Podbit · On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Miles's first Olympics was all sacrifice — no friends, no fun — and he finished fourth. The next year he had dinner with a friend the night before a World Championship and won. That realization — that he needed to prepare as himself, not as a generic elite athlete — became his template for reaching three Olympics and building a legacy.
Where this was said
At 33:45 · chapter starts 33:00
Jay asks Miles to walk through the road to his Olympic success, and the story that emerges is one of gradual self-discovery. For the 2012 London Olympics, Miles did everything 'correctly' — cut off friends, followed protocols, sacrificed everything — and finished fourth. The next year, he had dinner with a friend the night before the World Championship and won it. That jarring contrast taught him something foundational: not everyone is the same athlete, and why prepare like someone else? Before Rio 2016, he moved temporarily to Korea to train with Young Ho Kim, baffling those around him. He won the first Grand Prix of that season. He went on to enjoy three Olympics, and now when younger athletes describe their stress, he meets it with calm perspective — because he's been through each ebb and flow and has answers. The key to becoming a legend, he says, is unlocking the mind. [1] — Miles Chamley-Watson "Miles's first Olympics was all sacrifice — no friends, no fun — and he finished fourth. The next year he had dinner with a friend the night…" 33:45
Miles estimates only 0.001% of the population reaches the Olympics, and an even smaller fraction wins a medal.
Miles moved temporarily to Korea to train with Young Ho Kim, and upon returning won the first Grand Prix of the season — validating his unconventional approach.
Miles went over a decade without speaking to his biological father. Then, on a spiritual journey, he picked up the phone, said 'Dad, this is Miles — I don't care about the past, how are you?' The call lasted 45 seconds. It was harder than any training session, any competition, any Olympics. And it changed everything.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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