Latest / At Your Own Pace / Chief of Good Vibes — Jeffrey McEachern on Running, Healing, and Choosing Joy (thehappymarathoner)
Transcript
- MikeRunsMarathons: This episode is brought to you by Strava. Strava needs no introduction. If you are an endurance athlete, or if you're just an athlete in general, you most likely use Strava, whether it's the free version or the premium version. There is some way, shape, or form where you are uploading your workouts from your Garmin, your Koros Watch, your Apple Watch, and sharing them with the people that you follow. on on that app. I have been a subscriber to Strava for I want to say over a decade. Probably more than that. Because if I start to think about it too much, I'll start freaking out about how old I am. some of my favorite things are being able to track all the miles on my shoes. I love coming up with funny nicknames for them. The offline mapping for premium subscribers, because I cannot tell you the amount of times that I've been in a new area and I've been able to find new routes very quickly and sync them over to my watch effortlessly. I love being able to track my progress for mileage for all of the sports that I do, whether it's cycling or running, and seeing how I stack up against the previous month, how I look for my yearly totals, setting goals, and then also being able to outlook at my relative effort for each exercise to see whether I'm, you know, overreaching with my workouts, if I'm under training, if I'm kind of in that sweet spot. It's fantastic. But if you use the code MIC at checkout, you will save 20% off of your premium subscription. And that is not a small amount of money. if you're looking to utilize those premium services with Strava, as an athlete, I cannot recommend it enough. Use that promo code Mike at checkout to save that twenty percent to get access to all these incredible features. But with that being said, let's jump into the final episode of season two of At Your Own Pace. Can you believe it? We are at season two. Well folks, we made it. Welcome to the season two finale of at your own pace. This is the show for runners who are showing up however they can on whatever week life is handing them. I'm Mike, and whether you're chasing a Boston qualifier, your first 5k or just the next mile, you are in the right place. Every Every week we open up with a little real talk about my week on the run, and then we sit down with someone whose story is going to leave you a little bit more fired up than when you press plays. So lace up, settle in, and let's run this one together. And I will be perfectly honest with you, if you had told me six months ago, no, if you had told me eight months ago, nine months ago, that I would have interviewed over 30 runners. Endurance athletes of a variety of different backgrounds, from people who have run their first marathon to multiple Ironmans. I want to say you were crazy. Absolutely nuts. But I have had the massive joy and the massive privilege over these last couple months of speaking with some incredible people. People whose stories I had an idea of, but who after speaking with them left me. Feeling inspired and motivated. And I am so happy that I've been able to speak with these individuals and just so grateful for those of you that listen to this podcast who are able to hear those stories as well. And I hope they leave you a little bit more motivated and inspired when you finish each episode. Because I know that that happens to me. I know that they do that to me. But Yeah, we are at season two, episode fifteen. Each season has fifteen episodes and we did it. We did it folks. I'm so excited to speak with my guests today. My guest today is none other than the good vibes leader from Peloton itself, Jeffrey. Now, if you are not aware of Jeffrey, Jeffrey is one of the running instructors for Peloton, who is actually German, base over at the UK studio. And when I tell you that he is one of the sweetest and nicest, most positively radiating people I have ever had the privilege to meet, I am not exaggerating. I Have been following him for my goodness, years. And I've always been so inspired by his classes, so inspired by just what he puts out on social media and how he interacts with the world. And I had the massive privilege last year at the New York City Marathon of meeting him at the Peloton Shakeout Run about two nights before the race. And I just happened to be on his team for the shakeout run and it was just Such an honor and a privilege to run with him. when I went up to speak to him, he listened with such incredible intent and was so down to earth. You know, they always say, Don't meet your heroes because you have these expectations of them, and after you end up meeting them, they they don't meet them. And they don't meet those expectations. And you're left feeling a little upset by that, and you might not consider them. a hero anymore. But meeting Jeffrey, he was exactly how I had expected him to be. And he was exactly how he pro portrays himself on Peloton and on social media. So that just warmed my heart so much. And I remember talking to him and just kind of gushing about how much he inspired me and and we hugged and we talked for a little bit and talked about just kind of like how inspirational Peloton was and what how how it can change your life and why fitness is important. And obviously we talked about marathon running too. And it was it was just wonderful to speak with him. And I had really, really, really wanted to have him on this show, but I was terrified of asking and then receiving, you know, the the kind of the shun of like, no, I'm good. You know, I've got I don't want to say better things to do, but he's a busy man and these people are Y you know, they have really demanding jobs. And so I was not expecting him to say yes. And when he did, I think I was Was I in bed like scrolling on my phone or may have been on my couch? And they said yes. And I just like jumped up and like threw my phone at my wife to be like, read this message. And she was very excited because she also loves Jeffrey. And so I was I was just floored when that happened. And and we made it work and we got to talk. and it was just an amazing moment. You know, his story is so inspiring. my goodness. And I cannot wait for you to hear just how he went from where he was to just this positive ultra-marathon running Peloton instructor now. The the story from beginning to now is just It is it is life-changing. And it reminded me a lot of my own story because we talked a lot about rebirth. We talked about kind of essentially having a new birthday and becoming somebody that you initially didn't think that you were. So I'm really excited for you to hear his story. I don't want to take too much time up from the interview because it's just such a fantastic it, you know, I I really loved our interview. But no. But before we get started with our interview for this week, we're gonna start out with what we always start out with, which is a check-in. So here's what's been on my mind for the week. I have had a lot of things happen in my life over the last over this year, actually. since I really started to take content creation and things like that very seriously, take my coaching very seriously, get my certifications, really start honing in and working with athletes to help them become better runners. And I've had the absolute honor and privilege of being accepted To be a coach for New York Roadrunners with Team for Kids. And it's been one of my legitimate dreams since I ran my first marathon with them in 2021. I just, in the back of my mind, I just kept telling myself, I want to work with them. I wanna, I wanna support a company that I believe so strongly in. And what actually started the whole process was someone on this podcast actually. I spoke with them, found out they were a coach, and asked them how they were able to make it work, how they were able to become one, and kind of took off from there. And I was persistent as much as I could. And I'm really happy it paid off. I had actually my first session as a coach this week, and it went really well. I had a lot of fun. It poured the entire time. We ran in Central Park, we did hills. Over and over again hill repeats and it was it was incredible. You know, we finished the the training run and we were just completely drenched head to toe. But we all had fun and we all supported each other. as we were running and as we were doing some of these hill repeats, I was able to work individually while during the running. with some folks that I just wanted to provide a little bit of support for and it felt great. You know, I love being a coach. It's probably one of the greatest things that I've ever like Taken up in my life. You know, I feel s it's so rewarding. And it it's indescribable to explain what it's like to see people start at one level and progress to another level that they didn't think they were capable of. You know, I've seen people that I've trained run their first marathon, their first half marathon. I've seen people come back into running after taking extended periods of time off. I've seen people who are just I wanna I have this lofty goal and I wanna get started. How can I, you know, start from the first level and work my way up? And seeing those people week after week, month after month progress and become better runners, it's just I know that it's not just helping them physically, but helping them in so many other facets of their life. So To be able to, you know, not just do this with my own athletes, but to be able to do this with an organization like New York Roadrunners that provides incredible services to so many people. I mean, Team for Kids is a wonderful organization. I've run with them multiple times. I'm actually running with them next month for the Bronx 10K. they were actually the first race I ever did with New York Roadrunners was the Queens 10K in 2019. And I actually ran for Team for Kids. I had to raise money because I missed the the entry date because I just I decided to sign up really late and I was I I still had my singlet from them from twenty nineteen and it you know knowing about n learning about Team for Kids and watching what they do and seeing how they impact people not just with helping children, you know, helping young people get active. But also the people that train with Team for Kids that are running for the charity itself, watching them grow and watching them become better runners and watching them, you know, take up a sport that they may not have thought initially that they were capable of is in it's incredible. You know, if you are a runner and you are somebody who wants to, you know, potentially become a coach one day, I cannot recommend it enough to take that step and get that certification. Because not only does will it help your running because you'll get smarter, because you'll know a lot more information about running in general, but you'll get athletes on your team that you will coach and you will see them become stronger, more confident, more capable, and just overall stronger people. And so I'm just really, really grateful that I have this this opportunity to do this. I go up actually this weekend for my second training run. Those of you that live what is Those of you that live in New York City or have been to New York City during this time of year know that New York City hosts what's called summer streets. And it's usually a couple weekends in the month of August where they actually shut down a very large street in Manhattan. It's usually Park Avenue, at least in Midtown and on the Upper East Side. Goes all the way from essentially like Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights. all the way down to the bottom of the island, down to the financial district. It's one long street that gets shut down. It's open to bikers, it's open to runners, it's open to walkers. And it's so awesome. It's it's so great. It's it's amazing. And I did it last year and I ran from the top of the island because I I ran the Harlem five K actually last year. it was about actually almost exactly almost exactly a year ago. finished the Harlem five K. Which is all the way up on the upper upper west side. I believe it's in Hamilton Heights, or it might be I believe it's by City College. But I ran that race and then I ran from there all the way down to essentially the Brooklyn Bridge. And to not have to stop at stoplights, I mean they stop because they have to let cars pass at the other cross streets at times. They have to let cars cross at other they have to let the cars drive across certain c cross streets because they can't shut down the entire island. And for the most part, you get to run the entire island without stopping. There are areas where they have to stop you to let cars cross at different areas, but other than that, you get to run one contiguous line all the way down. And it just feels great to be able to do that in Manhattan. So if you are in Manhattan this weekend, feel free. Like and you are a runner or an endurance athlete, definitely check it out. It's so great. It is it is something that I didn't know about until pretty recently, even though I lived in New York City for a really long time. So take advantage of it. There's different areas of the of the city that get summer streets based off of the weekend. And Manhattan was is last Saturday, this Saturday, and the following Saturday. And then Brooklyn and the Bronx will be the last Saturday of August. And in Manhattan, it's from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. And then when they do it in Brooklyn and in the Bronx, it's gonna be nine to five. So if you are interested, definitely check out the New York City government website. They have a really great map lined up for all of the all of the portions of the city that have summer streets, and you'll be able to see just kind of like where it starts and where it ends. And I cannot recommend that enough. It's so much fun, and you get to see how the city comes together for all of these different athletes. They got drinking fountains set up, they have you know, there's food trucks, there's People selling drinks. There's just there's so much energy going on during this time. Just if you are a runner, watch out for cyclists. If you are a cyclist, watch out for runners. That's basically the number one thing that I would recommend doing because we know that runners and bikers for some reason have a great rivalry that seems to be greater than the Jets and the Sharks in West Side's story. I don't know why. Don't know how it started, but It's just it is what it is. But I am really excited to go up. It's gonna be a very long run, which I love. And we're gonna enjoy ourselves and we're going to train smart and we're gonna have a great time. And I'm I'm so excited to run with them. I just I cannot express how grateful I am to run for a team for kids, to be a coach for a team for kids. It is It is such an honor to run for an incredible organization. Ted Corbett is one of my heroes. I actually met his son at the Boston Marathon Expo in 2024. And I just got to express just how much of an inspiration he's been on my own running journey with everything that he was able to succeed with and the barriers he broke down with creating New York Roadrunners and then expanding from New York Roadrunners and its initial 47 members to what it is today, right? We've got tens of thousands of members. We have 50,000 people that run the New York City Marathon now. And it's become this huge, huge, huge presence in not just New York City, but in the United States when it comes to like the beacon of running organizations in this country. So if you are interested in in you know joining Team for Kids, I highly recommend them. They are a great organization to run for. you get to help train or you get to work with some other incredible folks who have the same goals as you and you get to you know, Dawn and and you get to, you know, support an incredible organization that gives back to the community and all while training with some of the some great people and great coaches who help you not just hopefully hit the goal that you want with whatever you know time or w not only hit whatever goal you might want to achieve, but they also help you train smart so that you are realistic and that you get to the finish line uninjured and feeling as strong as possible. So That's that's been my week. You know, I've I've been just kind of over the moon about being able to work as a a New York roadrunner team for kids coach. And I know I say this all the time, usually like week after week, but I'm just so full of gratitude about the fact that I get to do all these things now and that these things have kind of come into my lap and and I worked hard for them. You know, it's It's a great feeling when the things that you work really hard for pay off. And there are ways that things have paid off for me that I'd never even expected since I started making content and and making this podcast. So just cannot thank the universe enough, cannot thank New York Roadrunners enough, cannot thank all of you enough, because no one would know. about this podcast, no one would know who I am if it wasn't for all of you. And I'm just so grateful for For all of you that that follow me and for those of you that listen to my story and look at my random running meme videos and posts and look at my inspirational, motivational threads posts that I make. it means the world to me. And I know that none of this would be possible without what all of you have been able to give me. So thank you so much. And especially since this is the season finale of season two of At Your Own Pace, I never anticipated that this podcast would last this long. I'd be perfectly honest. I tried this last year at after I finished the Tokyo Marathon. This podcast, I want to say podcast, but it was more like an interview segment thing where I would speak to runners after marathons. I would interview them, you know, at first was Tokyo, and then I did Boston, I did a couple people, and then London, I was able to get one person. And then it just kind of fell off from there. I had a great time interviewing people and learning more about their stories, learning about why they ran, what it felt like being at that marathon, what it felt like crossing the finish line, tips and tricks that they would have for other runners and things like that. But It wasn't sustainable and also life just got busy, so it just kind of fell to the wayside. And then in December of I'm not sure if I've ever really shared the story yet, but in December of of last year, I was actually on my treadmill. No, it was in November of last year. I was on my treadmill. I was running. It was freezing outside. And as I was running, the name of this podcast just popped into my head. And I was I immediately wrote it down on my phone and Started to figure out what I wanted to do and it has somehow morphed into what it is today. And I don't like to look at numbers because I don't, you know, I'm I've heard from an incredible podcast host that I follow that when you start a podcast, do not pay attention to the numbers and the the views and the comments and the likes and the ratings and everything for what you are working on because you're gonna let yourself down because you're not going to have obviously the numbers you want. We all want us our we all want everything to just kind of like kick off from the very beginning, but that's not how anything works. We have to build ourself from the ground up. And so I don't really like to share numbers and things like that about the the podcast. I look them up just to see how things are going. But you know I have thirty episodes. Right? This would be this is episode thirty. And so far we have over twenty five hundred listens. When we look at that from a perspective of per episode, that's over 80 listens per episode, which I didn't expect episodes to get more than like 10 listens, right? I thought I would maybe have a couple hundred. But the fact that I have 30 episodes and I I have this many listens right now just makes me so happy that there's people out there that identify with these stories that I share from runners that I speak to. And especially now with season two. Some of you identify with kind of what I talk about before we get into the interviews. So I'm just I'm blown away by, you know, how this podcast has been doing and and it makes me happy that people are, you know, connecting with it. Because that's the whole reason I started this. I wanted to create a podcast that would share the stories of runners of all backgrounds and experience levels, but I also wanted to leave the people who were listening with a little. dosage of motivation and inspiration, especially if you are a new runner or if you're somebody who's thinking about getting into running, or even if you're an experienced runner, you just need like a little bit extra, you know, motivation maybe for the day to get out there and run, because I need that all the time. I felt like this was, you know, that's what my goal was. It it wasn't about me. It was about getting those stories out there. And I'm so happy that those stories seem to be radiating with people. So if you know of anybody who is looking for a good running podcast who wants to hear some, you know, motivating stories from people of of you know from every walk of life, please feel free to share this podcast with them because it's not going anywhere. I'm already working on season three, already got some interviews done, already got some interviews in the pipe work or in the pipeline. So You know, we will we will have a season three. At your own pace has been renewed for season three. Even though I I'm the person who gets to decide whether that happens or not. And as always, I'm always receptive to feedback about this podcast. So if there's something that is to something you like a lot that you want to see more of, if there's something that you don't like as much, that you would like to see less of, or there's something that you think is missing, let me know. And I will see what I can do in in terms of trying to be able to transform this this podcast into something even better. And just for the record, so that everybody knows, in case, especially if you're new to listening to the podcast. So every week we get the episode that comes out for those 15 episodes for the season. And then I take about a month off because I'm going through a couple things. One, interviewing people for season three. Two, coming up with ideas for how I want to change season three from the other seasons. And then three, I'm taking some time off, my dude, because this podcast does take up a little bit of time for me, especially when it comes to editing and when it comes to recording my portions of the podcast. I am what is called as what is it what is it procrastinator so I tend to wait a lot of times till the last minute to do the final implementation of the podcast for that week and so I paid the price for it and I know that I need to do better with that but it is unfortunately the way that it is right now. Hopefully I could do better for season three. But yeah, take about a month off, about four weeks to get everything situated for season three. And then we should start up probably around the middle of September, right before the Chicago Marathon, actually, which is perfect because I plan on doing an episode for season three of interviews for the Chicago Marathon, like I did for Boston last year, or like I did for Boston this year. And as always, if you are interested in being on the show, if you know of anybody that would like to be on the show, if you want to share your story. Send me a message on social media, Mike Runs Marathons. You can also email me at Mike at MikerunsMarathons.com and I will work with you to try to set up some time to be able to get your story down. But I have talked way too much about this podcast. Way too much right now. So without further ado, because you know the drill, I want you to grab some water, find your stride, and meet me in the conversation. Because it is time for the season two finale of at your own pace with the good vibes crew, with none other than the good vibes crew leader and captain Mr. Jeffrey Michichin. Michichin? None other than the leader of the good vibes crew and the incredible Peloton instructor, Jeffrey. So I'll see you on the other side and enjoy the interview. There are people in the running world who show up and do the work. And then there are people who show up, do the work and somehow make everyone around them feel like the best version of themselves while they're doing it. Today's guest is firmly in that second category. He's a Peloton running instructor based in London. He was born and raised in Germany and who has become the secret ingredient for one of the most magnetic, joyful presences in the running community. He is the self-proclaimed community confirmed chief of good vibes. He leads the Good Vibes crew. He runs marathons for charity. He has completed his six star journey with the World Marathon majors. And he does all of this with a smile that I'm not exaggerating. People literally talk about and it's so genuine that once you see it, it's hard to forget it. He has a saying that meter by meter, you get to know and love yourself anew. And if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about who this man is, just wait until we hear about him say it himself. So I want to bring in Jeffrey. from Peloton. I wanna, hold on. There we go. Thank you, Jeffrey, Jeffrey: Ha MikeRunsMarathons: so much for joining me on At Your Own Pace. It is an honor and a privilege to have you on today. Jeffrey: Thank you so much for having me and what a beautiful intro. sitting here blushing and smiling. Thank you so much. really appreciate it. Happy to be here. MikeRunsMarathons: Thank you, thank you. Now I know you just ran the London Marathon, so how are you feeling? Jeffrey: Well, could I kind of I didn't run it. I walked it near half of it. So yeah, I feel great. I'm very my cup is very full of this weekend and this experience which we'll get into later. I'm sure so I feel MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah. Jeffrey: really good grateful and my body feels good. So yeah, I'm excited to be here. MikeRunsMarathons: That is amazing. That is amazing. For those of you that don't know, Jeffrey, I don't think I've ever seen a moment on his Instagram where he is not training for some sort of marathon. And it is so Jeffrey: Hahaha MikeRunsMarathons: inspirational to see him just continuously go back and back and back to push himself and be able to show what we are capable of, but also do it in a very empathetic and inspiring way, which continues to help me on my running journey today. Thank you for everything you do, not just for Peloton, but for you bring to the community, running community in general, because it is something that I think we could all use continuously as we work through our own running stories and try to become the best runners we can be. Jeffrey: Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it. I think that is the biggest gift in what I get to do, that people allow me to be part of their journey, of their training, of their experience. So yeah, thank you. MikeRunsMarathons: Of course, I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Now have a couple of buckets of questions here that I want to jump through and I want to Jeffrey: Yes. MikeRunsMarathons: start back at the beginning. So you've talked about this before, but does December 2nd, 2015 ring a bell? Jeffrey: October seconds. It's October. Yeah. Yeah, it's October second. MikeRunsMarathons: October 2nd, okay. So you you were broke, you're on a friend's couch, you couldn't afford a gym, and that you grabbed a pair of shoes and you went outside. take me back to that day. I wanna know what got you to do that and where it started to take you. Jeffrey: It's something, October 2nd, 2015 is something I call my second birthday at this point, because it's literally looking back at it and how I feel it and live it now is not a rebirth, but a whole new world opened up to me. So at the time I was living on my best friend's couch because I made some stupid financial decisions. I was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. I worked in a fast food chain and I ate fast food all day. And my friendships kept turning in circles. My mindset was in stupid places or in dark places, whatever you want to want to call it. And there came a moment where I said, I don't want these circles to continue. I need to change something in order for something to change. And I had no money. I had no opportunity. had no access. So the only thing I had was my shoes, normal street sneakers, whatever they were. And I just said, I need to get out. So I literally got out of the house and also my friend at the time, she wasn't working. So we were on top of each other 24 seven lovely friend, but that I was like, need a moment for myself because I felt like I was disconnected from who I am and what I was thinking and feeling. So I went to the park and I just started running and I didn't have the proper outfit or the proper gear as we would call it. I just got out and I just moved and you know, something we now call or I now know of as a walk plus run at the time I didn't know what I was doing. I just ran for some time, I walked for some time, I ran for some time, I walked for some time. And it wasn't long, trust me, it wasn't long, wasn't strong, wasn't anything somebody would, I would have felt anybody would have been like, well done, Jeffrey. But something in me changed in that moment. There was a reminder of that I have the power within to accomplish something that makes me feel great and accomplish something that makes me connect with who I am. And It for sure wasn't the first run where all of this happened at once. just know when I finished, there was a certain feeling, you know, kind of post run high that I experienced for the first time in my life. And I was like, I have the power to make myself feel this way. I need to lean into this more. And that then got me to do it again and again and again, an experience of the things that I could do within my body. And I listened to music back then as I often do. I still do that to this day. And it was Beyonce. She really motivates and inspires me. And that physical movement really trickled into mental movement, which means I was able to connect with myself. I had time for my thoughts, all the worries and questions I had when I started to run kind of, I wouldn't say disappeared, but got lighter when I was running or I found solutions or I found a different way to look at it. And it just changed everything. My physical health, my mental health and Yeah, that's why I call October 2nd, 2015 my second birthday. MikeRunsMarathons: I love that. I really identify with that because in 2018, I tried to my life and I consider that day to be like my, I call it my rebirth, my new birthday because I feel like my life before then and after that, it's kind of like night and day. It's completely Jeffrey: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: different in terms of what I've been able to accomplish since then. So I got chills just in that story because I know that feeling and I've been there and to... to be able to pull yourself out of that spot takes a lot of strength. And to be able to get to where you are today, I mean, you started off with the walk run and somehow that has morphed into all of these marathons, running a six-star journey. How did you get from that walk run to where you are now with, obviously with Peloton and then the marathon journey that you have, what kind of in your head kickstarted that need and that want to go in that direction? Jeffrey: Before I answer that question, I just have to lean into something that I'm feeling right now. And I just want to say thank you. Thank you for not doing that. And thank you for being here today. I mean that MikeRunsMarathons: You're gonna make me cry. Jeffrey: I'm nearly there already. when you like I, I love you for sharing it and it is so important. And I just want you to know that I'm so grateful that you are here and that you didn't do that. MikeRunsMarathons: Thank you so Jeffrey: Okay. When it comes to running, and these marathons and these races. think the beauty I had is that when I found the movement in physical activity and then in mental activity, started surrounding myself with people. just found people. Like through running in the park, I'm a quite communicative person, as you know, and I'm happy to chat. I love a chat. I love to get to know people and their stories. Even as a kid, like my parents can attest to this, I would always hang with the grownups because I always wanted to know what is life like? What do you do? What are grown up decisions? I was always curious about what other people are doing because I think often we can find inspiration in the stories of others because many before us have gone on similar routes or had similar questions or similar challenges. So I was always curious. And the same thing with running. I started to meet people that I saw were running. I would just chat to them and ask them about, what do you do? What is it? And then somebody bought this thing of like a half marathon to me and said, Hey, this is what you do. This is the kind of distance. And I was just on the cusp of me turning 30. So I was like, okay, cool. Before I turned 30, I'll run a half marathon kind of thing. You know, as I had stopped smoking and I was quite proud of myself in that way. I ran my first half marathon about three weeks after I turned 30, but that's just because of the date that it fell on. But so I kind of just started training for that. in training, I mean, I didn't know what I was doing. I just started running and I was like, I was like, okay, I'll try this out. I say that to say the beauty in that is, and we'll get to that later, but somebody else saw opportunity in me and reminded me of what I maybe could do or inspired me of maybe what I could do. And that's what allowed me to even dream like, I'll do a half marathon. I'll try that. So yeah, I kind of trained for it. I ran that. And then running just kind of stayed in my life. when I, the Berlin half marathon was the first half marathon I ever ran in 2016. And my sister was there at the finish line and I just cried like a baby and I fell into her arms and I said, the world needs to experience this feeling. The world needs to feel like this and remind themselves of how they allow to feel and how they can feel. And I tell you one thing, I did not know what that meant. I just remember saying that. And my sister has said this to me several times that she is so amazed of how I'm so emotional today, how I had that vision. And compared to what I do today, it is that vision without knowing what that even meant at the time. So from there on just kind of carried on running. you know, aside from the running, my life then changed. went to therapy, I started saving money, I had new jobs on the side. I then moved out, you know, into like an own one bedroom apartment. And, you know, was able to at some point join a gym. So all these kinds of things came with the same timeline as running and running always remained my safe space and my happy space and my, can figure things out or I can think about nothing kind of flow state running. Like I, I was able to understand that not every run is the same, not every run has the same purpose. And I can kind of determine or decide what today's run can be for me, you know, whether it's a hard session just to get stuff done, or it's a moment for my head space or the combination of both. And I was really happy about that and really grateful that I found that because I was able to go in with an intention of what I wanted to, what I needed that day. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: and then I kind of carried on running from there and I was at the gym and, I was on the gym, I was on the treadmill and, know, having found more mental change in that time, I was looking for people that inspired me. So I was like, watching Beyonce videos on my on this when I still live that my friend so far I was like watching Beyonce videos and interviews I was watching interviews from Oprah or Brene Brown or like all you know just people that I found online and kind of just soaked up their knowledge or Mel Robbins I'll never forget the first time I heard from the the five second rule and MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: that literally changed my life you know not even having read any of her books at the time I just saw some online clips about it and I and I do it three two one I do it and I go so Then I was at a gym and I was training on a treadmill because I, by the way, not just because of my job, I love treadmill runs. Like 90 % of my training will happen on the treadmill because MikeRunsMarathons: Same. Jeffrey: it's my safe and my happy place. That's where I go. And I was running on a treadmill. had like a cracked little tablet with like a cable headphone, listening to Beyonce on YouTube, like live videos of her and just running it out. I don't know what the session was. Also, just broke, somebody just broke up with me. So there was that. And I just went to the gym and I said, this is just what I'm going to do. And then some guy came up to me and said, Hey, I really like your energy. have a cycling studio. Could you imagine being a cycling instructor? And I said, well, I've never been an instructor at that point. And I don't cycle. I don't know what that is, but I'm happy to come around and check it out and see it from there. And I said, can I play Beyonce? He you can play whatever you like and say, okay, cool. So I went there, tried it out, fell in love with it, became a cycling instructor, but still was running on the side. And then at some point we did like a charity event, which I led and running because I was like, we need to get. outside and we did it for charity. Because again, when I started running half marathons or when I did more events, did more half marathons. did probably about 30 to 40 half marathons within my time in Germany. And at some point I said, I need to do it for a better purpose than myself. This doesn't need to be about me. And also I had the point of maybe I can't make the world feel how this feels or have everyone do this. but I want to make a difference with the way that it makes me feel and the things that I can do. I want to run for the people that maybe can't run. I want to run for the people that maybe, you know, can't move in that way. So I started connecting it to charity quite a bit. And then I got my, my employee at the time for the cycling company to come on board. So we did this event and at this event, what I didn't know, there was somebody there from Adidas who was working within the running industry and he liked the way I was coaching and guiding people on that charity run. So they, offered me an opportunity to become a coach there. And then I became a coach there for some time and was teaching running in their main facility in Berlin. MikeRunsMarathons: Wow, and how did Peloton find you? Jeffrey: Well, I truly believe and I truly believe because of my vision board. So there was a time where I put, I I started also on the sofa. Like if you would see the things that happened that, that, that originated on the sofa of my best friend at the time, people would have thought they would have not believed me. I started a vision board there. I started writing different things on there. Most of things on my vision board have become true. I've now, you know, I keep evolving and putting new things on it. But there was a time where I put Peloton, I want to become an Peloton instructor on that vision board. And about two years later, they reached out to me, I truly believe it was the universe, but maybe also like social media or whatever. But also I didn't have a big following on social media or any following at that point. And it was crazy because it was just, it's indescribable, because I was on my on the phone to my best friend. And I was actually complaining. I said to him, the current job I'm in, I'm not getting the recognition I deserve. We're not reaching the people that need to be reached with this kind of movement. It's time to take it to the next level. And I hang up and I have an email saying that they would like to talk to me. And MikeRunsMarathons: Wow. Jeffrey: I was like, I literally just said this. And this is not about, you know, it's not about know, the kind of, I didn't know even the magnitude of what this would bring, but MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: I just knew it was time to step it up to the next level. It doesn't, it didn't make sense at the time, but I knew that's what needed to happen. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: And then that email came and then the rest is kind of history from there. MikeRunsMarathons: That is incredible. mean, it's funny talking about not having a lot of followers. Compared to a lot of other running influencers and things like that, I hate using the word influencers, but I say content creators out there who have so many more followers that I've had companies reach out to me I'm like, I'm sorry, you want me, this person right Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: here? There's so many other people that you can grab. So I feel you when you say I didn't, I feel like I didn't have a lot of followers and. And they reached out to you and they wanted to speak with you, which is just amazing. Jeffrey: But maybe I can shift your mindset a little here. And that's one thing I will say. And some people might see this different. I can only speak from my approach. you, there's a saying, first of all, I don't know when and I don't know how, but I just know. And sometimes when you know that, like even when Peloton reached out, there was never a moment of like, Why are they? I can't believe this. It was like it's meant to be. I'm ready. There was often moments where like, do you have any questions? And I said, no, because I just I'm ready. I'm here for it to be the vessel of what this is meant to be. And I think the same when somebody approaches you deep down within, whether you have a vision board or not, you know what your vision is of with the things that you're doing. And yeah, that's why, you know. MikeRunsMarathons: I will be, I will actually very honest about that. only started posting content last year, like consistently before that, it was kind of like very sporadic. And I didn't have like an idea of who I was as a runner in terms of what I wanted to show individuals about like what made me, I guess you could say unique in a way that would stand out from the thousands of other individuals that were posting about running. And I wholeheartedly believe in what you just said. I said, to myself, I don't know like what's gonna happen, but I know what I want. And I know that I want to be able to make an impact on people's lives. And as soon as I went into that direction, it's like doors started to open that I just never thought would happen. There's so many times where I get an email or I get a message from something on social media and I just turn to my wife and I go, look at this. Like I cannot believe it like every single time and My wife also and I joke because she's the one who kind of, she, I say she forced me to start making content last year, but I Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: had told her for years that I wanted to start it. And finally she was like, just do it. And so now whenever anything Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: positive happens, she'll just go, you're welcome. Always laugh at that. And Jeffrey: I love that. I love that. MikeRunsMarathons: whenever anything like good comes out of it or I get some sort of partnership or whatnot, I just turn there and I go, thank you. And she'll be just, you're welcome. Jeffrey: I love that. I think also, you know, this is not something so maybe an unpopular opinion, but if it wasn't for the job I was doing or the people that I would like to reach in the future, I would not be doing social media. I don't care enough about social media, which is something some people probably don't want me to say as like, they're like, what, what do you mean? I care about when we met at the New York marathon. I look into your eyes and we have a conversation that is honest and that is real, whether it's fun, deep, whatever it is, that's what I care about. And I'm sure you can recall, I don't think I've had my phone out. Like, can we take the content? MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: I am so more excited and stimulated when it comes to real human connection. I do the social media because it gives people that are not there an opportunity to look in. And I love that because The internet is what gave me opportunity to see and get inspired. I don't even want to compare myself to that. It's more, I care about that we're here, that we're talking to each other, that how real is the moment that you're having instead of how great does it look on social media? So I truly, I'm challenged by that sometimes because of course, you know, you want to, people want to see the big following and all of this, all of that. I truly believe what is meant for you will find you and That's truly what I lean into. And I rather be present and not have my phone at hand than make the perfect content for others to see. And that is MikeRunsMarathons: yeah. Jeffrey: a challenge, but that's just how I roll. MikeRunsMarathons: I tell my wife all the time that I'm an extroverted introvert because I Jeffrey: Yeah, same. MikeRunsMarathons: don't... Social media is fine. But there are so many moments where I'm just like, I don't want to do this. I just want to go around with people or I just want to hang out with people. Me and my best friend, we would get together and we would talk for like six hours, walk around New York City and just talk and talk and talk. And those are the moments that I love. It's not, you know, trying to distract myself by posting content continuously on social media. It can be almost exhausting. like an actual job, physical job. Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: So thank you. Thank you for pointing that out, especially as someone who has the following that you have and does what you do. I know that for some people it can be, it can feel exhausting at times. And for someone to say, and then be honest about that, it's, it's, it's very helpful to me, which I really appreciate. Now you talked about the feeling. of when you cross that half marathon for the first time. And you talked about a little bit later on in the conversation about just wanting to get people to feel what that that, you know, that positive outcome or that happiness or what have you, that catharticism that comes out of the run that you do. And that shifts me to you're known as the chief of good vibes. Right. And I love that so much. But you've you're also very honest. that you don't wake up every day feeling like that. Right. And it's not always sunshine and rainbows. Where does the joy, though, that you have because it's it looks so authentic, it looks so genuine. Where does it come from and how do you protect that? Jeffrey: so I also want to point out that the name, I did not give that to myself just for the, cause people MikeRunsMarathons: you Jeffrey: have thought that like, also you call yourself that. And I was like, no, no, I never said this. People have said this to me and I like it because it's uplifting and nice. And I think it is truly who I am. What I do want people to know is that chief of good vibes doesn't mean, like you said, it's all sunshine and rainbows all day, every day. I truly believe the reason why I am the chief of good vibes or why I feel that way and exude that is because if something doesn't go right, I lean into it, I go through it so I can come out on the other side. And again, back when in 2015, when I looked for inspiration, there was this quote by Oprah and I'm sure she didn't originate this, but she shared it in that moment is whenever something hits me that isn't as I would wish or it's challenging, I ask myself, what is this here to teach me? And if I can get to that spot, the quicker, the better I'm able to go through that. I cry. have challenges. I, you know, go through breakups. You know, when I started as a Peloton instructor, what many people don't know, I was engaged. And shortly after we decided to end it, nobody ever saw that, but I go through that. But there's things that you don't have to share in order for people to understand, but just know the reason I'm able to shine and be who I am is because I lean into. all of the emotions, all of the challenges. And like you just said, you know, or like we spoke about earlier, you know, we've both been to dark places. Many people have been to challenging places in their life. I once heard about a study and I don't want to quote the numbers because I don't quote me on the numbers because I'm not from not sure what the right one was. But there was a study of there's, I don't know, five hundred thousand. There's a lot of people that don't wake up in the morning. They go to bed at night and they don't wake up. So if I have the privilege. to wake up in the morning, I'm good. I'm really good. I, I literally, I have a window that I look out of and I say a few things of gratitude every morning and people laugh about it. I don't care. And also I lost my best friend when I was 21, he was 20 at the time. And I live life for the people that I've lost. I live it for me, but also I, you know, when I run, I imagine like I'm FaceTiming with the people that I have lost. because I feel truly it would be a slap in their face to take this opportunity and this life for granted. And that's where I originate from. That's where my energy comes from. That's where my joy comes from. Because I get to choose. Of course I'm challenged. Of course some days really just suck. And some MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: decisions or things that are thrown your way, they really just suck. And then I lean into them. I feel through them. And then what is it here to teach me? And how can I come back to joy? And often the first thing is the gratitude. And again, that is that I'm alive. I have a choice. I, you know, can make decisions and I get to live this for the people that no longer can. And I think that's where it originated. Life is too short. Do you know it? I know it. We all know it. Who, who am I to take it for granted and just sulk and be miserable? No, I want to laugh. If I also, I live life by the way, If I were to pass tomorrow, the people that I love and care for know how I feel about them. They know MikeRunsMarathons: Hmm. Jeffrey: how much I love them. They know how much I care for them. And if I can say that about myself, I'm good. So, of course, some emails I don't want to read or some things I don't want to do. Boo hoo. Get over it. It's OK. Like, feel that shit and do it or don't do it or go against it. But like, OK, and what's next? And, you know, as they say, like 10 minutes or 10 bad minutes of a day don't determine a whole bad day. It can be those 10 minutes and it can stay right there. I was about to curse. Sorry. It can stay right there and the day continues and I get to choose. I get to choose how I show up with you. I get to choose whether I'm like, you know, it's great, whatever. Or I get to choose to be like, wait, we get to chat here. We get to know each other. We get to communicate. What a great opportunity. So again, not saying it is easy, MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: not saying everything is great. but I feel so much and I allow myself to feel it and then I allow myself to come out of it with the joy and the gratefulness and the gratitude that I can find in a lot of situations. MikeRunsMarathons: Absolutely. I mean, it's so easy to be so cynical in life about everything. There's so many bad things going on. There's so many people that hurt you or have done things to you that you might not let go of. yeah, I mean, I hate to say because of the dark places we've been to, but I feel like that's probably one of the good things that have come out of it is that it helps us understand how fragile time is. And like the first thing that I discovered after, you know, for me in 2018, that it took me like a year or two to finally understand this. like I used to immerse myself in like reading a lot of introverted things. Reading, I was very involved in like escaping the world in a way, kind of going to other worlds and being able to not be here because I didn't like it. Once I started to figure out that I actually wanted to be here, I started to realize that I didn't want to really do that as much as I wanted to experience the world. I wanted to go out. and actually do things. wanted to engage with people. I wanted to engage in events. This is just around when I started running. So it's not like I was like, I want to go run a marathon in like Berlin or Japan. It was just Jeffrey: Yeah, I assume. MikeRunsMarathons: like, I want to go run around Central Park or I want to go hang out with my friends at my karaoke bar or something like that. And it was, it took me so long to finally understand that like I stopped hiding and that I Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: realized that I wanted to go out and knew that tomorrow's not promised. As you pointed out, like you wake up tomorrow, there's nothing there. You could lose someone that you love tremendously tomorrow and nothing prepares you for it. But to be able to know that you've lived life to the end as much as you possibly can and to let people know, as you pointed out, that just how much they're loved and how much they're needed is something that is just immeasurable. And what I think this world desperately needs. I mean, I don't have to tell you how Jeffrey: And there's MikeRunsMarathons: negative and dark this world kind of currently is. because of everything that's going on around it, but there are people out there like yourself that can shine a light into everything bad that we have seen that can make things better in some capacity. And I know you want to share something, so I'll let you share and then I'll jump to my next question. Jeffrey: I just wanted to say that there's so much beauty in that as well. Like because nothing is prominent, like be in that moment, be present, look that person in the eyes, tell them how you feel, tell them the good, the challenging, talk through it or detach from it. Like there is, I think there is so much power and beauty in it. I know this is really random, but I once, I used to watch the Wendy Williams show and she used to say, she used to quote it for women. again, we don't have to take this quote all the way, but she used to quote it for women saying, as a woman, I have the opportunity to change my mind and change my life every morning that I wake up. And I was like, and we do, like we have the power and the opportunity to make decisions, not always immediately, but in general, we have that and there's beauty and being present in those moments. And one thing I will say when it comes to How do I keep that positivity? One thing I will also say, there is days that I delete social media from my phone because I'm like, I don't want to be present in that. I want to be present in the now. I said this yesterday. I was in the green room, which is called the room where we get changed and ready for classes. And there was three of my colleagues in there and we were all on our phone. Like I literally stepped into the room. I was on my phone. didn't acknowledge anyone. And I just said, wait. Wait, wait a minute. Like we are three people in the room communicating with people that are not in the room. We should be present with each other. And that was no shade at anyone. I was doing the same thing. It was more like that. I just like to remind myself and others of that because it really helps me to be present, grateful and mentally stable. MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah, wow, you're reminding me now of so many instances where that has happened to me in my life. Wow, I'm going to try to be more present about that going forward. Probably going to make some of my friends mad, but you know what? needs to be said. It needs to be said. Now, I know. Jeffrey: But also like I love it like I love a dinner party with no one has their phone. Yeah, if you don't want to come to that dinner, don't come to my dinner because I love that. Like, wait, what you don't want to put your phone away. We're here. Who needs MikeRunsMarathons: Mm. Jeffrey: to who needs to be in who you know what? So yeah, I actually like to challenge people in that way. MikeRunsMarathons: Just take out your phone, take some selfies and then put it away. I like that, Jeffrey: Yeah, exactly. MikeRunsMarathons: I like that. Now, I really like how honest you are speaking about the fact that there are good days and bad days and you have so many tools now that you've built up that have been able to help you get through those tough times or those tough emotions. And it's really, really powerful when someone says, get the ability to choose because we're so used to our emotions kind of controlling us. I want to know if running played a part in you being able to come to that understanding. Because for me, one of the reasons I run is for that mental clarity. And I cannot tell you how many, I don't say problems, but things that I've just come up with in my head or things that have helped me process things or come to an understanding while I'm on the run that I don't think I would have been able to have without it. So has running been able to play a part in you getting to that mindset? Jeffrey: 1000%. I would not be here and be as confident as who I am if it wasn't for running. I, you know, and I often say this in class, like what we learn in class or in a workout is what we take into life. I, know, there's, we often, we're often met with resistance or people denying us who we are, or saying we're not enough for something, you know, whether it's a job, if you're in a job in a company and you're applying for the next role. And that's how it started for me in 20. 18, 17, 18, I want to say, after like having to found running and all that kind of stuff and, doing therapy and really getting connected to who I am. I was in a job where somebody told me I applied for the next level in the job. And they said, we would like to hire you for the next level, but you're too nice for that role. And I was like, too nice. I mean, that is a trade where I'm like, that's, I was confident in who I was because of the running. And I quit the next day because I said, if you told me, Hey, you need to learn how to do this math problem to do this job. Cool. I can learn that you need to change your character who I worked for to be. I'm not doing that. And that confidence comes from running because often we're denied or neglected in certain ways as we all are like in life, or we feel that way because of childhood traumas or things that we hold onto or we're not even aware of. And I often said to myself, like, if I can freaking run whatever distance I did this morning. how dare you tell me I can't do x y and z that's absolutely not true and I will prove it to you and running has given me that strength and also if there was one thing I personally struggled with growing up and being a young kid growing up being a young black queer kid growing up I never thought I was enough I always tried to be liked by everyone I was trying to be loved by everyone and make it right for everyone else but myself. And the one thing that running taught me is that who I am, that alone is enough. And it is my birthright to be loved by the people that are able to see that. And whether that's family or chosen family or community or whoever that is. And once I understood that for myself through running, it kind of made me unstoppable. And not in a mean or pushing people out the way and be like, you're not right for me, but really being like, well, if we can't be there for each other, then you're not meant for my life and I'm not meant for yours. Because if you can give me love and respect that I deserve, whether it's in a company setting or whether it's in a relationship or in a friendship setting, then we're not right for each other. And running really taught me I'm not perfect. I don't want to be perfect. I don't strive to be perfect. What does that mean anyway? MikeRunsMarathons: Thank Jeffrey: But I'm okay with who I am and I can do cool stuff. I can do hard things and I can show up for myself. And because I show up for myself in the physical activity, I also show up for others different. So it is my go-to place always. It always has been since I started running and still this day if running, if something is up, like I, you could wake me up at three o'clock at night. And the first thing I'll be like, let's go for run. Like it doesn't matter. It's just where, where I'm happy. And I'd like to, and I like to do it in the morning because That's that space where nobody's contacting you yet. You don't have any to do's and you get to set the level of energy that you want to bring to the day. And that feels like my superpower. MikeRunsMarathons: You have just given me, it's really funny. I was looking at this question I had and I was like, how can I get this question in what we're talking about? Because I'm trying to figure out like how I can like connect it. And you just gave me the perfect opportunity with this because you have, whether it's friends, family, the fellow Peloton members who come up to you and they talk about how much you've helped them and how much you. I mean, I don't know about you, but I go up to instructors sometimes and I say, you've changed my life. And I know that can sometimes be overwhelming. And it's talking about being the way home on the way back up. So you teach these, you know, thousands of members on Peloton, right? You lead the good vibes crew on on the Peloton app and things like that. And you run races for charity. And it's it's a big mention of the whole idea of be the person that you needed. Right. And we have this concept right in our head of being the person that we needed when we're younger or when we are dumped or when there's a job loss or when we're trying to figure out who we are in general. And what I'm hearing from this is going from the concept of being the person that you needed and then becoming actually to live it. At what point? Did that stop necessarily being a concept for you? And it sounds like a switch was flipped and you were like, you don't like me for who I am. You don't like my character. You don't like me as a person. Like, you know, I know who I am. You have this this anchor, this presence in you that's like, I know my values and who I am as a core as a person. And if you can't accept that, I'm OK with backing up a little bit from this. How did that come about? Because I know I know we talked about how running helped you understand the emotions and realize that the gift of today, but being able to put that into action, into what you do now, how did you get to that place? Jeffrey: That is a really good question. I do want to back it up one step to say with the people that work out with me or train with me and do come up and say these amazing things. For me, it's not overwhelming because it just makes me smile on the inside because I truly, truly believe that you see that in me maybe because it's in you. Because if it wasn't in you, you wouldn't see it in me. I am just your sticky note. am your reminder. Hey, that's within you. That's all I do. I'm not doing any magic here. I'm a coach and I say what I think and I, you know, I share my experience, but if we, you know, same thing with triggers and reminders. If those triggers and reminders don't speak to us or not within us, we won't see them. So every time somebody says that to me, it just makes me smile on the inside because I just say, I just reminded you of the greatness or whatever that is it within you that you needed to work on or re re bring to life. So this is I, you know, I am more like in a like an alarm clock in that sense. Like I remind you of things than anything else. I wake you up maybe out of that cycle that you're in and remind you of the power and the greatness that is within. That's one thing I would say, because also, and I say that and maybe, you know, I say that for myself because I truly believe there are certain things that I saw in others that enlightened something in me that I feel, yeah, it's been there all along, but I always hid it or didn't think it was right or, you know, had to put it to a side. I think the switch came. when I did therapy. And I think once I understood why and first of all, who I am, and why I am the way I am, I started questioning, okay, so what is my intention with my behavior in certain ways? And when my intention I found out for myself, or you know, we speak of core values in that sense, my core values are love and kindness and cheering someone on and supporting people in life and supporting myself. And if that is something you're not aligned with, then we don't need to hang out. Like I think also what happened really quick is, you know, I'm a black and white, I'm a mixed kid. I grew up in a very, you white town, which is not a bad thing. It was just, I kind of always stood out. But I always said to myself, I don't need and I don't want to hide who I am because I am. This is how it was born. This is who I'm meant to be. So I think that when it came to for me, sexuality, I was really quickly like, this is who I am. I'm meant to hide that. And when I then did therapy and understood the insides of me, this is who I am. And also, I truly think if your intentions are not to hurt anyone or to go against anyone, if our intentions or values don't align, I wish you nothing but the best. It doesn't mean you're right or I'm right or you're wrong or I'm wrong. It just means we're not meant for each other. And whether that's for a job setting, whether that's for a relationship, whether that's for a friendship, as they say, people come, you know, for a reason, a season or a lifetime. And if you're if you know who you are and why you're doing the things that you do and you have the right intentions, I truly believe why sometimes do we hold on to the things that are becoming toxic or, you know, and again, if somebody tells me, Hey, I don't like your haircut. Well, that's your opinion. That's fine. I can deal with that. If somebody tells me, you know, for you in order to be able to have this job, you need to learn X, Y, Z. Okay. Do I want to learn that? And if I don't, then it's not meant to be. But if somebody challenges who you are as a core, as a human, then you really need to, because if you're, because if you're then straying away from the authentic, authentic self that you are, you're not good for anyone. at that point. you know, not saying that everything I do is right, and I'm always trying to stay open and be, you stay a student and learn. But in general, I've worked so hard to figure out who I am. And that keeps evolving, which I love, like I keep learning and growing who I am as a person, hopefully, but I kind of know who I am. And if that doesn't align, then peace, all the best. And I think there is a certain confidence that came just because I know I've done the work and I continue to the work. Back then, if you would have said that to me, I would have been like, oh, I don't know, what am I doing? Who am I? What's going on? And I would probably fly, you know, like a leaf in the wind. And again, doesn't mean things, perspectives can't be changed, but in general, I know who I am. And I think that is such a beautiful, for me, it's been the most healthiest and most beautiful space to be in. Because with that, I can then share with others. Before, You know, I was the entertainer or the class clown or this that whatever, but it was more for not thinking I was enough. was more for the attention because I think I needed to be funny and entertaining for people that are like me. And then actually understanding who am I and why am I doing certain things? And yeah, that changed everything. MikeRunsMarathons: You and I sound very similar in terms of the way that we used to act when we were younger, because I used to be the kind of the same exact way. Wow. Jeffrey: And I think the funny thing is, again, the funny thing is, and that is okay for the time that we needed it. There are certain aspects, certain behavior patterns that we needed to survive or needed to thrive at the time. And that's okay. I agreed that version of myself. We were like, well done, we made it here. But do we need to keep that? Or can we clean that up a little bit and see what needs to stay and what can maybe go? MikeRunsMarathons: There was, I forget what the phrase is, but there's something along the lines of like, if you look back on some of the things you've done when you were younger and you cringe, congratulations, means you've grown as a person. Yeah. Yeah, Jeffrey: Exactly, exactly. MikeRunsMarathons: I love that saying. And I love hearing not just your story about running, but just how your life has evolved over time. And not just physically, but mentally as well, because. I love that you talk about therapy because there's still so many people that don't talk about it and think that it's something that makes you weak when in reality it can be one of the most powerful things you could possibly do. And I know there are a lot of people that talk about how running is therapy when it is not. It is very helpful, but it will not help you solve your problems because you cannot solve the problems in your brain with your own brain in a way. If you're the only person that's working on them. So I just, I just really want to thank you for. being open and honest about that because I, one of the things that I always talk about on my platform and I know like, I don't like to hide things. I put everything out there for people to understand like, yes, I go through issues too and this is what I've gone through and this is what has helped me. But being able to share that with people I think is so paramount because there are still, I don't know how in the year of 2026, there are still so many people that think that therapy is not a good thing or that it's not helpful. And I just, love what you shared about how, you know, it's helped you find those core values and ground you in who you are. Jeffrey: I'd like to even add on, firstly, thank you for saying that. And I'd like to even add on by saying, I still do therapy to this day. I do it in a different cadence, but I MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: do it because once somebody said to me, you know, often we go to the doctor when we're sick, which is fine. But how about, you know, especially as we get older, go into the doctor once a year to get certain things checked. And that's the same thing with therapy. I found myself, I don't want to wait till I get to that point again. I'd rather have regular check-ins. and be, you know, checking in with myself because let's be real, how often can the world navigate us away from how we feel and what we're going through because of the busyness, because of the social media, because of the things to do, because of the appearances that we try to keep up. So I'd rather have a regular check-in and be like, wait, how am I doing? And I found myself in these sessions sometimes like, I haven't asked myself that question in quite a while. I'm glad I'm here. And, you know, I love the opportunity and I truly believe. And yeah, I truly believe everybody should try it once in their life and see what it can do for them. You know, I think there should be after, after a certain age that I haven't defined an agent, but I like, I'm an advocate for it to say after a certain age, you get to have six months of therapy, see what it can do for you. And if you then say you don't need, or it does nothing for you. Okay. You try it. MikeRunsMarathons: One of my favorite things, my favorite therapy sessions is when I go in and I go, I don't know what I want to talk to you about today. And then it Jeffrey: Hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: just, and then like all of this stuff comes out and I'm like, the session ends and I'm like, wait, it's over? Oh crap, I really guess I did have something to talk about today. Jeffrey: Yeah. Yeah, that's the thing, especially, you know, there's these sayings that we use as humans, right. And I think, you know, when somebody says, don't really know how to like even like in a meeting, I don't really know how to explain it. But you're like, did know how to explain it. You just weren't sure. And that's the same thing. I don't really know what I want to talk about today. you you're like, you did MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: know it's just needed a way to come out. So like a like a highway MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah. Jeffrey: to like open it up. MikeRunsMarathons: It's wonderful. Now I want to jump to your six star journey because it's Jeffrey: Yeah! MikeRunsMarathons: still relatively recent. You finished it last year in Tokyo. Of course. Jeffrey: Can I say something? Seven stars. I've done the seven. I did, yes. And I'm just MikeRunsMarathons: You did you do Sydney last year too? that's right. Jeffrey: sharing that because of the pure excitement. I'm not sharing that, be like, I've got the seven stars. I'm just, I'm a little. MikeRunsMarathons: Listen, I'm so jealous of that. love Sydney. I lived there when I did study abroad and it was wonderful. Jeffrey: And that's the thing, I'm a little kid from a town that had about 2000 people that lived there to get to fly around the world and do this six star, seven star journey. I'm still mind blown. I'm still mind blown. Sorry, go on with your question. MikeRunsMarathons: No, no, it's I never thought that I would be the kind of person who's traveled around the world for running. just I never thought I'd travel around for anything. And Jeffrey: Right? Same. MikeRunsMarathons: it's just crazy. The fact that this is like happened not just once. I've done these multiple times. So I've gone back to multiple countries and it's just like, my God, it's gotten to the point now where if my wife asked for time off, she'll go she works at a school, she'll go tell her principal, be like, I need these days off their first question. Which marathon is it now? And Jeffrey: That's so funny. But MikeRunsMarathons: Like, god. Jeffrey: it's the same, if I ask for time off at work, you're like, so what race are you running? I'm like, well, yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm hmm. Yep. Yep. Now, what I want to know, right, you didn't grow up as a runner. We talked about how, you know, you used to smoke a pack a day and you lived in your friends got to wear some fast food and things like that. And you never run your first marathon until not that long ago. What does it feel like to stand on the other side of that? Jeffrey: Well, I think, you know, this is kind of a recurring story. you know, back in Berlin, there was a time where I worked at, you know, a TV show called The Voice, where I was looking for talent to be on stage. That was my job to find the talent within other people. But the funny thing is, and I never thought about this until like recently, actually, that actually, because once I knew who I was, other people started seeing, I won't don't want to say my talent, because that sounds a bit, but saw something in me that motivated me to believe in it and then saw the opportunities that I was maybe, you know, open to. So when I started at Peloton, I've only done half marathons. I've trained a lot of people for marathons or triathlons, but I've never done a marathon myself. And, you know, speaking about wanting to stay a student in life, it was Suzy Chan that at some point was like, you got to run the world majors. And I was like, the who? MikeRunsMarathons: You Jeffrey: And then she kind of like explained the concept to me because she had done them already at the time, the six stars. And then I was like, no. But then an opportunity came up to actually run my first. wanted so one more thing, taking it back when I was able to travel for the first time in 2017, I believe, after like therapy, saving money, moving out, it was to Barcelona. And I fell in love with Barcelona because I didn't have any money. I was able to travel there, but I still didn't have like a lot of money and do things. So I ran everywhere. And it was again, because at the time then I was already a runner. I actually did like a sightseeing tour by running. And it was one of the most incredible things that Barcelona is to this day, one of my favorite cities. I'm actually going back there soon for quite a time to just be in the city and I want to retire then. love it. All that to say, I thought, okay, so if we're doing marathons, she told me about the world majors, but it was, you know, of course it's hard to get into that kind of stuff. So I said, okay, I love Barcelona. It's around my birthday. And maybe I just sign up for the Barcelona Marathon and do that as my first marathon. But then I got sick, so I couldn't do that. And I did a random one in the UK, is called, which is Milton Keynes, which is super random. But then the concept of the six world majors just interested me is also because up until then, I've never been anywhere. I've been to New York, I've been to Thailand, and that's it. But I've never seen any of the world. I've never ran any of the world. I never got to, I never had the possibilities to even travel to these places. And then, yeah, it just kind of came up that Berlin was the first one on the map. And because I started running in Berlin, I was like, that would be a cool first major to do. Still not even thinking about the six star. And then I did the second one and I was like, ah, this is kind of cool. And then, yes, I did. So I said, okay, how can I get into these other races? So I did most of them fit for charity. And there's a charity called Red that I work with who fight the fight against HIV and AIDS. And they were like, Hey, how about Boston? And you could, you know, run a charity race and we could get some money together or for people to donate and you could run that race. So it kind of just all fell into place. And then at some point I found myself in Tokyo last year running my six star race. then because Susie is one of my best and dearest friends, after Tokyo, Tokyo really took everything out of me. I traveled into the city too late. I overpaced. literally... I had a really tough moment in the race where I had to walk. And I'm not saying it because of the walking, but like, if I wouldn't have walked in that moment, I think probably 200 meters later, my body would have been just shut down and said, you're walking now. So you know what I mean? As in like, I had a bit of ego. took, you know, I packed my bag and I packed my ego that day. I don't know what was going on, but it happens. you know, the ego was brought. Anyway, so I walked at some point, which is, and here's another story talking of the universe and the community of Peloton, right? This community is absolutely mind blowing. Somebody posted, somebody sent me a message. Catherine sent me a message months before saying she's going to be in Tokyo to cheer on her husband. Can she make a sign for me in case she sees me? Now was like, sure. How cute. Love it. You you never know. It's Tokyo. It's a race. There's so much going on. I didn't know if I was going to see them. The second I decide to walk in that race, I take out my earphones. I'm kind of like, just be okay with walking. Be okay that this race is not what you wanted it to be. I take out my headphones, I start walking and I hear my name. Getting emotional again. And it's her with that sign right there in that moment. And I get goosebumps to this day because if I would have had my headphones in and did whatever I thought my ego needed me to do. I would have never had that moment. And I literally just went to her and gave her the biggest hug and saw that sign. And it saved everything for me because I, again, the universe provided not what I wanted, but what I needed. and then I kind of like walk jogged the rest of the race and finished it because I said, you know, I didn't need to finish this race. I was, while I was walking, I was like Googling, what is the cutoff time in Tokyo and stuff like that. Anyway, I finished the race. I got my six star. Also, funnily enough at the tent there, there's a lady called Randy. Um, and we've met at a few of the majors, mid race, after the race, before the race, which is funny because I think of six of the majors on four of the races we met somehow either in the race before the race or after the race, which is mind blowing. Again, there's thousands of people and I get to the six star medal 10 and she's right there as well. So it was, it was just meant to be, but after that race, I called Susie like a few days later, said, I'm absolutely destroyed. This race took everything out of me. I think I need a break. And she was like, you know what? I think you're ready for your first ultra. 10 minutes later, I signed up for my first ultra marathon. was like, how did I get from I'm absolutely destroyed to I'm signed up to my first ultra. But also with then that happening, that was around the same time that Sydney was announced to be one of the new majors. And because Susie and I are so close, we were like, Hey, it would be beautiful as friends. to both go there now that we both have our six stars, the journey she inspired me to be on, the journey she saw for me, and then get our seven star together in Sydney. So that's why I'm so excited about the seven star, because first of all, little Jeffrey in Sydney, are you kidding? And second of all, to run it with my best friend who had already had the six stars as well, just magical. MikeRunsMarathons: That is wow. That is incredible. yet Tokyo, it's funny, Tokyo is so flat, but Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: I've interviewed people after the race for the last two years. And there's always portions where people are like, it took everything out of me. I mean, I had to walk a little bit too, and I did it in 2024. I thought I was going to pass out because it was just there's there's that whole portion. I think that the last 10 K or so where it's just all no, no shade. just out in sun. And that gets to you very quickly. And but man, congratulations on your seven stars. I'm going to say now Jeffrey: Thank you. And again, I don't say this, I just say it because of the joy that I had running that 7th race with Suzy together. MikeRunsMarathons: No, that is that is just amazing. I mean, somebody who's run the six stars and is going to run seven at some point, it's it's not we both know it's not easy, right? It requires a whole different mentality, personality like everything has to change in your life because you have to revolve everything around your training in order to be able to get there. You have to plan everything for your trip. You know, I like to be there for a little bit. So I plan everything and everything that I want to do in advance if I can. But like It's this whole beast of its own when you have to do each one. What did the journey ask of you that you didn't expect it to give? Jeffrey: But also, and this is where the chief of good vibes kicks in, the privilege we have to get to do those things. MikeRunsMarathons: Absolutely. Jeffrey: Like, are you serious? If you would have told me this years ago, I'd have been like, sure. Like, I know exactly what you're saying and the planning and the time zone change and the running and the training and the strain it has on your mental and your physical or the time apart from your family, but also the privilege. MikeRunsMarathons: Okay. Jeffrey: what? You know what I mean? Like, who cares if I walked? Who cares what time I ran? It is beautiful to go for a time and train for that. Don't get me wrong. I love that. And I think people should experience that because it is an important part of their journey to see where am I? What can I push? What can I try? But also just the privilege of showing up at that start line and getting to run one of those races is one of the biggest privileges I've ever had in my life. I will say there was a moment, so I got to run these races. So I think I did my first major in 23 and I finished in 25, which is quite quick trajectory of running these races. I will say what I didn't expect, there was a moment, and I don't know if this answers your question, this is just something that comes to mind, that I had to remind myself why I'm running. Like, why am I doing this? Am I doing it for the ego? Am I doing it for the social media? Am I still connected to that joy and the purpose and the reason of why I wanted to do it in the first place? Because it all happened so quick. I just wanted to make sure again, to be present and enjoy the privilege and do it for the right reasons. And that was just important to keep that in mind because then I found myself, you know, documenting every training run and documenting everything, which kind of took bit of the joy away because I like to document and I like to take people along because again, I think it gives everyone an insight or you know, you know, I hope somebody sits in the front of that social media or Instagram or whatever and is like, well, if that guy can do it, I can do it because that's exactly what it should be. Because if I freaking do it, so can anyone, you know, MikeRunsMarathons: Mm. Jeffrey: if social media is for anything, then it's that. But having said that, I had to, I didn't expect a moment of like questioning, am I doing it for the right reasons? And I had to reconnect. myself and remind myself of what are my reasons. And I reminded myself of that I am doing it for the right reasons. But again, I will say Tokyo, I packed my ego and that's not a bad thing. We all have it, I believe. But I had to recheck in with myself and refocus. And that's why, for example, running the ultra after that, as stupid as it sounds, and not saying everybody has to run an ultra was the best thing that could have happened to me in life because it was a whole new, not the experience that I didn't know I needed after running these majors. MikeRunsMarathons: It's funny, I always talk with people about running marathons, especially people who have run multiple marathons. get to a point where we have to ask ourselves, am I doing this because I want to or because I have to? Because Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: once you do like, I guess maybe even one, then people assume, just assume that you're gonna keep doing them. And I mean, I've run 17 of them. And so people just keep asking me, they just think, he's gonna sign up for this or that and this marathon, this race or whatever. And I have to continuously ask myself, like, am I running these marathons because I want to, and I want to Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: enjoy them? Or am I doing it because like people expect me to or Jeffrey: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: it's just something that I'm just known for? And I think being able to know the answer to that helps me decide. Like, I think if I ever get to the point where it's like, because I feel like I have to do it because that's what people expect of me, then I have to really rethink like, okay, this whole running, Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: them on, I think I have to change something. Jeffrey: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: I'm really happy you pointed out the you know the checking the ego and been being able to Remind yourself of why you're doing this because there's we can get lost in so many different ways It it can it can get a little confusing at times, you know trying to figure out No, go ahead Yeah Jeffrey: And I think also the expectations from the outside, like often when we, you know, you know how it is when you train for a race, somebody is like, so what's your time? What are you going for? What are you MikeRunsMarathons: I missed. Jeffrey: doing this? What are you doing that? And there's races that I, that I plan for times. I'm like, this is what I'm working for, but there's times I didn't even have that in mind. And I just want to run for the joy of running. And I'm like bombarded with these opinions and questions or, know, you could go faster. You could do this. But I'm like, no, no, that's not what it, that's your perception. And even just reminding yourself of that sometimes to be like, okay, this is why I started. This is what's being brought to me. And I've adapted that a little bit to be like, okay, wait a minute. That's, that's for you to keep like bring, take that back. MikeRunsMarathons: I think from now on, I've already asked me what my goal is. I'm just going to say to have fun. Not even going to say time, Jeffrey: Yes. MikeRunsMarathons: not even I'm just going say just have fun because I think that's probably the most important thing. Jeffrey: what I say is to start and to finish. I start and whatever happens in between there and the finish line will happen and I just get to enjoy it. And I tell you one thing, the races that I really pushed for time sucked. They sucked, man. Like it wasn't fun. I don't remember anything. Yes, I got the time that I wanted and some of them and sometimes I didn't. But also like, what do I remember from that? Do I have MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah. Jeffrey: a do I have a high five? Do I have a hug? No, because I was like head down kind of like No, sucks. It sucks. It's not my thing. And again, not saying people shouldn't set goals and work for times. It is so good and important on this journey to experience that as well. But for me, the ones that I really did that, yeah, sorry. MikeRunsMarathons: Now want to know you're fine, you know, I couldn't get through this this podcast not asking a question about Peloton because Jeffrey: Let's go. MikeRunsMarathons: you are an incredible, incredible instructor over the London studios. And I, I, I know that Peloton is has probably the most passionate community in fitness, especially in the connective Jeffrey: Great. MikeRunsMarathons: fitness world. I lead a Peloton community myself, positive Peloton group. have about 80,000 members on Facebook and It's a fantastic group where we've been there for individuals that have gone through hard times or we've done a bunch of giveaways. We've raised thousands of dollars for charity. Like it's it's a wonderful group that I never thought would ever become what it is today. To you. Jeffrey: And again, thank you. MikeRunsMarathons: I wouldn't have done it if I didn't believe in the ethos and what Peloton stood for. I could have just done my own thing, but I decided I wanted to get some people together and somehow it exploded into what it is today. But for you, what does it mean to be someone that the community runs with, both literally when you do like your shakeout runs or during your races and figuratively when they're on their devices at home? Jeffrey: It's, I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of mind blowing. It just blows my mind that someone... tunes in to work out with me, no matter where they are in the world, no matter what time zone it is, whether it's Germany, UK, all over the world, the US. The thing is what people often don't know is when I teach, so if I have an interaction with someone, whether it's social media or real life, so because I often teach in a room by myself, I will imagine that person's face where the camera is. So, and you know, because in the beginning I was like, how am I talking to this metal canister? And once I started to get to, and somebody once said to me, imagine that's the sun, like you're smiling at the sun because I love the sun. Or they asked me, what is something you love? said, the sun. said, imagine it's the sun. But since I've gotten to meet members, there's often days where I will imagine somebody's face. They're like, I'm talking to them because we have... We choose our time. I'm very mindful of who I spend time with. So for somebody to say, I have some free time and I want to run, I want to get stronger. I want to do X, Y, and Z. And I choose to do that with Jeffrey is the biggest blessing and privilege that I have in life. And people don't often even know how much it just motivates and drives me to know that there's somebody out there that might need to hear exactly what I have to say today, or just train with me because that's just what they want to do today. So. It's, it's, it's, I sometimes don't even know how to put it into words. I think it is just the most beautiful thing. that I even like, for example, going back to the running, when I run New York, there was a lot of people, I didn't have my name on the first year that I ran New York. There was a lot of people that shouted my name. And I was just like, wait, what? And that's not because it's important to me that people shout my name or I feel special. It is. You know what I'm grateful for? That I found something and chose something in life that is my purpose that helps other people to live a healthier and happier life. No matter what that means, whether they're walking, hiking, running, moving, because I truly believe when we invest in ourselves, we get to show up better for the rest of the people in our lives or the communities that we're in, whether it's chosen or by nature. And that I get to play a part in that is something I will never take for granted, something I'm very well aware of every time I step into a platform, every time I step into a room. And the most beautiful thing about it is I can just be myself. I'm not acting, I'm not pretending, I'm just going to be who I am. And if you're connecting with that, we're going to have a good time, and we're going to get some movement in today. And it is just such a privilege. And sometimes I'll even say that, you know, I don't know what you're going through today and I don't know why you chose to be here with me, but you chose to be here with me and that alone, I will forever do what I'm doing to the best ability. MikeRunsMarathons: You are so inspirational. just I just haven't said that. I'm so I'm sorry. This is the fangirl me coming out right now. I'm sorry. Jeffrey: You MikeRunsMarathons: It's just it's just it's just an honor and a privilege to speak with you about this because, know, your your running story is so inspirational to me. You know, we Jeffrey: Thank you. MikeRunsMarathons: share a lot of the same kind of I want to say like hitting rock bottom and picking ourselves back up and rebuilding ourselves. I think that that is is it's so powerful to hear those types of stories and people. So I just, really want to thank you for being vulnerable about that. And then also just your, your love of what you do with Peloton is, seen every single day for me on my screen when I use, you know, my tread or whatnot to, to work with you, which I think is phenomenal. Now I have one last bucket of questions before I get to my, my, my hot seat questions that I have for you. and then Jeffrey: I don't say this often, but you can ask as many questions as you have as many things because MikeRunsMarathons: I'm honored. Jeffrey: I could honestly chat to you for hours. MikeRunsMarathons: I'm honored. I really appreciate that. And so this part is about what it's really about, know, about what running is, you know, in general, you've said constantly that the only way out is through. Now, what is something in your life that you had to go through, not around that help that running helps you survive through? What's something in your own Jeffrey: It's okay. MikeRunsMarathons: life that you had to go through not around that running helped you survive? Jeffrey: I think, especially when I started, God, you really want to go there, don't you? Especially when I started therapy, I felt like I was opening. 15 draws of issues and problems and how I'm wrong and how I'm not right and who I am and, you know, decisions I've made in the past. And it felt like I've opened all 15 draws at the same time. And that way it was heavy. That way it was dark. It was heavy. was challenging, you know, whether it is childhood traumas of, you know, how you felt neglected by certain aspects of your family or you know, childhood trauma of how you didn't feel accepted because you knew you were different, whether it was my skin color or my sexuality and how I hid certain aspects of myself because I thought I had to, or, you know, whether it is in wanting to do something totally different in life. I, you know, I worked in a fast food restaurant the first part of my life, which I'm not ashamed of, but at the time it wasn't what I wanted to do. I always thought I was going to be a backup dancer or singer for Beyonce or whatever, you know what mean? Like I had different, so I had to navigate being okay with the decisions I made to stay where I was and with the people that I was. And, you know, being okay with the financial choices that I made. Like I made some really stupid decisions, as in to like, just spend my money, money that I didn't have, take out loans, live above my means because I thought that was the way to do it. It was also letting go of know, getting through or getting over having let go of some relationships that maybe were better for me than I even knew because of the toxic traits that I had. It was running through and or running saved me and showed me to forgive myself and forgive others for things I have done or they have done. And even to understand that forgiveness doesn't mean that you're saying what somebody is right. What somebody has done is right, but that you forgive them for doing it. And I forgive myself for doing certain things because I didn't know better at the time. You know, there was a lot of things. I love my parents dearly. I love my parents dearly for who they are and who they are today. But there's things, you know, as every parent, I'm not a parent and I have the most utmost respect for any parent out there. But my parents, there's a lot of things that they really messed up. And now understanding that they did the best with what they could at the time, I was able to forgive them. And running really gave me the space to physically move through that and move through these emotions. There are so many runs that I cried that I even screamed, which might sound a bit weird, but like just to let out the frustration and the heaviness of it all. And then coming out of a run being like, okay. onto the next. Like there are so many runs, especially when I started therapy, where I would stop my run and call someone to have a very clear conversation because in that run I found the right words or the confidence to do so. There were so many runs where I stopped and I called my best friend and I said, I thank you for being the friend that I, that you are. And I'm sorry for being the bad friend that I was like, I wouldn't have had those words or the things if it wasn't for the movement, if it wasn't for the running, if it wasn't even for the space to think and to go in it with no judgment and just think and allow these things to come out. And there's so many aspects of that. even to, you know, or even that moment where somebody, you know, dumped me and I went to the gym running and that propelled me to somebody else seeing me. Even showing interest in like, you could become a coach if it wasn't for that day. I don't know if I'd be here today. If MikeRunsMarathons: Hmm. Hmm. Jeffrey: it wasn't for that other person seeing that in me. that was through running. Same thing with the charity event we did. If it, if I wouldn't have done that event, I don't know if anybody would have seen me and said, Hey, would you become a running coach here? So it's all those things. And I truly believe, and I'm looking to the right of my right right now, because my vision board is hanging there. And I know that when I set a vision or a goal, I ask myself, what is a little thing that I can do today to get closer to that goal? Because I truly believe, you know, it's meter by meter, it's step by step. We don't just get there overnight or through one step. And running often gives me the opportunity to think about what could that next step be? Or what is the next thing that I actually even want for myself or for my family or for the people that I love? So I wouldn't even just say running. save me, would actually say running gave me life in a way that I was never able to even see or feel before. It gave me access to a community. and I think a lot of people think this way, have to do everything by myself. I have to go through this by myself. I have to figure this out myself. You don't. And once we are able to share that with the people, that we can find and connect to. That's such a weight lifted off your shoulders and the same thing in running, you know, if you're training for something, yes, you can do it by yourself, but you can also do it in community. And sometimes you need exactly that to get to that next workout, to get to show up for whatever you need to do. And then you can do other sessions by yourself. That's fine. So I wouldn't even just say running saved me in that aspect. I would definitely say it gave me life and The reason I say that as well is because when I was living on my veteran's couch, I woke up one night and I wrote a 16 page Ted talk about how running changed my life. MikeRunsMarathons: No. Jeffrey: And I'm yet to hold it. I know I will hold it one day. It's written out. It's, it's ready to go. And when the time is right, it will help. MikeRunsMarathons: I will make sure that I am first in line to listen to that. I'm very excited to hear that. And it's you actually, you know, segue into my my last question perfectly, which is, you know, talking about that couch, someone is listening to this who is exactly where you were in 2015. Right there. They might be broke. They might be stuck. They might be on their friend's couch. What do you say to them, whether it's about running or just about life? What would you say to them? Jeffrey: I would, one thing that always comes back to me. is, you know, as they say, what is something you would also tell yourself? And there's two things that always come back to me. You are allowed to feel better. You are allowed to heal. You're allowed to feel better. You're allowed to be enough because you are enough. I think that's the thing. I think we often or I did. I lost connection with that. I'm allowed to feel good. I'm allowed to be happy. I'm allowed to make mistakes. I'm allowed to fuck. things up, I'm sorry, excuse my language. MikeRunsMarathons: No, you're fine. Jeffrey: Like, it's okay. But what are you going to do next? And, you know, if you don't have the community or the people that you can talk to, Google someone that you think that is living the life that you want to live, whether they are or not, we never know. And maybe find an interview or something that inspires you what they have done. And that could maybe just be your next step. And I say that because when I was sitting on that couch that I wish I that couch was still there. I'll let you put it in museum for myself. I don't know. You see, what am I talking about? You know, I'd love to like have a picture of it is there's a sentence and a moment in that that changed my life forever. I was watching a be Beyonce. People are going to laugh about this because I talk about Beyonce a lot. What they don't understand is I just don't love her music, her work ethic. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm. Jeffrey: inspired me to get my ass off of that couch and work for what I want, deserve, want and deserve. And there was a video where at the end of the video, she said, if you find something that is for you, that you're willing to stay up for, that you're willing to fight for, that you're willing to try and fail and try and fail. Once you found that and you're working towards that, you basically have unlocked a source of like happiness to your life. And that doesn't mean that that needs to be a job. Like running was my hobby at the time, but that was that thing that I was willing to stay up for. I was like, as long as I have that, everything else can figure itself out. So it kind of gave me purpose. And also one thing I will say, if you can't figure out, and this really helped me, if you can't figure out your situation, go and help someone else. Go and do something for charity. Take your mind off of your problems. help someone else with who you are and what you can do, and allow yourself a little moment off from what's going on within you and answers I believe will find you. MikeRunsMarathons: This might be the best podcast episode I've ever recorded. And, Dan, that was incredible. Wow. Now, this next segment of questions I have are what I call the hot seat. These are just quick rapid fire questions that I have, just top of mind, don't really think too hard about them, that I try to get answers from everybody just to see kind of where their mind is in the moment. But. Jeffrey: I'll do my best as you can tell I'm not good with short answers but anyway. MikeRunsMarathons: All right, so first question is trail or road? Jeffrey: road at the moment. MikeRunsMarathons: And I might know this already, but what is your favorite running shoe brand right now? Jeffrey: mmm it's Adidas Ultra Boosts MikeRunsMarathons: I had a feeling. I have three pairs of their Audios Pro 4s. And I used to have like five pairs of the Evo SLs. I had to get rid of them because my wife got mad at how many shoes I had. But Jeffrey: Hahaha. MikeRunsMarathons: they're incredible, incredible. Now, I think I know this already. Jeffrey: They are. But also, can I also just add to this and you can do with this what you like. But the reason I am also very connected to that brand is because my lucky number is three. remember, do you remember Super Mario when you would drive, there was three arrows and you, if you drove over it, you would speed up. That's why I have this tattoo here. And MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah. Mm hmm. Yep. my God. Jeffrey: also Adidas was the first brand that believed in me as a non-performance athlete to be out in the world and train other people in their running journey. And. that changed my life forever. And also my feet feel really good in the shoes. MikeRunsMarathons: That's always number one right there. Now, are you an early alarm or late runner? Jeffrey: Said again, early what? MikeRunsMarathons: Are you an early alarm runner or a late run? Jeffrey: earlier love, earlier love. MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah, I'm trying to become an early runner. It's not easy. Jeffrey: Just do it. Set the alarm. Do it for one week. You're going to be tired for five days. It's okay. MikeRunsMarathons: You know what? I'm going to do it tomorrow for you. Just for you. I promise. Jeffrey: No, no, don't do it for me. Do it for yourself. MikeRunsMarathons: Well, you have inspired me to. I will do it for myself. You have inspired me. Are you Jeffrey: Okay. MikeRunsMarathons: a, when you do your long runs, do you prefer them solo or with others? Jeffrey: Solo. MikeRunsMarathons: What is your favorite post-marathon meal? Jeffrey: It used to be sushi, but I'm now allergic to fish, so it's pizza. MikeRunsMarathons: No! Jeffrey: I know. I found that out a week before I went to Tokyo, so that was a bummer. yeah, I know. I know. MikeRunsMarathons: Well, at least you found that before you went. didn't go there and then get it. That would have been terrible. Jeffrey: Very, very true. MikeRunsMarathons: Now on your easy runs, do you prefer music, podcast or silence? Jeffrey: Music always. MikeRunsMarathons: And what is the one piece of running gear that you cannot live without and you cannot say your shoes? Jeffrey: Short shorts. MikeRunsMarathons: Do you have a dream? Do you have a dream race? Jeffrey: Something in Hawaii. I'm dreaming of going to Hawaii one day and whether it's a marathon or 5k, 10k, I want to run there. MikeRunsMarathons: That's awesome. I've always wanted to do the Honolulu Marathon. I've heard it's beautiful. Jeffrey: Mm-hmm. Yeah, same. MikeRunsMarathons: And now on top of that, what's next for you? Jeffrey: What is next for me? The Berlin Marathon. I have, so last year I ran nine races in total. So this year I said I'm going to do two races. And I am running the Berlin Marathon this year because it is my goal and my dream. It's not even a goal, it's more a dream that I want to run the Berlin Marathon until I'm not able to run it or walk it at some point. But I want to At 70, I want to look back and say I've done it 30 times or I've done MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Jeffrey: it since I was 40 or whatever. That's kind of my goal in life because Berlin taught me how to run and taught me not to run away, but towards of who I am. And for that, I will ever be grateful. And I love Berlin. I love running there. I love that marathon. I love that race. And so that's kind of my goal. And then I am planning some fun things for 2027. which I cannot really speak about, but it's MikeRunsMarathons: I'm going to leave it at this. I'm excited. Jeffrey: going to be more of like long, long, long distance, long distance. And no, it's not bad water because people ask me this all the time. No, it's not. It's going to. MikeRunsMarathons: Okay, okay, well I'm excited. Okay, that was my first thought. was like, Suzy got you again. Jeffrey: No, it's going to be in Germany, so stay tuned. MikeRunsMarathons: OK. That's amazing. Well, I am looking forward to that very much. it's funny you say that about Berlin. I remember you posting about wanting to be I think you want to be part of the Jubilee Club, right? And beyond that, that's how I feel about New York, because that was my first marathon Jeffrey: That's the thing. Yes. Nice. MikeRunsMarathons: in twenty twenty one and I've done it every year since. So this year be number six for me. And I want to Jeffrey: well. Yay. MikeRunsMarathons: their their thing is you get to 15 and then you you just get entry to the marathon. You don't have to like apply for it or anything. And I was like, Jeffrey: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: I want to get to at least that. But I want to be like the 85 year old who's like Jeffrey: Right? MikeRunsMarathons: like taking the really short like steps, really short distance and they're like Jeffrey: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: going like this, you know, and they're still going and they're crossing that finish line because I want to be that person who inspires other people. as you pointed out, we won't do this. We won't be able to do this someday, but until we can't, I'm going to keep doing it. Jeffrey: I mean, the beautiful thing is you're already inspiring people with every step and everything that you're doing. So that's, you've got that one checked off the box. The second thing is, you know, as it was just London Marathon and I was one of the tail walkers to walk to the finish line with a lady from mile 12. She was in her sixties and she's been running marathons since she was, since the year 91. And it was just incredible. Her determination and her energy was just so inspiring. And she said from the beginning, she said, when, so you go as a tail walker, you are on the track and then you find people that are maybe at the end of the race that might need some support because at some point the roads open again. And when we met her, you have to do it in pairs. She literally said, I thank you for supporting. I am not going to talk. And she was so determined. She was so energetic. And every time she had, she needed to take breaks, which was absolutely fine. And we, you know, had drinks and snacks. The coach in me came out and kept saying, well, it's not due too long because I've already caused that and all that kind of stuff. But when she was going, she was her determination is something I took away from that race. It's just saying that's who I want to be when I am at the age of that. I need to walk the whole race or do certain things. So it was very inspiring. MikeRunsMarathons: Now this next portion is just information I collect from everybody that I try to share with anybody who listens to the podcast. The first is what I call the motivation library. So if you could pick a one quote, a mantra or line that gets you through those tough miles, what would it be and why? Jeffrey: think that has evolved over the years. I think when my journey started, a line that I always said to myself because I heard it somewhere was, not me? Because often we count ourselves out of opportunities, things we can achieve, things we can do. So I say, why not me? I said, see, I'm not going to keep it short. The second one is everything is working out for me, believing that I can achieve these things. And the third one is more like, I can and I will. You know, what if it works out? What if I can do this? And it's just something that's just a place I go to because I think often for me, the doubt that I have is because I haven't done it yet. But if there isn't a point where you do things that you haven't done yet, that's where you kind of stop and just don't try anymore. So I'm going to try and I'm going to ask myself why not me? And I can, and I will do this because history shows in my life. that if I can go from smoking a pack of cigarettes and flipping burgers, I have set the blueprint to do the things that I want to do. So why not me? Because I can and I will. And then, you know, that one I said earlier, I don't know when, I don't know how, but I just know. And that was not one, I know. That's kind of my library. MikeRunsMarathons: No, listen, the more mantras I can get out to people, the better because I've I've heard so many incredible ones from people and some of them are the same. But I hear other ones that really just like wow me and all three of those. And even the one that you said earlier about the that ends with I know because I'm completely blanked out on what the rest of it is right now. They they are are so powerful. And I will I'll make sure I share all of them with people because they're so they're so incredible and they will help a lot of people. Now, I want to picture you the Berlin Marathon in September, right? You're you're you're you can see the finish line. You run under the brand, the Burge, you see the finish line. What song is blasting through your headphones? Jeffrey: Oh, man, you just really want to get me there today. I'm super emotional today. I'm just going to say it. OK, how do I share this? Two years ago. So I often run with the people in mind that can't watch me or that are no longer physically here. And two years ago, we lost my five-year-old niece and her favorite song was, It Go by Frozen. So every time I run through a finish line, I listen to that song and I put all my little airplane arms and I fly through the finish line. And that way I feel that she is with me and we remember her. MikeRunsMarathons: I need a minute. Wow. my God. I've always wondered why you do the airplane and arms because I've seen you do that in so many of the videos. my God. That is so powerful. Jeffrey: Well, the reason I do that is because when I visited her the last few times, I used to do that and that would excite her like the airplane arms, like I was running towards her. And that's why I take it to the running track. MikeRunsMarathons: is so powerful. Well, one, I'm so sorry for your loss. But two, mean, for doing something that you absolutely love that is such an incredibly powerful way to just celebrate her and to bring her with you in those moments. That's just. So before we wrap up, I want to bring it back to the heart of this podcast. And that is what running really means to you. the first question is, what has running given you that you didn't expect when you first started? Jeffrey: It's giving me community that I didn't know I needed, but needed. And it's giving me freedom, freedom for my thoughts, freedom to be who I want to be, freedom to find new ways, freedom to find answers, freedom to just be, freedom to push, freedom to pull back, freedom to try, freedom to forgive. and so much more. MikeRunsMarathons: Now on top of that, and this is a really heavily loaded question, so I apologize for this, why do you... Jeffrey: you know as as as cliche as it sounds but because i get to i get to do these things i get to challenge myself i i get to move i i i get to move my body this way i i get to do this for a living and it's because no one can take that away from me No one can achieve it for me. No one can take it away from me. And as long as I can do it, I will use and celebrate and live that privilege. And when I started my running journey, I worked at a company where our office was on the fourth floor. And there was a lady that was 84 at the time, and she came to our office sometimes for some stuff. And she always took the stairs. We had an elevator and one day I walked with her. And I asked her, said, why do you always take the stairs? That's amazing. Like I celebrated her for it. And she said, Jeffrey, I am 84. And as long as I have this privilege to walk up these stairs, I don't care how long it takes me. And I will walk up these stairs. And when the day comes that I can't and I need to take the elevator, I will, but the time is not yet. And that's how it is for me with running I don't care about your pace. I don't care about your speed or if you have to walk, if you Whatever your body allows you to do, do that and enjoy that because it's not promised and it's not forever. And we all know that. MikeRunsMarathons: yeah, as someone who goes through multiple injuries a year. Yes, you're absolutely 100 % correct. Jeffery, just honestly, I really want to thank you. This conversation was everything that I hoped it would be and so much more. And what I really love most about this conversation is that you don't just talk about running, you talk about the joy behind it, you talk about how you chose it, how... You show up for people around you and that you make the miles mean something bigger than just the finish line. I should point out whether it's not the pace, it's not the finish time. It's about going out there, having fun, enjoying yourself. And then also talking about how running has gotten you from where you were, know, that rock bottom in 2015 up to where you are now and how you were able to turn, you know, such a moment in your life into something that now is just so... celebrated and chooses life above all else. And that's really what the show is about, You delivered in the most Jeffrey way possible with energy, with heart, and probably with an amazing running playlist in the background. I would love to see your running playlist because I really want to see how many Beyonce songs are on it. Because I feel like it's so many and I feel like I need to add some to my own. Jeffrey: What can I just say? There is even races where I've only ran to Beyonce music. Literally during my ultra, I kept counting because there's eight stations that you have to stop at. And I would put on Beyonce albums. Like there was three albums that I was alternating in between through the whole ultra. And every time I would say, once this album is finished, I'll be at the next station. Once this album is finished, I'll be at the next station. And then I literally said in the video, only one more Beyonce album to go. And I was right. So yes, there's a lot of that. MikeRunsMarathons: That is so awesome. I love that. if you are not following Jeffrey, which I don't know why you wouldn't be by now, his Instagram Jeffrey: Yeah MikeRunsMarathons: name is the happy marathoner and he is obviously on Peloton leading runs that will put a massive smile on your face. And if you are not already part of the good vibes crew, please. Go ahead and sign up, choose that hashtag in your leaderboard name. Jeffrey: You MikeRunsMarathons: Jeffrey, I just want to thank you so much and just keep being exactly who you are. The running world is better for it. The exercise community is better for it. And I know that the people around you, their lives are better for it. My life is better after just speaking with you, both in November when I met you in New York and now. yeah, I just cannot thank you enough for being on the show today. Jeffrey: Thank you. Thank you right back at you. Thank you for the spaces that you're creating, for the conversations that you're leading and for the vulnerability that you bring. MikeRunsMarathons: Thank much. Thank you. really appreciate it. Again, I really just want to thank Jeffrey so much for being on the podcast today. It has been such an honor and a privilege to follow him throughout the years at his journey at Peloton and to learn more about his history and his story that led up to it and where he has gone ever since is just so inspiring and motivational to me. And as somebody who has gone through a lot of issues and problems in my life in the past that I've had to get over and have learned how to process a lot of that through running and understanding myself through running. It is really wonderful to see someone describe how running has also helped them in their own life. It is an honor and a privilege to speak with individuals on their running journeys on this show because I learn not just so much about the person I'm interviewing, but I learn more about myself. because it helps me identify and connect with that person about what they've been through to help me understand what I've been through and how we can connect and identify with each other to be able to form a connection between us that might not have been there before. But I also want to thank you so much for tuning in today to At Your Own Pace. Just a reminder that whether you're walking, jogging, Walking, jogging, or just thinking about getting started with your running journey, I just want you to know that you belong here at every single pace. And until next time, I want you to continue running your race at your own pace. And I will see you in the next one. But on season two of At Your Own Pace, I cannot thank Jeffrey enough for his story of rebirth, motivation, inspiration, just the amount of things that he's been able to accomplish since October 2nd of 2015. It really was reminiscent of, you know, my attempt in 2018 and how I felt like that was my rebirth and my kind of New birthday in February of that year that helped me become who I am today. And while it sucks that yes, we have to go through some very, very difficult times in order to figure out just kind of what direction we want to head in to change who we are, to see the outcomes and to see the successes and the to see the things that you're able to achieve from those changes are incredible. So Jeffrey. I cannot thank you enough. It was an honor and a privilege to not just have you on the show, but to now be able to call you a friend. And I just I'm just really grateful and really happy that you're able to to be on the show. And I know that there are probably so many people out there who were just as inspired as I was listening to your story. But if there is one thing that I want you to take away from today, it's this. There's no such thing as too slow. Too late or too far behind. This sport belongs to you exactly as you are, wherever you're starting from, at whatever pace you're running. Every mile counts, and so do you. If this episode did move you, it made you think, or it made you want to lace up, or even start running if you haven't begun yet. I want you to do me a favor, please share it with someone who you think needs to hear it. Give the show a follow, leave a review, and come find me, Mike Runs Marathons, over on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Facebook. I would love to hear your story. If you are interested in being a guest on season three, feel free to reach out to me on social media and we will make some time to speak. But until next time, please take care of yourself. Be kind to the person running next to you and keep showing up at your own pace. One mile at a time. I will see you on the road. Bye.