In short
Nimai Delgado’s journey from a spiritual ashram upbringing in South Mississippi to becoming a vegan bodybuilder, then quitting a $200K+ engineering job to coach plant-based living. The episode also argues that community, presence, and “top-of-funnel activism” (starting with appearance/health goals) can drive plant-based change.
Guests
Nimai Delgado, vegan bodybuilder and plant-based educator; background includes Argentinian parents who moved into an ashram/farm community, later financial instability after events like Hurricane Katrina, an engineering degree at LSU, and a mechanical integrity role in oil & gas in California. Host: Darin Olien (podcast host).
Key claims
Vegan bodybuilding is achievable without steroids; quitting a high-paying job was triggered by a personal “full circle” moment after helping a man whose mother reversed type 2 diabetes with plant-based eating; social media should be complemented by real-world community and presence.
Notable examples
Winning a local bodybuilding show while fully vegan (sweeping categories); the London expo encounter where a tearful attendee credited Nimai with saving his mom’s ability to walk; his decision to resign immediately after that meeting.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOIntroduction to Nimai Delgado
0:32 to 1:42
Darin introduces guest Nimai Delgado and their shared backgrounds.
“The supplements I give my dog have to meet the same standards I hold for everything I put in my own body, which is why I was so excited when I found MycoDog.”
Introduction to Nimai Delgado
1:52 to 2:41
Darin introduces guest Nimai Delgado and their shared backgrounds.
“And so I just reached out, and I'm stoked that you're here and stoked that we're chatting because Game Changers and, of course, our mutual friend Rich Roll, that threw you on the map in such a big way.”
Nimai's Unique Upbringing
2:41 to 4:02
Nimai shares his childhood experiences growing up in a spiritual community.
“from a spiritual side of how you grew up.”
Challenges of Growing Up Different
4:02 to 7:16
Nimai discusses the difficulties of fitting in and his family's challenges.
“but I grew up in a very unique environment in South Mississippi.”
The Shift to a New Environment
7:16 to 9:11
Nimai describes moving to a trailer park and the contrast it brought.
“and making them my own, not just something that I was born into and given, but really kind of examining those and seeing how I felt about them and my relationship to them.”
Lessons from Financial Turmoil
9:11 to 12:12
Nimai reflects on his family's financial struggles and its impact on him.
“So I felt a little distant from it at times, but still at my core, always felt connected to it.”
Finding Himself in California
12:12 to 14:00
Nimai shares how moving to California helped him embrace his identity.
“So that is what inspired me to pursue engineering.”
A Disconnected Career in Engineering
14:00 to 16:52
Nimai discusses his unfulfilling engineering job and feelings of dread.
“And that's when I really started to come into my own, I feel.”
The Fitness Culture in Bakersfield
16:52 to 19:11
Nimai shares his experiences in Bakersfield's fitness culture and his early gym days.
“It just keeps, the cake just keeps getting layered.”
Transition to Bodybuilding
19:11 to 19:58
Nimai recounts his first bodybuilding competition and surprising success.
“And so I prepared for this first show completely vegan, not ever competing, not ever knowing how to count a macro or anything like that.”
Show all 27 chapters
The Challenge of Being Vegan in Bodybuilding
19:58 to 21:18
Nimai reflects on the skepticism he faced as a vegan bodybuilder.
“There was no vegan restaurants in Bakersfield at this point in time.”
Sharing His Journey Online
21:18 to 22:58
Nimai explains his motivation to share his plant-based journey on social media.
“And that's what just inspired me to start posting on social media.”
The Turning Point: Quitting Engineering
22:58 to 26:08
Nimai describes the moment he decided to quit his engineering job and pursue bodybuilding full-time.
“If I'm being 100 % honest, every time I've gone through a breakup, I have experienced massive like quantum leaps of growth.”
The Engineer's Reaction to Leaving a High-Paying Job
28:00 to 29:58
Nimai discusses the skepticism he faced when leaving a well-paying job for a vegan lifestyle.
“He's like, you're leaving this like 100 and almost 200K salary a year job to go be a vegan?”
Realizing the Value of Time Over Money
30:12 to 31:02
Nimai reflects on the importance of time and following one's passion over financial security.
“So, you know, I knew what I could do and what I wanted to do.”
The Impact of Helping Others
31:03 to 31:54
A discussion on how helping others can lead to personal fulfillment and unexpected life changes.
“It's like what a gift that your gift gifted you back again.”
Navigating Personal and Professional Identity
31:55 to 32:51
Exploring the balance between personal purpose and societal expectations in one's career.
“And, you know, that word gets thrown around a lot in a negative way these days, you know, like being an influencer.”
Spiritual Connection and Community Influence
32:52 to 36:44
Nimai shares his spiritual journey and the importance of community in his life and work.
“It's just those beautiful moments of just getting that harder hit.”
The Shift from Public Persona to Personal Impact
36:45 to 38:15
Discussing the transition from seeking public validation to focusing on personal connections.
“space or even just social media in general you know I think just staying connected to people in those ways has really just helped foster where I want to go next.”
The Power of Community Over Social Media
38:16 to 42:01
Exploring the deep connections that can be formed in communities compared to social media interactions.
“I don't know where it's going, but I don't I don't like the path.”
The Power of Human Connection
42:01 to 45:30
Discover the importance of community and human interaction in our lives.
“And I think what you said is brilliant because it is the people that we can touch right now.”
Living with Intention and Compassion
45:31 to 47:29
Learn how personal experiences shape a compassionate lifestyle and community responsibility.
“And so it's such a weird, it's everywhere.”
Plant-Based Living and Its Myths
47:30 to 51:08
Explore the misconceptions surrounding plant-based diets and the benefits of this lifestyle.
“And, you know, there's all this conversation, you know, just bringing it back to like the plant-based thing because this is just very present in my life.”
Encouraging Others Towards Healthier Choices
51:09 to 55:44
Understand how to inspire others to adopt healthier diets without pressure.
“And I think that, you know, I call it top of funnel activism.”
The Ethics of Eating and Compassion
55:45 to 56:00
Discuss the ethical implications of eating animals and promoting compassionate choices.
“A lot of times I get it from all the time from trainers and bodybuilders and whoever.”
Compassion and Choices in Veganism
56:00 to 57:05
Explore the complex relationship between compassion and dietary choices.
“It just means you didn't know how to do it.”
Building Connections and Sharing Light
57:05 to 58:01
Discuss the importance of connection and sharing one's gifts with the world.
“they should definitely check that out incredible yeah um our boys um but bro this is such a good start to our relationship.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:02Darin Olien:Welcome to Super Life with me, Darin Olien, a podcast where we explore, discover, and share solutions that promote a healthier life and a better world. Together, we'll ignite possibilities, inspire change, and build sovereignty, creating a roadmap towards a super life for you and for all. Get ready to start living your super life.
0:32Darin Olien:Here's the thing. The supplements I give my dog have to meet the same standards I hold for everything I put in my own body, which is why I was so excited when I found MycoDog. Their products are grown right here in the USA, out in nature, where they're supposed to be grown, wild harvested, on real wood, no fillers, no synthetics, dual extracted from pure mushroom fruiting bodies so that your dog actually gets the nutrients they should. Their line of tinctures includes mushrooms like turkey tail, lion's mane, and many more combined with adaptogens like the powerful ashwagandha. To support things like the immune system, cognitive health, and much, much more, I've been giving my dog, Chaga, their vitality every day, and it's become one of our most important routines.
1:34Darin Olien:When something meets my standards, I tell you about it. MycoDog is the freaking real deal. Head to mycodog.com forward slash superlife and use the code superlife for 15 % off your first order. That's mycodog.com forward slash superlife.
2:21Darin Olien:have we not met? And so I just reached out, and I'm stoked that you're here and stoked that we're chatting because Game Changers and, of course, our mutual friend Rich Roll, that threw you on the map in such a big way. But you have such a cool background that I relate to from a spiritual side of how you grew up. obviously plant-based not as long as you but certainly 18 years but um then you i mean i never bodybuilded but i professionally but it's like this mix you're in such an interesting mix right of never eating meat growing essentially growing up essentially was it was it hari christian yeah yeah so kind of communish yep right uh and then finding your way and bodybuilding and going against the grain and like how the hell did all of that like i'm curious like what were the tentacles that started you know you grew up in a certain way but then finding yourself, right?
3:42Darin Olien:Finding yourself in the journey and then start deciding, okay, what do I want to do? Who do I want to be? How did that, how was the upbringing first? Like, what was that like? Yeah. I mean, for those, for those of you that are listening that haven't heard my story, I've shared this on several podcasts. So forgive me if it's a little bit of repetition, but I grew up in a very unique environment in South Mississippi. So both of my parents are Argentinian. They were born and raised in Argentina, grew up in Buenos Aires, and somewhere along the line, they got exposed to this western or this eastern philosophy that was making its rounds down to South America, and they really resonated with the philosophy.
4:26So both my mom and dad decided to devote their lives to their spiritual practice. They basically renounced their former lives, their former names and moved into an ashram. And then their, um, kind of like their spiritual leader told them about an opportunity to move to the United States and live in a farm community that was established in the seventies. I think they had like five or six of them that they established in the U S and one of them was in Mississippi of all places, I think probably because it's cheap land, honestly. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, so that is where I spent the first kind of chapter of my life was growing up in this very tight-knit community of a different kind of eclectic mix of people.
5:14Think of the kind of people that would go off-grid and live in a spiritual community, right? You know, not to say that's bad in any way, just, you know, a lot of characters, There's a lot of people that are very strong-willed and strong-minded. And, yeah, it was a beautiful environment now that I look back on it and I can see it with a little bit of distance. But it wasn't without its challenges growing up in that area of the country where what stands out tends to get kind of hammered down there.
5:45Darin Olien:And certainly from that geography, what isn't understood at all. Yeah. Right? Like the community, the ashram, like all of that in Mississippi. I mean, from the outside looking in, it definitely looked like a cult. To everybody else, it was a cult. To those of us that lived in the community, it was like a deeply enriching spiritual life that they were practicing. And, you know, we kind of stuck to our own. But, you know, there were many times where, you know, we did experience different types of discrimination. My parents were like very much themselves and looking back, I can like really appreciate them for just boldly being themselves.
6:27But when you're younger, you kind of just want to fit in and kind of blend in and not stand out. So they would wear my mom would wear saris like to Walmart. You know, I would go into Walmart wearing more traditional clothing and having like T-lock, which is something that you put on the forehead. My neck beads, all of it. So we definitely stood out. You know, most other people were in like camouflage and, you know, this is South Mississippi I'm talking about. So, yeah, it was a bit challenging navigating those waters at times, but I think it really primed me for kind of affirming what I believe to be the way that I would like to live my life and not being influenced by outside noise.
7:10but also questioning those beliefs also and really kind of coming back to them and making them my own, not just something that I was born into and given, but really kind of examining those and seeing how I felt about them and my relationship to them.
7:24Darin Olien:Right, and I think that's very healthy to do. I mean, certainly to... Questioning things is such a good idea rather than just adopting it as face value, especially, and I would imagine that, you know, certainly as a kid, you're like, oh my God, like how do I, it's when the outside world is kind of, can it be a little traumatic as well? Just like, and like, and then you go to the other side. Did you feel like you flipped to the pendulum? Like, was there a point where you kind of rejected it? So early on, I felt like I was living in two worlds. I felt like I was getting exposure to two completely different worlds.
8:12This bubble that I was living in and then the Maya. So my parents would literally call it Maya. So the illusion, right? So the material world. So inside this bubble was the spiritual world that we were kind of operating in. And then we'd venture out to like.
8:27Darin Olien:In the full-on matrix. In the full-on matrix. Maya, the matrix, kind of the same terminology, right? We'd go, I mean, yeah, we'd go to Walmart and things like that. And then come back into like our little bubble. So definitely felt like I was getting exposure to a really interesting starting point of life. And whenever I moved out of that, like my family moved out of that environment, we moved into a trailer park in South Mississippi. So did that break up or did they just decide? You know, I'm not quite sure exactly what the details of the story was, but basically a few families moved outside of the community.
9:06So we moved kind of like a couple, you know, maybe 30 minutes away to this trailer park. And that was a pretty big contrast of, you know, being around more traditional Southern families in that type of environment. So I felt a little distant from it at times, but still at my core, always felt connected to it.
9:27Darin Olien:How old were you when you went to the? I was about 10. Yeah. Yeah, I was about 10. And so mind you, we, I have a joke that I, we upgraded from a shack to a trailer park. Like that was our upbringing. Like we had like this house that was maybe no bigger than this room and there was five of us in there. So when we moved, we moved into this trailer park. So it was like a big, big upgrade for us. But, you know, that was a struggle for my parents to provide because we were essentially living rent free in this environment and they, both immigrants had to make their way. So, you know, that brought a lot of financial turmoil, you know, some just bad luck for my parents and unfortunate circumstances kind of just kept knocking them down.
10:09So I think growing up, I got exposed to like the harsh reality of like trying to make it in the matrix. Sure. And witnessing my parents kind of always falling back to their faith and to their spiritual beliefs of treating this like a temporary kind of existence to kind of navigate this in the best, most kind of conscious way possible was a really interesting kind of lens to see that through. Yeah.
10:36Darin Olien:So they're now full in it. Yeah. And now, you know, it's such a weird thing. We've created this modern world, and in order to exist in it, at least in the Western-type modern side of it, we have to work to pay. And, like, where is the living? Where is the living gone? You know, where is the space of stillness? Where is all of that gone in this over pursuit? So all of a sudden they're away and now they're like having to pay people to, you know, work to buy food. And like, did you feel like they, did they keep struggling? Like, was it, how did they, what was the next phase after that? Was it? It was, it felt like a long phase until I moved out, honestly.
11:34Yeah, until I went to college, they were still trying to make ends meet. well you know in different ways and uh you know we just had like some bad circumstance like hurricane katrina came through they like had just like opened up a vegetarian restaurant in mississippi on the beach and then literally a couple months later katrina came and just wiped it off the map entirely all their life savings no insurance so had to start over again so we were kind of constantly getting knocked down and i think that is kind of what um propelled me into pursuing a career that was more financially stable because it was always kind of this place of like feeling anxious and stressed about where the next like paycheck is coming from.
12:12So that is what inspired me to pursue engineering. And that's why I ended up going to LSU and get my engineering degree. But it was purely from the place of like, okay, I can do this. And it was going to pay me a lot of money. Right. Not ever. I was like, I really love engineering. Right. You know?
12:27Darin Olien:Yeah. Yeah, it was coming from that survival and that your upbringing and like going, what is stable? What can I? Engineering. And that seems to make sense. So you cruised through that. Like, what was that career like? Short-lived. It was short-lived. You know, you asked me where kind of earlier in this conversation, where did I kind of find my own? like who I am as an individual, wasn't until I moved out of the South. I feel like that was the first time I ever felt like I could be whoever I wanted to be. And, you know, California always had a calling for me and I knew I was going to either end up here or Florida or somewhere out on the coast because I'm just kind of a beach guy.
13:15But it wasn't until I moved out here that I really started to own some of my core kind of aspects of myself, like being vegetarian. Like I would always dismiss it. I would always avoid the conversation. I would never try to get into a, like a discussion about it. I would just tell people like, yeah, I just don't eat that. Or like, oh, I'd even lie sometimes, but I don't like that, you know? So people respond very differently when you tell them like, I'm good versus like, I don't eat that. It's like a very different type of response. So, you know, growing up at the parties that, you know, people would offer me like hot dogs and pizza.
13:50And I'd be like, God, I'm good. You know, like I already ate before I came. You know, and then when I moved to California, that is when I really just kind of started owning like, you know, I'm just going to be who I am and see how that feels and really talk about it. You know, these people don't know me. So I can be a clean slate. Clean slate. I can be whoever I want. And that's when I really started to come into my own, I feel. but um to yeah to to your question about how long did that career last or what was it like
14:18Darin Olien:um i knew from the day i walked in it wasn't for me to the job or yeah i think probably both honestly because i had worked in a power plant as a intern um before getting this job and then i got you know i started working for an oil and gas company uh one of the biggest producers here in California. And, you know, my job was to make sure things didn't blow up. So it was a high risk job that required a lot of like calculations and compliance and managing people and inspections and all these things that just I was completely disconnected from, you know, so I knew right away I didn't want to spend the next 40 years of my life talking about corroding pipelines and vessels and tanks.
15:04Darin Olien:And in the back of your mind going, I hope we don't blow things up. Yeah. Yeah. Like That's gnarly. Yeah. Yeah. Because there's always a lose, lose or kind of like a lose or break even situation. Like my department, it's called mechanical integrity. We just made, we were kind of the police of the company. So we would make sure that we had to follow state regulations and compliance and like inspection compliance. So I'd be the guy to walk into a room and say, hey, operations, we have to shut down this piece of equipment. It's going to cost us, you know, a couple hundred thousand in downtime. And we're going to also have to spend, you know, this amount of money towards this project and kind of have to fight for them to replace things.
15:39So it was not a fun place for a 23-year-old that had no experience in that world whatsoever.
15:46Darin Olien:Yeah, and I'd imagine the more you're in that too, the more there's a fight of bottom line. I mean, think of the Boeing tragedies that have gone on. As soon as they started not overseeing things or offloading things, shit started literally going down. Yeah, and there's a paper trail. There's a paper trail that ends up back to a signature of the engineer that signed off on the procedure. And I was that guy for a lot of these repairs. So then that moment of like going, this ain't it. Like, what was that? Was it a low point? Yeah, for sure. For sure. You know, this realization that I just spent the last five years of my life studying and taking out, you know, six figures in loans to get my engineering degree.
16:34and now I have to pay this back. So I'm kind of like chained to this career for the foreseeable until at least I pay these loans off. So I felt very like dreadful at times waking up and going to a job that I just felt completely disconnected from. And it was like kind of soul crushing at times for me.
16:52Darin Olien:What was the pop then? What was the moment you're like? You know, so this was in Bakersfield. So to top it off. It just keeps, the cake just keeps getting layered. But you know, the upgrade analogy of like the shack to the trailer park, it was like the Mississippi to, even though it was Bakersfield, it was still like, it felt like a big upgrade to me. Yeah. Like the best thing about Bakersfield, you know, no shade to anybody that lives there and loves it, was leaving for me. You know, that was the best part was just getting to travel and see California. But the one thing about Bakersfield that I will say is it had a really strong fitness culture.
17:30And I had already been lifting at this point. I started lifting when I was like 17. just like casually, recreationally going to the gym. And then more so in college, more so like my last year of college, went through a breakup.
17:42Darin Olien:And then... That's always a good one. Breakups, yeah, they create bodybuilders for sure. Yeah, nothing more motivating than channeling it into some weights. But I had to switch gyms and went to this new gym and made friends with a bunch of trainers. They were trainers and bartenders. So we would train really hard and then go out and party really hard. So when I came to California, I kind of brought that mentality with me of, you know, there's not much else to do in Bakersfield. So I'm just going to go to the gym and focus on that. That was like my kind of escape. So Bakersfield also had a couple pro bodybuilders in that scene.
18:17You know, there's a lot of blue collar guys, a lot of big, burly, tough dudes. And they work out hard. There's like a lot of, there's a lot of prisons in that area too. So you see a lot of interesting folks, but you know, gym culture is like you, you make friends with everybody. You know, I loved it. and um you know started making friends with some really strong and you know bodybuilding type dudes started training with them until eventually somebody was like hey you should like you're looking pretty good there's a there's a local show that's coming up you should compete in it and i just laughed i was like yeah right bro i'm i was like i'm an engineer what would my engineering colleagues think of me getting on stage and posing you know half naked and i was just like i rejected it initially and then i thought about it and i was like you know i really that I have much else going on.
19:01So this could be an interesting thing for me to just try once. And this was right around the time when I went vegan. I went fully vegan. Up until this point, I was vegetarian. And so I prepared for this first show completely vegan, not ever competing, not ever knowing how to count a macro or anything like that. And naturally, it was a natural show as well. And ended up winning the entire thing. like all categories I swept it and you know it was a smaller show categories all the categories that I entered in wow you know which is like novice so first timers and then open and the height classes and the overalls so I won you know everything that that I entered and so um that was really surprising for me and also obviously if you win something you're like oh this is fun I want to do it again and that's what kind of sent me on this path of just like doing bodybuilding I never intended on making it into a career i never thought that you know i'd develop into what it became in my life now it was just this kind of like impulse to follow this like thing that felt
20:07Darin Olien:exciting at the time yeah and and i would imagine too like with that other stack of of being vegan and now all of a sudden you're like anyone even remotely showing up like especially in bakersfield But no, they were on the opposite end. Very much. Slamming all of the. Just meat and potatoes. Yeah. There was no vegan restaurants in Bakersfield at this point in time. This is like 2014, 2015. Yeah. But yeah, after you win a show, people ask you what you did to win. They want to know how you trained and what you ate. So whenever I would share like, hey, I actually did this completely plant-based, people would just immediately not believe me.
20:48They'd be like, yeah, but you took steroids. And I'm like, no, actually I didn't. And they're like, and they find out I never eaten meat before and they just completely don't believe me. And I'm like, well, it's possible. And I think more people should know about this. And that's what kind of inspired me to share more online. Cause I couldn't really, at that point in time, find more people that were competing. There was a couple of, a handful of people. But I thought to myself, you know, more people deserve to know that you can take this alternative path and still yield the same results. and honestly it can be a competitive advantage in many different ways as well And that's what just inspired me to start posting on social media.
21:27Darin Olien:Yeah, it's that whole disbelief thing Yeah, you know, it's like I remember years ago. I was training with a bunch of insane extreme sport guys And I've been nipping nipping at them, you know, except in an athlete most of my life and they literally after years of knowing I find out that they didn't believe me still like no he's he's getting an egg somewhere like they literally flat out no yeah because they couldn't handle someone right next to them with that that that worldview yeah they couldn't they couldn't get their head around it because we know that meat has been the thing that they believe is going to make you lean and strong and blah, blah, blah, blah.
22:19Darin Olien:Side note, all of the nutrients that is in that meat came from the OGs, came from the plants. So you're having the success, you're kicking ass, and then this subplot is emerging where you're like plant-based and you're sharing. You're starting to share the story. So at what point did the whole thing flip and you let go of the engineering? Yeah, I remember the exact moment. I remember the exact moment for me because I had gone through another breakup and then I was like, I got to get it. God, they're good, man. I'm telling you. Send me on another level. I have a list too, like for sure. If I'm being 100 % honest, every time I've gone through a breakup, I have experienced massive like quantum leaps of growth.
23:09Until now, you're done. Yeah, for sure. Married and happy. There's other ways to do it. Yeah. So now I got to manufacture quantum leaps in different ways instead of being forced to confront, you know, these really challenging moments. But I'm grateful for those moments because they did allow me to, you know, become who I am. But the, so I moved out of Bakersfield. I transferred to Long Beach. And I had this idea that Long Beach was going to be a much better environment for me and like still be an engineer and kind of live out my days you know at least on the coast not so you're still holding on to the engineer oh yeah yeah yeah it hadn't crossed my mind to really leave at any point especially with the money you had to pay back well that was that was the other thing that was the other thing too is you know they kept throwing money at me every time I thought about leaving they'd give me long-term incentives and and stock options and all these things.
24:00So, and whenever I moved to Long Beach, I had to sign like a contract that said, cause they were gonna give me a raise and a moving bonus. And they basically said, if I get fired or if I quit within two years, I have to pay that money back. So fast forward, I became a pro bodybuilder in like a year or so after competing and became the first. So I started getting invitations to go speak in different events and like different expos and veg fests and podcasts and all the rest of it. Right. And I went to this one expo and after I gave a speech, a presentation, there was like a, you know, a line of people on the side of the stage waiting to meet me and meeting and greeting people.
24:44And this, this guy comes up to me, I'll never forget it. He comes up to me and he's in tears and he just wants to, he's like coming in for a hug. I'm like, come here, bro. And we like, we hug it out and I'm like it's nice to meet you and he goes man he goes I just have to thank you because of you I believe that you saved my mom's life and I go I was like how like how is that possible and he says I discovered plant-based eating and discovered that it was possible through you and my mom suffered from type 2 diabetes and she was at the point where she couldn't even walk. And I helped her go plant-based and reverse a lot of her symptoms to where she was able to regain her health and gain the ability to walk again.
25:32And he credited the, you know, me for showing him that, or at least like posting about it, discovering. And in that moment, it really hit me because I'm, I'm a mama's boy at heart too. And, you know, anything I could help my mom, I'd be deeply, deeply grateful for. And on the plane home, because this was in London, I look over at my now wife and I said, I think I'm going to quit my job on Monday. And she was like, you should. She's been telling me to quit my job for a while. So she's been a fan of you. Yeah. She's always been my number one supporter. So she told me, she's like, you should. Absolutely.
Read the full transcript
26:10Monday morning, I wake up. I roll out of bed. I look at her. I'm like, I'm not going to quit today. I got too many things to take care of. I got too many loose ends to take care of. I have to make sure that all these ducks are in a row. Yeah, it has to be the perfect time where I feel the most safe for me to take this leap, right? Then I go to work and we have a Monday morning meeting and it was like our contractor meeting. So we go around the table and all the contractors would give updates on their projects and the things they're working on in the day. And this guy goes and he's like, he's passionate.
26:44He's talking about this project and saving money. and I could just feel how connected he was to it. And I'm like, man, this dude really cares.
26:57Darin Olien:About this. About this. He really cares. And then it got to the next guy. Same thing. And then as it was kind of coming to my turn to give this update, I felt this inexplainable surge of energy to get the hell out of this room. I couldn't stand it one second longer knowing what I had just experienced in London. So I excused myself from the meeting, walked straight to my boss's office and kind of word vomited saying, I'm putting in my notice. I'm putting in my two weeks. And mind you, I just transferred. So my boss was like, what are you talking about? How, like, what's going on? And I go, I just can't do this anymore.
27:35I don't want to, I don't want to work here anymore. I'm done. And he goes, you know, you got a great position here. Like, what are you, what are you going to do? And I said, well, you know, I've been building up this social media thing and I think that I can turn it into a business. And they didn't even know I was like, I didn't even talk about it, this new location. So I was like, I think I'm going to help coach people become vegan. And he kind of like I could see I could see in his face the confusion. The engineer could not figure it out. He's like, you're leaving this like 100 and almost 200K salary a year job to go be a vegan?
28:15I go, yeah, man. I go, basically, yeah.
28:21Darin Olien:Before we continue the pod, I want to share something. I've tried so many supplements. I've been in the space for 25 years. And every so often, something really pops out. Mana Vitality is that difference. It's not just about adding minerals. It's about tuning your body to a higher frequency, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Because this is the mana from the earth, the Shilajit, the Ormus minerals, and so on. There's so much going on with this brand. I'm so excited. Beyond the Shilajit, they're expanding into other elementals. The brand is built on ancient alchemy with ingredients like gold nanoparticles, beta-glucans, shilajit, ormus, all geared to elevate you.
29:12Darin Olien:Especially in today's world, you need bioavailable, a bio-delivery system that upgrades your body from the inside out. Every formula is frequency charged to promote balanced energy immune system and cellular renewal. And the wild part, the more consistently you take it, the more you feel everything in your body. It's the same with me. The more I use it, the better I feel. My sleep improved. My skin glows. My stress goes down. My testosterone goes off. It's like my whole system is humming again. So if you're tired of low energy, brain fog, and or just not feeling the same and like something's missing, check out Mana.
29:58Darin Olien:Go to manavitality.com That's M-A-N-N-A Vitality.com Use the code Darren20 And you get 20 % off your order This isn't about health It's about living in harmony With your greatest and highest potential Because I knew he wasn't going to get it You know, and I think that says something About whenever you Share your dreams with people When you share it with people who just won't get it That can create seeds of doubt if you don't have a conviction with it. So, you know, I knew what I could do and what I wanted to do. And, you know, afterwards I had to pay back all this money. So it was like another test from the universe.
30:38Like, hey, I had to pay back, like, I don't know, it was like 15 or 20 grand. I don't remember exactly how much to quit. So I was like, okay, here goes this safety net, this financial stability that I was seeking so hard to attain because I came to this realization that there was no amount of money that could have kept me there. Like it's not worth my time, which is the one resource I could never get back You can always make more money doing whatever, you know
31:03Darin Olien:It's like what a gift that your gift gifted you back again. Like you know what I mean? Like the guy comes to you It essentially saved his mom's life and their existence. He shares it with you that stuck so hard in your soul I'm saying that that then when you're thrust back in your normal situation, it's just, it's so obvious that the meaning is not even remotely close. So the gift of your gift to them circled back and gifted you the out. Yeah. You know what I mean? That's such a wild. Full circle moment. Yeah. Yeah, full circle moment. It's like, wow, the impact that you can make on other people's lives.
31:53Darin Olien:How about that? That you might never know you're even influencing. Totally. And, you know, that word gets thrown around a lot in a negative way these days, you know, like being an influencer. But I think that the people that do show up in their purpose, they influence more people than they even realize. So you never know who's watching. Yeah. You know, and that person, if he would have never came up to me, who knows what my path would have ended up like. But I distinctly remember that being the moment that I was like, I cannot spend 10 hours a day in an office talking about things I completely don't care about and working for a company that I feel so disconnected from when I feel like I'm doing a disservice to the world by not talking about this other thing that I care about and that's actually helping people in a tangible way.
32:44Darin Olien:And the thing is you don't know what's going to happen, but you know what you need to do. right it's like we don't get to have the script but we know we're leaning on something that is to thine own self be true right you know whatever that shift is whatever beautiful miracle that moment was but you just like shot yourself out of that place so fast like i'm out now like and what What a gift that happened so strongly because if it was maybe less abrupt, you could have easily blown it off again. Well, it's not the day today. It's not the da-da-da. I think of that stuff. Why those moments? It's just those beautiful moments of just getting that harder hit.
33:41Darin Olien:It was like, no way, man. and so you kept bodybuilding um you kept sharing you get on documentaries and you keep like so
33:59Darin Olien:today as you have matured in this space for so long and really you're kind of like this still this uh example because i've never been a bot i've been an athlete but not a full-on like bodybuilder and things like that um so for you now i'm just i'm just throwing out an idea that i like a thought that i have like growing up in the in the where you grew up yeah right and having community and having those things and then thrown in the matrix parents completely confused or challenged or having a hard time you going through this i need to do this i feel this is the path i gotta go it's solid it's It's going to provide me the solidity of whatever.
34:57Darin Olien:And then, boom, that doesn't mean anything. What it means to me is following my heart, my path.
35:07Darin Olien:Where do you find yourself now? Do you find yourself kind of, of course, you're rooted in who you are, but do you find yourself now pulling on some of the past of community? And where does that all sit with you now? In terms of your spiritual side, in terms of who you are as a man, what do you want to create? I'm just curious, where do you sit now with all that you've accomplished? And now where do you want to go? That's a great question. That's a great question. You can unpack it as whatever comes. Yeah, no, you know, as I think about it, I have always felt a strong connection to my spiritual source, whatever you want to call it.
36:01You know, God, Krishna, Christ, Buddha, whatever your name for it is. I've always had a strong connection to that. And I think that that connection has guided me in inexplicable ways to take these next steps that might not make sense to people. But every time I've taken that guidance and put it into action, it's just opened up doors. It's opened up possibilities. It's brought so much more abundance into my life in different ways. and I reflect back on that because growing up in a very kind of traditional spiritual community and then now having a very untraditional online parasocial community you know in the plant-based space or even just social media in general you know I think just staying connected to people in those ways has really just helped foster where I want to go next.
37:11So I'm kind of losing my train of thought here. I'm thinking of the question and the way that I want to articulate what I'm feeling right now about it because I can give you a generic answer,
37:28but I feel like I'm figuring it out. I feel like it's probably the most honest answer I can give you right now because I've been in this space for 10 years. I'm an OG influencer. And this lifestyle is not something that I adopted because it was trendy. I was doing it before social media. I'm going to be doing it after social media. And I feel like the different phases and chapters of being an online personality has lost some of the appeal to me. So now I'm kind of finding my way of like, how do I exist without being so public while still doing what I do and trying to make an impact and positive change in this world while still staying true to myself and follow what's most exciting at that same time?
38:15Darin Olien:Yeah, because there's a path laid out that seems as though that's the path to take for most brands, most influence, or whatever you want to call it. You've got to have a social presence. You've got to have this. You've got to have this. Oh, hell. you know traditional box stores for books they won't even take a new author if they don't have a million plus you know it's a weird world and i think i also like i i just i kind of quit for like aside from podcasts being out but personally i'm just like yeah you know and i'm kind of rectifying it now just do it if i feel like it like yeah you know so it's it's a so i think we get to create the change like it is what it is they're trying to steal as much time from us as possible like every second if if the if the world of social and whatever the hell is is up to them then it would be us just you know taping our phone to our to our head just leaving it on yeah you know yeah um and then making it more convenient to to wear it or implant it whatever the hell they want to do Right.
39:26Darin Olien:So I'm with you. I don't know where it's going, but I don't I don't like the path. But I I do know that legacy humanness will never go away. And that is connection. Yeah. That is like meeting your guy who said you help my mom, like moments like that. And if we can use the platforms to then create real life community. I think that commodity is, that someone just told me the other day, or maybe it was like today, like invest in auditoriums. You know what I mean? Not really, but maybe as a muse. Because it's like, the more we're going towards all this stuff, the more we're going to require this empty, kind of this dry sponge that we need water.
40:24Darin Olien:Like, you know what I mean? And I think to jump on the back of that, you know, when you do have this really weird experience of being visible, as visible as someone like you that's been on Netflix or has a social media presence of like millions of people come and just have access to leaving comments or sending you messages or unsolicited opinions or just personal attacks, all this stuff. You get a really interesting kind of view on like human interactions. And I feel like, you know, there was a point in my life where I did have those dreams of like reaching the absolute most people, making the biggest possible change or impact I could make, creating the biggest, most successful company and selling it for some astronomical number.
41:14and now I think like my my sights have kind of like shifted to more of like the like the five foot view in front of me like who's next to me that I can change their life like how can I impact the community that I'm literally living in you know I live in Venice you know like in the city I live in needs a lot of help and support you know like who are the the people in my life that I actually know and I can extend you know some resources to and help out because when you when you start to just see numbers and likes and comments you like you almost tune out because it's too much for our brain to process so i feel like this kind of kind of retraction to like back to being offline more yeah and and really establishing like connection and community in person and and just focusing there and seeing where that goes yeah you're you're you're in the
42:09Darin Olien:last 24 hours you're the second significant person to say that because you said it in your own way but to say that this commodity that is potentially more powerful than anything else we already see that community connection community if you were to want to live longer it's it's far and away more powerful you you you want to be happier far and away like not even close there's no supplement that is even in the same universe yeah exactly right so so i think i think you're perceiving exactly what we need to perceive and and lean into because whatever system is at play is the detriment of the human experience, not a scientific algorithmic runway or runaway.
43:20Darin Olien:So it's that thing. And I think what you said is brilliant because it is the people that we can touch right now. and loneliness is so gnarly. Right? And people need connection. They need to eyeball the eyeball and feel energy and be a human. So if we can break, let's bring some sledgehammers to whatever the architecture of social. Let's just start busting shit up. Yeah, and I really tried to bring that into my day-to-day in relation to like how I connect with people and just being present with somebody and whoever I'm speaking to just giving them my my actual presence and like tuning in to what they're saying and what they're feeling and what they're sharing with me because I also feel like there's you know there's what a billion people in this world the fact that we run into another human is kind of mind-blowing like the fact that you get to meet like we get to meet each other.
44:28We've been on this life path and we've kind of connected at this specific point in time. I don't think it's by accident. So I think that everybody that we come in contact to has something to offer us and us to offer them. So when I kind of had that realization, I treat every single conversation with as much presence and attention as I can. Because again, these moments are like, they're they're incredibly special to me and I feel like the the most impactful moments have been the you know sometimes the random you know the random moments the thing that really stood out like this this individual who completely changed the trajectory of my life you never know what something you might share with another person just by being you not because you're trying to influence them but just by like being showing up as yourself authentically you could literally influence somebody in ways that you don't know yeah and
45:22Darin Olien:And without the need to change someone, without the need to get something from someone. And we're here in LA. You know what I mean? And so it's such a weird, it's everywhere. We're always trying to like, you know, status and on some level it's deep, right? So we're trying to be successful or be relevant or whatever. And true presence dissolves all of that. And I think it's great that you're having this, what I experienced, this full circle without the hardship of how you grew up. but the tenants and the tentacles of what also was there. And that is you grew up in community, like deeply knitted community.
46:29And that is everything. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I remember we used to call the other mothers mother. Like the other mothers in the community, we'd call them all mother. You know, like we literally kind of go in herds. All the kids would go be watched by the different mothers in the community. And I do think that those roots have really kind of primed me for what I'm doing now, which is, I guess, putting my life on display as this alternative way of life and this alternative perspective of how to operate in this matrix and do it from a place of intention and do it from a place of compassion and exercising some of these privileges that we have because I think that the more privilege we have, the more responsibility we have to be the ones who lead the way and create change.
47:30And, you know, there's all this conversation, you know, just bringing it back to like the plant-based thing because this is just very present in my life. every single day I get comments of saying how, you know, our ancestors did it this way, you know, like for a majority of like human existence, people have been surviving. They've been in survival mode, right? We now live in a place in a time and place where I can literally pull up my phone and push a couple buttons and have food delivered to my house in 20 minutes or less, right? So we have so many privileges and access to things that people, in many parts of the world don't have.
48:08So we can't rely on the majority of people who are surviving to be the ones to step up and make those initiatives and change the systems that have more compassionate ethos. If that's the word, ethos. Ethos, whatever. It really embedded into those systems. So I think that is where I would really like to kind of put my direction or like my energy is just how can I inspire younger men specifically men because in the bodybuilding world it's probably the most commonly held belief that you know you have to eat a bunch of meat you know you have to do these things in order to live this way and I'm just trying to show that there's this other way that creates a little less less suffering and harm and collateral damage to you know your personal health but also like the planetary health because it's it's cool to think about you know how we can help others as well yeah man i i agree i mean it's clearly and you know whatever story you know the thing is we're riddled with stories to justify right we justify everything and uh and i don't you know and and i'm sure people say it to you
49:32Darin Olien:oh you're n of one you just have the right genetics where you can do it people say that shit to me too yeah like just from different angles and you're like well that's not true right i spent 15 years running around looking at the planet's herbs and all over the freaking world yeah i was like this is incredible like this symbiosis we get to have with plants and mycelium and adaptogens and like Jesus. And there was a moment in my life going, because I was an athlete playing college football, consuming all this shit, and then it was like, oh, plants have it all. Eliminate the middleman, death, destruction, all of that stuff.
50:23Darin Olien:Selfishly, it feels really good to integrate, to live by a way that is doing as less harm as possible while eating the greatest foods ever. Like, you know what I mean? Like my bowl of fruit in the morning full of colors and vibrant. Like, oh, my God, there is no sacrifice in how we eat. Yeah, no, and that's the assumption is that it's a sacrifice. Right. I say I didn't give up anything when I became plan-based. I eliminated what was no longer aligned with the kind of person I wanted to be and the kind of impact I wanted to make. And that one decision completely changed the trajectory of my life.
51:12And I think that, you know, I call it top of funnel activism. It's this idea that everybody, I don't care who you are, wants to look better and feel better. Yeah. Not everybody cares about the planet. Not everybody cares about animals. Not everybody cares about other people. That's fine. But everybody can relate to wanting to look better and feel better. So that is where I kind of try to attract people from that place. It casts the widest net. And then, you know, once people try it, they're open to it. They see a guy like you that's like, great, you're glowing, you're in shape, you're clearly healthy.
51:53It's undeniable. You can't fake that. You can't buy muscles. You have to earn them and eat in a way to sustain them.
52:01Darin Olien:Right. Right. So once people discover that, you know, you're plant-based or I'm plant-based and haven't eaten meat, there's something that happens where it creates this level of curiosity to where now I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm telling you what I do and what works for me and how I've been able to get these results. And if you want to do it and try it, I'm happy to talk about it. If you don't want to, don't. It's not my responsibility to tell you how to live your life. But don't deny that it's possible because this is my truth. You can argue with me about scientific papers. You can argue with me about protein absorption.
52:36You can argue with me about amino acids.
52:41Bro, no piece of paper is going to deny deny my truth.
52:44Darin Olien:Yeah. You know, like this is my reality. So I'm sitting here, maybe I am an exception, but I don't think so. I really don't. I don't think I have - Well, you're aesthetically an exception. Maybe in the direction I wanted to take it, I became exceptional. But I don't think I have an X-Men gene that allows me to process plants better than other people. I think everybody could do it if they knew how to do it and knew how to do it the right way. Yeah. Yeah. It's a love of consciousness with everything. It's also responsibility. Like if you're going to be unresponsible about your life, you're just going to shovel crap in your body anyway.
53:27Darin Olien:And we also are not coming, you and I aren't coming from heavy processed vegan food either. Yeah. You know, we're like, yeah, occasionally I'll still slam a Beyond Meat every once in a while. But I actually went to the facility and I saw how they made the whole thing. They opened up and I was like, oh, this is less processed than most protein powders. That people are just like, ah, like, you know what I mean? But yeah, man, I agree. I've never taken the I'm going to beat you up with you need to do this. but there's one thing that i that i know the science is now stacked in our favor people choose to not look at it or whatever if you need that convincing but guaranteed people need to eat more plants guaranteed like without a doubt if they start there just consume more plants get more fiber, eat a lot of colors, you're infinitely going to be healthier as a result.
54:37Yeah, I agree. I mean, if it's like a spectrum, let's say on this side, it's like carnivore, right? All meat, no plants. This side's like alkaline, Dr. Sebi vegan, you know, like just moving in this direction on the spectrum is going to do better for everybody. 100%. You know, so I feel like I'm not somebody who preaches perfectionism. I encourage people who, like, I'm sure you get this too. When somebody discovers I'm vegan, they're like, oh, well, you know, like, I get it. They're trying to connect with me in some way. They're like, well, I try to buy, you know, local grass-fed beef and free-range chickens.
55:19And, you know, you and I probably know what those terms actually mean and what it looks like for those animals. It's just a nice word and greenwashing. But at the same time, like I hear that they are consciously trying to make an effort in choosing the more compassionate and healthy option. So I see that and I see like I'm like, that's great. You're already like on that path. This is just maybe a further along trying to help you see something a little bit differently because you don't know what you don't know. A lot of times I get it from all the time from trainers and bodybuilders and whoever.
55:52They're like, that's not possible. It's not possible. I'm like, have you ever done it? Like, how are you telling me that you have something you've never lived, never tried or just failed at? But you can also fail a math test. It doesn't mean that math is broken. Math doesn't work. It just means you didn't know how to do it. So I just feel like encouraging people and inviting them rather than telling them to do something is just a more effective kind of way to reach people.
56:21Darin Olien:Exactly. Yeah, I mean, the possibilities to open up that aperture so that people can see. Like, again, it doesn't have to be dogmatic. It doesn't have to be weird. But, you know,
56:39Darin Olien:the denial is, number one, there's no compassionate way to kill an animal. It doesn't exist. so you know what was a cowspiracy or excuse me um a chrispiracy uh yeah how would jesus kill sit with that how would jesus do it with the sharper knife like yeah anyway that's a whole yeah another rabbit hole which i which i love people if they want to watch chrispiracy.com they should definitely check that out incredible yeah um our boys um but bro this is such a good start to our relationship. Great first conversation. Yeah, great first conversation. Thank you for opening yourself up to my audience too and being an example.
57:31Darin Olien:Also, I resonate with just listening deeply and letting that path unfold. So I appreciate that. I see that in you. And thank you for sharing. Continue to share your gifts because we need your light in the world I appreciate you Darren. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Thanks everybody for tuning in Bro's to being bro's talk. That's right
57:59Netflix next month.
58:00Darin Olien:Yeah
From the publisher
bWhat happens when you stop living the life that looks safe on paper and start following the life that actually feels true to you?
In this episode of the SuperLife Podcast, Darin sits down with vegan bodybuilder, entrepreneur, and former engineer Nimai Delgado for a conversation about spirituality, plant-based performance, purpose, community, and having the courage to walk away from a life that no longer aligns with who you are.
Nimai's story begins in an unlikely place: a Hare Krishna spiritual community in rural Mississippi. Born to Argentinian parents who devoted themselves to their spiritual practice, Nimai grew up vegetarian, surrounded by community, faith, and a worldview radically different from the culture outside of it. After his family left the community, financial hardship, Hurricane Katrina, and the struggle to survive in the modern world eventually pushed him toward what seemed like the safest possible path: engineering.
But despite earning a strong salary in the oil and gas industry, Nimai knew almost immediately that the career wasn't for him. Fitness became an escape, and after transitioning from vegetarian to fully vegan, he entered his first natural bodybuilding competition and won every category he entered. The victory challenged one of bodybuilding's most deeply ingrained assumptions: that building an elite physique requires eating meat.
Then one interaction changed everything. After speaking at an event in London, a man approached Nimai in tears and told him that discovering plant-based eating through Nimai had helped his mother regain her health. Days later, Nimai walked out of a meeting, entered his boss's office, and quit his nearly $200,000-a-year engineering career to pursue his purpose full-time.
Darin and Nimai go far beyond diet, exploring why money can never replace time, how spiritual intuition can guide decisions that don't make logical sense, why social media is losing its appeal, the growing importance of real human connection, and why Nimai's definition of impact has shifted from reaching millions of strangers toward deeply affecting the people directly in front of him.
This is a conversation about questioning the stories you've inherited, becoming an example rather than preaching, and building a life that aligns your actions with your values.
What You'll Learn-
What it was like growing up inside a Hare Krishna spiritual community in Mississippi
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How Nimai learned to question inherited beliefs and make spirituality his own
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Why financial instability pushed him toward a career in engineering
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How bodybuilding became an unexpected escape from a career that felt soul-crushing
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How Nimai built and competed with a completely vegan physique
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The encounter that convinced him to walk away from a nearly $200K engineering career
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Why Nimai believes time is ultimately more valuable than financial security
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How spiritual intuition has guided some of the biggest decisions of his life
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Why his definition of impact has shifted from millions of followers toward real-world community
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How leading by example can open people to plant-based living without dogma or perfectionism
00:00:02 – Welcome to SuperLife
00:00:32 – Sponsor: MYCO Dog
00:02:03 – Introducing Nimai Delgado
00:03:17 – From spiritual upbringing to bodybuilding and finding his own path
00:03:47 – Growing up with Argentinian parents in rural Mississippi
00:04:31 – Why Nimai's parents renounced their former lives and joined an ashram
00:05:19 – The beauty and challenges of growing up in an unconventional community
00:05:49 – Why outsiders thought Nimai was growing up in a cult
00:06:13 – Standing out in Mississippi wearing traditional spiritual clothing
00:06:49 – Learning to question beliefs instead of blindly inheriting them
00:07:51 – Living between the spiritual world and the "matrix"
00:08:36 – Leaving the community and moving into a trailer park
00:09:31 – "We upgraded from a shack to a trailer park"
00:10:09 – Watching his immigrant parents struggle financially
00:11:25 – Hurricane Katrina wipes out his parents' vegetarian restaurant
00:12:12 – Why financial fear pushed Nimai toward engineering
00:12:55 – Moving away from the South and finally discovering himself
00:13:15 – Learning to openly own being vegetarian
00:14:12 – Realizing immediately that engineering wasn't his path
00:15:04 – The pressure of keeping an oil and gas operation safe
00:16:24 – Six figures of student debt and feeling chained to a soul-crushing career
00:17:15 – How fitness became Nimai's escape
00:17:32 – The breakup that pushed him deeper into training
00:18:31 – Why someone convinced him to enter his first bodybuilding competition
00:19:05 – Going fully vegan while preparing for his first show
00:19:34 – Winning every category he entered
00:20:35 – Why people refused to believe he built his physique without meat
00:20:58 – Showing the bodybuilding world another path was possible
00:22:39 – The breakup that led to another massive leap
00:23:22 – Transferring to Long Beach while still clinging to engineering
00:23:57 – Golden handcuffs, raises, stock options, and financial security
00:24:14 – Becoming a professional vegan bodybuilder
00:24:44 – The stranger whose story completely changed Nimai's life
00:24:59 – "Because of you, I believe you saved my mom's life"
00:25:49 – The flight home where Nimai decided to quit
00:26:10 – Why he almost backed out Monday morning
00:26:34 – The meeting that made staying impossible
00:27:20 – Walking into his boss's office and quitting on the spot
00:27:53 – Leaving an almost $200K salary to become a vegan entrepreneur
00:28:21 – Sponsor: Manna Vitality
00:30:15 – Why sharing your dreams with the wrong people can create doubt
00:30:33 – Paying thousands of dollars just to leave his career
00:31:01 – Money can be replaced; time cannot
00:31:28 – When your impact comes back and changes your own life
00:31:52 – The people you influence without ever realizing it
00:32:13 – Why purpose became more important than security
00:32:49 – You don't get the script, but sometimes you know what you need to do
00:33:57 – Who is Nimai after a decade of bodybuilding and advocacy?
00:35:53 – The spiritual connection that has guided Nimai throughout his life
00:36:14 – Following guidance that doesn't always make logical sense
00:37:30 – Why being an online personality has lost some of its appeal
00:38:15 – Finding a way to make an impact without living completely online
00:39:00 – Social media's endless fight for your time and attention
00:39:25 – Why real human connection will never disappear
00:40:25 – What millions of followers teach you about human interaction
00:41:14 – Nimai's definition of success completely changes
00:41:31 – From changing millions of lives to helping the person beside you
00:42:17 – Why community may be more powerful than any supplement
00:43:31 – Loneliness and the desperate need for face-to-face connection
00:44:18 – Why Nimai treats every conversation as something meaningful
00:44:55 – You never know how simply being yourself could change someone's life
00:45:44 – Presence dissolves status, relevance, and the need to impress
00:46:21 – Returning to the community values Nimai grew up with
00:47:13 – Why privilege creates responsibility
00:47:38 – Using modern abundance to create more compassionate systems
00:48:24 – Inspiring young men to rethink what strength requires
00:49:28 – Plants, performance, and eliminating the middleman
00:50:49 – "I didn't give anything up when I became plant-based"
00:51:17 – Nimai's strategy of "top-of-funnel activism"
00:52:01 – Showing what's possible instead of telling people how to live
00:52:36 – Why no scientific paper can erase Nimai's lived experience
00:53:04 – "I became exceptional"
00:54:18 – The one dietary change Darin believes nearly everyone can make
00:54:43 – Why plant-based living doesn't require perfectionism
00:55:36 – Encouragement works better than preaching
00:56:38 – Compassion, animals, and questioning the stories we use to justify our choices
00:57:07 – Darin and Nimai reflect on their first conversation
00:57:37 – Continue sharing your gifts with the world
00:57:57 – Closing
Thank You to Our Sponsors:-
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Find More from Nimai Delgado:-
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Instagram: @darinolien
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Book: Fatal Conveniences
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Platform & Products: superlife.com
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New Show: Roadmap to Happiness
"You don't always get a roadmap for the life you're supposed to live. Sometimes you only get a feeling that the life you're living is no longer yours. Nimai spent years pursuing security because instability taught him that money would make him safe, only to discover that no salary could replace the one resource he could never earn back: his time. By following the things that felt alive, bodybuilding, plant-based living, service, spirituality, and eventually community, he created a path that didn't make sense on paper but felt aligned in his soul. And maybe that's the larger lesson: you don't have to convince everyone, preach to everyone, or reach millions of people. Live what you believe. Be present with the person in front of you. Follow what feels true. You may never know whose life your example changes, and sometimes the life it changes most profoundly will be your own.