HawkeTalk

Making it to the Olympics is quite an accomplishment. Athletes train for years to be at their peak for a sliver of time, shunning the outside world, driven by a singular focus of being recognized as the best in their chosen sport. When you sit back and think about how incredible it must be to reach that point, you can’t help but stand in awe of their immense talent and greatness. The only thing greater than making it to multiple Olympics … is making it to multiple Olympics in different sports.Today on HawkeTalk, we’ll spend time with Sarah Storey, a woman who has done just that. She’s the most decorated Paralympian in history who first burst on the scene as a swimming phenom. Once she decided to hang up her goggles instead of swimming off into the sunset, she grabbed a bike and became a world-class cyclist, dominating the road in the same fashion she did in the pool. She joins us today to discuss her path to greatness, how she overcame her disability, and the advice she gives others dealing with their own. If you’ve been sitting back, too afraid to jump into the game of life, listen to Sarah Storey, and you’ll get all the inspiration you need!In this episode:(1:42) – Sarah’s athletic career begins at age 6.(4:28) – Sarah discusses the disability in her left hand. (10:30) – At 12, the level of competition grows.(15:54) – Two golds, three silvers, and a bronze medal at 14 at the Barcelona Olympics. (20:26) – Socialization challenges lead to mental health and eating disorders. (30:00) – Looking at the 2012 Olympics.(36:54) – Sarah is committed to making it to the Paris Olympics. (37:20) – Sarah discusses her future, but she has no concrete plans. (38:53) – Sarah encourages listeners to be extraordinary instead of ordinary.Our Guest Sarah Storey is the most decorated female Paralympian in history, with 16 gold medals, five silver medals, and three bronze medals. Born in Eccles, just outside of Manchester, she is a 29-time world champion in both cycling and swimming and an 18-time European champion. In 2005, a persistent ear infection caused her to switch full-time to cycling. Upon making the switch, her dominance continued as she set the para world record in the Women’s 3,000 individual race, breaking the record she previously set at The Tokyo Olympics. Sarah is a true champion and a shining testimony of the relentless human spirit and the willingness to persevere against all odds.Hawke Mediahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkemedia/https://www.instagram.com/hawkemedia/?hl=en https://hawkemedia.com/https://twitter.com/hawkemediahttps://www.facebook.com/hawkemedia/Sarah Storeyhttps://www.paralympic.org/sarah-storeyhttps://www.instagram.com/damesarahstorey/?hl=enhttps://twitter.com/damesarahstorey?lang=en

Making it to the Olympics is quite an accomplishment. Athletes train for years to be at their peak for a sliver of time, shunning the outside world, driven by a singular focus of being recognized as the best in their chosen sport. When you sit back and think about how incredible it must be to reach that point, you can’t help but stand in awe of their immense talent and greatness. The only thing greater than making it to multiple Olympics … is making it to multiple Olympics in different sports.Today on HawkeTalk, we’ll spend time with Sarah Storey, a woman who has done just that. She’s the most decorated Paralympian in history who first burst on the scene as a swimming phenom. Once she decided to hang up her goggles instead of swimming off into the sunset, she grabbed a bike and became a world-class cyclist, dominating the road in the same fashion she did in the pool. She joins us today to discuss her path to greatness, how she overcame her disability, and the advice she gives others dealing with their own. If you’ve been sitting back, too afraid to jump into the game of life, listen to Sarah Storey, and you’ll get all the inspiration you need!

Being an Olympian requires grit, drive, dedication, and the type of discipline most of us will never quite understand. The sacrifices these incredible athletes make daily are unimaginable as they hone and fine-tune their bodies for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that comes every fourth year. Now, imagine you do this five times. That’s right. Training to be an Olympian for two decades seems unfathomable, but our guest did that today. On today’s episode of HawkeTalk, we meet the incomparable Kikkan Randall. She’s a five-time Olympian and Breast Cancer survivor who knows a thing or two about how to survive the tough times and make it to the other side. Today, she’ll give us an inside look at the hard work it takes to be a world-class athlete and how she leveraged those experiences to become a Cancer survivor. If you’ve been looking for someone to inspire you to get off that couch and begin going for it and putting your best foot forward, look no further!In this episode:(1:45) - Kikkan reveals that she began skiing at the age of 1. (5:21) – Kikkan reveals why she went back to being a cross-country skier. (10:00) – Making the Olympics as a youngster.(16:53) – Competitive life after the Olympics is discussed.(20:10) – The inspiration to build a women’s team emerges for Kikkan.(25:50) – The shocking performance of Kikkan and falling short of expectations. (29:52) – Kikkan develops a stress fracture in her foot and begins to worry.(35:38) – Her racing career officially comes to an end.(36:37) – The Breast Cancer diagnosis. (40:01) – Family becomes first, specifically her young son.(43:00) – Family and health are her top priorities. (44:50) – Closing advice for listeners.Our GuestKikkan Randall is a 5-time Olympian, Breast Cancer survivor, public speaker, and mother. When it comes to skiing, she’s royalty, and for more than two decades, her name was synonymous with the sport. A native of Salt Lake City before moving to Alaska, she became an icon early on, qualifying for the Olympians while just a teen. From there, her life as an athlete ascended, and she became the American face of the sport. Her 2018 Olympic Gold Medal race is one of the most captivating moments in the sport's history and the signature moment of those games. After retiring, Kikkan has continued championing the sport while grooming the next generation of American skiing professionals.Resources and LinksHawke Mediahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkemedia/https://www.instagram.com/hawkemedia/?hl=en https://hawkemedia.com/https://twitter.com/hawkemediahttps://www.facebook.com/hawkemedia/Kikkan Randallhttps://www.kikkan.com/about/http://instagram.com/kikkanimalhttps://twitter.com/kikkanimal

Being an Olympian requires grit, drive, dedication, and the type of discipline most of us will never quite understand. The sacrifices these incredible athletes make daily are unimaginable as they hone and fine-tune their bodies for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that comes every fourth year. Now, imagine you do this five times. That’s right. Training to be an Olympian for two decades seems unfathomable, but our guest did that today. On today’s episode of HawkeTalk, we meet the incomparable Kikkan Randall. She’s a five-time Olympian and Breast Cancer survivor who knows a thing or two about how to survive the tough times and make it to the other side. Today, she’ll give us an inside look at the hard work it takes to be a world-class athlete and how she leveraged those experiences to become a Cancer survivor. If you’ve been looking for someone to inspire you to get off that couch and begin going for it and putting your best foot forward, look no further!

Child prodigy is a phrase that’s often overused. Some youngsters are indeed talented, but to classify them as prodigious is, in so many cases, a reach, to say the least. Prodigies are once-in-a-lifetime talents who grow their gift in unimaginable and seemingly unreasonable ways. And while they can’t always be defined or understood, when the world sits back and marvels at the blossoming of their gifts, it is truly something to behold. What’s even more incredible is how they apply themselves and their special talents to change those around them and, to a larger degree, the entire world for the better. You may characterize a prodigy by my guest today. Vercel founder Guillermo Rauch is a digital genius who started entrepreneurship as a preteen. His contributions to tech are legendary, and he continues to support innovation and pioneer new solutions, ideologies, and application theories. He joins us today to share his fantastic journey, looking back and forward and revealing the amazing job he and his organization are doing. You must listen to this discussion if you've decided to make your mark.In this episode:(1:12) – Guillermo discusses how his journey began. (8:24) – The sky is the limit with Open Source.(9:40) – At age 11, he becomes obsessed with becoming a hacker.(19:52) – Working on React with social media leader Facebook. (26:02) – The birth of Vercel.(34:33) – Vercel and AI. (36:04) – There is no shortcut to success. Our GuestGuillermo Rauch is a Software Engineer and CEO of Vercel. A native of Lanus, Buenos Aires, Argentina, he made his name and career via the web and Open Source. His early teens were spent advocating for and teaching others how to use solutions like Linux before later working with JavaScript and other web development. Guillermo later joined MooTools core team and got his first full-time job at the age of 18 after relocating to the United States. A serial entrepreneur, his first company was Cloudup, which was later acquired by Automattic, which powers WordPress. After several high-profile opportunities, he founded Vercel, where he currently guides their corporate vision servicing companies like The Washington Post, Porsche, Under Armour, and Nintendo. Resources and LinksHawke Mediahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkemedia/https://www.instagram.com/hawkemedia/?hl=en https://hawkemedia.com/https://twitter.com/hawkemediahttps://www.facebook.com/hawkemedia/Guillermo Rauch https://vercel.com/ https://rauchg.com/abouthttps://twitter.com/rauchghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rauchghttps://www.instagram.com/guillermorauch/

Child prodigy is a phrase that’s often overused. Some youngsters are indeed talented, but to classify them as prodigious is, in so many cases, a reach, to say the least. Prodigies are once-in-a-lifetime talents who grow their gift in unimaginable and seemingly unreasonable ways. And while they can’t always be defined or understood, when the world sits back and marvels at the blossoming of their gifts, it is truly something to behold. What’s even more incredible is the many ways they apply themselves and their special talents to change those around them and, to a larger degree, the entire world for the better. My guest today is a man who checks every box if you’re looking to define a prodigy. Guillermo Rauch is the founder of Vercel and an amazing technology talent who began his entrepreneurship journey when he was a pre-teen. Since then, his contributions to the tech world have been legendary, and he continues to be a true champion for innovation while pioneering new solutions, philosophies, and application theories. Today, he joins us to discuss his amazing path, looking back and looking forward while giving us a glimpse into the incredible work he and his organization are focused on. If you’ve decided the time is right to begin making your mark, this is the discussion you’ve got to be a part of.

Water is essential to life, and each day, the world consumes millions of gallons… from plastic bottles. Whether we want to accept it or not, plastic bottles are damaging our world immensely. We’re at a tipping point, and someone must make a stand if we’re ever going to get moving in the right direction.Our guest today is indeed making a stand and building a global brand. He’s Shadi Bakour, CEO and Co-Founder of PATHWAY, a company focused on breaking our addiction to bottled water while creating out-of-the-box paths to sustainability. Today, he’ll share his successful journey, why the struggle has been the greatest reward, and how he went from dreaming about Wall Street to a world free from bottled water.In This Episode(2:20) – Shadi finds his passion for the environment and the harmful impact of plastic.(3:30) – Discusses the emphasis his parents placed on education.(5:12) – Received martial arts training at the Shaolin Martial Arts Temple.(5:20) – Military school helps Shadi awaken the entrepreneur inside. (8:20) – Wall Street dreams never come to fruition.(11:30) – He learns that the key to success is knowing how to manage.(16:44) – PATHWATER is born.(18:40) – Shadi dives into his team's sacrifices to grow the business.(22:42) – The lessons learned during the struggle.(24:04) Shadi embraces the concept that " the road to riches is a marathon, not a sprint.”(25:20) – The turning point for PATHWATER.(26:27) – The investor party allows PATHWATER to reach the next level.(27:39) – The inflection point: Series A.(29:12) – Shadi and the team decide to go big or go home.(30:15) – The business has a near-death experience.(33:40) – Human resources are the most valuable resource.Our GuestShadi Bakour is a visionary entrepreneur and water sustainability advocate. At just 31 years old, he has significantly contributed to reimagining the water business. Shadi has pioneered sustainable solutions through his innovative approaches, transforming the industry. His passion for addressing global water challenges is evident in his work, inspiring positive change worldwide.Resources and LinksHawke Mediahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkemedia/https://www.instagram.com/hawkemedia/?hl=en https://hawkemedia.com/https://twitter.com/hawkemediahttps://www.facebook.com/hawkemedia/Shadi Bakourhttps://drinkpathwater.com/https://www.instagram.com/shadibakour/?hl=enhttps://m.facebook.com/people/Shadi-Bakour/100069384513609/https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadibakour 

Ask any successful person, and they’ll more than likely tell you it didn’t just happen; it was a journey. It took time, sacrifice, compromise, and hours upon hours of honing their gifts. From writers to actors, public speakers, and pioneers in medicine, people at the top of those fields sacrificed their proverbial blood, sweat, and tears to get to the top. The same can be said of athletes who, while they make it look so easy, rest assured it’s those countless hours behind the scenes that make it look so effortless. Our guest today knows a lot about putting in work, compromising, rising to the top, and the sacrifice it takes to get there. At an early age, Michael Andrew was recognized as a swimming prodigy with a gift for the sport that made him a legend on the competitive circuit. He eventually parlayed that success into Olympic dreams, and he’s here today to share his journey and the obstacles he overcame on his way to becoming a World Champion. If you’re ready to begin pushing through and focusing intensely on achieving your dreams, this is an episode you’ll definitely want to hear.In this episode:(1:00) – Michael delves deep into his origin.(4:48) – The journey as a swimmer begins at the age of 8.(7:14) – Michael’s father begins developing his own training methodologies. (13:00) – Excellence is a hallmark of his family brand. (18:17) – Olympic trials at the age of 16.(21:05) – Michael becomes the youngest gold medalist in US history at the World Championships.(28:56) – In his mind, preparation and confidence are freedom.(36:00) – The little things make all the difference for Michael.(36:54) – Intentionality and focus are the most essential parts of success.Our GuestMichael Andrew grew up in a family that didn’t believe in doing things the traditional way. His environment was one where excellence was pursued with joy and excitement. As a young swimmer, Michael rewrote the record books, smashing over 100 National Records, more than any male or female swimmer in the history of the sport. This was done through hard work and intentional learning, something that was impressed upon him at an early age by working closely with his father. In fact, his father discovered a method of training that would ultimately revolutionize the sport and help Michael achieve his championship and Olympic dreams. His goal is to use his successful journey to help others find theirs and become the best versions of themselves. Resources and LinksHawke Mediahttps://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkemedia/https://www.instagram.com/hawkemedia/?hl=en https://hawkemedia.com/https://twitter.com/hawkemediahttps://www.facebook.com/hawkemedia/Michael Andrewhttps://maswimacademy.app/https://www.instagram.com/swimmermichael/https://swimmermichael.com/