever.

• 51:13Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 51:14Josh LaJaunie?

  And, and then that's just what I did, you know?

• 51:19Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm. So, uh, so you, you make this commitment. Your wife knows about it at first, right?

• 51:26Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah. Well, no, get back to my brother. My brother. So we were on it. I've been on this weight loss journey and I had been trying to get my brother to come along with me. I love him very much. He's my brother. We're very close in age and, and, um, he has, by the way. But at the time I was like, hey, he does. We're gonna do this together, you know? And, um, so I would.

• 51:50Rich Roll?

  Go vegan?

• 51:51Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, no, not yet. We were just losing weight at this point. So, and then, so I was telling him about all of these things I'd learned. I was like, listen now. Um, you have to listen to these people with, you know, with a grain of salt. That's what, and then I was like, just, it's, you know, just more things to what you think and kinda, I was trying to coach him through the, my mindset as I was learning new information about losing weight and becoming healthy and all these things. And when I popped the, uh, I think I'm gonna go completely plant-based. He was like, bro, what happened to that grain of salt?

• 52:31Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, he was like, yeah, you're right. I was like, but just give me a minute. And, um, you know, everything wound up working out just fine. But at the time, he thought I was absolutely nutballs crazy.

• 52:45Rich Roll?

  Right. But he's on board now.

• 52:46Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, 100%. My brother is 100% plant-based. My mom is, my sister is, my brother-in-law, my mother-in-law, my wife.

• 52:56Rich Roll?

  That's amazing.

• 52:57Josh LaJaunie?

  My 80-year, 83-year-old grandfather.

• 52:59Rich Roll?

  I want to hear more about that because we were talking about that the other day, which is extraordinary. So, all right, so you jump, you jump in and you're just doing it from the get-go, like whole hog right off the bat, like 100%?

• 53:12Josh LaJaunie?

  Everything.

• 53:13Rich Roll?

  Ease into it or?

• 53:14Josh LaJaunie?

  I, I got rid of everything almost immediately, except for feta cheese. That was the only thing that I had. And I was like, eh, just this feta's not hurting anything because it's great on my salad, you know? And so, and I lived that way for a while and things were going great and I, and I watched Forks Over Knives. And then I was like, Forks Over Knives made me shed that last little morsel that I was holding on to. And, um, and that was, that was it. I haven't looked back since. I haven't looked back since.

• 53:51Rich Roll?

  Was there, did you go through like a, like a couple of weeks of, you know, cravings and detoxing, you know?

• 53:57Josh LaJaunie?

  I really.

• 53:58Rich Roll?

  Coming off that kind of food or?

• 53:59Josh LaJaunie?

  No, I really didn't because it was like a project to me. So it never got, I never really, I still to this day, I don't,

• 54:08Josh LaJaunie?

  I don't know how I did it, but it was some sort of mindset to where I got angry almost at the food. Like I said with the Po Boy, me and Po Boy, kind of, we have a term, we call it split draws, where you're not friends anymore, you know? So.

• 54:24Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I asked you last time, like, how's it going with Po and you're like, Po Boy and I, we're not talking.

• 54:30Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 54:31Rich Roll?

  We done broke up.

• 54:32Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, we, we.

• 54:34Rich Roll?

  We're over.

• 54:35Josh LaJaunie?

  It's over, bro. And, yeah, so that mindset, I think, was.

• 54:42Josh LaJaunie?

  Really curved my tendency to say crave things or or really miss things cuz I was focused on, hey, I'm gonna eat this way and then I'm gonna get faster and I'm gonna become a better runner. And next year for the classic, I'm uh, well, what wound up happening is that next year for the classic, after I wound up chasing a poster, which that a poster is is this, this is a race of twenty five plus thousand people. And if you get a top five hundred finish, you get a poster. It's a limited edition. Poster. And um, I didn't know I wanted a poster. I didn't know that. I didn't even know about a poster.

• 55:26Josh LaJaunie?

  All I know is we, I was running and I was getting faster and faster and I was, I was trying to go go sub fifty minutes. That was my goal. I wanted to get sub fifty minutes. And then I had started running with this run group in New Orleans. I would drive from Thibodeaux to Mid City and run with Louisiana Run Company. Run Group. These dudes are insane fast. And it was just me with my big ass just chasing them around going, God. And like, we'd do a five mile route and by mile two, I couldn't see anybody anymore. I didn't even know if I was taking the right route back, you know, and I would just get my way back to the shoe store and, you know, hang out with them for a little bit. But anyway, one day, I went on a, I didn't have a route planned.

• 56:09Josh LaJaunie?

  I just got in with the lead pack of runners with the run group.

• 56:13Rich Roll?

  On a training run.

• 56:13Josh LaJaunie?

  On a training run. And I said, I'm gonna just hang with these dudes and I'm gonna just, I'm gonna try. And lo and behold, I know every, um, cuz there's a five mile route, a six mile route and a seven mile route, seven mile route. So when we didn't turn for the five mile route and we were running like a seven twenty pace the whole time, which is at the time was insane fast for me. So, and we didn't turn to go back on the five mile route. I was like, holy shit, we're gonna do six miles. And then we didn't turn into six mile. I was like, seven miles it is. I don't know if I could do it. And and um, seven, so we did the seven mile route and in the last half mile, they all just left me. But I was still able to maintain like that seven twenty pace for seven miles. And inside that training run,

• 56:57Josh LaJaunie?

  I had run like a forty six minute five, uh, forty six minute ten K. I was like, well, there goes my.

• 57:03Rich Roll?

  You just went four minutes faster than your goal time for the race.

• 57:05Josh LaJaunie?

  There goes my goal. I was like, so guess what? You need a new goal, bro. So that's what. So I didn't know what my new goal was gonna be. So there was the Shamrock Run, which I just finished. This is a little eight K in the city. And, and I ran that and I was pretty quick. I was almost seven flat for that, for that eight K, which is almost five miles, right at five miles. And then afterwards, after the race, we're talking and it was like, I was talking with some other runners and like, dude, you're getting close enough. You might, it might be poster time for you. I was like, what's a po- what poster time? What are you talking about? Well, for top 500 finish, get a poster. And I was like, really? Okay. I like this. Okay. And I didn't know about the poster.

• 57:47Rich Roll?

  Yeah, you could kinda like, uh, hang your hat on that.

• 57:49Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it's like, oh, so this, I would be sort of like in a group of some of the 500 fastest runners in this race. Which, wow, that's cool. I'm coming from the back of the pack. So I thought that was really, really cool. And they were like, but the trick is you have to get seated and be in a seated corral, or you'll never be in the top 500.

• 58:12Rich Roll?

  Oh, cause you're back, you're too far back.

• 58:13Josh LaJaunie?

  You're gonna be behind strollers and stuff trying to catch in, cause they go off of gun time, not chip time. So I was like, okay, so here we go. I gotta, and luckily I had met up with my buddy Jonathan and we ran a couple of 10 Ks. He told me about the seated thing and he's like, you gotta do a sub 45 minute 10 K to get up into one of those corrals. So I did a sub 45 minute 10 K and got into there. Um, we actually did one together over the Luling Bridge. He and I did, cause when he found out that I was seated, he was like, dude, now I gotta go get seated. So he, and I ran that race with him, but we both got, I could have seated again that day, you know? And, um,

• 58:55Josh LaJaunie?

  so that was really cool. So here I am seated and we get to the Crest City Classic and I'm. Like feel like an elite. I'm up here where the Kenyans are, you know, I'm not in their corral, but I'm up in the front.

• 59:05Rich Roll?

  You're right up in the front.

• 59:06Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. This is insane to me, you know? And as a matter of fact, that morning, in that seated corral, is when he brought up to me the idea of running a New York City marathon. Isn't that, that's just-

• 59:18Rich Roll?

  That's crazy.

• 59:19Josh LaJaunie?

  That's, that's, that's, that's really cool. And so, the gun goes off and I ran a forty-three oh three.

• 59:27Rich Roll?

  Wow.

• 59:27Josh LaJaunie?

  That, that day.

• 59:28Rich Roll?

  Uh huh. Did you get the poster?

• 59:29Josh LaJaunie?

  I got the poster. I was four hundred and twenty-nine.

• 59:33Rich Roll?

  So you're like, that's like thirty-three minutes faster than the first time that you did it in a period of two years?

• 59:39Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah. My half marathon time's like ten minutes or fifteen minutes faster than that first ten K.

• 59:44Rich Roll?

  Mm-hmm. That's crazy, man.

• 59:54Rich Roll?

  And how long had you, like, how long had you, had you been plant-based? And, and what did that do to the weight loss and the running performance and the training and all that kinda stuff?

• 1:00:02Josh LaJaunie?

  Like, steep growth curve. It, I just blew up. When I really went, and not even just plant-based, but when I really went specifically Whole Foods, very clean, um, those, those things, the, the weight had started to slow down, cause I was almost done losing weight. Cause when I really committed to plant-based, after that first one hour, um, that whole year after I'd done that first one, I lost weight like crazy. Cause I was training for, I was training for my marathon, you know? Cause I did four marathons last, in twelve months, the past-

• 1:00:45Rich Roll?

  Past year.

• 1:00:46Josh LaJaunie?

  Correct.

• 1:00:47Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 1:00:48Josh LaJaunie?

  And, um, so I ju, I lost tons of weight because I was, I was doing, you know- I started off my first marathon, I was only running like thirty mile weeks. I didn't realize that I needed to log a lot more miles. So I was easing myself in and the first marathon crushed, crushed me. That's around the time that you interviewed me. I was on my, I was about to-

• 1:01:06Rich Roll?

  You were getting ready to do, you were getting ready to run your first marathon.

• 1:01:09Josh LaJaunie?

  That's correct.

• 1:01:09Rich Roll?

  But in retrospect, I think that probably was smart. You know what I mean?

• 1:01:12Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, absolutely.

• 1:01:13Rich Roll?

  Instead of just ramping it up too quickly.

• 1:01:15Josh LaJaunie?

  That's why I'm, that's why I'm taking this approach with the ultra marathons. I mean, I have people pulling me in different directions saying, hey, come run this one with me.

• 1:01:24Rich Roll?

  Run a hundred miles.

• 1:01:25Josh LaJaunie?

  Come run a hundred miles with me. I'm like, nah, I'm cool, man. I'm enjoy, I wanna enjoy this with my people. I wanna do it bit by bit, bite by, like, you know, that I don't even know who to credit for, but you know, the old saying, you know, the only way to eat elephants, one bite at a time. And that's kinda what I'm doing right now.

• 1:01:40Rich Roll?

  What I think is interesting is that at some point along the way, you, you kind of made this decision that this was not about weight loss. This wasn't about a number on a scale. It wasn't even necessarily as much about being healthy, but you made this decision like, I'm gonna be an athlete. Like, you know, I kinda talked about it earlier today. Like, you decided to tell this new story about who you are as opposed to like, I'm Josh, the overweight funny guy. Like, I'm Josh the runner. I'm Josh the athlete. And then you could kind of let go of that pressure of whatever the scale said and just focus on getting better as an athlete. And then I think, I think I recall you saying, the last time we talked, that that was like, you know, when everything, it was kind of a

• 1:02:22Rich Roll?

  quantum leap in terms of like, weight loss and then how you were able to like rapidly improve.

• 1:02:27Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. Cause the mind is so much more powerful than I ever gave it credit for. You know, I mean, and when, cause I know so many runners. I have so many runner friends that are like, oh, I don't know, that's too fast for me. Or, oh, I'm just, you know, they, they sell themselves short a lot. And, and I don't think they really realize how powerful it is to say to yourself, you don't have to be arrogant about it, but- We're bad. We're badass. We can handle this. And, and, and it takes that. And then in a race, you know, you, you running and I know

• 1:03:13Josh LaJaunie?

  that I have run myself to dry heaves on the track. I know where I've, from where I've come. And so when I'm in those last miles of a race and, uh, you know, no offense to anyone else in the race, but I see a guy that's ahead of me, a part of me thinks he doesn't deserve to be there. So I'm, I, and I think that that's totally natural and totally human. I think that's what we do, you know?

• 1:03:38Rich Roll?

  But that's such a huge leap from being the guy who's, you know, kind of self-deprecating and, and, you know, and kind of privately shameful about your situation.

• 1:03:49Josh LaJaunie?

  It all goes back to a strong, I'm gonna try to keep a straight face, but a strong woman that could see what needed to happen for me, you know? And helped kind of gently

• 1:04:10Josh LaJaunie?

  steer me there because fixing the way I thought about myself and what is possible

• 1:04:20Josh LaJaunie?

  changed my, my life more than plants, more than running, more than any of these things. It's what went on inside my mind in the beginning, right?

• 1:04:30Rich Roll?

  And she, uh, you know, she was always able to see that better version of you locked in there.

• 1:04:37Josh LaJaunie?

  She's always thought I'm so awesome and I never could understand why. You know what I mean? I never, and that's gotta be frustrating for a person to be constantly telling somebody how amazing they are and that person's completely like, eh, whatever, you know? I'm a, and being a complete.

• 1:04:59Josh LaJaunie?

  Rain cloud on any good things that she would say like, yeah, but I'm fat or la la la, you know. And so that has been the most that, you know, how I, how I've been able to with help, switch some very simple things in my brain to uh, make me more confident, you know, not, not fake bravado confident. Like really deep confidence in myself that, that, you know, I can set this goal. This running goal, there's more complex.

• 1:05:41Rich Roll?

  Life shit.

• 1:05:41Josh LaJaunie?

  Life shit that you, that is not so, that's one draw to running is like.

• 1:05:47Rich Roll?

  It never ends.

• 1:05:48Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, it's like, here's this thing that I'm in control of that I, I, it's very simple. All you have to do is go grind and are you willing to do it? And when you, that

• 1:06:01Josh LaJaunie?

  makes you, I think, makes me a better person in all the rest of my interchanges with other humans or situations in my life.

• 1:06:14Rich Roll?

  I'm with you, man. I mean, you know, particularly the part, the part about having, you know, a strong partner who can see, who can see the, the real you and, you know, locked inside of you. And, and I had a very similar experience with Julie. I mean, you know, I was, I was dense, you know, dense and like, just like physically heavy, but just kind of emotionally dense. And she was always able to like, see through that and believe that there was something better in there. And rather than push me to just hold that space for me to come out, right? And, and that's a very different thing from being somebody who's trying to force somebody to do something,

• 1:06:55Rich Roll?

  but just holding that like neutral space and like never wavering in that belief is like this magnet, you know, like that's calling to you. And when the time is right, you know, to be able to kind of blossom out of that and step into it. I mean, it's, it's beautiful.

• 1:07:09Josh LaJaunie?

  It is. And it, and it, and it echoes a lot, something that I've adopted uh lately.

• 1:07:17Josh LaJaunie?

  Is and is this this sort of concept, this this analogy that I use that, you know, I I can I think of myself or I try to think of myself as as a lighthouse, right? And so all I can do is be steady and bright and and just shine as bright as I can and be a rock, you know what I mean? I'm unwavering and I'm okay with being that. I'm on I'm okay with that. And um, that's in a lot of ways, that's what my wife has been for me all the time we've

• 1:07:59Josh LaJaunie?

  been together and and and and um, so I learned that and I'm trying to use that in now in running and plants. I'm trying to use that uh, that that same model that just to not be pushy, but I'm gonna be so bright and so I'm just I'm you can't miss me. You cannot miss me and that's the point.

• 1:08:26Rich Roll?

  Right? There's there's few things more powerful than that. When you just stand firm in who you are.

• 1:08:31Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes.

• 1:08:32Rich Roll?

  And and you know, you were talking about energy earlier, like people can feel that. They can feel that from a long way out, man. You know, when you're just standing confident in who you are, self-assured, you know exactly who you are, what you stand for, what's important to you.

• 1:08:47Josh LaJaunie?

  That's it.

• 1:08:47Rich Roll?

  And you don't need anybody to tell you what's what. Uh, you know, that's when people are magnetized towards you. So as opposed to running around chasing people, seeking approval or or, you know, trying to petition people to come over to your way or any of that, it's none of that. It's just, this is who I am. People that are resonating on that vibration are gonna come to me and then we can do something.

• 1:09:15Josh LaJaunie?

  That's it.

• 1:09:15Rich Roll?

  You know?

• 1:09:16Josh LaJaunie?

  And, and, and, and I, it's really cool that I, that I had sort of adopted that thing in my head. And I even hashtagged that sometimes lighthouse when I'm talking about stuff.

• 1:09:25Rich Roll?

  Oh, that's what that means.

• 1:09:26Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, yeah. And so, cause I-

• 1:09:27Rich Roll?

  You've got some cryptic hashtags, brother. I don't know what you're talking about half the time.

• 1:09:32Josh LaJaunie?

  And, and that's on purpose, cause it's the people that, the people, the people that do know, know.

• 1:09:37Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I know that.

• 1:09:37Josh LaJaunie?

  And it's like my thing. And so it's cool. And, um-

• 1:09:41Rich Roll?

  Who dat?

• 1:09:41Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, yeah.

• 1:09:42Rich Roll?

  Fat boys doing it?

• 1:09:43Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, fat boys doing it, that's what. And then I started realizing, okay, so I hashtag these things. So I need to keep doing it so I can connect. If anybody clicks on this hashtag, they'll see all of these posts.

• 1:09:56Josh LaJaunie?

  Cause I wanna be able to-

• 1:09:58Rich Roll?

  No one else is using that hashtag, right?

• 1:10:00Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, exactly. And, uh, yeah, so, but I read a, I read a, a quote recently as a meme on Instagram. It said something like, um, I can't remember it exactly, but it said, lighthouses just stand there. They don't go around looking for ships to save. And I, I thought that was very poignant. And I was, that's like this, you know, you, you kind of can turn people off a little bit, especially when you live where I live, if you're too sort of, you try to be too persuasive about it.

• 1:10:36Josh LaJaunie?

  It's, it's, it's a lot better, it's, it's, it's a lot more well-received if someone is approaching me.

• 1:10:46Rich Roll?

  Of course.

• 1:10:47Josh LaJaunie?

  And, and-

• 1:10:48Rich Roll?

  That's not, that's not, you know, that's not just southern Louisiana. That's no matter where you are.

• 1:10:53Josh LaJaunie?

  And so I've always, I've tried to, even though I think I have the best idea that everybody should do, try-

• 1:11:03Josh LaJaunie?

  Try to just be me. And when people have some, when they desire some specificity, you'd be some, you're probably, you're probably not surprised, but I have tons of people who Facebook message me and I'll, I'll give people my cell phone number and email, I don't care. Holler, let me know what, you have a question.

• 1:11:24Rich Roll?

  You better be careful.

• 1:11:25Josh LaJaunie?

  I'm an open book, I'm an open book, you know? And feel free, ask away. And they do, people ask, people ask a lot. And some of the most proud people that have, that have asked or that I'm most proud of having shared with is some of my people that I know, you know, in the 3D world where we actually physically see and, you know, run with each other, my, some of my running buddies. And it's been cool to have like these, this, this pack, you know?

• 1:12:00Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I mean, I think that that's a really astute concept of how to effectively communicate. And I think it's something that, you know, is important, especially in the plant-based community, because, you know, there's nothing that turns people off more than like a preachy vegan, you know?

• 1:12:20Josh LaJaunie?

  They turn me off.

• 1:12:21Rich Roll?

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

• 1:13:02Rich Roll?

  But I think it is a far more effective way to just be the lighthouse. You know, be the lighthouse. And you gotta be in it for the long haul when you're the lighthouse.

• 1:13:10Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, that's a big, that's a big commitment, that's a lot of responsibility. That is, that is, you know, being on all the time. And I don't have a problem with it. I love being on. On is my default mode now.

• 1:13:24Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:13:25Josh LaJaunie?

  And so I'm, you know, I'm down. I'm cool.

• 1:13:28Rich Roll?

  Right. All right. So four marathons.

• 1:13:30Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:13:31Rich Roll?

  In one year. You grew that gnarly beard for the New York City Marathon.

• 1:13:36Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes.

• 1:13:36Rich Roll?

  And that was the big one, right? That was quite a trip, man.

• 1:13:39Josh LaJaunie?

  That was, that was a bucket list marathon. And here I am, a newbie runner, you know, running the New York City Marathon.

• 1:13:48Rich Roll?

  And how long did you grow? You were like, what the thing was like, I'm not shaving until I finish or come across the finish line? How long did you grow that nasty thing?

• 1:13:55Josh LaJaunie?

  So three, it was gross. My wife, she's like, it smells bad. I hate it. So.

• 1:14:03Rich Roll?

  Yeah, that wasn't like a Brooklyn hipster beard. That was like growing all over the place.

• 1:14:08Josh LaJaunie?

  Full grown caveman beard. And, uh, yeah, so we trained for about three months, I guess. So.

• 1:14:15Rich Roll?

  That was it?

• 1:14:16Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:17Rich Roll?

  You pushed some hair out of your face, man.

• 1:14:19Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, yeah, man. Oh, yeah. Three, four months, maybe. I can't remember exactly. But, uh.

• 1:14:23Rich Roll?

  So what was that like running New York City? Had you been in New York City before?

• 1:14:26Josh LaJaunie?

  Never.

• 1:14:27Rich Roll?

  Wow, that must have been a trip then.

• 1:14:28Josh LaJaunie?

  Insane.

• 1:14:29Rich Roll?

  Especially rounding the bridge into Manhattan where it's like running into the Super Bowl.

• 1:14:33Josh LaJaunie?

  Well, the big, the big aha, like the big, holy shit, I'm in New York was coming into the airport and, you know, Manhattan's ultimate, right? And I'm like, wow, Statue of Liberty is, I was blown away the whole time, you know? Um, and I was like, oh, man, this is just, and, you know, I was emotional for that entire trip, you know, because look where I am. I've just come so far. It's, it's just, it's just overwhelming at times, you know? And, uh, it's not like I've come so far and now I'm here. It's, I'm come, I've come so far and I'm still going. Like this moving, progressing is the new normal now, not like achieving a thing.

• 1:15:19Josh LaJaunie?

  And that too is, is, is profound. And that's a major thing that happened in my head too.

• 1:15:25Rich Roll?

  Meaning like, uh, there's no destination to this, but it's just a continual evolution.

• 1:15:31Josh LaJaunie?

  There's little like superfluous goals along the way, like, you know? But the grind, the, and I, and I don't say that in a negative way, like it hurts to train really hard.

• 1:15:48Josh LaJaunie?

  But that's part of the draw because it makes you feel alive. Like it makes you feel alive.

• 1:15:57Rich Roll?

  Well, I mean, you're, you're a, you know, you're a pretty soulful cat.

• 1:16:00Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:16:01Rich Roll?

  And I think it's more, there's more to this. It's more complicated than, you know, I was fat and I wanted to get thin and I wanted to like run a race and see what I could do. Like, you know, what were the questions that, that you were trying to answer about yourself that running helped you figure out? Do you think?

• 1:16:20Josh LaJaunie?

  Um, I've really, I don't know. I've never thought of it like that. Um, it was, I guess, just being proud of myself was a big one. Like that was a big one for me and I've gotten a taste of that. And I like, I like liking me. I like being proud of me. That was a, that was a big one. That's a big one that running has brought to me. I would have to say that that's a big one.

• 1:16:53Rich Roll?

  And then run in New York City.

• 1:16:54Josh LaJaunie?

  Run in New York City.

• 1:16:55Rich Roll?

  I mean, you, you.

• 1:16:56Josh LaJaunie?

  And the way I did it too. So I had to, I did a charity. I had to do the charity to get in. It's not like I can qualify for New York. Only elites qualify for New York. And not that I.

• 1:17:06Rich Roll?

  They have a lottery, but.

• 1:17:08Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. Well, yeah.

• 1:17:08Rich Roll?

  To actually get in, to know that you're going to get in.

• 1:17:10Josh LaJaunie?

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

• 1:17:48Rich Roll?

  This guy gonna be able to make it?

• 1:17:50Josh LaJaunie?

  Just stick it out there and see here. And so people, I mean, you have no idea the generosity of, of the people that are connected to me through you. And I, I don't, I, I, it's impossible for me to thank you properly.

• 1:18:05Rich Roll?

  But yeah, no, no, that's, that's a beautiful thing. I mean, that, that. You know, that's why I do this, man, you know, it's like, it's giving back, you know, and it's like, the more you give back, the more you get. And my life is enriched by having you in it and it it just warms my heart to see you like run with it and blossom, man. It's just, it's awesome.

• 1:18:26Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, it's it's fun. It's fun to do it. It really is.

• 1:18:31Rich Roll?

  And you got there.

• 1:18:32Josh LaJaunie?

  Got there.

• 1:18:32Rich Roll?

  Ran the race.

• 1:18:33Josh LaJaunie?

  Ran the race. Well, before I ran the race, my wife tried to

• 1:18:40Josh LaJaunie?

  make me, well, not that it had been very hard to make me cry at that point, because I was very, like, I was on edge the whole weekend. But she and my friend Jonathan had had been texting and arranging a surprise that she was gonna meet me in the lobby the morning of the the uh, the race. And so the night before the race, however, she was in a 5K in New Orleans the the day before, and she got, she happened to get interviewed by the local news. And I'm watching the news clip on

• 1:19:13Rich Roll?

  Online.

• 1:19:14Josh LaJaunie?

  Online. And she says in the news clip essentially that she's flying to New York tomorrow. So.

• 1:19:22Rich Roll?

  She blew it.

• 1:19:25Josh LaJaunie?

  She blew it. And so already knew she was gonna be there. And we walk out in the lobby the next morning and she was there. It was still very it was amazing to have my baby there um, with me, you know. And so that that was, that was, that was awesome. That was awesome. I love having her around me.

• 1:19:47Rich Roll?

  The video uh, that you posted uh, after you finished?

• 1:19:50Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, I thought about it, almost didn't want to do it, but I felt like I had asked so much from everybody during my preparation for that race that, you know, let the walls down and just like, that fucking hurt like nobody's business, my friend. That hurt me. I was in the medical tent, actually, when I did that.

• 1:20:14Rich Roll?

  Oh, you were? I didn't know that.

• 1:20:15Josh LaJaunie?

  I was sitting in a medical tent, had people rubbing on my legs and covering me with blankets and um, trying to feed me chicken broth.

• 1:20:27Josh LaJaunie?

  I was like, no chicken, bro.

• 1:20:29Rich Roll?

  Like force try to force.

• 1:20:31Josh LaJaunie?

  What is wrong with this guy?

• 1:20:32Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 1:20:32Josh LaJaunie?

  It's like, just hot water, please. So, but anyway, uh, yeah, the, the reason it hurt so bad is, you know, it's, it was different. We had, we had done our marathon training. Um, you know, like everybody does, you get up in the morning, you go do your long runs, you do, you have your normal rhythm. All of the races I had done to lead up to that, cause I even drove to, uh, I drove to Alabama and to Northern Alabama. So I could run a half marathon in, in hills. So I was trying to, you know, so, but that's normal race time. That's like, you get up, you go to the start finish line and you go run. Well, the whole loop, I got, uh, you know,

• 1:21:15Rich Roll?

  The ordeal of getting to the start line in New York.

• 1:21:16Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. It was like a five hour ordeal.

• 1:21:18Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I know. It's a whole thing. Like by the time you're at the starting line, you're worn out.

• 1:21:22Josh LaJaunie?

  Exactly. And all of this logistics and thinking, you know, our brains are huge calorie hogs. And I'm just worrying and thinking and we know five hours before race time, I have all of this. I gotta get on a bus in Manhattan and ride the bus to Staten Island and get off and then find JT. And, you know, all of these different things, these, and, um, we finally in the, we finally in the corral. Uh, and we inching up to the thing. And so we start peeling off all of the clothes that we had, you know, keeping us warm and, and, uh, so here, you know, I'm five hours in, I should be done with the marathon already. And I'm just getting started. And so, and you, you go right straight up the Verrazano Bridge immediately, right?

• 1:22:07Josh LaJaunie?

  Boom. And it was a 20 mile an hour sustained wind that morning.

• 1:22:11Rich Roll?

  Headwind?

• 1:22:12Josh LaJaunie?

  Headwind.

• 1:22:12Rich Roll?

  I didn't know that.

• 1:22:13Josh LaJaunie?

  From, from the Verrazano Bridge, pretty much to the Queensborough Bridge was against the wind. And, um, but I was feeling good cause I, and my buddy Johnson's like, hey dude, mile one was seven 40 something. He's like, me want to chill.

• 1:22:30Rich Roll?

  Chill out.

• 1:22:33Josh LaJaunie?

  So, no, not my one mile two, because it's on the backside of the Verazano Bridge. And, uh, but we were clipping along. I was feeling good, high fiving people all the way through Brooklyn.

• 1:22:44Rich Roll?

  Well, the amazing thing about that race is that there's, I mean, I don't know if there's any other marathon where there's so many people the entire way. Like you'll have patches of people on other marathons where there's, but literally the entire way, it's just lined with people.

• 1:22:57Josh LaJaunie?

  It was pretty kick ass.

• 1:22:57Rich Roll?

  Bands and, and just the different neighborhoods and how, you know, like you go through the Hasidic neighborhood and the Puerto Rican neighborhood. And like, you're just stimulated like the whole time. So it's easy to get swept up and caught up in the energy and go maybe a little bit harder than you should be.

• 1:23:12Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, that's exactly. And, but I do that anyway. It's kind of my MO. That's kind of how I roll. I go hard and try to hold off a dear life at the end. That's just how I roll. And I try to, I try to not do that, but it doesn't ever really work out. Yeah, no. I feel like I'm a big guy and I need to make hay while the sun's shining and then I'll deal with the rest later, you know? I'll deal with dying at the end of the thing or whatever, you know?

• 1:23:39Rich Roll?

  You're making it harder on yourself though, I think, you know?

• 1:23:41Josh LaJaunie?

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

• 1:23:47Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 1:23:48Josh LaJaunie?

  And, uh, but no, if I was giving awards for that day for like who, Brooklyn kicked ass and, um, up fifth Ave was, you know, on the way into the park was.

• 1:24:00Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 1:24:01Josh LaJaunie?

  Badass. Everybody.

• 1:24:02Rich Roll?

  When, when you, when you round into Manhattan, that's pretty extraordinary.

• 1:24:05Josh LaJaunie?

  Well, coming to, I was kind of let down a little bit on first Ave, coming in, coming down off of the Queensborough Bridge. Cause it was so cold that morning, you see? So it was 39 degrees. That was another thing that, dude, 39 degrees with all of this wind. And I'm in a racing, I'm in a singlet. It's like, ah, this is so out of my box, you know, so out of my norm. And, um, but yeah, it was so cold and it was shaded right at the foot of the Queensborough Bridge on the, on that, on the Manhattan side.

• 1:24:34Rich Roll?

  So it's even colder.

• 1:24:35Josh LaJaunie?

  It was, so nobody was hanging out right there. So the wall of sound really wasn't there that day. And we're like, we're kind of bummed. I was like, oh man. And then. Fighting all the way up there, uh, up, up first half was, that was brutal because it just got finished with the Queensborough. And it started to feel like work for the first time going up the Queensborough Bridge. And, uh, and so I was in, I was in a lot of pain. And I was like, man, this is gonna be a long marathon because I was already hurting in mile fifteen, sixteen. Started cramping in eighteen, I mean, in nineteen, completely locked up.

• 1:25:13Josh LaJaunie?

  And, uh, thank God my, my buddy was there. He's like punching me in the hamstring like, dude, let's go, come on, man, you got it. So, um, was able, that from nineteen to the finish line was just basically me crying and gutting it out. Cause I did, I was like, all these people are looking at me. I know that I have to finish strong and, you know, and, and, um, and so I just gutted it out and sucked it up and kept pushing.

• 1:25:42Rich Roll?

  Well, you weren't out of tears because when you made that video, man, you let it all hang out.

• 1:25:46Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, did I?

• 1:25:47Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I posted that on my Facebook page. I thought it was beautiful, you know, just the fact that you were willing to be like that open, you know, and that vulnerable, I think says a lot about your character.

• 1:25:59Josh LaJaunie?

  And it was your podcast. It was actually your podcast that inspired me to be okay with doing it. And it was that Preston Smiles episode. And he talked about love and he, and all these things where, you know, just break the norm of that normal dude shit, you know? And, uh, so I was like, fuck it, I'm going for it. I don't care. I, this is a moment. Uh, cause I had just got off the phone with my mom and I was, my mom's like, you're in the medical, oh my God. And so, and so I just, I needed to do a post. I, I wanted to do a post. And then I didn't, uh, have the energy to come up with anything to say. I didn't want to type anything.

• 1:26:37Rich Roll?

  You didn't have to.

• 1:26:37Josh LaJaunie?

  And I just, I just punched the thing and I just shared exactly what I was feeling at the moment. And I, I hesitated for a second. I was like, no. Go for it. And and I put, that's why I just, I think I only put hashtag love in the whole, that's the only thing I wrote on it.

• 1:26:55Josh LaJaunie?

  It was extremely painful, yet at the same time, which is running does this crazy thing to you. The more it hurts, the more reward it feels like, you know, the more rewarding it is. And that, at that point, that was the, the hardest thing I had ever done in my life by far. It was, it was brutal.

• 1:27:16Rich Roll?

  Well, I appreciate you, you know, sharing through that video, and I think that that's, you know, it was extremely human, and that's what allows people to kind of connect and identify with your story. And your willingness to allow yourself to, to, to be that guy, I think is, is, you know, a testament to, you know, a strong sense of your character. It's like you're not threatened by being vulnerable, and that's, that's powerful. I think that's real strength, um, and that's beautiful, man.

• 1:27:45Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:27:47Josh LaJaunie?

  You know, it, it didn't, it didn't just happen by default. You know, it, it comes from trying to be better, you know?

• 1:27:58Josh LaJaunie?

  And a lot of that better in me that I've strived towards is honestly, you know, and I'm not kissing ass or doing, it has come from you, man. It has come from your book, it has come from doing fifteen, twenty mile runs, listening to your podcasts. Even though now that I run with buddies, they're cutting in a lot of my podcast time.

• 1:28:18Rich Roll?

  Tell them what's what now, come on, priorities.

• 1:28:23Josh LaJaunie?

  But no, a lot of it has come from you and you, you know, I never had a big brother. I, I was the big brother, I am the big brother. So I've always looked for that in my life, you're like a guy to look up to, you know, and I don't know, we have dads and we have, but a big brother, it's, it's a different type of a thing, you know, and, and in some ways, almost, I almost think of you like, like that. It's, maybe that's too much, but it, it's true. Because you've achieved some things that I think are really cool and awesome. And like in, in, in, like a little brother looking up to a big brother, you're like, I wanna do that too. I want to be like that. I want to do this. And I think that's healthy. I think it's normal. I think that's, you know, how you find places you want to grow to, you know?

• 1:29:05Rich Roll?

  Well, that's super kind of you to say, man, that that means a lot to me. It really does.

• 1:29:13Rich Roll?

  But at the same time, you did the work.

• 1:29:15Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:29:15Rich Roll?

  You know? And there's a lot of people out there that do a lot of talking. And not a lot of walking.

• 1:29:22Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, sir.

• 1:29:22Rich Roll?

  So, you know, I'm interested in in really getting to the bottom of why it is that you think that you were able to make this shift in such a dynamic and compelling and profound way. Whereas other people struggle, like you were rubber banding with your weight up and down. I think that's where most people are and remain. And you were able to break out of that and really like craft a completely new lifestyle. So when you look back on it now, I mean, I would imagine you have a little bit more perspective on it now than you did when we first talked. I mean, how do you, you know, conceptualize that? And how do you kind of translate that to other people that are that are looking to you now?

• 1:30:06Josh LaJaunie?

  Right.

• 1:30:06Rich Roll?

  Saying, how do I do what you did, dude?

• 1:30:08Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, that's the million dollar question.

• 1:30:11Rich Roll?

  Yeah, you bottled that up, man.

• 1:30:13Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh shit.

• 1:30:14Rich Roll?

  You're talking Tony Robbins type shit.

• 1:30:17Josh LaJaunie?

  That's exactly right. That is the million dollar question. What? And and just like with what?

• 1:30:25Josh LaJaunie?

  Just like how we talk about food and nutrition and how we look for too, we look for too much specificity and answers sometimes about what we should eat and why and all those things. I think a lot of, I think those, that that same.

• 1:30:41Rich Roll?

  Getting caught up in the detail.

• 1:30:42Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, that's, that's right. Exactly. I think it's such a complex thing. I think, I think one big reason that I stopped yo-yoing was, just like I said a minute ago, was a big change, a big difference in my life was

• 1:31:00Josh LaJaunie?

  I had this really powerful, strong, confident woman in my life who believed in me.

• 1:31:08Josh LaJaunie?

  And that was a big one. That was a big one. Having that unwavering rock of support is, that's huge. That's, that's, that's a life changer, literally. It's a life changer. And uh, that was one.

• 1:31:26Josh LaJaunie?

  And then, you know, there, there are things that happen, say, in, in a person's uh,

• 1:31:34Josh LaJaunie?

  family, an extended family that, you know, maybe, maybe feuds, or maybe, maybe deaths that

• 1:31:45Josh LaJaunie?

  adjust one's perspective. And um, so these real, everybody has these, these things that, that, that affect them um, and put things in, in perspective and I don't know how it, I don't, I don't know, man. I don't really know what I'm trying to say. All, all I know is, I had a huge support system with, with just my wife. I have a family that I love dearly. Just like all families, there's been problems along the way.

• 1:32:26Josh LaJaunie?

  And my way, new way of dealing with said problems was to make me better.

• 1:32:35Josh LaJaunie?

  That was, that was, does that make sense?

• 1:32:37Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I get it. I mean, uh,

• 1:32:41Rich Roll?

  most people would default in the other direction, like family crisis, or dissonance, or whatever it is.

• 1:32:48Josh LaJaunie?

  You ought to be doing this.

• 1:32:49Rich Roll?

  Yeah, is gonna make you probably more defeatist, or I don't know, maybe I should speak for myself, but I would imagine, you know, it, it's, it's more, it's easier to let something like that provide you with an excuse to shrink.

• 1:33:03Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. And that's what I had.

• 1:33:04Rich Roll?

  So to be able to take that and say, I'm actually gonna flip that equation and use that to make me stronger.

• 1:33:12Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:33:13Rich Roll?

  Is uh, that's an exceptional quality, I think.

• 1:33:16Josh LaJaunie?

  And I think, cause, cause those problems, like those sorts of things and complexities and those were there my whole life, right? The thing that's different is my wife.

• 1:33:32Josh LaJaunie?

  And I know that and I like, I didn't realize it a hundred percent, like I've always loved her, but I never realized it in the magnitude that is reality, how big of a deal, how much she has changed my life.

• 1:33:49Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:33:50Josh LaJaunie?

  You know, and uh, so now going back to, you know, you got weird, complex family issues that are very profound in your life and there's no scene, like there's no solution to them. And yet you're maybe the person that people look to for answers. And so that was a big driver for me is like, I don't, I have all these, I don't knows. And then, but I ha- but here's one that I can control. And low and behold, me turning all of that focus inward

• 1:34:25Josh LaJaunie?

  wound up helping everything.

• 1:34:27Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:34:28Josh LaJaunie?

  And it cool has gone a cool.

• 1:34:37Rich Roll?

  When you were in the early days of this, I mean, did you have buddies going, come on, man? What are you doing? Like?

• 1:34:43Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:34:44Rich Roll?

  Right?

• 1:34:45Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:34:45Rich Roll?

  Yeah.

• 1:34:46Josh LaJaunie?

  I still have.

• 1:34:47Rich Roll?

  So, oh, they, I was gonna say, so what's it like now?

• 1:34:50Josh LaJaunie?

  It's, it's.

• 1:34:51Rich Roll?

  Still like that?

• 1:34:51Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:34:52Rich Roll?

  They're still trying to pull you back?

• 1:34:53Josh LaJaunie?

  I have a very few, they're not trying, nobody's trying to pull me back, but people are still like, whatever.

• 1:34:58Rich Roll?

  Right.

• 1:34:59Josh LaJaunie?

  You know, um, but uh.

• 1:35:00Rich Roll?

  Move to California?

• 1:35:01Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, yeah, no. Uh, but you know, I've surrounded myself with some really genuine people that get it. Um, and I have lost, not lost, but some of my older friendships have kind of faded. Like I wish they hadn't because I reach out and, but we're not the same people anymore.

• 1:35:27Rich Roll?

  I mean, that's natural though. When you grow, you know, that landscape's gonna shift, you know?

• 1:35:32Josh LaJaunie?

  And it hurts a little bit because we shared all of these times together and all the, and so, but we haven't seen.

• 1:35:38Rich Roll?

  Not even, not in the same place.

• 1:35:40Josh LaJaunie?

  Not even in a, not even close, not even close.

• 1:35:43Rich Roll?

  Well, I mean, just as somebody who's kind of observed, you know, this trajectory from afar and, you know, based on Facebook and Instagram, very little else, I do see, uh, you know, someone who really understands that, uh,

• 1:35:59Rich Roll?

  In order to keep going and to keep what you have, you gotta give it back.

• 1:36:03Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, sir.

• 1:36:04Rich Roll?

  And I've seen you invest in your family and in your community and really step into this role of being of service, right, in the capacity of a lighthouse or otherwise, but you know, the impact on your family alone has been tremendous.

• 1:36:19Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:36:20Rich Roll?

  So you got your brother on board.

• 1:36:22Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, my brother lost 150 pounds.

• 1:36:24Rich Roll?

  That's crazy.

• 1:36:26Josh LaJaunie?

  My grandfather lost, he's lost over 150 pounds.

• 1:36:29Rich Roll?

  And that's been a journey. We were talking about that earlier today. We were listening to Dr. Robert Osfeld, who's gonna be on the podcast soon, you know, and the other lecturer is Garth Davis. And you were talking, you were sharing a little bit about your grandfather's journey, like he's made this incredible progress. How old is he now, 80?

• 1:36:47Josh LaJaunie?

  Eighty three.

• 1:36:48Rich Roll?

  Eighty three, so he was super overweight, he's lost a ton of weight, and you go with him to the doctor, and you're kind of interfacing with the doctor and the protocol that he's advising for your grandpa. Like, what does that look like? Like, what's going on?

• 1:37:00Josh LaJaunie?

  Well, he, he's been watching the, the, uh, the weight loss for, the whole time it's been happening. And, and, and he knew what we were doing. He's like, are you just losing weight? Are you trying to lose weight? And I explained to him how we were eating, and he's like, you know?

• 1:37:16Rich Roll?

  What was the condition of your grandfather?

• 1:37:18Josh LaJaunie?

  My grandfather.

• 1:37:19Rich Roll?

  How did you convince an 81-year-old Cajun dude to start eating your way?

• 1:37:24Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, he's not Cajun, but yeah, I get your point, yeah. He, um, uh, honestly, he has dementia. So, and he's very easy to please these days, food-wise, and it, there's no really, you put it in front of him, and he's happy. He's cool, which thank God for that. Thank God, because...

• 1:37:49Rich Roll?

  Usually you get crotchety.

• 1:37:50Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, he, oh, trust me, he's crotchety. He's pissy as hell. He's bossy. He can't, he can't...

• 1:37:59Josh LaJaunie?

  He can't really formulate what he wants to say sometimes, but he knows he wants to say it and it just comes out in F bombs and, you know, swinging canes. Sometimes he just comes out pissed off is all he can muster.

• 1:38:12Rich Roll?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:38:13Josh LaJaunie?

  Um, but when it comes to the food, he's happy and my mom, my mom really has embraced it and my mom lives with him now and cooks for him and does all these things. So my mom spends the nights with him and, and I'm there with him pretty much every day and my dad helps out too throughout the day. So we just basically just feed him and he eats what we eat and we only eat this way.

• 1:38:37Rich Roll?

  But in other, in, in addition to the dementia, I mean, what are, what's his health condition?

• 1:38:41Josh LaJaunie?

  Um, he's had, he's, you know, he's had Afib my whole life and um, being a really large overweight man is his, his enlarged heart and, you know, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, the whole, the, the norm, the norm. And um, so up until even like, oh shoot, we would go in there together, we would both be fat, you know, and his cardiologist would say, you know, he would always be on his case about, you should try to lose some weight, Mr. Allen, blah, blah, blah. And uh, it would never happen. And when it finally started, did, when it finally start to happen, doc, he was all pumped, he was excited and

• 1:39:23Josh LaJaunie?

  I was like, I just want, um, he's like, what are you doing? And I told him and he was like, okay. And I told him about, I told him about Dr. Campbell, I told him that I read the China study, I told him about Dr. Esselstyn, all these things, you know, and I'm talking to a cardiologist, my grandfather completely blew his mind. You know, he, I swear, he tells it, you know, you might have a point. He's like, I have like five stents about, cause we was talking about the, the standard American diet and I, and so it's like, cause I have five stents myself. I was like, it's like, yeah.

• 1:39:55Rich Roll?

  The cardiologist has five stents?

• 1:39:57Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes.

• 1:40:01Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes.

• 1:40:02Rich Roll?

  Okay, alright.

• 1:40:04Josh LaJaunie?

  So, so, fast forward two or three visits and every time Bam Bam's losing more weight, losing more weight, losing, and I'm like, and I'm reading this whole time and I'm like, hey, don't you think you ought to start coming off of cholesterol medication? He does not get dietary cholesterol at all, zero. And, um, I don't know why he's on cholesterol meds. And so he weaned him off and he's completely off of that now.

• 1:40:28Rich Roll?

  All the way off of statins.

• 1:40:29Josh LaJaunie?

  He's all the way off of statins. He's, and his blood pressure, he's, again, the blood pressure medicine was making his blood pressure too low, you know, so he's feeling bad, so, and he's like, well, he needs to come off, so he's all the way off of that too. But he still has Afib and I don't think that that's a condition that's gonna go away with plants. That's why I was talking to, uh.

• 1:40:52Rich Roll?

  Ossfeld about, yeah, yeah, yeah, he knows a lot about that.

• 1:40:55Josh LaJaunie?

  And so that's the only thing that's left is just, he's on some memory meds and his, uh, Pradaxa for his, uh, Afib.

• 1:41:01Rich Roll?

  For his Afib, that's pretty amazing.

• 1:41:03Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:41:04Rich Roll?

  That's cool. So you got him going?

• 1:41:06Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:41:06Rich Roll?

  You got your brother?

• 1:41:07Josh LaJaunie?

  My brother.

• 1:41:08Rich Roll?

  What about your moms?

• 1:41:09Josh LaJaunie?

  My mom's on board.

• 1:41:10Rich Roll?

  Uh huh.

• 1:41:11Josh LaJaunie?

  Um, I still, I'm harder on my mom than anybody because she does a lot of, you know, the cooking for the family, for gatherings and stuff, and so I'm always on her case about adding oil to things and stuff like that. Um, but for, for the most part, she's, she really does really well.

• 1:41:31Rich Roll?

  That's pretty extraordinary, man.

• 1:41:32Josh LaJaunie?

  She really does really well, yeah.

• 1:41:34Rich Roll?

  That's amazing.

• 1:41:35Josh LaJaunie?

  And, um, so.

• 1:41:37Rich Roll?

  And what about with kind of just the community at large? Like, I know you've done like little group things and stuff like that, little.

• 1:41:43Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, people.

• 1:41:44Rich Roll?

  Workshops or whatever.

• 1:41:45Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, yeah, we have a, a new, um, health food store in Homer and she, she's got, you know, health food, like a little health food grocery and she does yoga and she does a couple of the little things. And so she did this little egg health expo and, um, just so happened she's friends with a person in New Orleans who's vegan.

• 1:42:08Josh LaJaunie?

  Eats I always go to as it's a place called um Three Potato Four and it's just basically air fried fries, I guess is what you is just convection oven and they have wedge cut organic potatoes.

• 1:42:23Rich Roll?

  Instead of deep fried, they just they just bake on it or whatever.

• 1:42:26Josh LaJaunie?

  And so I went in there one day and this woman that owns this place was there visiting with the lady from Homer that has this health food store and she's like, oh, funny, you should walk in. This is Josh, you know, and she kind of gave her crash course of my story and she was like, oh, God, you have to come over. And so they set me up in a little room and asked and invited people in to hear my story and I just fielded questions. I'm, that's my favorite part about it is the questions, because um, that's, that's, that's my favorite part about interacting with people is you ask me a question and then I get to formulate a response to you that I think that's most productive way to speak.

• 1:43:06Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I mean, you can, you can directly speak to their, you know, their concerns and it's, it's easier to just be genuine and authentic. When you get up and you've got something prepared, you know, how do you still be you and not make it sound like you're giving a speech? You know, it's a tricky thing.

• 1:43:21Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, I've said it so many times, I'm okay, kind of okay with it now, you know? It's still just, it's, it's a little awkward, obviously, for, for anybody to stand up in front of a room of people and talk about yourself.

• 1:43:34Rich Roll?

  But this is your life now, man.

• 1:43:35Josh LaJaunie?

  It is, it is.

• 1:43:36Rich Roll?

  I mean, looking back, you know, even two years ago, I mean, what do you, you know? Did you think that you would be kind of this ambassador of health, you know, this inspirational figure?

• 1:43:49Josh LaJaunie?

  No, not even.

• 1:43:50Rich Roll?

  What do you think about that?

• 1:43:52Josh LaJaunie?

  I think it's amazing and I love it. I think, and I think that I could have never dreamed it back then is the most profound and important part. Cause it's not always about.

• 1:44:06Josh LaJaunie?

  You know, that laser focus on that thing that you have, okay, I've set, you know, I've set this hypothetical theoretical path, and this is where I'm headed. And putting the blinders on and going a hundred, I I think it's great that I haven't decided to become this. That is just sort of, life has grown into that. And and I forget, I'm so pissed because I'm drawing a blank on a guy's name. But somebody shared a YouTube, it's this Australian comedian. You might know who he is, Tim something, I can't remember, it's like hilarious fella, he's, I mean, somebody sent me a YouTube.

• 1:44:50Josh LaJaunie?

  Uh, clip of a like, um, some speech he gave at his alma mater is it was amazing. But he said something, I'm paraphrasing because I can't remember exactly, but he said, don't focus on the future too hard or.

• 1:45:06Josh LaJaunie?

  You're gonna miss the beautiful gleaming thing in the corner of your eye or in the periphery or something like that. And to me, that, that's exactly it, that's that gleaming thing, that that that's that's serendipity, you know? You stay on an honest grind and you and you stay moving forward. Um, but if you get too enthralled in the end game. Yeah. You miss those beautiful, you know, moments that can happen just like that, like you. Contacting me about, you know, doing a podcast, I was like, wait.

• 1:45:48Josh LaJaunie?

  That was overwhelming, that you wanted to talk to me. I would have never been able to imagine it, I'm love that it happened, but I could have never like made it happen, planned for it. No, you can't plan these things. It's exactly right. You know, so. So I love those things. Yeah, it's it's.

• 1:46:07Rich Roll?

  You know, I mean, you could say destiny. It sounds so, you know, kind of lame or weird. But, but you know, it's sort of you've been, I just see somebody who's flourishing and, you know, blossoming into the person that they're supposed to become. And, you know, the more you can anchor yourself in the moment and pay attention and be present for what's happening around you.

• 1:46:27Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, it's huge.

• 1:46:28Rich Roll?

  Is when you, you know, that's when, you know, the universe conspires to step up and and just kind of nudge you, you know, this direction or that direction. And, you know, it's like we were talking about before, it's an evolution, right? So, you know, there was a day, you know, when you were preparing for the New York City Marathon, that was your jam, right? Like, that's what you're focused on. And now, you know, is it different? Like, when you wake up and you know, like, people are messaging you on Facebook and they want to know what you think and how can you help them? And, you know, how does that change what motivates you and what's important to you? Because that's, that's been my experience. Like, you know, I travel around quite a bit. I do a lot of these kinds of events. Inevitably, people are like, what are you training for right now? It's like,

• 1:47:14Rich Roll?

  man, I'm training for life right now. You know, I'm trying to show up for what's up.

• 1:47:17Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, it is.

• 1:47:18Rich Roll?

  And right now, it's like sitting down with you and being a marshal and hanging out with Matt Fraser and Colin Campbell and Robert Osfeld and Garth Davis and Chef AJ. That's what's up, you know? And, and what's important to me is trying to cultivate community around these ideas that can be helpful to people and impacting people in a profound way so that they have the tools and the inspiration and the resources they need to change their life. And if I'm out on my bike all day, that ain't happening. That's when I get the blinders on. And there's a part of me that wants to just be on my bike all day. You know, I know how to do that. That's easy. There is comfort in that grind. You know, I like that pain and I get soulless and I get...

• 1:48:03Rich Roll?

  You know, a sense of self out of that. But that's not my life right now. And I'm okay with that, you know, because I think that I've been nudged, you know, to do this kind of stuff. And, and I'm happy to do it and I love it, you know, and I'm showing up for it.

• 1:48:18Josh LaJaunie?

  And you could tell that you did.

• 1:48:20Rich Roll?

  I see this happening with you right now. Like you're just, you're a couple of steps behind, but you're stepping into it. You know, and I think that, you know, when you talk about a sense of self-confidence or a sense of purpose, like this is just beginning, you know?

• 1:48:34Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, yeah, I told Jonathan that today, that, yeah, just getting started, man. Can you, like, I've come so far, yet I feel like I'm in the infancy of what's gonna happen. And that, that's like, keeps, that's like, I'm on fire, dude.

• 1:48:54Rich Roll?

  Where do you want to take it?

• 1:48:55Josh LaJaunie?

  That's the thing.

• 1:48:58Josh LaJaunie?

  I don't know. And it's frustrating as hell to a lot of people. I don't, I don't have a real clear, crystallized, um, answer, you know? And it, and it's frustrating, not, it's frustrating to me, but I would love to be able to, just in a general sense, help people, you know, en masse, right? Kind of like what, kind of like what you're able to do. Not just, look, I love my people at home. I love my friends and I want them, um, I want to help them.

• 1:49:43Josh LaJaunie?

  And, and some way, it seems like there should be, there should be a way that through helping the people that I care about the most.

• 1:49:55Josh LaJaunie?

  I can help everybody else at the exact same time.

• 1:49:58Rich Roll?

  Hmm.

• 1:50:00Josh LaJaunie?

  And exactly how that painting looks, I don't know.

• 1:50:07Rich Roll?

  But you don't need to know.

• 1:50:08Josh LaJaunie?

  Right, right, yeah.

• 1:50:10Rich Roll?

  You just need to be present.

• 1:50:11Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, sir. That's exactly right.

• 1:50:13Rich Roll?

  In recovery, you know, they, they, they use the word surrender and that's easily misconstrued as some kind of idea that you're giving up, but it's, it's really not that. It's, it's an allowing, you know? It's like getting out of your own way and showing up for what's happening and learning to embrace that and be open. And, and I think in that space is where you find those answers and you allow yourself to grow. And you don't have to have an agenda. You just have to keep doing what you're doing and being you and keep doing the work.

• 1:50:47Josh LaJaunie?

  Right.

• 1:50:48Rich Roll?

  And then that stuff shows up when it's supposed to show up and it's not going to show up the way you think it's going to show up.

• 1:50:53Josh LaJaunie?

  Right.

• 1:50:53Rich Roll?

  It's not going to look like how you might imagine it might, but it's going to be what's supposed to be happening.

• 1:50:58Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. And that's exactly right. And, and I know I keep, I keep alluding to it.

• 1:51:07Josh LaJaunie?

  But my group of buddies that I run with now, they had the way that came about is just random girl in Thibodeau who made a Facebook group to, for, called Thibodeau Running Group. And I was like, wait, how did I not know about a Thibodeau Running Group? Oh, I don't know about it because it just happened.

• 1:51:31Rich Roll?

  Because I'm the running guy, Thibodeau. Who's, who's stealing my?

• 1:51:36Josh LaJaunie?

  How do I, well, me and Jonathan were running together at the point where we both were like, how do we not know about this group? And so we start, and that's exactly how, that's exactly what I mean. Like I would, I didn't plan, I didn't, you know, it wasn't me that came up with the running group, which maybe it should have been me that did it, but I, but. I didn't plan that. It just happened. And really, honestly, I would have never guessed that I'd have had more people than just me and Jonathan that like to run that much. And not only do there's there more, there's a lot more. And in our, we have, you know, everybody kind of separates out

• 1:52:18Josh LaJaunie?

  according to pace, because you get separated out in a group like that. And so our group, it's like a group within a group, kind of.

• 1:52:29Josh LaJaunie?

  We've become very close, very close. And, and the food thing is actually, I guess I'm contagious a little bit because some of these guys are full bore, plant-based runners now. They are one hundred percent, they on board with Josh, let's go, baby. Let's, and not only eating this way, but adopting the, uh, let's, I call it emptying the vessel when we work out. Like I will, that's me, I, you know. Lay it all out. Empty the vessel. Leave it all out on the road. If you got something left in that last couple of miles, let's go ahead and burn it off. Let's get it, let's get rid of it. Let's empty the vessel. And it makes us better. It makes us stronger.

• 1:53:12Josh LaJaunie?

  And, um, it's, it's, it's just quite a ride, dude. Like I, I don't know, it's, it's amazing. And it's some, one of those things that I never planned. It wasn't a part of a step, it wasn't a step along a way to a thing. It's just boom, hits you right in the ear hole, like, like in football is the ear hole is the term. You know, when you get blindsided, that's it. But is it in a good way? Boom. It's like, wow, whoa. And then all of a sudden, a guy that I'm hooked up with on Facebook because of you

• 1:53:45Josh LaJaunie?

  comes to Tibero and runs. I, dude, I'm, I'm gonna be in the area. I would love to. I was just visiting. Yeah, I would love to meet you and come run with the Tibero Run Group. That's cool. It's, I feel like this is tripping, man. I love this shit. This is insane. That's super cool, man.

• 1:54:06Josh LaJaunie?

  It's awesome. It is.

• 1:54:10Rich Roll?

  I think it's a good, good time, good place to shut it down, but we didn't even touch on the fact that you ran your first ultra 50 kilometer race.

• 1:54:18Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah.

• 1:54:19Rich Roll?

  You did it in sand.

• 1:54:20Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes, yes.

• 1:54:22Rich Roll?

  You picked, you didn't want to just pick a, a.

• 1:54:24Josh LaJaunie?

  I have to be honest on it. I was really more of a tag along on that race. My buddies were prepared for that race and they crushed it. They did a great.

• 1:54:32Rich Roll?

  You did it though.

• 1:54:33Josh LaJaunie?

  They smashed it. And, uh, yeah, I finished and it hurt. That was my, that is my new hardest thing I've ever done.

• 1:54:41Rich Roll?

  Uh huh.

• 1:54:42Josh LaJaunie?

  That took New York's place, uh, as far as the pain threshold goes. That was, that was powerful.

• 1:54:48Rich Roll?

  And what's, what's next?

• 1:54:50Josh LaJaunie?

  Um, I'm signed up for a hundred K in, uh.

• 1:54:56Rich Roll?

  Step in.

• 1:54:57Josh LaJaunie?

  It, but it's not until October. So, but.

• 1:55:00Rich Roll?

  That's good. You got time.

• 1:55:01Josh LaJaunie?

  Right. So my next, next though, is the Crescent City Classic.

• 1:55:05Rich Roll?

  So you gotta go back and, and own it, right? You gotta get another poster and.

• 1:55:09Josh LaJaunie?

  Oh, poster. Yeah. Poster.

• 1:55:10Rich Roll?

  That's a done deal now.

• 1:55:11Josh LaJaunie?

  I'm not worried about the poster.

• 1:55:12Rich Roll?

  You're over that.

• 1:55:14Josh LaJaunie?

  Now I have a, and I guess I'm gonna, cause I haven't really said it in specific terms to anybody.

• 1:55:20Rich Roll?

  You're gonna say it now.

• 1:55:21Josh LaJaunie?

  I'm gonna say it now. I really would love to be able to get a sub 40 minute 10K.

• 1:55:28Rich Roll?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:55:29Josh LaJaunie?

  In the Crescent City Classic.

• 1:55:30Rich Roll?

  What's, what's the date of that?

• 1:55:32Josh LaJaunie?

  That's next weekend.

• 1:55:33Rich Roll?

  Wow.

• 1:55:35Josh LaJaunie?

  That's next weekend. Yep. I've been.

• 1:55:38Rich Roll?

  You've been doing the speed work, I noticed.

• 1:55:39Josh LaJaunie?

  Yes. I've been going, yeah. That's what my buddy Jonathan says. We know it's a good workout if Josh starts to dry heave. And that's, that's, that's, that's where we go. That's where we go on the track is I run until my body just can't go anymore. And that, that feels like that's, you have to, like, you have to, when you sharpen a saw, you have to remove material to make. It better and that's you have to break down your tissue to make it better. That isn't easy to do because we have resilient bodies. You have to go hard to really cause tissue trauma. And that's just my opinion.

• 1:56:23Josh LaJaunie?

  And that's, that's the approach I take.

• 1:56:26Rich Roll?

  Well, this podcast is not going to be up before that race is done. So I might have to dial you back up and get a little recap. You know, so I'm going to hold you to that 39. That's sub 40, I'll say. I'm because if you want to go 38, that would be all right.

• 1:56:41Josh LaJaunie?

  I'll try. I'll be shoot, I'll be shooting for a win, but I just don't think I'll quite get there.

• 1:56:48Rich Roll?

  Um, all right, so let's shut it down with this. You're stuck in an elevator, uh, and, and somebody's in the elevator and they're like, Josh, man, how'd you do it? How can, uh, you know, how can I, how can I, how can I make that shift? Like, what is it? What, what kind of wisdom could you impart based on your experience that you think might be helpful to somebody out there who's listening, who's inspired, but they're struggling?

• 1:57:13Josh LaJaunie?

  First of all, you need to fall in love with yourself. That is very important, not in a, not in a conceited way, but you really need to genuinely love your physical body and your being. If you do that with a hundred percent commitment and everything else will fall into place. That is the, that was my number one takeaway from all of this stuff,

• 1:57:56Josh LaJaunie?

  from all of the running and all of the plants and all of the weight loss and all of that stuff. Digging yourself, man, is most important. And, um, all of the other things will fall right into place if you can really genuinely take that step.

• 1:58:19Rich Roll?

  I think that's a good place to close it down.

• 1:58:21Josh LaJaunie?

  Word.

• 1:58:23Rich Roll?

  I love you, man.

• 1:58:24Josh LaJaunie?

  I love you too, brother.

• 1:58:25Rich Roll?

  That was awesome. I love it.

• 1:58:27Josh LaJaunie?

  I'm so glad to meet you and do this again is kick ass, bro.

• 1:58:31Rich Roll?

  It's a gift, man. It's great.

• 1:58:33Josh LaJaunie?

  Love it, dude.

• 1:58:33Rich Roll?

  Super cool. My weekend is complete.

• 1:58:37Rich Roll?

  You want to take us out?

• 1:58:39Josh LaJaunie?

  Peace. Plants.

• 1:58:41Rich Roll?

  How about a hashtag or two?

• 1:58:43Josh LaJaunie?

  Hashtag.

• 1:58:45Rich Roll?

  A special Josh hashtag.

• 1:58:52Josh LaJaunie?

  Yeah, well, one of my favorites, hashtag, uh, stop playing.

• 1:58:57Rich Roll?

  Yeah, I like that one.

• 1:58:58Josh LaJaunie?

  Stop playing.

• 1:58:58Rich Roll?

  Stop playing.

• 1:58:59Josh LaJaunie?

  Stop. Stop that.

• 1:59:01Rich Roll?

  All right, man. So if you're digging on Josh, the best way to hook up with him, probably on Instagram now. At Josh LaJaunie on Facebook, on Twitter. You're all, you're same in all places.

• 1:59:12Josh LaJaunie?

  Instagram is my fave. That's like, that's my go-to. I love Instagram. And, um, it's just, it's just, it's just a way of, you know, getting information out into the general world in a more granular way. It's not from CNN and it's not from Fox. It's from everybody. From the Josh LaJannys of the world, from the everyman. And, um, I just try to share as much of the fact-based knowledge that I've gained as I can. And that's it.

• 1:59:42Rich Roll?

  All right, man. Keep inspiring, dude. I can't wait to see what you're gonna do next.

• 1:59:47Josh LaJaunie?

  Me too.

• 1:59:49Rich Roll?

  Now I'm really gonna take us out.

• 1:59:51Josh LaJaunie?

  All right. Peace.

• 1:59:53Rich Roll?

  Plants.

• 1:59:59Rich Roll?

  Okay, so that was kind of amazing. Uh, Josh is really a special, touched guy, and I really hope that you enjoyed that. He wanted me to let you guys know that, uh, he felt a little bit shy of going under 40 minutes in that 10K. He hit it at 4106, uh, mainly because he took it out a little hot. He was at 1950 at the 5K. So maybe with a little bit of pacing.

• 2:00:26Rich Roll?

  He can get under. We'll talk about that next time I have him on the podcast. Anyway, let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments section on the episode page at richroll.com. Also, thank you for all the love and for sharing this podcast and for using the banner ad at richroll.com for all your Amazon purchases. Keep sending the questions for future Q and A podcasts to [email protected]. And for all your plant power needs, you can find all that stuff on my website, too. We've got nutrition products, we've got books, education products, 100% organic cotton garments, Julie's meditation program, everything you need to take your health and your life to the next level. Also got a couple online courses at mindbodygreen.com, The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition,

• 2:01:08Rich Roll?

  and The Art of Living with Purpose, which is all about setting goals and kind of doing the internal work to make sure that you're on the best, most righteous life trajectory for yourself. I'm really proud of those courses, and you can find them on the homepage at mindbodygreen.com by clicking on video courses. Thanks for supporting the show. Thanks for telling a friend. Thank you for sharing it on social media, and I'll see you guys next week. Make it a great one. Thank you for spending a couple hours with me today. I appreciate that. All right, make it great, you guys. Peace. Plants.