S02E76 DYLAN CASEY CROSSFIT ATHLETE AND RETIRED PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST

What was it like to be part of Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service professional cycling team? Dave and Sam talk with special guest Dylan Casey, @dylancasey, CrossFit Bison @crossfitbison member and retired American professional cyclist. His professional cycling accomplishments include qualifying for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and winning a gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games. Dylan was a 2 time Professional National Time Trial Champion and in 1999 won National Championships for both the Time Trial and Individual Pursuit; one of only 3 Americans to ever do so.

Since retiring from cycling, Dylan has been involved in the tech industry, working at Google, Yahoo, Fair, as well as Goldman Sachs and REEF technology. Along with @lancearmstrong, Dylan is the Co-Founder of WEDŪ Inc. @wedu.team, a content destination designed to provoke and equip people to embody an endurance lifestyle.

We talk to Dylan about his professional cycling career, why CrossFit appeals to him, and how he applies life lessons learned from his cycling career and beyond.

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S02E76 DYLAN CASEY CROSSFIT ATHLETE AND RETIRED PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST

[00:00:00] David Syvertsen: Welcome back to the Her Fit podcast. I am Coach David Syvertsen here with my co-host, doctor and coach Sam Re, and we have a very special guest with us today.

He is actually a member at CrossFit Bison and just getting to know him a little bit more and stalking him a little bit online I came to know that he is one of very few people in my personal life that I know that actually has a Wikipedia page. . This is Dylan Casey. He was a. Professional cyclist for a long time.

We're gonna get into his career. And he was on the Lance Armstrong Postal Service team. And I, I'm gonna butcher some of the information on this because I'm, I don't know too much about cycling. I just learned a lot about it. Just talking to him for a few minutes. But Dylan, thank you so much for coming on and I really appreciate

[00:00:45] Dylan Casey: your time.

Yeah, yeah. It's funny to be here. Thanks for having

[00:00:47] David Syvertsen: me. Awesome. Dylan crushed the workout this morning. We did some deadlift, some bench press, and here he's back here 12 hours later. Talking with us on the microphone. So Dylan, your career began in 1990, right? And you had a 13 career. This is all information I pulled from online.

And your top accomplishments, 1999, you won the national champion for both national championship, for both time trial and individual pursuit. I kind of wanna get into what those are. Yeah. So can you give us just like, what, what. What does it mean by for time trial and individual

[00:01:19] Dylan Casey: pursuit? So the, the individual time trial is essentially a race against a clock.

So everybody goes over the same course. Lots of CrossFitters will be kind of, they'll understand the concept. Mm-hmm. , know, you race from point A to point B and whoever has the, the fastest time wins. Okay. Is this outdoor? It's yeah, outdoor. And then the individual pursuit is essentially a similar.

But it covers four kilometers and you actually start on opposite sides of the track from a competitor. So you can win, You can also win by catching your competitor Okay. With in under four kilometers. But again, it's also a timed event. And so, yeah, that was something that I won.

[00:01:53] David Syvertsen: That's awesome.

Yeah. I mean, he is one of three Americans ever to, to win both of those.

[00:01:58] Dylan Casey: Yeah. Won, I won both. It was the, the two events were about three weeks apart. Wow. And that's not. I don't, Yeah, it's not common. I think, I don't, I'm not sure if it's not common because, It, it's not possible that somebody can do both.

Mm-hmm. , it, it might have been a combination of just like right place, right time. Okay. But, whatever. I mean, my program set it up that year so that I could be competitive in both events. And it was kind of a, I had set out kind of with the objective of like, Okay, here's two very, very important races that I want to target.

Okay. And it just, the, the moons lined up. That's awesome.

[00:02:26] David Syvertsen: And in 1999 also, you were a gold medalist in the, in the Pan

[00:02:30] Dylan Casey: American. Yeah. Which is like a warmup event for the Olympics. Okay. And which,

[00:02:35] David Syvertsen: and, and Dylan, he qualified for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. That's right. Yeah. And what, what happened there that prevented you from competing?

[00:02:44] Dylan Casey: So, , I had this knee injury that was kind of nagging and then, leading up to the event, it just was not getting any better. And I crashed, of course, and it was just like one defeat after the, after another. It was kind of like your classic Olympic nightmare. Yeah. And of course The, the good stories are the ones that make it to the press.

But, mine, mine wasn't a great story in that way, but I was still proud of, of making the team Absolutely. And being there and helping my teammates. But yeah, it was a heartbreak. Yeah. So

[00:03:12] David Syvertsen: that, that's kind of like the end of, close to the end of the career, but the end of what I have down right now.

Can we start kind of rewind a little bit and what got you into this sport initially? Yeah.

[00:03:23] Dylan Casey: So, We'll do a little fact Correct. Shot. So that was actually kind of like the start of my professional career. Oh, okay. The start of the career. Yeah. We'll, we'll get back to it. Okay. But yeah, my story is. Is very different than that of my peers.

If you, if you compare it to like, the story or, or kind of the way that people like Lance Armstrong or George Hank Kappy or Christian Van Deve or some of my other teammates. Yep. Or even some of the, especially the Europeans, the way that they got into the sport they all started pretty much racing at a very, very young age and kind of grew up through the US national team.

Okay. And, and went and got, got to go race in Europe, et cetera. So mine was different. I, I kind of discovered cycling on accident when I was in college. Wow. Wow. So much later than these guys. Yeah. Much later. And, and, it was kind of this thing, I was always kind of into cycling. I had a bike. I remember really the way I discovered is my, my parents took me to this barbecue in Los Gatos, California.

So that's how I grew up in California. Okay. And there was this very. Famous race called Cats Hill Criterium, and. The race was like really close to downtown and it was like a huge party, so that's why my parents would take me there. And I just saw this race and it was so fast and it was like, went up this super steep hill and I was like, Wow, this is amazing.

Yeah. But yeah, just, just kind of like was in the right place at the right time in college. Met some guys, they were like, Hey man, you wanna go out for a bike ride? And I was like, Okay, sure. Why not? And, and then like, really the thing that hooked me was this. Like, I, I, I was like, Oh wait, so when I ride my bike, kind of consistently.

I get faster . Yeah. And then I'm like, Oh, I get faster. And then like when I go out and ride with other people, I'm faster than them. Yeah. You know what I mean? I was. Oh, okay. I like this. Yeah, you kinda like fell into the competitive side of it. Yeah, yeah, and I got hooked on that. I got hooked on that feedback loop.

Okay. Immediately.

[00:05:07] David Syvertsen: That's awesome. Now did you, did you have a competitive background prior to cycling? Like were you an athlete growing up? No,

[00:05:13] Dylan Casey: not really. I was a skateboarder. Okay. , I was into skateboarding and oh, he on wheels. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I was like, I was on the diving team in high school because there was this really attractive girl that I liked and she was on the team and I figured out like, Hey, this is a good very no reason, but that's interesting.

I tried to play football, I tried to play baseball. I just wasn't really that good at it.

[00:05:33] David Syvertsen: That's a really interesting part of that. Like I just envision someone at the, the reason. Started off the podcast with your accomplishments, which were the start of your professional career, not the end is, I wanted to kind of get that message out there that you did reach the peak of the sport, Right?

And the fact that you did not start from, I feel like every Olympian story I watch is, Oh, they started training when they're five years old at the Olympic Training Center. I mean, listen to Matt Frazier as he pursued the Olympics, right? And weight lifting. As a teenager and then he got hurt.

Right, Right. That's a real, I don't think I've ever heard of that kind of story in the Olympic, at the Olympic level where someone really picked it up that late in the game. Right. Yeah. You must have

[00:06:11] Sam Rhee: a gift for aerobic capacity that is like, and you've probably been tested in terms of your VO two max and all sorts of other measurements.

Like how do you feel your genetic ability or your innate ability stacks up against all these other athletes

[00:06:27] Dylan Casey: that you were against? Well, it's Like I said, when I, when I first kind of fell into the sport when I was in school and, and kind of training and racing with friends around that level, like I was just, I was just that much.

I was just a lot better than everybody. And it was kind of easy. But when I got to, when I got to Europe mm-hmm. and I rem it's funny, I remember this first race that I did. It was my first year on US Postal. Okay. And we went to do this race in in Spain, I think it was called the tour of Valencia, or, or no, Seman Catalan.

So it's this, it's race in the, in the Catalan region of Spain. Okay. And the first stage. We, we kind of went over some, like what would be considered medium sized mountains. We're not talking like major climbs. Right. Okay. And these guys that were, known for being pure sprinters. Yeah. Were climbing ahead of me up the climbs and I was like, Oh boy, I'm in trouble.

You know what I mean? Like I remember that was your Oh, shit. I was like, oh shit. Like this is a whole different level. Yeah. And I just, you know what? I don't think, and everybody will validate, coaches and friends and teammates will say, Yeah, Dylan didn't have the biggest engine. Right. But he'd figure out a way to win.

Okay. I love that. He'd figure out, he'd figure out a way to get it done. And so I think that there, that was kind of how I, how I, made it in the sport.

[00:07:44] David Syvertsen: Yeah. And we're definitely gonna dive into that. Yeah. That's like what I'm most interested in hearing about. Yeah. The process of going from college kid that just got into cycling.

Right. Found out that you're much better than other people. We call it natural gifts, or you just, had a thing for it. What, what got you onto the postal team? Was it a tryout, was it an invite?

[00:08:01] Dylan Casey: What was that process like? Yeah, it's funny and this has kind of been a theme that's run throughout my whole life, is that everybody thought I was crazy when I said I really wanted to be a bike race.

So they're like, Yeah, you're not that good . You're not good enough. And like, and again, I, I didn't grow up doing the sport. And. I just, I don't know. There was just something about it where I was like, I don't care. I'm gonna do it. Yeah. I just want this so bad. Right. I don't wanna do anything else.

And I remember having this very clear moment where I was like, If I don't do this and really pursue it, I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it. Mm. And so I graduated from schools from Santa Barbara. And my girlfriend at the time was gonna go on to Stanford Okay. To get her graduate degree.

So we moved to Palo Alto. And that part of California is a great place for cycling. Mm-hmm. and a huge cycling community. So I was just like, I was in heaven. Yeah. And the way he did it, I was just like, well, let's just go race, right? You find as many, you get on a small team and you go to as many races as you can, and my whole philosophy was, go to the hardest races I can find.

Okay. Because that's how I was gonna get better.

[00:09:05] David Syvertsen: Now, these are all team races, right? Yeah. What makes you stand out amongst a team that says, All right, that guy is the one that we want

[00:09:14] Dylan Casey: on our team? Well, you kind of, you kind of have to work your way up through the ranks, right? Like, Part of being a team means that some days you sacrifice your own chances for the leader or the team or somebody on the team that's gonna win.

Right. Okay. So there's this, you have a responsibility and accountability for being a team player. Got it. And, and it's very much a team sport. Mm-hmm. . And then you also have to figure out when to make chances for yourself. You have to like, sometimes you gotta take a take. Take a feel of a risk.

Yeah. Yeah. And so, you'd get on, I, I would get on these smaller teams and then, I'd get an opportunity to go for, go for a result for myself and I'd get one. And then also I would kind of target races that I knew that I could do well in. Okay. And try to get a result. And, after that you start getting results.

And then again, remember I said, okay, nine, it was 1990. No, 99, No, it was 98. 98 was the first year I won the national championships, and I knew that if I could win one of those national championships, I'd have a pretty good shot at getting a, a slot on the postal team. Got it. Because once you won a national championship, you're on the radar here.

On the radar. Yeah. Okay. And so it's like, I just kind of set some key goals and, and kind of worked backwards from that. And then, and every year I said, Look, I gotta, I gotta get a little bit better. I gotta, I gotta do better than I did the year before. Is

[00:10:27] David Syvertsen: there a specific season to your

[00:10:29] Dylan Casey: sport?

Yeah, it's typically, February to October. Okay. And

[00:10:33] David Syvertsen: now in your off season? Yeah. Are you training? Yeah. Or is that okay? What, What's the training. to become a better cyclist over time? Like is it just on the, on the road, on the bike at all times? Was it strength training? Was it, aerobic?

Anaerobic? What was that kind of training like to kind of lead you to the next season, which you always had a more ambitious school than the previous. Yeah.

[00:10:52] Dylan Casey: So, so the off season was a good opportunity to kind of like, fix some things that were broken, you know what I mean? Or like maybe deal with some injuries.

Okay. That's also where cross training and mobility mm-hmm. , are really, really started to have. A big role because you could start to manage some of the imbalances, because those imbalances are basically where your weaknesses get exposed when you're at your worst. Right, Right. When you're on your limit Yep.

Those imbalances are become your, your Achilles heel. Yep. So to speak. So, so the off season was really about trying to try to repair some of those and, and you do kind of like a periodization program of strength training and maybe some longer, slower rides. Where you could start to work on, on your body composition, maybe lose a little bit of excess body weight.

Mm-hmm. both muscle and fat. Got it. And then you would start to think about, okay, the first phase of the season, the second phase of the season, the third phase of the season and you'd approach it from that perspective. It's also the time you'd have maybe some training camps. Okay. Maybe you'd get together with the team and start to plan for the next year.

How was the US

[00:11:54] Sam Rhee: sport compared to Europe or the rest of the world at the time in terms of

[00:11:58] Dylan Casey: competitiveness? Well, like I said, going from, as an amateur kind of working your way up through the ranks in, in the US, the. Step function difference between racing in the US and racing in Europe was like an order of magnitude harder.

And it wasn't, not, not only was it harder, but there was just, instead of there being like 10 guys that were really fast, every single guy who entered the race was fast. Yeah. So the, the. Depth was just so you know, so much deeper. I'm trying to tie

[00:12:27] David Syvertsen: this to some of the, our CrossFit competitors that we coach and train with.

It's like, these small races that he kept getting hooked up with. I would compare it to the local competitions that you basically just sign up for, show up and go, and now you're. The magnitude is right. So when you qualify for something, whether it's like what Dan just did at Masters Fitness Collective and then you know, the Tor de France is something like what I would call the CrossFit games, right?

It's like you're just constantly escalating yourself and it's almost like that's one of the biggest surprises you see as an athlete is you're no longer one of five good athletes. You're one of. 50. Yeah. And just like the margin for error is so small when you get to that stage.

[00:13:02] Dylan Casey: Totally. And, and the thing for me, when, when I was working my way up through the, through the ranks, I wanted to be in the hardest races I could find because I knew that that's how it was gonna get better.

Okay. Because I love that because, The race pushes you to a level that you can't get to when you're training. Mm-hmm. . And and then also when you see somebody else going that faster, you're like, Oh, okay, I can, Okay. It's possible, I can do that.

[00:13:25] Sam Rhee: Were you working at this time? Like was this

[00:13:27] Dylan Casey: how, how were you surviving?

No, I was living off prize money. Oh really? Yeah. I mean, sounds like Matt Frazier, . I mean, it was kind of like, alright, I'm, I'm remember I remember this one vivid moment of like, I was, I was doing this stage race in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and there was this really big race in Seattle the next weekend.

And I figured out, well, how much money does a plane ticket cost from Philly or maybe Pittsburgh? I can't remember, to Seattle. And then I looked on the prize, the prize list for the next day to find out, it was okay, it was $332, and fourth place pays 400. So I gotta get, So I'm like, I. Fourth or better to get to the next race.

And so that's like super motivating. I

[00:14:06] David Syvertsen: mean, that's a huge like part of sports success stories. It's when you really get put up against the wall like that and you actually go from I want to win. To, I need to win. Yeah. That's when you really find your true threshold. Yeah. And that's a really cool start to the career.

Yeah. Yeah. So now as we were telling, let's just tell the audience real quick. Sure. You qualified for the panning games at the Olympics and you. When did the shift change where amateur athletes were the ones that qualified for the Olympics and those international races? Yeah. And then after that is when you became a professional, because you said the start of your pro career was

[00:14:42] Dylan Casey: started in 2000.

Yeah. So, so, so 96 is when? They first allowed professionals to compete in the Olympics for cycling. Got it. And the significance of that is that it meant that the development pipeline that typically the United States Olympic Federation or Olympic Committee provided for athletes dried up. Got it. Right, Because, Because prior to 96, most athletes, including Lance Armstrong, Maintain their amateur status so that they could make the Olympic team, because that was like, that was, everybody wanted to make the Olympic team and it was a stepping stone to becoming a professional.

And when that changed, it kind of changed the dynamics of the development of the sport. Right. Which is why, one of the reasons that I really focused on making the Olympic dream on the track is because it was like a great way for me to make an Olympic team because I was also racing professionally on the road for US Postal.

So it was like having two jobs at the same time. Wow. And I was fortunate because, the US Cycling Federation basically worked closely with the US Pulse service team so that I could have the schedule. Got it. To do both. Oh, that's huge. Right. Okay. So, it just, it's, it's, everybody decided to work together in that way.

So what,

[00:15:51] David Syvertsen: what happens after the Olympics in terms like, like, your career lasted another

[00:15:56] Dylan Casey: few years, right? Yeah, yeah. So, So 99 was my first year on the postal team and that was the year that Lance won the tour for the first time. Got it. And the postal team was like, at the time, even though we were in what was called, I think the World Tour, the pro I can, the name keeps changing, but ultimately like the major leagues recycling.

Yeah. We were literally the bad news bears. Yeah. . I mean, we, we, I mean it, it was a ragtag group of guys and, and just personality. Well, I mean,

[00:16:24] David Syvertsen: or

[00:16:25] Dylan Casey: execution like just budget wise. And also, like, I think in 98, Lance, there was a couple guys on the team there were like these, like these old, older guys who were kind of at the tail end of their career and were just like, riding it out and.

We used to have this, everybody had nice, nice tour buses, and we had this like old rental camper van at the, at the race start and finish line. But anyway, 99 was kind of our first year. We, our first training camp was actually probably one of our best, was at this this place in Buon, California.

Okay. And we stayed at the Anderson's split piece soup, hotel . It was hilarious. And Go look that one up. Yeah. Yeah. And but it, but it was actually one of the, one of the best training camps because it was just so pure and authentic and raw and we were just there to get it done. Yeah. There was no fanfare.

No. And that was the first right? That was the first, yeah. And so, we went to, so I went to Europe and got my head kicked in for the first six months. Mm-hmm. . Came home and kind of like, had a little bit of a break to regenerate and went back to Europe and then. , the first race was Tour Denmark, and I got fifth in the time trial.

And it was kinda like, Oh, okay, okay, maybe we got something here. Yeah. And then and then another race came along and I got second in one of the time trials and Wow. And then another race came and I got second in the time trial and I, and, and I managed to hang on for a third. Overall, it was, it was a pretty big race in Holland.

And Johan Bruno, who's the director, calls me up and says, Hey, Casey we're gonna put you on the Walta squad and, and the tour Spain. Lael Spania was one of the other grand tourists. So you had a Joe Delia, the Tour? France and Latta. Spania Got it. Okay. And I was like, Oh, oh, , because I, I mean, I, I wasn't really thinking about doing the tour of Spain that year, but anyway, I had a How far away were, was it when you found out?

Oh, maybe a couple of weeks. Oh wow. Maybe, maybe a week or two. No, no, no. It was just like, Right. Show up. Let's go. Okay. So it was a really good year. I think, I kind of exceeded my own expectations. And then, 2000 2000 was a pretty good year. And then 2001, And I really had all this ambition of like, making the tour team.

And of course that was the, that was like the, the penal achievement, right? And was doing this race in Dki and coming across the finish line, a cameraman wasn't looking and like turned left as we were coming across the finish line, I crashed into and broke my pelvis and my collarbone and my scapula.

Oh no. And it basically just ruined the whole year. Yeah. And it was like shit. Yeah. Oh man. And I mean, but, but by the way, that's not a unique story. Know what I mean? Like, bike races crash. I feel

[00:19:06] David Syvertsen: like I've seen like, like YouTube video, like YouTube, like, fail videos. People just getting railed though, like people walking out to the course.

The time.

[00:19:13] Dylan Casey: Really? Yeah. Happens all the time. I mean, the fact that it doesn't happen more often is as a miracle, but you know, I mean, so long story short, like. I, I really, I really had a great career and, and exceeded every objective or kind of idea that I thought I was gonna be able to achieve.

Yeah. That's awesome man. And it's funny cuz like, kind of looking back on it, I'm like, Oh wow, I forgot I did that. You know what I mean? Yeah. And. . And then I, and, and then, a couple years later I decided that I had this opportunity to kind of start a new career mm-hmm. , in the tech industry.

And I was living in Palo Alto at the time and I'm kind Yeah. Like surrounded by it. Right. And decided to make a graceful exit and went and went to work at Google.

[00:19:54] David Syvertsen: Okay. That's awesome, man. That's a really cool, just awesome background story. Thanks for sharing all that. Yeah. Sam, any thoughts before we go into how many people

[00:20:01] Sam Rhee: are on the US Postal team and it seems like they're different, like you said groups that you have

[00:20:06] Dylan Casey: to, So

[00:20:08] Sam Rhee: how competitive is it?

Are you guys friendly with each other? Are you guys like duking it out with each other? Yeah. Like how does that

[00:20:14] Dylan Casey: work for you guys? Yeah, so typically, I mean, well the first year I was on it, we only had 16 guys, which is crazy cuz that means you're running two programs of eight and nobody can get sick or injured.

But, um mm-hmm. , the, the, I think the average size now of a pro tour team is about 25 riders. Okay. And they'll typically run, two or three programs at the same time and you'll have two teams. You'll have the team that's kind of dedicated to the grand tours. And, and then you'll have a team that is focused on what, what's called the classics, which were all the big races in in Belgium.

And and then and then you might have, another team of like young riders that are just kind of coming up through the ranks and they'll kind of get split, splattered around. Competitive. Totally. I mean, it's an interesting dynamic because you're like competing with each other for spots on the team.

Right. But then at the same time, you also. , you want the team to be successful, so sometimes you're like, Yeah, okay. This other person is better than me right now, so they deserve the spot. So that dynamic exists. And then of course, just like any work environment, there's gonna be people that you just don't like, right?

Yeah. In fact, it's funny, I was, I was like referencing this, person who will go unnamed, but I'm sure all my teammates that listen to this podcast will know exactly who I'm talking about. But I just did not like him and he didn't, he would just not. He wouldn't do his job for me if I was leading the race or if I had a chance to win the race.

But I was, I was telling this story to somebody at work today. I'm like, You know what? There's people I just did not like when I was racing, but, but being a professional meant that, Even if I didn't like you, I was gonna help you win if that was my job. Right. What was your

[00:21:48] 2022_1107_1920: role

[00:21:49] David Syvertsen: to help someone win? Like what would you have to do to help someone win?

[00:21:52] Dylan Casey: Well, cycling is a, it's, cycling is a game of economics. Right? Right. So, like, oftentimes if, if I was doing a race and Lance was there, part of my job was just to stay with him all day and. Keep him out of the wind so that he used the least amount of energy at all times. So he'd be, he'd backdraft you, you'd be right from He would be drafting off.

He would be drafting behind me. Actually, the way that it works is he is, you would ride, you would stay right behind him. Okay. And then when he said, Okay, I wanna go in the front, you'd have to take him in the front. Okay. You know what I mean? The worst part is he would, the worst part is he would, he had this horrible, he wanted to ride at the back and just, relax.

And then literally like at the worst possible moment, like at the very last minute, be like, Okay, come on Casey, let's go in the front. Like, fuck, couldn't we have done this like five kilometers ago or something like that when it was easy . But so it's that way. And then also, you'll see is that pre.

What's that? Who, Who's gonna look after him? Yeah. You'll be on the team bus and be like, Okay, so and so you're doing this, so and so you're doing that. So-and-so's looking after Lance or whatever. Okay. Yeah. It's all, So you have to kind of

[00:22:50] David Syvertsen: be mentally ready for that at any point in the race. Yep.

[00:22:53] Dylan Casey: Okay. Yep.

And then oftentimes you'll see where, the whole team will be on the front pulling and generally the protected rider won't participate in pulling. Okay. But they'll ride in the front right behind their team because it's really easy and safe. Right. But they may be trying to pull back a break.

Or they may be, trying to set up their, the, like, especially for sprinters set up the sprinter to, to win at the very end of the race. Got it. Now,

[00:23:19] David Syvertsen: if someone you said would not help you in a race, what would they not do? I mean, that would not, that would prevent you from helping you win that race.

Yeah.

[00:23:29] Dylan Casey: Well, in this one race where I had a pretty good chance of winning. Yeah. There was a breakaway up the road and instead of going to the front and helping the team bring it back, this person was just hanging out, doing their own thing. Yeah. Just like, That's what, that's what,

[00:23:43] David Syvertsen: like, I just don't understand that at the sport.

It's like, isn't this predetermined that, that guy's gotta go help you out? Yeah. Or he just makes a spontaneous decision.

[00:23:51] Dylan Casey: To do. He's, he's, I'm, I'm not, I'm not playing,

[00:23:54] David Syvertsen: man. That's crazy to me. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah. When I talk

[00:23:56] Sam Rhee: to ex pro athletes, some of them miss it. Some of them don't miss it at all.

How do you feel about it when you look back? Like would you, would you wish you were back in, in it if you had a chance, or are you like, D don't miss that at all. That was a, a very taxing, stressful time of my life.

[00:24:13] Dylan Casey: Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, I feel like nothing I do now compares to the level of stress and kind of like pressure that, that I experienced when I was an athlete.

And I don't miss that part. But I do miss the simplicity of the life. I loved, I loved training. Yeah. I just loved that process. I mean, even, even that, that feeling that you get the night before when you're looking at the program, you're like, Okay, what's tomorrow's program? What am I gonna do? Okay, I'm gonna get up.

I'm gonna have this for breakfast. Yep. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna get my, just that planning process and then like, Putting it together and showing up to the race and, and, and being like, Okay, let's do this. Like, I miss that and I miss the, the, the emotions with, with my teammates. And and, and, and, There's, there's just, there's just some sort of magic that comes from, from what that whole experience was about that, that you can't, you can't reproduce.

So I miss that, but I certainly don't want to go back, it's too hard. It's really hard.

[00:25:15] David Syvertsen: Glad you got to experience it. glad you got to experience it, but talk about it in the past tense. Yeah. It

[00:25:19] Sam Rhee: seems like you're close with your teammates even years after. And it, and I know you're gonna talk maybe.

Like the organizations and what you founded with and what you're part of with your other teammates, including Lance Armstrong. So, so those ties still bind you even outside the sport. Yeah. Like what, what is that like to still be friends, to, to be close with your ex-teammates and especially very famous, prominent teammates like Lance Armstrong?

What's that like?

[00:25:47] Dylan Casey: Yeah, I mean, I think we all experience something that. Nobody else can understand. And I think we have a special bond both from the things that we accomplished as athletes and I think, especially in our story, the things that we accomplished or, survived you know, outside of the actual competition.

And so, those are, those are things that really matter. And I think like, Obviously with age and wisdom, you start to realize, the trophies on the wall don't really matter as much as the the emotions and the experiences and the relationships that we have, that, that came out of it. So I think, I think we just grew to appreciate that much more than we did when athlete.

I mean, the funny thing is Lance and I were probably not that. Close when we were teammates. But we're really close now. And I think that's just, kind of the nature of things. But yeah, I mean it's special relationship and it, it, it's funny cuz even was, I was, I was speaking to my team at work and obviously everybody in the world is going through some tough times right now, this, the last couple years and, and we're struggling as an organiz.

With lots of different things, and I just try to tell 'em, like, guys, look, there's a lot of stuff that's outside of our control, global macroeconomic economy, et cetera, like pandemics, this and that. But the one thing we can control is like how we get together and how we, how we, how we work together as a team.

We can control that. And it's probably the thing that matters the most. So, let's do it. Yeah,

[00:27:10] David Syvertsen: I, I want talk about that. Just like in terms of coping with the adversity that you were going through with, with the whole, i I don't wanna call it the doping scandal. Yeah. What you would call it back then, but you know, the adversity that you met in that situation with Lands, Armstrong doping and getting caught, and then you guys guilty by association.

You can go into that if you want. What, what kind of adversity? What was the initial feeling there in terms of, all right, what is this gonna do to my career? What is this gonna do to my reputation and my

[00:27:37] Dylan Casey: future? Yeah. So I when, when everything was going down, this was like 2000, I don't know, 11, 12.

Yeah. I had been outta the sport for a while and so, I didn't really have. Too much liability. Okay. You know what I mean? Like Sure. I had to testify in front of the federal grand jury. I had reporters calling me and I mean, probably harassing you. Oh yeah. They were doing all kinds of stuff.

Yeah. And I just didn't really care. Okay. I was just like, you know what, I've got two F's to give and like, or I've got no Fs to give you whatever. Yeah. So I was more concerned about, my friends I didn't, I didn't really think I had too much exposure, so I was very fortunate. Okay. That way I still had to, to my personal friends and family, like, had to be like, Well, here's something to answer to.

Here's the deal. Yeah. Right. And I, I was, I was okay with that. I kind of came to terms with it. And you. It, it was just kind of an experience that, that I had to go through personally. And what was unique and interesting about my experience is that because I was a little bit further removed than the guys who were more still in the sports still race and still dependent on it for mm-hmm.

a livelihood. Right. I was almost kind of like this credible mediator. Okay. You know what I mean? Makes sense. Yeah. Like I could kind of talk to them about it in a way, because they, , we, we, I had a level of, of, of credibility and, and and trust, and I understood what was going on, but at the same time, I was a little bit removed so I could be, Yeah.

You know what I mean? Yep. I know exactly what you mean. So I tried, I tried to tell, I tried to help the guys talk through it that way and try to help them, try to help them. What was going on. And I think one of the biggest realizations and the things I tried to push with them was like, Guys, look, we can't expect everybody else on the outside to see things the way that we see them.

Right? Mm-hmm. , we just can't. Yep. But it's, it's, it's, they're gonna be angry, hurt, upset, mm-hmm. , or, they're gonna think that we're liars and cheaters and it's, it's not really, it's not really gonna do as much to try to change their minds.

[00:29:40] David Syvertsen: I mean, especially now, we see that with like just world issues now.

I mean this is, 10 plus years after that situation, you're not gonna change people's minds. Right. And you're just gonna drive yourself nuts if you keep on trying to do that. Yeah. You know, Especially if not a situation like that. Yeah. Let me ask you this,

[00:29:52] Sam Rhee: many of them personally

[00:29:54] Dylan Casey: mm-hmm.

[00:29:55] Sam Rhee: for you. These are good. Were these, are these, were these good people? Are these people that you. Supported or how did you feel, when you saw your former teammates, your friends going through this, what, what was, what was the overwhelming emotion for you during this time?

[00:30:16] Dylan Casey: Yeah, I mean, that's, that's a really interesting question just because I went through so many different emotions the whole time.

I think that, for. I mean, I wasn't judgemental of anybody. I think the hard, what I think what was hard for, or what, what made some situations hard was where, you knew what people were doing, but they were saying something completely different. Publicly. Mm-hmm.

And I remember a part of me was just like, Oh, you know that that asshole, what's he, right. And then I just realized sports. Yeah. I'm like, you know what, it's not my deal. Right? Mm-hmm. , like, I, I don't need to judge that person. Smart. I think when it was related to me personally mm-hmm. , I was, I had some strong emotions about it.

A lot of people said some stuff about me that was true or not true. But I just had to let that go. Yep. It wasn't, it wasn't my fight anymore. Right. That's awesome. Thanks for

[00:31:00] David Syvertsen: sharing that. Yeah. Now this kind of adversity Yeah. Can you tie that kind of adversity and we don't have to keep it Debbie Downer right now.

Yeah. Like even some of the positive experiences, like, I would love to hear some of the things that you learned as an athlete. Like we, we've talked. I think last week it was like a really good short conversation. I was telling my wife about it. Yeah. About how you felt like your mental game is what helps you rise above other, more talented, you wanna call 'em more capable athletes.

Yeah. How has that kind of led the way to where you are now? In terms of Yeah. Business world. Socially family life like that, that kind of adversity taking it head on and, and Right. Taking the positive out of it.

[00:31:38] Dylan Casey: Well, you, you guys asked like, how, how did I rate, kind of like on a physiological level and, and well I knew I kind of had, an engine that, that, I made it to that level.

Mm-hmm. , I wasn't, I wasn't as talented physically as some of my teammates and competitors were. And you can only do so much to train your weaknesses. But I knew that the one thing I had control over was kind of like my mental approach to everything. Mm-hmm. . And I felt like that's where. I could have the greatest amount of impact or control.

And also the sport was just, it was, it wasn't, it's not always the, the, the strongest person wins. Right. You know what I mean? It's like there's a lot of calculation that goes into it. Mm-hmm. . And there's, again, cycling is a sport of economy. You gotta get the end with the most amount of energy.

Right, right. And, and CrossFit's not a lot different, to be honest. No, not at all. Yep. Right. Like, you're always doing a workout. Like, I, I love, I love it when there's like, Do 10 rounds of this. And I'm like, Okay, cool. So, and then I study each movement and I'm like, Okay, which 1:00 AM I? Which one's really gonna hurt?

Which one can I recover in? Right. How do I soft pedal this one so that I can go really hard on that one? Yeah. Love that

[00:32:42] David Syvertsen: man. Can you, can you coach for us

[00:32:45] Dylan Casey: and, and. And so I that, that like mentality. Love it. Yeah, that's, I just loved that stuff. So like, for example, can nerd out on that stuff all day, all day.

When we started figuring out like, hey, like for example, our team got a bunch of criticism back in, which is, crazy now looking back on it. But we would go preview the courses, right? Of course everybody does that now. Mm-hmm. . But like, when you know where the top is, you can go 10, 15%.

Right. Because, it's like, okay, I, I can, I'm gonna be cross-eyed Yeah. When I get to the top, but I'm gonna go over the other side. I'm gonna recover no big deal. Yeah. Right. So, that kind of like, analysis mm-hmm. and and then how you apply your mind to it was just like, Oh, it was, I was so intoxicated by that.

Yeah. Or smarter, not harder. Yeah. Yeah. And, and then, to answer your question, how does that translate to today? I mean, like, all the time I'm thinking, Okay. This is gonna be really hard. Yeah. Like, okay, let's, let's, let's, let's take a deep breath. Mm-hmm. let's you know, I always, I always, I, What's the saying?

Like, decide what you're gonna do before? Yeah. You're a planner. Yeah. Map things out. Yeah. Because like, for example, in a race, if you decide on the bus before the race starts where you're gonna attack, or when, when your competitor attacks, no matter what, you're gonna go with them. Mm-hmm. , when you make that decision ahead of time.

When it happens, you're more likely to be able to do it than waiting for the moment to dictate it. Right. Spontaneous. Yeah. You just, I don't know, there's just something that I love about

[00:34:08] David Syvertsen: that stuff. Yeah. I mean, I even compare it to some people that try to like, if they're struggling with the nutrition, they always say like, Don't go food shopping when you're hungry.

It's like you have to have that plan set up prior to so, and, and go there with your plan, because when you're making spontaneous decisions in a, not the greatest state of mind, Right. That like, like you said, that cross side feeling. Right. I, I see it at the gym all the. Right. Whether it's a random Tuesday water or someone's competing at a big competition, the the ones that lack that ability to strategize, forecast, and respond to any little bit of adversity, they don't get the most out of themselves.

I say, I say the same thing about a lot of crossing competitions. It's not always the people that are the fittest or the most talented that will win. Right. They have to have a certain level of capability, capacity as well. But it, it's the one, I do think it's a more mental game. Like I think there's a lot of similarities.

So I keep nodding my head to what you're saying.

[00:34:58] Dylan Casey: Yeah. Also think about like, when you're training and you have a program and you have a big event coming up and you have a bad day, how do you handle that bad day? Absolutely. Yeah. Or what happens when that's response? What happens when you're like, Okay, I got a bi, I have a, Today's schedule calls for the following workouts or the following movements or whatever it is, and you get 10 minutes in and you feel like crap.

Mm-hmm. , what are you gonna do? You know what I mean? Yep. And I mean, I can't tell you how many times where I've gone up to do a ride and I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna go out and do this long, and the first half hour, I'm like, Man, I feel like crap. So if you let yourself turn around right then Yeah. You're like, No way.

Like, Nope, I'm gonna wait. I'm gonna wait like another hour. The joke is, don't quit. Mm. You know what I mean? Especially in, in, in cycling cuz of stage races. Mm. So you gotta finish every day to make it to the next day. Mm. So like you, there's, there's a point. I guarantee you, every pro cyclist has this gone through their head Yeah.

Where they're in the middle of the stage and they are so miserable and suffering so bad. Yeah. That they're looking for any excuse to quit. Yeah. And if you just say, Okay, you know what, I'm gonna wait until I'm gonna go five more miles before I make a decision. Yeah. And then, Five more miles and then five more miles.

So like those little mental games that you can play with yourself, like have a huge difference. Yeah. Yeah. That's so

[00:36:10] David Syvertsen: CrossFit. It's so CrossFit. Yeah. . Very much so. I dunno, it sounds like you're listening to a transcript of, Of someone mentally, of any civil workout that we do here. Absolutely. Yeah. You play those mind games with you.

Yeah. Are you still cycling

[00:36:22] Sam Rhee: after your pro career, or have you just given it up completely

[00:36:25] Dylan Casey: at this point? No, I try to ride every day. Oh, you do? Oh really? Oh, wow.

[00:36:28] David Syvertsen: Yeah. I didn't know that. Okay. And you, you have ever

[00:36:30] Dylan Casey: since you stopped? No, no, no. When I first stopped, and started my job at Google, I was like, Okay, this is my new job.

I'm gonna go all in. I'm gonna work all day. And like, and it was funny cuz I realized All of a sudden I'm like, Oh, wow, I just gave up. Like I just stopped doing six hours a day of mental processing. Yeah,

[00:36:48] David Syvertsen: you probably do some of your best thinking.

[00:36:50] Dylan Casey: Oh, the best. Right? Like I used to carry one of those little, like, this is before iPhones, but I used to carry a mobile recorder.

Mm-hmm. . So that I could record things that I was thinking about, so I wouldn't forget by the time I got home mm-hmm. . But yeah, so it's, it's, it's like my church when I ride, when I'm riding my bike. Mm. And it's such a, it's such a healthy thing for me to deal with stress and just where, where I kind of work out all my problems.

Do you ride with people or just by yourself? I, well I, when I lived in California, I just moved here a couple years ago. I used to ride with, all kinds of friends and groups, and I moved here in the middle of Covid. So it was like, okay, I guess I'm riding by myself. And so I just haven't really connected with a bunch of other people yet, but I'm, I'm, I'm looking to ride with other people, so

[00:37:30] David Syvertsen: Well, yeah.

I mean, I know we have a few people here that do, do bike. They, they do, Yeah. And hook up with. Yeah. Re just got done with an Ironman. I don't know, he's so competitive. I

[00:37:39] Sam Rhee: don't know. He might, he might try

[00:37:41] David Syvertsen: to tell himself. Trying to try to keep up . Do you have any lingering injuries or, I don't wanna call 'em side effects?

Yeah. From, Such a rigorous

[00:37:50] Dylan Casey: career. I, I mean, I've got a little problem with my left hip, which is where I broke my pelvis. Okay.

[00:37:55] David Syvertsen: Was it from that injury you think? I don't know. It's

[00:37:57] Dylan Casey: funny because it might have been the start of it. It, it didn't really start bothering me until much later. Okay. But honestly CrossFit helps a lot.

Yoga is actually amazing. Okay. When I do yoga regularly mm-hmm. , it, it like totally balances me out for some reason. Okay, interesting. But, but yeah. You always have these little nagging injuries or

[00:38:14] David Syvertsen: what, what is a common, like, one thing, tell me if I'm wrong. One thing that I've seen with a lot of people that have a strong back biking background is, Because you guys spend so much time in that position actually struggling to be able to extend the backside, the posterior, the hamstrings.

Like I know you were probably at a different level of like preparation and training and stretching, but are there any things that, with your past teammates, any common ground that you've seen people that cycle a lot, that they're dealing with, that you would like to maybe help them get ahead

[00:38:44] Dylan Casey: of?

I think honestly, Like all the core, core mobility stuff is probably the most important thing to pay attention to. Okay. Because, stating the obvious, like a strong core, the, your everything is dependent on the strong core. Absolutely. Yeah. And it's also the thing that like when it breaks down, everything else fails.

Yeah. That's like, that's usually step one. Yeah. No matter how, how strong your legs are, if your core goes out, then you know, there's no, there's nothing to put the power down. Yep. I would say the other one is that a lot of the hip flexors mm-hmm. , because you're in this weird position all the time.

Mm-hmm. , that one gets messed up. The soy as is a big one. Yep. I, and I think, it's kind of like the more that you put into that earlier on, the bigger payoff you get later on, right? Yeah.

[00:39:28] David Syvertsen: That's a lot of the training, like the accessory Sam that we talk about with athletes that love to work out.

They, they're here all the time and they like constantly getting beat up. It's all those little accessory movements and a little accessory muscles. You almost wish you used to do them more because of how you feel now. And if you want to avoid that long-term pain or long-term discomfort, this is the time to do it.

Just get

[00:39:49] Dylan Casey: ahead of it like that. Yeah. The other thing I think that is underrated are rest days. Yeah. . Oh,

[00:39:55] David Syvertsen: yeah. As we get older, for sure. Yes,

[00:39:57] Dylan Casey: absolutely. , and, and you're

[00:39:58] David Syvertsen: pretty regimented now here, right? Two or three days a week.

[00:40:01] Dylan Casey: I, yeah. So I. Try to come at least three, maybe four days a week.

Mm-hmm. , a lot of it just depends on my travel schedule. Okay. Cause I spend a lot of time down in Miami and I do CrossFit down there too. Those guys are, they're maniacs also. Yeah. we all are. And, and I'm just like the last two to three months, I'm kind of like hitting it more regularly. Yeah. I've notice.

And I've been doing CrossFit and riding like, today I did CrossFit this morning than this afternoon I rode. That's awesome. And in fact, I think I recover faster when I do that. I believe that today we did squats and everything. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. And so I'm just, like I'm just in a good groove right now and, and.

Just having fun with it. What's your CrossFit start

[00:40:40] Sam Rhee: story? How did you even get into it in the first place?

[00:40:43] Dylan Casey: Hmm. Yeah, it was one, one of my buddies was always like, Would not stop fucking talking about it.

[00:40:49] David Syvertsen: really a CrossFit or not talk Really? Wow. Not stopping. And,

[00:40:53] Dylan Casey: and, and, and Billy, he was, I mean, he's a talker, first off.

And we would be on these rides and he would just not stop talking about it and be like, Oh my God, you're killing me. Where were you at the time? In Palo Alto. Okay. And, But you know, I had always been like, Yeah, I. I remember, or when I was working at Google, they had like some training programs that you could do.

And I did, I did some of 'em, and I remember how much better I felt on the bike because I, was kind of working through my core and cyclists don't have the, the best kind of physiques in general. Mm-hmm. So I was like, yeah, maybe a little upper body would be help. Yeah. Yeah. So then yeah, I just, one day I walked into CrossFit Palo Alto and started working out with those guys and they were, they were really cool.

And yeah, I just, I just loved it. Mm. How long ago was. I think maybe like 20 15, 20 16.

[00:41:38] David Syvertsen: Okay. That's kinda like right around the surge before. That's a long time.

[00:41:41] Sam Rhee: You've

[00:41:41] 2022_1107_1920: been

[00:41:41] David Syvertsen: CrossFitting for a while. Seven years. Yeah.

[00:41:43] Dylan Casey: Yeah. I should be better . We all, we

[00:41:46] David Syvertsen: all should we say the same thing? Better? Hopefully the programming gets better.

That'll help. Do, are you one of those athletes now We have athletes, former college athletes, a couple former pro athletes that I've always said, Oh, I wish I knew about this stuff when I was competing. The, the training in which you guys took on while you were a professional or amateur aspiring to be a professional and what you know about training now, what's known about training in general, both in and out of the CrossFit space?

Do you ever find yourself thinking, Man, if I had known about this when I was in college, I would've been at a higher level? Oh,

[00:42:17] Dylan Casey: for sure. Yeah. Yeah. No question. Okay. That's interesting. I mean, not just the . One of the things that I really appreciate about yoga, I'm sorry about CrossFit, is that there is like these elements of yoga in it, right?

I mean, even if we do, crows pose and the way Yeah. Pigeon, sorry. Pigeon and, and the way that we stretch and, and even some of the movements mm-hmm. , I think are really beneficial for all athletes regardless of the sport. And then I think also just, just this overall approach to more balance, right?

Like. The CrossFit in general is this idea of like, not going too far in one direction, correct. Mm-hmm. . And I think I think that that's something that really benefits a lot of athletes. So, so yeah, working, working a lot of the movements. In fact, I, I still, I know a bunch of guys that are still racing.

I know a woman. Who's a, a pro mountain biker in in Palo Alto. Sheilas in Palo Alto. She works out with a trainer and a lot of the movements that they do are like Olympic lifts and smart, kind of like really focused mobility work. Like, one-legged squats on the balanced bar. Wow. Or balanced thing, you know what I mean?

Things like that. Yeah. So yeah, I think, I think, I think. A lot of the pro athletes today are incorporating a lot of the movements that are done in, in CrossFit. Interesting. And then I think also just the, the whole. Pro the, the, like this concept of okay, part of your workout today is gonna be a strength movement and then part of it today is gonna be, this timed component, tomorrow's workout for Yeah.

[00:43:45] David Syvertsen: You know what I mean? We

[00:43:46] Dylan Casey: have a couple of those days this week. Yeah. And so I, I think there's I think, I think that's really effective. It's kind of funny cuz you, you, it's like the class is an hour and then you're like, the actual number of minutes you were working out was like small that much.

[00:43:59] David Syvertsen: Sometimes you find that out when you video your workout, you're like, Oh my, I really was not working out that much at

[00:44:03] Dylan Casey: all. But I think, but I also think it's important to recognize that like, the warmup is part of the workout, right? The down is part of the everything, part of the workout. And so, it, it's, I think you just gotta really take each one of 'em seriously.

Like, I remember. One point in my CrossFit journey reading or, or watching a video about like, even when you go to do the warmup, like do it with intention. Yes. Be clear about what exactly you're trying to do for the warmup. So yeah. Great. That kind of approach I think just pays off. Love that.

[00:44:34] David Syvertsen: Are

[00:44:34] Sam Rhee: you still in the tech industry?

What do you do now? Yeah. And then also talk a little bit about we do, which you mentioned that you're working with

[00:44:41] Dylan Casey: Lance's Armstrong. Yeah. Yeah. So I, so yeah. Worked I moved out here for a job actually, although my wife grew up here in Bergen County. So she's the, she's native. Mm-hmm. and. Moved out here for a job and, and then ended up getting recruited down to this company called Reef Technology in Miami.

And we basically do ghost kitchens and so I, I run the, the product and engineering team that builds out all of the infrastructure to manage how all the orders flow, from like DoorDash or Uber Eats to the actual kitchen. And then how does it get picked up and delivered to the person. So it's a really interesting, interesting company.

I think.

[00:45:17] Sam Rhee: I ordered for Mr. Beast, which is one of those types

[00:45:20] Dylan Casey: of companies. Yeah. Mr. Beast is one of our partners. Okay, there you go. Yeah, because they like, how are they able to Exactly. Like it's magic , right? Because they don't have an actual place. No, it's, it's just like a, it's, well, we call 'em vessels and we put 'em in parking lots.

We own a bunch of parking lots. It's amazing. Okay. All right. Cool. But yeah, we do Is, is this, It's this community and, and Lance gets, gets all the credit for it, but he, he kind of showed, by the way, this was kind of like when he was like, Well shit, what am I gonna do now? Right. And he started this, he started a podcast called The Forward.

And, it was really about him talking to other people that have done interesting things in their lives. And, ultimately it always comes down to some sort of idea of perseverance. Yep. And, what was your story? And, and and he, he, he, interestingly and surprisingly turned out to be a really good podcaster.

It's a great interviewer. Takes it really seriously, just like he did the bike. So he will sit there and read everything and study and prepare for hours and. It was a really good show. And then he also had this idea of kind of creating this community for people, that are all crazy like us and love to suffer.

Yeah. And so, he kind of coined this term, we do, which is, the answer of like, well, who wants to go run a hundred miles today? And who's crazy enough to do that? Yeah. And, and one of our, one of our sayings is it's It's this idea where you find your greatest peace in your greatest moment of suffering.

You know what I mean? So I love that. That's cool. So we just started, we started this, this this company called We Do, and it started off with a show around, actually no, Lance George, Hank K Chris Vanderville and I got together to do this 24 hour mountain bike race in Moab called. 24 hours on the old play Blow.

And it was a sufferer fest and, and we did like a video about it and it was fun. It was just kind of our, our first four way into kind of telling these stories. Yeah. And then we started a a commentary show around the tour of France called The Move. Okay. And then we started covering a bunch of the other races and and then we've put on a couple of events mm-hmm.

and it's just kind of grown organically. And that, I missed that. When did you start, when was this? It's, I think it started in 2017. Okay. 2018, somewhere around, So about five years then 45 years in. Okay. Yeah. And And so it's, it's a show. We have a couple of podcasts. We do, kind of a, a a journal and a newsletter, and we're just putting content out there.

And it's really just, it's, it's not, not so much about the races other than obviously we do a bunch of coverage of all the pro tour races, but it's also just a kind of this story of people that love to suffer. Okay. And yeah, it's, it's, it's a fun, it's a fun project.

[00:48:00] Sam Rhee: I, I think there are more people out there that.

Find value and shared adversity. Yeah. We find it in CrossFit, but like you said, there are so many other instances that bring people closer together. Pro athletes on a, on a pro team people working together on Yeah. Big projects whatever it is, like whatever brings you closer in terms of working together for a goal or for something maybe bigger than yourself, Right.

Where you're really pushing yourself that there's something

[00:48:29] Dylan Casey: special about that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I think also this, after everything that we experience, like, the, the. The process of preparing for events or, some sort of objective and a goal, and then going out and doing it with people that you care about and then being able to tell the story and the things that happened is really kind of like what living life to its fullest is all about.

Yes. We feel like that's, that's where. If you can do that kind of stuff, you're rich. Yeah. Hell, I mean, Yep. And so we, our, our vision for this community of people and this brand and this, this, this platform that we're creating is just helping people do that. Mm-hmm. . Yeah.

That's really what it's all about. Yeah. I

[00:49:07] David Syvertsen: mean, I think that the pandemic showed more than anything how much the, the connection to. How important it is for people to just like get through like the day to day rigors. I hear that more about this gym Yeah. Than anything physical. Like people wanna get the muscle up and hit the lifts, but it's, that pandemic showed us like, how big of a responsibility is to try and get people to connect with each other and, and just for the sake of helping them, we first you started gym like this and he is like, Oh, it's about fitness and health and yes.

But it's actually has become more of a mental thing than, than the physical. And then it leads to the physical gains as well.

[00:49:40] Dylan Casey: Oh, totally. And, and think about the people that you have coming here. They all, they all do different things. They have different backgrounds, they have different goals. They're, different phases of their lives.

Mm-hmm. yet we all come together for an hour, today, hour, and we, and we're all focused on doing Yeah. The same thing. You know what I mean? It's like we're looking at the clock, we're looking at each other, , we're always you know what I mean?

[00:49:59] David Syvertsen: Yeah, I, I've had, I've had, I've seen you kind of go after people on the run a few times, get, it's just, it's in your blood and it, and it's all in good nature too.

And that, that's what I love about it the most. It's just all like the energy that you see in a place at 5:00 AM it's just where else do you get that? And it's just a really unique thing. I think it's really cool. And it's probably the same exact thing with what you guys are doing at We do.

[00:50:20] Dylan Casey: Yeah, Totally. That's a really cool, It's the same thing. In fact, we, we have, we wanna branch out into other, other sports and other disciplines and like, is it mainly cyclist? Well, right now, yeah. Right now it's Jesus sex. But we want, we wanna make it so that, CrossFitters have a place to go and tell their story.

Right. I'll tell you what, man. I think there's

[00:50:35] David Syvertsen: a market for it in that, yeah. Just because I, I, that's, People love talking about CrossFit, like you said.

[00:50:40] Dylan Casey: Totally. How did you hear about it? Yeah. I mean, and, and it's the same for cycling too. People love getting together after the ride to go to the coffee shop and talk trash.

Yep. You know what I mean? Hell yeah. And so, it's like a bar, you

[00:50:51] David Syvertsen: know, like I always say, the endorphins people have after a workout, a training session, it's no different than being at a bar. It's people just like put their guard down and, and that's where true bonds are really made. Yeah, yeah,

[00:51:01] Dylan Casey: yeah, yeah.

Yeah. No, and I love the community part that you touched on because like, I think that that's such a powerful thing and, and it's funny people when I try to explain. The mechanics behind what CrossFit got, right. As a thing. Mm-hmm. . Right? It's this idea that you're like, Okay, I have a goal. Somebody's showing me how to do the thing to achieve the goal.

There's a number on the wall that is gonna tell me how I did on the goal. Mm-hmm. . And there's a bunch of people that are gonna rally around me to help me achieve the goal. Yeah. It's like the fucking, like, simple thing, all boxes checked. Yeah. You know what I mean? No wonder it's so successful, right?

Yeah. And so I think like, it's funny because there's a lot of other areas where you, you could apply the same mentality and be successful. Right? Very much so. And just understanding those human, human elements. I mean, I love seeing it when somebody's really struggling and everybody kind of rallies around to help em too.

They're like, That's, that's what it's all about.

[00:51:51] David Syvertsen: Special, special moments. Yeah. All right. Yeah. All right. Well thank you so much, Dylan. That was, that was as, as good as I thought it was gonna be, if not better. And it's, it's funny that you've been, I've trained you in classes dozens of times, but this is the first time I really feel like I got to know you and, cause I didn't want to be too, too nosy or too intrusive at the gym.

And I know you show up to work, but I really appreciate the time that you gave us tonight. And I know everyone that listened to it got a lot out of it. And we're definitely. Looking forward to seeing what we do does and hopefully cross will get associated with them

[00:52:22] Dylan Casey: at some point. Yeah. Well, I wanna say thanks to both of you for having me.

It's I feel like it's I have a lot of gratitude in having the opportunity to kind of share the stories and it's interesting because oftentimes I, like I forget about the past and, and. Kind of like the, the labels that got applied to it of, Olympics and postal team and this and that.

And I'm just another guy in there trying to get some pushups and pullups in . And but then having the opportunity to kind of like help help other people or inspire other people is like such a huge honor. So I, I really appreciate the, the opportunity to, to sit down and jam with you guys. So thank you.

Awesome.

[00:52:58] David Syvertsen: All right. Thanks, Ben. All right. We'll see you guys next week.