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DAN BAILEY

I sat down with 4 times CrossFit Games Athlete and all round legend Dan Bailey while he was in the UK for Reebok's Nano 8 Launch Event in London. I was incredibly impressed with how candid, humble and honest he was. He's an exemplary character to the CrossFit community and professional athletes worldwide. Find out how where his mindset is at after his toughest 2 years of not making it to The Games, why Josh Bridges is the most dangerous man in CrossFit and his approach for fighting an army of tiny horses. - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/modern-wisdom/id1347973549 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0XrOqvxlqQI6bmdYHuIVnr?si=iUpczE97SJqe1kNdYBipnw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - I want to hear from you!! Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

Chris WilliamsonhostDan Baileyguest
May 29, 20188mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 0:17

    Arriving in the UK & first impressions (Manchester vs London)

    1. CW

      (wind blowing) Mr. Dan Bailey.

    2. DB

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      Welcome.

    4. DB

      Thanks for having me.

    5. CW

      How you feeling in the UK? You good? Enjoying it?

    6. DB

      Good. Yeah, yeah, this is my second time here. Not to London, but second time here.

    7. CW

      I heard, s- the only place you've ever been in the UK before is Manchester, right?

    8. DB

      Correct.

    9. CW

      Uh-huh. How was that?

  2. 0:17 – 0:27

    Training at Train Manchester & the “Good Dudes Camp”

    1. DB

      Yeah, I was down at Sam's, Sam's gym.

    2. CW

      At Train?

    3. DB

      Yeah, at Train, yeah.

    4. CW

      Really good.

    5. DB

      We did a Good Dudes Camp, uh, Josh, Rich and I down there.

    6. CW

      Good.

    7. DB

      We had fun. Yeah, it was good.

    8. CW

      Awesome.

    9. DB

      I mean, we spent a lot of time at the gym, obviously, but, yeah.

  3. 0:27 – 1:16

    Camaraderie at the top: friendship with Dave and community example-setting

    1. CW

      Um, so on Instagram yesterday, I saw Dave try to put you off during a photo shoot.

    2. DB

      Oh, yeah.

    3. CW

      Have you ever, have you ever tried to just sort of give him a little nudge or whatever before he's got into a workout or, like, whisper random movements in his ear?

    4. DB

      We, we, uh, we go back and forth every now and then on things like that. But no, I, uh, uh, Dave treats me like a little brother sometimes, so-

    5. CW

      Uh-huh.

    6. DB

      ... I appreciate it and, you know-

    7. CW

      You get looked after, yeah?

    8. DB

      ... we have fun with it, yeah. Yeah.

    9. CW

      That's cool. It's such a good in- play seeing you guys. You're obviously such good friends.

    10. DB

      Right.

    11. CW

      And it, I think that seeing the guys that are at the pinnacle of the sport, that are still so tight and you can kind of see yourself and the relationships.

    12. DB

      Yeah.

    13. CW

      Like, it's really, really nice and I think that sets a really good example for the community as well.

    14. DB

      Oh, yeah.

    15. CW

      Which must feel empowering, empowering for you guys.

    16. DB

      Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's good to know you guys see that.

    17. CW

      Really, really do.

    18. DB

      'Cause it's authentic. It's legit, yeah.

  4. 1:16 – 2:09

    How Dan’s training evolved: from high volume to quality, intensity, and specificity

    1. CW

      Um, so can you talk to me about your changes in training styles over the years? So what you're doing different now that you were five years ago, 10 years ago?

    2. DB

      Sure. Um, I think a lot of new CrossFitters, like right when I got in, obviously it's like volume, volume, volume, you know. You're trying to play catch-up almost on all these different things that you have to learn and then as you kind of get through some of that, you kind of start to figure out how to do muscle-ups, how to snatch properly, how to, you know, you get your technique down and your mechanics down. Then some of that volume I've kind of dropped off a little bit at, in specific times of the year and, uh, focused more on the quality, getting in more intensity, getting in more simulations of actual workouts that you're going to see during the Open, Regionals or the Games and, uh, not so much of the beat down, so-

    3. CW

      You don't have to get as much time under the curve, maybe?

    4. DB

      Yeah, yeah, yeah, kind of.

    5. CW

      Sort of in terms of training volume?

    6. DB

      Yeah.

    7. CW

      Be a bit, a little more specific.

  5. 2:09 – 2:36

    Programming around competition realities: Regionals structure as a training template

    1. DB

      Yeah, especially when you start looking at, like the Regionals, uh, timeframe in the Regionals weekend is pretty set, right? You know you're gonna compete for three days and you're probably gonna do two workouts a day. Maybe it's three scored workouts, but they're, it's really one workout that's crushed together, something like that. So as long as you're training within those confines and improving your weaknesses in those, in that kind of parameter, um, you're gonna be doing enough. You know what I mean?

    2. CW

      I guess that comes with experience as well, right?

    3. DB

      Sure, sure. It comes with the experience, yeah.

  6. 2:36 – 3:14

    Gear talk: Reebok CrossFit shoes and what Dan prioritizes

    1. CW

      So Reebok's got a lot of bases covered with its range of CrossFit shoes now. So you've got Nano, Speed TR, Legacy, Lifter. Is there a shoe that you keep on finding yourself wearing all the time?

    2. DB

      Um, I've loved in- I've loved the Nano. Um, I'm actually kind of partial to the Speed TR.

    3. CW

      Really?

    4. DB

      I'm a big fan of any shoe that I can put on and go run three miles immediately, as well as it's not gonna get torched on the rope, um, I'm pretty happy with.

    5. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    6. DB

      I'm excited with and that's kind of what I, I lean towards. Uh-

    7. CW

      You find yourself in those a lot then?

    8. DB

      Yeah, I like being a little more, uh, mobile and, and that kind of thing, knowing that I have the capacity to go do those things in that shoe.

    9. CW

      That athletic background, I guess, for yourself.

    10. DB

      Yeah, so I'm a little bit picky too when it comes to the shoe. Like, my foot has to feel right in it.

    11. CW

      For sure.

    12. DB

      Yeah, like-

  7. 3:14 – 3:27

    Comparing athlete preferences: Dan’s pickiness vs Dave’s “any shoe works” approach

    1. CW

      Dave says Dave is literally the opposite.

    2. DB

      Right.

    3. CW

      He's like, "Put a shoe on me, as long as it's a shoe."

    4. DB

      Yeah, he's good to go.

    5. CW

      Like, "As, as long as there's a left and right, I'm sweet."

    6. DB

      Right, yeah. See, no, I'll get a little bit picky. Like, I'll put it on, immediately start judging and that kind of thing.

    7. CW

      Yeah.

    8. DB

      And that's just the way it is.

  8. 3:27 – 3:55

    Comedy break: “Danny Broflex” reacts to Nano 8’s ‘Flex’ branding

    1. CW

      Um, what do you think Danny Broflex thinks of the new Nano 8?

    2. DB

      He's really focused in, he'd be really focused in on one word. It's right there.

    3. CW

      Flex.

    4. DB

      Yeah.

    5. CW

      (laughs)

    6. DB

      I think, I don't know if there's, like, a subliminal thing there, like Reebok might have done that on purpose. I don't, probably for him. He probably thinks-

    7. CW

      If he came in, do you think he would have written?

    8. DB

      He thinks it was, yeah. Uh, he, he'd probably be like, "Let's, we can X out this. We don't really need any weave. Let's emphasize the flex." Yeah, that's probably-

    9. CW

      Unbelievable.

    10. DB

      ... where he'd be at. (laughs)

  9. 3:55 – 5:02

    Bouncing back after disappointment: missing qualification and owning reality

    1. CW

      Um, I want to talk about your mental resilience after a tough coup- tough couple of years.

    2. DB

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      Um, can you talk to me about your mindset at the moment and how it's been over the last few years?

    4. DB

      So in 2016 when I actually, when I just didn't qualify, that was the worst. I mean, that was the most disappointing and then, you know, I had my, whatever, two-week pity party or whatever it was and it's like, "Okay, you know what? Get over it. Like, you didn't make it. It's what it is. Move on." And the thing that people, I think the thing that I was forgetting or the thing that I have e- easy way to, like, lose sight of is that like, "Hey, you've been one of the best CrossFitters in the world for the past five years. No one can take that away from you."

    5. CW

      Yep.

    6. DB

      You did that. Like, it's done and you accomplished it.

    7. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    8. DB

      And you didn't make it this year and you didn't deserve to go like those other guys did. They beat you, they did better and they, I don't know, trained harder, trained better. Whatever you want to call it.

    9. CW

      Yep.

    10. DB

      Um, that's just the reality of it. I'm a big, like, coming to terms with exactly what happened.

    11. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    12. DB

      Like, exactly what the reality of the situation is.

    13. CW

      Yeah.

    14. DB

      Not, "Oh, poor me. I was screwed in this event," or I was whatever and it's like, yeah, some of that might have happened, but you still lost. It doesn't matter.

    15. CW

      I understand.

    16. DB

      I know what the reason is. So-

    17. CW

      Yeah.

  10. 5:02 – 5:32

    Identity beyond sport: what Dan wants to be remembered for

    1. DB

      Um, but in terms of the resiliency, I, I kind of look at, um... Like, the Games is important to me and being that athlete is important to me and being the fittest man on Earth is always something that I've been trying to do, trying to accomplish. But there's so many other things that I would like to be remembered for. Like, if I die and all that's on my gravestone is, uh, "Here lies the fittest man on Earth in 20-whatever."

    2. CW

      Yeah.

    3. DB

      Uh, I'd be pretty dis- disappointed with myself.

    4. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    5. DB

      I, I think I would look at that as more of a failure than not making it to the Games one year or never making it to the Games again.

    6. CW

      (laughs)

  11. 5:32 – 5:49

    Short-term memory & next-step focus: what you do tomorrow matters

    1. DB

      So while it, uh, it, it sucks, I kind of... You have to have a, a short-term memory when it comes to those things. It, it's done. It's in the past. What are you doing tomorrow? What, what are you doing to move forward?

    2. CW

      I think that's very, I think that's a really admirable quality and I think that's probably what makes you a competitor that's been around for so long.

    3. DB

      Yeah.

  12. 5:49 – 7:09

    Ohio pride and the ‘Ohio Till I Die’ group chat (earned, gritty mindset)

    1. CW

      Um, what's the coolest group chat that you're in? If you've got a cool group chat.

    2. DB

      Oh, man. There's a, I'm in a cool group chat called Ohio Till I Die.

    3. CW

      Right.

    4. DB

      Um, Ohio is the state that I grew up in the United States and, uh, it's not very... From the outside, most people-... don't think Ohio is anything, but my friends who I grew up with were real passionate about Ohio.

    5. CW

      Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

    6. DB

      And, uh, we have, like, a handful of sayings that's like, "Everything's earned in Ohio." Like, you have to earn it. Everything has to hurt a little more-

    7. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    8. DB

      ... if you wanna accomplish the same thing if you're from Ohio-

    9. CW

      Yeah.

    10. DB

      ... for whatever reason. And we're big on, uh, Ohio sports. So-

    11. CW

      Hard places breed hard men, right?

    12. DB

      Yeah. Like, uh, exactly. Like, uh, Ohio State football, the Cleveland Cavs, the Cleveland Indians, and the Cleveland Browns. And Cleveland is not known for being very good at any of those things, right?

    13. CW

      (laughs)

    14. DB

      But the Cavs are obviously a shining spotlight-

    15. CW

      Uh-huh.

    16. DB

      ... the past handful of years 'cause of LeBron James. And LeBron's from Akron, Ohio, which is really close to where we all grew up. So anytime there's a Browns game or an Indians game or something-

    17. CW

      Is it just nonstop sport?

    18. DB

      Oh, it's nonstop. Like, I wanna make a book. Uh, actually, my buddy Dave-

    19. CW

      (laughs) Close.

    20. DB

      Uh, he brought up the idea of making a coffee table book with, like, pictures from Cleveland sports. Because Cleveland Browns, for those of you who don't know, are the worst American football team-

    21. CW

      Yeah.

    22. DB

      ... statistically in history. Like, they are absolutely terrible. But we have, like, a diehard, like, "I don't care, we're still gonna root for you."

    23. CW

      Yeah.

    24. DB

      But they're, they're just, they're so bad. It's, it's, it's terrible.

  13. 7:09 – 8:52

    Rapid-fire fun: CrossFit Open 18.0, back issues, and absurd hypotheticals

    1. CW

      Couple more quick ones.

    2. DB

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      Have you tried 18.0 yet?

    4. DB

      I have not, no.

    5. CW

      Are you looking forwards to it? Are you gonna do it?

    6. DB

      Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna do it. Uh, I, I had a couple of issues with my back recently.

    7. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    8. DB

      And so looking at that one, that's like a red line wind out.

    9. CW

      Oh, yeah.

    10. DB

      You know, back smoking. So-

    11. CW

      That ended, that ended me.

    12. DB

      Yeah. So- (laughs)

    13. CW

      So bad. It felt so bad.

    14. DB

      Like, I'll hold off, but I will give it a try. Yeah.

    15. CW

      You're in The Hunger Games-

    16. DB

      Okay.

    17. CW

      ... with only other Games athletes.

    18. DB

      Okay.

    19. CW

      Who's going to be the hardest to kill?

    20. DB

      Um-

    21. CW

      Who do you not want to come up against?

    22. DB

      Based on experience, Josh Bridges, for sure.

    23. CW

      Mm-hmm.

    24. DB

      Time in the military. So he's got a particular skill there that most people don't have.

    25. CW

      Yeah.

    26. DB

      Um, who else?

    27. CW

      Him and that mustache are a stone cold killer, aren't they?

    28. DB

      Oh, yeah. The stache. Like, he'll never get rid of that.

    29. CW

      No.

    30. DB

      He's, he's done. He made the shirt with his face on the back.

Episode duration: 8:52

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