Episode 311: Lindsey Vonn: Lessons Learned From Olympic Champion + Ski Legend

Hi, guys, it's Tony Robbins.

You're listening to Habits and Hustle, Greg.

All right, guys, so today we have Lindsay Vaughn on the podcast.

And by the way, I was yapping before, but I didn't even say how excited I am to have you here because I know talk about like we do all sorts of people on the like the best in the world or like in the world come on this podcast, but you are legit like the best in the world at like downhill skiing.

And I gotta tell you, I don't know any other person that does what you do like in the sport.

Like you've actually made it, I think, popular and famous.

Like I, I don't know, am I the only one?

Because I don't know.

Like I really feel like I know you, like you're such an icon in your sport, like an adrenaline junkie.

Have you always had that type of like that adrenaline junkiness in it?

Like tell me like how you started, how you became you really.

I mean, I started skiing because I loved skiing.

You know, I didn't get into racing because I was an adrenaline junkie.

I just, I think I always pushed the limits.

Like, I was always climbing trees when I was a kid.

Like, you know, I was always coursing around and doing things that I was told not to do.

And, you know, I think as I progressed in my skiing career, you know,

there's different disciplines in skiing.

And as I grew older and started doing downhill, which was obviously the fastest in the sport, I loved it.

Like the faster I went, the happier I was.

And since then, you know, I'm especially now in retirement, like like I just do whatever adrenaline thing I can find, you know, whether it's wig surfing or e-foiling or like whatever, you know, jet skiing, I'm just like always trying to find something that, you know, gives me that adrenaline.

But like nothing would ever compare.

You go down like, what, 84 miles?

85.

I heard like your highest was 84 miles an hour.

Like that's

yeah.

That's crazy.

Like

it's fun.

I'd say it's really fun.

It's really, really fun.

I mean, like,

how do you even work up to that?

Like, I don't even know what can even compare.

Like, if you are an adrenaline junkie, going jet skiing is not even close to that.

Like, I can go jet skiing.

I can't go downhill skiing.

I mean, it's kind of like driving a car, right?

If you're always on the highway, you're used to driving fast, right?

Yeah.

And you see, you know, you see things coming and you can, you know, kind of anticipate what other drivers are doing.

It's very similar to skiing.

You know, if you're used to going fast, that's your natural speed.

And that's why training is important for downhill because you need to go fast.

But that just like, that's my natural habitat.

It's going fast.

It really is like your natural habitat.

So, Kate, can you start by telling, I mean, my audience, I mean, most people,

if you're not living under a rock, but like if they, if they are,

how did you kind of begin this, this path?

Like, I start from, I think you were nine years old and you met.

like your your role model.

Yeah.

And then what happened?

So I met Peekaboo Street, who she's won, she won the Olympics in 98.

And at that time, I think she'd won a silver medal from little homer the olympics before but she was the only person that i really knew in skiing and skiing wasn't on tv so like we used to get the vhs tapes of like all the winning runs you know of the season yeah and so you know to actually

see someone from your sport live in person like this kind of mythical you know superhero it was amazing yeah and seeing her made me want to be a skier you know it made it cool it made it tangible made it something for me to look, look up to.

And so after I met her, I came home and from the ski shop, it was like an autograph signing.

And I said, Dad, I want to be in the Olympics.

And he, you know, straight face, he didn't even like smirk or laugh.

He was like, okay, but you know, it's going to be really hard.

Are you ready?

And I'm like, I'm ready.

Let's do it.

So he literally sat down with me and we made like a 10-year plan of like how I was going to make the Olympics.

And because the next Olympics I would be eligible for would be Salt Lake City.

2002, I was 17 years old.

So my family moved heaven and earth earth and we moved to colorado so that i could you know pursue this crazy dream and and then i made it and then it worked out it worked out so before you were nine were you already skiing if she if this person was your role model your idol were you already skiing a lot yeah at like three four when what age did you actually put the first pair of skis on i was like two and a half and then before that i was actually in a backpack that's probably illegal now but my i was in a backpack while my dad was coaching wow so because he was going to law school and he was coaching on the side so i would be like in his backpack, you know, he was skiing around.

Really?

Yeah.

So I was like always on the on the mountain one way or the other.

And then I started racing when I was about seven, started traveling to actual ski camps in the summer when I was seven.

When I was nine, I went to summer camp by myself in Austria with my team.

Oh my god.

Yeah.

And that's when it kind of started to take off.

So did they know that you were kind of a prodigy already when you were six and seven, five?

Like, or you're just like kind of like every other kid?

No, it was like every other kid.

I loved it.

And I guess my dad tells a story that he came to one of my camps in Oregon and it was raining and lightning and all the lifts had shut down because there was lightning.

And I was out there on the mountain hiking, hiking up the mountain, skiing down, hiking up the mountain, skiing down because no one was out there.

I was like, this is perfect.

I have a mountain to myself.

I can train all day long and no one's here.

And my dad says, you know, he's like, it was that moment that I thought, maybe you have something because I'm nine years old, like out there.

I mean, I literally could wring like buckets of water out of my clothes after I was done, but I was happy.

I was so happy being out there.

So that's always like the question I always wonder and ask people, right?

Like, is it something that's innate in you already or is it something that you can work on?

Like, you already had that work ethic and passion, right?

Like, you did it, because if you were doing that at six years old, I mean, everything else is kind of, it's easy to continue and be motivated when you have that.

Yeah.

What's your opinion?

Do you think that someone could kind of create that type of drive or is it more innate in them?

I think it's a combination of, you know, environment cultivation and what you're innately given.

You know, if you look at my family, I'm the oldest of five kids.

Right.

We all turned out very differently.

Even though we had, you know, the same parents and, you know, relatively same upbringing, you know, I, my sister and I, who were closest to each other, were four years apart.

My dad jokes that, you know, we wake up eating raw meat, like we are like hungry, we're ready to go, you know, like we're

tenacious, you know, and you know, the triplets don't have the same drive.

They're very talented, they're very smart, but it's not that competitive drive.

My sister has it more in business than in like, she's not as physical as I am.

Like I'm obviously more of an athlete.

Right.

But, you know, so if you think about the environment, we grew up the same, you know, the same opportunities.

And I'm the only one that really became a skier.

Like my brother loved it, but, you know, he never really truly pursued it.

So, you know, I think it was, I was innately talented.

Right.

I had a drive within me.

I love doing it.

And I was cultivated by my parents, by my grandparents, like looking at my grandparents and parents as role models, you know, how hard they worked.

And, you know, that, you know, there was so much available to me.

There's never a, my family doesn't quit.

You know, we're, we're very driven, driven people.

And I look at my grandfather and, you know, he would, I would spend every summer with them, my grandparents.

And, you know, he was basically a construction worker.

And he left the house before I woke up.

And he got back right before we were going to bed.

And he just smelled of grease and sweat.

And he worked so hard.

My grandmother would wait up for him every night and have a bowl of ice cream waiting for him, which is like the cutest.

But just that type of work ethic, you know, you see that every day.

And my siblings saw it, but it didn't really sink in the same way as it did with me.

So I don't know.

I think it's a combination of everything, but you can't push, you can't, you can only lead someone to water, you know, you can't push someone into it.

My, my siblings were all very, very talented, but I'm the only one that became a skier.

So it's so that's really, that's so interesting because I mean, by the way, side note, do you know that you're, well, do you know, of course you know, you wrote a book called Strong is a New Beautiful a year after I wrote a book called strong is a new skinny oh really yes and they were both bestsellers but yeah isn't that funny and i i never i never got a chance to tell you that but that's funny about

when i saw you yes isn't that funny we'll have to like trade books i know i was gonna say like and i keep on forgetting and then like again when i was reading your stuff i'm like oh my god i totally forgot about that and so i thought that was very funny um but and i and i i know isn't that kind of fun it's really funny but what i i was gonna say i digress but i was gonna i was gonna say that i'm a big believer that talent is only a small piece.

It really is what you do with it.

There's a lot of people who are talented that basically waste it.

There are a lot of people who are super smart, but they're not gritty enough and don't have the drive to go after it.

So like it's the people that you could have just a morsel of talent, but if you have the ethic and work ethic, you can go like to like crazy places like you did.

Like you said, your family, your sister.

What do your brothers and sisters do now?

Are they in business then or what do they do?

My sister that's closest to me has her own social media branding company.

My other brother is an architect.

My other brother is a paralegal, and my sister is a consultant for philanthropy.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So then your dad, you said, was also a downhill skier.

Yeah.

And what happened to him?

Did he never make it to as far as you, obviously?

Yeah, he blew his knee out when he was 18.

Yeah.

He was junior national champion.

He was on an amazing, you know, trajectory, and he blew his knee out.

And at that time, you know, that was that was it he went to the best guy at the time who was doing like all the green bay packer um surgeries he was you know from wisconsin and uh and yeah that that's you know that's a career ender at that point so he became a lawyer a litigator one of the best in the country and really yeah he's he's uh he's very driven very driven i definitely get that from him wow so you definitely take after your dad is your mom like that then or my mom's very driven she i mean she's incredibly smart she she went to she actually was the reason why 10 made it through law school.

She's, you know, she's incredibly smart.

She's also very talented as well, physically.

Like, she was great at squash and tennis.

And, you know, she was just, you know, an amazing athlete.

But yeah, I think I get my mom's positivity more so than anything else.

Like, how did you like, okay, so what was the training like back then?

Like, what was your day like when you were 10, 11, 12?

Going to before going to Salt, like, like, walk me through a day in the life of a, of you?

Well, I mean, I didn't leave a normal life.

So I know.

Well, when my, when I'm so 12, you know, my, my mom and I moved to Colorado.

We had an apartment, like, we just went out for the winter so I could train, uh, train in Vale.

I went to an academy kind of part-time, and the rest of my siblings were at home with my dad.

And it was a really challenging time.

And then eventually the next year we moved out, like all of us moved out there together, except my dad was still working in Minnesota.

So he was commuting almost every week back and forth from Minnesota to Colorado.

I mean, I can't tell you how many, it's about 17 and a half hours from Minnesota to Colorado driving.

We did that many, many times.

My mom like raced back one night so I could make my middle school end of year party at the Six Flags

Park.

She's serious.

Yeah, she drove through the night, like straight through the night.

And we literally rolled up to Six Flags.

Oh my God, that is so cute.

And I got out of the car like with all our like candy, you know, like keeping us awake.

And I rolled in and that was, my mom was the best.

So I always always hear these stories about people like yourself who had a really supportive family.

That if it wasn't for the family unit being strong like that, and do they sacrificing, like it sounds like your family did for you, like, then you, then, of course, thankfully it paid off for you.

So, what would happen?

So, you would move there, like, what time would you have to wake up?

How many hours are you skiing?

Like, what how many hours are you spending on technique?

Like, what is the tactical?

I want to know, like, tactile, like, what is the things that you're practically doing daily to give people an idea, like, how much hard work went into it?

Well, when I was a teenager, I mean, it was all still very strategic from like my dad's 10-year plan.

Right.

It was about kind of building up to the right races at the right time.

So, you know, my preparation period was, you know, summer.

We would go to, you know, Mount Hood in Oregon.

I would train for like six, seven weeks.

I would ski.

I would, we would literally be up before six o'clock every day, be on the mountain like seven, seven thirty, and train until the snow was too soft to ski.

Then we'd have lunch, I'd take a nap, we do dry land training, so working out, and then we watch video.

That's on like, you know,

that's already at nine years old.

And that, so that's how many hours before the snow you said would go damp, like five hours, four hours?

Yeah, probably five hours.

Yeah.

So five hours of skiing and then how long dry land workouts?

Two hours?

Yeah, an hour, an hour to two hours.

It depended.

I mean, in summer camp, like when I was a kid, we would go on hikes, you know, and like there's this really long hike that takes you up to a lake.

And, you know, we would do games and things like that.

It wasn't, you know, incredibly difficult when I was a kid, but, you know, obviously as I progressed and got older, the physical training got quite a bit harder.

You know, the, the, yeah, the on snow stuff was pretty similar.

You're always working on technique, doing drills, doing training.

That's, that's all the same.

But the physicality, you know, off the mountain got a lot harder.

And once, when I was 15, I had to make the U.S.

ski team, and there's a physical test you have to pass.

So, my dad, you know, I had me doing 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups every day, mandatory.

And then on the weekends, I would go on the track, the high school next to the house, and I would run a mile.

There's like different tests.

I would do sprints, 440, you know,

all those things.

No, no, say what they are.

I think this is like 40-yard dash, like the 100, the 400, you know, like the speed stuff.

Yeah, it's like there was a, and they don't have it anymore, but it was kind of a, in some ways, rudimentary, you know, test.

It was like, how many push-ups can you do in 60 seconds you know like it's kind of silly but at that time you know i didn't i didn't have any structured training so you know it was it was a hard thing for me to do and at that point you know i realized i needed to shift gears and and do a lot more than i was to really make it to the next level and then when i made the team that's when it drastically changed because changed because they gave me a program that was the same as like a 27 year old and i was like i don't know what i'm right right right doing i'm doing like power cleans and i don't know how to do You were doing power cleans at 15?

Yeah.

Get out.

Yeah.

And

I gained a lot of weight.

I didn't know, you know, there was a lot of new things that were going on.

Totally.

Yeah.

And they also made me live in Park City, Utah, because it was right before the 2002 Olympics and they kind of had everyone mandatory living out there.

So there was a lot going on and a lot of sacrifice and a lot of me being away.

And also without your parents, you know, like I was, so if you think about it, I've been traveling away from my parents since I was nine years old.

Yeah.

with a lot of unsupervised time

so I kind of had to figure my way out through life you know on my own to a large degree

yeah like so you're you're independent like by yourself

so then you had to like legit like give up everything in your life like social life like I had no friends I never went to any proms or dances or like I never I maybe had like three sleepovers my whole life like I never as a kid like I didn't have those same experiences, but I also was traveling the world at nine years old.

You know, I had like my little wallet of, you know, all the different currencies and I was so proud of myself.

Yeah.

The Italian lira and the German mark and Australian, Austrian shilling.

And I, you know, it was like, I was very independent and I was proud of that, even though I missed a lot.

I still learned a lot.

I wouldn't trade it.

I think I get sad more so sometimes that I missed on the educational part of school.

Not so much as socializing because,

you can do that anytime.

You really can't.

Life is about choices, though, right?

Like, you make choices and you and sacrifice, right?

Even like, you know, that's like, you know, that's a microcosm of everything in life, right?

Like, if you want to have this, you have to sacrifice that.

Like, nothing in life is just like free-for-all.

Yeah.

Especially at this level of what you were talking about.

What was the one quality that you think is why you were able to make it to the level that you did, besides the work ethic and the drive and the grit?

I mean, it was a lot to do with grit.

I think I also, my dad would say I was mentally tough,

you know, and he would say, he said that to me so many times as a kid, like, you have to be mentally tough.

And, you know, as a kid, you don't really know exactly what he's talking about.

I'm like, yeah, okay, I'll do the push-ups, you know, I'll do the running, you know, and that's tough, you know, but you don't really know what that is until later in life when things really get tough.

And then, you know,

that's a quick way to separate yourself or not right or not you know so it's sink or swim and and so you know I had to figure my way through it and and I think that mental component like being being mentally very strong was something that separated me from the pack and also like that all the injuries that you endured and still had the resilience to come back and go and like that's what I think makes you

like forget about distance skiing in general like I don't know anybody like that's how I know you like know of you Seriously, like, I don't know about skiing people like as much as I would other sports.

Yeah.

But, like, the fact, like, how do you even like train for that type of that stuff?

Like, how do you teach people how to have that ability to fall and then have the confidence to get right back up again and try again and not let that deter you from

keep on trying and trying?

I mean, listen, life is about falling and getting back up.

That's what life is.

And I think that's what sports teaches kids very well.

It teaches them how to fail.

It's not about the winning or being the best at something.

It's about, I failed at something, but that's okay.

We're just going to pick ourselves back up and keep going, keep trying.

And I felt a million times in skiing.

You know,

some of them were very bad.

Some of them were not that bad.

But, you know, it's, it, it's about that process of, you know, don't let it hold you back.

You know, otherwise you're never going to do anything in life.

You know, if you're always afraid of falling, then you're, you're not actually living you're not skiing you're you're you're just living in the past so i'm i'm very quick to forget about mistakes i learn from them and i move on like was there ever a time when like in all of that time that you fell and you were injured that you had any self-doubt or that you were like you know what like i can't do this again it's it's too much it's too hard this injuries like you had those neat like you had some crazy shit happening stuff yeah and like it didn't But you're still up there doing it and then you win again.

I mean, like, it's like it's legit crazy.

I never thought that I couldn't do it.

I was worried that my injuries,

when I blew out my knee for the second time, I was worried that my meniscus was too damaged and I wouldn't be able to ski the way I wanted to again.

I never

thought.

I'm not capable of coming back.

And once I'm on the snow, you know, that's my happy place.

Right.

You know, and that's why I work hard.

I'm passionate about what I do.

I love what I, what I did.

You know, I loved racing.

There was no part about it that I didn't love, even the hard work.

You know, it, it was not just about the winning, but the journey.

Yeah.

And it shaped me into who I am.

And it's why I fought so hard to keep what I love.

You know, I would do anything, you know, work as hard as humanly possible to come back from my injuries because I was being taken away from something I love doing.

And like you just said, you just like said something that was, I think, very true.

And I can, and

it's for anybody.

Like, that's who you are, right?

Like, how do you even separate like your Lindsay, like regular Lindsay, this normal person from like this like crazy legendary skier?

Like that is your identity, right?

So if you're not doing it and now you're not even doing it because you retire, like I can't imagine on a, like, like just on like a mental like level, how are you, like, how do you cope with that?

Or how do you kind of transition from that to now?

it's been really hard yeah it's been really hard i mean you know i always knew that my career would end at some point you know every athlete their career comes to an end but you know to not have something that you love doing so much not having that there anymore is is really hard and and i had to figure out what is my identity outside of doing what i love you know i it's for me i had the analogy of skiing was my son and everything else revolved around it what What time I woke up, what I ate, how many you know business deals I did or you know interviews I did or how much how many hours I spent in the gym that all revolved around skiing.

So every decision was actually really easy to make because skiing was always my number one priority.

Wow.

And so when that when I literally went to bed and woke up and the next day it was gone.

And I'm like, whoa, okay, well, I have all these things.

I have all these amazing opportunities.

How do I, what do I do?

How do I organize it?

How do, you know, what's the priority?

What's my passion?

Who am I?

You know, is a lot to take in.

It took me like a year and a half to really get like my feet underneath me.

Really?

That's it?

I thought it'd take way longer than that.

Like that's.

Oh, that was a long time for me.

I move at a fast pace.

Exactly.

I was going to say, like, I forgot who I was talking to.

Right.

Like, it's like dog years.

Like a year and a half for you.

Like 12 and a half per month.

Literally.

I'd be literally, yeah.

So like, where did you, what did you figure out?

Like, who are you?

Like, what is your identity without having that?

Well, you know, a lot of people said I need to slow down.

You know, it's, it's not good to lead such a fast-paced life.

And I realized, why is it bad?

Yeah.

Why can't I work really hard and go after things that, you know, I want to achieve?

Right.

And so I've really leaned into that.

You know, I felt, I felt like I was being pushed, you know, to stop doing things that I loved.

And now, you know, I realize that, again, that's, that's who I am.

That's my personality.

And I also, through, you know, therapy, therapy, I'm like, what is it about skiing?

What is the feeling that I get from skiing that makes me so happy?

And I came to realize that it's the feeling that anything is possible.

So when I stand on the starting gate, I look at it as this opportunity.

I can do anything I set my mind to.

And when you work hard at something, you can do it.

And that's what I miss.

So I try to find that in things that I'm doing.

And it's not my identity, but it's what drives me.

And I'm always the same person that I always have been.

Like, I'm just a girl from Minnesota who likes skiing fast,

you know?

And skiing is not my identity, but it's also like part of me.

And I don't, I don't think that's a bad thing.

You know, it's so interesting because like when people would talk about you to me, like Brad or whoever, everyone said the same thing.

Like, she's so nice.

She's so down to earth.

She's a girl from Minnesota, like a normal person, you know?

And I wonder, like, how do you keep your feet like on the ground?

So, and it's authentic and it's real.

I can vouch for it, right?

Because when you've, when you've reached such highs like that and you've become like the best literally in the world at doing something and, you know, you don't know any different, right?

Because like, like you said, since you were nine years old, you were like doing all of this.

You've never had like a regular life like most people in the world.

Yeah.

Right.

Like, how were you able to kind of be that way?

Is it just because you had great parents?

I mean, it has to be more than that.

I think, you know, it's my my family, like my siblings definitely are like, I don't care how many times you've won, like,

like, I will always kick your ass, you know, like it's, it's that type of, you know, love that we have.

And, and I think, you know, I go back to Wisconsin with my family and my cousins and, you know, my aunts and uncles.

And it's just, it's all the same.

Like, we're all just, you know, roasting marshmallows in the fire pit and, you know, talking about life.

And it's, it's all the same.

Nothing, nothing changes.

Like, I'm not any more special than anyone else just because I want to ski race like we're all we're all the same and and you know again I think skiing I ski because I'm passionate about it because I love it not because I'm searching for fame or you know my priorities I think have always been in the right place and so I've I've never deviated from like my morals and values and who I am and you know I I don't know all those things I think together have helped just just maintain who I am.

Did you have to retire because of your injuries?

Yeah.

Because I would have kept going.

Yeah, like that was basically like you would have kept on going for sure, right?

Oh, yeah.

The year I retired, I retired in February of 2019, and that was my last race to the World Championships.

I'd had three surgeries that summer, and I crashed in November, and I tore my LCL, and I had three

fractures in my tibia.

So I was skiing on like nothing.

And it took me a month

just to like of rehab just to get back to where I could ski like moderately okay.

And then I had to train just to get back to like that last race.

And so it was, I, I was, I felt like I was being held together by duct tape.

Like I was, you know, I was hanging on by a thread.

Legit, like, literally, literally.

So I, I knew when I crashed that last time in November, I was like, I, I can't, I can't do this anymore.

And that was in my documentary.

That was kind of that moment when I'm in the hospital crying.

And

I like realized then, I'm like,

this is it.

I can't do this anymore.

I mean, so Lindsay has this, it's a great documentary, by the way, in HBO.

It's great.

And your last book was called Rise.

And the first book was called Strong as the Do Beautiful, which is, I think, hilarious.

I just wanted to say that I guess like you can still, technically, you can still ski leisurely, right?

Like

you're able to do all that.

But you talk a lot about your your like mental health and depression and anxiety.

And I would imagine skiing was a really amazing outlet for that.

Yeah.

Right.

Because, and also it's a great distraction.

You have something to do.

I'm great at distracting myself.

Yeah.

Well, yeah, yes.

I would imagine.

What do you distract yourself with now then?

Just fitness stuff?

Yes.

Yes.

You're a hardcore fitness person now too, right?

Mainly.

I mean, I still work out as hard as I do because I need that kind of physical outlet.

And, you know, again, like deep dive when I'm thinking about it, when you're racing, you're also very present.

Like there's no room for social media or, you know, what people are saying about you or what I have to do tomorrow or like what business deal I have.

You are so present, there is no room for anything else.

Otherwise, you literally could die.

So for me, you know, I miss that as well, just being able to block out all the noise.

And when I'm in the gym, I have that same feeling.

Like I am just focused on me working really hard.

And it's nice to shut.

It's like my meditation almost.

You know, everyone likes to do that Zen stuff.

And I, I, my Zen, I'm like kicking my own ass.

You know, that's, that's, and people, you know, again, it's like, I don't know, some people criticize me for it, but I really don't care.

It's, this is what I need to do.

I mean, that's to me, this whole, it's such nonsense.

What, like, because you're, you're, because I always say also, also, my meditation is like running because it zens me out and I get my best ideas and I think really well.

A lot of people say that.

Right?

Yeah.

And they're like, no, you have to sit there on a, on a pillow and do this whole thing.

I'm like, everyone's different.

Everyone's different.

I think it's so ridiculous to think that that should be working for everyone across the board.

Correct.

Are you able to run with the knees that you have?

Absolutely not.

No, you can't run.

I haven't run.

I've run once since 2013, and it was a horrible, horrible idea.

Oh, I can only imagine.

I like made it eight minutes and then I was like dragging my leg behind.

I can't even imagine.

So, what do you do for cardio then now?

Biking, elliptical,

and how much would you do a day?

I mean, I minimum do 30 minutes

biking, elliptical, minimum 20, and then I'll usually go an hour if I have the time.

But I would rather do like 30 minutes and then do like a hot cold contrast

than like an hour and no contrast.

I think for me and like the inflammation that I get in my knees and my body, it's important for me to do that.

So it's a time management.

Like I do as much as I can with the time I have.

I was going to say, so like, how much time are you dedicating to, okay, I want to know all of that stuff.

I want to know, like, exactly what you're, how you're workout, because this is like now, this is what I like to do, right?

So, do you like how much you're working out of, like, what is your daily regimen now?

And then, but before you tell me your daily regiment now, I want to work chronologically.

You said what you were doing when you were 12.

Okay.

Then, when you were like hardcore, like in the midst of like really in it, what was the day in the life?

Like, how much were you training?

What were you doing?

Were you working on balance?

Were you working on like hand-eye coordination?

Like, I love all this.

Have you watched Formula One?

The, you know, these

I know those guys so well.

I don't want to watch.

You don't want to.

It's like going to ruin me.

Yeah.

I'm like, I'm the only person in the United States that's like watched Formula One since forever.

But I, you know, I've watched like it's good for people to understand the drivers and like why it's so difficult.

Yes.

You know, the complexities with the team.

And it's, it's very, it's very interesting.

But yeah, if you're talking about like me in my prime, I was doing three workout sessions a day.

I would work out before breakfast.

Which is what time?

Like, I need the details.

Okay, details.

So I would work out usually eight to nine cardio, and then I would have breakfast.

What kind of cardio then?

What would you do?

Usually biking, usually interval biking so that I could get my metabolism going.

It was more of like a, like a hit, you know, workout.

Hit training for an hour?

Yeah.

Okay.

But not, you know, I was, it was, all my cardio workouts were very controlled by heart rates.

So, you know, I did like steady states.

So, you know, you're going five minute intervals at 150 to 155 beats per minute.

Or, you know, I was doing threshold workouts where it's a shorter time, like two to three minutes at, you know, 170 to 180.

You know, it was very, very specific and very specific reasons.

You know, in ski racing, you're only actually skiing for about two minutes.

Yeah.

But you have to also sustain that type of endurance for the whole winter.

So we obviously, you know, you train for three to four minutes, you know, at that same pace so you can maintain that endurance throughout the season.

So, yeah, cardio in the morning for an hour, usually breakfast, you know.

What would you eat for breakfast?

Usually, eggs, some sort of, you know, vegetable, omelette, whatever, and fat, like

almond butter and a banana as well, something like that.

Now, I do a lot of protein shakes after my workout.

I still love working out in the morning,

but protein shake right after.

Then I would take a little break.

I would do weightlifting, usually two hours of weightlifting at least, or else athletic training.

So I'd be on the track doing agilities, sprints, hill sprints, sled pushes, like kind of all that

functional stuff.

Yeah, all that functional fitness.

So again, it would rotate between strength and functional fitness.

And then I would have another snack break, a nap.

And then I would do another afternoon cardio session.

And then after dinner,

either I'd have a protein shake and massage, or I would have dinner and then a massage.

And what would you have for dinner?

Protein.

I tried not to have carbs at night, so I would always have carbs in the afternoon.

In the morning, sometimes I had oatmeal as well.

Wow.

Okay, so how for fruit?

Were you a fruit person, though?

Because

that was never your thing.

I don't know.

I like the bananas and almond butter thing, but it's not really my thing.

So then, how would you like fruits and vegetables?

I know.

Well, now do you eat the, but look, I mean, listen, you're still like in amazing shape.

I mean, it's like you're probably not doing the three i'm definitely not as regimented i mean why would you be right but but wait a second so i'm like so fascinated with this so then you do these three like three workouts a day then you're eating very precisely so that even then like you can't go out for dinners you can't do anything because i do sometimes but only on the break so like yeah but

okay seven days there's seven days a week obviously so i would do those three sessions probably monday tuesday wednesday half day thursday friday Saturday, half day, Sunday off.

Did you ever get tired?

Like were you ever, was your body tired?

Like just I had built up like you work out your whole life and you build into that.

Like you don't just wake up one day and say, I'm going to do three sessions today.

No, of course not.

But like you, you get that physical, you know, endurance level.

You're able to sustain that type of, you know, working out.

I think there was a point in which I was working out too much.

Yeah.

But I was just winning all the time.

So I was like, why am I changing my routine if it's working?

But then, you know, obviously I got injured then, and I had to change everything I did.

So when you get injured, are you not able?

Like when you broke your ankle, like, I mean, that's a massive injury.

Mm-hmm.

Like, how long does that take you out for?

Like months, right?

Like, almost like six weeks.

That's it?

I mean, I'm in a ski boot, so it's kind of like a cast.

It's kind of, yeah, you're right.

So you can get away with it a little bit more.

I like the push limits.

It's always negotiation.

This is amazing.

This is like the part that I find fascinating.

How do you went to a doctor's office?

I'm like, okay, you tell me eight weeks, I tell you six weeks.

You know, like that's, we go back and forth and every doctor knows that I'm going to push, push the limits.

But I always know, like, I know my body well enough and I also know medicine well enough.

I, I can read, if you ever get hurt, I'll read your MRI.

Really?

I know what I'm talking about.

Like, I don't just, you know, blindly say, you know, I don't care what you say.

I'm going to come back faster.

Yeah, you know.

I know exactly what I'm doing and I will read the MRIs and I'll know I've made mistakes in my life and I will not make that mistake again.

Because you know what's interesting?

Like, God, like, you know, you're very lucky because you did, as much as you've gotten hurt, nothing that was catastrophic, like going that fast.

Yeah.

I mean, people have been paralyzed.

People have lost their legs.

I've seen it many times.

And like, nothing, like, nothing like that, thankfully, has ever happened.

That's my perspective.

It could always be worse.

But that's a great, that's a great mindset.

No matter how bad of a day you're having, it can always be worse.

That's a great mindset to have.

Like that, and you really think this way all the time.

Yeah.

I mean, I got that perspective from my mother.

You know, she had a stroke when she gave birth to me and she was disabled with her ankle.

So she couldn't, her balance was really bad.

So she couldn't run.

She never skied with me.

Like she, she really struggled physically.

And, you know, she was brilliant.

She's a lawyer.

But, you know, because she couldn't do those physical things with us, you know, that didn't stop her from trying.

And it also didn't stop her from being positive.

She was always positive.

And so, you know, when I get injured, I'm like, well, if I have surgery, if I work hard, I can come back.

My mom doesn't have that luxury.

So I owe my mother and myself to push myself to get back.

See, I love that.

I love your attitude and your mindset.

And it's also like, it's because it's real, right?

Like this is like, no, you're, you're like a living proof of it.

Like you actually live it.

You're not just saying these words.

Like a lot of people, like motivational people, like, oh yeah, just la la la.

They've never done a damn thing in their life, right?

But you actually have.

I mean, where did the depression and anxiety kind of start coming in?

What at what age?

And like, and it doesn't sound to me, I mean, I don't know you, right?

Like that well, but it sounds like you're, you already have trained your brain to be very positive and to look at the glass, you know, half full.

Yeah.

So like, what was kind of happening that that was

it was when I was a teenager.

You know, I was living in Park City by myself when I was 16 years old.

And, you know, it was really hard.

I had no support really.

And I was really depressed.

And I was just pretty lost.

And, you know, my depression like ebbed and flowed in my career.

There are times when no matter how successful I was, I felt extremely alone.

And, you know, also after so many injuries, you know, sitting at home in your bed by yourself in pain, it's, it's not a great place to be.

Right.

So I think I've, again, learned different coping mechanisms.

And when I skied, skiing was an outlet for me.

Like I find so much joy in skiing also because eventually when I was older, I used it as a crutch.

You know, that was like my, that was me dealing with everything that I had going on.

Like any personal, the reason why I always still was successful despite all the shit that was happening around me is because I internalized it.

I used it as fuel.

And then when I skied, I let it all out.

Right.

So that was my therapy.

Totally.

And then what is, and now is the therapy.

And then do you feel like the anxiety has subsided because it sounds more circumstantial based on where you were in your life?

I think it was pretty circumstantial.

But again, like it ebbs and flows.

And I think it's always, for me, I try to just have a balance.

Yeah.

You know, I've been, I've journaled since I was nine and it was just a way I didn't have.

anyone really, you know, especially when I was on the road.

So it's like that was

how I balanced everything and I still do it.

And so I think it's everyone finds their, you know, their way of managing themselves.

And so I've had different escapes in my life, but now I feel like I'm in a good place where I really, I'm very, I'm pretty balanced, you know, even though like if I, if my mother had died and I wasn't in the place that I was, I don't know if I'd be functioning.

Right.

You know, so I'm happy with, you know, what I've learned in my life to get me to this place where I'm okay.

And what, like, what is the, where are, like, where are you now?

Like, I mean, I don't mean, I don't mean like physically, but I mean, you know, you, you know, you wrote, you write the books, you start a production company, you invest in businesses, you're, you're very entrepreneurial with the goggles.

And what else do you have?

The goggles?

I have my ski line.

Yeah, I, I, I'm now an advisor to a

sports fund actually with Avenue Capital.

So there's like a lot of things the investment side.

Yeah, I'm really excited about it.

Like Michael Strahan and Candice Parker and Steph Green.

That's a great, that's great.

Yeah, I'm really excited.

Are you going to be doing like the sports vertical, I guess?

We're solely sports.

So Avenue is like, you know, such a successful group and we're just specifically on this sports fund.

Wow.

So does that mean all investments that you do will go through Avenue or?

Yeah.

Well, at least for the sports side.

Yeah, for the sports side.

I still will have my individual, you know, investments.

Like I invested in LAFC and Riala Salt Lake.

I saw that.

That's so cool.

I love that.

I love investing in women.

I love it.

You're also a great role model.

I mean, like, legitimately, a great role model for women, right?

Because, like I said, like, there's so, especially like here and with social media and there's so many people who are posers or like they say these, they talk a lot.

They give a lot of advice, but they've never lived it, worked it, done it.

I think it's hard for kids to also decipher, you know, what that means.

And there's so much disinformation and Instagram is not reality.

And most people, you know, even like the last couple of days, you know, I'm like, oh, oh, you're everywhere.

You're doing everything.

You're so, you know, you live such a great life.

I'm like, I'm fucking tired.

Yeah, exactly.

You know, like, I'm so tired.

I've been, you know, traveling non-stop.

And I love it, but it's also not glamorous.

You know, it's, I'm trying to get from point A to point B as fast as I can to get to something else.

And, and I love that.

I love that hustle, but it is not glamorous.

And Instagram is not real.

And so

I don't envy kids these days because it is a very hard world.

It's terrible.

And especially even just talk about mental health, right?

Like the mental health has gone up.

It's hard for me as an adult to like mentally be okay reading the comments that come on my feet.

And especially

for kids,

those bullies are coming from their inner circle.

I at least can pretend that to some, you know, somebody living in their mother's basement, you know.

100%.

You know, that's easy for me to pretend.

But for kids, like, no, these are, that's actually my classmate that I thought I was friends friends with.

The hundreds below me.

It's really, really awful and it's horrible.

Do you spend a lot of time on social media though, or not really?

I try not to.

I mean, I can't say that I'm immune to it.

I definitely have a lot thicker skin than I used to.

I have to, but, you know, I try to use my platform in a positive way.

You know, I try to show people like how hard I'm working and what you can do.

And, you know, with my injuries, you know, there's, I get so many messages from, especially from teenagers who, you know, are in high school or college sports and they've blown their knee out and they're asking me for advice or help.

And even professional athletes that are asking me for help.

And, and that's what I love.

I think social media can connect you in amazing ways.

It's not all about, you know, people hating you, but.

Sometimes those are the only comments that you see.

Right.

And it's hard to shut that out of your mind as well.

I agree.

Like, it's always that way.

Like, you could have a million positives.

You just see the one.

You just see that one negative and that can just spiral you out of control.

I I try to, I have like a filter on like things that if people say, I don't see it.

Could you, how do you filter out just negative comments?

It's just keywords.

You have like a keyword filter.

Really?

Yeah.

I didn't know you were able to do that.

Oh, my God.

Get into that.

I know.

I had no idea.

I should really kind of.

Can you tell me afterwards how to do that?

Show me.

I will.

I had no idea.

Yeah.

That would be so helpful.

So people swear, they say, like, I hope you die.

Like, that's.

But also, some of this is just nonsense like these are people most of the time there's some pretty fucked there's pretty messed up people out there it's that's that it's actually dangerous more than anything like I find like you have to be super super careful because now people are so much more you're easier attain like it's easier to that's why I have a tenant defense dog you what I have a defense dog you do yeah I just I feel safer Because like with social media and like everyone knows where you are and like it's just I

feel safer.

That's amazing yeah I love that yeah I didn't know this so wait so she's not here I don't feel threatened you don't feel

I'm glad I don't I don't I don't think that I think that you could probably peddle with you okay

but I feel like Faith that you could probably like like demolish me yourself

okay but what's okay what's your routine now then you said like you you don't you're not as obviously as vigorous as you were but you work out every morning for how

not every morning but I mean it's like depends on travel like for example, this morning.

How long are you away now?

This time?

This, in this location, I'm here for two and a half days.

Okay.

I go to another location for two days, another location for two days, and then I'm home.

God.

Christmas.

I'm so excited.

Oh my gosh.

It's Christmas.

Oh, yeah.

But it's good.

I mean, like, I'm going to see my dad

on the weekend, so that'll be nice.

Or on Monday, I forget what day of the week it is.

Get to see some kids.

I'm going to stop by the ski school and say hi to some kids.

It'll be good.

But like, for for example, this morning, so I woke up at 7.30.

I was on the bike by 8.

I did 40 minutes of cardio.

I did 10 minutes of sauna.

I jumped in the pool, which is not heated.

It's really, really cold.

Like a cold plunge then, basically.

Basically.

Yeah.

And then I took a shower and was on a, on a board call at nine o'clock.

I had hair and makeup come at 10.15.

I was on the board call while I was finishing hair and makeup.

Yeah, yeah.

I left at 11 o'clock, went to my first TV show, and then I had another podcast, and then I had you.

What podcast did you do before me?

Dwayne Wade.

Oh, okay.

Not like it makes a difference.

Oh, okay.

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Do you do the red light?

Do you believe in the red light for like a like a

like infra?

No, just like red light therapy.

Like would you ever, you know i like i have a bad whatever like ultraviolet no just like a red light like infra i guess you would call it well i have like an infrared light set like sauna that those you know yeah that's infrared yeah but i'm talking about a red light for your face like do you ever do any red light for injuries for inflammation well listen i i think there are some strong enough lasers or red lights however you want to call them that can stimulate healing yeah is it going to fix you absolutely not no they're not going to fix you no is it going to make it feel slightly better maybe Is it worth it?

Probably not.

Probably not, right?

Like, if normally, if you have a problem, like if you have, if you have pain somewhere, it's usually coming from somewhere else.

So, and normally I would say most people can't figure out what, where that is, where it's coming from.

So you need to go to

that's a hard thing.

I can't even recommend somebody or something because most people won't be able to figure it out.

But chiropractors are pretty good at figuring it out.

Like when my rib goes out,

it's because my right hip is too tight.

It's It's pulling me forward.

Yes.

So, you know, but that to me is it, I agree with you, but you have to be, you have to go to someone who's really good.

I know.

And all hard parts.

And that's the really hard part.

So sometimes I just say, you know, manage it the best you can because your body will adapt.

Unless you can really dig in and do the therapy to get it back, you're better off just kind of adapting to the way it is unless it's pain.

It's super painful.

But like when my ribs go out, it's really painful.

So I have to figure it out.

That's really painful do you ever get sciatica no you ever get that do you prefer sauna or the cold plunge what do you think is a better like a like a more like a better modality if you have to pick one or the other well so you're not supposed to do cold plunges after you weightlift right right because it it doesn't it doesn't it stops so when you you're actually tearing your muscle yeah I thought it happened so it stops your bleeding so it restricts your your veins so like you're not you're not able to recover you're not able to repair so it's like you're not building anymore it stops okay wait wait wait say that again because that's interesting because I want to make that into a clip for people because I'm not a doctor so no but you're probably no more than it most doctors by the way but say that again so if you this is what my trainer told me and I believe everything he says

but if you go into a cold plunge after you weightlift it's it's you're when you weightlift your muscles are being torn apart you're actually tearing your muscle and then it rebuilds on top of itself to make it even stronger So if you jump into a cold plunge right after, you're stopping not only the like the tearing, it's bleeding, your muscle's bleeding.

It's not going to be able to repair itself.

Like it's not going to be better than what it was.

Right, right, right.

Okay.

It's going to stop the healing.

So normally you should get in a cold plunge, you know, like after cardio.

Cardio is fine.

You're not building anything besides cardiovascular strength.

Totally fine to jump in the cold plunge.

The sauna is good, but sometimes like for me, if I jump into the sauna without the cold plunge, I'll get too inflamed.

Really?

Yeah.

If you jump into the sauna without the cold plunge?

Yeah.

So

I'm a little bit odd in that with all my surgeries, when I go into a hot tub, when I go into a sauna, my circulation gets going and then I my knee starts to blow up.

Wow.

So I have to be like really conscious of how long I'm in there and make sure I get into the cold plunge after.

And like I, I, my body is a constant, like it's it's a job and i have to work really hard just to maintain it and part of the reason not only for my mental sanity do i go into the gym but i also have to to not hurt if i stop working out i will literally fall apart I mean, I, but I totally understand what you're saying.

I, I feel you on that.

But at the same time, you have to be so careful with all that.

You got to work around so many of these injuries.

I know how to do that.

Right.

So you've got to be so happy.

Like, you adapt.

Yeah.

So, like, so I know what I have to do.

What's, you know, if something's hurting, you know, where it's coming from, you know, when I am not able to work out enough, my back starts to hurt because I'm not doing the posterior chain work.

You know, it's, it's all correlated and every, every cause has an effect.

And when you understand your body better and, you know, through working out, through therapy, you can self-heal yourself in a lot of ways.

Like you can figure out how to make things better on your own without therapy.

And I have to do that because

don't have access all the time to therapists anymore.

Right.

But it's something that you learn.

You know, it's not, I didn't just wake up and, you know, I'm a professional athlete, so I must know what I'm dealing with.

A lot of professional athletes don't know.

Right.

They couldn't tell you why something hurts or, you know, I have back pain and they have no idea that it's coming from their hip flexors.

There's a lot of athletes that don't know.

So it's something that you can learn.

It's not just professional athletes.

Everyone can learn more about their body and being more in tune with it and

feel better because you understand it better is there anything that you can like tell us me that work that you found that works really well that maybe is not so mainstream like a sauna or a cold plunge that or it's a different modality that yeah like another type of honestly like because when you sit all like i sit a lot i'm in planes a lot you know most people sit a lot in the office yeah any type of like chest stretching like open your thoracic yeah is that changed my life because I'm always and I'm hunched I'm you know my hip flexors so if I can do like you know lunge stretching with like my you know my arms like getting like my my

lats my lats my lats my chest like my stretching my chest helps me so much really which is I honestly never would have thought of that but I have this amazing therapist Lorenzo and he

he's like a chiropract he's a freaking magician but anyways most of my problems come because I my chest and hip flexors are too tight

so like stretching it's not like muscular stretching it's like your mobility mobility yeah mobility stretching do you believe in supplements like do you take anything like collagen or you know omega 3s or whatever I feel like I'm so broken that like that's just not gonna help me

like I'd rather just like ductate my knee again yeah I mean I do still take like collagen my protein powder and I do B12 and like vitamin D3 just because in the winter I don't see the sun enough.

But nothing like, nothing more than that.

I could get more into it, but I honestly, and a lot of people, a lot of studies, a lot of doctors tell me that it does help, but I honestly just don't think it does.

Yeah.

You know, it's so interesting I find, because I find the biohacking group people, I've speaked to so many of these people, and they'll tell you 97 things that they do in their morning routine where it's such a long list where it's practically dinner time by the time they finish their morning routine.

People don't have that kind of time.

I mean, that's what I'm saying.

It's so unrealistic.

Yeah.

But the people who are actually like you, let's say, it's like they don't buy into this.

They don't believe in that.

Like a lot of it's like a money maker, really.

You know what I mean?

Like it's the basics that really work.

Well, everyone wants to be young.

Everyone wants to be young.

Exactly.

There's a lot of money to be made.

You know, people want to profit and

use you for that.

And honestly, it's like, you got to live your life.

There's a balance.

Take care of yourself.

Yes.

Eat right.

Do the things you can do, but also have some ice cream.

Do you eat ice cream?

Yeah.

You do?

Yeah.

Like, how often are you eating ice cream?

Like, my friends, for my birthday, they instacarted me like eight cans, containers of Ven and Jerry's.

Did you eat them all?

Not all of them.

But like, I sit down, you know, and I'm like, I have a really bad day and I'll watch Law and Order and I'll just like go to town yeah it was something like my like my family always did together it was like my both my parents were lawyers and it's the only thing we ever did was law and order saturday night live and for some reason like it makes me feel better right like olivia benson marishka now that we're friends like it literally makes me extremely happy wow that like she makes me feel better That is amazing.

My family would watch gold, me and my sister, my mom, my dad never watched it, but Golden Girls.

And it's because of that, it's like, it's so nostalgia.

If I see it on TV, now I still like it makes me feel so much better.

Yeah, yes, exactly.

Yeah, so you're not someone who's like, I'm a vegan, I won't eat this.

I'm like an intermittent faster.

Balance, you know, like, are you an intermittent faster?

No.

Okay, good.

No.

Thank you.

I'm not on this podcast isn't.

The only thing I do, I would highly recommend.

Like, I did the

glucose testing.

I did a couple months of that just to like see, you know, what my, what my body was reacting to.

One thing that I recommend not doing is eating any food on a plane ever.

Because of the high sodium, or is it?

I don't know what they're putting in it, but it is, it did not sit well with me.

My, that is like, I could eat three gallons of ice cream and it wouldn't spike my insulin as much as like anything I ate on an airplane.

Really?

Like, any,

anything.

So, like, I don't know what they're putting in it.

I don't know.

Any airline, I'm not naming any, like, it was anything that I touched.

And I don't know.

Some people say it's because it's high altitude, which I think is totally BS.

I think it's mainly just their preservatives and sugars because

they want it to taste good.

It's just all these extra things.

And my insulin just spiked so high.

So I do not eat on planes.

I always pack my own food that I carry with me, even if it's a short flight.

I'll just have some almonds, but I never eat on planes.

That's a great tip, actually.

That's a really great tip.

Lots of water.

Yeah.

And also, because you can feel it, right?

Like you feel when you eat that food.

I feel so bad.

Like if I'm, if something happens and I don't have my food and I'm starving and I have to eat something, I feel horrible.

Yeah.

No, I totally agree.

It's, it's, and it's like, you feel horrible for like days after too.

Yeah.

It's not just like for like an hour.

And my knee, like, my knee swells, you know.

My knee is like, it's kind of like a little like health meter.

I was going to say it must be, right?

Like, that's crazy.

I travel too much, like any of the, any of the things, drink too much wine.

It's just, it's like.

Do you drink?

Do you drink alcohol often?

Not often?

Only tequila.

Lobos.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, right.

Only tequila.

That's right.

Yeah.

What's it called?

Lobos.

Yeah, and I'm an investor.

You are?

Okay.

Is it a premium tequila?

It's premium.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's, I mean, they have, you know, Mezcal and Agnejo, extra Niejo, Hoven, Praposado.

See,

if I, I'm not a drinker, but if I do drink, that's the only thing I'll make.

It doesn't make me swell.

I checked my insulin.

Like, it's the only thing that doesn't spike me.

I used to be a really heavy gin and tonic or gin and gin drill.

And gin, I love gin, but it's a pretty big depressant.

More than like vodka?

Yeah.

Really?

Vodka is just alcohol and water.

And so what is gin?

Like, what's, isn't that the same?

I mean.

I don't know.

It's a longer fermentation, and there's also more sugar in it.

So that's why it becomes more of a depressant.

I think so.

I'm pretty sure.

Really?

To my knowledge.

I didn't know that.

How about whiskey?

I know nothing about me on this podcast, but I might have to.

I don't know about whiskey, but I'm 99% sure that's accurate.

Really?

Okay.

So you eat every meal.

So you eat your breakfast, your lunch, your dinner.

You eat meat, you eat chicken, you eat everything.

everything.

I eat vegan.

Like I have Beyond Me, I have just eggs.

I have a balance.

Like I'm not.

You're not crazy about the food.

No.

Were you ever, when you were in your prime, prime training, like, did you ever get body issues or body image issues?

Yeah.

Because I would feel like

when I won the Olympics, I, you know, I was on, I started to be on like red carpets for things.

And I'm like, I look around me, like, I don't look like anyone else here.

And, you know, I would go do fittings and they're like,

yeah, this sample size doesn't fit you.

And I'm like, okay,

what do I do?

Can I wear something?

Like, you know, it was definitely apparent that I wasn't the norm.

And I definitely had some body images, body image issues after that.

But it was only like two-year stint.

And I just was like, F it.

I'm good.

How did you get over it, though?

That's like one thing that I would think about.

I lost the World Cup title by three points and I got over it real quick.

Really?

Yeah.

So do you think that was a, do you think that affected your really

I didn't eat as much as I should have and I just I was more conscious of the way I looked instead of just working as hard as I could.

And I definitely think it had an effect, especially on the beginning half of my season.

And I lost by three points and it was a tough pill to swallow, but I got over it pretty quick.

And then ever since then, you're like, I'm not doing it.

I'm not.

I'm not, you know, my body has a purpose and I want to win.

And, you know, if I don't look the same, that's fine.

Do you know, it's so interesting to hear you say that that because i remember like the i like the things that you know you kind of hear in the back is like you were like you were known to be like the hottest like girl athlete you don't you're looking at me like i'm crazy you were like don't you you must know you must have heard this you're like sports illustrated swimsuit you don't know the maps illustrated yeah but like a maxim stuff i'm also like i don't know i'm not i don't have like a you never heard this before this could be the first time you're hearing this no i don't view myself in that way.

But okay.

I'm happy to be like, I'm happy that, you know, a strong athlete is in like swimsuit issue because I think that's important.

100% agree with you.

But I don't look at myself as like, ooh.

But you don't remember, like, maybe it just goes in the zeitgeist, you know, you hear these things and it's because it's you, you don't realize it's you.

You know what I mean?

It's like that was you.

That's.

That's you.

Yeah.

But that's how it's interesting when you hear girls like yourself who had a bot like who had that body image or you had that like a little bit of that stint of insecurity with you how you looked when you're obviously so beautiful.

I mean, you really are.

And that's it's all in the eye of the beholder.

It's not obvious.

Yeah, but that, but I'm telling you, like that's like, that was like the, you were like the hot, like super hot girl athlete.

You don't remember this?

No,

but like, am I,

this is also the problem.

Am I like, do you know me more for that or do you know me for winning?

i know i i personally i rem I remember you for being like the like a badass like if there's going to be a real female badass it would be you like that's what I remember because this girl was like fear like that's how I remember I can accept that fearless

resilient because I remember you just kept on coming back for more more more like you would get hurt like I thought wow this if talk about a role model for women and for girls and for young girls this is like there's no one better.

Because like you would show, like, you know, it doesn't matter.

Like if you, this, if you had, if you got knocked down, got injured, you got hurt, you got right back up.

And not only did you get back up, you proved that you can still be a, you can still win, you can still do all these things.

Yeah.

Like to me, that's what makes you legendary in my mind because no, it's the truth.

And so like, I have a little girl.

And funnily enough,

I think that you're on, there's this app called,

actually, you have have to get involved in this app now.

It's called Legend.

And it's, oh my, you should be, I'm not even joking, you're perfect.

The app is basically a confidence app for kids.

No way.

Yeah.

And you do five minutes of

these very specific training sessions.

And it helps build children's confidence at a young age because it starts when you're young.

Yeah, of course.

And they have all the best, like

the people from Scholastic and all these people who helped put it together.

And they they start them by giving people these like very powerful stories of people like role models like they did a Michael Jordan one.

I really believe that you are you are one of them.

Well, I honestly I want to like get in touch with them.

No, I have my foundation like our purpose is to help underserved girls and like empower them to scholarships and programs.

So I've been trying to find a way to build a community of girls and empower them and i want to yeah i want to i want this app i'm telling you like you would be a perfect person to be partnered with them because with your foundation especially because you are like like

like you are the legend that they are talking about but like i will tell you because like my little girl she's eight years old and it gives her like she wants to be a dancer like you know she's eight years old yeah and she hears these stories from women and girls who've gone after their dreams and like like actually like accomplished them and it changes their their mindset it changes their brains and she believes now that she can be a dancer or she can perspective it's all perspective yeah I'm gonna get you in touch with them okay I really want to do that no I'm I'm not to be honest but like I want to give that to my girls you should how many how big so can you just tell me I know it's probably like I got I'm gonna wrap this right after this but I want to hear about your foundation because I think it's a really beautiful thing that you're doing thanks well we have scholarships and empowerment programs for underserved girls and we've given over a million dollars in scholarships.

Wow.

I'm at every camp.

So we have these like weekend camps where we have a curriculum, our own curriculum.

We just developed our own curriculum and we just basically teach them about grit and like how to be confident and build good friendships.

And we'll also talk a little bit about like financial literacy and cyberbullying, like just giving them the tools to be able to navigate life and tell them that they can.

You wouldn't believe how many kids that I've spoken to where actually their parents told them they'll never be good at something and they quit.

You know, they'll quit soccer because one person told them an offhanded comment, like they're not good at it.

Totally.

You know, and they're so sensitive, and especially in this world with social media, like one little comment and they're done.

And so I'm trying to give them the tools to be able to reframe that negativity and

allow themselves to believe in what they're doing and who they are.

So so i don't know it's more than just scholarship it's it's really about empowerment what would be the one tip you would tell young girls young people who have self-doubt that they didn't have a dad like yours who said you know what let's do this let's let's write out a 10-year plan well my dad wasn't always there and there are a lot of people that told me that i couldn't do it and the if you don't believe in yourself no one else will so you have to believe in what you're doing and it's easier said than done but if you truly want something then you have to believe in it and you have to go after it, which means working hard.

A lot of kids, especially kids, expect that when they say they want to be something, it's going to be manifested and magically appear.

Nothing in life is easy.

We just have to work hard to get to where we want to go.

And if we fall, we get back up.

And that's it.

I love that.

Thank you.

My God, Lindsay, I'm so happy that you came with this podcast.

No, seriously, I love it.

I'm so glad we got introduced to each other.

I really am.

Like, I love, I think you're so inspirational.

Like, really, I really do.

For old women, too.

I think it's amazing because you are like, you're just such a great role model for someone who says they're going to do something, follows through, does it, shows people that they can.

I really think like you're just, you should be very proud of yourself.

I'm serious.

It's amazing.

I'm thankful that I had a good family teaching me.

Yeah, but you know what?

Like.

True, but you really, like, you really are.

It's super inspirational.

And I've never really, I wouldn't say say that if i didn't believe i'm not just saying that because you're sitting on the i don't think you're the kind of person that would say that i wouldn't i wouldn't at all at all so i appreciate it thank you no it's amazing guys you have to watch the hbo i i love all those kind of documentaries but like yours is really great and her book is rise of course the other one strong is a new beautiful and the strong

read them in tandem we should do like a buy them

we should do them together who's your publisher harbor collins okay mine was random house but that is hilarious really funny and you know what i would always tell people Oh, sorry.

Okay, guys, so get her books and we'll

check you out.

Oh, also,

on social media, what is your handle?

It's just my name, Lindsay Vaughan.

There you go.

Or Lindsay Vaughan Foundation.

Oh, yes, the foundation, which is amazing.

Thank you.

With an E.

Oh, with E.

That's true, because I always would, I spelt it with an A and I couldn't.

I got screwed up.

It's a thing.

It's with an E.

It's an E, yeah.

And two N's, right?

Yes, V-O-N-N.

Good.

Thank you.

Thank you.