Todd Marinovich: The Superstar Quarterback Who Lost Himself In Drugs & Found Himself In Love

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

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

4.8 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2025

⏱️ 118 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Todd Marinovich is a former NFL quarterback, USC Rose Bowl champion, and the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "The Marinovich Project." This conversation explores the duality of engineered perfection and performance-based love. We discuss his father's authoritarian methods, the identity crisis of living someone else's dream, his harrowing addiction, the moment his father's approval paradoxically ended his motivation, and his journey toward self-compassion through art and recovery. Through it all, Todd elucidates what it means to reclaim your humanity after decades of self-defiance. Todd's story is raw and achingly human. And his message is clear—hope is a decision. Enjoy! Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up Today’s Sponsors: Bon Charge: Use coupon code RICHROLL20 to save 20%👉🏼https://www.boncharge.com On: High-performance shoes & apparel crafted for comfort and style👉🏼https://www.on.com/richroll AG1: Get their best offer ever – Welcome Kit, Omega 3's, D3+K2, Flavor Sampler, plus AGZ sleep supplement FREE ($126 in gifts)👉🏼https://www.drinkAG1.com/richroll Squarespace: Use code RichRoll to save 10% off your first order of a website or domain👉🏼http://www.squarespace.com/RichRoll Roka: Unlock 20% OFF your order with code RICHROLL👉🏼https://www.ROKA.com/RICHROLL Check out all of the amazing discounts from our Sponsors👉🏼https://www.richroll.com/sponsors Find out more about Voicing Change Media at https://www.voicingchange.media and follow us @voicingchange

Transcript

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0:00.0	My experience with addiction, I was on a different frequency.
0:06.0	I couldn't stand me or what I did.
0:09.0	I wanted so out.
0:10.0	Oh, it was just, it felt so fake.
0:14.0	It's my duty.
0:16.0	What I've lived through to share my experience.
0:19.0	And, you know, I hope I can connect with one, you know,
0:23.5	because I do know what it's like.
0:43.8	If you happen to be in my general age range, then there's a chance that, like me,
0:49.9	you grew up following the life trajectory of today's guest. One of my generation's most promising professional athletes who befell a fall from grace of such astonishing proportions,
0:56.9	his life became synonymous with a cautionary tale about perfectionism and performance,
1:03.0	poor parenting, and generational trauma. From his first breath, Todd Morenovic was raised to be
1:09.7	the world's greatest quarterback. Beginning
1:11.9	well before Pop Warner, throughout high school, and during his early years at USC, this dream,
1:17.5	at least on a surface level, seemed to be unfolding beautifully. Courtesy of a dad, I think it's
1:23.5	fair to say, was far too invested in it becoming reality.
1:28.8	A former football player himself, Marv Marev Marenovich, had taken USC to a national championship in 1962,
1:36.1	but his career in the NFL with the Raiders was cut short due to overtraining.
1:41.0	This, in turn, prompted Marv to develop this obsession with understanding training techniques,
1:48.1	this investigation, this journey that he went on that led him to studying Soviet and Eastern
1:54.2	Block conditioning philosophies, learnings that at the time he was well ahead of his time,
1:59.6	he then put to work in his own home
	...

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