Podbit · On Purpose with Jay Shetty
In 7th grade, Towns took his father on a walk around the block and made a courageous case for rejecting one of the world's top training gurus. He argued that no one understood the vision — a multi-skilled big man unlike any before — better than his own dad. His father listened without a word, then called the trainer to let him go.
Where this was said
At 9:14 · chapter starts 7:38
Shetty asks what childhood memory defines who Towns is today, and the answer is unexpected: a walk around the block in 7th grade. A legendary trainer had arrived to work Towns out and wanted to mold him into a traditional back-to-the-basket big man. But Towns and his father had a different vision — a multi-skilled player who could handle, shoot threes, and score from anywhere, a position that barely existed yet. [1] — Karl-Anthony Towns "In 7th grade, Towns took his father on a walk around the block and made a courageous case for rejecting one of the world's top training gur…" 09:14 Rather than defer to the expert's credentials, Towns took his formidable father on a short walk and made a respectful but clear case: no one understands this vision better than you, and no one has gotten me this far but you. His father listened without flinching, then called the trainer to let him go. Towns, looking back now with an NBA championship and a shooting style that genuinely broke new ground for big men, reflects: 'If I would've done that, I don't know if I would've been the player I am today.'
At just 7th grade, Towns had the courageous conversation with his father to reject an outside training guru and trust their shared vision for his unconventional playing style.
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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