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Men Aren't Having Enough Sex - Zack Telander

Zack Telander is a weightlifter, coach & YouTuber. Serious problems are afoot. The number of men reporting no sex in the last year has tripled since 2010, MonkeyPox is running rampant and Amber Heard is able to get into the bottom of a squat on an unstable surface but hasn't tried to take up the sport of olympic weightlifting. Expect to learn why men's and women's beauty standards are diverging in 2022, what a 200kg Greek man can teach us about training for the difficult, whether we can find patient zero for monkeypox, why men can't get laid, my experience not being kidnapped in Guatemala, why Jonny Depp wears cooler sunglasses than you and much more... Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get 2 weeks Free Access to the State App at https://bitly.com/statewisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 15% discount on Upgraded Formulas Test Kit at https://upgradedformulas.com/ (use code: MW15) Get 5 Free Travel Packs, Free Liquid Vitamin D and Free Shipping from Athletic Greens at https://athleticgreens.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Subscribe to Zack's YouTube Channel -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC94_fvLx7abZgs9LIkM7jxw Get Zack's Program for $1 - https://www.patreon.com/zacktelander Follow Zack on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coach_zt Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #jonnydepp #monkeypox #beautystandards - 00:00 Intro 04:31 Training For The Difficult 09:49 David Goggins 20:01 Monkeypox Patient Zero 25:10 Insights into Hollywood from Johnny Depp’s Trial 37:37 From #MeToo to #MenToo 46:19 Why Men Are Having Less Sex 53:13 De-incentivising Long Term Happiness 1:03:22 The Gender War 1:13:00 Where to Find Zack - Join the Modern Wisdom Community on Locals - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Listen to all episodes on audio: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostZack Telanderguest
May 30, 20221h 13mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Dating Apps, Gender Wars, And Training ‘For The Difficult’ In Men’s Lives

  1. Chris Williamson and Zack Telander move from light banter about music, movies, and visas into a deeper discussion about deliberate hardship, social media presence, and modern dating. They explore the idea of “training for the difficult” via figures like Kyriakos Grizzly, Jack White, and David Goggins, arguing that embracing inconvenience builds character and better work. The conversation then critiques celebrity culture, the Amber Heard–Johnny Depp trial, and the way men’s and women’s bodies and feelings are treated differently in media. In the final act, they dissect dating apps, incel trends, and data showing how swipe culture amplifies inequality and neglects the traits that actually predict long-term relationship success.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Deliberately adding difficulty can boost creativity and resilience.

Using Kyriakos Grizzly’s mantra “for the difficult” and Jack White’s rejection of convenience, they argue that intentionally making tasks harder (e.g., using unreliable instruments, imposing tight deadlines, choosing tougher training) forces growth, focus, and more meaningful output.

Mystique and scarcity can strengthen a public figure’s impact.

They contrast constant content output with figures like David Goggins, Jordan Peterson, and the band Tool, noting that infrequent appearances and aloofness can create intrigue—though this only works once you’ve already built credibility and a track record.

You shouldn’t copy what elites do now; copy what they did early.

Whether in lifting (modeling Klokov or Liu Xiaojun), investing (Warren Buffett), or music (Maynard Keenan), copying top performers’ current habits ignores the long apprenticeship that got them there; instead, emulate people one or two levels ahead and the early-stage behaviors of your heroes.

Celebrity drama distracts from more consequential power abuses.

They point out that the televised Depp–Heard trial became a global spectacle while the Ghislaine Maxwell trial ran quietly with no cameras, suggesting public attention is steered toward Hollywood gossip rather than systemic elite misconduct.

Both genders harm each other—and themselves—through body and gender narratives.

While culture focuses on protecting women from body-shaming, they highlight how men face extreme physique standards (e.g., shredded male underwear models vs. diverse female models) and note that much slut‑shaming, anti‑abortion rhetoric, and appearance-policing actually comes from women toward women, and men toward men.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Convenience is the enemy of creativity.

Jack White (quoted by Zack Telander)

You have to live it… I train for the difficult.

Kyriakos Grizzly (quoted by Zack Telander)

Do what they did when they were at your stage, not when they’re at that stage.

Chris Williamson

Conventional attractiveness has zero predictive power for long-term relationship success.

Chris Williamson (citing research from a previous guest)

It’s significantly easier to just have a one-size-fits-all answer because you never have to question your assumptions again.

Chris Williamson

The concept of “training for the difficult” and embracing adversityMedia presence, mystique, and the “less is more” strategy for public figuresCelebrity culture, the Depp–Heard trial, and public fascination with Hollywood dysfunctionGender double standards in body image, emotional care, and social media narrativesOnline dating, Tinder’s inequality, and rising male sexual inactivityWhy conventional attractiveness and height fail to predict long-term relationship successLow‑resolution gender wars, meme culture, and polarization on social platforms

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