Episodes

At 62, David Green did something radical. He stopped outsourcing his health to protocols and supplements—and started paying closer attention to how his body actually responded. What followed wasn’t decline. It was clarity. In this conversation, David shares why stepping away from supplements helped him simplify his training, sharpen his instincts, and ultimately find his best shape—strong enough to run across Europe in his sixties. David has spent decades in endurance sport and long-for...

This episode brings together moments from conversations recorded across the first half of 2025 — voices from different sports, environments, and stages of life, each describing how they continue to train, move, and stay engaged as conditions change. These clips span endurance running, climbing, paddling, cycling, swimming, and exploration. What connects them is more than performance level or accomplishment, but also the way each athlete thinks about adaptation — physically, psychologically, a...

What does “use it or lose it” actually mean after 60 — when recovery slows, strength is harder to regain, and stopping even briefly can change what’s possible? Buzz Burrell is one of the quiet architects of modern mountain and trail culture, to talk about consistency — not as motivation, but as survival. Buzz ran his first ultramarathon nearly six decades ago, long before endurance sports had language, infrastructure, or spectators. Since then, he’s lived a migratory life shaped by mountains, ...

What do world-class athletes actually eat — not in theory, not on Instagram, but in real life, day after day? After more than 100 conversations with elite climbers, ultrarunners, surfers, and endurance athletes, I started noticing a pattern I didn’t expect. It wasn’t about optimization. It wasn’t about trends. And it definitely wasn’t about eating something new every day. It started with breakfast. On nearly every episode of Ageless Athlete, I ask a simple question: “Where are you...

“When I tell people I started sailing at sixty, they’re shocked. We don’t see our sixties as a place to begin — which is tragic, especially if you’ve invested in your health. What’s the point, if not to do something fantastic?” In this New Year’s Eve episode of Ageless Athlete, I sit down with Deborah Hammett, a former school principal who did something most people never consider — she learned to sail at 60, moved onto a boat, and now lives and travels solo by sea. Deborah’s story isn’t really...

What does it really take to stay strong into your 70s — physically, mentally, and emotionally? In this episode, I sit down with Steve Swenson, one of America’s most respected alpinists, to talk about endurance, aging, and the habits that have kept him moving for decades. Steve has climbed Everest and K2, completed first ascents in the Karakoram, and summited Everest without supplemental oxygen — an experience that strips away ego and rewards preparation, judgment, and restraint. But this conv...

What really keeps the brain sharp as we age — and what quietly puts it at risk? In this episode of the Ageless Athlete Podcast, host Kush Khandelwal speaks with Dr. Tommy Wood, neuroscientist, physician, and strength athlete, about the science of cognitive reserve and why long-term brain health depends on challenge, learning, and effort — not comfort or flow. Flow states feel rewarding, but as Dr. Wood explains, they don’t create the kind of stimulus the brain needs to adapt over decades. Ins...

This week’s episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a legendary athlete or coach, I was invited onto the Adventure Sports Podcast to talk about the questions that many of us — everyday athletes, weekend warriors, late bloomers, and lifelong learners — wrestle with as we get older. If you come to Ageless Athlete for honest conversations about aging, movement, and staying curious in a changing body, this episode is very much in that spirit. We recorded this conversation back in Ma...

What happens when a life in climbing spans five decades, multiple eras, and some of the most surprising moments in outdoor history? In this episode, legendary climber Russ Clune takes us inside the world that shaped him: the Shawangunks (“the Gunks”) of the 1970s and 80s — an unlikely counterculture just two hours from Manhattan where artists, dirtbags, misfits, and pioneers built the early soul of American climbing. Russ shares rare, behind-the-scenes stories from his incredible career, i...

When Loree Bolin was told she’d never run again, she didn’t just defy expectations — she redefined them. At 70, Loree completed her 11th Ironman triathlon after years of battling knee osteoarthritis. But this isn’t just a story about sport. It’s about service. A retired dentist and lifelong endurance athlete, Loree sold her practice at 60 to launch a nonprofit bringing medical and dental care to underserved communities across Tanzania. Her work now includes safehouses for girls fleeing forced...

This quarter on Ageless Athlete brought together some of the most surprising and meaningful stories of the year — from record-setting endurance swimmers to rebel skateboarders, alpinists, paddlers, big-wall climbers, and athletes redefining what’s possible in their 60s and 70s. Across ten very different conversations, one theme kept surfacing: Courage in uncomfortable places. Not the loud kind — but the quiet courage that appears at the edge of uncertainty, identity, aging, and ambition. This “...

What happens when you mix psychedelics with some of the most fearsome waves on Earth? What does it take to stay curious, joyful, and deeply alive—well into your 70s? In this wide spanning conversation, legendary surfer Jock Sutherland joins Ageless Athlete to talk about the radical experiences, deep values, and spiritual practices that shaped his life—from surfing Pipeline in the 1960s to climbing mango trees and sharing fruit with neighbors at 77. Raised off-grid on Oʻahu, Jock came of ag...

After 60 years in the weight room, Dan John has distilled fitness down to its essence: Move well. Lift often. Walk every day. Recover deeply. In this conversation, Dan joins host Kush Khandelwal to share the universal rules for staying strong and mobile through every decade — especially for climbers, runners, and outdoor athletes looking to balance performance and longevity. They unpack how fit literally means “to knit” — body, mind, and life woven together — and how that philosophy can gu...

Imagine growing up in the conservative Deep South, where young women were expected to play it safe Now imagine trading that world for Himalayan storms, frozen walls, and a seven-year stretch of living out of a Subaru to chase something bigger. Kitty Calhoun did exactly that. She became the first North American woman to summit Dhaulagiri and the first woman to climb Makalu’s West Pillar—two of the hardest, highest peaks on Earth. Along the way she’s survived avalanches, eight-day storms, and t...

Nutrition advice is everywhere — and most of it overcomplicates what should be simple. In this replay, EC Synkowski, founder of Optimize Me Nutrition and creator of the 800-Gram Challenge, shares a refreshingly practical approach to fueling performance, recovery, and longevity. She’s coached CrossFit athletes, corporate teams, and everyday movers — and she’s one of the most grounded, science-based voices in nutrition today. 🧠 What You’ll Learn The 800-Gram Challenge: a data-driven, no-BS way ...

At 59, Charlotte Brynn has swum across some of the world’s most punishing channels — in pitch black, in near-freezing water, and even after being bitten by a shark. But her story is more than toughness. It’s about what happens when you don’t reach your goal — not once, but five times. It’s about staying in the fight for 12 years to complete the English Channel. And it’s about discovering that real strength isn't just physical — it's the willingness to try again, and again, and again. In th...

What does it take to climb into the unknown — when you can’t see the way forward? Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most accomplished adventure athletes of our time. The first blind person to summit Mount Everest, he has since climbed the Seven Summits, led expeditions around the world, and kayaked the full 277 miles of the Grand Canyon. Now 56, Erik continues to seek awe and discomfort — from the storm-battered granite towers of the Bugaboos to the whitewater chaos of the Colorado River. But th...

What does it take to bet everything on a dream? To live out of a van before it was fashionable, to commit to hard lines with no guarantee of success, and to walk away from risk when the stakes are too high? For Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter, it has always come down to conviction. From iconic ascents like Cobra Crack and The Path to bold multi-pitch routes on El Capitan, Sonnie has built a career — and a life — around the power of desire and the art of going all in. In this episode, Sonni...

What does it take to come back after a body-breaker of an injury—not once, but sixteen times? Chris Anthony is a legendary ski athlete, filmmaker, and adventurer who has stared down more than his fair share of wipeouts, surgeries, and life-altering setbacks. But instead of fading quietly from the spotlight, Chris rebuilt. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. In this episode, we explore what it really means to recover—not just to return to sport, but to reinvent yourself in the process. You’ll h...

Last week in Part I, we began our journey with legendary alpinist Jim Donini — exploring his surprise cancer diagnosis, his early days in Yosemite, and the philosophy that has defined his career: “Getting to the top is optional. Getting back down is mandatory.” In this second part of our conversation, we turn from the mountains themselves to the human side of Jim’s story. At 82, Jim reflects on: The partnerships that shaped his greatest climbs — and what makes someone a great partner in the mou...

For more than five decades, Jim Donini has defined what it means to be an alpinist. Not by chasing the tallest mountains or summit glory, but by seeking out the hardest lines in the world’s most remote ranges — places where storms, hunger, and survival itself are never guaranteed. Now at 82, Jim is still climbing, still dreaming, and still teaching us what resilience looks like. In this first of a two-part conversation, he opens up about receiving a surprise cancer diagnosis, how he approache...

At age 49, Susan Marie Conrad paddled 1,200 miles—alone—through the remote, storm-swept waters of the Alaskan Inside Passage. Twelve years later, at 61, she went back and did it again. In this powerful conversation, Susan shares what it means to return—not just to the same wild coastline, but as a different person. We unpack what changes when you chase something bold later in life, how nature reshapes your mindset, and what happens when you open yourself up to synchronicity, generosity, and t...

At 65, Judi Oyama is still lining up at the start gate — not in a “Masters” category, but shoulder-to-shoulder with athletes half, or even a quarter her age. She’s a World Champion slalom skateboarder, a Guiness record holder, a Hall of Fame inductee, and a pioneer who’s been breaking barriers since she first picked up a board in Santa Cruz in the early 1970s. Back then, women’s divisions barely existed. Prize money was unequal. Media crews left during women’s finals. Judi skated anyway — pus...

Physiotherapist, coach, and lifelong climber Andy McVittie is back for the final chapter of our three-part deep dive into aging well, moving well, and living without fear of injury. If you haven’t listened to Part I (The Movement Optimist: Knees, Shoulders, Elbows, Hips, Bulletproof Yourself! Never Late to Get Strong!) or Part II (Aging Joints & Grateful Bodies: Elbows, Fingers, Sleep, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves), I highly recommend going back. In those episodes, we tackled the myths abo...