Miles Chamley-Watson: #1 Mindset Shift That Changes Everything (Try THIS to Stay Sharp, Focused, and In Control)

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1:23That's why I just picked up a pair of ultra running shoes. The ultra fit design has more room for my toes so they're comfortable, they keep me balanced and seriously, my feet actually feel stronger. I've even started running more because of it. And honestly, I didn't expect to notice it this quickly. But from my first walk, it just felt different. Lighter, more natural. I've been wearing them on my morning walks and it genuinely makes getting out there feel easier. Treat yourself to a pair of ultras at ultrarunning.com And use code PURPOSE10 for 10 % off That's A-L-T-R-A running.com Stay out there Fencing literally saved my life Fencing is known for being a notoriously white sport Talk to me about what it felt like Getting to the Olympics, winning bronze My mum always just said, just win And then, what can they say?

2:12I'm the best now I'm still a 12-year-old kid, just 6 '5", covered in tattoos. Winning is great, but changing a sport is bigger than any Olympic gold belt I could ever win.

2:25Hey, everyone. Welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier, and more healed. Today's guest is not only a friend, but someone who I'm so fascinated to dive into his mindset. I love top performers, people who are operating at peak places and making incredible impact happen across the world in their field. And this is one of those people. Myles Chamblee-Watson is an Olympic medalist, redefining the sport with his style, confidence and a vision that's pushing it far beyond what it's ever been before. Myles Chamblee-Watson, welcome to On Purpose. Wow, thank you. That was an absolute incredible intro.

3:03It's an honor to be here, honestly. before I kind of got to meet you, it's really nice to be a fan of your work. And I think you instill some incredible ideas on people, made them feel better, which the world needs more than ever. So thank you for that. And it's an honor. Dude, we met in the best way possible. I felt like we were on a boys trip, which is what I felt like. And it just turned out to be like the easiest conversation. You guys like invited me into the Wolfpack, which made me feel really, really comfortable we played poker from 11 p.m to 7 a.m three nights in a row we were out on the water we're hanging it was it was amazing and i just you know i know that i was kind of coming in fresh and new and it was just you were one of those people you and spins especially good shout out spins you were one of those people that just made me feel like at home so not only are you amazing at what you do which we'll get into you're a great guy off off as well so i appreciate you man thank you i want to dive in by asking you like what i heard from you and i've been watching your interviews and obviously I came to your event which we'll talk about in a second but I feel like you always felt like you didn't quite fit in talk to me about your earliest memory that reminds you of that feeling I think being born in London my mom was kind of the mom and dad that was kind of in my life until about eight years old so I think naturally you kind of rebel so I think when I was playing football running track and fields I always felt like I was just different kind of my approach my mindset.

4:29And then we moved to America when I was about nine or 10, kind of in between those years. And those years are very important, right? All your friends are there, your family's there. So naturally moving from London to New York, I was like, I don't want to be here. So getting into trouble, getting kicked out of my first school, public school, then I got kicked out of my second school. And then my mother met someone that was on the admissions program for private school, which they give tuition grants because we didn't have money at the time. but as a punishment I had to pick up tennis fencing or badminton as a punishment because they're considered mental sports I was like oh whatever sports are fun and then I was like wait I can pick up a sword and like stab you right this is like the kid's dream and then immediately that was my purpose because you put the mask on and you feel like a superhero and I think that was the first time I realized like okay this is going to be my way out of whatever I'm kind of in and And then I was very ADD, ADHD, and then fencing kind of came my outer role.

5:27And as I started to get better in fencing, I started to get better in school. So that kind of ended up being a double-sided sword, which ended up being my job. I kind of got very, very lucky in finding fencing because I don't know where I'd be now if I wasn't a professional fencer, which is a crazy thing to say. I feel like sports, when you're young, are so important. What was the difference? Because everyone plays sports. I played a lot of sports growing older. you're obviously phenomenal at what you do how quickly did you realize that this could be something you were actually really good at i think it was immediately really yeah i picked it up right away and ellen grayson who i love her to the death hello um she was like miles you could be an olympian i was like that's offensive really and i think immediately i felt this connection that was like nothing else in my life and it was like my therapy and i think nowadays it's like kids ADD, ADHD, first things like, hey, we should give them a pill or give them a drug.

6:21And I'm like, find them something that they love. I think that's the key is, and sports are amazing because no matter if you're rich or poor, at the end of the day, it's who's going to win, right? Same sword in my hand, same mask on my head. And I think that's why sports are so incredible because they saved my life. I never knew at that time that it would be my, you know, be all end all, but fencing literally saved my life. Wow. Which is crazy to say. Yeah. But I believe you, I can feel it. Like even just sitting with you and you're saying that, I'm like, wow, that's like, because I feel like so many parents today are wondering, how do I get my kid to be confident?

6:55How do I get my kid to like, just get out there? And I couldn't agree with you more that you only feel confident when you have some competence. Like when you feel like you have a skill or you have an ability and you have something to do beyond scrolling on your phone or, you know watching a show or playing video games or whatever it may be for you talk to me about what do you think life would have looked like if you didn't find fencing that early i honestly don't know because we're hanging around the corner shops you know it's getting into trouble stealing sweets just kind of because we didn't really know what there was for us and i think that's also very important having a father figure in your life and thank god my mom found my stepdad colin who i say my dad to you because he is my dad raised me i think that's also very very important is because you need someone that's going to tell you no when they can.

7:38And I honestly don't think I would be definitely not talking to you. And I definitely don't know if I'd be behind the bars, to be honest with you, because I was just such a crazy little kid. My friends I grew up with, you know, they're plumbers, they're happy. But I was kind of the only one out of us to kind of make it out and create a name for myself. What area did you grow up in? First, it was Southwest London, and then it was Ealing, and then it was Putney, and then Kilburn a little bit. Yeah, yeah. And then we moved to New York. Yeah, and a really, really funny story. 2012 Olympics, my three friends, Aaron, Adam, and Blake, they're all brothers.

8:12They were plumbers, and they actually built the Olympic Village. No. So, yeah, first time I was saying that, yeah, they literally built the village. That's so cool. And they were calling me, like, hey, man, I'm building a village. I was like, what do you mean? And they're, like, plumbing it and making it. And then they kind of got to see me compete in 2012, and it all came. So that was a full-socket moment for me. That's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's so good, man. Yeah, it was crazy. And that just happened by chance. There was no connectivity or anything. By chance. And I think life is obviously about, timing is everything in life.

8:38And I really believe that. And I think some things might be not the right time, relationships, partners, sports, but sports, I think are the number one thing. If I have children, I would put them in right away. I'm not going to tell you to be a fencer, but I think just sports teach you how to lose, what it feels like, integrity, listening. And I think that's what fencing taught me. I told you this before. I don't think we had a proper conversation about it. So I did fencing at school and I won some super amateur championships at like 14, 15, 16. I don't, you know, maybe, I'm joking, I could never have been good enough to compete with what you do.

9:12But I loved it as a sport, actually. I thought it was pretty, it was really strategic. It was tactical. The fitness level was, you know, it was challenging. I still remember actually really well. We do it in the gym at school. Talk to me about the importance of a mentor though, because it sounds like you gave a shout out to someone there. And I was like, I think that's the difference. When I played a lot of sports at school, you've got to have someone who kind of takes you under their wing and like invests in you and makes you feel like you could go far. And I found them in life. I found them in business.

9:41I found them in spirituality and meditation and other areas of my life. But sports is somewhere where I think a coach or a mentor is just the most important person. Talk to me about how you found yours. A hundred percent. I think Ellen Grayson and Eric Rosenberg, they were working at the school at the time and they saw my potential. And they actually were the first person to say, get your citizenship. but I didn't realize that was going to be who I am to this day. Without them, I would never probably seen my potential and seen how far I could take fencing. And then my coach, Simon Gershon, became like my dad.

10:13I can tell him everything. He's kind of teaching me that, you know, that you must learn how to lose before you learn how to win, which is a tattoo I have, which I think is so important because understanding the feeling of losing as an athlete is the hardest thing, you know, to kind of understand and swallow. But then you have to understand what that feels like. So when you do win, you appreciate that more than ever. I talk to him every day. If I'm not feeling good, he can sense it. So to me, having a coach and a mentor and a role model is so important. I think now that's why I love being that for the kids now, which is one reason why I started this league.

10:43But I love seeing kids look up to me, parents ask me questions. And I think if I can be a little bit of a catalyst or kind of a helper for them, then that's probably bigger than winning any medal I could ever win. That's such great advice. Where is your toe? Yeah, it's somewhere on here. yeah how many toes do you have 150 really yeah that's mad yeah because i tattooed my hands because the fencing were all white yeah so you know i want to stick out and my mom hated it because she's you know a british lady now i remember when we were traveling as well you got these crazy ones on your shin as well yeah legs yeah when did you start 2012 i got my first one in london oh that's late at the olympics yeah and it says from london to london and then i won championships and i got the dates and then i was like i really like it and then i just kind of went crazy with it but they're all very very purposeful like they're not just random ones i've gotten for just for the sake of it what's the lose and win one again say that again so you must learn how to lose before you can learn how to win i really like that yeah that's dope and i really understood that when i lost at the olympics um we got fourth and i was like oh wait four years and then i kind of changed my whole mentality and then 2013 was when i made history and i was the first ever black American world champion in the history of fencing.

11:56And I think if I didn't lose, I don't know if I'd ever win. Which is a weird thing to kind of say, but I think it's pretty poignant and I think it is very important for just your character. And just trying to be as humble and even-keeled as you can. Because I never really understand some athletes who reach a certain peak and they just change who they are. And I think if you can keep, you know, that little kid in you, then I think you'll be able to go through life with a lot more wins than losses. It's such powerful advice. I remember I had obviously I never competed at any level but I remember having a football coach who'd always say to us he was like if you win celebrate for a night and then get back to training and if you lose cry for a night and then get back to training yeah and he was like all you have to do is get back to training yeah said everything else is irrelevant you can celebrate for one night you can cry for one night but get on with it because his whole point was like when we lose we cry for a month and when you win you celebrate for a night and that's why you remember with the bad times more than the good times because when you lose you get so deep into it talk to me about that loss that you had the details of like what it felt like to lose in that way well it felt like your life was over at that time my nan was there you know she's an african my aunts my uncles everybody supported me and i'm like i feel like i let everybody down and they don't care they'll be for who i am but at that time that was my biggest moment in sports making the olympics in 2012 in london and i just felt like oh hometown hometown ashamed of myself and a really really beautiful moment for me was i'm in the village and the basketball team walks in and kobe walks in and he's like hi how are you and i'm like hi how you doing he's like i'm kobe i'm like i know who you are i'm miles i'm a fencer and he told me this quote i never forget it i got tattooed on my leg he says the best athletes have the shortest memory you win you forget about it you lose you forget about it when you've done your career you can celebrate all you want and i sit there and I was like wow and immediately that grin turned into a smile and then I changed my whole mentality and then I won the next year I was able to tell him which was really really beautiful but I think when you meet someone like that who you look up to and they're just even more incredible in person and he's just very humble and told me that from from his coach and I never ever forget that and I have a tattoo on the back of my leg with his face so I think those moments are priceless to me.

14:12And I think if I would have won, would I have had that time with him? Or would I have been able to do more in my sport? So I think everything has a reason to come into your life, whether it's positive or negative. And I'm grateful for these moments in life that are incredible. That's such a great story. Yeah, I never forget it. Kobe came on the podcast the first year of the podcast. It was brand new. We just started out. And he did exactly what you said. He walked into the room and he introduced himself as Kobe to my whole team. And everyone's like, yeah, we know exactly who you are. And my favorite memory from that day was that when we walked in, he was in his office and you could just see the silhouette of his head and his team was saying that he was meditating in there before he came to do the interview.

14:55And they said he did that every morning. When we finished the interview, this was a little clip. I still have this clip. I've never put it out there because I feel it would be disrespectful. But at the end of it, he goes, I can see why you're number one. And I was just like, that will like stay with me forever. he gave me the biggest hug and yeah i was so grateful to and that was like three months before his tragic passing so it was like right then but yeah what what an incredible role model amazing energy like so present really humble everything you just said like just meeting someone at that level that caliber who was just so down to earth i don't want to talk too much about it because obviously respect to him but i was on set with nike talking about him the day it happened oh the day it happened wow and then lewis actually texted me i love you brother i love you too but my phone was in the green room and i was talking about him his impact on me and everybody just stood in silence and it was just like it was you know i think larger than life these people and life's a brutal reminder and i think it's just enjoy every moment you can negatives or positives and i think that's all we can do in life and just leave with love and everyone else will take care itself but that man was so special yeah one of a kind he was it was one of the few athletes i knew that was peaceful in retirement yeah he was really happy because he was getting he won the oscar for the short film that was teaching lessons from basketball yeah exactly but i was thinking about it you mentioned something there you said that you're the first black person in the sport to win i mean that just first of all that is a huge accomplishment congratulations i just want to acknowledge and honor just what a big deal that is but fencing is known for being a notoriously white sport yeah like that's what it's always been i assume you can fill me in the history a little bit talk to me about even breaking into something like that because i don't that's not normal that doesn't sound easy i'm sure there's a lot of things to navigate like walk me through that experience i was in this group class and you know they pick who you want on the team we did like our first team event was like so three people in one team versus the three and every time i was pick last knowing I was not the worst one and at the time you're kind of like all right this is this is weird I'm the only one that kind of looks like me in it and then I started to realize that no one in the sport really made a mark on them that was my color besides Peter Westbrook who I have to give some homage to and then my first ever junior Olympics I never forget it I got five red cards for no reason and I knew it was because the color of my skin because the next day I won the under 17 i knew it and now i've seen the referee still to this day and i still have this this i was like a little kid and it's just you don't know why things are happening to you but then as i got older i started to realize it was just because the color of my skin because no one in that sport had broken that mold and there's been countless times of referees and coaches that are just racial gestures that i've never really talked about because my mom always just said just just win and then what can they say i've had many many occasions from probably 14 till 17 18 and i was like i'm the best now and it's unfortunate because now there's still racism in the sport right it happened with this kid in amsterdam and i messaged him right away like you know i have your back and i'll talk about it and post about it because it's you need someone's gonna have your back because it's a very lonely feeling when you're the only one that has felt this way.

18:19Once I started to realize that, I made it like a positive chip on my shoulder. And I was like, okay. And I never look at life as anything negative, whether it's, you know, being racially profiled or losing. I always have a positive outlook on everything because it's never lost. It's always a lesson. And I think that was something that I was like, okay, this is going to be change in a sport and I will leave fencing in good hands because I know I've changed the sport for the best. How did you handle it at the time when you didn't have someone reaching out to you the good thing about fencing is i can take my aggression out on my opponent so it's a positive thing for the sport to channel it yeah you know you're crying in the locker room i never cried before my mom you know luckily have a mask on you you know shake your opponent and put the mask back on but i think at that age it's it's it's okay to cry and it's okay to let things out because there are coaches and parents who i've seen who have actually shunned their kids for showing emotions i've seen parents leave their kids in competitions because their kid lost to me and actually the kid is actually my friend now and it's just a shame that that parents don't realize like how much pressure there is on on us to just win so i think now seeing kids that look more like us brown white whatever girls i just want to make them feel comfortable and happy and safe and i think if i can be this beacon for them then that's what i want to do in the sport well that was so incredible when you launched the world fencing league i just got to attend And in LA, I felt like you had people from different countries, different cultures, different backgrounds.

19:47I mean, that was pretty epic, man. That was amazing. It was honestly a dream come true. We sold out. We broke records. I think over a million people live watching, which is more than the Olympics. And I think just seeing kids so happy that their sport is on the map was the best feeling I've ever felt in my life. So seeing all the little kids on the red carpet, all the fences inside, telling me, mate, I think you've done it. That was, to me, the greatest day of my life. Because it was just, we really changed the sport on one day. Because now there's an audience of people that have never seen it.

20:20Like yourself, like people in tech, people in sports, people that I've looked up to. To the fencing fans to get the love that they deserved was incredible. Even if I'm smiling because I'm generally so happy that it happened. And now the response has been so positive. So we can keep growing and growing. I just want to get fencing on a mainstream channel and platform, which is going to happen. But it takes someone like myself to know that it's going to be tough, but I can handle it.

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23:36for anyone who doesn't really know that much about fencing or is new to it walk us through like what the regime is what the fitness training is what the skill is what the art is like how you train it's almost like when people watch drive to survive that was when people realized what f1 drivers did yeah i'm sure you're working on a version of that for fencing i see it yes and i I feel like getting inside your mind is interesting to me because I'm like, I love knowing how people who are performing at the highest levels figured that out because that's what I'm obsessed with is knowing how you perform at that level and that peak.

24:12So what's the training? What's the focus? What's the patterns? What are the things that you have to do that might surprise us? I would say fencing is like physical chess, right? Where it's mentally just as taxing as physically because I have to think what you're going to do ahead and then react to what you're going to do as well. So I say the three main things would be being explosive, your reaction, and your timing. So if I have to react to you, and then my timing of hitting you before you can hit me, I would say is very, very important. But then it becomes a beautiful dance as well, where I'm more of a feeling type of fencer, where I like to see what you're going to do, I like to look at your feet, I like to look at your mannerisms.

24:48But then there's guys that are very good too, that are very mental, and they'll just sit kind of more defensive, and kind of pick you apart. I would say fencing is like if boxing taekwondo and 100 meters had a baby wow because you have to be very explosive right off the gate you have to be very very reactive but then you have to have a feeling of kind of if things go bad how do i change right away so it's kind of like there's no real sport like fencing because it's so unique and then once you see it in person you're like oh my god they're real athletes i'm like it's don't let the parent trap you know great movie but i'm like you know people like oh yeah i'm like no no no people died 50 60 years ago because it's an actual sword right i do the foil discipline but so i'd say it's it's like physical chess is what i tell people where it's just as taxing mentally as it is physically it's such a unique sport because it is grip strength as well as core and your legs because you're in a squat the entire time and i think you know as you saw it's so explosive and it can be over in five minutes or 40 minutes so you have to have a great vo2 as well get your heart rate from you know 160 170 back to the low 70s 80s so yeah it's a crazy sport when you're training for a big tournament what does your regime look like for how long so i would say pre-season we're doing a lot of cardio and it's like similar to boxing right So we'll do 10 rounds on the soft bike.

26:16It's 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off, 10 times. And we'll do the ski erg and do sprinting. We don't necessarily need too much distance work, but it's more like high intensity, get the hot rate down, get that right back up again. And then I like to train four to five times a week. So Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday is big fencing, which is sparring, kind of get the fencing stamina. And then Tuesday, Thursday, if you want to do Friday as well, it's more of a lesson which is one-on-one with your coach which is how do I want to get better in this tactical movement and I say that's kind of the building block for most fences got it yeah whether you're 12 whether you're my age it's pretty intense at a young age and then how much are you fencing like how much are you training different moves and yeah if that's even the right word no no it's good well I'm very creative so I like to make up my own moves by myself I like to spend an hour on my own in the gym when no one's there well that's why I find so hard about fencing is that when I saw it at the World Fencing League, to me, I was like, how do they predict anything?

27:19Because you could do anything. Like, obviously the target mark is only the upper part of the body, right? You can't get someone's face, you can't get someone's legs, you can't get someone's feet. But even with that, I was like, the way the fences were moving their foil, I was like, how would you know what they're about to do? Because it's so unpredictable. It's not like, it's not obvious. It's not like, oh, there's this move and this move and this move. some opponents have like specific mannerisms where like say italians are very good at putting pressure on you you know russians are more tactical french kind of have both oh it's by country kind of yeah i would say yeah there's a style in each country and then the asians have incredible footwork like it's it's insane so you can kind of know that with a fencing a korean you have to move your legs like crazy italians you have to think a lot and react french they kind of have everything in one and then americans are kind of unpredictable as well we have our own styles but i would say for the most part actually yeah it is actually by country now i'm like yeah it is when you said people died in the sport how long ago i would say 67 65 70 years ago because they didn't have the yeah so back in the day it was dry so smirnoff and barry were fencing and unfortunately the foil broke off and went through his eye and it killed him immediately so nowadays if it breaks there's a light that comes on right away but back in the day it was dry so you just have to hope it doesn't break so it was real real like some warrior stuff back in the day and then now it's obviously progressed and now we've added new tech which we did in the whole league but it is a it is we're literally sword fighting but i think people don't understand how hard it is until you see it like it's really really tough yeah and i'll put you know football i ran track i play tennis but i think you do realize it is an intense sport so if i can give that you know kind of knowledge to the people that don't know to understand it more i think that's a massive key yeah i also feel like you bring your swag to fencing you just mentioned yeah the met gala like i'm like you can go from like fencing outfit to met gala streetwear i'm like i'm sure you don't see that a lot in fencing either yeah i think you've got your own nike yeah second one you know yeah honestly those are dreams i think like i always knew that i wanted to do something different and like never be in a box but like to be yourself and i think the best thing anybody could ever say is miles you've never changed that's the best compliment i can't even tell some of my teammates what i'm doing because it just sounds so ridiculous i don't ever come off as like as cocky or you know i'm pretty humble if you meet me so i think from like going from competition istanbul to miami f1 to the met to going right into training like people think i don't i don't miss training but i'm all i go from the airplane to training so i think like it is a lot of pressure but it also is a blessing but whenever i'm tired i'm like mate look at your life like you're doing some pretty cool things they're all a blessing but it is it is a lot but i try my best to take some time to you know meditate i'm trying to do that i'm learning because i'm add is next time instead of poker we'll do that with everyone yeah we should no i really yeah yeah or before even because i think people don't want to spend time with themselves and for me i love hanging on myself it sounds crazy but i love just being at home i'm reading i'm finishing the untethered saw right now i'm reading which is crazy to me great book great book obviously i love tv i love shows and sports but i'm trying my best now to like take a deep breath and try and shut my phone off at like 10 30 at home and just you know take some time with myself but how are you doing are you good and then i'm yeah i'm good i'm generally a happy person like actually happy so like i'm good on that but it's also just like all right like take a deep breath and just relax for once And I think that's my hardest part is the balance.

31:13And I think that's the ongoing battle. Yeah, I feel like we all think our worth comes from being busy and productive and always being on. And it's a good distraction away from your actual thoughts. Exactly. And what's actually going on inside. And then when you slow down, the thought arises and you go, oh gosh, I don't know if I can sit with this. Yeah. And that's why I always say that to people, that's probably the hardest sport in the world is sitting with your thoughts. Like fighting with your thoughts is the hardest sport in the world. Honestly, 100%. because especially like as athletes, right?

31:41It's like, you're in the hotel room before and you can't help yourself but to think about tomorrow. So I read this book about samurais and it said you can't, don't worry about what you don't know. And that's why now I never talk about fencing. I never watch fencing until the morning of. I don't even know who I fence until the morning. So you don't analyze the opponent until the morning? Sometimes I don't know who I'm going to fence until I'm on this trip, which is kind of crazy. Why? Because one time I knew and I couldn't sleep and then I'm envisioning in my head and I wake up and I'm tired. at the end of the day if I don't know what I'm going to do fencing how the hell could you plan for me yeah right so I realized that so now I don't ever ever talk about fencing think about fencing I don't want to know I don't even go to the venue the night before I just whatever city I'm in I kind of walk around that is definitely unique for an athlete oh it's crazy yeah people are like why are you doing that but like that helps me yeah and then that's like how I deal with with pressure because at the end of the day pressure is a privilege but it also comes with a lot of pressure but also understanding now that like if you can have this understanding that like you're supposed to win competition that's a gift so if you can lean into that like most people don't aren't supposed to win so they've got no real pressure yeah so i think now understanding that's actually a gift has helped me be like all right like just you know lean into this so i think just learning more about myself has given me more understanding of the sport of fencing yeah talk to me about the road to your favorite tournaments whether it's the olympics winning bronze world champion like talk to me let's talk about the olympics first because i mean and you brought us the olympic medal which was incredible which we're gonna that i mean i've never seen one in real life like you said everyone's wearing the fake ones when they're out or whatever in the pictures yeah talk to me about what it felt like getting to the olympics winning bronze i would say getting there you know 0.001 percent of the population gets to go to the olympics i think it's like 0.001 get a medal right so unless you're Phelps who's got 2 ,000 of them but I think when you get there at least my first one I changed everything I was serious I didn't see my friends which ended up being the wrong decision and and then the next year I was like you know I'm gonna enjoy this I'm gonna get to know my friend the night before and I won that was me realizing that not everybody is the same athlete and yes there's rules and techniques and routines but like i'm not like the next person so why should i prepare like them so then once i started to understand that i'm different then that kind of led me up to rio and i actually lived in korea a little bit and i trained with young ho kim and i won the first grand prix of the season people are like why is he going to korea i'm like why not and i won the first grand prix of the season and i was like that's why because i wanted to learn something new i think as athletes change is okay but sometimes it's hard to to take that leap right and then i made the olympics and i had the best team fencing of my life and i was able to to enjoy the moment the process be in rio you know meet the other athletes and i think that was when i realized you need to enjoy the journey because when you're done besides the medal memories to me are more important and if you lose those memories and you've lost, I think, the coolest part of the journey.

34:55So I think leaning into the understanding and having fun was ultimately why I was able to go to three Olympics and have success. And now I'm like, there's kids like, I'm so stressed. I'm like, what are you stressed about? Because you wanna win? That means you care, next thing. So I've been able to go through each of these ebbs and flows and have answers to most of them, which I think is the key to success, right? Everybody can be really, really good. if you can unlock the mind that's when you become a legend and that's what i'm learning from people who are legends of of you know taking those risks and being crazy because you know it takes one person to change the world right just one person to change the sport and i think if i can be that person then i've created a whole new roadmap for the next kids to oh wow this is a different approach for me which has been a blessing i love that i love the idea of you got a career learning a new school of thought i love the idea of being this multi-faceted individual because you're so right that whether it's sports or whether it's business, whatever it is, everyone thinks that there's only one way to do it right.

35:56And then you speak to all these founders and you're like, no, they all did something different. They discovered their idea differently, they built teams differently, and they took their human experience and put it into what they were doing. And that's what made it as good as it was. I've really been on this hype of wanting anyone, whatever industry you're in, whether it's sports, media, business, whatever is finance, tech, Like to find what it is that makes you different and lean into that and not lean into thinking, how do I look like that other guy who's doing it as well? Because I think that time is gone.

36:27I think that time existed. Back in the day, you had to wear the suit like that guy wore and you had to wear the shoes that he wore and you had to play golf like him or whatever it was. And I was like, that's changed now. It just doesn't work that way. Exactly. He said it perfectly because there's always this stigma like I have to do, I can't have a tattoo because I'm not going to get a job. I told my mom I'll be the first ever not that money matters but I'll be the first ever millionaire offenser it's like saying I'm gonna see a unicorn because it never existed but I knew if I was just myself it would figure itself out right then I have tattoos and now kids are getting tattoos because it's such a still elitist uppity sport and you can't do these things I'm like no why not you know oh I won't be in a meeting with CEOs I'm actually sitting with the guy that made your phone and I'm myself right so like you said I think it's that time is gone.

37:12But I think people are still so scared to take a risk. And I think that's the difference. There's so many people that are the same nowadays, which is, I think, the issue. And I think if you can just honestly be yourself, you'll figure out what life is for you. And I think I never wanted to be like anybody else in sports or life in general. And there were those times when I was like, well, this is the right decision. But I knew, keep your head down, keep being you, and things will happen for you. And they did. I used to think that fencing was like my kind of anchor always a fencer but that's actually my gift i used to lie to people oh yeah i play basketball you know just because i i'd believe it because if you were trying to make fun of me or trying to fight me or bully me in school yeah because i was a fencer wow because to them it was not a cool sport and then now my instagram is fencer and i'm like that's what i'm doing that's my purpose right and michael strahan one of my great friends and mentor always told me never mess up your main and keep that your main i was like fencing is my main everything else will come but just don't lose sight of what you were here on this planet to do.

38:14Did it affect you between when your father left when you were eight and then before you had your now dad that you mentioned? Did that affect you in any way? I think it did for sure. And I think there are times of like, now that I'm old and I can understand it, like why are you getting into trouble? Why are you doing these things? I think it probably does stem from trauma or stem from something because why else would I be acting up? My mom's an amazing mom. She's given me all the right lessons. like why is this happening? Obviously one of my best friends with Lewis was, but you need to attack that, you need to understand that, right?

38:47Like why is this happening? And I went on a spiritual journey and understood, oh wow. And I hadn't talked to him for over 10 years. Oh wow, the biological father. Yeah. And then I had this awakening, picked up the phone and called him. I said, hey dad, this is Miles. How are you? I don't know about the past how's everything going because I also realized that kids don't realize that their parents are growing up as well and that was like oh wow not saying right or wrong but once I did that it was like a sigh and then I think I started to just understand way more about myself so I think definitely I had trauma without even knowing it was trauma at the time and then now it's like I've got such a clear understanding of that probably made me who I am so I almost wouldn't want it any other way and then my stepdad who is my dad is the most amazing person he taught me how to be a man and I think that's the coolest part is having this kind of roller coaster journey created you know this person in front of you but I think not having that growing up somehow helped me not take no for an answer and and and really knocked some doors down so I think it definitely was a time when I had to be like okay why are you getting in trouble why are you getting arrested.