Hey, hurdlers. Emily Abadi here. Welcome to episode 29 of hurdle, a podcast that talks to top

CEOs and entrepreneurs about how they got through tough times, hurdles of sorts, by leaning into wellness.

Today, I'm chatting with Andy Putakum. He's the co-founder and voice of Headspace. I say this to Andy first thing in the

episode, but this one just really blew me out of the water for a few reasons. First of all,

when I made my dream guest list almost a year ago for who I wanted to have on this podcast,

Andy's name was right at the top of it. Plus, I listened to his voice almost every single day using the Headspace app in my living room, on my couch, through my sonos.

So sitting with him in person was kind of a trip.

Before we get into Andy's story, shout out to the sponsor of today's episode, Athletic Greens,

complete with 12 servings of fruits and vegetables.

Having the greens powder first thing in the morning before I head out the door makes me feel

like a better me.

They're offering a special deal for hurdle listeners.

It's 20 free travel packs valued at $99 with your first purchase.

Just go on over to athletic greens.com slash hurdle to claim it. No code necessary.

Again, that's athletic greens.com slash hurdle. Now, let's talk about Andy. Born in Bristol,

England, he dropped out of university where he was studying sports science after some friends were

horrifically killed in a freak car accident early on Christmas morning.

Three months later, his stepsister was run over while riding her bike.

Hoping to process the trauma, Andy went off to Asia in search of meaning.

For 10 years, he studied meditation as a Buddhist monk. His journey then brought him back to London where friends suggested he meet Rich Pearson,

a super creative guy with an advertising background that would eventually become Putakom's

co-founder of Headspace, an idea that he once described as the Nike Plus of mindfulness.

...