Today I wanted to bring you an interview with former Olympian EJ “Pow” Parris. EJ was on the team in the 4x100m relay for Team Canada at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This was a big event, but it served as a turning point in his life, between living as a somewhat professional athlete, and retiring from the sport to pursue other athletic, business, and personal ventures.
EJ has amazing genetics to help him dominate athletic endeavours, as well as a strong work ethic to help him capitalize on those gifts to the fullest. We talk about some of his successes, plus how he goes about setting his mind to achieving a goal, like the current one of the heaviest weighted wide-grip pullup (bodyweight of 206 lbs plus an additional 230 lbs), complete with actionable takeaways you can copy from him to see your own success.
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2:20 – EJ’s path to the Olympics, including trials, main races, and road to Beijing.
8:30 – injuring his hamstring at the Pan American Games, plus how he managed to come back to get into top shape.
13:50 – His connection to Dan O’Brien, and his possible Plan B following sprinting of walking on to the New York Jets
16:30 – The decision to quit sprinting, including having both of his coaches bail simultaneously and take jobs out of the country
20:14 – what lead him to want to get into personal training, and the love of physical culture and movement proficiency.
22:40 – his entry into bodybuilding and his undefeated streak, plus WWE discussions, and then getting into actual wrestling & grappling
28:32 – chasing the Guinness World Record for weighted pullup
34:47 – how he involves visualization into his goal achievement process, plus his process to determining how and what goals to go after.
43:26 – highlights from his time in Beijing, including a Fox Sports poll
47:23 – how he’s built his personal business and brand following the games
56:15 – goals for after the weighted pullup world record, plus appreciation of Jujimufu
Find out more about EJ by clicking to his website HERE, as well as Instagram, and also Facebook.