Episode 9 | Rich Roll

"When I was 31, that was when I was in rehab. I had a career in the dark belly of alcoholism and at 31 I got sober in a treatment center in Oregon for 100 days, so I think if I had to characterize myself at 31, I was very confused. I was really unsure about who I was and what I wanted to do with myself. I was a pretty broken individual at that point of my life. And up to that point I thought I had been making good decisions but essentially my best thinking had me in this mental institution, for a lack of a better phrase. So I don't think that I had very much clarity on myself or what made me function and what led me to that dark place. The last 20 years have been about trying to answer that question for myself and also trying to learn from tools that were first introduced me during that experience and build on them and compound them to progressively continue to grow, not just emotionally, but mentally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually."Incredibly honored to welcome Rich Roll to the podcast. The 51-year-old is a husband, father, and champion ultra-endurance athlete, in addition to being a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and host of a top-ranked podcast. But life hasn't always been so grand. At 31 years old, Rich found himself committed to a treatment center in Oregon, battling an alcohol addiction that had consumed his life.After achieving sobriety in his early 30s, Rich's addictive personality led him down a path of workaholism and 80-hour weeks as a lawyer, an unhealthy lifestyle fueled by fast food that ultimately proved to be unsustainable. It all came to a head when one night when, while walking up the stairs, he became out of breath and feared something was seriously wrong with his health. The next day he embarked on a weeklong juice cleanse that led him to adopt a plant-based lifestyle, a way of living he still practices and advocates for today through writing, speaking and the podcast that bares his name. Not long after radically changing his diet, Rich—a former collegiate swimmer at Stanford—started running and swimming again. He eventually found his way into ultra-endurance sports, where he established himself as a top competitor, finishing the Epic 5—five Iron-distance triathlons in less than a week—in 2010 and placing as a top finisher at the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii multiple times. In this episode, we talk through the various chapters of Rich's story, digging into his journey to becoming a plant-powered ultra endurance athlete and wellness advocate, and understanding why he is so open and honest about sharing his experiences. We discuss his best-selling memoir Finding Ultra, which has been recently updated and will soon be available at booksellers everywhere, as well as The Plantpower Way and The Plantpower Way: Italia, two books chock full of plant-based recipes and lifestyle guidance that he tag-teamed on with his wife, Julie Piatt. Finally, we also dig into his relationship with racing and how it's evolved through the years, discuss the effect his writing, speaking, and podcasting has had on other people, learn more about the three things he tries to practice on a daily basis, and much, much more. "All of this is an act of service," Rich told me during our conversation. "It's my profession and I need to make a living and all that kind of stuff, but ultimately what really drives me and what's behind all of this is trying to be of service both in the world of recovery and outside the world of recovery with respect to the world at large." This episode of the morning shakeout podcast was edited by John Isaac at BaresRecords.com.Complete show notes here: https://www.themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-9-rich-roll/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout

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