Running 125km and Quitting Alcohol – Matty's Wild Ride to Wellness!

🔊 Why You Can't Miss This Episode: Matty Christopherson’s story is about relentless determination and transformative change. From quitting alcohol to running 125km, his journey is a testament to the power of commitment and community.

This episode is not just an interview; it’s a blueprint for anyone looking to redefine their health and wellness. Whether you're seeking inspiration or practical advice, Matty's insights will challenge your beliefs and push you to take that 2% step towards a better you.

We also delve into the inspiring story of Project 125 and its mission to raise $125,000 by running 125 kilometers from Vancouver to Whistler for Krista DeLoyan, a two-time Olympian diagnosed with cancer.

Hear about the challenges, the community support, and the legacy-building efforts that have made this fundraiser a monumental mission.

Have you ever wondered how to merge a passion for health and fitness with entrepreneurial success?

This episode is a testament to the power of community, willpower, and dedication. It covers topics ranging from personal health journeys to the therapeutic benefits of long-distance running. 

Don't miss out on these heartwarming stories and practical insights into optimizing health and building a supportive community!

🔗 Social Media:

• Website: Opscotch
• LinkedIn: Matthew Christopherson
• Instagram: @matty_christopherson @Project125.ca
• Facebook: Matthew Christopherson

Transcript

Dai Manuel: 0:02

Welcome back to the Two-Tip Solution Podcast. I'm Diamond Well, and yeah, this is a video one. For those of you watching the video version, probably on Spotify, as that's a pretty cool feature that they now have, and we've heard Apple might be rolling it out too. Either way, I've got a video and I'm posting the guest interview which you'll be seeing in just a second. But let's fill you in my buddy, matty. Matty Christoph be seeing in just a second, but let's fill you in my buddy, maddie.

Dai Manuel: 0:29

Maddie christopherson super cool dude, very savvy, but also a phenomenal athlete. But he's also someone that's been through a lot of ups and downs, but cool part is he's coming on the show. Talk about some of those challenges. Talk about some of the things that he's done to be fitter now in his early 40s than he's ever been in his 30s or even in his 20s. He was even comparing back to the time when he was competing on the national level in the water polo team here in Canada. We can also talk a bit about a company he co-founded called Off Scotch. You may remember Spencer Coffin I interviewed him. He's. You may remember Spencer Coppin I interviewed him. He's Maddie's business partner, also my functional medicine practitioner as well as Maddie's. So it's really interesting because Maddie and I started comparing. On today's episode, we're talking about some of the things that we went through when we started working with Spencer, his father and a team of specialists to really get to the bottom of optimization, but also dealing with wherever those deficiencies are.

Dai Manuel: 1:28

Anyways, I'm getting way too far into this. I'm just going to cut to the interview. I hope you like this new format. Let me know what your thoughts are and, of course, be sure to check out the show notes later for Maddie's links. You're going to want to check out the Project 125 on Instagram for them, and yeah, anyways, let me know what you think about this episode and be sure to come check out. Maddie and I. We're going to be doing an event later in August and we'd love for you to show up if you're local in Vancouver. All right, more on that later. See you.

Dai Manuel: 2:02

Welcome back to the 2% Solution Podcast. As I said in the intro, I'm still Diamond Will and you are here today to hear from an amazing guest. I know I hinted at it in the intro, but you got to understand. Matty is just such a cool dude. We just reconnected a few weeks ago. We've known of each other and been in the same circles for gosh, close to 20 years in vancouver.

Dai Manuel: 2:27

Yeah, but yeah, like dude, it's crazy, it's crazy. And but just the other thing it's crazy man with big beard running by my wife and I sitting on a bench on the seawall and I'm like done, holy crap, it was just, it was awesome, it was such a serendipitous moment. But since then we've had some great conversations and I was like man, we gotta get you on the podcast because maddie is doing something extremely cool never been done before. I can't get into the details right now, but if we're really nice and maybe I give him some major props throughout this conversation, he might, might, spill the beans a bit. So, uh, we'll find out, but we'll see if we get there. But anyways, matty, thanks for being on the show, man, welcome.

Matty Christopherson: 3:08

Pleasure to be here so to have a conversation and, yeah, our friendship. I love how much blossomed the last couple of weeks, so, yeah, pumped.

Dai Manuel: 3:18

Great man and listen, I also got a. I'm just going to be a fan boy a little bit here. I love following your content online, especially because I know there's been some very intentional shifts with how you show up online. I also know this has a big part of what you're doing as far as engaging communities both online and offline, and I know we're going to get to talking about Opscotch and what's really cool about that is we had Spencer Coppin you're one of your partners in that operation on a previous episode and we both worked with Spencer also as our functional medicine practitioner and, quite frankly, the guy that's optimized our lives right down to the basic biomarkers right.

Matty Christopherson: 3:57

Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, yeah, he's a beauty and I'm, uh yeah, grateful to have him in my life and as a partner of hopscotch now too, and so we're gonna get into that.

Dai Manuel: 4:08

So everybody just stay tuned, we're gonna get to that. But you know what everybody knows I'm kind of a nerd. I like my comic books, I like my marvel, I love origin stories of superhero stories. You know, cop super was that thing that happened that got them set on that trajectory to now impact, you know, know, not only civilizations, but just the people down at the local, grassroots level to a global level. And Maddie, you're a superhero in my books, especially as how you make an impact in the lives of people, either directly that you know, in the circles that you play in, but most importantly, what you've been doing online. And so can we just go back a little bit and talk about.

Dai Manuel: 4:46

You know what it took, or what was the decision, I should actually say, or the choice that you made decisively to go from being a competitive international athlete to that wanting to be someone that not only is an athlete, someone that's into health and fitness, but someone that wants to create businesses in this space. Because, you know, I I've seen, seen a lot, like a lot of personal trainers. This is why the attrition rate in the personal training business is is it's that astronomer, like it. People get injured because they love it, but then they realize, oh man, I don't know how to sell this stuff and I don't really want to sell it. I want to give it away. You know, I would help my friends and, and so, going from a participant and someone that's passionate about it to actually someone that's monetizing it and teaching others how to make money Because I also know through your different verticals, dude, you've really made some big dents in our industry and I just love it. So let's go back Tell us a story. Man Story time.

Matty Christopherson: 5:38

Yeah Well, I appreciate it, dianne, and thank you for the kind word. You know I'm a big believer that many people in the health and wellness industry it all started with sport, right. So through my high school years played a lot of sports in high school and then in the later years of my teen I swam for Team Canada, for the Canadian National Water Polo Team, traveled globally for the Junior National Team, the national water polo team traveled globally for the junior national team, and that's what really anchored my health and wellness at a young age. We would be training seven days a week, hours on hours on the pool deck, in the pool and dry land training as well. And so through those teenage years it was really about peak performance. That was a lot different back 25 years, right. And then you know, like anything, nothing goes in a straight line.

Matty Christopherson: 6:32

And you know, when it looked at, my career ended up going to university, staten Fraser University here in Vancouver, I took kinesiology. That was my major, that was my focus. And then after that to the you know, finance world, did a couple go public field and then land in the cannabis, so caps took me. Um, you know about 12 years of my career, um, couple different businesses. Yeah, lots of learning as a young entrepreneur. And then, you know, it came full and through some adversity four years ago when, in fact, I met Spencer, my now business partner. That's when I really leaned back into my health on a more serious, very disciplined and intentional way and that's what shifted my trajectory from a career standpoint back into the health and wellness industry.

Dai Manuel: 7:27

Dude, I love it and I got to ask you just because you are someone that's seen competitive sport at so many different levels, not only based on the communities and your own background. The communities that you again, as I said earlier, that you play in, because I know you're always playing, communities that you you again, as I said earlier that you play in, cause I know you're always playing, and these communities that you're sharing energy with and been cultivating and curating not only content but experiences. What's your thoughts on the competitive nature of sport these days? And what I mean by that is is is it supportive, is it not supportive? Like cause? I?

Dai Manuel: 8:00

I just know, with the Olympics coming, you know, by the time this airs, you know, all eyes will be on Paris, yeah, and there's a lot of Canadian athletes that I know that have had to leverage a lot of their lifestyles. In particular, you know, I know of a few that work multiple jobs just to cover their training bills To get to Paris. Oh gosh, to get to Paris is the massive word and I just think it's such a sad statement. It's our state of the union, and I'm just curious with your experience in this space, like, what's your thoughts on this right now, like what is the problem with this disparity? Because I also know this is something that you speak to quite openly and and I just want people to understand that there is a very significant conversation happening out there in the world about competitive sport and you've got a very interesting story that I think really highlight what we're going to talk about, and so if you can sort of bridge it into that story, I would love it.

Dai Manuel: 8:58

Yeah, I know you and I know what we're talking about here. Don't worry, everybody is going to tell you a great story?

Matty Christopherson: 9:01

Yeah, for sure, for sure. So you know I'm not competing internationally for myself for over 20 years, so that's been hard, but being surrounded by a bunch of high-level athletes. Last week I was actually with Phil Wizard. So he's Canadian, he's the favorite Canadian team going to the Olympics. He's a great dancer, great dancing. He is now introduced to the 2024 Paris Games and he's ranked number one in the world. So I was actually conversing with him, like just only a couple of days ago and you know where his trajectory has gone and you know great dancing at an age of 11, with no ambitions to ever compete on a global stage, best, hopefully, at the Olympics and now he's introduced. It's just, you know, everything worked out in his favor and because of that, being a Korean-Canadian and newly introduced sport into the Games, ranked number one in the world, there's been a lot of opportunity for him. So you know truth to him. He's so humble, he's such an amazing human and an incredible athlete. I had the luxury of trading with him for multiple times a week for like two years straight and, yeah, incredibly committed, disciplined and what have you Deserved everything. I wish him the best of luck when he hit the game.

Matty Christopherson: 10:23

With that all said, that's not the same case for everyone. Like you alluded to, guy, and you know a lot of people in Canada up here where we are. They you know, we believe that the belief that if only Canadians that are, you know there's a lack of funding, but really translate to the US as well, and you know I would pass it with you before. There's a really cool running brand. I have no affiliation with this brand called Bandit Out of Brooklyn, really cool running apparel brand. They're known to be designed for runners by runners, high-performance running brand and they used to campaign for the Olympic trial in track and field arena and it was called the Unsponsored Project. And what it was is, if you were to look at the lineup of the 200-meter, the 400-meter, the 800-meter, those guys on the periphery like lane 7 and lane 1 and 2, even 3, and those guys aren't sponsored but they're dawning the big name, right, big name, like nike, adidas, what have you, and they're billboards, the brand, but they're not sponsored.

Matty Christopherson: 11:37

And so what one you know, just to you know, touch on the lack of funding for it. Even in the US, at that higher level, you know, those guys that are Olympic hopefuls are still not sponsored. And so the bandit, the running brand, they did a really cool thing and they donned everyone in black. They gave them all contracts that were breakable. They were basically allowing the athlete to claim their independence. So when they were at the start line, they're donning all black, no logos, and they're basically saying to the world I'm not sponsored. And then turns out 35 plus athletes abandoned and a sponsoring. I think there was like three, three that qualified for the Olympic, all of which who now have big brand contracts. So a really cruel way that they, you know, really highlighted the lack of funding at such an elite like high level performance man.

Dai Manuel: 12:38

I love that. I just think it's so cool, right Like it's so outside the box, but it makes such a very public yeah statement and, you know, and it's got a big exclamation on it because it's kind of uh, you know, in your face. As far as the big brands are, because, you're right, everybody is used to seeing those big logos and it does command a lot of dollars, but I never really realized that everybody on that starting line aren't actually sponsored. As someone that just is in awe of these athletes at these levels, I just presume they're all getting help. That was my belief. It was my belief.

Matty Christopherson: 13:17

And we're immersed. Well, true, and we believe that right. So, yeah, everyone thinks that the athletes are on the world page and they have all these endorsements and they're getting paid to compete. That's not the case. There's a very small, small, small fraction of them, like the one percent, even when you go to the game. You know, I don't know what the number would be, but you know, I wouldn't be surprised if only five percent of the athletes are getting paid. You know, you know again, don't know the number would be, but you know I wouldn't be surprised if only 5% of the athletes are getting paid. You know, you know, again, don't know the number, but feel that.

Dai Manuel: 13:49

Man, I well, I mean thanks for sharing that Cause I just think that's such a cool story and don't worry everybody, I'll link to to bandits and to this campaign, uh, in the show notes, uh, and just so you can go check it out and hear more about this. I mean, I just look at the a genius campaign, uh, really.

Dai Manuel: 14:07

I hope more people take note of that and do something similar. You know I could see that being in other verticals or other industries. Um, I want to chat to you too, because it was since we're on this topic. Recently, you know, you said something and it was so poignant. It was when you were running by me on the seawall and you were telling me the story of a friend of yours, an Olympian, and I'll let you tell the story, but if we could talk about that, because you said something and everyone like this is like a mic drop moment.

Dai Manuel: 14:40

But I remember, maddie, you were like you know, she didn't give up on the sport, but the sport gave up on her yeah, yeah and when you said that I was just like this, this feeling in me, my stomach was, oh gosh, that's awful, because I know what it takes to get to a high level, like I mean. I remember I mean other than crossfit I haven't really competed at a high level in anything, um, but even then I never made games, uh, but I I've competed in it and it's tough, man, and I'm like looking at these athletes, I'm like man, it takes a while to get there.

Matty Christopherson: 15:09

Yeah, a lifetime of dedication.

Matty Christopherson: 15:13

Well, as an example you alluded to it A friend of mine from university devoted her life, 13 years of her life, to pro sport Right and then won two Olympic Games 2004, 2008. And then, when she true olympic games 2004, 2008, and then when it not surpassed and you know she would pass her prime, she didn't give up on the sport. She was a rower, the sport on her, no fault of hers, no fault, no one to blame. But it just passed your prime. And then you're left, exactly they're left, with no purpose and this is where they're.

Matty Christopherson: 15:45

You know Krista Deloitte, my friend, that was the Olympic medalist, the mother of two, six and four years old, and when she was done at the Olympics on the podium, she came back and she went into a depression because she had no purpose and she wrote a book around it. And yeah, it just goes to show you that these athletes can be on the biggest world stage of their life, the biggest peak moment, adrenaline rush, proud to represent the nation. But after the dust settles, they're left there, not understanding what's next and no future, really, from a career standpoint. They put everything on hold, devoting it to sport.

Dai Manuel: 16:29

Is there anything coming to light now as this conversation continues to emerge? Because I mean, I even remember, I mean there was that Netflix series that Phelps put out a number of years ago. Right, that really was looking at the mental health aspects, or lack thereof, support for athletes around this identity piece, especially post professional career, right, like what?

Dai Manuel: 16:50

do they do after the fact, like this is what I've been doing. I mean we see this with pro athletes all the time. We hear about, you know, then going off the deep end, maybe leaning into alcohol or drugs or gambling, promiscuity, I mean there's just all these things that they just sort of start to distract themselves with because of this lack of identity or, as you said, purpose.

Matty Christopherson: 17:09

And I'm just curious with your experience in some of these conversations, is there much as far as resources coming to the forefront to support them with this, like I just I mean well, there's not more you know, yeah Well, crazy times right now, especially post-pandemic right, because I'm a firm believer that for all these years, especially in canada, we were focused on how do we fund our athletes, get to the game, how do we, you know, help support them while they're training, while they're on the you know national team representing the country, and how do we get them on the podium.

Matty Christopherson: 17:42

There was even a you know olympic um program them on the podium. There was even an Olympic program called Own the Podium that we introduced. I don't know what Olympic Games it was, but that was what placed a lot of our athletes on the podium and definitely allowed us to compete at a higher level when we entered the Games. But post-Games, I'm not aware of too much that really happened behind the scenes, but I do believe that ever since this pandemic you know, this coast pandemic mental health has been a big topic. I think that now, um bringing more light in general, the people's overall wellness, uh, the mental health aspect I think this is going to be a key pillar in supporting our athletes in the future.

Dai Manuel: 18:28

We teed that one up because I'm like this is like per pegway actually into the lead, into. I want to talk about Project 125 because I just it is so freaking cool. But there's a backstory to how that even came to light and and actually this is when you really started popping in my feet a lot. Okay, you did the Goggins challenge and this is going back a number of months, but I remember like just watching you post as you were doing these every four hours. What is it?

Matty Christopherson: 19:01

Four miles, every four hours, that's correct.

Dai Manuel: 19:03

Yeah, four by four by 48. Anyways, crazy man, crazy. So, first of all, why, why would you want to do it? And two, though, like not only why you started to, but what it actually turned into I think, is what's so amazing?

Dai Manuel: 19:22

And and literally it was the seedling of what's now turned into a very much a very uh uh. Well, let's just say, everyone's going to know about this. I know you're all going to start Googling it after the interview and, trust me, there's going to be a lot of PR, a lot of talk around this. So, um, maddie, can you, can you sort of take us back? Like, first of all, why the Goggins thing?

Matty Christopherson: 19:52

You know why did it turn into what it did? Yeah, so we'll rewind like that. You touched on it earlier. So I'm the co-founder of OpsCotch. So we're a modern health company that gives everyone or anyone, the tools and knowledge to optimize their health, right so that blood biomarker testing, epigenetic testing. It includes a very focused development lineup and a community to support you on your health journey, right?

Matty Christopherson: 20:12

So when we look at the David Goggin thing and what I did back in March, that was me putting myself out there as the co-founder of Gox and the community curator. You know my role and responsibility to well, I believe, to inspire people, right, I gotta, you know, put my money where my mouth is and I gotta like lead. And you know what I'm passionate about it and I love, I love teaching, coaching, I love that inspiring people, I love bringing people along for the journey and just giving them the extra motivation to, you know, lean into their health. And one area for myself was I need a challenge, I need something physical and mentally challenging, and the David Goggins came across my radar. So, as you said, running four miles every four hours for 48 hours. You got to do it through two nights, two mornings, two evenings, it's nonstop, it's a grind. And when I committed doing that, I put it out in the world and I put it out to our obstacle community. That was getting in the first quarter of the new year of 2024. And January went by, february went, went by, we're all get busy. And March rolled by and it rolled in and I was like no, holding me accountable. No one even probably remembered that. I put that out there. But about integrity and leading by example and showing that when you commit to something you know, aside from any injuries or any other, like medical concerns or whatever, you follow through with it right. And so I linked through it. I ended up telling my, the opcot community that I was gonna do it on a wednesday, started kicking off on a wednesday back in march I can't remember the exact date and on month morning, after I'd already committed to the date, we're gonna, you know, do that challenge with a couple people.

Matty Christopherson: 22:09

Unfortunately, um didn't come through and I did it solo, but nonetheless, on Monday morning I was on Facebook and a friend of mine from university, chris DeLoyan, two-time Olympian Olympic medalist, mother of two, was opening a jar of pickles, dislocated her shoulder, went to the hospital and the doctor told her that her shoulder was not dislocated, she had broken her arm and, after a scan, discovered that she had six tumors from her head to her waist and her bones were riddled with cancer, and it was heartbreaking, heartbreaking news and I was dumbfounded when I saw that video online on the Monday morning and on Tuesday her sister posted a GoFundMe with a goal of raising $5,000 by the end of the week and this would help support Krista with more private care, more detailed scan uncovering exactly you know what state she was in and you know where they need that. And as I was tying up my shoes, hadn't talked to Krista or the family where I went to school with Krista and her through Leah, hadn't talked to this family for upwards of 20 years since university day. I was tying up my shoes and I made the conscious. You know what I'm going to do this challenge and while I do this challenge, I'm going to raise funds for Krista and I'm going to help support her in her healing.

Matty Christopherson: 23:43

And I felt, with my responsibility in the state at part of my. You know my mission for my business, to help support her with the tools to optimize and better her health, and so it by me, raising awareness and raising funds. That's what we did and turns out throughout the challenge. Every time I went on social, you were watching I was plugging. You know? If you don't know Krista, do it for me. If you don't know me that well, donate $14, even $14 donate, and there was a tribe of people that donated even the $14 and turned out. By the end of the week we raised $58,000.

Dai Manuel: 24:34

Maddie, forgive me, Like amazing, but it's also a huge testament to Krista, as well as her support networks and just this wonderful community that comes together to rally for a cause. But you know, you lit that one, you lit the match on that baby. You know, like it was great that you just you brought it to the forefront. But I love that you aligned something so much bigger with the challenge and I think that's a beautiful thing to do because it's, you know, cause. I imagine there's gotta be those moments when you were on that four by four for 48, you're like what the hell am I doing here? But you can quit, because now you've made this huge commitment and you're also doing it for something way beyond you, Right, Like, and I'm just curious, did did that come into mind while you were over there running? Oh yeah, man there was.

Matty Christopherson: 25:20

There was one post killer that I did on social one video and it was three in the morning and it was running the four miles. The second night it took me about an hour, you know. By the time you know I was in the you know the second day of things and it was three in the morning, it was at four o'clock when I was done at am and I posted. I said you know what, this is hard as hell and this effing sucks. But do you know what sucks more? Cancer. I was done in 48 hours but cancer can last a lifetime and that fight is grueling.

Matty Christopherson: 25:53

Mine came to an end. I had a finish line. There was no, you know no, finish line for a cancer fighter, right, and so you know, I knew that. You know me leaving. You know all on the field when I was doing that challenge, I felt like there was, you know, if I could fuel fuel and like fuel the momentum and you know the energy behind her, her family and everyone around them to get, to give them hope. That was that. That was my mission. It wasn't necessarily to raise the most amount of money, it was get the most amount of like energy behind her and get this tribe of people. It wasn't even it wasn't the amount of money that was coming in that was really moving her. It was the amount of people that were donating, all these names popping up that she had never heard of before $14, $14, $. Knowing that this tribe of amazing humans rallying behind her just gives her a bigger purpose, right, so it was amazing.

Dai Manuel: 26:53

So well, again, I commend the initiative, but also just your no-quit attitude, because that's, it's called a challenge for a reason. It's not like the easy walk in the park, that no quit attitude, cause that's it's, it's, I mean, it's called a challenge for a reason. Okay, it's not like the easy walk in the park.

Dai Manuel: 27:10

No no, no, no, Far from it. Now I think it's. It's a wonderful example of just what's possible, you know, when your heart and your mind aligns for a greater good. And what has transpired as a result of this first challenge to where things are going now with project one 25, because there's a beautiful story in this, but this is just getting started and, uh, I love for you to to speak to that a little bit, to to share with everybody what is project one 25? Because it's really birthed from that first initial challenge and that experience and, and and I know Krista, her that first initial challenge and that experience, and, and and I know Krista, her fight's still going, man, it's still going, not done yet, and uh, and I know you're not quitting yet either. So let's, let's chat about that.

Matty Christopherson: 27:56

Yeah, totally. So what happened was after we were done that week and you know, $15,000 came in and fundraising, which was a collective effort amongst the sisters and everyone. When that all came in off the cuff, I shared with one of us well, we should do something bigger, we should do something planned, like this was impromptu, right, this is something where I was lacing up my shoes and I felt a calling. Well, anyways, nonetheless, I said we should do something bigger. The sister says, like what? I don Ross run Vancouver to Whistler. No, that'd be kind of crazy Seeing it one of the most iconic routes, definitely in Canada, let alone like the world. It's just absolutely epic. You know 2010 Olympics up in Whistler and the re-cave of those roads. We have something called the RBC Gran Fondo, the North America's largest cycling rink where pro cyclists around the world come and reach that course, and it's 125 kilometers. Nonetheless, I'm excited. It was on a whim.

Matty Christopherson: 29:00

So, kristen and her sister, they ended up going forward with some alternative treatment down in the US of private care. Each treatment down in the US of private care, each treatment down in Florida, costs $100,000. So, with the funds that were raised, one treatment, one treatment, yeah, and she requires two to three treatments, yeah, and with the funds raised and with other some you know math that they did within their household, they were able to come up with the fund for the first treatment. They flew down to Florida, her and her sister, and it was successful. They heard a lot of success story from other patients that are in remission with very similar cancers, with 13 tumors, for instance, and had major success with the leading edge treatment. Well, nonetheless, there was a point when they were down there post first event that they reached out and said you know, are you going to do this, are we going to do this, are we going to do this? Initially, we don't have the funds to pay for the second and third treatment. And I said how much money do we need to raise? And Chris's sister said 125 grand. So that's kind of ironic because distance from Vancouver to Whistler is 125 kilometers. So anyways, I'm trying to wrap my head around it.

Matty Christopherson: 30:20

And as I'm wrapping my head around it, the very next day I was driving home from the gym, had a really good workout, workout, I was all pumped up, figuratively and literally, and I a song came on and I said you know what? Now's my time, I'm in the most peak performance condition of my life, at 43 years old. I feel great. My health is behind, like you know, on top, and this is my opportunity to make a difference and at least one person's life, and if I can inspire people to support her, what I like saying is inspiring people to support someone who really inspired us. If I can do that, then you know there's a bigger cause here. And so I text Kristen, our sister, our sister, and said let's do that. I'm in.

Matty Christopherson: 31:10

And we had this date set out. It was originally September 19th and I pulled into the coffee shop and I Googled how many days out do I have to train for 125 kilometer run? And it was 125 days. I took a screenshot, I still have it. I took a screenshot I still have it so that that that origin story of project one 25, we were running out on 25 plumbers to raise $125,000. And it was 125 days ago and that was the birth um the project that we're now working on and ready for and, as of today, we're 45. Oh, so, yeah, we did. We did ship the date, we did ship the date. So it's September 6th. Yeah, so I'll be leaving in Vancouver and running 125 kilometers, leaving Vancouver 2 pm on September 6th, running throughout the night 18 hours approximately, only gettingler um and cross that finish line at around 9 30 on Saturday morning.

Dai Manuel: 32:13

Dude, it's frigging awesome. I mean, what a challenge and and, but also it's a powerful cause. And what's it been like since you've been sharing about this project, you know, and sharing this story, that what, what, what have you been hearing, what have you been receiving? I'm just, I'm curious, like just because with movements like this, it's amazing how it starts right and but like like, uh, brush fire it just it catches at lights and then it just spreads man and, and I'm curious, what have you been noticing as you continue to push it and you get closer to this actual day of you know?

Matty Christopherson: 32:50

Yeah, so one of the big things that Krista and her sisters and all of us collectively aligned on is this much bigger than just Krista, right, and we're building a legacy of support to help athletes facing sudden health difficulties beyond the finish line. And Krista just is the first recipient of this legacy that we're building, and sometimes she has to teach herself Her does it often that she forgets that she's the first recipient because she's rallying behind this bigger mission, which is actually a much bigger purpose and gives her that like extra bite to see this through, which is incredible in itself. And when we communicated that message outwardly that it is building a legacy and it is for athletes beyond the finish line, we had countless people reach out to us. We have many Olympians in Canada. That's jumped on board and inspired, supporting the whole initiative. There's Olympians from the US. We had an Olympic I was in touch with the Olympic gold medalist out of LA. I was in touch with an Olympian out of Baltimore.

Matty Christopherson: 33:59

So the work's just getting out and I feel like you know, in the coming week there's going to be a lot more, much more media.

Matty Christopherson: 34:08

But in these early days, even though we're, you know, only 45 days out, there's been. A couple of times we've been a feature on the news, in the news segment, and you know it's touching and warming when someone approaches me and says how inspired they are because, you know, through the training, through the regular challenges of life, you know you, you know it hasn't been an easy road, even even a commitment, with only 70 something days ago that I committed to this, and a lot's happened in my personal life and it's not all. You know sunshine and and you know you've got to persevere and you've got to, you know, be anchored and centered around the bigger purpose and that's what's been driving me. And every now and then I have someone that reaches out on me, to me on social, or approach me in the grocery store or approach me while I'm running and just tell me how inspiring this whole beer mission is. And that's what fueled me to keep going.

Dai Manuel: 35:09

Ah, man, I love it, I really do. I'm one of those people that are very much inspired by this and the ongoing joke is that I I mean, that's right, the moose right, and this moose ain't loose. Ah, but one of these days I'm going to learn to love the student thing. But the funny thing is, man, full disclosure. I love mud runs, right, like I'll go run a tough mudder, no problem which is like a marathon, right, but it's just. I think it's just the ennui I get. You know, I get stuck in my own head, man. And uh, what are you thinking about the whole time? Like man going up doing 125, what are you thinking about? Are you gonna have like a playlist going or you're gonna like what do you do to occupy your mind while you're doing that?

Matty Christopherson: 35:52

well, there's. You know it changes by the like by the day, by the run. I'll tell you that one thing that we are super blessed with died. As we're talking here, we're both located in vancouver, we've had a extremely amazing bout of weather and we have this beautiful seawall that's just all around the harbor of Vancouver, right along the water, and what I want to share with people is, whether it's a playlist, whether it's a podcast, whatever I'm listening to at the end of the day, one of my choices is that I don't prioritize any kind of meditation in my routine, one thing that I'd really like to lean into a little bit more. But I don't even carve out eight minutes a day, nothing that I would love to do and incorporate in the future. But you can't do it all. You can't do it all Listeners out there. You got to prioritize. You know what works for you and your morning routine.

Matty Christopherson: 36:42

I don't do meditation, but one thing that I have found is in the long runs, whether it's three and a half hours, four hours, four and a half hours, because I'm running, you know, 100k a week now and when I'm doing these long runs, it is therapeutic. It is one of the most therapeutic things I've done to carve out three and a half hours of no screen time, right With my thought, looking at the water, like there's power and healing in that, and I've just embraced that part of my routine. So that's where, you know, regardless of the soundtracks that I have going on, I really just, you know, soaked up the sun, the rays, the early morning rays, the water, the glistening of the water, and just really found a lot of peace in um, in those runs.

Dai Manuel: 37:29

I hear the gratitude, I can hear him feel it and uh, yeah, you're right, there's, there's. Every day I'm out there on the seawall I'm always pinching myself, I'm like I can't believe this is my backyard man, this is great. And uh, you're absolutely right that that gratitude comes, comes through loud and clear. So you know, I don't want to skip off of the 125 project yet, project 125. I just wanted to ask, because I know there's people listening to this right now and watching this and they're probably thinking, well, how can we help? What can we do? So tell us what would be the best. I know there's a website. I know that there's social shares happening, I know there's all sorts of stuff happening, but what's the best way for people to support this cause right now?

Matty Christopherson: 38:14

Okay, so we'll, from the periphery no different than I said with the original GoFundMe any kind of support, sign of support, whether it's following our Instagram, project125.sba, and being another one of those people behind the cause, resharing some of our posts. We have a promotional video that really speaks to the origin of the story and the journey that we're on and the legacy that we're building, but beyond that, you know, there is a GoFundMe link you can donate to, which would be appreciated those that are in Vancouver and going to be in Whistler or have access to Whistler. On September 7th, we do have a celebratory fundraising dinner up in Whistler on our website, again, project125.ca. So, you know, the biggest thing is, though, is the strength in numbers and that energy and the momentum that is created by just telling the story, and if you can get the story out there, you never know who's listening and who it inspires to support further, and I think that's the biggest thing, right.

Dai Manuel: 39:17

I agree, I agree. So 2% Collective. I'm going to be or I should sorry, I got to always remember to speak present In the show notes. If you go there right now, all the cool links to everything that Maddie and I have been talking about and then some are there for you. So it's super simple. You click that little button, it expands it. You'll see all the links right there. Just click on it. Go, check it out. Please, share it out, share out this episode, share out some of the socials. If Maddie gives me permission, I'd like to also include in this podcast the real, you know, the, the video, so we can splice to that and then come back to our interview.

Dai Manuel: 39:53

I can even put it in here and so we'll see, I'll, I'll, I'll ask Maddie that again after, but we'd love that, I would love that. Okay, okay, okay, there we go, um, okay, so this is amazing and thank you for sharing that, and I I know that there's been some some pretty big interest from some pretty big corporations out there with this as well, and I know we can't really let's at least hear what's coming, but we can kind of do something common. I mean, people just got to look at the calendars and look at the dates and it's like, wow, that's interesting. That lines up pretty nicely with something happening in vancouver and whistle at the same time. Can you speak or at least maybe give us a couple little hints of that might be a collaboration being explored with this opportunity?

Matty Christopherson: 40:37

yeah. So you know what, as the word got out, word got out and the story landed on a couple people, vast one person that it landed on was, uh, someone at the gran fondo, and they did see it as a very inspiring story. Had all the time in the world for someone, ie krista, who devoted 13 years of her life to pro sport um, and, you know, represented canada, is an olympic champion. And then dive in a little bit deeper krista's sister, leah, was also a pro cyclist and was, in fact, the very first women's winner of the grand fonda yeah, over a decade ago.

Matty Christopherson: 41:19

And I read the story better, man, you know, believe she still holds the woman's record, but um, not a that those dates have lined up and we have the support of the Grand Fondo in helping us see through, you know, a very official event. You know, this isn't just Matt tying up a shoot. We've been working with the Ministry of Transportation, with the government, you know for those listeners out there that are out of the province or out of Canada, for instance, this is the biggest freeway in the province and we have to work with the governing body of the municipal transportation to really ensure that our medical plans, safety plan, road closure plan, crowd control plan, media plan, all that is buttoned up. So this isn't just a fly-by-night process. There's a lot of logistics happening in behind the scenes and we're happy that we're doing this right, because the goal is not this one and that's why, if you see some of our branding, it's Project 125.1, the first iteration of this project.

Dai Manuel: 42:23

Oh, man, you know, when you were telling me just about this, this, this event, this 125 kilometer run, and I, I, just I remember being a kid, early eighties, and I remember watching the TV every day with my parents to follow Terry Fox on his run and he ran for for cancer, right Like he ran to build a where, and he ran for for cancer, right like he ran to build a where. His goal was to go from coast to coast. And, uh, but I just it's very reminiscent of just the power in numbers, as you said earlier, but also how a country can rally behind cause because we can all align with this. You know, like it's just, it's very powerful and it just it gives me those little goosebumps I honestly got to say that because I know that this is the first of many to come but also how this is going to influence other organizations and things that they can do to also increase awareness and make greater impact. So you know, thanks for leading the charge Quite literally, I figured.

Matty Christopherson: 43:25

You know what, danny? You know what's ironic is that someone reached out to me on social today and they were so inspired and they sent me a private message and it said you know, I want to be able to do something like this one day for others with a heart. And I just went back and said you know what? All it takes is love, commitment and a little bit of craziness, and you know, anyone can do it right. So you know, it's all about leading with the heart and believing in something much bigger than yourself.

Dai Manuel: 43:56

Powerful man. Thank you for sharing all this today. This has just been awesome and I don't want to go just quite yet. I know I got you a few more minutes here and I just wanted to circle back to O op scotch because I want people to truly appreciate, like I, I love what you guys are doing because a lot of it has its its roots in not only your background but also in spencer's very elaborate background functional medicine and naturopathy and, oh gosh, like chinese medicine, I mean it's remarkable, you know, this sort of merging of what east meets west, but also the community element, and I I just think it's. I know it's just getting started, but man, it is awesome, like it is really just truly amazing.

Dai Manuel: 44:32

It's what people need, it's what people are starving for you know, especially I think we've realized that after the pandemic, we want greater connection, but also we're looking for support, especially to live healthy, vibrant, long and vital lives Right Now. I know what you're doing right now. It would not be possible had you not made some very intentional and significant choices and actions, starting for four and a half years. Yeah, I was wondering if you could sort of just speak to that a little bit, because I want people to understand the power of change and how it doesn't take a lifetime to change. It can happen very quickly with the proper guidance. Right Support, accountability, but also making data-driven decisions are important too.

Matty Christopherson: 45:16

And so do you mind if I just chat?

Dai Manuel: 45:18

Yeah, well, mindset yeah mindset. But can you speak to this a little bit, because I know you wouldn't be engaged in these challenges if you hadn't gone through that bout of chain. So let's just chat about that for a few minutes, if you don't mind.

Matty Christopherson: 45:36

Yeah, so back in my previous business, I was going through a lot of adversity around four and a half years ago and you know there's just a lot of complications, whether from shareholders or the industry in general A lot of headwinds, scarcity of capital. Yeah, there is fundamentally where the business was at in the life cycle and when I was seeing that you know, head on that adversity, I told myself that I had a couple decisions for me and one of them was around my health and I felt that if I lean extra hard into my health, I'd have a clearer vision of how to deal with this adversity and the challenging times. So, nonetheless, I consider myself a healthy guy. I was working with a personal trainer three or four times a week for the previous 14 years, consistently Right. But one of the things that became very quickly aware when I started working with Spencer. So, to give context, spencer and his dad have had a private practice. They've been doing longevity medicine well beyond. It was a trend, you know, over 15 years. Spencer's dad's an MD. Spencer is a functional medicine practitioner. He's a high-performing athlete. He used to play in the MLS. So you know, we quickly aligned when we got introduced and I started working with him and his father and when I started working with them and really looking at deficient, that was a big thing. So where am I deficient? Not only from a blood biomarker standpoint, which is one of the big killers of now off-scotch as well, but also from, like elite elements, nutrition element, all of it. So, like a full lifestyle assessment, is what we, you know, looked underneath the hood and understood that even though I was air quote healthy, I still had difficulty. And that's where we started doing my blood work, reviewing my blood panels every quarter. We started looking at how we had a personalized supplement protocol.

Matty Christopherson: 47:37

We, you know, made some subtle changes to my diet, but one of the biggest things was quitting alcohol. I haven't drank alcohol for over four and a half years now. So that was a big lifestyle, you know, change. That's my choice. I don't vil alcohol for over four and a half years now. So that was a big lifestyle change. That's my choice. I don't vilify alcohol. I feel like I form at a higher level. I can have a clearer mind around things, I can be emotionally stable, more present with my friends and family. So that was the choice that I made and I don't look back. And now, after going through the first 12 to 18 months with Spencer, I saw not only physical changes before and after standpoint, but physiological changes, emotional changes, all of it. So it was all encompassing and, yeah, it was something that really changed the trajectory of not only my health but also my career. And that's what with the. You know the, the, the origin and the incubus of, of OBSCOTCH.

Dai Manuel: 48:35

So cool and I love it too, because that was the only challenge with Spencer and Jim. Like it's hard to scale that because they spend so much time with the individual patients and clients that they work with. You know, and I can speak to this, they changed my life Like I would not be in the health I am today had I not engaged them and started working with them just over 10 years. Like everything was customized based on literally data. And you're absolutely right let's focus on the deficiencies first, get them to and back to at least a normal or above normal level and then just start taking out those big rocks right, like the big, big challenges. Let's knock those out of the park first, and it was remarkable how quickly some of those changes could happen.

Matty Christopherson: 49:21

And it was, you know, to pulling a couple levers right. There's a couple levers at a time understanding, being patient, right, that was the one big thing. You have to be patient to get the result right, consistent and patient. And when that all happened, at the end of my journey working with Spencer, which was around 18 months, I went back to him and I said we democratize. Yeah, what do you mean? I want to democratize what you offer.

Matty Christopherson: 49:49

Why is this only really available to high net worth? You know prominent business leaders. You know word of mouth, like we can make this more accessible, more approachable and, like you know, have it like entry level, so that anyone from ages 25 to 60 can have access. So that's what we did. That's that's what we did and that's what we led with right. Um, it shouldn't be this. You know we believe in oshkosh doesn't have to be the old. You know ways of thinking of doctor, patient confidentiality, but let's but feel empowered to share our health and walk alongside with others in a community, right, and be vulnerable, right.

Matty Christopherson: 50:33

So what we do is we offer obstetrics. We have at-home test kits for blood biomarkers, so instead of requiring a doctor requisition and then going to a lab, you can do it at home, just with a prick of your finger and we send those in. You get the lab results. We do group blood biomarker review session where people all join the call. There's anywhere between three to eight people on the call. People you know become vulnerable and they lean in and they show their results and they learn. They learn from others, cross learn and the biggest takeaway is they understand that they're not alone. They don't, you know. Traditionally you would go to your doctor. You'd be informed where you're deficient, maybe, and then, and then you'd come back and suffer a cloud because you think you're the only one deficient in those specific markers. Now we do the group session. We have a community where people can share and exchange knowledge and share their journey. And yeah, this is how we do it, in a little bit of different fashion that's traditionally done in the regular medical community.

Dai Manuel: 51:44

I appreciate that you're destroying all the silos.

Dai Manuel: 51:46

You know like let's just get rid of those and let's put everybody together in a community where they want to support each other, they want to share, they want to talk about, like the amount of people that reach out to me. It's funny Most recently, someone from the UK reach out because she has the same chronic autoimmune condition I do, but she's like I've been looking for information on this and looking to just even connect with somebody else you know and to even connect with somebody else you know, and my case is much more advanced based on my markers. However, when she sees me and how I show up and my energy, she's like how are you doing this? And I'm like my doctors, my hematologist is like you don't get used to this because you're normal, right? No energy, you won't sleep all day, et cetera. And I'm like I wasn't willing to accept the normal.

Dai Manuel: 52:33

But I was also very fortunate I found somebody that knew what to do and how to be more proactive in their approach to get me back to normal and then back to resilience, you know, and uh, so I know there's a big need for what you're talking about and and I guess, what's the vision for that Cause? I know it's still just getting started and it's just growing and what's your vision, you and Spencer, your vision for Opscotch and how it's going to impact not only Canada but, obviously, globally?

Matty Christopherson: 52:57

Well, the biggest thing that I always want to lean into and make aware is that I'm a big believer in both the medical system and, like, this alternative way of health. Right, you know they can work together. It doesn't have to be binary, it doesn't have to be one or the other, right, my, my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law are both MDs. That's an MD, right? Like I'm a big believer that you know, to treat the unhealthy, to treat the speck the speck. Do you know? Trauma like this is where the medical system does play a big role, right, and is is critical. Critical when you get to a state of being air-probed healthy, right, and the system is not designed to pass that. That's, that's the caveat. And with everything else coming out, whether it's the biohackers or this alternative and leading edge, you know treatments and leading edge technology, more data, you know wearable like Whoop and Aura and Apple Watch and all this so much opportunity for someone to take their health. Beyond being healthy, right, we can shift into like more peak performance and optimal and optimizing your health, right. So how do you? You can't rely on the mouth to help you with that, because it's not designed to.

Matty Christopherson: 54:18

So where OpsCox plays is if you want to take your health and take agency over your health and you know, like kind of do it yourself and like actually feel empowered to have optimal, to be on the podium right. You know, as a mentor, I always share with those that join us for their blood biomarker reviews. Is, you know, a typical range? Is you know X, y, and we just shrink the Y, we shrink it all the way down, like we want you to be on a podium right, like it's not a vast range. We're gonna narrow it down and we're gonna take this really serious and if you're not on the podium, then that's right. So this is where we take it to another level, because we feel like if people are empowered and have the knowledge and tools to do so, then they can get there. We want to be able to provide that.

Dai Manuel: 55:10

It reminds me of when we were first in St Townsend, spencer and his dad and we just finished my whole. I'll test all the biomarkers right, vitamin D3 and all my hormone profile, everything. They just did the whole gamut. You know the requisition sheet, I swear. Every box is 10. They're collecting and poking me everywhere and uh, I remember us going through that in a very much a deep dive sort of discovery confirmation session.

Dai Manuel: 55:38

And uh, when we came to my testosterone, some of my other hormones, I was like in the level of almost a 90 year old, like it was crazy, you know, at this point in time I was, you know mid thirties and it was crazy, you know, at this point in time I was you know mid-30s and it was like, oh, what is going on here, you know, and uh, and they're like you know, well, let's, let's, let's look at that, let's see what you're doing, what you're not doing, and and we started to just look at natural ways to start boosting testosterone.

Dai Manuel: 56:05

But a lot of it had to do with actually just me recovering more, managing stress, more the overwhelm yeah, that was the biggest one was getting back to a place of actually getting quality sleep. It wasn't so much the quantity that I was struggling with, but it was the quality, that restorative sleep, and that was a huge game changer. And then a couple of supplements that were very specific, based on what we were looking at from a deficiency standpoint. And that's why I really appreciate that you really hammered that home today, because I want everyone to know you know, supplementation, I think, is absolutely amazing. I'm a big believer in it. Well, the word is supplement you know, not die.

Matty Christopherson: 56:41

I mean, I'll leave right in there and I'll be vulnerable just like I do in my own community, right In the office community, I myself had low testosterone levels as well. Right, and in the same process. You know, medical doctor multiple have shared with me that I'm a candidate for testosterone replacement therapy, trt. Right, I could easily take that leap. You know, after sitting with my business partner Spencer, we sat there discussing what the you know what the concerns are of being 42 years old and jumping on TRT, becoming dependent on it if you will.

Matty Christopherson: 57:30

And nonetheless, we made the choice that we're going to can pull to try to naturally increase your testosterone levels. First, and you know, if you think about it, we got pharmaceutical industry a $6 trillion industry. We got the processed food and ultra processed foods industry, which is $4 trillion, and we're sandwiched right between that and we're going to get fed, to go get PRT or whatever, or you're eating all this processed foods, ultra processed food. Start eliminating that out of your diet, start looking at things more holistically, and there are natural ways you can get these markers in optimal ranges. And you know what if you can't?

Matty Christopherson: 58:13

If you can't after being disciplined and patient, then that's what? Therefore, but we don't need to do the quick fix and you know I think you and I both share that. You know war story, if you will. And yeah, we were able to naturally improve my testosterone levels over time, where I'm at a much better range. Likewise, and all the better for you, you have all these better habits ingrained in you, right? Yeah, better to sleep, better restorative sleep, you feel better, you're more energized All these other things that are a result of discipline, action and having bring back that.

Dai Manuel: 58:55

Remember the, the marshmallow test, right? I don't remember the marshmallow test. It's a great test, everybody. I'll link to it. But if you haven't ever seen the video, it's.

Dai Manuel: 59:02

You know these, these scientists, I swear they come up the most creative test, right, a little kid in a room by himself. We'll put a plate in front of them and we're going to put one marshmallow on the plate. We're going to say to this little kid, you know, five-year-old, imagine a five-year-old. Right, it's like hey, you, okay, timmy, I'm going to leave the room for a little bit. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but if I come and this marshmallow is still here, you're going to get two marshmallows to eat and then they leave them, right, but they don't tell them how long they're going to be gone. And of course, they're looking through the two-way mirror and looking at this kid and these kids will do anything they can to try to remove the marshmallow from their mind. Right, you'll see little kids squirming, touching it, poking it. You'll see some kids turn their chairs around so their backs are to the chair, it. You'll see some kids turn their chairs around so their backs are to the chair.

Dai Manuel: 59:49

Like it's incredible, that quick fix mentality that is, quite frankly, ingrained in North America culture, and I'd go as far based on my travels in the world it's not just in North America people, it's everywhere, yeah. And so what you're speaking to really is this idea of that's delayed gratification as well, like it's like you got to go through the work first to really appreciate the reward, because if we just get the injection right out of the gate, well, have you really changed it? It's great, you know. So I I really love that. You heard that, and I think it's an important reminder for all of us to take note. I'm taking note of that too, you know I've got to remind myself because you know what, if I'll tell you if there's a pill that all of a sudden you know cures death, I want to be around long enough that I can be first in line to get. Okay, you think I'd die the day before it comes to the market, right?

Matty Christopherson: 1:00:38

Well, on this topic, I do want to chime in here that there is something that I love sharing there's a part of your brain that builds the capacity for willpower. There's a part of your brain that activates activity, that builds the capacity for willpower. So, you know, if you look at it, there's motivation on the sliding scale. There's motivation, there's discipline and then there's willpower. And that's the sequence of it. And you know, I think that we're all motivated here to you know better our health, improve our health. But it's discipline up the scale that is going to get you those results and that's where the gold is.

Matty Christopherson: 1:01:09

But it's the willpower to say no to that cookie or that marshmallow, to say yes to that extra rep in the gym, to do that extra step when you're tired, to push that extra one or two kilometers when you're exhausted, when you're running Me case in point lovely, getting that willpower. And when you train yourself and you activate that part of your brain with that will and you grow the capacity for willpower that will translate every area of your life. Some people ask me so how are you able to do this Project 125 or run the 125 kilometers? Well, that's committing to doing hard things over time and committing to saying no to that dessert or committing to saying yes to that extra round, that extra workout, that extra run during the week, doing those hard things when we don't want to. That's what led me here and builds the capacity for that willpower to do other things hard in your life.

Dai Manuel: 1:02:07

Ah, love it, Love it. So what were some of the earliest steps that you took to build your willpower to do other things hard in your life? Love it, love it. So what were some of the earliest steps that you took to build your willpower? Especially building into 125K, would you say the Goggins challenge was one of the first significant ones.

Matty Christopherson: 1:02:19

I think if you trace it back to stop drinking alcohol, I think that was the very first thing you know building in that habit of saying no to alcohol, and I only committed to doing it. It was actually the 75 hard challenge. No, the challenge is all of a sudden coming sort of in my life. I wasn't actually like an air-crowed challenge kind of guy, but someone asked me the 75 hard challenge where you do two workouts a day, 45 minutes each, no alcohol, read 10 pages of nonfiction and diet of your choice for 75 days. And when 75 days was up I actually continued not drinking alcohol and I didn't drink alcohol for the remainder of 10 months.

Matty Christopherson: 1:02:56

That year I ended up turning 40. And at that point I had a couple, you know a couple of glasses of wine, red wine but in the last four years that's all all I had is, you know, a handful of boss of red wine and that and alcohol is not part of my life anymore and that was one of the hard things to do out of the gate. That really started getting me committing to other things and doing a harder thing.

Dai Manuel: 1:03:22

So oh, man, I you know, because it's all possible, cause we're possible. And uh, the cliche goes, you know, impossible to be correct. Yeah, I always love that one, right, um, you know I could talk to you all day long, but there's going to be a reason to have you back later this season, after September 7th, of course, to to really get the download on how everything went and and, uh, how the dust settled. And I want to invite everyone make sure you you click into the show notes, start following Maddie, as well as the project one 25.ca Instagram handle Um, check out the website newsletters. I mean, there's so much great information and content and it's just inspiring. It's fun to be a part of this. It's fun to be a participant. It's not only watching it but also wanting to see the success of this, because I know it's only going to make greater impact for everyone. You know every part that you're touching right now is just amazing and, uh, you know I want to make sure that I cover this before you go, and it's, I guess, if there was anything that you had to leave people with today, anything at all, because I know that there's a lot of people.

Dai Manuel: 1:04:39

You talked about Opscotch and, of course the links to get more information on Opscotch. I'm also going to link to Spencer's episode where he went a little bit deeper into Opscotch and sort of their philosophy and business. But I hear a lot because most of the listeners of the Treat your Sense Solution are somewhere between sort of early thirties to late fifties, early sixties. So it's it's a very similar cross-section to your opposite community and I often hear from people you know just the the difficulty with making change or committing to change. And I think it still comes back to what you were just saying about the willpower, the discipline, and, but often we're on the fence of making that first move. And I think it still comes back to what you were just saying about the willpower, the discipline, but often we're on the fence of making that first move. Is there any?

Matty Christopherson: 1:05:19

words of advice you'd like to leave people with today that might be struggling with making that leap to starting the change. Yeah, well, one thing I'll give it to you, actually, Please. The first thing is don't try to do everything at once, Because you know whether that's either taking a whack load of supplement or trying to incorporate supplement and a workout routine and everything. If you totally disrupt your morning routine, like it won't be sustainable. So, like you, try to incorporate it one or two things. Be consistent with that. Don't be hard on yourself because you're not committed to the other thing. Just commit to the one or two things and hold yourself accountable so that that's the primary thing.

Matty Christopherson: 1:06:01

You introduce too much. That's no different than our philosophy with our supplements. Right, there's an array some people I've seen. I've seen their cabinets or their kitchen cabinet and they have no joke. They have like 50 different supplements. It's too much, right, Really, just focus on those. Like, we have a very focused supplement lineup. There's only five right now. We're going to introduce one or two more here shortly, but really we have a full line of a supplement. You know, if there's too many options, it creates for all and that's no different than anyone's routine. So please just pick one or two things, incorporate that into your routine and then it will be sustainable. And then, when you perfect that and when it becomes a habit, start introducing more.

Matty Christopherson: 1:06:45

I just had two other things. That's a good thing. The second thing if we're talking about working out or moving your body, you know I'm a big believer in strength training. I don't think you're ever too old to to start strength training. That is the medicine for longevity. Having said that, pick something you're passionate about right. Pick an activity or move your body in a way that you're passionate about right. Pick an activity or move your body in a way that you're passionate about it and you enjoy right. Find that special passion and, and you know, have that as part of your lifestyle.

Dai Manuel: 1:07:19

So well said. Oh my gosh.

Matty Christopherson: 1:07:20

I love it.

Dai Manuel: 1:07:21

There's a soundbite. I'm not no, but I love it because you're echoing a lot of what we talk about here at the 2% Collective, on the podcast and in the community, and it's just nice to know that people in our position that are supporting others have a similar invitation. You know, and it's not overwhelming, you know, and I think that's the part, because change is usually hard, otherwise we wake up every morning and say, hey, I want some more change today.

Dai Manuel: 1:07:51

Uh, you know, we're very change averse as a species, which is interesting, you know. Uh, considering the amount of stress and anxiety and all these other things we tend to endure, uh, which can either cultivate great change or, at times, prevent us from making it. And uh, I've just loved everything you've talked about today. Was there anything I should have mentioned or asked you that I might've forgotten about today? Just, I get distracted at times because I just listen to the stories and I forget that I'm here interviewing you. I think I'm just listening to a podcast, right?

Matty Christopherson: 1:08:22

That's amazing today. Be with you to share everything. I really grateful to be on the show with you. Um, no, I think I think if I were to cap it off at two percent, I think, uh, if you were to focus 30 minutes of your day because I know you're gonna ask, no, I hope you're 30 minutes of your day um, that I would prioritize your protein. So really, you know if you could change anything in your lifestyle aside from moving your body beyond that you know 30 minutes there or whatever is prioritized protein in your diet. So that is in medicine to longevity.

Matty Christopherson: 1:09:01

I said strength training is the first one, protein is the second one. We lose 3% of our muscle tissue and strength every year past the age of 40. And that compounds, and the only way that we can combat that is by strength training and eating enough protein. So, one, one gram of protein, high quality protein, per pound of body weight per day, and so if that you know, you need to meal prep for 30 minutes in a day or the day before, or understand how you're going to get that adequate protein daily intake. That's what I would prioritize.

Dai Manuel: 1:09:37

I love it. He knew he's been listening to episodes, he knows I always ask what's your top 2% solution? And I appreciate that, Matty, Because also those that might have been following on Instagram Matty, he dropped in. You talk about a guy with accountability and, I gotta say, integrity, man, top notch. Like we bump in on the seawall, we're chatting. You talk about, man, we got this beef protein. You should really try it. I'd love to get you some.

Dai Manuel: 1:10:03

You show up the next day. I'm coaching CrossFit classes. You walk in and you had the protein right in your hand. It's me and get, I just got it. I was so impressed, matt, thank you. Like you're a guy that just says what you do, you do it and you take immediate action. And uh, also, man, the protein was freaking awesome. By the way, I I totally devoured it all and uh, gotta get me some more. So I can't wait to get more. But, um, thanks for being here today and wishing you best of success with the 125 run that's coming up. Project 125 will all be following along and I sure hope. I'm just waiting to find out if I will be in town. I might be away filming, but if I'm in town, I'm coming to Whistler man.

Matty Christopherson: 1:10:44

So we'd love to have you there. But enjoy being on the show today and, um, yeah, can't wait to see you and all the training and running across and the and the seawall and you know, we might be able to get a little CrossFit workout in as a cross tree for project one 25 coming up.

Dai Manuel: 1:11:01

We are, we are I know I didn't mention it yet but, uh, we're just confirming the dates. But, uh, stay tuned, everyone. We're just confirming the dates. But stay tuned, everyone. If you follow along, just connect with me on Instagram. I'll be sharing more about this and for those that are local in Vancouver, there'll be an opportunity. If you want to come hang out or just cheer us on or participate, there'll be an opportunity.

Dai Manuel: 1:11:19

But we're doing a workout called the chat, and actually I just add the on it because I think it sounds way more official. We say the chat, but it's called chat, but it's called Chad. Uh, but it's a hero workout for CrossFit, where they do a thousand weighted box step-ups for time. And, uh, maddie's a hiker runner, so I know he's just like oh, whatever, it's just another day. Me, on the other end, I'm like Ooh, I don't know about this, but you know what, I will do it and I want to help and I want to get the word out, and so I'm fired up. Man, it's going to be great. So stay tuned, connect with us on Instagram. Thanks for being here again today, maddie and everybody. I'm going to see you in the outro, stay tuned hold on and, maddie, you're the best brother.

Matty Christopherson: 1:12:03

Thanks, ty. Yeah, super appreciate you.