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EP: 66 Resilience and Growth in the Life of Sonny Webster

• Sophia Delavari • Season 1 • Episode 66

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What's it like to transition from being an elite athlete on the Olympic stage to a successful entrepreneur? Sonny takes us through his compelling journey from the  Olympics to establishing thriving businesses like the Mobility Manual, the Lifting Zone, and Big Friday Supplies. Sonny opens up about his recent move from Australia to Dubai.

Facing rejection and adversity is a universal experience, but how does one turn these moments into opportunities for growth? Sonny shares his personal struggles, including a significant life ban, and how he managed to transform his setbacks into moments of reflection and improvement. The episode delves into the importance of owning one's decisions and valuing the process over emotions. Sonny's story serves as a powerful reminder that adversity can lead to personal development and a deeper understanding of one’s values and beliefs.

Sonny recounts his rigorous training regimen, the challenges of qualifying for the Olympics, and how a severe back injury at 13 became a turning point for refining his technique. Additionally, we explore the significance of living in the present moment, practicing self-care, and expressing gratitude. The discussion also highlights the journey of scaling a business beyond a personal brand and the importance of passion, strategic decisions, and appreciation in achieving long-term success. Join us for a conversation filled with invaluable lessons on balancing life, business, and personal fulfillment.

If you want to find Sonny and all his business ventures click the link below
https://www.instagram.com/sonnywebstergb/?hl=en

Thanks again guys for listening,
I would love to hear your feedback !
Pop me a message on my instagram below and lets chat!
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Sophia x

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Speaker 1:

Welcome on to the podcast today. Sonny, Can you introduce yourself?

Speaker 2:

For sure, I'm Sonny Webster. I'm 30 years old. I'm an Olympic weightlifter competed in the 2016 Olympic Games. I'm the founder of the Mobility Manual, the Lifting Zone and Big Fire Supplies.

Speaker 1:

That was very quick. You've done this a lot, I can tell A few times. So welcome to Dubai. I know you have mentioned you're going to move here right.

Speaker 2:

That's the plan. Yeah, I've just had the last three weeks here in Dubai feeling out for now, but back in September and then going to call this home. So what has made you change from Australia? Australia, so far from everything, I think, is the biggest thing for me. I've been there for five years. It's an absolutely amazing part of the world, but everything runs a little bit slower in Australia and I think at the point that I'm at in my life I kind of wanted to be closer to the, the mix of everything. I'm still traveling a lot to deliver my seminars and my coaching, so this is a much better location for that so you just mentioned there the point that you're living in life.

Speaker 1:

What point is that now?

Speaker 2:

Cool. That's a really good question. The point that I'm living at at the moment, I think, is I'm searching for my next big step, my next big opportunity in business, kind of at that point where, from a work perspective, I've got to a place where I'm comfortable from a living perspective, I can got to a place where I'm comfortable from a living perspective, I can afford the things I want, live the lifestyle that I want to live. But I really want to leave a legacy in what I do, and that's the overriding arch when I think about like, okay, what's my mission statement? I want to change the way that people perceive the world, weightlifting globally and make it accessible to the masses. And that's really what I want to do with everything that I do.

Speaker 2:

And I think I need to be at this part of the world in order to be able to make new connections, um, construct new, I guess, boundaries to what I'm doing in my business space, to take that next leap. I think we can very easily get comfortable in our environment and going into a new environment can sometimes be that kickstart. And in addition to that, I feel like I'm so fortunate to be at a point in my life, at 30 years old, where I can do that. I can get up and move and try somewhere new. I may be here for six months and think, okay, this isn't for me, but I want to, while I can still take those opportunities and explore. Travel to me and experience is one of the things that I value the most in my own personal life. So while I can, I'm doing it.

Speaker 1:

How do you nurture your relationships if you're on the move all the time?

Speaker 2:

It's a really good question as well, because I'm finding that now, already being away from some of the most special people in my life from a friendship standpoint and it is difficult because I really thrive on good, deep conversations with with my friends I love that time that I spend with them on a on a personal level, and you don't get that when you're traveling, traveling. And I think, when you really find a true friend, though, like no matter how far away you are from them, like physically, you can still connect and have that time and be there for each other and the important people in your life. You'll always make the effort to travel to and see, and I've done that, I think. One of my closest friends, jeff, who's based in the UK, is also my business partner. I've known him for 15 years and we've met up in every corner of the world because we care about each other enough to make that effort. No one's ever too far away if they're that important to you.

Speaker 1:

Great answer. So you're so busy. I know you have business. You're weightlifting all the time, so how do you manage to nurture those relationships then on the go, as well as having that balance with your work ethic and then the gym ethic that you have?

Speaker 2:

I think you have to allocate time to what's important to you. You have your non-negotiables and for me that's time to myself, my morning routine, which has been very difficult to find here so far, time that I love to train, that in my life is a non negotiable in the sense that that's what keeps me mentally sane, makes me feel good about myself and challenges me. Even now I do it as a hobby. It's still an opportunity that I get every day to humble myself and to test myself against myself and no one else. So that's a non-negotiable for me. And I think you set out those things first and then you allocate okay, how much time do I want to allocate to work? And this is where a lot of people go wrong, because everyone wants everything to happen so much quicker than it will do. So naturally, people lean into massive hours of work and unfortunately, and as everyone finds out, it's not sustainable and there's the crash. So I've kind of worked out for me okay, what is a sustainable amount of work that allows me to have okay, fitting into my non-negotiables four to five hours a day that I work. Where does that fit in my day? A few hours in the morning, a few hours in the afternoon.

Speaker 2:

So I think that there's those things first that you lay out and then on top of that, you kind of work out okay, outside of that, what do I want to do from a social standpoint? And this is where you really then start to find, okay, who are the important people in my life? Because something I've only probably discovered in the last couple of years is you do not need a lot of friends, because you'll choose time and time again to spend time with the people that fill you up and fill up your cups, and you find yourself regularly spending time with the same people and you wonder why? Because you're both coming away from those experiences really fulfilled. So that's where you allocate that amount of time and when you say okay, you maybe have three, four hours of your week that you choose to spend with people you allocate to the people that are going to do that for you. So I think time management's super important and I still sometimes struggle with the balance of saying no and saying yes, because I love to have fun. So any opportunity when someone's offering me to go a place or go out for a drink, I like to do that and, unlike a lot of people. I don't often burn out my social candle, because I love being around people.

Speaker 1:

That's what I do like, so um do you ever have to really recharge, though, because you're such a social human being?

Speaker 2:

um and have time on your own I would say in a, in a, in a normal setting, yes. Um, in a current setting, no. Because I think when you're very comfortable in your own company, it's an amazing trait to have because you can take yourself time off to recharge and do that. But I think for me personally, whether I feel like I need time to recharge, it's more from a physical standpoint, an emotional standpoint, that I need time to think, because when you're running in a consistent routine all the time and you don't take your head up and actually analyze, okay, what am I doing, time can pass very quickly and you've just been treading water. So I think it's more reflection time. For me, that's important and I like to do that in quite big chunks, I'd say, where I have an extended period where I'm working towards a project or something that needs to launch and then go right. I'm taking a month where I'm doing the basics but I'm not overreaching and I'm reflecting okay, how's this work? It's good, is it bad?

Speaker 1:

and that's how I kind of like to approach it so what has been the most exciting stage of your life so far?

Speaker 2:

I kind of look at my life in chapters and when I think back to, like, my athlete life, that in its own regard, is like a crazy time when all you do is eat, sleep and train and you have a very clear goal of what you want to achieve.

Speaker 2:

I left that part of my life in 2017 and, as an athlete now I don't identify as a competitive athlete. I do enjoy the sport and the training, but that's one chapter of my life and I feel like this chapter that I'm in right now, kind of focusing more towards business and how I can help people, is my most enjoyable thing. I think we take a lot of gratification in helping other people, like we all do. It makes us feel good and you can sometimes overlook how much benefit you get from serving a person, especially as you grow a business and you become less and less connected sometimes to the people that are on the receiving end of what you do. It's a really good reminder to sometimes take a step back when you're having a hard day or difficult day in business, to remember well, no, what I'm doing is really making a change yeah, so it gives you more purpose yeah with swapping from the chapter of being an Olympic weightlifter.

Speaker 1:

How do you manage to kind of lose that identity and go into business? Did you feel like you're shedding a skin? Because I think when people change the industry that they're in or they kind of add something new, it's kind of hard to let go of that routine that you probably would have had before.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that identity is a really good topic in itself, and sometimes it's very hard to let go of the things that make you who you are per se, but they're not actually the things that make you who you are per se, but they're not actually the things that make you who you are. And I think about the, the raw things that weightlifting taught me, or being an athlete taught me in terms of being disciplined, knowing how to work hard, knowing how to balance life alongside other things that are running alongside my life, and extracting the values that I learned from my sport. I'm now carrying into business and, like I said, I think determination and self-beliefs a huge part of that and then, in addition to that, I would say, the discipline of routine.

Speaker 1:

Where do you get the confidence from to have to have the ability to be able to let go of your ego and then step into something new?

Speaker 2:

I think for me, when I think about stepping into something new, I now have the mindset of what's the worst possible outcome and what's the worst thing that's happened going to happen. That's the thing that I'll always ask myself, and I believe that for me, that's where confidence can really come from, because if you can sit with yourself and be comfortable with the worst possible outcome whether it's I'm going to try this and it's going to fail and I'm going to lose X amount of money if you can sit with that thought and it's okay with you, great. If you can, even in a more applicable, probably scenario for anyone, if you can have the courage to ask out a girl and they say no and you're quite happy with hearing that, then great, you can move on, and I think that that's what really breeds confidence, or, for me, it's understanding. Can I deal with the worst possible outcome?

Speaker 2:

Sit with that thought Okay, now I'm confident in it. Did you learn this off a therapist? No, I've learned it through many rejections because this is.

Speaker 1:

I really feel like this is advice that a therapist would give me. Yeah, yeah, I've heard something like this before from a therapist maybe.

Speaker 2:

I've read enough books um, so rejection.

Speaker 1:

Then how do you manage rejection when it comes to dating, for instance?

Speaker 2:

um, I think one of the biggest things when it comes to being rejected by anything I don't think it needs to like critically be in a dating scenario, because there's so many other factors that could make someone be in a position where you know they're feeling rejected, whether it be in a relationship status or in a business or job opportunity that you've been rejected on. Think. The thing that is most difficult when you experience rejection is to not internally look is it something that's wrong with me? Have I done something wrong? Did I say something incorrect? And that's what we will do straight away, I feel, when we're rejected is to think of what's wrong with us, and I think a lot of the time, what's better after like, almost that emotional side is settled, is to be able to review whether you could have done anything better to avoid that, or sometimes what's even better is just to understand what will be will be, and I think that that's something that sometimes can take people months and years to get to a place where they can let it be.

Speaker 2:

And I think for me, where I've kind of taken that from from my personal experience was going back to when I went through my ban.

Speaker 2:

That was my whole life collapsing in an instant and I sat with myself for two weeks feeling depressed down, wondering what I was going to do next, and there became a day that I just drew a line in the sand and said I don't want this for the rest of my life and I move on. And I moved on and I turned over a new page and start again, and the better you get at doing that, and that was the first, probably pivotal, moment that I did it. But now, more and more, when there is rejection, bad news, things that happen to you that aren't ideal, you get quicker turning from like okay, this is hurting, and this is an emotional struggle for me to being like okay. You have to give yourself that time to be able to do it, and each scenario will be different. You know, I'm very comfortable in a scenario where it's business related or it can be quite black and white, but the more you're emotionally invested in something, the longer that can take.

Speaker 1:

So I think it's a skill you learn do you think, if the ban wasn't to happen, you'd work as hard as you do right now?

Speaker 2:

um, yes, I think that the, the ban was something that was out of my control, like we could spend all day talking about the ins and outs of that, and people will have their own external opinions on on it, but for me personally, that was something that was out of my control and I feel like on reflection and I always say this about adversity, and everyone will experience adversity in their life, and what I love about adversity, what I love about pain, is you'll cut your finger and you'll be like, ah, this is really hurting, I could lose a loved one or lose my leg.

Speaker 2:

But we both feel the same thing and I think of the same with adversity, and any successful person that I've met has experienced a level of adversity that has projected them to their greatest heights, and I feel like, for me, that ban was the thing that really made me go and do what I've done from a business standpoint, and it's important to not use it as a fuel but instead take the lesson from it, because if you end up doing things for the wrong reason, then and that's why it's so good to have time to reflect on your actions and why we do the things we do outside of business in life and think am I doing this because of how I really think I'm doing it, or is there an ulterior motive to my actions?

Speaker 1:

you know, have you always had that space in between you and your decision making? Because it seems like you do actually take a pause on life and think about things and reflect where a lot of people would just be reactive. So where was that learned?

Speaker 2:

I learned a lot through experience. I think like I look back on my life. I'm 30 years old, but I feel like I've lived so much life at 30.

Speaker 2:

So from the age of 15 16, I'd moved out and I've had all these chapters from Olympic Games to business, to relationships, to failed relationships. There's a learning process that goes on if you're acknowledging when you're right and when you're wrong and when you make mistakes and a lot of the time it takes people so much longer to get there because they don't take ownership of their actions, their behaviors and the results of them. And I don't know if it come from my sport, because I've never thought about it, but take ownership of their actions, their behaviors and the results of them. And I don't know if it comes from my sport because I've never thought about it. But in sport and it's great to relate things to weightlifting because it makes sense to me but when you miss a lift it's a byproduct of a failed process and that allows you to take again emotion out of the. I'm so angry I missed this lift and go.

Speaker 2:

something went wrong in my process of a good lift that caused a bad outcome and again, taking that philosophy and putting that into every decision that you make, you have to internally look back at like what did I categorically do wrong that has caused this outcome? Sometimes it's not you and sometimes it will be things that you can do, and I think, above anything else, it's come to me more recently, I think, since 30 is such a number, but in the last year.

Speaker 2:

I feel like I've and my own emotions, my own values and beliefs, and having them make it much easier to understand your decision making moving forward. But yeah, I guess that's my kind of outlook.

Speaker 1:

The run up to 30. How did feel, because it's such a weird time in between 29 and 30. Were you running into your 30s thinking this is going to be the best new chapter, or how did you feel?

Speaker 2:

I think like from a standpoint of time it's no different, but I think there is a social pressure around 30, around where we should be at what we should have done at that age, and I've always felt a little bit ahead of the track in in some senses.

Speaker 2:

But something changes more from where you see your future, and that's one thing that I wouldn't have done at 29 thought about my next 10 years, because up until 29, if you asked me about my 28th birthday, I'd tell you I'd just be happy to get to my next birthday because I live each day as though it's my last, like that's something that a philosophy that I've always lived by. But my mindset's changing now, in wanting to protect my future in some regard and at least have an insight into what my future looks like, so that I can really align on the people that I want to spend my life with, the person I want to build a future with, to understand like are we both heading the right in the same direction and am I still heading where I wanted to? And that will always change. Your path will change, the things you want in life will change. But I think that underlying thing has happened in 29 to 30.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think it's a kind of a funny funny age in between, because there does come a lot of worry from external pressures of having a house and kids and the traditional way of living. You're from the UK and I'm from Ireland and that's kind of the traditional way when you're. When you start to do things a little bit differently, then it's like, actually, am I doing the right thing?

Speaker 2:

yeah, well, and it's different from men to women as well. You know, there's biologically, if someone wants to have a kid, that is something that must be in the back of a mind for a female, and then that becomes an existential pressure for for a male in terms of like. Okay, do these things align from a companionship standpoint? Um, but also, if you want those things and they're important to you, like everything else also does need to have some consideration to. If you're going to go deep into 10-year development of a business at 35 years old but you had your heart set on having a kid, okay, yeah, that can play a part. But you then want to consider, like, and I don't have children here, but things that I would consider is like, how much time do I want to give to my family and my kid? And if I've got these two things, am I going to do them both really well?

Speaker 2:

And I've been caught in that trap so many times where I've dedicated, spread myself thin, because I've always got things that I want to try and do and ideas, and you've I.

Speaker 2:

You find yourself being and I take this quote from my auntie because I remember I'm doing a sidetrack for a minute here to premise this, but I remember being sat with my auntie when I was maybe about 14, 15 years old and I was a really good golfer when I was younger and I also went to go to olympics and golf wasn't olympic sport at the time.

Speaker 2:

And I remember her sitting me down and she golf wasn't Olympic sport at the time. And I remember her sitting me down and she says, sonny, do you want to be a jacker? You'll either be a jack of all trades and a master of none. If you keep doing too many things and I relate that back now into like all the time when I'm in business it's like, as much as you want to do so many things, you do run the risk of not doing them all to their best potential. Um, and I love that little motto because I kind of apply it to other parts of my life as well- it's funny how those one-liners stick to you forever and like they can be the so, like the most basic one-liners.

Speaker 1:

But if you live alongside that and think about it like it's so true, you know, and I think now, because there's so many different distractions with new businesses and you go on social media, you see so many different business opportunities, it's hard to kind of keep your focus. So, with that being said, would you find it quite difficult, or have you found yourself wandering in different pathways where you shouldn't when it comes to business?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I think, just coming back to your point about what you're saying about the one-liners and the quotes, I think me and you could read the same thing, a book, right now and you'll extract one thing that is really resonating with you right now, and I may see a completely different one. And my friend Lockie would always say to me. He says don't just read a book for the sake of reading a book. Read a book when you need something from that book.

Speaker 2:

And when I think about my decision making, then, from a business standpoint, I'm always at the forefront of my mind seeing okay, what is my key focus now? What am I trying to achieve right now? And that stops you from being distracted. It can be hard when there's dangling carrots of okay, a huge financial gain if I give this a run and I think social media is the perfect example that or crypto, for example. A load of people have done so well with crypto and made a load of money. But if it's not something that you're passionate about, you can't be fueled by that. The outcome, because it becomes very short-lived, and I've seen it time and time again. People make millions and millions of pounds doing the most obscure things because they're passionate about them and if you always let what you're passionate, passionate about, be the lead in what you do, in your decision making, then you won't get taken astray all right to come back to your little sunny childhood.

Speaker 1:

I wonder, when did you figure out you were going out weightlifting, or what like made you be who you are today?

Speaker 2:

it was completely by chance. Um, again, there was a pivotal moment for me that again still sticks out so prominently in my making, if you like, as a sports person, and again it's attached to a feeling. So I've definitely driven from from that more than anything. Um, and it was a moment when David Beckham and Kelly Holmes were, uh, on the stage jumping up and down just after London had been announced host of the Olympic Games. And at the time I wouldn't have said that I was an overly sporty kid or had any dream of going to the Olympics or even knew what the Olympics was prior to that, but there's something about the excitement and the embrace that they had at that moment that really made me feel like I want whatever that is. Whatever that feeling is, I want that and although it was loosely attached to the Olympics, that's exactly what I hooked onto at that moment.

Speaker 2:

And I don't know what it is about the Olympics. That's such a special thing for everyone, but it's an opportunity to test yourself against the best in the world. But for me as an athlete and this is where I differ from the people that win the Olympic Games is I never had that burning desire to want to win. I just wanted to become an Olympian, and that was the moment for me that made me want to become an Olympian. I didn't know how I was going to do it at that point. I didn't find weightlifting until about two or three years later. I was a golfer at the time and weightlifting just became my vehicle, and to say I'm not passionate about weightlifting would be wrong. But I don't wake up every morning and watch people do weightlifting yeah I don't choose to spend my spare time like critiquing videos.

Speaker 2:

It's something I do as my job, um, so that's what I mean when I say I'm not passionate about in that regard. I lived and breathed it for a very long time, but it was my vehicle to my real goal, which was becoming an Olympian. And had I been great at tennis, I may have taken up tennis or any other sport, but I picked the one that no one else did.

Speaker 1:

So I was doing a bit of reading and they say 11% of Olympians they injure themselves. So during the phase of you training for the Olympics, how was the injury phase? Or was that always in the back of your mind that you would think, oh, I better not get injured, even when you're training're?

Speaker 2:

training. Yeah well, I had a bit of a funny one really, because when I was two years into weightlifting, I was 13. I woke up one morning and I literally couldn't get out of bed and walk like my back was excruciating. And because I started at such a young age, as you imagine, from a growth perspective, from 11 to to, say, 18, I've been the same size and weight since I was 18. So between that period, that's when you're going through a lot of growing.

Speaker 1:

I was going to actually ask you when should you start lifting? You know they say it stuns people's growth and they shouldn't start lifting at a certain age.

Speaker 2:

I think weightlifting is an amazing sport for anyone of any age to get into. I've worked with I started at 11 years old. I've worked with kids under the 10 years old and also work with clients over the age of 65 years old. Because it's an amazing sport when it's not abused for developing strength, stability, good range of motion, which can be benefit, benefit at both ends of the spectrum.

Speaker 2:

People that give weight lifting a bad rap are the ones that are doing it with poor form and don't have the range of motion to do something that's so technical. So it's such a great thing to get into a young age because so so many of the barriers that people struggle with later in life you don't have at 11, but then you run the risk of wanting to lift heavier than you should be too soon because you're going through so much development and through puberty and developing in general, that you want more, more, more, and that's when, again, issues arise. So for me at 13 um, I don't think it was necessarily that I'd been overreaching in what I was doing. I think it was an unusual situation where I had back injury that was preventing me from uh walking pain-free and I went to see a doctor, I had my back scanned. I had two dehydrated discs, a disc bulge and a fused vertebrae. At that age At 13.

Speaker 2:

And I remember going into the doctors at Bath and he was like you need to stop this sport. And that was like hang on a minute, like I need to go to the Olympics here and you're telling me I can't do the sport anymore. And he was like, well, yeah, and I jumped around a couple of physios and I met this amazing physio, Amanda Booth, in Plymouth um, god knows where she is now but she was like, look, we can give this a go, we'll start physio rehab plan. And at the time I was just starting getting onto the international scene and she was like there's going to be no competitions, no heavy lifting for six months to a year, which at that age is 10% your life. And you're like what?

Speaker 2:

But again, I reflect on that moment that, okay, I went through the rehab and I lifted with a 15 kilo bar, like 15 kilos in maximum for that whole year, when I was doing a lot more than that. But it gave me the perfect opportunity to refine my technique for a year, because I was lifting so light. All I could do is repetition, repetition with this super light weight and I think had that not happened to me, I wouldn't have got to where I got as an athlete because there was flaws in my technique that probably would have resulted in me getting injured or something else bad happened. So on reflection it was a good point.

Speaker 1:

There's a silver lining in everything you know.

Speaker 2:

Since then I've been touch wood. Quite lucky, considering the crazy stuff I do.

Speaker 1:

You're a freaking hater. Made of rubber, I've seen your flexibility. I'm like what is this guy? So can that be built as an adult? That type of flexibility, mobility that you have right now, like can that be built as an adult?

Speaker 2:

yes, I think it can be improved. Everyone has a starting point and whenever I look at some people's cases and I've seen it all I have people that come in that have literally there's no way their arms can get overhead, they can't squat anywhere near parallel and they go. I want to do weightlifting and it's like cool, we can get you there. But you just need to be realistic with the timeframe and that's why I always say to people there's always a process, no matter how big the problem is or how challenged you may feel that we can't overcome. You just need to follow the process that's right for you. And sometimes that's where you need to think outside the box and try new things. And that's why the mobility manual has done so well, because we've really specified the type of mobility and the exercise that we utilize to the sport. Going in and doing a couple of stretches, touching your toes and stretching out your quads and thinking you're going to snatch is not the case, you know.

Speaker 1:

so it's um, yeah, there's always a process so what does it take to qualify for the olympics like? What is the process?

Speaker 2:

god, timing is such an important thing with, especially in a sport like weightlifting. You take a sport like I don't know athletics, for example, extremely well-funded. They'll take a full team, two athletes in every discipline. In weightlifting it's like the butthole of the Olympics in terms of the sport and it's like not funded at all and you have to qualify in the year. It changes year to year but you essentially have to work as a team to get enough points to get one spot and then you fight it out for one spot, which is essentially how I got into the olympics. Different if you host the olympics, because you get allocated certain spots, um, but it's a grueling process because you spend all your time and energy in qualifying. By the time you get to the olympics as a weightlifter. For the vast majority of weightlifters it's like this is the, this is the rainbow. I've got to the end of the rainbow once I get to pull on the olympic jersey and walk out to the ceremony. That's it.

Speaker 2:

The competition is the competition, but the world championships in weightlifting is harder than the olympic games, so it's kind of like a victory lap competing there. Obviously for the top guys they're going for olympic medals, which must be amazing, but for me it was like shit. I've got to where I wanted to be, you know. So the qualifications excruciatingly difficult and I do feel for the athletes now that go through that, because even last Olympics only certain weight categories were in that Olympics they didn't do them all. And then this Olympics qualification was really difficult and they're saying it might be the last Olympicslympics weightlifting. So it's, it's so difficult and with weightlifting being a dying sport I'm going to say it because it is so um, stone age in the way that it is this really like premises what I'm trying to do in modernizing the sport and making it fun and exciting again, you know with the, the Olympics?

Speaker 1:

what goes on in your mind just before you're walking out, like did you have any kind of pre? Like thoughts that potentially you're going to miss this, or like what was going on inside your head.

Speaker 2:

I did miss my first episode. I didn't watch that one. It's like nothing else, that moment that you walk out because you think in any sport it gives me goosebumps thinking about it, because it's such a difficult thing to explain to someone that hasn't felt that. And I think that's one of the beauties of the Olympics is once you go and you experience it. It's a very special memory that you can only share with other Olympians. And for me it was like every up and down in my life and this is the way I love to explain it everything in there was so clear. I didn't at the time, through the highs and lows as an athlete, appreciate what I did them for or why they were happening to me. There was like this hardship that you go through, but at that very moment before you walk out, it's like everything was worth it. This was so clear.

Speaker 2:

And it filled me with again a real sense of emotion that I never felt competing before, because in a weightlifting event it's quite like you're exerting completely yeah and you have to pump yourself up, you need adrenaline, but there was this like rush of almost like weakness and like feeling that I hadn't had before, um, and it was like holding back the tears when I was about to go out and lift and it was a different experience. But I told myself, going into that, that I must make sure that I take everything in about this day and really enjoy it so that when I have a conversation like this about it, I can do it with a smile on my face because it was such a special day. Um, so I really made the effort to do that and reflect on it.

Speaker 1:

Well, and, yeah, the actual moment on the platform went out and missed my first lift because I was just like this is so new, recovered, did okay stage right yeah, nothing can prepare you for it what happens after the olympics, like because they say what I did read it was like 45 percent people suffer from depression post olympics. So how do you feel after that?

Speaker 2:

yeah, they talk, they tell you all about the Olympic blues afterwards, and it's real. It's in my reflection of it now being able to think about it more clearly. It's the fact that everything in your life up to that point has been about that point. And there's this lull of feeling quite lost after that. And I only know that now because I felt it in other parts of my life, when you've had such a high and you've been on an amazing experience, and then it stops and then there's this emptiness that you feel.

Speaker 2:

And in the process of an olympic build-up, especially as an athlete, you're doing everything for yourself. It don't care what anyone says, I did it for the family. No, it's a very selfish pursuit. Unless you're in a team sport, maybe you might be like for the team, but for me it was a selfish pursuit. And not only do you suffer with the fact that, okay, well, I've done this thing, and now what? It's a case of like where is everyone? Because you spent and invested no time and energy into developing any other part of your life, that you can be left quite lonely in that time afterwards. And I think that's what it was for me and I think for a lot of people. Their struggle is more around their identity, because when you've let something define who you are for so long and then you try and move on a lot of people don't do two Olympics it can be very difficult to find who you are again, you know.

Speaker 1:

What did you do right after the Olympics?

Speaker 2:

I probably got smashed for about three months after. It's the only time I've ever had nine months off drinking. Um, and yeah, I did a lot of drinking, I think, for three months afterwards. Let loose. I traveled. What did you think I thought I missed out on?

Speaker 1:

yeah, what did you eat before you? What do you eat before you can pee?

Speaker 2:

the same thing you've eaten the nine months leading up to it yeah this is the thing that people talk about the olympic village.

Speaker 2:

Right, and it's it'll guarantee be in the news in the next couple of weeks. They'll talk about how big the olympic village is and they move this tent that's the size of four football pitches and that's the olympic village food hall because they have to cater for for everyone. But it is like the most ridiculous all you can eat buffet that you can imagine, because anything you could possibly think of when I say possibly from every part of the world is there and it's 24 hours and it's all you can eat. Like up to this olympics mcdonald's would be the same. But you'd be surprised how many athletes would eat McDonald's at the Olympics because they know what they're getting and they would avoid potentially being sick, getting food poisoning or whatever it may be, because they know what they know.

Speaker 2:

But for me, I had a very boring diet of meat, veg, rice, the same thing. And you never want to change anything just because it's the Olympic Games and this is what I always say to people with their, with their training when they come to a competition just because it's a competition day doesn't mean you change what you do. If you don't like something about your routine. Change it six months out and make that your new normal, because if you like to have a chocolate muffin and two cigarettes before you go out and lift because that makes you feel good, go ahead and do it. Obviously there's better things you could do.

Speaker 1:

Change it six months before so did you not drink for the whole process before that then?

Speaker 2:

yeah, nothing. And the reason for me, more than anything, was because, whatever happened, I was like a saint for the nine months leading up. I did it for a different reason. It was for a performance thing. More than it wasn't for a performance thing is what I'm saying, cause I've lifted great on hangovers, two hours sleep. I've done it all before.

Speaker 2:

It was for the fact that if on the day I didn't lift well fact that if on the day I didn't lift well, I could have nothing to look back on and go wish I did that. And that was my way of ensuring that I was able to enjoy that day. Because even if I bombed out and missed all my lifts, I knew that I did everything I possibly could to prepare as best I could for that day and that's what made me probably enjoy it so much. And I always say this to people when we get scared about things we've got coming up, whether we're ready for them, whether we're prepared, all you can do is do everything that's within your control and what will be will be, and it's a beautiful place to go into a scary scenario when you feel like that no-transcript.

Speaker 1:

What do you say?

Speaker 2:

I don't know how much of that is related in some regard.

Speaker 2:

I think it prepares me for being being able to experience in the present. But I think being in the present moment is is a skill to be able to do. Um, it takes people a long time to be able to get to being present and being able to truly enjoy it, and a lot of it for me in being present is not being distracted and clear in your mind. Everyone has different ways and different strategies that they like to do that, but for me, physically feeling present in a moment and being able to enjoy it, every sense in your body becomes so much more sensitive to emotion, to feeling, to everything that is around us. Now You're so much more aware of when you're present and it's a beautiful place to be in because you'll enjoy every experience so much more if you can do it. But even as someone I'd say is quite good at being present, it's very easy to lose those good habits of what makes you present, you know what impacts that for you to lose those good habits?

Speaker 2:

um, I think the things that would impact my personal ability to do that would be too connected to my phone, too many notifications, too many other things on my mind, not unpacking how I'm feeling, my thoughts, burying stuff is like something I was so bad at when I was younger something I was so bad at when I was younger.

Speaker 2:

You know, pushing things that you really need to deal with down and they'll surface in moments when you want to be present but you can't, because you're carrying this baggage that you've been carrying for a while and it stops you from enjoying experience and enjoying the beauties of even the simplest of things. But also for taking opportunity. And I think we so often, unknowingly, are carrying different weights with us. Everyone is, even the people that you think have their lives together and everything's going amazing for them, carrying baggage. Some of us will talk about it, some of us will just chuck a towel over it and hope that it goes away, and the first step of being able to deal with that and then be present is acknowledging it, you know so I think that plays a huge part in presence.

Speaker 1:

Do you have any like breaks away from social media or anything like that to help you with those times when you want to be present, Like do you lock your phone away?

Speaker 2:

Is there anything that you do? It would be a beautiful thing. And when I think about for me and I talked to this about my friend who's also in business we do slightly different things, but when I set out this year as like a goal of mine, I wanted to be in a position at the end of this year where I can have six months, three months, where no one can get hold of me, I'm not on social media and I'm just doing life and everything still happens without me and only the important people in my life know where I am, can get hold of me and want me, and I think that the having the ability to be able to do that is a luxury as someone who runs their business through social media. And it's very easy to get lost in a dependency, because for me, the thing that's difficult is on a day where I don't feel like being sunny today, or I want to curl up into a ball and cry or whatever it may be, say, I want to have a day off from sunny.

Speaker 2:

My brand's been built a lot around me and and that can be challenging sometimes and that can be hard, and this is where something that we did many years ago is well, the businesses were split, and they were split in a way in which they're now no longer about me. The lifting zone is the lifting zone. The mobility manual is the mobility manual. Big fry supplies, big fry supplies, big fry supplies, and I consult was that purposely done?

Speaker 2:

yeah, it's been purposely done to take for that way, because, at the end of the day, it's not about me.

Speaker 2:

And in a business that sometimes led so much, people think like, if you're a fitness coach, um, and you're doing all these amazing things with your body and lifting that, there's a certain fraction of people that will buy into you to say, yep, that person coaches me.

Speaker 2:

But when you actually think about it and you put your ego to one side, the most important thing is that person getting their result. And nine times out of ten, it's not you that gets the result, it's your processes that get them the result. And that's freeing, because that's what ultimately allows you to step back in any business. If you put time and energy into building good processes within your team and train your team well, they will deliver the exact same result as you, sometimes even better. When I look at some of my coaches and some of the people that have my team, they're better than me, a little bit more empathetic or a little bit better at communicating or whatever it may be, and that's what gives you that ability to be able to switch off. And you know, in a business, in a small business, that can be really challenging, because you feel like you're always needed have you found it quite difficult then to have your business transition kind of without you like.

Speaker 1:

The want and need for your services has a change from, has it gotten better, with you taking a step away from it as being the forefront?

Speaker 2:

I will always be used is from a marketing standpoint. Um, because that's what I'm good at and like. For me, I think in businesses especially when I don't know you start out as the CEO or the sole person in your business and then you start to build out a team. It got to a point for me where you understand where your actual skill sets are. And I'm a creative and that's what I love doing. I love creating things and I'm a good communicator. So, like, these things are where my skill set lie. Am I an amazing leader? No, am I great with the financial side of things? No, and this is where, for me, at a point in my business, did I look to get a ceo involved and actually let someone, because people always want to be the ceo.

Speaker 2:

They think that person's getting paid the most because they're the ceo and although they sit at the top of the tree, they sit there because they're great at leading and giving directionally and normally pretty good with finances as well and team structures, whereas I think when you build a brand, it becomes your baby and it can be very hard sometimes to not lead with your emotion in decisions and not look at it like this decision is being made from a business standpoint because it's better for the business, not because Sonny wants to release a pink t-shirt because he likes pink, you know.

Speaker 1:

I did see the pink t-shirt.

Speaker 2:

But whatever it may be, you know what I mean. There's one thing of direction that you want to take and then there's a commercial direction that's better for the business, and you get that ability when you put someone else at the top of the tree.

Speaker 1:

that well, at the end of the day, everyone's got the same goal.

Speaker 2:

What has been the hardest lesson that you've learned through business? The most challenging thing, I think, as a business owner, is to know where you're putting your next step, where the energy should go. And it's hard sometimes because there's certain things that you enjoy doing and there's certain things that you don't but are the most valuable. And I think finding the balance between those two things is is challenging. But one of the things I'd say for me don't get me wrong, I'd love to continue to, to grow my business and to help more and more people, but you have to make sure you're doing what you're doing for the right reason. Because they say, like, obviously from a financial standpoint, more money, more problems.

Speaker 2:

It's so true because that never gets you to the end. You're always chasing the rainbow in that routine because you find better ways or more expensive things to spend your more money on. And that then becomes a vicious cycle on a personal level, because it can be very easy to not find enjoyment in the things you used to get so much enjoyment out. And I was talking to a friend the other day and he said to me and I love this thing that we can do, you say, if you asked 18 year old yourself to think about what you're doing right now. They'd bite your arm off for it and it's that instant, like reflection, that goes, yeah, they have been chuffed. And then you actually start to have appreciation for what you're doing again and I think it's super important to not lose sight of that, to have that gratitude. It sounds so cliche, but in every person that I've met that's a successful business person. They've mentioned that lesson.

Speaker 1:

You need a reminder. I think when your head's kind of all over the place with you kind of dealing with so many different things, it's hard to you need to kind of recheck yourself every so often, especially when you're trying to expand your business. I can imagine, With that being said, what has been like any kind of advice that actually you'd give someone who's setting up a business, Like what are three key pieces of advice that you give them?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I think, like I said the thing that I said around passion is the most important thing, and you need to be passionate about what you're going to set up a business will, else it'll have absolutely no legs. Like, don't set up in a business because your mate's doing that business and it's doing really well. Pick something that you're passionate about. Hire the people with the skill sets that you don't have. It's so important to reinvest in in good staff at the start so that you can build out a team. Having really good core values and belief systems as a team sets you up for the future.

Speaker 2:

I wish I'd spent more time on that in the early stages, which could have been difficult at the start, and have a really clear mission statement of what are you trying to achieve. The rest happens If you do those three things and you execute on them, you will make loads of money. You'll get rich and famous or anything that you want. If you stay true to those three three things and you execute on them, you'll make loads of money. You'll get rich and famous or anything that you want if you stay true to those three things so, with it being called the detached podcast.

Speaker 1:

I always ask people this question what would you detach yourself away from that's limiting you today, essentially? Is there anything that's that you'd like to detach yourself away from sitting in this?

Speaker 2:

chair right now I think I thought you were gonna say sitting in this chair detached from, I think, my schedule right now Um and the people that are dependent on me. Um, I would love to just take some time just to, in this very moment, to be able to process where I'm at Um and really do a stock take. That would probably be really good. That's what I'd detach from um from a selfish standpoint than anything else. I think that that that'd be really cool. Other than that, I'm pretty content with you. Know. I'm a day-to-day normal flex. I'm so happy and I'm so grateful for that. I'm just about to go to america and deliver seminars and do what I love doing and teach, and I'm looking forward to that. But every scenario can be so different.

Speaker 1:

I'd like to add to that you would not be selfish if you detach yourself away from your situation, because I think you do need to do that every now and again in order to be able to perform at your best to your ability. You know everyone else around you, so it's not selfish. Thank you Anyway. I just want to say thank you so it's not selfish, thank you anyway. I just want to say thank you so much for being on the detached podcast. You've been great today thank you.