The Athletes Podcast
The Athletes Podcast is a leading source of information, inspiration, and education for anyone interested in optimizing physical performance, maintaining good health, and living an active lifestyle. Join David Stark as he interviews some of the world's biggest athletes and fitness professionals, The Athletes Podcast provides practical advice, expert insights, and real-world strategies to help listeners achieve their health and fitness goals.The goal is to entertain, educate & inspire the next generation of athletes!
The Athletes Podcast
From Mat Pressure To Peak Performance With Coach Sean Spence
We talk with BJJ athlete and coach Sean Spence about building real confidence under pressure, smarter training without burnout, and why “framing” chaos works on and off the mat. We also dig into cross-training, youth development, and how longevity can live with peak performance.
• Sean’s path from fitness to Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• Why humility beats ego for faster skill gain
• Framing pressure to stay calm and think
• Managing training load to avoid burnout
• Cross-training for movement literacy and durability
• Coaching youth to build broad athletic skills
• Simple nutrition for fuel, recovery, and clarity
• Personal definitions of peak performance for longevity
• Consistency as the engine of progress
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Hey, welcome back to the 270th episode of the Athletes Podcast. We've got an awesome guest lined up. Today, we have Sean Spence, a competing Brazilian jujitsu athlete, as well as strength and conditioning coach. Sean's got a wealth of knowledge when it comes to jujitsu, training, performance, recovery, nutrition, and everything that you need to compete at your best. We dive into his mindset around competition, how he trains his athletes to perform their best when it comes to peak performance at these events, helping them perform at their peak, both on and off the mat. Obviously, you folks know we're sponsored by Perfect Sports Supplements. Today we have to give a shout out to Bruce Callero and the Be Great Podcast. If you guys haven't checked it out, go head on over there, subscribe to that brand new show. We feature a ton of perfect sports athletes here on the Athletes Podcast. I've also, I mean, I've been taking diesel protein for three, four, five plus years now. And obviously, you guys know you get the code AP15, save 15% at checkout. Let us know what you're buying because man, diesel's been flying off the shelf. Creatine, everyone's supposed to be taking it, so you might as well save a bit of cash. Use the code AP15. Don't forget to be great today. Sean Spence also supports that message to be great. You guys are gonna hear a ton more in this episode. Let me know what you think down below. I really appreciate how open and honest that Sean is and his ability to communicate effectively over the internet. And that's obviously something that's important nowadays. So let's jump into it. 270th episode of the Athletes Podcast. If you haven't subscribed yet, please do so. That would mean the world to me. I appreciate you. Thank you for tuning in. Hope you enjoy it. Here we go. You're the most decorated racquetball player in US history. World's strongest man. From childhood passion to professional athlete. Eight-time Iron Man champion. So, what was it like making your debut in the NHL? What is your biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes? From underdogs to national champions. This is the Athletes Podcast, where high-performance individuals share their triumphs, defeats, and life lessons. To educate, entertain, and inspire the next generation of athletes. Here we go. Fired up about the fact that the Canucks just got their first win last night, a 1-0 on the season, big 5-1 victory against those Calgary Flames divisional rival. Obviously, the Jays got the big dub here in that ALCS game. So ALDS game, sorry. So they are heading off the championship series. Where are you located?
SPEAKER_00:I'm in Toronto area. So for those that don't know, it's Curtis, Ontario. So it's just east of Oshawa.
SPEAKER_02:So you're feeling the Blue Jays buzz right now. You gotta be.
SPEAKER_00:100%, dude. Yeah, no, I've been watching a couple of the games, and it's it's been pretty inspiring to see how they've all come together and just you know it's made it happen, right? Like Yankees apparently are a pretty solid team this year. So it's been it's been pretty dope to see them pull out some pretty sick plays. And I'm not super big on like the main season baseball, but being able to see a Toronto-based team pull it together for for once, you know, it's it's pretty pretty sweet.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, your Leafs probably aren't gonna do it. You know, they haven't done it the last 58 years, so what's to say they're gonna change that? So we got the James to look forward to. No, I'm fired up to have you on Sean Spence. Thank you for joining the Athletes Podcast. This will be like the 270th episode of the show, which is freaking crazy because we just keep piling them up. Our boy Ethan Stevenson helping joining the pod now, bringing us up on the social side. You're a Brazilian jujitsu competitor, strength and conditioning coach with a background in kinesiology in university. I would love for you to share with the audience a little bit about yourself right now, man. This is your time to shine right now. We've got so much to talk about over the next 45 minutes. BJJ, self-defense, mindset, lessons from the mat, on and off the mat, the nutrition that goes into sport performance, training insights, purpose, longevity. I want to maybe let you kick things off with where you want to go, where you want to start. Because the best part about this kind of conversation is that we just get to riff, right, Sean?
SPEAKER_00:100% indeed. Yeah, no, I think he I think he nailed it. You you pretty much hit every point that you'd like to talk about. I'd like to talk about. And yeah, I know. I mean, you said it best. I I I focus on right now just BGJ. I've competed. I've actually only been doing jujitsu for about three and a half years, but throughout that time, I've really kind of ramped up competing. I've had opportunities to compete overseas in the Europeans and in the States a few times. Um so it's been a really great opportunity to learn about myself, see the world, and just really get down to what it means to compete at those levels. And as far as like strength and conditioning, I've been in the gym since I've been a kid. It was that's pretty much where all this really started with my enjoyment of why of how almost of how I like to experience the world. And that tends to be through physical vehicles. So whether it's some form of movement, whether it's like hiking, jujitsu, some sport, or even just lifting and just everything that's a part of that. It just it's a big part of my life, and because of that, I fell into strength and conditioning, fitness and health, and then most recently Ken Yeah, man. And I've experienced a lot of different types of the fitness, whether it's from CrossFit to bodybuilding to just general fitness, as well as a few different sports, rugby, wrestling, kickboxing, everything that would give you cauliflower, I ended up playing. And you know, I've got headphones on right now because I legitimately can't wear anything other than that. My user footy racks.
SPEAKER_02:So that's uh that was one of the best things. The first indicators of people you didn't want to mess with at the bar drive university is those folks that had cauliflower ear. You're like, yeah, we're not gonna cause any ruffles with those ones. Uh for sure. The wrestlers have a different kind of cardio, it's unmatched. What was it that did it for you when you first pulled on that ghe in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? What was that moment that was like that hook?
SPEAKER_00:So it's kind of neat. I'd always been interested in combat sports. I remember when I was like, you know, 10, 12, watching the original UFCs when people like Chuck Liddell, Tidor Ortiz, BJ Penn, Little Machida, GSP, all those big names that really revolutionized combat sports for the general public. And I always kind of had these weird daydreaming moments where I was like, oh, I wonder what would it be like to be in the ring or in some type of sport like this or fighting somebody or combating with a with another person. And I think it just stuck with me. And I started getting into kickboxing and then most recently jujitsu. And I was looking for something in my life to kind of bring me back to be able to use my fitness for something other than just aesthetics, right? You know, it's amazing to look great, it's awesome to be able to, you know, run ultras and do all these amazing endeavors that we can do with our body and to show off the physical specimens that we can become. But I wanted something more, and to me that was jujitsu. I wanted a place to compete, I wanted a place to learn and unravel these problems and almost like kind of like physical chess in some cases. So that really drew me in. And initially I did a 6 a.m. class with one of my buddies, and from then I just had this gut feeling that I was hooked on it. It was just a matter of the feeling of like the ghee in your hand, the exchanges that you have with that person, and just this unspoken kind of respect and challenge that you have in those small moments with those people. It just it just it hooks you. It's it's hard to explain, but it's yeah, it's the feeling, it's the emotion, it's the you know, when you've got nothing left to left to give, you're just giving more and and trying to do more. And it's yeah, it's unlike anything I've ever experienced in regards to a sport. So it's it, yeah, it just it was it was one of those gut feelings.
SPEAKER_02:There's a reason why so many guys our age are getting hooked on the sport right now, and I feel like it's probably something that younger athletes should benefit from. I had uh Sid on the show probably a couple months ago now, and he is a combat coach out of Toronto, also. And establishing a baseline of how to protect yourself is important, you know, and being able to defend yourself in any situation, something that frankly I'm still working on myself. And you know, I get on the mat, I'll roll with guys who are a heck of a lot smaller than me. So take my butt. And that is a humbling experience, let me tell you. Uh I'll be the first to admit, but that's part of the reason why those martial arts exist and they've existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. But there's a bit of an honor and art associated with respecting your elders in these martial arts as well, something that I think our generation has maybe lost a little bit of. How have you been able to adopt that? You've only been doing it for a few years now. You know, you've got the kin backgrounds, you know the sports science, the background in that sense. Where do you kind of lie in all of this when it comes to adopting a new sport? You're trying to be a coach alongside someone who's training, you're trying to wear a bunch of hats instead of just going in and throwing down, for lack of a better term. Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I mean, there was it was this it was for sure a steep learning curve initially. And like you said, there's there's definitely a lot of discipline associated with it. There's a lot of kind of traditional values in relation to not only respecting you know your elders, but just commonly respecting every person that steps on the mats, right? And I think a big thing that people tend to have initially is an ego and a pretty big sense of pride when they step on the mats. And I would I would say like a false sense of confidence in some capacity. I wouldn't say in general, but I think it it happens from time to time. And I think the one really big thing about that is you have to you have to recognize that you need to respect the people that have been there for a very long time, because those are the ones, even you know, the smallest people in the room, right? They're the ones that are gonna tear you up and really make you feel pretty insignificant and small in those moments. Not you know, by any purpose or reason to make you feel bad about yourself, but they're gonna kind of show you what's up. And 100%, dude. It's it's a hugely humbling experience. Yeah. And I think the biggest thing that I've noticed with adopting a few of these like kind of values and kind of respecting those pieces is that you have to be humble. You you have to you have to assume that other people know more than you in a healthy capacity, not to the sense of the where it comes from a that you lack something, just a matter of respecting that like every person is an individual, they have their own experiences, their thoughts, their perspectives, and their way about things. And you need to respect that, otherwise it's they're gonna trounce you or they're gonna find their way way ahead of the pack and you're gonna be stuck in the back.
SPEAKER_02:I think of it like entering any business opportunity meeting when you walk into the room, hopefully you're meeting with people who are smarter than you. And even if they're not, you can probably learn a thing or two from them. Whereas if you walk into that room thinking you're the best and that you know everything, you're probably not gonna learn anything, and you're probably gonna miss a big opportunity to connect with those individuals. It's a shame because you know, it's again, I revert back to I played a bunch of those sports growing up, both individual and team sports, and I believe there's a benefit to playing both. And I wish that I had participated in more martial arts growing up because again, it's that discipline, it's that honor to those who have been there before you. How has that changed the way you think about fear, control, confidence? How do you adopt that and introduce that into your life now?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I think one of the biggest things that I've noticed that really helps me a lot is a true sense of confidence. I think a lot of people, and even myself included, for a long time you say, like, oh, I'm confident, you know, I I trust myself, I believe in what I can do, and you know, I'll make it happen. But when shit really hits the fan, sometimes people fold and they're they they lose sight of it because when they when the going gets tough, they they fold, right? And it it gets challenging, it's it's troubling, just like life is at times, right? There's there's many times when life will just keep swinging at you, keep swinging at you, and you just gotta keep moving forward and it gets tough, right? And that true sense of confidence really gets challenged. But I think jiu-jitsu itself, because it's so humbling and because you truly have to work so hard to get such a little return back all the time, because the learning curve is so steep, and you're constantly being shown by other people that you're not, not that you're not as good as you think you are, but you're constantly your ego is constantly getting checked all the time. And you have to truly develop a sense of self-trust and a sense of self-confidence that is like at its core, like a a true, the true meaning of that, where you have to go through challenges, you have to go through tribulations and situations where they're extremely uncomfortable, and you're the only person that can manage that. There's nobody that's gonna go on the sidelines and say, hey, stop that, you know, leave them alone, right? It's like they're not gonna do that. You're gonna have to be there with yourself and put out the effort with with you as the only person that can help you. And sure, you can tap, you can you can say, you know, I don't want to do this anymore, but when you look in the mirror, you're probably not gonna be happy about that. And you're better off managing the pressure and handling the pressure and leaning into the fear and lack of control through those situations in order to gain confidence that you you can actually manage those challenging circumstances, and and it's really about just handling it as it comes to you, and not always expecting that you're gonna be calm and compose and recognize that you're just gonna have to handle all the anxieties, all the fears, all the self-doubt, and all the really shitty tough spots that you get put in in jiu-jitsu where you feel like the room around you is shrinking and you can't breathe, and you've got, you know, a 200-some odd pound person laying on your chest, it's it's a it's a very, very nerve-wracking experience.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I would equate it to for those who haven't been on a mat with a 200-pound individual laying on top of you, you know, having 220 pounds on a bench press, and you're sitting there like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get this thing up, you know, and you don't have a spotter, right? And there's no one there to see you when you've got something at the bottom of or sitting on your chest. So it's you know, everyone can relate to that moment. And at a certain point, like you said, you either tap or you get it the heck off yourself. So you know one decision. Do you feel like everyone should train some form of martial art? Not to fight. Not to train, but to make themselves better, to understand who they are as a human, how they handle those stressful situations.
SPEAKER_00:I would say yeah, I think for a long time I've always said like everyone should do it. At least give it a go, give it a try, see if you like it, if you don't, whatever. Because it really does, it challenges you more than anything you will ever do in your life, as far as I can tell.
SPEAKER_01:Do you play other sports?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean realistically, the only other sport that I've been doing lately is snowboarding. So I picked that up. Not anything serious, just more so like recreational. But that alone, I've I've probably only done it for about like two years, and three weeks into it, I I took a trip to Whistler and did Yeah, I did Whistler.
SPEAKER_02:Not a bad place to start. That hey, West Coast, best coast, baby. I'm a huge fan of it. 100%, dude. Yeah, absolutely. You there's no better place in Canada at least to go, maybe up in Edmonton Rockies Bamp area. But man, Whistler's a good start, and especially if you've only just picked up that sport. Only reason I ask is because I got some golfers who listen to this show who just did four weeks on the road, and there's some golfers who'll say that the sport of golf will challenge like any other. And the only thing I can say to that, having done a bit of both in my day, is that golf you're only competing against yourself. Whereas, you know, in a match, when you're on a mat, you got someone else across from you who's trying to take your head off. You know, maybe not in that sense, but they're trying to make sure you don't get up, right? Um I'll say to the golfers out there who are gonna come.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, yeah. Shout shout out to the golfers that are battling their inner selves, trying to make that hole in water, the birdie, whatever it is. Yeah, not make a not make a double bogey, you know, just like keep it simple.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's that's more my speed right there, is trying to avoid the mistakes. Maybe that's my issue. But and again, it comes from like a different mindset in all sports, right? And you can't necessarily bring your BJJ mind to a golf mind or to a hockey mind, right? There's different ways that you approach every situation. When I think about your experience with Brazilian jujitsu, what's been that biggest mental shift for you having you know now been in and outside the gym spending more time on the mats? Do you find that there's room for ego in this sport at all in any capacity?
SPEAKER_00:I think so. I think I think there can be there can be a healthy amount of ego. It's when it overtakes you and becomes your whole personality and gives you that false sense of confidence and not really a true sense of yourself when it can be problematic. I think there's like a healthy amount of ego that you know allows you to remind yourself that you're not as you're not as big as you think you are, and that you need to kind of hold yourself accountable for some things where you might be overreaching. And I think there's room for it in that capacity to kind of you know keep a keep a good sense of self. But in the grander scheme, the big egos when they come in the door or when they stay on the mats as far as thinking you're the best, you've got everything behind you as far as the best moves, the best techniques, best cardio, best supports, I really don't think there's a lot of room for it. And ironically enough, when ego shows up, it very, very quickly gets broken down. Like very quickly. Whether it's due to you being kind of beat down by a mat enforcer or just just getting smoked or outmatched by a lot of people that are on the mat that are extremely unsuspecting but are extremely good players, and it'll it'll show you quick that you you can't keep an ego there on the mats. And I would say it's if it's if it becomes a problematic ego, then it would actually be more of a hindrance to your performance and your ability to develop not only on the mats, but just in life in general, right?
SPEAKER_02:So true. I think about the quote, it's been a super viral social media clip, the 250 plus, 270 pound bodybuilder. I can't remember his name right now. Oh, Bradley, Bradley Martin. Bradley Martin, thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Bradley, whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Bradley Martin. And yeah, who's he talking to? It's not sugar sean, but it's uh one of the in the sports based guy who enjoys his the occasional wacky tobacque cigarette. Um anyway.
SPEAKER_00:Is it uh one of the Diaz brothers?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's Nate Nate or whatever, yeah. Anyway, one of the Diaz Bros. And he's like, Yeah, I think I could, you know, you can win in a street fight. Like, who do you think is winning in a street fight? BJJ, boxer, bodybuilder, who's taking the cake?
SPEAKER_00:Honestly, dude, that's a tough one. And I think it's it's funny because everyone always is curious about that. So many variables, so many things to think about. But I think when it comes down to it, ultimately, if it's in the streets, size and athleticism, 100%. 100% make a difference. So if you've got, let's say, some absolute unit of a bodybuilder and someone who's, you know, like a smaller set jujitsu player, if there's a seriously drastic size difference, when you're in the street, it's kind of all or nothing for keeping yourself safe. If it's like fight or flight scenario, there's a chance that a bodybuilder could get the best of somebody. But I would say, depending on the scenario, if the bodybuilder isn't truly aware of how they move and they're kind of just strictly, they just lift weights, that's it. There's no level of athleticism to them. Jiu Jitsu for sure, 100%. Yeah, keep them to the outside, you know. Yeah, keep keep them on the outside. You can't let them get close. If you've ever seen, have you ever did you ever watch the original Ultimate Fighters?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I've seen highlights for sure. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Wanderle Silva and Chail Sun and there's a there's a clip, yeah, where he's like, I can't let you get close, and they just make sure happen. So, but yeah, dude, and I think as far as boxers, it's kind of funny because when you look at boxers and and jujitsu players or grapplers, wrestlers, whatever, a lot of the time I've found most people that do jujitsu have some understanding of striking, whether it's you know just a few classes here and there or a long history of it. There tends to be a pretty common occurrence where jujitsu players know how to strike. And they've probably fallen a bit deeper into jujitsu because they drank the Kool-Aid and they're stuck. But there's that's the one thing you have to remember is that just because someone does jets or you know, BJJ grappling, wrestling, whatever, you can't discount that they might have a pretty strong foundation of striking, and or what they learn in classes can still relate to scenarios where someone's trying to strike you.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Right. So there's always that little bit of a foundation to it. Whereas, you know, a boxer or someone who's traditionally just in striking, they might not have that same understanding of when it gets into the ground or when the grappling starts to happen when you get into the clench, etc. So I would say yeah, jujitsu players might actually beat out boxers when it comes to like in the streets.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean, I'm uh I'm probably gonna lean towards that, a Bradley Martin. We'll see it even against Mighty Mouse. I think I'm putting my money on Mighty, you know? Like 100%. You know, it's just the way it is. And I I mean you talk about getting in the clench, like when life gets chaotic, everyone's got stress in life. You know, what lessons do you bring from the Matt to help you stay calm and composed?
SPEAKER_00:I think the biggest thing, dude, is just to sit with it and endure. I think that's the biggest thing. A lot of the times, and myself included, even before jujitsu, you get stuck in these scenarios where life's really life's really continues to swing at you. You know, your mind's your mind seems to get the best of you, and life just seems perilous and bleak. And when it gets really chaotic and disorganized, and just feeling like everything's overwhelming and jumbled up, I think the biggest thing to remember, like I said, is just to stay with it, be with it, be a part of it, and find a way to. Something like that has been a really instrumental thought to keep in mind through those chaotic scenarios is to kind of find a place to frame, right? And what that really means is finding a place where you can lay something in front or keep something close to you that allows you the space to still think, to breathe, to react in a way that allows you to progress your position and or allows you to kind of understand the circumstance of what's coming at you. And you can't just, you know, tap, you can't just expect that you can run away from these scenarios. Being a part of it, being present with it, and kind of almost like surrendering to the idea of like leaving the scenario without trying to push through it and just getting rid of that out of your mind and just recognizing that you have to move forward, you have to stand up, you have to find a way through it. Because there's a lot of things you can learn from that, because in the event that you just give up, you don't have an opportunity to better your position, or you don't have an opportunity to submit the individual or potentially win the match, and you know, in a clutch scenario where it's you know 2-2 and you know 20 seconds left, if you gave up on yourself and you just laid there and took it, you wouldn't be able to do that. Whereas if you lay that foundation and you push yourself forward, allow yourself a place to progress and a place to understand what you're feeling and to accept it and go through it. I think that's the biggest thing that jujitsu's taught me on an individual level through training day in and day out for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I love that the idea of framing. That's sick. I'm bringing that, I'm stealing that one. Uh sorry, Sean. Uh that's a good one.
SPEAKER_00:Don't apologize. It's a good thing, man.
SPEAKER_02:I like it. I love it. I I'm curious though, like you bring in the kin background, the strength and conditioning, and now you're introducing it to BJJ. Do you find yourself noticing thing about noticing specific attributes regards to athletes and maybe things that they don't understand correctly or you know are lacking that knowledge of within the sports space that you apply to your training to allow for you to perform the best?
SPEAKER_00:For sure. Yeah, I think I think the biggest thing, and a lot of people always ask me, like, oh, what should I do for jujitsu? How should I train? How should I lift weights? How should I, what conditioning should I do? Should I weight train? Should I do body weight, etc.? There's a whole mess of questions that most people would ask me. They ask me how many times a week they should be training, or sorry, weightlifting in relate or in addition to lifting, or in addition to training jujitsu. And I think the biggest thing people have to remember is that you have to start with small, consistent things on the front end. Because a lot of times when people get into a new sport, they get into jujitsu specifically, it's really easy to go to every single class twice a day, seven days a week. You're gonna get burnt out. You're gonna it's it's gonna happen quick and fast. And you're gonna have 30 days straight in your attendance, and then the 31st day of the next month, you're gonna be totally burnt out. You're not gonna want to go back, and you're gonna lose sight of why you started initially. And I think the biggest thing to remember, and what I've really come to understand more deeply because of the background in kinesiology and bringing that into strength and condition for jujitsu is to keep in mind with your training load and how to manage that load effectively and be thoughtful about that, and to set boundaries for yourself as an athlete and as an individual in order to recognize that you can't show up all the time for training. You're not always going to be able to go at your fullest capacity. And if you think you can do that, you're gonna fall short, you're gonna underrecover, you're likely gonna lose sight of why you started in the first place. And it's possible that you're probably not sleeping very well, you're likely not eating enough in most cases, and or you may not even be hydrating enough, and you might not even have that essential space in order to do that additional strength and conditioning session or weightlifting session. So you're gonna kind of almost pigeonhole yourself into a scenario where you get so enthralled by all these different pieces that you'll lose sight of really diversifying, diversifying your training week in order to build the greatest foundation to move forward in the long term.
SPEAKER_02:So you touched on two pieces, you touched on two pieces there. I need to dive into one or the other first. I'll let you pick. You talked about the nutrition fueling for performance, but then you also talked about training aware away from their discipline, like you know, for sure, going in, maybe going into the gym, maybe doing some swimming, some saunas, some weight training. Which which do you want to go into first? Because those are my final two pillars for me that I just like I could talk all day on.
SPEAKER_00:Sure, dude. I would say let's go into talking about different disciplines or kind of exploring things outside of your sport.
SPEAKER_02:I mean let's look at hockey right now. Hockey season's starting, baseball season's ending. You've got kids now starting at three, four, five years old that are going to spend the next decade or two of their life playing the sport of hockey, and that's all they're gonna do. They're gonna develop crazy imbalances because they're gonna hit a five shot 10,000 times because they were told that that's what they need to do to make sure their shots are the best it can possibly be for trials and for next year. So how we how are we managing that? How are we making sure that we don't have some lopsided 14-year-olds who don't know how to do or communicate outside of the sport of hockey once they don't make the A1 team?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, one and dope. Yeah, I would say a really big thing, especially I mean, you touched on kids, and I think that and youth, I think that's a really big thing to look at. And really, when it comes down to it, you don't want to get kids specifically, as well as adults, you don't want to get stuck in a scenario where you're going to do one thing all the time, every day, all day. Because like I said, you're going to you're probably gonna end up hating it. You're it's possible you'll probably get burnt out. And I think the biggest thing that you can do as a youth athlete, as well as an adult, is just respect the training, diversity, and the enjoyment that comes from trying different sports, things like golf, things like yoga, or something simple as you know, just going for like a ruck, right? Just going for a hike with a weighted vest, or even just going for a hike in general, right? Just finding ways that you can explore activity and physical movement and to build that literacy outside of your sport so you don't become this one trip pony that knows how to skate left, right, forward, backward, and then rip a slap shot from the point, and then that's it, right? I think when it comes down to it, that would be a pretty yeah, that would be a pretty boring thing to do as a kid, as an adult as well, too. I find the same thing. I don't like mundane repetitive things. And it's really important. I think just like even outside of like the the science mind, the sports psych and how you develop as a person, I just think in general, like if we have an opportunity to live life, we have an opportunity to exist. So why would we not take that chance to explore or stay curious and dive into different things and specifically sports? And or just movement in general, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_00:I think it's it's a super, super valuable thing. And I think there's there's an importance to recognizing the value of being focused and being committed and dedicated to your craft and to the sport that you love and that you do want to make, let's say, a career out of, or you want to be a huge pillar of your life, but there still needs to be that space to look outside that and look beyond that, because by doing that, there's a whole plethora of things that you'd be able to bring back to the sport itself once you come back in.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_00:So true.
SPEAKER_02:So true. I uh, you know, I I have people asking me, you know, do you wish you dedicated yourself to hockey or golf so that you could, you know, have gone to that next level, whatever the case may be. And it's like, maybe at the time, you know, you're 18 years old years old, you're like, ah, yeah, maybe I do wish I did that. But man, you fast forward a decade and you're like, hey, I now can pick up any sport right now and go play. Not a lot of people who are my age, who dedicated themselves to one sport, can do that. Can go pick up and do three straight weeks of golf and then you know, come back and work your corporate day job and then play pickleball, play racquetball, go play hockey. Like, you know, there's something to be said for having the ability to play a variety of sports, express yourself physically. That's part of what I've tried to do over the past six years with this podcast, even is like everyone's an athlete in some way, shape, or form. We all have bodies, we're all able to move to some degree, some of us with less physical abilities given our circumstances, but nonetheless, there are pair of sports that are available, and ultimately it is our human right to be able to move properly, and a lot of people don't take advantage of that. And it's it's a shame because you're only given one body, and to not take full advantage of what you've been given is not giving it the credit it deserves for how crazy it is to be born. Like, what is the what are the odds? One in four billion or some crazy statistics.
SPEAKER_00:Who knows, dude? And I think most people when they think about it like, oh, I want to win the lottery, that's how I'm gonna retire. It's like, dude, that's like you won the lottery, you're alive, you exist. Yeah. You get to do shit. Do shit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And I think as as more people come around to the fact that the more shit you do, the more opportunities you get open to. You end up on podcasts, you end up rolling on that, you end up playing golf. Like, you know, that's where our generation is slowly coming around to it. And I think, you know, COVID didn't help our state of where we are in society about people being outgoing and willing to try new things. But as we continue to do stuff like this, people recognize that, hey, you know, there could be some good that comes from it. And oh, by the way, you get to meet like-minded individuals who are also competitive, disciplined, who want to achieve great things, and then you attach yourself to them, whether that's because you like the way that they operate or the way that they train or the way that they communicate with others, and then you build from that. And now you you find yourself coaching. Like, what's been the biggest life change since becoming a coach for you? Like, how have you opened up, gone from the caterpillar to butterfly for that you know, analogy for those listening and watching?
SPEAKER_00:For sure, dude. I think I always, I don't think I always had a desire to be a coach, but I think over the last decade, I've just really been inspired by the impact that I can have on people through coaching. And whether that's a vehicle of providing strength and conditioning, most recently I've been able to have an opportunity to coach jujitsu as well too. So I work with some of the youth at our at our at our gym as well as some adults as well too. So being able to do that and being able to show up for them to express my passions and my interest to other people and to influence them, and also to hear their perspectives and to create these like really unique scenarios where you're all passionate individuals in some capacity about the thing that you're talking about. So you're able to kind of create this almost little melting pot of interests and glimmer in each other's eyes as you discuss different things and exchange ideas and truly come together in a really harmonious way to present some really cool shit physically, whether it's your lifting habits and teaching someone how to perform an exercise or how to follow a program, or just even the benefit that they get from that and seeing the passion that is birthed or presents because of that is is really inspiring to me. And it truly likes me out being able to see other people express things that way and to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And even just to experience people in general and just to talk with them to make them feel seen, make them feel heard, and given an opportunity to do things that mean something to them and to be a facilitator of that growth or of that dream or of that visual visual visualization of what they want for themselves and for their life is really cool, and it's it's a really fulfilling feeling. And more specifically with with youth, that is by far for sure one of my favorite things. Working with the kids, just hearing them talk, hearing them express themselves. They're just so they're so funny, they're so quirky, they're they're crazy, they're so free-minded. It's just really fulfilling and unique to be able to experience that with them and to guide them in such a way that allows them to be physically literate at a young age and to give them the foundation to, like you said, experience so many different sports later in life and through life as an athlete. Being a part of that foundational piece and being that pillar for them is such a sweet feeling. And it's it's great, man. And it that's why I love coaching. It's it's awesome, it's it's the best, dude.
SPEAKER_02:I can tell it lights you up, like it lights me up coaching the junior boys basketball team here locally for the high school. And it's like it doesn't get better than that when you can, like you said, be a part of that foundation. And again, it reminds you what life's all about. And we take ourselves too seriously at times. I will be the first to admit that. And it's out there playing ball, it's uh or rolling around on the mats, nothing better than that. Um experience is the way it should be, right? It's uh it it segues nicely into like the nutrition aspect of training before we wrap things up here. It's like for sort of your core philosophy on nutrition for performance. Do you think longevity and peak performance can truly exist? Like, how does that all get encapsulated here as we wrap up the 270th episode of this podcast?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, shout out to that. That's that's crazy, man. That's fucking awesome. Keep it up.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I I think, dude, it's funny because when I saw this or when you presented this question, and then I had a bit of a chance to think about it. I've actually been thinking about a lot of that stuff myself lately, because being you know, a master's athlete 31 feels tough to say that that's a master's athlete, but it is what it is. We're still gone.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Can't stop.
SPEAKER_02:That's all that matters.
SPEAKER_00:That's it, man. You gotta show up, do the work. But I think that's what I've been thinking about a lot lately, as far as peak performance and these outputs that I'm trying to put on myself for competition at these higher levels, right? You know, I've had the opportunity not I've had the opportunity to do local comps within the region, but being able to go to another continent or go down to the states is something I never anticipated I would ever do in my life. And I always kind of had a dream of doing those things even since I was a kid, and I'd always be really inspired and kind of envious of kids when they'd come home in like grade eight when they'd be like, Oh, I went to the states for a hockey tournament, whatever. I was like, sick. I was like, must be nice, man. Okay, awesome. Right. But you know, there's a little bit of a fire under my butt, I think, that was subconscious or conscious to be able to do that. And I guess it happened at my 30s. But yeah, dude, I think I think there is space for peak performance and longevity to coexist. Whether or not you see peak performance as like a massive absolute of like I'm going 100% all the time every day, and I'm achieving all these accolades in relation to my sport or my profession, to the point where you feel completely exhausted, burnt out, and destroyed at the end of the day. I don't think that would be what is going to stay in the long run. As far as kind of creating a subjective understanding of what peak performance looks like for you, I think that's what you need to really kind of target rather than just thinking it's this absolute extreme of like I'm winning all the time, nobody can beat me, and I'm a force to be reckoned with all the time every day. I don't think that's necessarily a longevity thing or something sustainable in the long term. But I think if we find a way to frame what success and what pe peak performance looks like. For us as individuals, I think that can surely be something done in the long term. And I think in order to have it done in the long term, it has to stay relative to how you are at the time, physically, mentally, emotionally, and everything that kind of encapsulates your human experience and the human body we get to use as a vehicle. And I think if you stay relative to that, if you stay humble and you stay aware of where your boundaries are, of where your capacities lie on the red line, if you stay in and around those spaces where you're not totally redlining yourself all the time, I think it can surely stay at its peak for as long as you allow it to do so, in the event that you continue to take care of yourself for the long term.
SPEAKER_02:That's probably uh I've asked that question probably a dozen, couple dozen times, and I don't know if anyone's ever answered it in that detail with that much precision. And I really like it. I think that there's a lot of people who will put a blanket statement over that, but there's there's exceptions to every rule, right? And at the end of the day, it is all individualized, and peak performance to you is different to me than it is to my mom or than it is to my brother. And you know, I I think that was very well put. I'm I'm a fan of Sean Spence. Ethan, shout out to you for bringing Sean on the show. This is dope. I gotta ask before we wrap up when I think of BJJ now, someone who's kind of crossed over, who I have plans to go train with at some point when the opportunity arises again. But Jason Khalipa, you know, CrossFit Games champion, now transitions. BJJ's got some men's mental health, mental men's programs, whatever the case may be. And I'm always curious who are those individuals that you think of, whether they're inspirations or whether they're people who you aspire to kind of grow or build a business like. Are there people out there that you are kind of trying to emulate?
SPEAKER_00:For sure. I think, I mean, coincidentally, you mentioned one of the people that I do look to, and one of them is Jason Khalipa. I I followed him for a really long time when he was in CrossFit, as well as as he's kind of leaded into BJJ and men's health, training hard at every age, and just creating a level of discipline that reaches beyond business, personal, family, societal, and physical goals. Um, I think he's I think he's a great pillar for that. And I think I definitely do resonate with what he's done as a business professional with NC Fit, as well as what he's done with the Train Hard Men's Club. I think that's a really awesome thing that he's been doing. And I don't know if you I'm do you do you follow him at all? Or okay, so I'm sure you just saw that he recently got like a train hard men's enclosed trailer, which is pretty dope. So it's kind of crazy that you can keep up with that with people, but I thought that was really dope. I mean, it just goes to show how important it is to stay disciplined, stay dedicated to the things that you care about and the people that you care about. And and it also speaks to how important consistency is in every aspect of your life. If you can show up a small bit every single day for the rest of your life for something that you care about and you create a true sense of why you want to do it, the force that you can create and the momentum you can create is is nearly insolvable. It's there will there will literally be nothing stronger than a consistent person on a mission to do something that is greater than themselves. It's ever. Big applause for that one.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, I'm here for it. I I could not agree with you more. All I'm thinking right now is that I gotta get to Toronto, train with you for a bit before I go down to California and train with Jason because I'm gonna need to get there's levels to this, right? So I gotta I have no ego when I get into that situation. So no, this is dope. I think I'm gonna actually, whatever your middle name is, I'm gonna replace it with Sean Show Up Spends. I think that's I like it. I'm here for it. Appreciate that. So where can people find you online? How can people work with you and what kind of programs do you offer? Let's give you the little AP bump here.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure, dude. I appreciate it. So my personal social where I post a lot of kind of more of a creative side of things, I express things about mental health, physical health, jujitsu, daily stuff. I can be found on Sean Spence with two E's at the end of my name on Instagram, as well as on Elite Division Performance Systems on Instagram. That's the business that I operate for strength and conditioning, for specifically jujitsu athletes. So we we seek to help jujitsu athletes win more matches and recover faster. So a way that we do that is both in-person and online training. We have a location in Whippy, Ontario. So I'm able to uh provide in-person services for strength and conditioning as well as online, where we can work on things such as nutrition, mindset, and strength and conditioning as it relates to jujitsu. Uh it's a really great opportunity to work with not only individuals in my direct circle, but having the chance to work with people continents away as well as provinces away. So being able to do that's been a blessing, and it's it's nice to be able to do that with a lot of really good players in the industry. And yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, being able to chat with you for the past 45 minutes has also been a blessing, man. I appreciate your time sincerely. 270th episode of the show. Thank you folks for tuning in. Sincerely appreciate all of you who've been along for the ride. Uh so much more to come. We'll see you next week. This has been Sean Show Up Spence. Thank you for joining the pod. Appreciate it, bro.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you folks for tuning in to this episode of the Athletes Podcast, the 270th. Shout out to Sean Spence for coming on. For Ryan Lott for producing, Ethan Stevenson for also being producer, editor, booker. You guys are the best. We are going to continue to progress. Thank you, folks, for being a part of this 270th. We'll see you next week for another new episode. Peace.
