Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Samuel Kwant - The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series

Transcript

Samuel Kwant - The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series · Clydesdale Media Podcast

• 0:10
  I was born to kill it.
• 0:14
  I was meant to win.
• 0:15
  I am down and willing,
• 0:17
  so I will find a way.
• 0:18
  It took a minute,
• 0:19
  now it didn't have to ride away.
• 0:20
  When they get hot in the kitchen,
• 0:22
  you decide to stay.
• 0:23
  That's how a winner's made.
• 0:24
  Stick a fork in the
• 0:33
  What is going on, everybody?
• 0:34
  Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
• 0:37
  where we're featuring the
• 0:38
  athletes of the 2024
• 0:39
  CrossFit Games Semifinals.
• 0:41
  Man, I'm so pumped to have this guy on.
• 0:44
  Sam Quant, what's going on?
• 0:46
  Hey, how we doing?
• 0:47
  Excited to be on here.
• 0:48
  Yeah, good, man.
• 0:50
  So I'm going to start this
• 0:52
  with just an ironic picture.
• 0:55
  I was doing some research on
• 0:56
  you and pulled up your
• 0:59
  profile on CrossFit.
• 1:01
  And lo and behold, man,
• 1:03
  it's a flashback to 2016 in Carson.
• 1:07
  Yeah, I like that pic.
• 1:09
  Throw it way back.
• 1:11
  How cool is it that like
• 1:14
  this has been your profile?
• 1:15
  I think this has been there
• 1:15
  ever since I've like been
• 1:16
  researching you.
• 1:18
  And here we are going back
• 1:20
  to the place where you started it all.
• 1:23
  Oh, yeah.
• 1:24
  Oh, yeah, it's pretty cool.
• 1:25
  And yeah,
• 1:25
  I think every time I go and look
• 1:27
  on my web on CrossFit Games website,
• 1:29
  I see that thing and I'm like,
• 1:31
  that's pretty cool.
• 1:32
  I don't think my wife really
• 1:33
  cares for the picture,
• 1:34
  but I thought it looks pretty cool.
• 1:35
  So we're going to keep it up
• 1:36
  there for as long as we can.
• 1:38
  Was it Double DT or Heavy DT that year?
• 1:43
  Double DT that year.
• 1:45
  Double DT.
• 1:46
  Yeah.
• 1:47
  Did you win that one?
• 1:48
  Yes, sir, I did.
• 1:49
  Yeah.
• 1:49
  Yeah, I'd keep it up there forever, too.
• 1:51
  Oh, yeah, absolutely.
• 1:53
  Absolutely.
• 1:55
  Yeah, so I want to start.
• 1:58
  We'll start with Carson.
• 1:59
  So you're going back.
• 2:01
  We haven't been there in, gosh,
• 2:03
  almost 10 years, right?
• 2:05
  Yeah, shoot.
• 2:05
  It has been a long time, yeah.
• 2:07
  Right, 2016, 2024.
• 2:10
  All the events are going to
• 2:11
  be on the tennis stadium floor.
• 2:14
  What is that going to mean
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  heading back out there and
• 2:16
  kind of like 10 years later
• 2:18
  getting to do it all again?
• 2:19
  Oh, cool.
• 2:21
  I didn't even know that
• 2:21
  they're all going to be on
• 2:22
  the tennis stadium floor,
• 2:23
  but that's pretty cool.
• 2:24
  I'm excited to do that.
• 2:27
  I'm looking forward to it.
• 2:28
  I remember, I mean, in 2016,
• 2:29
  it was a pretty cool venue.
• 2:31
  They had a good place for us to warm up.
• 2:34
  I know they had some A.C.,
• 2:36
  tents I know they're not
• 2:37
  called tents but just big
• 2:38
  areas for us to chill so
• 2:39
  hopefully they have that
• 2:40
  again um yeah it's gonna be
• 2:43
  sweet um it was such a cool
• 2:44
  atmosphere in the tennis
• 2:46
  stadium before and I expect
• 2:47
  it to be just as cool this
• 2:48
  time it's gonna be fun yeah
• 2:50
  I think I think as I know
• 2:52
  it unless the run takes you
• 2:54
  to the soccer stadium I
• 2:55
  think it's all in the
• 2:56
  tennis stadium this year
• 2:58
  and um because just to
• 3:00
  match that semi-final
• 3:01
  regionals feel gotcha of that floor
• 3:06
  Go ahead.
• 3:06
  I said,
• 3:08
  I bet they're going to have us run
• 3:09
  out on the, on the field.
• 3:12
  I can't remember what it's called,
• 3:12
  but I'm assuming we're
• 3:13
  going to probably run out
• 3:14
  from the 10th stadium onto
• 3:16
  the grass field out there
• 3:17
  for 800 meter runs, at least hopefully.
• 3:20
  Yeah, that's,
• 3:21
  there's some people think that there was,
• 3:23
  Boz was on a show a week
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  and a half ago saying it's
• 3:26
  going to be iconic.
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  So now people wonder.
• 3:30
  Oh no, we're going over the berm then.
• 3:32
  Oh no.
• 3:34
  That'll be fun.
• 3:35
  But that will be very
• 3:36
  different than any other semifinal.
• 3:38
  Yeah.
• 3:39
  That'd be cool though.
• 3:39
  I'm about it.
• 3:41
  Make us go run over the berm,
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  make it harder.
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  Yeah.
• 3:44
  So is that what you want?
• 3:45
  You want it to be harder?
• 3:47
  Yeah.
• 3:47
  Yeah.
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  Make the run harder.
• 3:48
  I'm pretty comfortable running.
• 3:50
  Um,
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  so I'm fine with making the run a
• 3:52
  little harder if we need to.
• 3:53
  And that feels like it'd be
• 3:54
  probably pretty close to 800 meters.
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  If we're running out of the
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  tennis stadium up over the Berman back,
• 4:00
  I would guess.
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  I mean, I'm not 100% sure,
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  but it seems like that'd be
• 4:03
  close to 800 meters.
• 4:05
  Yeah, that is speculation.
• 4:07
  I have no confidence on any of that,
• 4:08
  but I think it'd be cool, too,
• 4:10
  as a fan to see that.
• 4:12
  Yeah, that'd be fun.
• 4:15
  Cycling that barbell, no problem.
• 4:18
  The 185 in that workout?
• 4:19
  Hopefully not.
• 4:20
  That's one of the workouts I
• 4:21
  haven't tested all the way through.
• 4:23
  I've done multiple versions of it.
• 4:26
  The 185 doesn't feel good.
• 4:28
  I mean,
• 4:28
  it's going to be hard no matter what.
• 4:29
  That whole workout's going
• 4:30
  to be a little rough,
• 4:30
  but the 185 shouldn't be a problem.
• 4:33
  Yeah.
• 4:34
  Yeah, you're a strong dude.
• 4:36
  I think that'll be fine.
• 4:40
  It's just managed.
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  Did you watch Europe at all?
• 4:43
  Bits and pieces.
• 4:43
  I haven't really dived into it too much.
• 4:48
  Are you one that doesn't,
• 4:49
  because you've been around
• 4:50
  the sport for almost 10 years,
• 4:52
  do you need to watch other semis do it?
• 4:55
  Or do you just get some
• 4:56
  ideas of what the workouts
• 4:58
  really are in full detail?
• 5:01
  It really depends on the workout.
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  So yes, I do watch like bits and pieces.
• 5:07
  Like I'm okay.
• 5:08
  How do,
• 5:08
  how are these guys doing the box
• 5:10
  step overs the most efficient way?
• 5:12
  Um,
• 5:13
  what's the handstand walk course look
• 5:15
  like?
• 5:16
  Um, how are they doing on the bike?
• 5:19
  Like what kind of pace is
• 5:20
  rolling on the bike?
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  There's like just different
• 5:21
  pieces of workouts that I'm
• 5:22
  really like looking at, but as a whole,
• 5:25
  I don't usually look at the
• 5:27
  workout all the way through.
• 5:28
  Um, if anything, it stresses me out more.
• 5:30
  So I just kind of feel like
• 5:31
  I'll look at what I need to.
• 5:34
  that, uh, whatever, you know,
• 5:36
  like kind of homework.
• 5:37
  Um, and then nothing else really.
• 5:41
  And you have to look for the
• 5:42
  athlete that's most similar to you too,
• 5:45
  right?
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  Like it doesn't matter what
• 5:47
  an athlete that's very
• 5:48
  different than you would do.
• 5:49
  Cause you're not going to do that anyway.
• 5:50
  Yeah.
• 5:51
  Yeah.
• 5:51
  I mean, yeah, exactly.
• 5:52
  Like somebody that's about my height,
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  I'm kind of looking at,
• 5:54
  looking at how they're
• 5:55
  stepping over on the box.
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  Cause it's not easy to do 30
• 5:58
  inch box jump overs with a step down.
• 6:00
  It's kind of hard.
• 6:01
  So there's,
• 6:02
  I'm going to hopefully practice
• 6:03
  that a little bit, kind of,
• 6:05
  find a groove there with those.
• 6:06
  Um, but yeah,
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  kind of look at people that
• 6:08
  are built close to me for,
• 6:10
  for those types of events.
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  Definitely.
• 6:12
  Yeah.
• 6:14
  It's got to feel good.
• 6:15
  I mean, you're a taller athlete.
• 6:17
  It's got to feel good when
• 6:18
  you see yellow host to have
• 6:19
  a great weekend.
• 6:20
  Oh yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  I'm not complaining about
• 6:22
  that workout at all with my height.
• 6:24
  I, he's probably at least six, one, six,
• 6:25
  two.
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  So he's definitely got a
• 6:27
  couple of inches on me,
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  but I'm definitely not too
• 6:30
  stressed about that 30 inch box.
• 6:31
  Like probably some other people are.
• 6:33
  Yeah, exactly.
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  Cause you got, you've got,
• 6:35
  you've got some shorter
• 6:36
  athletes in the West.
• 6:37
  Yeah.
• 6:40
  Yeah.
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  So what of the workouts that are,
• 6:44
  that have been announced,
• 6:45
  what's the one you're most
• 6:46
  looking forward to?
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  Because you got a chance to
• 6:48
  do the snatch ladder in 2016.
• 6:49
  Yeah.
• 6:50
  Yeah, I did.
• 6:51
  Yep.
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  Um,
• 6:53
  and now you get to redo it all these
• 6:54
  years later.
• 6:55
  Yeah.
• 6:56
  I think I've done that one
• 6:57
  like six or seven times
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  throughout since 2016, just in training.
• 7:00
  Um,
• 7:02
  So I'm definitely excited to do it again,
• 7:05
  especially with a little adrenaline.
• 7:07
  So I'm looking forward to doing that one.
• 7:09
  I wouldn't say there's like
• 7:10
  a workout specifically I'm excited to do.
• 7:12
  Um,
• 7:14
  I kind of thought that handstand walk
• 7:15
  workout might throw a little twist,
• 7:17
  like be a little twist,
• 7:18
  like with some ramps and
• 7:20
  stairs or something like that,
• 7:21
  but just straight handstand walk.
• 7:22
  So I'm looking forward to
• 7:24
  just rolling really hard on
• 7:25
  that one and just hoping
• 7:26
  the handstand walks there.
• 7:28
  Um,
• 7:29
  The workouts are definitely
• 7:30
  pretty like grindy.
• 7:31
  They're pretty painful.
• 7:31
  Uh, all of them.
• 7:33
  Um,
• 7:34
  usually there's a workout that I feel
• 7:35
  like it's like more skills.
• 7:36
  So it's not as, um,
• 7:40
  breathing wise or heavy breathing,
• 7:41
  you know,
• 7:41
  but all these look painful and I
• 7:43
  think should be good.
• 7:45
  I'm excited.
• 7:46
  Yeah,
• 7:46
  that handstand walk is a flat-out sprint.
• 7:49
  Oh, yeah, I know.
• 7:50
  You got to row hard.
• 7:51
  Yeah.
• 7:51
  Yeah.
• 7:52
  Yeah,
• 7:52
  when I saw the row intervals or the
• 7:55
  row paces that like Braun
• 7:57
  and Yellow were holding, it was amazing.
• 8:00
  What were they holding?
• 8:00
  I haven't even looked at it yet.
• 8:02
  I think that Yellow held in
• 8:04
  the 135s to start.
• 8:06
  Oh, my goodness.
• 8:07
  Okay.
• 8:07
  All right.
• 8:09
  But their handstands weren't
• 8:12
  as fast as some of the other competitors.
• 8:13
  So they were trying to get
• 8:15
  their lead there.
• 8:16
  Yeah.
• 8:17
  No, that makes sense.
• 8:17
  You got to choose where you
• 8:19
  can make up that time.
• 8:21
  And I don't think they held
• 8:22
  that for the 800.
• 8:22
  That was just for the first two.
• 8:24
  Gotcha.
• 8:25
  Yeah.
• 8:25
  There's a big difference
• 8:26
  between a 400 and 800 and
• 8:26
  even a 600 to an 800.
• 8:27
  Yeah.
• 8:27
  Yeah.
• 8:30
  I think one of them said
• 8:31
  like the 400 is you can
• 8:33
  hold your 500 pace because
• 8:35
  you actually end early and
• 8:37
  it feels like a relief.
• 8:39
  Gotcha.
• 8:40
  Yeah.
• 8:40
  And then after that, it just gets, it,
• 8:43
  you have to like kind of figure it out.
• 8:45
  Yeah.
• 8:46
  Yeah.
• 8:48
  Um, draw your dagger, uh,
• 8:51
  says event six seems like a
• 8:52
  quant workout for sure.
• 8:53
  Yeah.
• 8:56
  I can't complain about the echo bike.
• 8:58
  I usually always finish
• 8:59
  pretty well on an echo bike workout.
• 9:00
  So I'm about, it should be fun.
• 9:02
  The 15 muscles be a little bit of a grind,
• 9:04
  but once we get to those dumbbells,
• 9:06
  it's kind of whoever wants it more.
• 9:07
  So it's going to be good.
• 9:09
  Do you have a hundred pound dumbbells?
• 9:11
  I didn't until right when
• 9:13
  they got announced,
• 9:13
  our gym went and bought some for me.
• 9:15
  So that was pretty sweet.
• 9:16
  So yeah,
• 9:17
  I've touched those things a couple
• 9:17
  of times.
• 9:19
  Half of the workouts have
• 9:19
  gone good with them.
• 9:20
  Half of them have been not good.
• 9:23
  All right.
• 9:26
  Yeah.
• 9:26
  It, it seemed like,
• 9:28
  the tale of two cities on the,
• 9:30
  at the end of that.
• 9:31
  Yeah.
• 9:32
  Some guys went on broken some,
• 9:33
  it just ate them up.
• 9:34
  Yeah.
• 9:35
  Yeah.
• 9:35
  I'm I, I did that events.
• 9:37
  I've only done one of the
• 9:38
  events twice and that was event six,
• 9:40
  probably how some other people have,
• 9:41
  like you just kind of pick
• 9:43
  your poison with that bike.
• 9:46
  yeah so um were you
• 9:49
  surprised so a lot of the
• 9:50
  talk with the snatch ladder
• 9:52
  is that in 16 it was the
• 9:54
  first event yeah it's the
• 9:56
  fifth event and that the
• 9:58
  times would be a bit slower
• 9:59
  because because of that yet
• 10:02
  a world record was set both
• 10:04
  on the men and women's side
• 10:05
  in that event this year oh
• 10:07
  yeah people are progressing
• 10:08
  so much it doesn't surprise me at all um
• 10:13
  I'm excited that it's close
• 10:14
  to the very end.
• 10:15
  I have no problem with that.
• 10:18
  I'd rather not open up with
• 10:20
  a strength event personally.
• 10:22
  So I'm excited to throw down
• 10:24
  being a little bit fatigued.
• 10:27
  So I want to take a step
• 10:28
  back away from the semis themselves.
• 10:30
  And man,
• 10:31
  the Pacific Northwest is becoming
• 10:33
  this hotbed of like talent
• 10:36
  in the men's division.
• 10:38
  like you've got James
• 10:39
  Sprague and yourself and Tudor Magda and,
• 10:42
  and like the list just
• 10:43
  keeps going on and on and on.
• 10:46
  Is there something in the
• 10:47
  water up there or like just
• 10:49
  an attitude from,
• 10:50
  for the people from there?
• 10:51
  Shoot.
• 10:52
  That's a great question.
• 10:53
  I guess people in the Valley
• 10:54
  are both a little different.
• 10:56
  I know Cole, Cole grew up like,
• 10:59
  I think 15 minutes from where I,
• 11:02
  I grew up as well.
• 11:03
  I mean, he lives in Spokane now,
• 11:05
  which is like five hours away,
• 11:06
  but he grew up pretty much
• 11:07
  right where I am.
• 11:07
  And,
• 11:08
  James and Tudor both grew up
• 11:10
  like an hour and a half from me.
• 11:11
  So yeah, very close.
• 11:13
  I actually trained with
• 11:15
  James and Tudor leading up
• 11:17
  to the 2019 games.
• 11:20
  I can't remember, but when they were teens,
• 11:22
  I was training with them
• 11:22
  and it was pretty fun.
• 11:23
  And now they're my, my competition.
• 11:25
  So it'd be fun.
• 11:27
  Can't give them too many secrets anymore.
• 11:29
  Yeah.
• 11:30
  Do you guys ever stay in
• 11:30
  touch now or is it just,
• 11:32
  I don't want to give away anything.
• 11:34
  Shoot.
• 11:35
  Yeah.
• 11:35
  James was texting me a decent amount.
• 11:36
  He's like, Hey,
• 11:36
  you want to compare scores?
• 11:38
  I'm like, no, I'm your competitor.
• 11:40
  But then he just sent me all
• 11:41
  the scores and I'm like, ah, geez, dude.
• 11:43
  All right.
• 11:43
  Here's my scores.
• 11:47
  So I know you,
• 11:48
  you moved away from the area
• 11:49
  for a minute and then moved back.
• 11:51
  Yep.
• 11:52
  best decision.
• 11:53
  And I know James did the same thing.
• 11:54
  James moved away.
• 11:55
  James was back.
• 11:56
  Like,
• 11:57
  is there something that attracts you
• 11:58
  that you want to stay there
• 12:00
  once you're there?
• 12:01
  Um,
• 12:02
  I'm a really a homebody and I really
• 12:04
  found that out after, um, moving.
• 12:07
  And I just kind of came back
• 12:09
  to what I knew worked, um,
• 12:10
  with family and just being
• 12:12
  comfortable where I'm at.
• 12:13
  And yeah, that's,
• 12:15
  I just figured out what
• 12:16
  works and kind of came back to it.
• 12:19
  Do you still work out in the
• 12:20
  garage gym with the family?
• 12:22
  No, my family actually,
• 12:25
  my family moved away.
• 12:26
  They're about three and a
• 12:27
  half hours away now.
• 12:28
  So in the Valley, it's just me,
• 12:32
  my in-laws and my grandma.
• 12:34
  So most of my family kind of moved.
• 12:38
  So right now I kind of,
• 12:39
  I joined a gym here.
• 12:40
  So I pretty much do all my
• 12:42
  morning session stuff at the gym.
• 12:44
  And then I just make sure I
• 12:46
  get like rope climbs done
• 12:47
  and everything like that.
• 12:48
  done in the morning and then
• 12:50
  afternoon I am at home and
• 12:52
  mostly just like cardio
• 12:53
  machine work at home.
• 12:55
  And, and just by yourself.
• 12:58
  Yeah.
• 12:58
  Yeah.
• 12:58
  So I got the,
• 12:59
  I got the kids running around
• 13:00
  and sometimes my wife,
• 13:02
  so it's not always by myself.
• 13:04
  So it's been a minute since
• 13:05
  we've talked to you the
• 13:05
  last time you just had your first kid.
• 13:08
  Yeah.
• 13:09
  Yep.
• 13:09
  Yeah.
• 13:10
  So how many now?
• 13:11
  Two, just two.
• 13:13
  Two.
• 13:14
  Yes.
• 13:15
  Are they already getting strong?
• 13:17
  Oh, yeah.
• 13:18
  Layton, my son, he is four.
• 13:20
  He just joined gymnastics
• 13:22
  and he's having a ball with that.
• 13:24
  He likes to come out in the
• 13:25
  afternoon with me and he does gymnastics,
• 13:28
  which is pretty much just
• 13:30
  jumping off a box jump onto a mat.
• 13:33
  And then the youngest, Emery,
• 13:35
  she is six months.
• 13:38
  And yeah, she's strong.
• 13:38
  She's crawling all over the
• 13:40
  place now and she's a super happy girl.
• 13:43
  How excited do you get as a
• 13:44
  dad when you see your son
• 13:47
  trying to just kind of
• 13:48
  emulate you in the garage to do things?
• 13:52
  You're just setting the
• 13:53
  example for good things in life.
• 13:56
  Oh, yeah.
• 13:56
  Yeah, it's amazing.
• 13:58
  It's super fun,
• 13:58
  especially when you see him
• 13:59
  attempt to do some movement
• 14:01
  that I'm doing.
• 14:01
  Yeah, it's a good time.
• 14:04
  And especially since he's, like I said,
• 14:06
  he's doing gymnastics now.
• 14:07
  He's in a gymnastics class,
• 14:08
  and he's really enjoying it.
• 14:09
  It's just fun to watch him do that.
• 14:12
  Yeah.
• 14:13
  It's funny because my daughter,
• 14:14
  like when she was a teen,
• 14:15
  I wanted her to be fit and gym with me.
• 14:19
  And she reluctantly went.
• 14:21
  But when she had the choice to not go, she,
• 14:24
  she did.
• 14:25
  And then now she's graduated from college.
• 14:27
  She comes home and she's like, Hey dad,
• 14:28
  can I take equipment and
• 14:30
  that piece of equipment
• 14:31
  back home with me just so I can work on.
• 14:34
  And so like,
• 14:35
  even though they resist in
• 14:36
  their teen years,
• 14:37
  like it all comes back to
• 14:38
  what they learned when they were little.
• 14:40
  No, a hundred percent.
• 14:41
  Yeah.
• 14:41
  You set a good example and
• 14:42
  they kind of know what
• 14:43
  health health looks like.
• 14:44
  No, that's pretty cool.
• 14:45
  Especially when they choose
• 14:46
  it for themselves.
• 14:47
  Like your daughter, it sounds like.
• 14:49
  Yeah.
• 14:50
  And it's so fun seeing her do it.
• 14:51
  Like she joined the gym and in her,
• 14:54
  cause she moved to Pittsburgh.
• 14:55
  And, uh,
• 14:56
  so she's doing all this stuff over there,
• 14:58
  but.
• 14:58
  Okay.
• 14:58
  Very cool.
• 14:59
  Very cool.
• 15:01
  So, um,
• 15:04
  So then it's, it's been,
• 15:08
  how do you set goals for
• 15:09
  yourself for an upcoming
• 15:11
  season when like you have
• 15:13
  no idea what the programming is.
• 15:15
  You have no idea.
• 15:16
  Like when people look at your career,
• 15:18
  it looks like it bounces a little bit.
• 15:19
  You're always a top 20 athlete.
• 15:21
  Yeah.
• 15:22
  Yeah.
• 15:22
  Right.
• 15:23
  But when you finish second and fourth,
• 15:25
  like it looks like it bounces, but it.
• 15:27
  Yeah.
• 15:28
  Yeah.
• 15:29
  So how do you set goals for
• 15:30
  yourself when the expectation is so high?
• 15:36
  Shoot, to be honest,
• 15:37
  I don't feel like the
• 15:38
  expectation is super high.
• 15:39
  Most people have me under the radar,
• 15:41
  which I like, to be honest.
• 15:43
  It's just like, oh,
• 15:44
  I've made just mistakes
• 15:46
  when I don't place very well,
• 15:47
  whether that's the lead up
• 15:48
  to the games or at the games.
• 15:50
  And every time I make a mistake,
• 15:53
  kind of write it down and
• 15:54
  just make sure it doesn't happen.
• 15:55
  So
• 15:56
  I always kind of going with
• 15:57
  the mindset that I think I
• 15:58
  can win and I'm only going
• 15:59
  to keep doing this as long
• 16:01
  as I think I can win.
• 16:03
  Um,
• 16:04
  and I feel like I'm in a good place
• 16:06
  this year to make a run for
• 16:07
  the top of the podium.
• 16:08
  Um,
• 16:08
  I'm just kind of putting everything
• 16:10
  together.
• 16:12
  Uh, WAD zombie, uh, you're on my radar.
• 16:15
  There we go.
• 16:17
  I appreciate that.
• 16:18
  Um, so, uh,
• 16:23
  would,
• 16:24
  so you don't consider yourself
• 16:25
  program dependent?
• 16:27
  Uh, I mean, I try not to be, I mean,
• 16:29
  to a point, everybody has a strength,
• 16:31
  you know?
• 16:31
  Um, but I mean,
• 16:33
  a big part of this off scene is,
• 16:35
  and it's really just worked
• 16:36
  on stuff that I'd be scared
• 16:39
  to see programmed, if that makes sense.
• 16:40
  Um,
• 16:41
  so that's been a big focus of this year.
• 16:43
  So mostly gymnastic stuff,
• 16:44
  like if a gymnastic skill
• 16:46
  gets presented that we've
• 16:47
  never done before, I feel confident.
• 16:49
  Um,
• 16:50
  of the same for really any
• 16:51
  skills whether that's
• 16:52
  something with the jump
• 16:53
  rope stuff like that so is
• 16:56
  the goal the entire time
• 16:57
  ben to become as
• 16:58
  bulletproof as possible yes
• 17:00
  yes and really that's
• 17:02
  that's something we've
• 17:03
  definitely done different
• 17:04
  this year um being more
• 17:06
  bulletproof who do you talk
• 17:10
  to to like do that self-assessment
• 17:15
  to like see how we're
• 17:16
  looking throughout the year.
• 17:17
  Do you mean, or what,
• 17:18
  what are the things that
• 17:19
  you really have to dial in?
• 17:20
  Are you good at, in that analysis,
• 17:24
  analyzing that yourself,
• 17:25
  or do you have to lean on somebody else?
• 17:27
  I say it's a little bit of
• 17:28
  myself and a little bit of my coaches.
• 17:29
  So it's, it's both.
• 17:30
  I mean,
• 17:32
  we kind of like set the standard for,
• 17:34
  let's say we did like a
• 17:35
  handstand hold progression
• 17:36
  and it's kind of like,
• 17:38
  all right,
• 17:39
  if you can do five sets of one
• 17:40
  minute unbroken with one
• 17:42
  minute rest between we're
• 17:42
  good and we can move on to
• 17:43
  the next thing.
• 17:44
  So like little goals like that.
• 17:46
  And the same with like, like jump rope,
• 17:47
  like once I'm doing triple
• 17:49
  unders pretty confidently
• 17:50
  in workouts or intervals,
• 17:52
  then we'll kind of move on
• 17:53
  to the next thing.
• 17:53
  And we kind of check that
• 17:54
  off if that makes sense.
• 17:55
  So that's kind of how it's worked.
• 17:57
  Um, and for me,
• 17:58
  like the handstand holds
• 17:59
  kind of has translated
• 18:00
  really well to everything else.
• 18:01
  Like as far as like a gymnastics base goes,
• 18:05
  like freestanding handstand pushups, um,
• 18:08
  pirouettes and all that
• 18:09
  kinds of stuff with an
• 18:12
  element like jump rope and
• 18:14
  you're you're and you're
• 18:14
  doing triple unders do you
• 18:16
  ever worry that it affects
• 18:17
  the timing of your doubles
• 18:20
  um I haven't even thought
• 18:23
  about that so don't even
• 18:25
  let me get don't even have
• 18:26
  that in my head um no I'm
• 18:28
  just kidding um no it
• 18:30
  hasn't seemed to affect my
• 18:31
  double unders but I kind of
• 18:32
  see what you're saying
• 18:36
  The famous video at mayhem
• 18:38
  where they program single
• 18:39
  unders and the elite
• 18:41
  athletes couldn't do the single unders.
• 18:43
  Yeah.
• 18:43
  Yeah.
• 18:44
  I said,
• 18:45
  I know exactly what you're talking about.
• 18:46
  I've seen that video.
• 18:46
  Pretty sure Sarah's sickness daughter.
• 18:48
  Um, yeah, but yeah, I mean,
• 18:50
  I can do single unders.
• 18:51
  I can do double unders.
• 18:52
  I can do triple unders.
• 18:54
  I don't,
• 18:54
  I don't know what they're going to
• 18:55
  throw at us,
• 18:56
  but I'm trying to be as
• 18:56
  comfortable as I can on that rope.
• 18:58
  But yeah,
• 18:58
  that's pretty funny when single
• 18:59
  unders came out and people
• 19:00
  were struggling.
• 19:01
  I know I was struggling a little bit,
• 19:03
  Not struggling, but very tense.
• 19:06
  Yeah.
• 19:08
  Because at the games,
• 19:09
  when they did the single-unders,
• 19:11
  they had to be unbroken, right?
• 19:13
  Yeah.
• 19:13
  I think it was 75 had to be unbroken.
• 19:15
  Yeah.
• 19:16
  Yeah.
• 19:17
  The one thing I would be really good at,
• 19:19
  but the games,
• 19:20
  because the other 75 things I'm not.
• 19:23
  Yeah.
• 19:23
  There you go.
• 19:25
  Um, there's a question from Vi.
• 19:27
  We touched on this briefly when we,
• 19:28
  when we opened up, Sam,
• 19:30
  did you watch your brain
• 19:31
  European semifinal?
• 19:32
  If so, did anything catch your eye?
• 19:34
  Something impressive,
• 19:36
  something to walk out for.
• 19:39
  Like I said,
• 19:40
  I really haven't watched much of it.
• 19:41
  Um,
• 19:41
  I'm still going to go back and watch
• 19:43
  some of the stuff.
• 19:44
  Um,
• 19:47
  but I haven't really even looked to
• 19:49
  made it.
• 19:49
  I just saw that like, you know,
• 19:53
  which I was a little bit surprised by.
• 19:54
  I think a lot of people were.
• 19:56
  But I'm sure I'd have an
• 19:56
  answer for you after I go
• 19:57
  and kind of do all my homework.
• 19:58
  Yeah.
• 20:01
  And just to recap what Sam
• 20:02
  said earlier is he doesn't
• 20:04
  watch full workouts because
• 20:06
  it tends to like make him
• 20:08
  more nervous than he wants
• 20:09
  to be about a workout.
• 20:10
  Yeah.
• 20:11
  Just looking to see what are you holding?
• 20:13
  What, you know,
• 20:14
  how are you hitting the box?
• 20:15
  Step downs, step ups and step downs.
• 20:17
  Yeah.
• 20:18
  Things like that.
• 20:19
  So he's looking for bits and
• 20:20
  pieces and not really
• 20:22
  watching full workouts.
• 20:24
  Exactly.
• 20:25
  Yeah, the Yonikoski thing was a shocker.
• 20:28
  Yeah.
• 20:29
  And apparently he was sick.
• 20:31
  Oh, shoot.
• 20:32
  Like flu or like a cold?
• 20:34
  He's not saying it.
• 20:35
  It's just the rumors coming
• 20:36
  out from kind of at the venue.
• 20:39
  Gotcha.
• 20:39
  You know all too well how that happens.
• 20:42
  Yeah.
• 20:43
  And so I'm sure he'll come
• 20:45
  out and get in front of it
• 20:46
  or whatever at some point.
• 20:49
  But it's just sad because he's been there,
• 20:50
  what, eight times in a row or something?
• 20:53
  I think he's been there ever since 2015.
• 20:56
  I don't think he's missed a games.
• 20:58
  Um, but yeah, I mean,
• 20:59
  he was on a tear this year though,
• 21:01
  winning one, everything so far.
• 21:03
  Yeah.
• 21:04
  And BJ BKG became the first
• 21:06
  male to get 11 in a row.
• 21:08
  Yeah.
• 21:08
  That's wow.
• 21:09
  That's pretty cool.
• 21:10
  Yeah.
• 21:11
  He had a slow start too,
• 21:12
  but picked it up at the end.
• 21:14
  Um, so yeah,
• 21:17
  do you let yourself at all
• 21:19
  think about the games or is it,
• 21:21
  I've got to take on this
• 21:23
  thing in front of me first.
• 21:25
  And then once we're through that,
• 21:26
  then I'll let myself think next stage.
• 21:29
  I think about one stage at a time.
• 21:31
  Um,
• 21:32
  the only thing I don't think about too
• 21:33
  much is the open, but yeah,
• 21:34
  I definitely am focused on
• 21:35
  semifinals cause it's never
• 21:37
  a for sure thing.
• 21:37
  Anything can happen.
• 21:38
  Like we just saw with Yonikoski,
• 21:39
  somebody could get sick, but yeah,
• 21:42
  it's just really one thing at a time.
• 21:45
  Um,
• 21:49
  If and when you make it to the games,
• 21:51
  you'll have a little bit of break.
• 21:53
  Is that the time that you
• 21:54
  take a little bit of a step
• 21:55
  back and do some more family things?
• 21:58
  Just kind of reset yourself?
• 22:01
  Yeah, I think after semifinals,
• 22:02
  we'll probably get a week off.
• 22:03
  So all family and then what
• 22:05
  for the next two months?
• 22:05
  That's when the training
• 22:09
  really ramps up for the year.
• 22:10
  So yeah,
• 22:12
  I get a week to center myself
• 22:13
  before I go and get after
• 22:15
  some hard training.
• 22:17
  And you're still with HWPO?
• 22:18
  Yes, sir.
• 22:19
  I am.
• 22:19
  Yep.
• 22:20
  And who's your coach?
• 22:22
  So my main coaches right now
• 22:23
  are Steve and Josh.
• 22:26
  Those are the ones I work with.
• 22:27
  Steve Fawcett?
• 22:28
  Yes, sir.
• 22:29
  Yep.
• 22:29
  Okay, cool.
• 22:30
  Yeah.
• 22:31
  Talk about OG, man.
• 22:32
  Yeah.
• 22:33
  I know, right?
• 22:33
  He's been around a long time.
• 22:35
  Yeah.
• 22:36
  Yeah.
• 22:39
  And then Wadzabi's asking,
• 22:40
  is Bijan still your agent?
• 22:42
  Yeah.
• 22:42
  Yeah, he is.
• 22:42
  Yep.
• 22:43
  Okay.
• 22:43
  Okay.
• 22:45
  I don't know if you know Wad Zombie,
• 22:47
  but he makes trading cards.
• 22:48
  Oh, yeah.
• 22:49
  I follow him on Instagram.
• 22:50
  I know who he is.
• 22:51
  Yeah.
• 22:51
  So I'm wondering if that's
• 22:53
  why he's asking.
• 22:54
  Oh, yeah.
• 22:55
  Tell him to reach out to B. John.
• 22:58
  Cool.
• 23:02
  How cool would it be to have
• 23:03
  a trading card, really?
• 23:04
  Oh, dude, that'd be dope.
• 23:05
  That'd be super cool.
• 23:06
  Yeah.
• 23:09
  Growing up,
• 23:09
  that's just like every boy's dream,
• 23:11
  right?
• 23:11
  Absolutely.
• 23:11
  Yeah.
• 23:12
  I mean, I was,
• 23:13
  me and my brother were
• 23:13
  always collecting baseball cards,
• 23:15
  football cards.
• 23:16
  So yeah, it'd be very cool.
• 23:17
  Yeah.
• 23:18
  Yeah.
• 23:18
  He does a really good job with them too.
• 23:22
  And it is why he's reaching out.
• 23:24
  There we go.
• 23:25
  All right, cool.
• 23:28
  Well, I don't want to keep you too long.
• 23:30
  It's Sunday afternoon.
• 23:32
  Get you back to the family.
• 23:33
  But it's been awesome
• 23:34
  catching up and we're going
• 23:36
  to wish you luck and root
• 23:37
  for you there in Carson.
• 23:39
  Hey, thank you.
• 23:40
  I appreciate it.
• 23:41
  Yeah.
• 23:42
  Thank you to everybody in the chat.
• 23:43
  It's been a blast.
• 23:44
  We'll see everybody next
• 23:45
  time on the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
• 23:47
  where we're featuring the
• 23:48
  athletes of the 2024
• 23:50
  CrossFit Games Semifinals.
• 23:51
  Bye, guys.
• 23:52
  Bye.