The Ready State Podcast

Juliet and I have told pieces of this story over the years, but we've never sat down and told the whole thing from the beginning. This episode, I'm turning the tables and interviewing Juliet, because the full arc of how she ended up getting launched twelve feet into the air by a hippo on the Zambezi River is too good to tell any other way.

It starts in the late 1990s, when Juliet was a D1 rower turned wilderness river guide in California: fit, competent on Class IV water, and completely unaware that a tryout on the Kern River was about to drop her onto one of the most storied women's extreme whitewater teams in the world. We're talking Kelly Califadich, Julie Munger, Beth Rippins, Sue Norman, Brooke Winger, Rebecca Rusch: true legends of the sport. Juliet was the youngest, the least experienced, and by Rebecca's nickname for her, the MEAT in the middle of the boat. What she had was athletic horsepower, the right mindset, and no real concept yet of what she'd signed up for.

Winning nationals meant an all-expenses-paid trip to the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe for the 1997 World Championships. Two weeks of daily training in the Batoka Gorge: daily flips in Class V rapids, giardia, massive crocodiles between rapids, and a hundred-degree grueling hike in and out of the canyon every single day. Followed by a race they won. Then, because they'd budgeted a full month in-country, the team tacked on a five-day canoe safari at Mana Pools, Juliet's mom Janet included. Flat water. Wildlife. A chance to decompress.

Emphasis on WILDlife.

What Juliet describes about the moment of the hippo attack (the sound, the air, looking down into the open mouth of a four-thousand-pound animal) is something I still think about. And what she did in the seconds after hitting the water is the reason she's here to tell it.

What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhat it actually took to make a women's extreme whitewater World Championship team in the late 1990s — and why the word "extreme" mattered
How high-volume rivers like the Zambezi differ from the Class IV whitewater most people have experienced, and why that gap is bigger than it sounds
What two weeks of daily training in the Batoka Gorge looks like: the hike in, the carnage, the giardia, and what finally made the flipping stop
Why hippos kill more people in Africa than almost any other large animal — and what makes their attacks so difficult to survive
What Juliet's guide told the team in the safety talk before the canoe safari, and why the locals already knew not to be there
The split-second decision Juliet made in the water after the attack — and why years of river guiding made the difference
Why a lifetime of athletic competition and high-stakes environments still didn't prepare Juliet for this particular kind of fear
What "primal terror" actually feels like, and how it's different from the adrenaline fear of running a dangerous rapid

Key Highlights: (00:00) Kelly sets up the episode: an interview with Juliet about a story that shaped their life together
(00:45) How they met at the Extreme Whitewater World Championships in Chile, including Kelly's infamous Class V swim
(01:53) What made this sport extreme: Camel Cigarette sponsorships, helicopter carnage footage, and Class V rivers worldwide
(04:28) Juliet's four World Championship venues: the Zambezi, Reventazon, Orange River, and Futaleufú
(06:26) The legendary women's team: Kalafatich, Munger, Rippins, Norman, and Rebecca Rusch
(09:07) Juliet's origin story: D1 rowing at Berkeley, chasing a tan, and becoming a wilderness river guide
(12:01) The tryout on the Kern River and the Monday phone call that changed her life
(15:08) Winning nationals means Zimbabwe: understanding high-volume rivers for the first time
(21:18) Two weeks in the Batoka Gorge: daily flips, giardia, crocodiles, and finding the Nyaminyami
(29:42) Winning the World Championship and the greatest French fries of Juliet's life
(32:42) The Ready State Mobility Coach
(32:47) The canoe safari plan: five days on the lower Zambezi at Mana Pools, with Janet, Juliet's Mom
(36:31) Gary's safety talk: machetes, three guns, hippos, crocs, lions, and snakes
(38:31) Days one and two on the river: crocodile wakes, hippo pods, and the Jumanji paddle bang
(41:57) Hippo City or Hippo Bronx: the democratic vote that nearly cost Juliet her life
(45:40) The attack: a sound like a gunshot, launched 12 feet into the air, and swimming for their lives
(50:17) Stranded on a Cape Buffalo island, Tupperware canoe repair, and three silent days to the takeout
(57:13) Juliet can't be beat at the "share an interesting fact" ice-breaker game
(58:24) Primal fear and why Juliet will never do a canoe safari again
(59:36) Reacting under extreme pressure, not freezing in the moment
(1:02:33) Hippo shrine

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Marin Lazic believes the best athletes aren't just physically prepared – they're mentally free to perform. But that flies in the face of how many of us were taught to think about high performance. In this episode of The Ready State Podcast, Kelly and Juliet Starrett sit down with the Australian Men's Olympic Water Polo team's Head Strength & Conditioning Coach to explore why fun, play, and psychological safety may be some of the most overlooked performance tools in sport.

Drawing from his own experience as an athlete whose performance collapsed under stress, Marin shares how that moment completely reshaped his coaching philosophy. We dive into why reducing anxiety can improve movement, decision-making, and resilience, how breathwork and vision training are becoming part of elite athletic preparation, and why creating a culture where athletes genuinely enjoy the process leads to better long-term results.

Whether you're coaching athletes, raising competitors, or simply trying to perform better under pressure, this episode offers a fresh perspective on building durable, high-performing humans.

What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy reducing stress and performance anxiety and creating psychological safety can unlock higher levels of athletic performance
How fun, play, and positive team culture improve movement, resilience, and performance under pressure
Why elite coaching extends beyond strength training to include recovery, mindset, and athlete well-being
How breathwork, vision training, and movement quality help athletes perform at their best when it matters most
Why the best coaches develop durable athletes who can stay healthy, adapt to setbacks, and perform consistently over time
Key Highlights: (0:00) Intro & Meet Coach Marin Lazic
(0:38) Marin's Background & Coaching Philosophy
(0:58) Marin's Athlete Setback Story
(8:16) The Stressful Moment That Changed Everything
(9:13) How Stress Physically Tanks Performance
(16:55) Evolving from Old-School to Modern Coaching
(18:12) Happy Athletes Are Better Athletes
(20:17) Entrenched Thinking in Sport
(20:57) Finding a Head Coach Who Buys In
(24:38) Making Fun a Performance Strategy
(26:43) Pre-Game Warmup Games to Ease Performance Anxiety
(27:08) Beating Serbia at the Olympics
(29:27) Preparing for Paris Olympics
(30:25) Six Weeks in Europe Pre-Game
(32:39) Removing Decision Fatigue on Game Day
(33:04) Quarterfinal Loss to USA in Shootout
(34:24) The Physicality of Elite Water Polo
(36:04) Wrestling, MMA, & Water Training Methods
(43:21) Eye Training & Vision Work
(47:19) Breath Work & Session Structure
(48:18) Post-COVID Efficiency Approach
(54:29) The Concept of the "Stoke Tank"
(55:53) Being a "MacGyver" Coach on the Road
(1:00:33) Coaching Influences: Peter Twist & Pavel
(1:02:11) Losing Size, Gaining Water Strength
(1:06:14) Dad of the Year & Bluey
(1:09:56) Infinite Shelf: The Book Legacy
(1:12:17) Where to Find Marin & Watch World Cup

Huge thanks to our sponsors, LMNT and Momentous.

It's our 200th episode of RECESS, and Juliet and I are marking the milestone with laughs, a little blood, and a lot of gratitude. We look back at the last 50 episodes — we runs through the extraordinary lineup of women guests who've joined us, a powerhouse group that deserves more ears, and highlight one of our favorite recent episodes with John John Florence.

Then yes, we have to address the incident. On the 4th of July, at the Marin County Fair, I picked up the child's sledgehammer, went a little too hard on the high striker, and the thing bounced back and opened up my head. A surgeon friend materialized to administer three staples and with zero blood on the white shirt, we were on our way back into the fair for fireworks. But it will go down in history as "the year that Kelly sledgehammered his head".

From there, we get into the World Cup and give a long-overdue shoutout to the coaches and support staff doing the invisible, exhausting work that makes elite performance possible at that level. We also land on why Haaland wearing his mom's name on his jersey might be the coolest thing happening in sports right now.

We just got back from a week on the Klamath River - no cell service, no Wi-Fi, days of being barefoot and sleeping under the stars. We were stoked to run into the Paddle Tribal Waters group on the river - a program reconnecting indigenous youth to their land through whitewater kayaking. Our bodies felt incredible. Our nervous systems got a full reset. We can't recommend fully disconnecting out in nature enough.

And finally, we share a note we got from Jason Sacks (CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance, and prior TRS Podcast guest), who emailed us after reading an Ambush newsletter piece we ran on hearing loss and dementia risk — because hearing loss is the single biggest modifiable dementia risk factor. After getting his first hearing aid, Jason is here to say that the stigma around doing something about it needs to go.

What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy the women guests on RECESS over the last 50 episodes represent some of the most essential health and performance conversations in the feed
What actually happens when Kelly takes a child's sledgehammer to the head at a county fair — and why zero blood ended up on the white shirt
How elite coaching staffs manage travel, fueling, and real-time decision-making during the World Cup
Why Haaland putting his mom's name on his jersey is about more than a jersey — and what mitochondria have to do with athletic potential
What the removal of the Klamath River dams has made possible for salmon, ecosystems, and indigenous communities
How the Paddle Tribal Waters program is using whitewater kayaking to reconnect lindegenous youth to their river
Why a week barefoot on uneven terrain, off your phone, and sleeping outside resets your body and nervous system in ways daily training can't replicate
Why hearing loss is the #1 modifiable dementia risk factor — outranking smoking, education, and depression — and how treating it can change everything

Key Highlights: (00:00) Welcome back to RECESS and a milestone: 200 episodes
(01:30) Kelly's pick: John John Florence, humility, and what makes a truly extraordinary athlete
(02:20) Highlights from the last 50 episodes: the women guest lineup and why it matters that downloads drop when women are featured
(04:10) Lisa's pick: Cesalina Gracie, training for Everest, and the unexpected controversy the episode sparked
(05:00) The 4th of July high striker incident: one child's sledgehammer, three staples, and a surgeon who showed up to the fair
(09:44) Kelly reads the actual text exchange from that night, including Kelly's medical self-assessment: "cut plus"
(11:10) World Cup and a shoutout to the coaches and support staff doing the invisible work behind elite performance
(14:45) Haaland's jersey, mitochondria inheritance, and why your mom is the reason you can suffer
(16:47) Kelly's session with Rich Roll on his new Open Container format and what it looked like to problem-solve in real time with an elite athlete
(20:06) The Klamath River: 300 miles of free-flowing water following the largest dam removal project in U.S. history
(20:50) Paddle Tribal Waters: indigenous youth returning to the river through whitewater kayaking, two years in the making
(22:29) Running into the group at camp, and what it feels like to watch teenagers discover a superpower
(25:29) What a week on the river — barefoot, phone-free, sleeping outside — actually does to your body and nervous system
(27:08) Bird Club, the initiation ritual, and a golden eagle with a seven-foot wingspan at ten feet off the windshield
(29:30) Hearing loss as the #1 modifiable dementia risk, and a follow-up from podcast guest Jason Sacks on his first week with a hearing aid
(32:54) Summer to-do list and send-off

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What does it take to stay at the top of your sport for decades – physically and mentally? In this episode of The Ready State Podcast, Kelly and Juliet Starrett sit down with three-time World Surfing Champion John John Florence to explore what it really means to play the long game.
From recovering from multiple ACL tears to stepping away from competition at the peak of his career, John John shares the mindset shifts that helped him redefine success on his own terms. The conversation dives into everything from injury recovery and mental performance to fueling, training, and why learning to love the process matters far more than chasing outcomes.

John John also opens up about trading the World Tour for life aboard a sailboat with his wife and son, where surfing remote waves, solving problems, and embracing adventure have become the next chapter of his journey. Whether you're an athlete, parent, or simply someone trying to build a more meaningful life, this episode is packed with timeless lessons on resilience, intentional living, and finding fulfillment beyond achievement.

What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy playing the long game leads to better performance, longevity, and fulfillment
How to recover mentally after setbacks, injuries, and unexpected detours
Why learning to love the process creates more sustainable success than chasing outcomes
The surprising nutrition and recovery changes that helped John John perform at his best
How family, adventure, and purpose can redefine success beyond competition

Key Highlights: (0:00) Intro & Episode Preview
(0:40) Meet John John Florence
(3:47) Intro to The Long Game
(4:39) Post-Championship Depression & Loving the Process
(7:25) When You Win Your First World Title
(11:26) Where in the World: Sailing in Panama
(12:01) The Vela Docuseries
(14:21) Surfing Remote Waves & the Journey to Get There
(16:43) Raising a Kid on a Boat & Problem Solving
(20:49) ACL Injuries: The Mental Side of Serious Setbacks
(25:52) Daily Routine, Breathwork, & Warmup Habits
(35:15) The Warmup Ritual and Mind-Body Connection
(39:30) Fueling: The Biggest Performance Gap
(40:45) Comp-Day Nutrition & Gels in the Lineup
(43:00) Deciding to Step Away from the Tour
(47:44) Burnout, Back-to-Back ACLs, & Body Listening
(54:37) Working with Mental Performance Coach Dr. Mike Gervais
(1:00:16) Visualization & the 2024 Lowers World Title Clinch
(1:03:27) How His Son Grounded Him Before the Final
(1:04:16) Infinite Shelf: Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
(1:05:26) What's Next: Waves, Boat Repairs, & Closing Thoughts

Huge thanks to our sponsors, Momentous and LMNT.

In this episode of RECESS, Juliet and I open with a massive shoutout to local legend Kate Courtney — who, after winning mountain biking world championships, the Leadville 100 record, and a long course world title, has now casually taken over road cycling too.

We also get into something that came up close to home: Juliet watched the Barceloneta men's water polo team — European Champions League winners — practice on virtually no food or water, which opened up a real conversation about how you change deeply embedded fueling habits in elite sport. Spoiler: athletes have to feel the difference themselves.

Then we dig into surgery nutrition — a topic that affects way more people than elite athletes. Muscle loss after orthopedic surgery runs about 1% per day, with up to 18% loss in the quads and hamstrings within six weeks. We break down protein timing, pre-surgical carbohydrate loading, and how to protect your body going in and coming out.

Plus: Kelly's ACL and "sprain plus" knee update, Haute Route hike prep, and an ongoing domestic dispute about whether Stumptown Holler Mountain is the peak of human coffee achievement or just the beginning of the search.

New episodes of The Ready State Podcast drop every Thursday.

What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy Kate Courtney's move from mountain biking to road cycling is one of the most remarkable athletic pivots happening in sport right now
How intra-session carbohydrate fueling is changing across elite sports, and why winning teams are often the hardest to convince to change
What the research says about muscle loss after orthopedic surgery: up to 1% per day and 18% loss in six weeks
Why protein needs jump to 1.2–2g per kilogram of bodyweight in the pre- and post-surgical window
How consuming ~50g of carbohydrates two hours before surgery may reduce post-surgical insulin resistance by 50%
Why "three limb training" matters during recovery and why you can't just wait for healing to happen
How Kelly is rehabbing a torn ACL, MCL, high-grade fibular sprain, torn calf, and two menisci, and still calling it a "sprain plus"
What the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt demands physically, and how Kelly is prepping for 10 days of mountain hiking

Key Highlights: (00:00) Welcome back to RECESS; Kate Courtney shoutout — local legend, mountain biking world champion, and now national road cycling champion
(01:30) How Kate Courtney broke the factory racing model, started her own team, won Leadville 100 with a course record, and took the long course world championship, and most recently the US National Road Championship
(04:43) The mutant athlete era: Kate, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Puck Pieterse, and why cyclists switching disciplines is making the sport more exciting than ever
(06:00) Water polo and intra-session fueling: watching the Barceloneta European champions practice under-fueled, and a conversation with Heather Petri about how far sport nutrition has come
(07:50) How you actually change fueling dogma in elite sport: showing athletes the data, letting them feel the difference, and why winning teams are hardest to convince
(08:25) Intra-session carb targets across sports: from 30–50g for recreational athletes to 100g+ per hour for elite endurance, and what the Tour de France taught us about gut training
(16:40) Kids and fueling: why youth athletes are chronically under-fueled and what parents can do about it
(17:30) The coffee wars: Stumptown Holler Mountain vs. the challengers — Monmouth, Kimbo, Doma Roasters Chronic, and the Aeropress experiment
(21:10) Haute Route prep: hiking Chamonix to Zermatt, 10 days, 8–10 hour hiking days, and how Kelly is training his "sprain plus" knee for the Alps
(26:55) Kelly's injury breakdown: torn ACL, torn MCL, high-grade fibular sprain, torn calf, both menisci — and why he chose to delay ACL repair to make the trip
(28:00) Surgery nutrition: the research on muscle loss post-orthopedic surgery, why protein needs spike, and the pre-surgical carbohydrate timing window
(31:20) Can we challenge the "nothing by mouth" pre-surgery protocol? Liquid carbohydrates, glucose boluses, and protecting muscle mass before you go under
(33:55) Wrap-up, Happy 4th of July, and thanks for listening