From Celebrated Pop Star to Olympic Hopeful: Cody Simpson On Chasing Big Dreams, Finding Himself & Lessons Learned From Sport & Stage

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Health & Fitness, Education, Self-improvement, Society & Culture

4.8 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2023

⏱️ 113 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Imagine a young singer-songwriter of global acclaim—someone like Justin Timberlake or Shawn Mendes. Except this star also happens to be an elite athlete with an Olympic dream. It sounds like fiction. But this is the true story of Cody Simpson. Superstardom within reach, Cody Simpson put his guitar down and traded Hollywood for the black line at the bottom of a pool with one singular goal in mind: to compete in the Olympics. It's the story of a chlorine-soaked little kid who became a global star. He traveled the world, performed before massive crowds, modeled for luxury brands, even acted on Broadway and in movies and television. But something was missing. Out of an instinct for survival, he proceeded to do what many would consider unthinkable. He walked away from all of it. He couldn’t shake the feeling of what might have been had he not forsaken the Speedo for the stage and decided to do something about it. World-class competitive swimming is a sport in which the elite never dare to take more than a month off here and there. Not only did Cody return to this sport after a dormant decade, he quickly began to excel beyond any reasonable expectation, clocking world-class times in the 100-meter butterfly. Today we dive into the deep end of the pool and plumb Cody’s story. We trace his arc as a musician, what he learned as a performer that now helps him as an athlete, the whys and hows behind his Olympic dream, and how you can achieve two massive and wildly different goals in a lifetime. Note: This conversation was recorded back in May of 2023 on the cusp of Australia’s World Championship Trials. Alas, Cody narrowly missed qualifying for that team but is back in super-focused training. I coaxed Cody into performing a song at the end which you are not going to want to miss, so be sure to stick around. Enjoy! Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up Today’s Sponsors: Timeline Nutrition: timelinenutrition.com/RICHROLL Roka: roka.com/RICHROLL AG1: drinkAG1.com/RICHROLL Athletic Brewing: AthleticBrewing.com On Running: on.com/RICHROLL Indeed: Indeed.com/RICHROLL Plant Power Meal Planner: https://meals.richroll.com Peace + Plants, Rich

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Rich Roll Podcast
0:15.0	It's like if Justin Bieber was also an Olympic athlete, you know?
0:18.0	I suppose so, yeah.
0:20.0	I find that there are similarities though.
0:22.0	One taught me what you put in is what you get out.
0:24.0	The work equals improvement.
0:26.0	Sometimes you sort of just have to jump off the deep end and then find your feet.
0:29.0	Once you're out there, you're never going to feel ready.
0:31.0	My first race back was terrible.
0:35.0	Failure isn't failure.
0:37.0	Really failure or just.
0:39.0	It's information.
0:43.0	I want you to imagine conjure in your mind a talented young handsome pop star.
0:49.0	Someone like maybe Justin Bieber or perhaps Shawn Mendes.
0:54.0	Except this particular pop star isn't just a musician.
0:59.0	He also happens to be an incredibly talented athlete.
1:03.0	An athlete so extraordinary that a couple years ago he decides to put down the guitar and walk away from his fast paced Hollywood lifestyle to get back in the pool for the first time since he was 13.
1:18.0	And pursue with all his focus, all his energy, a lifelong dream of competing in the Olympics.
1:26.0	It sounds like fiction.
1:28.0	But believe it or not, this is the true story of Cody Simpson, a young Australian who went from this chlorine soaked little kid sharing his musical talents on YouTube from his bedroom to in rapid, almost overnight fashion global fame.
1:44.0	A dizzying disorienting period in which he traveled the world, performed before massive crowds, acted on Broadway and in movies and television, modeled for luxury brands, dated celebrities, only to discover it an empty promise.
2:01.0	A life out of alignment and integrity with his higher self.
	...

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