How many 15-year old kids can say they’ve been interviewed by Rich Roll, one of the fittest men on the planet? (Listen to the podcast here.)
As of January 20, 2014, David can say it. David and I had to stop our run at nine miles so we could be on time for our interview with Rich in Thousand Oaks—85 L.A. miles away from our run location on the Santa Ana River Trail.
Rich has a business relationship with someone working at Sideshow Collectibles and he records his Internet podcasts in the Sideshow building. Unless you have a life-size museum quality collectable Darth Vader statue in your living room, you’ve probably never heard of Sideshow Collectibles. Whether you’re teen-agers like David and Olivia or parents of teens, being surrounded by realistic statues and gorgeous posters is a pretty awesome experience.
Our one and a half hour interview with Rich flew by like it was nothing. Maybe that’s because we share similar interests like running and health or maybe it’s because Rich is just plain cool. Not cool because he can complete five Ironmans in eight days, but because he adores his wife and kids and he cares about other people and the environment.
(Thank you, Rich, for the interview and thanks for the inspiring words your shared regarding our run and mission. We really appreciate it!!!)
After we finished the interview, we turned our camera on Rich. I couldn’t help but smile when Rich said he doesn’t know too much about GMOs, then, in three or four minutes, he summarized the bulk of the problems associated with GMOs.
One more point about Rich that, as a mental health and substance abuse counselor, I really appreciate. Not so very long ago, Rich was an active alcoholic. That’s not the part I appreciate. I appreciate that in his book, Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself, he openly shares his story so that other people have the opportunity to grow from his growth as he left alcohol behind. But even after Rich had his last drink, he continued with his addiction to the standard American diet until he woke up to the fact that he was on the road to an early demise. Long story short: Rich replaced the junky food with a plant-based diet and his junky lifestyle with feats of endurance that boggle the minds of even serious athletes.
After the interview, we faced death in the eye once again by driving the L.A. freeways back to Mother’s Market in Costa Mesa where Howard Vlieger shared his GMO-related experience as a life-long farmer and researcher.
John Diaz introduced us to the audience. (Wow! John is passionate about the GMO issue!) We said a few words, made new friends and shared some books. Beautiful event!
In summary, our nine mile run, 265 L.A. mile drive, big events, and 16 hours out and about made for a great day and finally ended with much needed sleep.
