Roll On: Merchants Of Chaos

02/04/21 • 138 min

Perhaps you thought 2021 might bring some return to normalcy. So far we have the Capitol insurrection, GameStonk and Jewish Laser Beams. We need to talk.

After a much-needed break, Roll On returns with my hype man Adam Skolnick, an activist and veteran journalist perhaps best known as David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me co-author. Adam has written about adventure sports, environmental issues and civil rights for outlets such as The New York Times, Outside, ESPN, BBC, and Men’s Health. He is the author of One Breath and is currently hard at work on a novel.

We are also mixing up the format with two special guests, Arthur Jones & Giorgio Angelini, the filmmakers behind Feels Good Man (and RRP 576). Serving as our internet culture decoder ring, the lads join the show to help make sense of recent events insanity.

Some of the many topics explored in today’s conversation include:

the importance of taking a sabbatical;
the Capitol insurrection & the impact on the GOP;
how Reddit turned the stock market upside down;
the future of stock market democratization;
David Lynch’s absurd yet wonderfully soothing weather reports;
Ultra-runner Jim Walmsley’s 100k American record; and
How Nepalese climbers reached the summit of K2 in the winter for the first time.

In addition, we answer the following listener questions:

How do I focus & contribute when I’m so consumed by current events?
How do I deal with colossal failure and set myself up for success?
How did overcoming substance abuse change your mindset on fitness & life?

Thank you to Kevin from St. Louis, John from the Sierra Nevada, and Sarah from Phoenix for your questions. If you want your query discussed, drop it on our Facebook Page, or better yet leave a voicemail at (424) 235-4626.

FULL BLOG & SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/richroll578

YouTube: bit.ly/rollon578

It’s good to be back!

Peace + Plants,

Rich

Perhaps you thought 2021 might bring some return to normalcy. So far we have the Capitol insurrection, GameStonk and Jewish Laser Beams. We need to talk.

Some of the many topics explored in today’s conversation include:

the importance of taking a sabbatical;
the Capitol insurrection & the impact on the GOP;
how Reddit turned the stock market upside down;
the future of stock market democratization;
David Lynch’s absurd yet wonderfully soothing weather reports;
Ultra-runner Jim Walmsley’s 100k American record; and
How Nepalese climbers reached the summit of K2 in the winter for the first time.

In addition, we answer the following listener questions:

How do I focus & contribute when I’m so consumed by current events?
How do I deal with colossal failure and set myself up for success?
How did overcoming substance abuse change your mindset on fitness & life?

FULL BLOG & SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/richroll578

YouTube: bit.ly/rollon578

It’s good to be back!

Peace + Plants,

Rich

Previous Episode

The Minimalists: Less Is Now

How might your life be better with less?

Not so many years ago, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus were mired in the corporate grind, banking six-figure salaries in pursuit of the American Dream. Expiating for the satisfaction their careers failed to provide, they did what most humans would:

They bought stuff. Lots of stuff.

When that didn’t work, they bought more. And when that didn’t work, they hit bottom. What came next was a search for meaning that would forever alter the trajectory of their lives—and ignite the spread of minimalism across the world.

Known today as The Minimalists, Joshua and Ryan advocate for the pursuit of living less materially and more deliberately. Through their website, books, podcasts and films, they share practical, experience-based insights on how minimalism can lead to freedom—providing the foundation for a life built not on consumption, but instead on conscious purpose and mindful intention.

With a devoted readership in the millions, they’ve written several books, given TED Talks and spoken at places like SXSW and Harvard Business School. They’ve been featured on every major television network and profiled in major publications like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and TIME.

In 2016, Ryan and Joshua made an unexpected splash when their Netflix documentary Minimalism enervated audiences around the world. Now they’re back with a brand new, must-see follow up, Less Is Now.

Given what these fine young gentlemen represent, I will restrain inclinations verbose to simply say that this is a conversation about how to live with greater intention and purpose.

It’s about creating more by consuming less. It’s about prioritizing experience over accumulation. It’s about growth, contentment and love. And it’s about the deep personal satisfaction that comes with contributing beyond ourselves.

In other words, minimalism isn’t martyrdom—it’s freedom.

FULL BLOG & SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/richroll577

YouTube: bit.ly/theminimalists577

Joshua, Ryan and their message is a gift. Receive it graciously. Then put it to work.

Peace + Plants,

Rich

Next Episode

Alexi Pappas Is Bravey

What happens when you have two very big but different dreams vying for your focus? Do you choose one? Or do you risk it all to pursue both?

This was the dilemma faced by today’s guest—a woman who knows a thing or two about what it takes to execute at the highest level.

Meet Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete. Award-winning writer. Filmmaker. And so much more.

An extraordinary runner, Alexi set the Greek national record in the 10,000-meters and competed for Greece at the 2016 Olympic Games. An equally noteworthy artist, her words have graced the pages of The New York Times, Runner’s World, Women’s Running Magazine, Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, and Outside.

Not enough? In the exact same year she competed in the Olympics, she also co-wrote, co-directed, and starred alongside Rachel Dratch in Tracktown, her first feature film. Executing on just one of these goals is an exceptional accomplishment. Doing both in parallel is downright superhuman.

More recently, Alexi co-wrote and starred alongside Nick Kroll in Olympic Dreams, the first non-documentary-style movie to ever be filmed at the actual Olympic Games.

Profiled in every major publication from Sports Illustrated to Rolling Stone, my interest was recently piqued by an amazing New York Times OpDoc (produced by friend of the pod Lindsay Crouse), which poignantly portrays the emotional toll of chasing an Olympic dream.

In her excellent new memoir Bravey, Alexi dives deeper. An exuberant and unflinching primer on the struggle of self-actualization, it’s the beautiful story of surviving trauma and navigating disparate dreams—filmmaking and athletics—in competition for her attention. Why she refused to pick just one lane. And how, setbacks and deep lows aside, Alexi ultimately succeeds at both.

How is possible that this human is so good at so many things simultaneously? And what is the cost (if any) of setting the bar so high?

I needed to know more.

This is a conversation about the courage required to blaze your own path. It’s about self-belief. And it’s about setting audacious goals and how to work towards them.

It’s also about depression, loss and sacrifice.

It’s about the intersection of athletics and art. And how to prioritize synergy over balance.

But more than anything, this is about what Alexi calls being bravey.

In Alexi’s case, trauma helped fuel her success. But it was in healing that trauma that she learned to thrive—and find the joy in the journey.

FULL BLOG & SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/richroll579

YouTube: bit.ly/alexipappas579

This one’s for all the Braveys and soon-to-become Braveys seeking to replace can’t with maybe.

Alexi is my new favorite person. Tune in and discover why.

Peace + Plants,

Rich