Mental Healthlete

My guest today is Alex Palmer, a Londoner living in Austin, Texas. He's an accomplished cyclist, marketer, and men's mental health advocate. He's also the creator of the Black Dog Cast Podcast that he started after a group of cyclists started talking about their mental health struggles after a group ride.  We cover a wide range of topics today and it was a blast spending time with Alex.High fives all around. Let's do this! Follow Alex on LinkedIn and check out the Black Dog Cast Podcast.Here are the resources Alex mentions.Ketamine: Benefits, risks, and promising therapeutic potential | Celia Morgan, Ph.D.The Peter Attia Drivewww.headinghealth.comSome men's work groups:https://menswisdomwork.com/https://mantalks.com/https://www.ascnd.cc/Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still and Brown Tie Media - mark@browntiemedia.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill @slowguyonthefastride @dawnpatrolmtb

Our next guest is Kyle Duford.   He is an author, brander, speaker, thought leader, and advocate for men’s mental health. We met 17 years ago in the Triathlon Universe and have been friends ever since.  He cut his teeth with Carmichael Training Systems, Retül, Inside Triathlon, and SKI Racing magazines.We delve right into the heart of mental health with his unique but relatable story of the challenges, pitfalls, and the search for mental wellbeing.  Kyle shares his inspiration with unfettered enthusiasm as we learn from his intense life experiences.Kyle just published his first book, Twice Found an autobiographical story of how his life has changed and how he and his wife found each other again after 20 years without speaking.  Content warning: We do speak on the subject of suicide and attempted suicide.High fives all around - let's do this!Learn more about and connect with Kyle on LinkedIn.Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still and Brown Tie Media - mark@browntiemedia.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill @slowguyonthefastride @dawnpatrolmtb

Welcome to the Mental Healthlete podcast!In this episode, we catch up with Dr. Kay Porter, a mental performance coach from Eugene, Oregon with a Ph.D. in psychology.  You may recall from our episode with running great Melody Fairchild, that Dr. Kay was instrumental in the trajectory of Melody's life and running career.In this engrossing conversation, we cover a broad range of topics including the most current modalities and programs to improve performance in sport. While we mostly talk about performance, we also touch on how that transfers into our day-to-day mental health.Dr. Kay still has an active practice and was an ardent runner for 30 years. These days, she coaches a speed walking group in Eugene. Here's my conversation with Dr. Kay Porter. Get ready. Dr. Kay pushes a hard pace!High fives all around - let's do this!Learn more about Dr. Kay on her website.Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still and Brown Tie Media - mark@browntiemedia.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill @slowguyonthefastride @dawnpatrolmtb

Welcome to another episode of the Mental Healthlete.  I'm your host, Bill Garrels and I am excited to share my talk with Tyler McCandless.Tyler is a world-class, professional runner with a world-class resume.  When I caught up with him, he had just set the Course Record at the Colfax Marathon after qualifying for his 4th Olympic Trails only a few weeks earlier by placing 4th overall - and the first American - at the LA Marathon in a time of 2:15.In our conversation, we talked about performance anxiety, support systems, and the power of giving back.  We dive deep into what it takes to have a breakthrough in performance and balancing analytics and running with the heart.Tyler is not only a professional runner, but he is also a husband and dad to 2 young sons, a fly fisherman, a data scientist,  and he is a doctor of philosophy in meteorology. Here's my conversation with Tyler McCandless. High fives all around - let's do this!Books that Tyler mentions:Practice Groundedness - Brad StulbergPassion Paradox - Steve MagnessStillness is the Key - Ryan HolidayTyler's WebsiteInstagram @tracktyDo you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still and Brown Tie Media - mark@browntiemedia.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill @slowguyonthefastride @dawnpatrolmtb

Hey everybody, welcome to the Mental Healthlete podcast. Thank you for listening.I'm excited for you to hear my conversation with Esra Kellermans. We had a great time hanging out and I know her story will resonate with many of you.We all evolve as people over time and many of us can look back over the years and almost see ourselves as different people at different points in our personal or professional lives but describing Esra's path takes that to an extreme. She's a runner, cyclist, and triathlete.She's a Ph.D. researcher in the field of Zoology.She's a successful entrepreneur in her dog-walking business - apennyforbones.comShe's an artist who sells her paintings at art fairs - esrasstudio.comAnd yes, she's one of the many of us who struggles with the stresses of athletic performance and her mental health.Talking with Esra always brings me joy and I'm so thankful that she shared her struggles and successes with me. I hope it is as meaningful to you as it was for me.Here's my conversation with Esra Kellermans. High fives all around. Let's do this.Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still - mark@practicalstillproductions.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill

Welcome to the Mental Healthlete podcast. My guest this week is Melody Fairchild. If you're into running, there is a good chance you've heard of Melody. She's arguably the best high school distance runner in US history. She was the first high school girl to break 10 minutes for 2 miles. She was the NCAA indoor 3000-meter champ while running at Oregon (go ducks) and she's a University of Oregon Hall of Famer - AS SHE SAYS, not because she was the best but because she persisted. Love it.She kept running after college turning pro and winning medals in world championships AND for the last 11 years, she's directed Boulder Mountain Warriors - a running club for kids.I've known Melody for nearly a decade and she's one of my favorite people. We had a great talk that I'm so happy to share with you in this episode.I learned about 'becoming' from Melody. If you've read the Velveteen Rabbit, you'll already know the concept. I hadn't but now I'll never forget it.Now, here's my conversation with Melody Fairchild. High fives all around. Let's do this!Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still - mark@practicalstillproductions.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill

My guest today is Will Murray. Will is a ten-year USA Triathlon Level 1 coach with specialties in mental conditioning, youth coaching, and trauma treatment. He works with athletes in his coaching with D3 Multisport in Boulder, CO and he is a certified administrator of the Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories Protocol. Will is co-author, with Craig Howie, of The Four Pillars of Triathlon:  Vital Mental Skills for Endurance Athletes and Uncle: The Definitive Guide for Becoming the World’s Best Aunt or Uncle.He is also a mentor in our community, a role model, and my friend.We had a great time talking about sport and mental health and I think you're going to enjoy the conversation.High fives all around. Let's do this!Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still - mark@practicalstillproductions.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill

I'm so thrilled to visit with my good friend, Michael Garfield Levine, and hear some of his stories, struggles, and triumphs in dealing with his mental health. We go back a long way and this was a good opportunity to hear how cycling played a role in his health and how he ultimately found the help he needed. Michael Garfield Levine has appeared in numerous roles in classic American and Shakespearean theater, Off and Off-Off-Broadway, and commercials and voiceovers for television and radio. He's had roles in several movies, Law and Order, The Sopranos, and daytime dramas. He studied at The Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, Willaim Esper, and William Alderson. He was a founding member of Circle Repertory's Lab Workshop. Michael was a junior national ski racer and professional ski instructor. He has coached Ironman triathletes, bicycle racers, and actors. He has led workshops with his wife Nancy O'Hara for couples in relationships. He raced bicycles for 30 years competing among National Champions, Olympians, and Tour de France winners. He has ridden 24-hour cycling marathons, soloed across the US and Canada, the routes of The Tour de France; and numerous ultra-endurance cycling events and triathlons. Michael drove a taxi cab in New York City for five years and lived to tell about it. Recently, he taught creative writing and story-telling in a prison. Mr. Levine resides in The Hudson Valley where he writes and rides.Michael Garfield Levine has written a one-man show, called Spinning My Wheels, a solo performance memoir chronicling his adventure of recovery on and off the bike.In Spinning My Wheels, Michael, an angry-at-the-world actor, fights to escape the effects of the PTSD and mental illness handed down by his larger-than-life WW ll veteran father. Dogged by decades of crushing anxiety and suicidal depression, he desperately struggles to prove that he is as tough and heroic as his dad. He hits bottom after bottom but never gives up on his hope of achieving some semblance of sanity. Little by little he climbs out of his psychic descent through life-changing encounters with a Zen master, a Holocaust survivor, and a meditation teacher who becomes his wife. When he’s finally ready to face his father, Michael finds him slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s. But it is here at his bedside that he finally discovers peace, and once and for all forgives both himself and his father.High fives all around. Let's do this!Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still - mark@practicalstillproductions.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill

I've known Rich Soares and Bill Plock for a while and I was excited and appreciative when they invited me to be a guest on their 303 Endurance podcast. We had a great time talking about racing, how I got my start in triathlon, why athletes often have a hard time talking about their mental health, and what led me to start the Mental Healthlete podcast. What a blast! I encourage you to check out that episode of the 303 Endurance podcast and follow 303 Endurance on Instagram @303endurance and on Facebook.High fives all around. Let's do this!Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still - mark@practicalstillproductions.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill

The interest in the Mental Healthlete podcast has been incredible. So much support from so many people. Yet, when it came to actually getting people to agree to be on the podcast and tell their mental health stories, there has been a little bit of reservation. I get that. It's a scary thing to talk about our own mental illness in such a public forum.So, while I do have some amazing guests on the recording schedule coming up, my producer Mark and I decided to put our money where our mouths are and be the first episode ourselves. Hopefully, it shows everyone the format and the vibe and that, while still perhaps scary, it can also be fun and liberating to tell a personal story and help others.High fives all around. Let's do this!Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.This episode was produced by Mark Still - mark@practicalstillproductions.com - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill

The Mental Healthlete podcast is a place to hear from athletes and coaches on how we can build positive strategies to live with our depression, anxiety, and other mental illness. We will be hearing stories from other athletes on how they could not OUT TRAIN or OUT RACE their Mental Illness and find out where they turned to for support. We'll learn from coaches and other professionals about actions you can take to live, train, and race successfully with this wonderful illness.  My goal is to provide resources, ideas, and support so you don't have to do it alone.We'll launch new episodes of the Mental Healthlete podcast in the coming weeks. Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at bill@mentalhealthlete.com.And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.