Dig the Well | Episode 17: Raising a Champion: Parenting Lessons Behind the Podium
Dig the Well | Episode 17: Raising a Champion: Parenting Lessons Behind the PodiumDig the Well | Episode 17: Raising a Champion: Parenting Lessons Behind the Podium
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Dig the Well | Episode 17: Raising a Champion: Parenting Lessons Behind the Podium
Ever wonder how an entrepreneurial upbringing can shape an Olympic weightlifter? Join us on Dig the Well as Vikki and John dive deep into a fascinating conversation with their son, John Downey. Discover how their unique approach to parenting, with monetized chores and flexible schedules, laid the groundwork for John's journey from aspiring police officer to national champion weightlifter.
John opens up about the financial challenges of pursuing weightlifting in the U.S. and how he found a creative solution through voice-over work. Listen in as he shares the invaluable lessons learned from balancing personal goals with family and business, emphasizing the power of dedication over fleeting motivation.
Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or someone balancing passions with financial stability, John's insights on discipline, perseverance, and self-belief are sure to inspire. Don't miss this episode packed with wisdom and personal anecdotes!
John Downey's Bio:
My name is John Downey. I've been married to my beautiful wife, Alison, for almost 3 years now. We have 2 dogs and are expecting our first baby early next year. I'm a voice actor and a national champion weightlifter, and have had the opportunity to represent Team USA multiple times over the last 5 years.
Thank you for listening! We hope you enjoyed this episode. Remember you can always connect with us on social media @thevikkidowney and be sure to check out our website johnandvikki.com.
If you are interested you can find Vikki's book HERE and the audio book HERE!
Ever wonder how an entrepreneurial upbringing can shape an Olympic weightlifter? Join us on Dig the Well as Vikki and John dive deep into a fascinating conversation with their son, John Downey. Discover how their unique approach to parenting, with monetized chores and flexible schedules, laid the groundwork for John's journey from aspiring police officer to national champion weightlifter.
John opens up about the financial challenges of pursuing weightlifting in the U.S. and how he found a creative solution through voice-over work. Listen in as he shares the invaluable lessons learned from balancing personal goals with family and business, emphasizing the power of dedication over fleeting motivation.
Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or someone balancing passions with financial stability, John's insights on discipline, perseverance, and self-belief are sure to inspire. Don't miss this episode packed with wisdom and personal anecdotes!
John Downey's Bio:
My name is John Downey. I've been married to my beautiful wife, Alison, for almost 3 years now. We have 2 dogs and are expecting our first baby early next year. I'm a voice actor and a national champion weightlifter, and have had the opportunity to represent Team USA multiple times over the last 5 years.
Thank you for listening! We hope you enjoyed this episode. Remember you can always connect with us on social media @thevikkidowney and be sure to check out our website johnandvikki.com.
If you are interested you can find Vikki's book HERE and the audio book HERE!
Feeling overwhelmed by your family's daily grind and looking for a way out? Welcome to "Dig the Well," the podcast that empowers you to build the life you deserve. Your hosts Vikki and John are top earners at Neora. Vikki is a # 1 best-selling author and John is a retired Los Angeles Police Officer. Together they’ve navigated family challenges, raised successful kids, and achieved financial freedom.
In each episode of "Dig the Well," they dive deep into the strategies and mindsets that can help you break free from the constraints of the traditional 9-5 lifestyle. They understand the unique challenges faced by stay-at-home moms and families who are juggling multiple responsibilities and struggling to find balance. Their mission is to provide you with the tools and inspiration you need to create additional income, gain more family time, and ultimately, transform your life.
Throughout their journey, they’ve had the privilege of working with renowned figures like Jack Canfield and Jeff Olson, whose wisdom and insights have greatly influenced their path to success. They’ve also celebrated significant milestones, such as raising two valedictorian children and supporting their son, an Olympic weightlifter on Team USA. These experiences have equipped them with valuable knowledge and practical tips that they’re eager to share with you.
"Dig the Well" is more than just a podcast; it's a community of like-minded individuals who are committed to personal growth and financial independence. Whether you're worried about your family's financial security, longing for more quality time with your spouse, or simply seeking a way to reignite your passions, this podcast offers actionable insights and real-life stories that can help you achieve your goals.
Our mission is to inspire you with the belief that if we can do it, so can you. We want you to feel empowered, educated, and ready to take control of your future. By tuning in to "Dig the Well," you'll gain the confidence and knowledge needed to break free from the daily grind and create a life full of possibilities.
So, if you're ready to transform your family's future and discover the greatness within you, join us on this journey. Subscribe to "Dig the Well" and start building the life you deserve today!
Vikki:
This is the EWN podcast network.
John:
Ever wondered how you could turn your side hustle into a full time gig and spend more time together?
Vikki:
Hi. I'm Vikki, a number one best selling author.
John:
And I'm John, a retired Los Angeles police officer. Welcome to Dig the Well, where we help couples navigate the world of business.
Vikki:
We've been married for 30 5 years, and because we built a successful side business, John retired 9 years earlier than he originally planned from the Los Angeles Police Department after 25 years on the job. Now we spend more time together, and we want to help couples like you do the same.
John:
Join us as we help you overcome common obstacles, and we show you how to make extra income without sacrificing family time.
Vikki:
Ready to dig deep and build your well? Let's get started. Hello. Hello. Hello, and welcome to dig the well.
Vikki:
We are back. We're super thrilled, over the top, excited, happy to have our son on this episode of dig the well.
John:
Yeah. For sure.
Vikki:
Super super super. And we're gonna tell you before we jump into some questions for John. We're gonna tell you a little bit about him and, his his backstory. So John is, an Olympic weightlifter, and we're gonna get into that. Like, what is Olympic weightlifting compared to other types of weightlifting?
Vikki:
And, did he always do that? And, where did he go to school? And those types of things. I'll just tell you. He he went to UCLA, and, he and our daughter, Misa, both, they were there at the same time.
Vikki:
And for his parents, parents, you know, being worried about your kids in college, that was really cool to know they're both there together. John and Misa, I talked about this on a previous episode, went to a summer camp when they were little at La Sierra Academy. Remember that, Joan? For entrepreneurs, it was a it was a summer camp for kids being, having their own business, and it taught them a bunch of cool stuff, for a week. And so he I know growing up with us, and we're gonna get into that too that I'm sure there was always been kind of an an eye for being owning his own business, and that's what he does alongside the Olympic weightlifting.
Vikki:
So we're without further ado, we're welcome, John. Welcome to the podcast.
John:
Thanks. Yeah. Scythe, I think, was the name of the the summer camp. Thanks.
John:
That's it. We couldn't remember what it
John:
stands for, but SYFE. Yeah. S I o p. Yeah.
John:
That's right.
John:
SYFE SummerSlam, I think, is what they called it.
John:
But That
Vikki:
thank you.
John:
Yeah. I
Vikki:
could not remember for the life of me.
John:
It was fun. Yeah. We had to invest in, fake stock market and stuff like that with with actual companies, though. So you have to invest in, like I think I invested in, like, Boeing when I was, like, 8. Yeah.
John:
I was gonna say they give you guys fake money, but, yeah, probably not.
Vikki:
I was gonna ask you how old. I thought it was, like, 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade, somewhere in there. Right?
John:
So so I would have been, like, yeah, between 7 and I think it was through, yeah, I think it was through 3rd grade because then we went to then we switched schools and we went to Lincoln.
Vikki:
Yeah.
John:
And so I think it was, like, maybe 1st through 3rd grade or something. I know. So 3rd grade would have been 8.
Vikki:
I think that's awesome. Right? Didn't it open your eyes?
John:
Fun too. Yeah. Yeah.
Vikki:
Yeah. Yeah.
John:
Yeah. I think public schools don't probably have that that, available that option available to the kids. Yeah.
Vikki:
I've never heard of it. Yeah. So dad's gonna take it away with the first question.
John:
Okay. So we're just gonna ask you some questions to find out a little bit more about you, and then, we'll we'll talk some more at the end. But our first question for you, John, is what was it like growing up in a family where both of your parents were entrepreneurs?
John:
It was I think it was really nice. I think, for one thing, mom and you guys were both someone was home most of the time, if not all the time. So it was nice having, like, your parents around more than, I think, a lot of other kids did. And then I remember specifically, it's funny. I probably didn't like it at the time, but looking back on it now, it was great.
John:
But, I think we so we did our chores a different way than most of my friends. So we would do you guys would have us do our chores, and that was how we got paid. That was how we got money. And then I remember going to school and hearing from my friends about an allowance, and I was like, what's an allowance? Like, that's like, what is that?
John:
We don't have that. And they were like, oh, like, you don't get you don't get money from your parents? And I was like, yeah. We do. But, like, we we do our chores, and then we get paid depending on, like, the chores that we do.
John:
And I was like, so what's an allowance? And they're like, oh, we just we just get money from our parents each week. And I was like, what do you mean? So I think they they I'm sure they had chores, but they got money regardless of whether they did their chores or not. And I think Arway taught us, like, a couple of different things.
John:
One was that, like, you know, to value money so that doesn't just come from not doing anything or nothing, but also that it, gave value to our chores. So it's like the other way around too. So you weren't just doing chores just because your parents said so. You were doing chores. Well, because, 1, because it, like, helps them get everything done around the house, but also because you that's how you you can get some money.
John:
And then I remember you also had the little little punch card, like the little time time card machine out in the garage. So we would do, yeah. I remember I could picture I think you guys might still have it, actually, that little it's like a green or teal machine.
Vikki:
We do. We have it.
John:
Yeah. But that was how we got extra money aside from the chores. We would do work, like, for your business. I remember, like, bagging things as, like, little, like, party favors for people. And so we would go out there and we sat and walked out there.
John:
We had our little papers. We'd walk out there. We'd punch in when we started our shift or however much we were doing that day. Even if it was for, like, 15 minutes, we'd, like, punch in, then we'd go back inside, and we'd do whatever it is whatever task you had for us, and then we'd go back out, punch right out. I think he paid us, like, $4 an hour, which is like a fortune to us.
John:
But yeah. So I
John:
think it was a lot of money
John:
back then. A lot of good things. Yeah. It was. Yeah.
John:
Especially if you're just putting you know, you're sitting in front of the TV just putting things in little bags and stuff. So yeah.
Vikki:
Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad you brought all that up. Sorry to interject here. I know it was dad's question.
Vikki:
But, we talked about that, about being earned money. Yeah. We're like, remember,
John:
we done.
Vikki:
Uh-huh. We chose not to do the allowance. We wanted it to be earned money. Yeah.
John:
Because allowance is a lot like welfare.
Vikki:
Yeah. Kinda.
John:
Yeah. You're
John:
getting paid for nothing. Yeah.
Vikki:
Right. Exactly. And that's not
John:
what we wanted to instill in you guys. We wanted you guys to, like you said, put some value to it.
Vikki:
And that's a cool perspective. I had never thought about that it gives value to the chore that's being done as well. Like, I hadn't even thought about that. That's super cool.
John:
Yeah. Yeah. Otherwise, it feels like you're just doing something. You're just, you know, doing work for nothing, which is no fun. So Yeah.
John:
Exactly. Give us something to look forward to.
Vikki:
Something to do.
John:
So that old punch card machine, the punch machine, whatever you call that thing, that's Time Clock
John:
Time Clock,
Vikki:
I think.
John:
Time Clock. Clock. Yeah.
John:
Yeah. Okay.
John:
That came from one of our, old one of our first businesses that we started that we talked about in another podcast. Yeah. Interesting.
Vikki:
For some
John:
of our employees, we're hourly employees. So they had little cards, and they actually had to punch in and punch out and whatnot.
John:
What's funny is that was in the eighties, and that time clock,
Vikki:
it must be from the sixties. Like, they
John:
did change.
Vikki:
They all look the 6. Yeah.
John:
It looks looks like it would be from the 6th.
Vikki:
Imagine if you go
John:
and look online and look for, like, little little little time clocks Mhmm. They're probably the same damn thing. You know? Nothing has changed on them whatsoever.
Vikki:
If they even have
John:
well yeah. Interesting. Yeah.
Vikki:
Yeah. Alright. Well, that's a cool and and we just everybody listening, we had not rehearsed any of this. We didn't we yeah. We had no idea what John's answers would be.
Vikki:
This is really fun. That's why I had a big smile on my face the whole time when he was answering. It's so cool. Yeah. Alright.
Vikki:
So, John, how has watching us build our business influenced your mindset about work and life?
John:
It's kind of a deep question. Yeah. There's a lot to it that's that I probably don't that you probably don't notice, like, you know, yourself because it's so, like, ingrained. But, it's interesting because I never planned on initially, I mean, I'm sure you guys remember. I didn't plan on being an entrepreneur at any point.
John:
I was planning on being a police officer. Yes. And so I think although I do think that sort of the entrepreneur, like, work life balance ended up being really nice, because I knew so growing up, yeah, I'd always been on being a police officer. I was like, okay. I know what I'm doing.
John:
But then I got into college and I started power lift power lifting with my roommates, and then that led me into weightlifting eventually. We can talk about that a little bit more later. But, once I got into weightlifting, I I knew I wanted to be competitive at it that I knew I wouldn't be able to really do both because just seeing dad working, when he was a police officer, I knew that, like, if, you know, if I wanted to really do what I wanted to do with it, which was, like, actually catch, you know, criminal like, real criminals, not just, like, you know, somebody who's jaywalking or somebody, but, actual criminals that it would be night shift. And so and then dad worked, 12 hour shifts at least. So you're looking at at least 12 hour night shifts.
John:
A lot of times more than that because of, like, late arrests and stuff, I remember he'd come home really late in the morning a lot of times. And so I knew I couldn't really do both, like compete in weightlifting at a high level because, throughout weightlifting, I've kinda had, like, some ups and downs as far as time investment, but, the most so for, like, about a year straight, the most time I've been putting in was at least 8 hours, Monday through Monday through Thursday, and then usually, a day off on Friday. Or if we had a big competition coming up, we would come in for a couple hours on Friday also, and then it would be another 3 hours on Saturday. So it was like a full time job, for the most part. And because that would be we'd come in for a morning training session.
John:
We would train for about 3 hours. We didn't really have time between the morning session and the afternoon session to go home and come back. So we'd stay at the gym, try to, like, eat and rest and recover there for another, like, hour or 2, and then come back for another 2 or 2 to 3 hour training session. So, I knew I couldn't really do that and do, police work. And so I ended up sort of looking for something different, which led me to what I do now, which is voice over work.
John:
But I think seeing sort of, like, one, you know, one side, which was, like, when dad was was a police officer and then later and seeing sort of, like, the the entrepreneur side, which is sort of a more balanced work life schedule, that I wanted the more balanced work life schedule. And so I ended up not, you know, making the decision not to go into police work and to to pursue weightlifting and then to start looking for something, you know, some work elsewhere. And so, that's at least part of how I got into, into both into weightlifting and and, like, audiobooks and voice over in general.
Vikki:
Yeah. You're finding different ways to make money, different, right, that would fit the weightlifting schedule. Yeah. Usually Your
John:
passion was was the weightlifting. Yeah. It isn't working.
John:
Right? Yeah. Yeah.
John:
So you made it all work out?
John:
Yeah. I love that. Little yeah. There's very little money in, in weightlifting in the US. Yeah.
John:
And so even though it's an Olympic sport and, you know, and you can you sort of need to put in, like, full time ish hours on it. The stipend system there there is a stipend system in the US, but it's not, you know, it's not great. It's it's not a professional sport. It's not like, you know, football or basketball or something where there's 1,000,000 of dollars going into it and, the athletes are seeing a lot of money. Or they step the top and the athletes are seeing a lot of money.
John:
Yeah.
Vikki:
Which is a shame. It really is. Because there
John:
nice if there was but I but I also understand that the the weightlifting doesn't draw huge crowds in the US. There are other countries where it's very popular. Right. But in the US, it's it's it's a pretty small sport in, you know, in relation to the the major ones like football and, like I said, like football and basketball, baseball, hockey.
John:
Right.
John:
Yeah.
Vikki:
Right. Totally get it. Totally get it. And by the way, we all those medals are yours from all over the world. Oh, yeah.
Vikki:
Yeah. And
John:
that's back right there.
John:
I have the rest of them in a I have the rest of them outbound somewhere, actually. But that is one of my singlets.
Vikki:
Yeah. That's awesome.
John:
You get for making, international teams. They give you a they give you a single to compete in, and it's got, like, you know, it's got USA on the front, has your name on the back. So cool. So cool.
Vikki:
Yeah. Yeah. Love it. Love hearing all that.
John:
Next one. Good next question here is, what are the most valuable lessons you've learned from us about balancing family, personal goals, and business?
John:
I think that does kind of tie into a at least a little bit the last question. But Mhmm. Yeah. I remember that you guys were, at pretty much all of our major, like, major events. But, like, in particular, I mostly remember sporting events and still are, because you guys were just with us with me in, in Doha Yeah.
John:
In Qatar, which is you know, not many people can say that their parents flew, you know, all the way around to basically the other side of the globe to watch them compete for a couple hours.
Vikki:
We would never miss.
John:
And then go to Dubai after. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was really cool, and it has been really cool.
John:
It's been very important, I think, for me since I both growing up. Mhmm. And so yeah. So I remember that not only were you guys at all sporting events, you guys were involved in all the sporting events for the most part also. Like, dad coached, me in football growing up, and then you guys were both in for for high school, involved in, like, the all of the Booster clubs.
John:
Booster club. And, yeah, it was a booster club, and there was something else. But, anyways, and then mom was always picking us up from school, like, ever since we were very little. I'm sure you were relieved when, I mean, Denise and I could finally drive.
Vikki:
I was too.
John:
Because you'd be Yeah. Oh, yeah. What's that?
Vikki:
I was just gonna say I was, but my favorite time of you guys growing up would have to be that car ride home from school every day.
John:
Yeah. Well, I tell other moms.
Vikki:
Yeah. I tell other moms, if there's a way you can swing it and pick your kids up from school, that's when you guys told me everything about your day. And then poor dad
John:
That's so funny. Yeah.
Vikki:
You'd get home. And then I'm like, tell dad dad would get home from work eventually after all the later rest. Tell dad about your day. We're good, you know, because you are.
John:
Well, the jury told you so. We're tired.
Vikki:
So yeah. Sorry. But, yeah, I had to throw that in that. I'm so glad you remember that because it was so special to me.
John:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, because, like, when we'd come out, you'd always be there for the most part, waiting either in the pickup line you know, little turnaround pickup line or on, like, a side street or something depending on what school we're at and what their pickup lines were like. Mhmm. But so I remember, like, a lot of my friends would either take the bus home or they'd be waiting for a while, for their parents to get there if their parents were coming to pick them up.
John:
But, yeah, but you guys you you know, you were always, like, waiting for us before we even got on the bus, which was always really nice.
Vikki:
Yeah.
John:
But so that was always great. I also remember a time when you had to leave to go to a business conference for one of my birthdays. And at the time, I was really upset. I'd you know, I was I don't know. Do you know how old I was?
Vikki:
I do. You were 12 because it was party ride. 12. Okay. 2003.
Vikki:
Yeah. I just started, and it was your birthday that weekend. Yeah. So we celebrated, but that you were not happy about that. Still.
Vikki:
We celebrated a week early, and you're like, but that doesn't matter. Because we always did
John:
doesn't count.
Vikki:
We always did special birthdays together. So but yeah.
John:
Well, yeah. Like, I think, though, that it was I think it was, like, a good in in the end, it was a good lesson. And, also, it really goes to show, how much you were like, it was so rare. What I what I mean is, like, it was sort of, like, the exception to the rule kind of thing. You know, the the exception to rule to the rule that proves the rule kind of kind of a deal where it was like, you guys were there for all the birthdays and all of the the major events except for, like, this one where mom wasn't there, and it was like, oh, like, because, like, it was so rare that, like, it stands out.
John:
And it's it's I don't really remember it because you weren't there. I remember it more because it was, like, the one time. So it was just, like, so nice that, like you know, because a lot of parents do have, you know, both parents working 9 to 5 jobs and both parents you know, if if your child's birthday falls on a weekday, which is likely that year, then you're just kinda like, well, like, we'll celebrate this weekend, and that's just the norm. Whereas for us, that was completely the exception. It was very abnormal for us for that Yeah.
John:
To happen.
John:
Yeah. Like, the exception
John:
was for a lot of those, ladies. See, like, when they can, they celebrate them on the October. If it's completely unavoidable.
Vikki:
Yeah. Exactly. And I'm so grateful for that. Yeah.
John:
Go ahead. Sorry. I was just gonna say that if it's something that's completely unavoidable that you really feel is going to benefit, you know, your family and your business in the long run, that, you know, occasionally, you'll have to do do things like that, like, you know, small sacrifices and things. And so I think it's like a good lesson for kids to learn too Yeah. That, you know, that, like, once in a while.
John:
Like, it's super rare, and I could see that you've done you know, that there was no way you could avoid it too. And it wasn't that you didn't wanna be there. Right. And so I think it's, like, a good you know, it's also a good lesson.
Vikki:
So Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And mo like you said, most of the time, I was there. Yeah.
Vikki:
And, you know, it's all because I had a side business, basically. That's what we call it now. Right?
John:
Yeah. Side gig or whatever you wanna
Vikki:
there's all kinds of new names for for it, but, that brought money in. So I felt that I was still bringing value to the family and helping with the family budget, because I still have the little side thing, the candles, but I could be there most
John:
of the time. Yeah. That's cool. Mhmm.
Vikki:
Cool. Cool. So my question now
John:
or was
Vikki:
that Yep. Okay.
John:
Yeah.
Vikki:
What was that here?
John:
This one?
Vikki:
No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.
Vikki:
As an Olympic weightlifter, we're getting back to the Olympic weightlifting, which we all love, how do you handle setbacks and challenges in your sport, and how does that compare to the challenges of business?
John:
I think I think you handle them in a similar way, a very similar way. But I think it's a little bit easier in weightlifting to to sort of, like, identify why a setback occurred or why a challenge is there. So, like, for us in weightlifting, you know, you you'll go to a competition, and we only have a certain number of competitions every year. But so you go to a competition and it'll either so, like, let's say, if you're having a setback, it'll maybe it'll it goes poorly. And you can sort of you can you can identify why it went poorly a lot of times.
John:
You know, were we sort of, like, out of shape for this competition, or is there a weakness in technique that really limited how much we could lift on the platform? And so I think those things are a lot easier to identify in sports in general. I think in business, it's probably a lot more difficult, to identify exactly where your shortcomings are. But once you do, I think you sort of you know, you go out go you go about taking care of those things the same way. So you kind of like once you figure out what your weaknesses are, if you wanna be successful, you have to really, like, attack your weaknesses and, and turn a lot of times, we do, like, focus on weightlifting on turning, like, weaknesses into your strengths.
John:
So, if you're really bad at, you know, if you're not very strong, like, if you have sort of, like, relatively weak legs but your technique is good, then, obviously, you wouldn't wanna just ignore the the lack of, like, leg strength and just focus on technique more because that's not your limiting factor to begin with. So we would go, okay. I'm gonna do a lot of squats and a lot of heavy pulls and things like that in addition to still working on technique and, you know, there's always more room to for improvement. But, you would attack that weakness and you'd be like, okay. I'm gonna, like I'm never gonna be, you know, limited by leg strength again.
John:
So I'm just gonna do a lot of squats. I'm gonna get way stronger, and I'm gonna come back in the next round position. And now I'll have, you know, not just really good technique, but also really strong legs. And so I think, it's similar in in, like, in business or in anything really, but yeah. Where you have to figure out, okay.
John:
Well, am I really bad at, following up with people? Okay. I I need to do something that's gonna help me follow-up with people consistently going forward and make that something that I'm really good at. So maybe that's you know, you get really organized or you put things on your calendar or you develop some sort of system where, you know, after you've talked to somebody, and you haven't heard from them for at least, like, 2 days or 3 days or something, then, then follow-up with them every time 3 days later or 2 days later or whatever your system is. Yeah.
John:
But I think that's it's very similar.
Vikki:
Yeah. Love that. Yeah.
John:
That's an important point you bring up because I think most people, whether it's sport or business, it doesn't really matter. It's the same concept, like you said. And I think people, we all have strengths and weaknesses. And I think people focus on their strengths because their weaknesses are, they're weak in certain areas because they tend to ignore those areas. And then they focus on the areas that they're strong and they continue to develop the areas that they have strength in, then it really doesn't help them at the end game.
John:
Right? You really want to, like you said, develop your weaknesses so that they're no longer a weakness. And if you're good at it, you're going to make that one of your strengths. And I know that's such an important concept that I think a lot of people don't really grasp because they're so focused on what they do well because they wanna focus on that because it makes them feel good. But you really do need to focus on where you're weak and really take a good good, honest assessment of where you are, whether it's business or in a sport, where you're at and where those weaknesses are and really work on on on strengthening that and developing that.
John:
That's a really important point that I think I think most people don't even think about.
Vikki:
Yeah. Love that. I love that you identify the weakness. Yeah.
John:
Yeah. I remember coaching when when you were really little coaching one of the teams, and that was a that was a big deal. Right? I remember some of the coaches were just really so focused on some of the the star players. And let's let's keep working with those guys.
John:
And and my thing was, hey. Let's identify the players that really need help that are kind of like I don't wanna say they're were an anchor to the team, but they were really kinda holding the team back because when they were in, they were the weakest part of our team and the other team was exploiting that. And let's work on those. Let's really focus on those guys. The guys who can play these positions and do really well and they're they're good at it, they're good.
John:
We need to work on the guys that are that need some help and help build them up so we don't have such some of these big, huge weaknesses on our team. And I think that would Yeah. That was kind of
Vikki:
a Definitely.
John:
Yeah. I don't think everyone understood that. Yeah. Alright. So, next question is, what role has discipline discipline played in your athletic career, and how do you think it translates to entrepreneurship?
John:
Discipline's a really good one. I remember, there was there was a specific, like, definition, I think it was, in our weight room in high school for football. That was just it was really simple, but it was like discipline is what you do when no one is watching. That's always, like you know, it's it's very, yeah, it's very simple and really straightforward and totally makes sense, but it's, like, really stuck with me. And so, like, obviously, that has, like, implications in sports.
John:
You know? Like, it's really easy in weightlifting to, you know, to, like, oh, I'm tired from, you know, this long training session. I'm really beat up, and it's been or even, like, a long training block. And so, like, a block would be, a block of time, like, on the calendar. So, like, 12 weeks or something is, is, like, a typical full training cycle, and so that would block that would be broken up into, like, usually, like, 4 ish blocks 4 week blocks.
John:
Sorry. But so, like, some blocks in training are really, really difficult, and some of them are just sort of difficult. They're always difficult, but they're always but, you know, but some are more difficult than others. And so it's really easy to, you know and so it'd be like, oh, like, I'm really tired today, and, like, this block's been really hard. You know, fatigue's really high.
John:
I don't wanna do, like, all of my accessory work because we do so we all like, our our main lifts are on Marvell because our competition lifts are are both on Marvell. But we do a lot of accessory lifts, what we call accessory lifts, which are things like, band work or it's like resistance bands, things with machines, like cable machines, so, like, lat pull downs and things like that, light extensions, those kinds of, like, not barbell related things. And it's really easy to view them as, like, oh, like, like, almost like bonus work. Like, it doesn't really matter. It's just, like, extra.
John:
So it's easy to go, oh, like, you know, I've done all my, you know, my main lifts out on the floor. I have some accessory work, every day, and it's easy to go well. I don't really like, I don't really I this one in particular, I really don't like doing. So it's easy to, like, skip 1 or 2 of those. The problem is, that, like, over time skipping 1 or 2 and you start kind kind of you don't really notice it right away, but, you know, you skip 1 or 2 and over time, you're just kind of slowly tracking down.
John:
And then there's no, like, one point where you can go, like, that's where things went wrong. Right. If, you know, you have a bad result at the meet, it's because, like, it was slowly trending down, but you just didn't it was so slow you didn't notice it because you're just cutting out 1 or 2 exercises or 1 or 2 things. Right. So I think it's really, really easy in in weightlifting and in sports in general to do that.
John:
I think it's also really easy when you're working from home to do that, because it's super easy to get distracted. So, like, I I don't know if we mentioned, but so behind me, the the black part is my recording booth. So I'll sit in there a lot when, you know, when I'm when I'm recording, and then I'll sit in there when I'm not recording also to do my editing. So I I edit my own voice over and everything. And so I'll sit in there and I'll edit.
John:
And it's really easy to and editing is very I think, it's really boring. Uh-huh. It takes a lot longer than recording. The the recording is fun because it's, like, a performance, and so you can, you can tweak different things here and there. Like, oh, what if I put an inflection here, or what if I move that over here, and, you know, and emphasize this part of the sentence.
John:
And so, like, that can be fun. The editing, not so much. Yeah. But, but it's really easy to get distracted with, like and so, you know, for other people and for Alison and mine also, we're having a baby in January. Yay.
John:
And so once, yeah. Thanks.
Vikki:
I'm wearing my grandma bracelet.
John:
Oh, good. Yeah. That's cute. Yeah. Yeah.
John:
Once we have the baby, though, you know, like, it's gonna be really easy to get distracted. Oh, like, the baby's crying when you Mhmm. To do something. You know? And when I'm trying to sit down to to edit or something, you know, it'll be very easy to get distracted.
John:
It's already easy enough to get distracted. And so without, like, discipline sort of holding you to the task Mhmm. To get your work done for the day, then, you know, like, you you might get some of it done, and then you might not get much done the next day, and then maybe see you get more done the day after. But, like, if you don't have a consistent, like, plan for yourself, then it's just it's just very up and down. Yeah.
John:
And so it's really, really easy to let it slip, I think, without being very, like, disciplined with with your time.
Vikki:
Yeah. That is so good. And you know what it reminded me of when you were talking? And I know
John:
I know you've read the book, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.
Vikki:
Totally reminded me when you let just little things go. It's not gonna make the a difference tomorrow. Right? But exactly what you're saying, you can't and you may maybe can't put your finger on it. That's brilliant.
Vikki:
Yeah. For sure.
John:
You know, that's a good point you're bringing up too about, a discipline that is so easy to be distracted. That's one of the things that we've learned in running a business from home is you have all these distractions. If you were working out of an office, out of a little cubicle, then why do you think they put a lot of their employees in a little tiny cubicle to keep the distractions away. Right? Right.
John:
Keep them focused on work. Of course, Fantasy Football kinda kinda screwed that whole thing up. But for us too, working from home, we have to we have to be really disciplined on saying, okay, for this block of time during the day, we're just working on business. We're not gonna let these other distractions get in the way because if we were in an office, we wouldn't have the distractions nor could we allow that to, like, break up our day so much. Yeah.
John:
And it's tar it's tough. It's really tough.
Vikki:
Definitely calendar control on a daily basis. Yeah. Definitely. Time blocks. Yeah.
Vikki:
Awesome. That was really great. Now,
John:
how
Vikki:
about how do you stay motivated when you're working towards long term goals? This is really good for weight lifting because I know you've had you have a lot of long term goals throughout your career
John:
Yeah.
Vikki:
Both in sports and life. Yeah.
John:
Yeah. Motivation is interesting. I don't really so I don't really like the word motivation very much, because I think, yeah, I think it's really it comes and goes, and it's really, you know, it's it's like it's it's always, you know, it's like an emotion. It's it's there sometimes, and then it's not there other times. And if you're really relying on motivation to to, you know, to get all the things done that you need to get done, then you're going to be very consistent.
John:
And so I think I like, you know, I like my dedication better. And yeah. So, like, I think if you think of yourself as sort of having, like, a baseline level of, you know, this is what I'm doing, your productivity, so I'm always doing this no matter what. Even on days where I don't feel motivated, it doesn't it doesn't really matter because I'm doing this. You know, I'm here at least.
John:
And, you know, you're doing whatever you can do, you know, whatever, you know, you feel like your baseline like, a good baseline for you is. And then sometimes motivation is there. Maybe you feel like you, like you had a breakthrough on something. So for weightlifting, like, we'll have we'll work on things in our technique. It's a really technical sport.
John:
And so, like, little tiny, like, minute changes in technique really affect how much weight you can lift. And so I think, like, when you have those little things that sort of, like, finally click into place, then it's it you you get some like, a big burst of motivation. You're like, oh, I'm really I feel like I finally figured something out. And so then you're really motivated, and so that's great. And you should run with it kind of a thing when it's there, you know.
John:
So, like, your baseline is here and then randomly, you know maybe not randomly, but, you know, your baseline's here, then you have some motivation because you've had some sort of some sort of epiphany, in whatever it is that you're doing, and you should run with that as far as you can. But eventually, it's always going to go back down. You know, you can't be you can't sprint forever. And so, you know, you run with it as far as you can with your motivation. And then when your motivation runs out, that's okay.
John:
Like, you don't have to be, it doesn't mean that something's wrong. It just means that you're going back to normal. Right. And so I don't, yeah, I don't know if I really think about, like, trying to stay motivated with goals. Mhmm.
John:
Because I think I've got my once I, like, pick my goals, I just, like, you know, I'm like, this is what I'm gonna do. And so I I just I just sort of, like, have those locked in place, and those are my goals. I don't really have to, like, motivate myself to try to reach them. I just know that I have to keep doing, you know, doing the work and doing as much as I can. And then, yeah, and when I do feel motivated, then it's just a boost.
John:
It's like an extra like, a bonus kind of a thing. And then I focus on my smaller, like because the the big goals are are, like, big long term goals. And then I focus on sort of, like, the smaller goals, you know, on that on the way to that. And those smaller goals might change a little bit here and there depending on, you know, depending on how things have gone. So, like, for right now, for me, I'm waiting on, a wrist surgery.
John:
And so I don't know if you can see it. I've got a big
Vikki:
Oh, yeah. It's
John:
called a carpal boss. Yeah. So I went in, and we had X rays done. It's basically a bones bone build like, a like, basically a calcification. Like, bone is building up on either side of that part of my joint.
John:
It's actually 2 different sides where my, where my, you know, my my my finger meets the, like, the bone like, the more, like, circular bone that's in your palm. And, anyway, so, I'm waiting to have surgery on that next month. And so my goals have sort of changed, in the short term, at least. The long term goal stays the same, but the short term goals have stayed the same or have a sorry. The long term goal has stayed the same.
John:
The short term goals have changed a little bit. So I haven't really competed this year, and that's really unusual. I usually compete Yeah. Several times a year. And so my goal now is more to just, to work on, technique and to, to like, I wanna get back to squatting.
John:
And so, like, you know, like, one of our sort of assistance lifts is the the back squat. And so, I wanna get back to squatting, you know, what I used like, my my I wanna get back to where I was in the past, which was a little bit higher than I'm at now. So I wanna at least match my old personal record. And then if I could if I can top it, that would be great. And so that's sort of my short term goal right now, but the long term goal stays the same.
John:
And so, like, sometimes those change a little bit.
Vikki:
So That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. And your name, squats, since you mentioned squats. Yeah.
Vikki:
If anyone wants to, yeah, wants to follow John on Instagram, it's john_ squats. Right?
John:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so people at the old gym used to call me jokingly as, like, a nickname. So, like, like, it was my as if it was my last name, like, John Squats.
John:
Yeah. That's
John:
And I like what you said about motivation. And I agree a 100%. That motivation isn't is from within. It's not an external force that that anyone can people can't motivate you. You can motivate yourself.
John:
I mean, if you're looking at external motivation, you're actually looking at talking about somebody influencing you and you can be influenced externally. But that motivation really does need to come from within. And it's funny because it reminded me of, and I've said this before, I know you guys have heard me say this. It It reminds me back, I think it was back in the seventies, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll had a wide receiver come into his office and say, hey, coach, I need you to motivate me because I know I've got better in me. I need you to motivate me.
John:
And coach Noel looked at him and said, if I have to motivate you, I'll fire you. So in other words, figure it out yourself. And I I think that's true. Right?
Vikki:
Yeah. You've always said that. Yeah. For our team, our current team that we work with, anyone we coach Yeah.
John:
We try to.
Vikki:
Philosophy. He doesn't say that, but that's kinda
John:
try and influence them to be the best they can be. But, truly, when it comes right down to to the right down to it, they have to be motivated themselves. Right.
Vikki:
Because to me, it's kinda like an anomaly of balance to people. I want balance in my life. You're never gonna have balance, at least that's my opinion. You'll do your best, but you're never gonna have total aum balance. Yeah.
John:
You stay.
Vikki:
Yeah.
John:
Okay. So don't think you'll ever have balance if you're pushing yourself for anything. Yeah. Like, sometimes, you know, it it gives, you know, either way a little bit here and there.
Vikki:
But Right. There's ebb yeah. Ebb and flow.
John:
Okay. Next question is, what's one piece of advice you would give to young people trying to balance their passions with financial stability?
Vikki:
That's a
John:
good one. That's a good one. I think I would say the not to be afraid to try new things, to try things that aren't that are sort of off the beaten path because that's definitely what I feel like I've done. I don't think, I mean, some people do make it work having a normal, like, 9 to 5 job. There are a lot of weightlifters that do that.
John:
Most are not most of the really competitive weightlifters, have found something else, though. So most competitive weightlifters do, something weightlifting related, which I don't do, but most of them do they'll teach they'll coach seminars, or they'll coach at, like a local gym, things like that. That's like a trainer. As like a like a weightlifting specific trainer, those types of things. And so I think, yeah, being open to trying different things, it it really helps.
John:
Like, if if everyone's like, okay. Well, I have to go to high school, college, and then start my 9 to 5 job in whatever field I started off, you know, studying in college, I think it's really difficult to pursue your passions that way. It's not to say you can't do it. It's just I think it's just a little bit more difficult. And I think sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you are passionate about something that is also sort of your, you know, your primary source of income, which is great, But that's not always the case.
John:
Mhmm.
John:
Probably not most of the time is the case. So, yeah, I would say, to not be afraid to to be open to trying, you know, different things, different businesses, starting your own business, something like that. That's sort of not what we're taught in school. We're really taught to just, you know, like, get good grades, you know, go to school, get good grades, go to college, get good grades, you know, you know, and sort of then try to transfer that into just, you know, your average norm normal 9 to 5 job, and that's success. And you're like, I mean, what about
Vikki:
the things I like? Exactly.
John:
Good luck with that.
Vikki:
And most people Yeah. Don't seem to be happy. Honestly, most people that follow that, I feel like they have to have something else. Yeah. Anyway, yeah.
Vikki:
Something that they're passionate about. Yeah. Yeah. It's so true. Yeah.
Vikki:
They don't teach it in school, and they really should. Also, personal development isn't taught in schools.
John:
Mhmm.
Vikki:
And I think it should be.
John:
Yeah. That's another really good one.
John:
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Vikki:
Awesome. Alright. This might be our last question.
John:
Yep. We got 3 more.
Vikki:
You're not
John:
you're not off the hot seat yet.
Vikki:
We didn't have to ask every single one of them. Yeah. I like them, though. This is this has been fun. Yeah.
Vikki:
I I do love it. Alright. We'll keep going. So how do you think the entrepreneurial mindset has helped you in your athletic journey? Little twist on some of the other questions.
John:
Yeah. I think they're very, very similar. The so an entrepreneur entrepreneurial mindset and, like, an athletic mindset are really, really similar. Because even though so for for sports, like, your coach is there, a lot of the time, but they're not actually there to make you do anything in particular. Obviously, like, it it differs from coach to coach how, like, really, like, hands on and micromanaging they are.
John:
But most coaches are there to help you get better at what you're doing, not to make you do it in the 1st place. And so I think it's very similar with, with entrepreneurship and owning your own business. There's not somebody that's there making you do the thing. You might have somebody that's there. Maybe you maybe you, hire a coach that's, you know, gonna help you get better at something that you're doing, but they're not going to be, you know, checking in on you.
John:
Hey. Did you do your, you know, did you do your follow ups today, or did you, for me, it's like, did you record some positions today, or did you, get this many chapters done, or anything like that? There's if you do hire a coach, they would be working with you to try to help you get better at doing that particular skill. And so, it's, yeah, it's very similar to weightlifting. You don't or just to sports in general, you don't have someone there, like, making sure you do everything.
John:
You have to you have to do that yourself. That's on you. Yeah. Yeah. So I think they're really, really similar.
Vikki:
Yeah. Because it does seem like it goes hand in hand. Yeah.
John:
Alright. Next one is, what's one challenge you face that made you think of something we taught you, and how did it help and how did it help you overcome it? This better be a good one.
Vikki:
Oh, this is interesting.
John:
Oh, man. That's a tough one.
John:
Dad taught you.
John:
It's so hard. That's, because it's it's like I feel like the majority of the things that I know are things that you guys taught me. And so it's hard to, like, identify something specific because it's like, you know, like, my response to any challenge, I'm sure at this point, is influenced largely by things that you guys have taught us. Yeah. So it's really hard to identify some like, one thing in particular.
John:
Yeah.
Vikki:
We were great parents.
John:
Yeah. Uh-huh. I would say I would say maybe the importance of, like, sticking things out, of, like, of finishing things that you start. Mhmm. Because I know at one point in high school, I was so over football, and it was you know, it felt like a job that was being paid for, and I wanted to quit.
John:
And you guys really pushed me not to, and I think it was really, really good, for me as a person in the long run to, you know, to finish things out. And that was when I was, like, a sophomore or something. And then, obviously, I wound up, going on and, you know, continuing throughout high school and was, one of the captains my senior year. And, you know, I'm I'm obviously very glad that I did stick it out. And so I think I think, similarly, weightlifting has has had a lot of points where, it would have been very easy to, you know, just call it quits.
John:
I think early on, especially, I had really high expectations for myself. I wanted to do a lot of like, I had a lot of big goals and I wanted to do them all right now. And, you know, I was pretty I think I was 23 still at the time when I first started weightlifting, and I was coming from powerlifting, so I knew I had a lot of the strength that, sort of carried over. And so I was like, well, I don't understand why I'm not you know, I came into my 1st nationals. So I qualified for nationals at my 1st meet and then went and competed at my 1st nationals.
John:
And I was like I remember specifically having a conversation with my coach at the time and telling him, like, you know, like, I wanna win. I don't care what you have to put on the bar for me to win. Just put it on the bar, kind of a thing. And, like, it's a good mindset to have, but I also, I think should've, maybe, like, tempered my expectations of myself a little bit. So it's a good it's good to be to have, like, ambition in, like, big goals and, really wanna go after things.
John:
But, like, I think I was expecting myself to win more than really, like, aiming to win. It was like, you know, if I if I won, it would have just been like, yeah, I expected that to happen. And if I didn't win or when I didn't win, it was like, oh, man, I really let myself down. Like, my expectations I didn't meet my expectations for myself. And so I think it would have been really easy.
John:
So I think let's see. I came into nationals, and I finished 11th at my 1st nationals. And then the following year, I think I finished I don't remember what place I finished.
Vikki:
I thought you were 6.
John:
It might have been
Vikki:
I I don't know.
John:
Maybe. I don't remember. I do remember that so I that was in my first nationals was 2015, and I won nationals in 2018. And in the intervening couple of years, I remember I was, like, on the podium, but not ever winning. And so I think after, like, a few years of coming in, like, second and third, I was, I was really frustrated because of those expectations I had set for myself.
John:
And really, you know, I think it would have been very easy to call it quits then, because I was, at the time, thinking like, man, I could have just stuck with power lifting. I would be competing, you know, I would be competing sort of, like, possibly at an international level by then anyways. And I was a little bit, like, you know, thought about waffling back and forth and, like, thought about maybe going back to powerlifting. It would have been really easy to quit and go back. But, you know, but I stuck it out, and and, obviously, I'm still weightlifting.
John:
But, but yeah. So I stuck it out. And then in 2018, I won nationals, and was the last 85 kilo national champion because, the weight loss has changed that following year or that year.
Vikki:
Yeah. So for you'll be say it again.
John:
What what you'll be the Yeah. The last 85 kilo, national champion for for the United States.
Vikki:
That is amazing.
John:
Because 85 kilos is our is our body weight. So we have with the things that body weight, is like a a sport that's categorized by body weights. And so, yeah. So mine was at the time, mine was 85, and now I'm at 89. But Yeah.
John:
Yeah. So if I had, you know, if I had sort of, like, called it quits early on when I wasn't you know, I was having some success, like, but it wasn't the success I wanted, and it would have been very easy. I remember I remember specifically being very frustrated at, like, coming in second again or coming in 3rd or coming in second. And it was just like after, you know, several years of that, you know, feeling like I had kinda, like, stalled out at the time. And then, you know, because I stuck it out, though, I, you know, I ended up winning in 2018.
Vikki:
And then Team USA.
John:
After that Yeah. Yeah. I was gonna say and then after that is, in 2019 is when my first, I was an alternate for the world's team in 2019, and then I competed at actually, it was in 20 it was actually later that year in 2018. I was an alternate for my first world's team in 2018, then I competed in 2019 at the Pan American championships. Mhmm.
John:
And then I was supposed to compete in 2020 for the Pan American championships, but that got postponed a year. So we actually ended up competing in 2021, which was weird because we had 2, Pan American championships that year. There was the 2020 Pan American championships taking place in 2021 and then the 2021 Pan American championship. But So
Vikki:
was that in the Dominican? Was that when we went to the yeah. That was fun. Yeah. I was in Dominican.
Vikki:
Yeah. Yeah.
John:
But yeah. So if I hadn't, like, you know, if I hadn't stuck things out, then I wouldn't have gotten to compete internationally, and I wouldn't have won nationals. And
Vikki:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah.
Vikki:
That's so good.
John:
When they hung the medal on your neck at the, 2018 nationals, what what did he say to you?
John:
Oh. Do you remember that? Because you
John:
told me that he said that they they can never take this away from you. Yeah.
John:
He said you're a national champion now, and and they can never take that away.
John:
Yeah. That's cool.
John:
Yeah. It was pretty cool. Like, no one could ever, yeah, like, no one could ever take that from you. I think that's what he said. Yeah.
John:
That's pretty cool. Love that.
Vikki:
And I
John:
love how you talked about, not quitting. Because you know that is a slippery slope. Right? You start quitting Mhmm. Especially when you're younger.
John:
You start quitting, and then it's it's so easy to quit. The easy path is just if you run into some adversity is just to quit. And that's by sticking it out, you see that it actually paid off for you. And I remember when you were done with football and I remember your mom and I talked about it and we said, ultimately, it's your decision. Yeah.
John:
And if and we I think we told you that. If if you really wanna quit, you can quit, but you'll never get that taste out of your mouth, you know, the the the kinda regret of quitting because you'll look back and think, gosh. I wish I hadn't quit. I wish I just stayed with it, and and just just stuck it through.
John:
So Yeah.
Vikki:
We were
John:
so happy that you didn't quit.
Vikki:
Yeah. That was great. And I
John:
know you had frustrations with other things. It wasn't it wasn't your performance on the football side of it. And I agree with you. I was so frustrated with that whole the whole wide the whole program. Yeah.
John:
But, I didn't want you to quit.
John:
Yeah. Because
John:
it was just taking the easy way out.
Vikki:
Yeah. Mhmm.
John:
Okay. Last question.
Vikki:
The final question.
John:
Oh, okay.
Vikki:
Okay. If you could describe the most important trait an entrepreneur should have, and what would it be, and why? Oh, that is a meaty one.
John:
Yeah. Okay. We talked about dedication a little bit earlier and kinda like that better than motivation. So I would say belief, I think, which I know is one of your favorite words. Yes.
John:
Yeah. I would say belief because, you know, if you don't, like, believe in yourself or believe in what you're doing, then you're not going to get anywhere. And that dedication sort of, like, goes hand in hand with belief anyways, because I was, you know, thinking maybe dedication, but, you know, I think dedication is like a it's a given if you have belief. Sort of you're you're, like, dedicating yourself to that belief in order to have the belief in the first place. Yeah.
John:
So I think I would say belief. Yeah. Because, like, especially for us for for, like, weightlifters, you it takes a long time to see the positive changes in anything that you do. And so if you don't believe that, you know, that you can you can do these things and or that, you know, or that the program that you're a part of is going to get you where you wanna go, it's very, very easy to become discouraged and, you know, to, like, hop from program to program or to, you know, go from sport to sport. And you have to really, like you have to believe it for a long time where you've you're not seeing any results that are that are really backing up that belief until eventually you do.
John:
But if you don't have that belief, then you never really reach that point. And so that also sort of goes into the the not quitting thing. But
Vikki:
yeah. Totally. It's all connected. Yeah. For sure.
John:
Hey. So I got a well, actually, I do have one last question for you. Yeah. Okay. And that's basically, how did you get started in Olympic weightlifting?
John:
Because a lot of people think they don't even know what Olympic weightlifting is. They think it's a lot like powerlifting. Yeah. And when I tell when I tell people, yeah, my son's a weightlifter. They're like, oh, yeah.
John:
I go to the gym all the time too. I'm like, that's not it. How did you get started in that?
John:
That's funny. That's that's that's what we hear a lot from a lot of people. Either they think you're just like so that's like that's weight training when you go to the gym and you just, you know, you lift some free weights here and there or you do some machines. Yeah. That's what's like, it's technically weight training.
John:
Weightlifting all and it's all one word is, is the name of our sport. That is that's the total name. We we add in the Olympic part to sort of help with that misconception, because it is the sport of weightlifting, which is in the Olympics. And so to distinguish even more weightlifting from powerlifting and bodybuilding and weight training, we call it Olympic weightlifting a lot of times. But so I started off well, so I grew up playing football.
John:
And so there was obviously a lot of weight training involved in football. But then when I went to college, I knew I wanted to do something different. And so, I tried out like, you know, I played a season of lacrosse at UCLA, and that was, you know, it was a lot of running and not a lot of fitting. So it was not my favorite thing. And then but at the same time, my one of my roommates got us all into power lifting.
John:
And so I would power lift, and then I would go out to the field and go to lacrosse practice. And I'd be tripping over my feet and, you know, and just by myself in the open field because my legs were so tired from squats. Oh. You know, and then I kind of reached a point where I was like, okay. I have to pick 1 or the other.
John:
I'm I'm exhausted. I can't do both. And so, I played out the season, of lacrosse and then said, okay. Thanks. Like, you know, it was fun.
John:
Like, I think I'm gonna go but I'm gonna go do powerlifting. And so I switched to powerlifting, focused on that. And that was really fun in college, with my friends, with my roommates. But once college ended and everyone sort of moved back home, then it was just me by myself powerlifting, and it was considerably less fun. I got a little bit bored.
John:
It is the same generally speaking, the same movements every day. And so, not that weightlifting isn't, but, there's a little bit more variety in weightlifting and a little bit more focus on, I would say, on the technical side. And so there's some some challenges that way that are a little bit different from powerlifting. And so I ended up switching from powerlifting to weightlifting, after a few years of powerlifting. And, yeah, and and really, like, fell in love with the sport.
John:
It's a love hate relationship, but, I think everything that's, challenging is sort of that way.
Vikki:
Marriage.
John:
And so, yeah. So I think yeah. It's been good. It's been almost 10 years now, I think.
Vikki:
Yeah. Yeah. It's tough.
John:
So my first competition, my first, actual weightlifting competition was in February of 2015. And so I started training for weightlifting. I think I started getting coaching at the end of 2014, maybe, like, October or something like that. So this would be 10 years since I started training, since I started getting coaching for weightlifting.
Vikki:
Wow. Yeah.
John:
Wow. Yeah.
Vikki:
That is so I'm glad you asked that. That some of the stuff I didn't even know. Like, I've learned more about you, John, on this inter on this podcast.
John:
Yeah. I guess we haven't really talked about it.
Vikki:
Yeah. We haven't. We haven't. This is
John:
Now every now now the whole myth's been debunked about weight training, weight lifting, time, power lifting. Right?
John:
Or bodybuilding will ask or, like, Allison, my wife, will tell people, you know, like like, like, oh, what what does your husband do? And, like, she'll mention, like, you know, the voice over stuff, but then she'll also talk about weight lifting. And they're like, oh, so so he goes up there in, like, a Speedo or, like, when does he get his spray tan on? And she's like, no. No.
John:
No. No. No. No. No.
John:
No. Not not bodybuilding. Not bodybuilding. Yeah.
Vikki:
Body and to the bodybuilders listening, nothing against you. But, yeah, that's not what John Ritter is for.
John:
Yeah. Yes. John Ritter did that for
John:
for a
Vikki:
little bit. Mhmm. Yeah. Well, this has been a total blast. We're so excited that you accepted the challenge of jumping on.
Vikki:
Yeah.
John:
And and and podcast. Fun. And to
John:
those that wanna follow John again in his weight lifting, he's john_ squats on Instagram.
Vikki:
Yep. And you know what to do. If you like what you heard, definitely like it. Give us a review, subscribe, and share with a friend if you think they would love to hear this episode. Maybe an athlete, maybe somebody that's looking to start a business that's younger, doesn't know.
Vikki:
Send them this episode. Alright. Bye for now.
John:
Thanks, John.
John:
Yeah. Thanks for having me. Thanks.
Vikki:
Thanks for joining us on Dig the Well.
John:
We hope you feel empowered and ready to take on new challenges.
Vikki:
Remember, if we can do it, so can you. Keep learning, keep believing, and going after your dreams.
John:
And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who needs a little inspiration or maybe a nudge in the right direction.
Vikki:
Help us grow this community of go getters. Together, we can achieve greatness and get back to family.
John:
Thanks for listening, and let's keep digging the way.