Frodeno Going Mental

In this episode, Jan sits down with performance expert, author and coach Brad Stulberg to explore what it really means to pursue excellence — in sport and in life. Brad shares the philosophy behind his work on performance and human flourishing, from coaching elite athletes to teaching self-coaching at the University of Michigan. Together, Jan and Brad dive into the psychology of high performance, discussing everything from the Norwegian approach to youth sports to the tension between obsession and balance when chasing greatness. They unpack ideas from Brad’s latest book on excellence, including the concept of the “identity house” — why the best performers need more than just one defining pursuit — and why excellence should be understood as a process, not just a result. Along the way, they tackle tough questions about identity after retirement, the cost of single-minded ambition, and whether becoming world-class requires a bit of madness. It’s an honest conversation about ambition, identity, and the delicate line between going all in and losing yourself along the way. Enjoy this episode! Ryzon offers high-performance, fairly produced endurance apparel for triathletes, cyclists, and runners. The brand is globally recognized for combining technical innovation with a clean, timeless design. Use the code “MENTAL10” to save 10% at Ryzon (valid until May 31, 2026). More: ⁠https://ryzon.net/en-int/discount/MENTAL10?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=goingmental.folge1 PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it really take to win Olympic gold and why can it still feel empty? In this episode of Frodeno Going Mental, Jan sits down with Olympic champion and two-time world champion Malaika Mihambo for a raw and deeply honest conversation about performance, pressure, identity and what success actually means when the lights go out. Malaika shares how growing up in Germany and experiencing racism at a young age shaped her mindset and pushed her toward sport — not as a way to beat others, but as a way to understand herself. She explains why she doesn’t see competition as something external, but as an “inner championship” during a constant process of mastering body, mind, and emotion. They dive into the defining moment at the Tokyo Olympics when Malaika fouled her first two jumps and had one final attempt left to make the final. Instead of spiraling, she sat down and meditated and produced the jump that ultimately led to Olympic gold. She opens up about why fear is a hindrance rather than fuel for her, how visualization is about feeling the morning after victory rather than the jump itself and why perfection is really just flexibility in disguise. Enjoy this episode! Ryzon offers high-performance, fairly produced endurance apparel for triathletes, cyclists, and runners. The brand is globally recognized for combining technical innovation with a clean, timeless design. Use the code “MENTAL10” to save 10% at Ryzon (valid until May 31, 2026). More: https://ryzon.net/en-int/discount/IRONMAN10?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=goingmental.folge2 PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lance Armstrong. Survivor. Champion. Fallen icon. Fighter. In this raw and honest conversation, Lance Armstrong sits down with Jan Frodeno to talk about survival, obsession, rivalry, addiction, therapy, fatherhood and what winning really meant to him. This is not a rehash of old headlines. This is about mindset. From being raised by a 17-year-old mother in Texas, to surviving cancer at 25, to dominating the Tour de France, to losing everything. Lance opens up about the mentality that drove him, broke him and ultimately forced him to rebuild. Enjoy this episode! https://www.frodenogoingmental.com Ryzon offers high-performance, fairly produced endurance apparel for triathletes, cyclists, and runners. The brand is globally recognized for combining technical innovation with a clean, timeless design. Use the code “MENTAL10” to save 10% at Ryzon (valid until May 31, 2026). More: https://ryzon.net/en-int/discount/MENTAL10?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=goingmental.folge1 PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrea Petkovic has lived elite sport from the inside – the hype, the pressure, the injuries, the doubts and the moments that look like success from the outside but feel very different on the inside. In this episode, Andrea and Jan talk openly about what happens when passion turns into expectation, why winning rarely changes what we think it will and how athletes build masks to survive on the biggest stages. Andrea breaks down the different phases of her tennis career, the emotional reality of retirement and why loving the game again sometimes comes right before it all ends. They also dive into identity beyond sport, injuries as psychological breaking points, confidence vs belief, and why having other passions can be both a gift and a risk for elite performers. A deep, honest conversation about ambition, emptiness, resilience and what “going mental” really means. https://www.frodenogoingmental.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Lorang has spent two decades at the highest level of sport - not as the one on the start line, but as the person holding the plan, the responsibility and often the pressure when everything is on the line. In this episode, Dan and Jan talk openly about what elite coaching actually demands: trust, honesty, emotional control and the weight of carrying someone else’s career. They dive into the coach–athlete relationship, why data only works when trust exists, and how a single training decision can impact confidence for weeks. Dan reflects on mistakes that shaped him, moments of deep self-doubt and why great coaches have to feel the pressure, but not let it consume them. They also explore ambition, repetition, why success needs to be earned again and again and how coaches stay grounded while constantly being evaluated through other people’s results. A rare look into the mental world of elite coaching — the calm on the outside, the responsibility underneath, and what “going mental” really means when you’re not the one racing. https://www.frodenogoingmental.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most athletes spend their whole career chasing one defining moment. Moritz Fürste had dozens: double Olympic gold, world player of the year, nearly 300 caps, and a decade inside one of the most dominant teams hockey has ever seen. But the real story isn’t just what he won. It’s what it cost him, what it taught him and how he rebuilt himself once the noise stopped. In this episode, Jan talks to a friend he’s shared Olympic flats in Beijing 2008, life transitions and plenty of brutally honest conversations with. Mo opens up about growing up on the edge of a hockey pitch, becoming a leader almost by accident and the personal and physical crash that forced him to rethink who he was- on the field and off it. They dive into:
– How Germany built a team where 12 guys thought they were the best in the world
– The ACL tear that changed his career and his personality
– Why he risked everything after sport and bet it all on HYROX
– Figuring out ambition as a dad and founder
– Why being a late bloomer might be a secret advantage Follow Frodeno Going Mental on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.frodenogoingmental.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From martial arts world champion to Hollywood stuntwoman, Marie Mouroum has built a career in the shadows of the spotlight - doubling A-list actors, crashing through walls, flying on wires and performing high-risk action where mistakes are not an option. In this episode live from Berlin, Marie sits down with Jan to talk about the mental side of extreme performance: trusting strangers with your life, staying calm when one take costs millions and accepting that your best work might never show your face or even in the final movie. They dive into what it’s really like working on massive productions like Black Panther, James Bond, and Star Wars - the pressure, the invisibility, the injuries and the discipline required to deliver when everyone else is panicking. Marie opens up about fear, control, journaling, meditation and why calmness is her real superpower. This is a conversation about risk, confidence, and performing under pressure, when going mental doesn’t mean losing control, but finding absolute focus. https://www.frodenogoingmental.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Billy Monger has been through a lot of things already: racing prodigy, double amputee, Formula 1 pundit, world-record-breaking Ironman and now a Paralympic hope for LA 2028. In this episode, Jan and Billy talk about what it really means to reinvent yourself when life doesn’t give you a choice. Billy opens up about going from shy kid to “inspiration” overnight after his accident, why he hated that word at first, and how he learned to live with other people’s expectations without letting them define him. They dive into: swapping milliseconds in a race car for 14 hours alone with your thoughts in Kona, breaking world records with zero Ironman experience and why Billy would rather fail going for gold than play it safe. Plus: how he protects his small circle, what his eight-year-old self would think of him now and why every six-week test session still makes him “go mental” in the best way. Follow Frodeno Going Mental on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.frodenogoingmental.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andre Schürrle knows what it means to operate at the edge. World Cup finals, 80,000 people in the stands, a body and mind shaped for constant performance. But the real breaking points didn’t come in the stadiums. In this episode of Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with André to talk about mental and physical limits: where they are, how they shift and why he keeps chasing them long after football. From elite competition to ultraruns, MMA sparring, cold exposure and nights where quitting feels inevitable, André explains why he now deliberately puts himself in situations where control disappears and honesty begins. They explore what happens when your body shuts down, when motivation collapses and when there’s no crowd, no contract, no reward. It’s a conversation about obsession, pain, solitude and the fine line between pushing yourself and breaking yourself. About why suffering can strip everything away except truth and why finding your limit is often the only way to understand yourself. This episode goes deep into discomfort, endurance and the psychology of going all the way. https://www.instagram.com/janfrodeno/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alistair Brownlee has achieved almost everything in sports: double Olympic champion, serial world-title collector and one of the most uncompromising racers the sport has ever produced. In this episode Jan sits down with someone he’s shared two decades of rivalry, respect and occasional desert bike rides with - a relationship built on racing each other to the line and trying not to push each other into oncoming traffic. Alistair talks about what it really takes when “good enough” has never been an option: pushing himself to 99.9%, embracing obsession and why he never cared for “fake confidence.” They dive into how perfection both powered his career and broke his body and why he’d always rather risk everything than arrive at 95% to a competition. Plus: the moment in Rio 2016 he forced himself to actually remember, why he still can’t let his brother beat him and how he’s rebuilding purpose now that the start lines are behind him. Follow Frodeno Going Mental on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Jan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janfrodeno/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get your mind ready, tune in and take a deep breath, cause Frodeno is Going Mental. Starting January 12th, Going Mental takes you inside the headspace of people who’ve been pushed to their limits and pushed themselves beyond them. Athletes, Musicians, Creators, Thinkers and above all: people, whose stories go far beyond results. Jan Frodeno isn’t stepping in as the champion here. He’s the one asking the questions. The one who knows what it feels like to doubt yourself, fail, get back up and to wonder whats left when the noises fades. Honest conversations, quiet truths, unexpected moments of vulnerability and stories that stick with you long after the episodes ends. No hero talk. Just real people, real emotions and the part most never speak about. Every monday, starting January 12th, Jan sits down with guests who bring raw insights, tough lessons and the kind of perspective that hits harder than any training session. Hit subscribe/follow so you don’t miss the start. Produced by Podstars by OMR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices