Hello, SPIRITUAL WARRIOR! I love connecting with you! Follow me on social media, and check out my website for more information on how meditation can reduce your stress, help you make more conscious choices and improve your relationships. I have 300+ free guided meditations, educational and inspirational blog posts, my calendar of upcoming events, and much more at davidji.com. Don't hesitate to send me an email if you have questions or need guidance. Peace - davidji

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Conceived during a heinous act of violence, John Joseph McGowan (JJ) was born into a dynasty of darkness and groomed for a life of brutality. Watching his mother be beat beyond recognition by his alcoholic prizefighting father, starved, bullied and abused for years in foster care, boys homes and institutions, John Joseph escaped his living hell for another. At the age of 14, he was living on the streets of New York City which was at the time, the murder capital of America. Sleeping in burnt out buildings, earning money as a drug mule and hustler John was shot, stabbed, beaten and eventually busted. In 1978 he landed himself in Spofford Correctional Institute, a juvenile detention facility known for its own type of terror.

It's difficult to encapsulate the violence JJ's lived for decades. He admits that sometimes he was so violent that he doesn't even remember and over the years he buried so much terror that he was literally over boiling with anger. Addicted to alcohol and crack-cocaine he describes himself as once being the "crazy crackhead you didn't want to meet on the streets".

But today, after following JJ for the last three years and most recently sitting across from him in his home in New York City to record this podcast, I see a man who is a living example of redemption. I see goodness and love and laughter and selfless service. I see someone who prayed for another way and took it when it appeared to him. I see resilience in a way I have never seen before and willingness to tow the line of true healing.

The John Joseph of today is a successful author, screenwriter, lead singer of the CroMags punk rock band and Ironman triathlete living the compassion of a plant-based life and dedicated to his daily spiritual practice. His atonement in life was sparked by the Bad Brains, the Rastafarian punk rock band who extended a hand to John, offered him a job, squashed a KOS (kill on site) directive on his head and got him off the streets. In return, he was to get sober and give up eating animal products.

He says that almost immediately after becoming vegan he noticed a shift in his well-being and that for the first time in his life he was able to feel a calm space within himself. He believes that was because he was no longer consuming the fear, torture and abuse of the animals that is common practice in the US food system. We live in a country that does a superb job of hiding the violence from its public and misleading men to believe they must eat meat to be masculine. For anyone who looks at John Joseph, a vegan for over 30 years, I believe they would be hard-pressed to find any lack of masculinity.

JJ has studied GMOs extensively and we talk about why Hawaii is ground zero for GMO testing. This is not conspiracy theory, he explains, but truth and agenda behind big food business. If anyone is questioning the validity of his argument a good question to ask is "why are chemical companies growing our food?". We discuss the perfectly ludicrous world of pharmaceutical commercialism and why most drugs are designed to keep their recipients sick.

This podcast covers so many topics, as John Joseph truly is so many things rolled into one of the genuine people I've ever met. He's a perfect balance of backbone and compassion and bringing him to the YT audience was something we held in our vision from its inception. JJ is authentic and true to himself, he is an open book and with that comes much colorful language.

John Joseph: CroMags Lead Singer, Author & Ironman On Rising Up From Violence & His Kona Debut

Imagine yourself on mile 5 of an Ironman marathon and you feel great. You are on goal pace.

"It's all coming together, this is THE race I've been waiting for".

Then you look at your heart rate and it's 10 beats higher than what it should be and all of a sudden you don't feel as good and you slow down and your dreams are left to fade away for another day.

Sadly, this is common series of events for athletes who rely too heavily, because they have never trained any other way, on that external piece of equipment called the watch. Data is good, heck yes, but detaching from data to get to know thyself proves far more valuable when it comes down to pivotal moments in training and racing.

By practicing letting go of the watch in training we create space to develop a skillful awareness of our bodies and minds that lifts the limits that numbers can impose. Again data is good, it helps us get a sense of where we are in our pace and exertion levels but it's not the end all and be all of training. Envision going out for a workout and knowing, without question, your heart rate within a beat, pace within seconds and sustained wattage based on your breath and perceived exertion through heightened body awareness. How might that benefit you in a race when your bike computer fails or your watch battery dies?

BJ was introduced to this first hand from our guest today and has relied on it many times when his bike computer has failed and his watch battery has died. In fact, BJ's regular practice is to race without a watch and his times continue to get faster and faster.

Lucho came into our lives a decade ago on a plane ride home from Ironman Arizona. He struck up a conversation with BJ and from that moment on he was a changed athlete. Lucho soon became BJ's coach and has remained his mentor for many years.

Lucho is an accomplished athlete, he was a very active kid. He ran in high school which led to a scholarship to college which led to a unique twist which led to travels which led to a hurricane which led to his introduction to triathlon. In 2000 Lucho was the top amateur at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI and 16th overall. It was after this incredible accomplishment that he turned pro. He's a multi-time course record breaker in the sport of triathlon and ultra running. He utilizes his athletic experiences, especially the crummy ones, to self-reflect and learn so that he can rise back up to the next challenge as a better-equipped athlete and human. He is constantly reinventing himself and most recently he's been hitting the track to see what kind of speed he is capable of at this point in his life.

Lucho is so transparent, he's really an open book and I love that about him. We've known him for ten years and even though this is the second time I've met him in person I feel like I've been right by his side through times of joy and otherwise as we've followed his journey through his blog and by listening to him on his Endurance Planet podcast.

This conversation is most definitely one to listen to a few times, there is so much gold in here for athletes from the traditional training standpoint but also in the development of self-awareness and mental strength.

Thank you so much for your support, we couldn't do it with you all. We have a goal of 100 reviews on Apple Podcast by the end of August so if you enjoy today's show please go and leave a few sentences in support of the YTP.

Sit back, unplug and get ready to really plug into an awesome conversation with an accomplished athlete, coach, podcaster, dad, husband, and cake artist.

Podcast 66: Tim "Lucho" Waggoner from All American to Two Packs a Day to Ironman to Leadman

YogiTriathlete and its co-founders, Jess and BJ, are waking up and shaking up the world of endurance sports. Their approach is anything but mainstream and they are known to go deep. Buckle up because jumping on this train has the power to change your life forever.

John Joseph: CroMags Lead Singer, Author & Ironman On Rising Up From Violence & His Kona Debut

YogiTriathlete Podcast

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