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Faster Than Normal - The ADHD Podcast

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.
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Faster Than Normal - The ADHD Podcast
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Now displaying: January, 2021
Jan 27, 2021

Raven Baxter, also known as Raven the Science Maven, is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed science communicator and molecular biologist who works to progress the state of science education and culture by creating spaces that are inclusive, educational, and real.

Raven is an entertainer and content creator known for her unique style of combining science and music that teaches and empowers those in STEM and beyond. Raven speaks about innovation in science education and social change in STEM.

Raven is the founder of Science Haven, a non-profit organization that operates at the intersections of science, education, and the public. Science Haven houses STEMbassy, a live web series that connects the public with science and technology professionals, and Black In Science Communication, a group that works to build relationships in the science community, equipping others with the knowledge and resources necessary to share science with the world in their own flavor. Raven has quickly developed a reputation as a strong voice in science education and has been recognized as a global influencer in several publications, including Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list for 2020.  Enjoy!

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Raven discuss:

:41-  Intro and welcome Dr. Raven Baxter 

2:47-  So tell us about your background?

4:45-  Where did you go to college?

5:17-  So tell me a bit about when you first got diagnosed with ADHD?  

8:45-  So when you decided to pursue your career, how did that counter with your ADD/ADHD in the premise that it requires so much focus? You can’t sort of round-up in science, so how do you make that work and keep that focus and immediacy that’s needed?   

11:05-  Tell us about what you do, specifically? For kids listening that might want to go into Science, and have that fear they might not have the capacity to focus. 

12:40-  Tell us about what you’d say to kids who may have been told by teachers that science isn’t for them?  

13:54-  So, what would you say to kids about where to go next?  You know, you might get a seventh grader that says, “Hey, I want to do more of this!”  

15:10-  Tell us what you're doing now?

16:20-  How can people find you?  Website: www.scimaven.com and @RavenTheScienceMaven on INSTA  Twitter & Facebook YouTube and @Sciencemaven on TikTok

16:32-  Thank you Raven! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:26-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

STAY HEALTHY - STAY SAFE - PLEASE WEAR YOUR MASK.. until next time!

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hey guys, welcome to Faster Than Normal. My name is Peter. I am your host today and I'm thrilled that you're here. It's a gorgeous day here as we get close to the end of 2020, everyone's assuming that 2021 is just going to be that much. Like we're going to flip a switch and all of a sudden everything's gonna be better.  And, uh, you know what, I'm too tired. I'm too tired to argue with that. So I'm going to say, yeah, sure. That sounds great. We are talking to someone who will tell us all about how crazy that idea is because this woman is involved with science. Her name is Raven Baxter, Dr. Raven Baxter, otherwise known as Raven, the science Maven. which I love.  Okay. She's an award-winning and internationally acclaimed science communicator and molecular biologist. All right. So right here, I can tell you this woman's four times as smart as me, which is great. She works to progress the state of Science, Education and Culture by creating spaces that are inclusive, educational and real.  I love that so much, I'm sitting here staring at my seven year old daughter, and I'm thankful that people like Raven exist.  Raven is an entertainer, she's a content creator, she's known for her unique style of combining science and music, that teaches and empowers those in STEM... and beyond. Raven speaks to that innovation in science education and social change in STEM, she founded Science Haven. Science Haven has this STEMbassy, I love that name, which is a live web series that connects to the public within science and technology and the connection with science, technology professionals, and Black In Science Communication, a group that works to build relationships in the Science community, equipping others with the knowledge and resources necessary to share science with the world in their own flavor. She was one of Fortune Magazine's “40 under 40”, this year. She has a job,  she has a project in progress called Nerdy Jobs with Raven the Science Maven, which I think is awesome. She's had a TEDx talk,  she's on the STEMbassy season finale, she’s all over the internet…. welcome Dr. - welcome Raven. It is great to have you. 

Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I hope you're doing well. 

I always know that my introductions have gone too long when the person like falls asleep and has to come back and say, Oh yeah, Hey, but no, it was a great into,  wonderful to have you. I'm thrilled that you're, that you're a part of this.  (2:47) Um, you're doing some amazing, amazing things first and foremost. Tell us about your background. Tell us about how, how, how Science sort of picked you, as it were. 

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, a lot of people listening to this podcast can relate. But potentially to having ADHD and like being, perhaps being a child and being into everything and wanting to explore everything.  And, um, I feel like with ADHD that was amplified in that, you know, I really felt like I was unstoppable. If I wanted to learn about the clouds I was in the library, like trying to get my hands on every single cloud book and. You know, when I got to the point where I felt like I knew everything about that, then I wanted to learn about space and I went to space camp, and I found that I was afraid of heights..  Yeah, I did it. Have you ever been??

Hey you know what's funny. I never went as a kid. As an adult. I got invited to Media Space Camp, and so I spent three days doing the same thing that they did in space camp and it was incredible. 

That's awesome. So you know how cool it is? 

Oh yeah

Just imagine being a little kid. 

Oh, I can't even imagine, plus I went . I saw the movie, like the second it came out. Right. I was all about Jinx the robot. I wanted that robot, jinx. I was like Jinx and Max friends forever. I totally wanted that robot. 

Yeah, and I also, well, I guess not to be a downer, but I found out I was afraid of heights at space camp. So, you know, my dream of being an astronaut totally wiped down the dream, but I luckily had already been exposed to in part due to space camp, all of the different types of science careers you can have.  So, you know, I just dove into everything and eventually ended up into molecular biology. And that's where I’m focusing now,  and, um, kind of parlayed into science education after having a career as a corporate scientist. 

Amazing amazing. Where'd you go to college? 

I went to SUNY, well, I went to a couple, a couple different colleges actually.Um, I started at SUNY college of environmental science and forestry also known as SUNY ESF. Um, and then I went to community college for a little while, and then I transferred to, um, Buffalo State College where I graduated with my bachelor's and eventually my master's. And now, um, I'll be finishing my doctorate in May at a university at Buffalo. 

Very cool. (5:17)  So tell me a bit, so, you know, science, when you were, when you got ADHD, what was that? When did that? Okay, well, first of all, when did you get diagnosed?

I was diagnosed when I was about six or seven. 

Oh wow really?  OK, and did, get that at that age… it  probably, it probably didn't really change much for you. You just knew, you know, here's, what's up, like it wasn't like you're diagnosed in your thirties or anything like that. 

Right? No. Well,  so when I was diagnosed, um, ADHD medications were very new on the market, right?  And so it was really up to my Mother to say, “OK, she has this okay, she has this diagnosis, what do we do now? Um, being that the medications were so new, she really didn't feel comfortable putting me on anything, so, um, I essentially just… freestyled it, sorry, my dog is sneezing in the background. are you okay?  Um, yeah, so she just kind of freestyled it with me and just, let me, let me be me.

That's awesome. You know, it's interesting. Um, when I was, when I was growing up, it didn't exist. Right? It was the sit down and interrupt the class disease and, um, you know. 

Oh yeah, that was me. 

So here’s the interesting thing,,,,the, the, the, the stuff that you liked, right? The, the, you know, like science, whatever kind of subjects you liked, I'm sure you were great at. 

Oh yeah. I was, I was naturally gifted at pretty much everything that I did, and I think that's. That's probably what frustrated my teachers the most is that I couldn't sit down and do my work. I'd get up. I'd be spinning around during class while the teacher's teaching. And while literally everyone else is seated, I just be up like twirling, twirling around like a tornado.Um, but my work would be done, right? Like acing  everything. So. I mean, I was, I was also bored, but I also was hyperactive, but it was also very smart and getting my work done. So teachers really didn't know what to do cause they couldn't really justify putting me in time out because I wasn't white, like misbehaving, you know?

Yeah. So, but they were putting me in time out. Um, that's the, my mom stepped in after that. 

It's good to have parents that’ll have your back. That must've been tough. You know, here you are getting all this stuff done and it's just that you were too fast for them. 

Yeah. Yeah, I didn't, um, I remember them putting me in, um, a gifted and talented program, uh, at the same time that they put me in a special education program, which is a little confusing for me.Um, because I was going to like three different classrooms where most of my friends weren't moving around. Like they just stayed in the same classroom. And, um, the, in the gifted and talented program, I, I was smart enough to do the work, but those kids were really self-disciplined. Um, they could sit down and do the work, and I felt very out of place because I couldn't, you know, it was a smaller group of kids and I realized I was the only one, like, couldn't stop moving around. Um, but I, I felt home in the special ed classroom. I really did. 

Yep. I believe it. And you know, what's interesting is that, is that you go, you know, I remember, I never, my grades were… in  New York City, there was something called a resource room where you could get extra time and to do all these things, but my grades were too good. I, you know, I had great English skills and my math wasn't great, but my English and science, all that was enough that you're like, oh, he doesn't need that, but he won't shut up. 

Right. 

So you couldn't, you couldn't really win when you, (8:45) so when you decided to pursue science as a, as a career, you know, how was that, how did that sort of line u…. uh, how did that counter with your ADD/ADHD with the premise that, you know, you have to focus, right? You're looking at things that, you know, I say, what is that great, uh, that great quote, when, uh, when, uh, you know, when, when a nuclear physicist screws up the world explodes, one of geologists goes up, rock breaks and that's about it, you know, but you, you're, you're sitting there with like, you know, you're doing stuff that matters and you're doing stuff where you have to be completely on point, right?  You can't just sort of round up. In science. Exactly. What, tell us, tell us how you are… um, how do you make that work? How do you, how do you keep that focus? How do you get that sort of, uh, immediacy that's needed? 

That's a very good question, and that's something that I honestly struggled to answer myself.  Um, because as a student, um, being a scientist as a student, and when you're learning the science, there's really not a lot of pressure. Like you're, like what you were saying, you know, you’re just enjoying the subject, you're mastering the subject. But when you're working as a corporate scientist, the script is completely flipped.  You know, when you're working in drug discovery, where I was working, um, it was very difficult, to work in that high pressure situation, um, where you know that every number matters, right?  There's barely any room for error because you're working on a million dollar project and every test tube that you waste is $10,000 down the drain, literally.  And you're also making things that will potentially go into somebody's body down the line. And so you really want to make sure your work is the best it can be, which is possible with ADHD. But, um, I personally don't feel like professional environments, such as like, a corporate scientific environment... I don't think that they've quite come up with the resources needed to make that a comfortable working environment for somebody like you or me.  Um, I do think that like there needs to be special accommodations just like there isn't school for people with, um, you know, learning disabilities and attention disorders. I think I would have had a much more comfortable working experience had that been in place. 

(11:05) Tell us about what you do, specifically…. right?  So give us like your top three. So you have a lot of kids who listen to this podcast and they're, you know, if any of them wanna go into science and they're afraid, well, I don't have the, the capacity to focus. Tell us what you do. Cause it's, it's obviously you've proved that it's possible. 

 

Yeah. Um, I think that for me, having ADHD is definitely about recognizing where your superpowers work the best, right?  Um, and asking for help when you need it. So, for me personally, I feel like, um, my excitement and my love for science really is best used when I’m teaching about science and sharing that with other people. Um, and so I'm able to take everything that I learned about as a student and share it with people that want to learn about science who are around me.  Um, and that's what I do now. As a science communicator, I use music, I use videos, I use music videos and, uh, I communicate science through all of those things to help people learn about science and teach people about new things. 

I've never heard that  term science communicator, I love that. And what I'm going to love, is that you've managed to take what you love, combine it with what you do, and here we are.  

Right? Yeah. I love it too. Um, there, I'm sure you've heard of Bill Nye, The Science Guy, Neil Tyson… those are all science communicators. I just don't think people know what to call them. 

Yeah. I'd never heard the term. That's so cool. (12:40) Tell us about, um, so. What do you say to kids who don't believe that, you know, oh, they've been told by the teachers and you know, mistakenly that yeah, you're ADHD. You're not gonna, you know, science isn't for you. I mean, I, I, I, had a teacher that actually said I should pursue accounting, right? 

Oh my gosh. I think that science is perfect for people with ADHD. And the reason is because there's so many questions to answer. And if you're anything like me, you want to bounce from question to question to question.I mean, one day I'm thinking about. Oh my gosh, how did the universe start? Whoa. Now I'm looking into quantum physics and yeah, quantum physics...documentaries, and trying to learn about the big bang theory and different, different theories that exist that, um, that are talking about where the universe came from or where did life come from on planet earth, right?  All of those different theories. And it's really exciting. There's, there's really no one way to love and enjoy science. And there's so many different questions to answer, that it's perfect for somebody with ADHD, because there's something new all the time to focus on and learn about.

I love that. I love that. So the premise that you'll never get bored?

You'll never get bored. I can almost promise you that. 

(13:54) So, what do you say to, uh, where, where should the kid go next? You know, you're going to get a seventh grader or something that says, Hey, I want to do more of this. 

Ah, gosh, that's a really good question.I think that what's worked for me when I was a young kid is just not getting too worked up about following a particular path. Like really just follow your natural instincts and pay attention to what's interesting to you and just get lost in it. Right? Like I, some of the, I would've never become, I would have never become a molecular biologist if I didn' decide that I could learn anything I wanted to learn and do whatever I wanted to do to learn that. So like going on Wikipedia, and clicking on Wikipedia to different articles and just getting lost in the articles, because everything's linked to each other on the website, um, that's one way to do it or watching documentaries. Um, going on, you know, asking your parents to go on to Netflix and picking up documentaries,  that’s appropriate for you to watch, to learn more, asking your teachers interesting questions, because they might be able to teach you something new. Um, those are different ways to get into it. 

Yup. I love that. Very, very cool. (15:10) Tell us what you're doing now...

So now I am working full time as a science communicator while finishing my doctoral research.  Um, and I'm hoping to start a couple of new series with a major network next year. Um, all of this is pretty much under wraps, which is why I'm being a little vague, but, um, it's a network that everybody loves and enjoys. That, um, we're working on two shows together and both of those shows are science shows.  One of those shows is focused on biology and learning everything there is to know about biology. And, um, the other show is me exploring different jobs in science, technology engineering, and that the medics. 

All right. Very cool. So stay in. So it's good that you're not busy or anything like that. 

Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Well, this has been very, very cool. (16:09) Tell, tell people how that they can find you, cause I have a feeling that you get a ton of followers and a ton of questions off this interview. How can people find you? 

You can find me um anywhere on the internet, if you Google  “Raven, the Science Maven.” I'm on Twitter @Ravenscimaven, and everywhere else at “Raven the Science Maven,” except for TikTok, where I am @Science Maven. 

I love it. I love it. Raven Baxter, Raven the Science Maven, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast. This was a lot of fun and I think you're going to give a lot of kids a lot of hope because let me tell you someone who has a seven year old daughter, who is currently playing with her brand new rescue puppy that we got. Um, it's pretty awesome to watch her get excited about things. We've been doing science experiments, we've grown a crystal. Um, what else have we done? Done lot of fun stuff and, and it's, it's fun to watch her eyes light up when we do it. So, you know, go--- go science!  I'm always, it's funny. I haven't, I haven't said this yet, but I always want to quote the line every time she does something gets excited about, I want to teach her to say the line from um, um, from Breaking Bad where they cook their first batch of meth and is “science bitch,” but don’t wanna do it.  Raven, thank you so much for taking the time, we will definitely have you back at some point in 2021, stay safe, stay healthy, and we'll talk with you soon. Guys, you've been listening to Faster than Normal. We love it when you're here, we love it that you're here. We love it that our numbers keep going up and the more people are learning that  ADHD is a gift, not a curse.  Please stay in touch with us, shoot us an email, let us know who you want to hear. Raven came to us… uh, from a user, from a listener who said, “Hey, you should have this person on your podcast.”  And we did. That's how it works. It's really simple, so if you want more, give us some names, we will make more easily.  Otherwise leave us a review, stay safe, stay healthy, wear a mask, we will see you guys next week. Thanks so much for listening, my name is Peter Shankman.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were performed by Steven Byrom and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Jan 20, 2021

Tunch Diptas is an accomplished executive & coach, a master of combining the discipline of the mind and body, turning the previously unobtainable goals into self-fulfillment and success stories. Post graduation, Tunch mastered in International Economics. He has cultivated advanced relationships with wealth advisors, private bankers, business bankers, insurance agents, trust specialists, advanced financial planners, and mortgage consultants, as a Certified Financial Planner. As a result of the long time interest, he set his heart on the consultancy. Tunch has worked with executives from Fortune 500 companies including, Wells Fargo, Northwestern Mutual, Chase Manhattan, KW Inc., guiding them to get outstanding results. So far, Tunch has worked with soccer teams to reach championship status; early career executives to obtain leadership roles; and successful professionals to accomplish their dreams. He is a Senior Leader with the Tony Robbins Leadership Academy, focusing on Business Results Training. He believes that “Leadership begins with an ability to persuade and connect. Engaging and captivating any audience from beginning to end for a powerful, lasting impact can be learned!”

Tunch provides a rich set of practical and life-tested ideas, concepts, and frameworks that will help those who want to change; to be the best that they can be. His ambition is to make people better in their focus area, discover their purpose, make a strategic plan, and finally get measurable, quantitative results with a significant improvement in leadership and team building skills. With the ambition of inspiring people with impactful ways so that they can all have authentic and meaningful lives, Tunch is always glad to connect with new people!  Enjoy!

 

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Tunch discuss:

:50-  Intro and welcome Tunch Diptas 

1:26-  So what’s your story?

2:15-  What prompted you to get tested for ADHD?

3:22-  What were the medications the put you on first? How did that go?

6:10-  Tell us a little about how you took control of your happiness after your diagnosis?

7:20-  On defining purpose

8:45-  On focusing on what’s important and what’s working

9:25-  What do you advise on negotiating the downsides of change and embracing the positive?

12:20-  Let’s talk about emotional fitness; how do you deal with anger, anxiety and communicating with your partner/family/co-workers, etc?

14:50-  How do you find a middle ground/balance with your work and life?

16:20-  How can people find you? At www.TunchDiptas.com and @TunchDiptas on INSTA  Facebook and YouTube

16:54-  Thank you Tunch! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:26-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

STAY HEALTHY - STAY SAFE - PLEASE WEAR YOUR MASK.. until next time!

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

PS: If you're looking for that special gift this holiday season for someone in your life who has ADD, ADHD, or any kind of neurodiverse brain, how about a conversation with me? I've finally been convinced to join Cameo, where you can request videos, shout-outs, birthday greetings, even a one-on-one talk about how ADHD is a superpower! You can find me on Cameo here!​

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hey guys, Peter Shankman... happy to have you here. As we enter the world of ADHD, ADD everything that are diverse, for another episode of Faster Than Normal, good stuff going on. We're gonna be talking to a coach today who I love his bio. The guy seems to have done everything. Um, his name is Tunch Diptas and I want it to tell us it tells us his background because it's, you're gonna find it fascinating, but I can give you the highlights.

He mastered the International Economics. International Economics, right? He's worked with companies, Wells Fargo, Northwestern Mutual, Chase Manhattan. Um, he led soccer teams to championship status. So I want to hear about that. And then we're going to talk.. I want to focus a lot on managing stress change, conflict of crisis, which is his big thing.

So welcome Tunch, good to have you. 

Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm excited. 

Good. So yeah. Tell us, tell us your backstory, cause you're not from this country. Tell us where you came from, how you got here… and you said you weren't diagnosed with ADHD until you were in your thirties. So tell us that, that as well, start at the beginning.

Sure. Uh, I'll be happy to. Um, so I actually grew up in Turkey and, um, when I was growing up, um, I didn't know anything about ADHD and my family didn't either. And, um, I grew up with so many challenges, um, family challenges and then also challenges at school. But, um, I was able to make it happen and I moved to the United States actually with no money, no English and no contacts.  So, um, that was my journey from Turkey to the States. And, um, I was able to overcome the challenges and  I'll be happy to talk about all of those. 

Yeah. Tell us, so tell us when you, what, what prompted you to get diagnosed with ADHD? 

So I, uh, after moving to the States and one of the things that I've done is I wanted to grow and learn the language and improve myself.  So that's why I start growing and then going to libraries. And, um, and then later I, um, I started working in corporate finance world because my background... education background was economics, and, um, I became successful.  Uh, I was so hyper-focused with success and, uh, I made it happen. And one of the meetings about six, seven years ago, um, one of my colleagues told me that you have ADHD. And I said, I don't think so. And he said, no, you're bored in every meeting. And, um, and then also you're easily distracted. So you got to go see a doctor. And I said, sure, because. I was successful, but I wasn't happy. So I was looking for answers. 

That's actually, that's actually a trait, the concept of being tremendously successful in it, but still feeling like something's wrong and you haven't been able to accomplish a thing. 

Exactly. And I didn't know what ADHD was because I grew up in Turkey and when I was growing up, it's still a developing country and nobody told me anything about it, but I was always feeling the symptoms. And like one of the stories that I remember from my childhood, that, um, I was always falling down. Always like, um, had wounds on me. And once I had an accident and I fell, I fell down and it just, um, I had a big wound on my face and my chin and, um, and then I went back to the, uh, the class and my teacher looked at me and, she said it's….  still developing countries,  so, uh, she said, why'd you do that? Why do you keep falling down? Why do you always, why are you so clumsy? So she looked at me and she said at in effect, she called my Mom, and my Mom came to the school because it had to, um, I had to go to a doctor for a stitch for stitching my chin and, um, my Mom looked at me, and she said the same thing. Why are you so clumsy? What's wrong with you? And that story is just, um, got stuck with me and I asked the same question all my life to myself. I said, what's wrong with me? And, but that was my primary question until I realized what I'm asking. I was asking myself and that's when as soon as I realized, that's when I stopped, I decided to change. And I went to doctor, uh, after, uh, hearing from my friend, and he said, uh, the doctor said you have high ADHD. Um, constant boredom was the highest thing that he said. And I said, okay. So they start giving me medication. And I used it may,  be short, maybe two, three months, and I decided that it’s not for me, and I made a choice. (4:51) What medication were you on? Um, Ritalin,  Conserta,  um, Adderall,  they tried everything and it was, it was interesting because I'm like, am I, why am I taking all of these things? Because I have more anxiety, I feel more depressed. I was feeling down and, um, and I was like, I was happier before. So, and that's when I decided that I need to come up with steps to make myself feel fulfilled and happy., and if you want, I can go through the my steps, no, that makes perfect sense, but tell, yeah, tell us a little bit about what you,  how do you, so when you decided to take control, you know, a lot of people say, God, I need to be able to feel happy through it. And then they can't put it into sort of actionable items.

So in a nutshell, you know, in a minute or less, tell us what you did. 

So, um, I looked at my background, my history, as I mentioned, I came to this country with no money, no English, no contacts. So how did I do it? How did I do it? Because I had a belief that I came to this world for a reason. And I knew that my purpose is to grow and discover myself and learn what's going on in this world, explore myself and explore everything else, so that was my purpose when I was, when I came to this country and that's what made me going. And then that's what I know now, if I am so clear with my purpose, that keeps me going. And then also, um, It makes me progress. That's what makes me happy. So that was the number one thing that I put it down. I said, I got to know my purpose, be clear with it, and, um, I need to align with every day. So that was my first thing. 

 I think, a lot of what happens, uh, when, when you, I mean, in general, but certainly when you have ADHD, you have this feeling like that if you're not moving forward, you're going backwards, right?   And so not having a purpose and not having really anything to keep striving for is probably the worst thing in the world for someone with ADD or ADHD.

Absolutely because, um, I mean, I have worked with clients and then also the colleagues that I noticed when someone who has ADHD, they, um, it’s just easily get distracted and easily, um, critique themselves so much that they go into depression mode.  Instead, what I came up with, I said, I got to remind myself my purpose every day, and that will give me the juice to move forward, to get motivated. So that was the first thing, but the most important to that, I figured out about five, six years ago and cheesy enough, but easy to say it embraced who you really are. And, um, embracing is like loving yourself with who, who I am, and loving I am, and um, why is that so important, because I used to, as I mentioned my, in my story with my mom and my teacher, I came up with that question to myself every time I'm forgetful, I, I used to say to myself, um, why am I like this? What's wrong with me? Or every time I'm clumsy. 

 Well, that's always the question. What's wrong with me. Why aren't I like everyone else? Why am I getting in trouble? Why am I the one being picked on?  Right, exactly.   So, and then I made a choice. I said, I'm going to love myself as who I am, and I'm going to reframe... that's the third step.  Re-frame everything. So instead of saying I'm forgetful, I actually start telling people and myself first myself and telling people that look, I only remember what's important only. And, um, I can, I can hyper focus on what's important and I can make things work. Um, that way the other things, yes, I forget, but I remember what's important. The question you get to keep that to heart. 

 

No question about it. In terms of, so, so one of the things that you, you focus on is managing stress and, and sort of change, you know, people want ADHD, we can do very, very well at change. If we have the tools to do that, you know, if not, if things like, for instance, when COVID started and, you know, all of a sudden I was home every day, instead of being on the road, you know, 300,000 miles a year, that was brutal for me, and that took a lot of changing, to get sort of under control and a lot of, a lot of work to make sure that I was okay because you know, all my creativity came from being on a plane and that was taken away from everyone, um, almost overnight. So in terms of a change, because 2021 is going to be just as insane, hopefully a little less, but you know it’s still going to be crazy.  What do you advise, especially someone with ADHD, you know, in a few minutes, tell us what they can do, and what anyone can do, to sort of negate um, the downsides of change and, and embrace sort of the positive side?

 Yeah. Um, so we gotta stay in house. That's the challenge. That's what you're saying, right.

Well, just not being able to travel, not be able to do what I normally do. All of a sudden they have to, you know, I'm a home, but my, my, it was a massive change for me to start being home versus to be on the road all the time. I had to change my entire system of how I lived. 

Right. And that's one of the things that I was my fourth step is, um, team up, teaming up with people, um, who can help, who can compliment you to overcome stress, and in also to make you successful is so important. And that's why I took this time to build the daily habits, which will help me get motivated every day. And it kept, I kept doing the daily habits. Even though there's no routine because I have a chaotic brain, creative brain I say it instead of chaotic brain, I said creative brain. And, um, I have a creative brain, so, but I still need to remember my purpose and then keep doing the activities, which help me get going. And then the other thing is this time is perfect to connect with people at a deeper level and also, um, help, help, it will help you get going. If you find the right people to team up, like right now, I am teaming up with people who can help me with organizing, who can help me with details, who I'm a, why person I'm a visionary person. If I find the right team, right person to help me right now, it's even more important.  So, what I will say is connecting and then cultivating deeper relationship, deeper relationships will help us get going right now, get motivated, and in also coming up with the daily positive activities, which will align with your purpose, 

That makes a lot of sense. Um, you know, if you have, if you have accountability buddies that were, that tends to, uh, that tends to help.

So no question about it. Um, in terms of, um, uh, emotional fitness, right? A lot of time, we have a hard time expressing how we feel. I know that in my world, uh, and, and a lot of the guests you've had on the podcast, when you have ADHD, you need to feel heard and you need to feel validated. And if you're in an argument with someone that's not always the easiest thing to do. What do you suggest, in terms of dealing with anger and, and, and anxiety, um, either with a partner or on your own, what can you do to sort of, you know, top, top things to do to prevent that? Anxiety. And, um, what else do you, uh, anger of, you know, w with a partner or a friend or whatever. 

Okay. so what I would suggest is again, um, the connecting with people at a deeper level, and then also as far as the anxiety, um, my suggestion is, is, um, taking time to, of course, to meditate and doing something, which will make me, that's what I do, which will make me get present. First. I get out of the state that I am in. Right now  it's so important to get out of the house, um, do something which will make you present again. For me, it's walking just to get out of the house and whenever I feel down, and then I start looking at where I, where do I focus?  Do I focus on what I have or what I don't have? Do I focus on, um, what I can control or what I can't control? Do I focus on, um, what's present and what can I do? What can I learn? Or what's what's in the past. So I look at where I'm focusing on and then also, um, also doing something to get me out of a comfort zone. Couple of weeks ago, I was, I wasn't feeling like top of my game. And I said, I got to do something to get me out of comfort zone, which I see your picture. I did go skydive to get out of my comfort zone. And right after that, what can I do to control my focus? That's what I think the two things getting out of the comfort zone by changing the state, and the second thing is where's my focus. And then also a third thing is how can I be optimistic about the future? Where do, what am I focusing on in the future, right. 

Yeah. No, that makes perfect sense. Tell us, um, in terms of establishing a balance, you know, a lot of times, when you’re ADD/ADHD, we're really all or nothing, right?  We go in and do everything or we do nothing. How do you find that middle ground? Because middle ground is really, really hard for people with neurodiverse issues. 

Actually, I don't. ha OK -  Here’s why. Um, I used to, um, try to, I used to try to do like, uh, how can I find the balance? How can I find the balance?  Now what I do is, okay, I found what I love doing, which is coaching. And when you do that, and I just get obsessed with what I do and I love it. And then people around me are integrated with it, so, um, it’s just, I believe that work life integration. And I just, do my work, and then people around me. I just integrated it in it.  Um, and that's, that's my solution to it. And it, because I love obsessing. What I love and what I love doing. And that's the, um, that's the formula to success. If you want to be successful in anything, you gotta be obsessed with it, which we have that, as ADHD people as a gift as that's what makes us unique.

Great answer. And I think that's a great place to leave it right now. Definitely want to have you back on again, Tunch, thank you so much for taking time. How can people find you? Give us your website. 

Um, it's um, I can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and, um, it's Tunchdiptas.com. And they can find me, uh, with the same thing,  any, any social media. 

Awesome. We'll put that all into the show notes. Tunch, thank you so much for taking the time to spend some time with us today on Faster than Normal, we truly appreciate it, guys, if you're listening and you've listened this far, leave us a review. Ah, reviews that show up on the, on the site and on Amazon or Amazon or Spotify, or wherever you download your podcasts, they do tend to help and they do tend to get more people interested and more people can then know that ADHD is a gift, not a curse, been saying that for going on four years now, so we appreciate that you've been listening, we appreciate that you've been here. Any guest ideas, feel free to shoot me a note. Peter@shankman.com. We would love to have them.  Thanks again to our guests and to all our guests, and guys, ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Stay safe, wear a mask, we'll see you next week.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were performed by Steven Byrom and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Jan 13, 2021

Rach McBride (they/them) is a professional Ironman triathlete and three-time Ironman 70.3 Champion, with numerous podium and course record results. Known as the “Purple Tiger,” Rach is known for racing and training with grit and resilience: having run half Ironmans on broken feet, raced an Ironman with food poisoning to qualify for the World Championships in Kona, and is an undefeated beer mile champion.  Deemed "the most interesting [person] in triathlon" by TRS Radio, Rach is also the first professional triathlete to be out as gender non-binary. It's not surprising that Rach was recently diagnosed with ADD: They hold two graduate degrees in genetics and are an accomplished cellist, having toured the US and performed in Europe with various bands. Rach loves being a minimalist, continues to hone their fire spinning skills, and currently works in sexual health education and advocacy in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Enjoy!

 

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Rach discuss:

1:30-  Intro and welcome Rach McBride 

Ref peter’s video about training for an Ironman 

4:05-  So why triathlon? What got you into it to begin with? Let's start there. 

5:40-  When were you diagnosed with ADD? How much of a part did ADD play in your decisions to compete?

7:55-  On self-medication, switching addictions and the benefits of Sport & hyperfocus

9:14-  Is Competitive Sport a trait of people with ADD, ADHD or otherwise neurodiverse?

10:29-  Tell me about how you approach training/your daily routine/motivations, etc?

11:30-  On staying disciplined/not letting yourself talk yourself out of what’s next on deck

13:35-  Why doesn’t working out feel like forced or grueling ‘work’?

16:40-  About COVID and readjusting our weekly routines. How have you been surviving?

18:30-  How did the race in, and at Daytona International Speedway go for you last year?

20:14-  More about Challenge Daytona and how the loop works with the psyche

22:10-  The ‘tricks’ of competing in triathlons 

23:20-  What’s the one piece of advice you have for when people say: I can’t exercise, I just can’t!?

24:30-  LIGHTENING ROUND!  

What’s your fav piece of tech you just can’t do without? What’s your resting heart rate? If you had to live in ONE place for 6 months, with only 3 items, what would they be?

26:07-  Peter’s story about his first Ironman experience. 

[You can get in touch with Rach McBride via https://www.rachelmcbride.com]

27:55-  Thank you Rach! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

28:45-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

STAY HEALTHY - STAY SAFE - PLEASE WEAR YOUR MASK.. until next time!

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

PS: If you're looking for that special gift this holiday season for someone in your life who has ADD, ADHD, or any kind of neurodiverse brain, how about a conversation with me? I've finally been convinced to join Cameo, where you can request videos, shout-outs, birthday greetings, even a one-on-one talk about how ADHD is a superpower! You can find me on Cameo here!​

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hello everyone. My name is Peter Shankman. You are listening to Faster Than Normal. We believe that ADHD is a gift, not a curse and that all forms of neurodiversity are valid. We're glad you're here. 

Oh, You are listening to Faster Than Normal. How do I know this? Cause I am currently doing the interview. My name is Peter Shankman. I am thrilled that you are here. It is a gorgeous, it's just become a gorgeous day. We had a massive snow storm here about three hours ago. Now it is gorgeous. It ran all night. There's tons of, well, now it's all brown snow on the ground. This is New York city, but it is now the sun is out. The clouds are fading away. It is a, if you, if it wasn't 12 degrees out, you think it was just a beautiful day to go for a run. It probably means that I will not be doing that. So instead, I'll be doing an interview. Today’s interview is with Rachel McBride. We got a professional Ironman triathlete, and three time Ironman, 70.3 champion on the podcast and I’ll give you a hint, it's not me. It's Rach.. because when I do. My Ironman. I occasionally finished. I occasionally wind up in an ambulance. It really depends on the day, but the person we have right now is professional Ironman triathlete. I'm very excited about that. 

Known as the purple tiger, Rach is known for racing and training with grit and resilience. Having run half Ironman on broken feet, racing iron man with food poisoning to qualify for the world champions in Kona and races, an undefeated beer mile champion. I want to hear all about that. Rach is deemed the most interesting person in triathlon by TRS radio. Rach is also the first special triathlete to be out as gender non binary. That means that we do not call Rachel, we call each by the pronouns that Rachel prefers, which in this case is that I'm going to try really hard to say they, and I apologize in advance if I, if I subconsciously go back to she, but I'm going to work really, really hard on that. Um, I have a couple of friends who are non-binary and it's something I'm constantly trying to get better at not surprising that Rachel was recently diagnosed with ADD. Two graduate degrees in genetics and an accomplished cellist. Very interesting. Having toured the U S before in Europe with various bands, Rachel has being a minimalist nice continues to hone their fire spinning of course, you're a fire spinner. Why not? And currently works in sexual health education advocacy in beautiful Vancouver, Canada, Rachel, welcome to Faster Than Normal. What an awesome bio! 

Oh, thanks, I am super excited to be on your podcast. I'm a big fan. I, I, you know, I'm a huge, the more I learn about your, the more my God, three times 70.3 champion, we're talking about that you, you were deemed the most interesting person in triathlon by TRS radio, and we have something in common. I was deemed one of the funniest people in triathlon by traffic magazine. So Hey. You might not know a little secret. I made the video that I have no doubt that you saw about 10 years ago after my first iron man, 10 years ago, this past October, I made a video called I'm training for an Ironman where these two guys or a guy and a girl talking to each other and the girl goes, Do you wanna go get some dinner? And the guy says I can't. I have to go to bed at 6:00 PM. And she goes, what the hell is wrong with you? He goes, I'm training for an iron man. And it wound up getting picked up Lance Armstrong before we knew he was made of chemicals, tweeted it and it blew up and has several million views. And if you've been in racing triathlons, as long as you have, I'm sure you've seen it. 

So can't believe that I'm talking to the person who created that video! 

It was based on an actual conversation with an ex-girlfriend who would help, who helped me. I trained for Kona while we were dating. And is that not going to Cozumel while we're dating and as soon as the, um, as soon as the, uh, triathlon ended, you know, we broke up and then that was, that was, uh, uh, a combination of all the conversations we had. 

So, yes. So I love it. 

So why triathlon? What got you into it to begin with? Let's start there. 

Well, so I, um, basically spent most of my adult hood, uh, not as an athlete at all. Um, and I was actually doing my, I had really changed my life a whole lot gone from like being really involved in the Toronto music scene, uh, to doing my first masters in Ottawa, Canada, where it is freezing cold in the winters. Yeah. Um, and I was really hating life and not super happy with what I was doing and where I was. And so I decided to run a marathon and I trained for a marathon. I qualified for Boston. Um, I had done a little, yeah, I had run until I was 15. I had done like back in cross country. Um, and uh, after running Boston, I, a mentor of mine was like, Hey, I think you could be an elite triathlete. And I was like, well, I mean, this person knew me as an athlete, as a runner, but, you know, I, and I swam when I was a kid.

So I had a little bit of that and I had been a bike commuter all my life. So first of all, for some reason I took that idea of being an elite triathlete. And I was like, yeah, I'm going to do it. And so I started training really hard. I did my first triathlon, uh, 13 years ago and almost won it and just like it just took over the state, took, took over my life. I just, I couldn't, you know, the smile I had on my face when I came out of the swim and got onto my bike, I was like, Oh my goodness, I'm doing this. I'm loving it. Hm. What do you, so, so when were you diagnosed today? Um, I was diagnosed with add earlier this year.

Wow. So it's brand new to you. How much of, how much of a part do you think A DD played in. You deciding? Yeah, let's just run a marathon. Oh, here we qualified for Boston. Let's run that. Or, Hey, let's do a trip, you know? Do you think that when you said you were very unhappy, right? You said he used to run as a kid and then you stopped.

Do you think that the running helped you up until you're like 15 and 16 and you stopped running? And when you, when you lost that sort of that you probably didn't even know you were having. Do you think that had an impact exactly like this is the thing with the, this is what's been so profound for me is that this recent diagnosis has made all of these like puzzle pieces of my life finally fit into place and like why, for why I have gone from like career to career, to career and then found triathlon and have been in this now for I've been a full-time professional for 10 years. And I can't believe that I've stuck in this for 10 years, because usually I get bored and I move on what I have and what I realized when I became a full-time athlete. I'm like this, this doesn't feel like work to me. This doesn't feel like a job. Like I love my life. I love waking up every day and doing this and didn't realize that like a quote unquote job could feel like this. And I think what is so special about me finding this as, um, as an athlete, is that as a person with ADD is that it is absolutely self-made at medicating. You know, all of the things that I'm learning about, like how to cope with ADD symptoms is like exercise, exercise, exercise, and structure, and it like, this is checking so many of those boxes, plus it's three different sports. If I was just in one sport, I think I would be so bored. I would not have lasted this long, but because I have to get to swim, I get to bike, I get to run. It's like super varied and I get to travel all over the world and I get to, you know, explore so many different places, even mine in my own neighborhood. Like, you know, it, it keeps me super entertained. And obviously for the past decade. 

I think one of the interesting things you said, um, is pretty awesome. The concept that it is self-medicating. And I remember when I quit drinking and I started focusing on my health and getting in shape and working out, I would, there were times where I was probably like, you know, five years ago, it has been go to the gym two times a day.

Right. Or I'd go out for I'd wake up at 3:00 AM because it was the only time I'd do a 10 mile run, you know, before I had to lift at 7:00 AM, be in the office by eight and. I remember I had a friend of mine. He goes, dude, you're self-medicating, you're just, you just switched one addiction for another. I'm like, um, yeah, where's, where's the, where's the downside there, you know, and I really didn't see it.

I still don't see it. Right. Absolutely. I think, and I think what, what sport helps me do as well is, and why I'm so successful as it added is because it's a way for me to, I can hyper-focus in there. So I, because of how my brain works, I can, in my Ironman swims, I'm literally singing the same, like verse of a song over and over and over and over and over for an hour. And that helps me, like calms me. Focuses me. And then, you know, the same thing on the bike and the run it's like that I'm able to like be in, in that. And it's super hyper-focusing. 

It has to be an ADHD trait because my first half iron man in 2009, um, to get through that, you know, you're not allowed to wear headphones and music has been my life in any extra that I've ever done all my life and so. The first race I ever did. First half Ironman. I'm like, Oh my God, I can't wear headphones. How am I going to get through this? And I found myself, I sang the entire, I recited the entire on the bike, the entire script back to the future and on the run, the entire script to midnight run. And, you know, I mean, there were times when I'd be, I'd be passing people more like if people were passing me, but you know, I remember passing one guy and, and, and he hears, and looks at me strangely cause out of my mouth comes, “you guys are the worst bounty hunters I've ever seen. You couldn't bring back a bottle of milk!?” And he looked at me, he goes, like, “yeah, just have a good race”. And you know, but, but, but that works right. And, and, and the premise of being able to do something in our brain that gives us after four minutes gives us those chemicals for as long as we want for as long as we can, you know, technically sustain it. Right. Is, is I just think one of the miracles of the human body and the human brain. And I don't mean to be trite by that, but it really, you know, I'm upset. I'm frustrated, I'm angry. Let's get on the bike. Let's go for a run. Let's go for a swim. Um, tell me about, so tell me about training because a lot of times when I talk to athletes with ADHD, one of two things happens. They wake up and my God, they love to train on certain days and they wake up and, Oh my God, I, this the last thing I want to do, I'll I'll murder 14 people and eat ants before I have to get on that bike or go for that run over that one. 

Yeah. I mean, for me, I am definitely the person who wakes up and is like pretty excited to train. It's tough. It's obviously not every day. And I do what keeps me going is the accountability of like having coaches, um, who I know are paying attention to what I'm doing. And also, um, having sponsors and fans and supporters who are. They're behind me. And so it's, it's like this level of accountability that keeps me going every day. 

How, I mean, I do wake up in the morning and it definitely takes me a couple of hours to, to get ready to go. Um, and I'm really good at procrastinating too. So I, I have to, if I don't work out first thing in the morning when I wake up, I simply do not work out. And I have had, um, uh, you know, if I, if I have to do it. You know, in the evening, um, I will think of a reason, you know, I've, I've said this in the podcast before I'll be walking to the gym, you know, from my office, like, you know, I read an article in the news, there's an asteroid orbiting Pluto, you know, just to be safe and I figure out a way not to do it. And so, so, so, you know, the question becomes, um, what do you tell yourself? How do you sometimes when you don't want to do, but you have to, what do you do. 

Um, yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm really in that same boat of when I, so I work, um, once a week at, uh, in sexual health and it's basically a seven hour or eight hour shift in front of a computer and talking on the phone and at the end of that shift, I am completely wiped. And I, if I, it is really challenging for me to, to get in that workout. And I really just for me, I just, I can't think about it. I just need to, like, I need to have a plan and a time. So it's like, if I have a swim then, okay. My swim is scheduled for like five o'clock. I've got to be there or a gym session. It's like, it's on the way home. So I can't hesitate basically. Um, And, you know, when I first started triathlon and I, when I first started, I was, I was really quickly at an elite level and training at an elite level and still working full time. So I was like up at four 30 in the pool at five, working from seven 30 to three 30, doing another workout in the afternoon and evening, and then like getting up and doing it all over again. And. It was basically, I felt like I just wasn't thinking, I just like had to keep plowing forward. Um, and I think that's kind of one of those super powers that I have as a person with a brain like this is, um, is just that ability to just like keep moving forward. 

You know, you mentioned something interesting. I want to go back to, you said that you, you, you don't mind this and you don't mind the workouts because it doesn't feel like work. Right. And I think that it's really important that our audience understand that and that we bring a little bit more into that because a lot of times add ADHD. One of the biggest issues with that is that we are as human beings. We are forced into doing things that are, uh, considered normal by everyday standards, but aren't necessarily normal for people like us, for instance, a nine to five job or some kind of work that, uh, You know, we don't necessarily love. Um, and it starts when we're really young, um, as, as, as kids, right. You know, in school where we have to sit there and not move and, and, and, and be told to pay attention, it's difficult for us. But what you said is pretty awesome, because what you mentioned is that if you love it, it doesn't feel like work. It doesn't feel like you need to, you know, you have to do this. It doesn't feel like you have to do this. You're, you're happy to do this. Right. And that's the thing that I'm noticing. Um, And I think we should touch on, because a lot of kids, adults who are just diagnosed ADHD, they haven't realized yet that the reason they're quote unquote not good at school or the reason they're quote unquote, not happy with, with their job, whatever it is because they're being forced to do something that isn't necessarily normal for them, even though it is for many other people, you know, along the premise of I became an entrepreneur because I didn't play well with others.

Right. And sitting in the office from nine to five, wasn't my thing. Precisely. And this is why I'm like, when I figured this out, it really made everything click into place of like, because I had spent my, the majority of my twenties trying to do that, like Trump, when I'm wondering what was wrong with me of like, why do I hate sitting in front of this, like computer being at this.

 

Like going to the same place every single day and having to be there from nine to five, like, why is this so torturous? And I, my brain is not there. Like I'm incredibly inefficient at work. And, um, and so when I discovered triathlon, it totally took over my brain space and then I was getting nothing done at work. And, uh, and so. It. Yeah, it really was. It has now given me permission to, to, and I think this is what I, from listening to your podcast as well, and, and hearing about all of these other folks who have made these incredible careers, um, out of like, yeah, doing, having their own schedule, being their own boss. And this is one of the biggest things that I've been saying throughout my career. Now, when I, when I, now, when I'm thinking about like, what am I going to do when I'm not able to perform at this level? And I have to. It's figure out a new career. I have these now stipulations. 

Absolutely. I cannot go to the same place every day. I probably can't have a boss. I absolutely can't sit in front of a computer for eight hours a day and I definitely cannot work nine to five. I can't have a set schedule. I need to work on my time. One of the things about COVID, um, has for me anyway, has gone, has me, has been me going from 250,000 miles a year on the road on a plane to zero and it required a lot of readjustment, because it's been a very tough ride for me to sort of get to that point where I'm like, okay, I'm not going crazy sitting in front of a computer because that's deliberately what I carved my life out to not do. Right. And all of a sudden, you know, here I am doing that and it's been tough, but I think I've managed.

What are you, um, how has, how has COVID impacted you? I mean, obviously you went, you said you went to Daytona a couple weeks ago to race. I wanna hear about that, but how did you, how have you survived, been surviving the last nine months? 

Well, truly, um, I live in an incredible place. So BC is so beautiful. And in my, in the recent years, I've gotten a lot more into gravel writing and really I have just, I basically pivoted. So, you know, it took me out of the really structured training, but that, but now I was able to like, kind of do some of the things that I I'd always wanted to do. W, you know, athletic, you basically use my fitness to go and have adventures. So I went and spent a week in the riding gravel in the Rocky mountains. I went up to Northern BC and did a bunch of gravel riding and, um, basically just. And then exploring the trails here, um, in, in our, in, in my neighborhoods, like we have incredible mountains here. Uh, and so it was really about creating a structure in a different way and tapping into some of those, like, I love adventure and I have like these huge goals of, of doing ultra distance things in my future and so it was a little bit of a, you know, starting to explore a bit of that. 

Well, we'll talk about Daytona. What was it like? And it was the first, I mean, I haven't, I haven't done it yet. God's been well over a year now. I was supposed to do Kona this year and that obviously did not happen so hoping for 21, but yeah, I finally get to meet you.

That'd be great. And well, well, if you want to hang out, I mean, I guess if you want to hang out for like another eight hours after you finish, you know, you'll eventually see me cross the other side as well, and then that'd be fun. Um, what, tell me about the experience with, for you. 

Um, Daytona was really incredible. I mean, talk about having something to inspire the world of triathlon into 2021. Um, you know, the, the, the race was such a unique format. It was an incredible field of full of, you know, short course Olympians and long course world champions. And it was an incredibly dynamic race and really unique, I mean, being at the Daytona international Speedway and having the whole course on that, it was incredibly spectator friendly and you got a whole lot of spectator, uh, support and, um, and B it was like, you know, you're going around in a circle 20 times. Of course, uh, it is, uh, it is a really different animal than anything I think that any of us had ever raised. And so you saw, you saw the carnage on the run that, that bike had the toll that it had taken out on all of us. And, um, it was, it was a very, very cool experience even to just like connect with the triathlon community again. You know, we were all socially distanced and masked, but you know, you still felt that, that connection. And I think the response afterwards, I have heard from all over the world of people, just like, I'm so glad that that happened. Um, because it's been really motivating to, to take us into 2021. 

Well, the interesting things about that race, I'd be curious about your opinion, you know, most, most uh, Ironman, most, most half Ironman. You, you, you write a course outside and it's, you know, a set map, right? Like, um, when it, last time I did Atlantic city, it's, you know, you start by the boardwalk and you ride through the streets and you get onto the highway and you read the highway for a while. And then you repeat that three times. And there's your six miles. Um, this was 20 times around, uh, a race track, as you mentioned. And as I was watching it, I was, I was chatting with a bunch of my, my, my triathlon friends. And they're like, Oh my God, it's so boring. I'd kill myself this way. My first thought was. Actually that's awesome because my ADHD brain looking at it that way is able to count down. That's okay. 20. Okay. 19. Okay. 18. And to me, my God, I feel like every track I'm going to be that. 

Yeah. I mean that, I was actually, I loved that aspect of it because I mean, that's what you have to do with those big efforts is like, you know, take them down into smaller blocks and it was so easy to do. And exactly like, it was basically just like having that song on repeat just like going, going, you know? And, and so it really allowed me to do. But a hyper-focus and that those two hours on the bike went by in a flash. It was incredible. 

Yeah. And that's, like I said, that's probably, to me that would have been the best part because, you know, I remember Cozumel full Ironman and even that was three times a week around, um, the Island. Right. And it was flat, but it was still three times. And so even. Even with the headwinds, which were just, Oh my God, I wouldn't wish on anybody. Even with that. I remember thinking, okay. Three, okay. Two. Okay. One, but it was still 33, 30, six, 33 miles a piece. I feel like 20 times around would have been a lot. Cause it's a much less mileage. It would have been easier for the brain to break down. Cause that's really the first time we ever start running. Right. And so, okay. I just wanna get to that light post right. The second time. Okay. I just want to get to that tree. Okay. I just wanna do a mile and you know, I, I think that as human creatures, we just do that. And when you're ADHD, it actually benefits you that much more because you in your head it's, I mean, how many times have you run a race where you're trying to calculate what your time's going to be? Okay. If I could do this X mile and X, X minutes, then the mile after that would be nine minutes and that, you know, and then if I do the run right every time on the bike, I'm like, okay, if I can get this time with a bike that gives me.

 

You know, I could say I could walk X hours. Right. But yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I would argue in Cozumel too, I've done that race twice. Uh, that those three loops you can actually divide those loops into four bits, like jungle part. You've got the bottom part. You've got the windy part. You got the town part. Yeah. I am. I'm scared to death about Kona. I'm gonna have to get, I'm going to get there a week earlier and do exactly that like 10 miles a piece. Okay. This is 10 miles of this is the 10 minutes, you know, just to make it through, but. Tell me, um, what would you suggest? 

So, so it's obvious that that, that, that exercise is, is sort of the best potential fixer for ADHD, add and ADHD, the best thing to keep it used as an advantage. So knowing that, what do you, what's the one piece of advice you'd give to listeners when you, when they say it, uh, you know, I just, I don't exercise. I'm too fat. I'm too thin up to this. I've never done it before, whatever, what's the first, the only, the best advice you can give to them that says, Hey, here's why you can do this. Or how to start it or whatever. Yeah, yeah. 

Yeah. I mean, I think first of all, um, you need to choose something that you, that you enjoy. Like if you hate running, don't start running, like find something that you find interesting. Like whether that's like, maybe you love to dance. So like, you know, doing the Zumba classes or whatever, um, and setting a setting a schedule, like having something accountable. And so, you know, and. You know, really that breaking it down into that smaller bits of like, okay, let's just do this for three weeks. Or like, let's just do this for a week. Let's do two workouts this week. And then, you know, two workouts this week and try and set that structure and set that accountability. I think those two, those three things are the most important something you enjoy having a structure and having accountability. 

That was a great quote, quick left, final question. Um, make this a lightning round. What is your favorite? Your one piece of tech that you can't train or race without? Um, you know, honestly right now, it's my Loop. Uh, my heart rate, variability monitor. I live and breathe by this attracts everything attracts my workouts attracts my sleep, but yeah, everything. What's your resting heart rate. If you comfortable telling us, uh, my resting heart rate, it's usually around 54. 

Crazy. Okay. That's that's I, all of a sudden, I don't feel anywhere near as out of shape as I should be. Cause that's, that's the same as mine, so I feel pretty awesome right now. I'm not going to put an Ironman. That's okay. Um, final question. Uh, if you had to, if you were forced to live in one place by yourself for six months, with only three items, what would they be? 

Three items. Um, Pair of running shoes. Um, Oh gosh, three items, a pair of running shoes. I mean, I have to say my bike and, um, coffee. 

Hah! Great answers. I like that. Very, very cool. Thank you so much, guys. Listening to Rach McBride, a phenomenal interview. I definitely want to have you back before Kona. If nothing else would talk me off the ledge. So I'm looking forward to that. 

I will repeat really fast. My favorite, um, story that came out of my first time. And I was, uh, I had been running, uh, an internet company that had gotten some. President was pretty popular back then called help a reporter out. And, um, people that used it and thousands, a hundred thousand people use it. One of the people that use it was, was the head of, um, uh, public relations for jelly belly. Um, and Joey makes sport beans and I'm sure you've, you know, sport games. And so they, I, I mentioned in one of my emails, my love of scorpions, and they sent me a jersey, um, that said, um, that all of it had pictured jelly beans all over the other. It's gorgeous. I've worn it for like, everybody's sort of done it. So. Um, I'm sitting on the docks because it has, I'm a waiting for the race to repair like 5:00 AM. I couldn't sleep. I got up early, went down there, you know, and I'm just sitting, watching the water, the chilled water, I see a Manatee. I'm like, Oh, it looks like me. And, um, you know, I'm just watching, watching any, uh, a German triathlete, obviously a pro, um, comes over to me and says, ah, he sees my shirt. He goes, I see you to a sponsored athlete. Um, Yeah, they gave me a shirt and he goes, well, you know, this is, this is good. This is good. This is it'd be good. Good to race against other professionals. Are you, are you, are you hoping to place? He actually looked at me and asked me if I was hoping to place. Um, and I looked at him and of course it's wearing a shirt, says D’avella. Yeah. Right. Obviously sponsored by sir. Um, I noticed from your shirt, you're sponsored by D’avella one of the, obviously the fast triathalon bikes in the world. Sir, if you look at my shirt and then see I’m sponsored by fucking candy, and I'm not hoping to place, he goes with, what is your time goal? I go, it's the same day. I need you to just go over there. And that was how I started my first iron man German guy asked me if I was trying to place in the race. So it was, it was, it was a fun experience. But, uh, thank you so much for taking the time to come out today, to talk to us. I'm looking forward to chatting with you again, and we got so much more. We need even get to talk about your, your, your other skills, all that stuff. So that's going to have to come up next. We'll definitely have you back in like a month or so. And then we'll, we'll do this again. Amazing. I love it. Awesome. Thank you so much. Happy training and stay safe guys, Faster Than Normal is here for you. We want to know what you think as, as, um, I'm recording this probably like 13 days. So the end of the year, we're hoping that 2021 is a better year. I want to know who you want to hear. Um, you, uh, Rachel actually came suggested to us from a mutual friend. So if you have anyone you think who has ADHD or just an interesting person, has a story to tell about diversity. Do you think they should be in the podcast? I'd love to hear from them. Should have them shoot me an email. peter@shaman.com or shoot me an email. Introduce us whatever the case may be. We're looking for great guests in 2021. Like we've had for the past four years. Thank you all for listening. I appreciate it.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Wear the mask. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. We'll see you soon.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were performed by Steven Byrom and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

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