00:00:11
Raquel Baldelomar
Hi, my name is Raquel Baldelomar, and welcome to The Mega Podcast where I speak with high achievers on how they fulfill their professional dreams while maintaining balance throughout their lives. Today I am speaking with Lauren Gibbs, an Olympian silver medalist at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and a two-time gold and bronze medalist for the World Championships in Bobsledding. Born and raised in Los Angeles. Lauren has been active in sports since she was young. Growing up, she did track and field in soccer and played volleyball at Brown University. Although she was physically active her whole life, she never intended to be a professional athlete. After college, she took a job in sales and quickly became financially successful. Yet, with her high paying job, home and dream car, she felt stuck and unsatisfied. Her life changed when her friends suggested she try out for the Bobsled Olympic team.
She knew nothing about bobsledding, and at the age of 30, she worried it might be too late for her to professionally compete, but she knew it was such an incredible and unique opportunity. So she went for it. She quit her job, sold her car, and moved to Colorado to train. She won an Olympic medal. Now she trains almost every day, competes and has multiple sponsorships. She is the spokesperson for Parity Now, which is an organization that advocates for financial parity and women's sports. She's also vice president of Partnerships for the Personal Growth app Heroic, which launched in April, 2022. Lauren, welcome to the Mega podcast.
Thanks for having me, . I always feel like my intro is so much more impressive than I am .
00:01:54
Raquel Baldelomar
Well, I don't think you realize how impressive you are
00:01:57
Raquel Baldelomar
You had a path to the Olympics that was very different than most people. Most people who are Olympic medalists, they started training at a very, very young age. Tell me about your path.
I tried it as a joke. Uh, I was 30 years old. I was living in Denver and my friend came into a CrossFit gym that I was working out at and said, I think you should bobsled. And I said, absolutely not. That's not a real sport. Um, but I had made a promise to myself to fully vet every opportunity that came to me. So I hate hypocrisy. So I was like, I'll look into it, you know, surface level research, it, it'll probably be very clear very quickly that it's not gonna work, and then I can just, you know, check a box and move on. It turned out there, there are Olympic training centers all over the US and one was holding a tryout that was about an hour away from me. And so I thought, how cool would it be to take a tour of an Olympic training center and in the process, sure, I'll try out for the team, you know, just to have a good reason, good enough reason to be there. Um, and I guess the rest is history. So I guess the joke's on me, cuz uh, I, I've done this sport now for eight years. Uh, this last season will most likely have been my last. We'll see if I make a comeback at some point.
00:03:14
Raquel Baldelomar
So you didn't have like, dreams of a young girl just playing in the Olympics. It wasn't like something you really thought about. I mean, you were very active in sports. Yeah. But you weren't really, you didn't think about I'm gonna, I wanna be in the Olympic team.
I mean, I think every athlete at some point in their career dreams about being an Olympian. Um, but I'm five foot 10 and volleyball was my main sport. Mm-hmm.
. So I started playing volleyball very late as well. I started my sophomore year of high school. Was lucky enough to play in college and you know, I graduated from college in 2006. There weren't a lot of opportunities for professional sports for women. So sports for me was always an opportunity to get into a great school and then, you know, hopefully catapult to a great career, which I did. Just didn't like it. So
00:03:59
Raquel Baldelomar
You said you felt stuck. Yeah. You felt, you felt stuck. Mm-hmm.
, describe that cuz you had, you had one on the surface, appeared just a great life. Yep. A dream job, car, house. And then you just, you felt unsatisfied.
Yeah, I mean I, I think deep down I could have lived that life and figured it out and been fine. You know, it's like, you know, after that last two years of, of life, you realize what really matters. And like all my basic needs were met, but I just was bored
. And so, um, which I think is a very privileged thing to be able to say, oh, I'm bored at my job, so I'm gonna go do something else. You know, not everybody has that, that ability to do that either financially, you know, support wise or even physically. I think I'm probably a genetic freak. Um, so yeah, I just, I, I remember starting my job in corporate and just being like, holy beige, , everything was beige. The walls were beige. Mm-hmm. the, like, the, the attitude in the room was beige. It was just, I don't know.
That's the the best way I found to explain it. Um, and it just, I felt like I was, I don't know, living someone else's life. Like I said, I, I would've been just fine, but I just felt like I worked really hard to get to this place of what was supposed to feel like success. And I didn't, so at 30 years old and wasn't married, you know, didn't have anybody to, you know, depend on me. So I thought, well why don't I give this a go? Um, cuz it's probably the last opportunity I'll get to just yolo a little bit, you know, so mm-hmm. , I went for it.
00:05:35
Raquel Baldelomar
That's incredible. Yeah. You, as part of the research for this interview, um, I read something that's, that you said, I think that we can be better at prioritizing the things that get you out of bed in the morning and keep you up at night. Ask yourself what lights your soul on fire because you only get to live this life once. And at the end of it, I wanna have the most epic story to tell.
I think it's going pretty well.
00:06:07
Raquel Baldelomar
It is and like you found at 30 what lights your soul on fire.
Yep. And it just happens to be a winter sport.
00:06:17
Raquel Baldelomar
, it was a historical moment in the 2018 Winter Olympics because it was the first time that black athletes won gold, silver, and bronze medal in the same event you won the silver medal. Describe that. What it felt like to be, not just, just not just to win the silver medal, but to be part of such a historical moment.
I think in the moment we, I don't think we realized it was that historical. It's actually only until this past Olympics happened that people that I heard about it, you know, cuz when you're at the Olympics, you don't really hear a lot of the things that go on outside of the Olympics. Mm-hmm.
, it's very much a bubble. Um, but I do remember, uh, we, uh, we came down second to last slide cuz we do reverse order. So we were in second going to the fourth run. I remember thinking, I'm an Olympic champion, this is awesome. And then I remember watching the clock as our opponent came through. And the pilot, um, Mariami Yaka is from Germany. She's half black. And I just remember picking her up cuz I just remember thinking like, you know, every country has its own issue with race. And I think Germany is definitely one of them.
And I, I know how hard she fought, um, to get to that place. So if I had to be beat by somebody, I guess I'm glad it was her. Um, the only other person I would've liked to be beat by, maybe as my own teammate, um, they took Fifth and Jamie's the pilot. She was my best friend. So that would've been cool. Um, so yeah, I mean it's always, it's always fun to make history. It's always great to be the first, but I think it's more important that it continues to happen. And the best part is, is the same number of black athletes won those three medals this go around, which I think is pretty neat.
00:08:03
Raquel Baldelomar
That's incredible. Yeah. So you didn't realize at that moment, you, you, you didn't realize the historical significance of it?
No clue. Really. Yeah. I think most people
00:08:12
Raquel Baldelomar
At what point did you realize that?
When, when someone told me I think most people that, that make history or do big things, I don't, I don't know that anybody gets into it being like, I'm here to make history. Right. Right. Just like, I wanna go to the Olympics, that's all.
00:08:25
Raquel Baldelomar
And you just wanna win and you're, and you almost get in a bubble. Was it a bubble for you? Do you feel like just the training and even just your event, the Bobsledding event, do you feel just that, uh, was a bubble in a bit of itself?
Yeah. You just, you're really just focused on what you need to do and what you're trying to accomplish and how you show up and your preparation. Mm-hmm.
. Um, there are 17 people of my friends and family came to watch their half of 'em I didn't see, cuz you just, you don't have time and bobsleds hard to watch and people had different schedules. So I saw photos of people there that came to support. So yeah, it's very much a bubble. I saw my parents maybe twice while I there.
00:09:07
Raquel Baldelomar
What was, what was training like?
Um, it depends on the type of y the, the time of year. So in the off season we train like Olympic sprinters and Olympic, uh, weightlifters. So a lot of sprinting. Mm-hmm.
lifting heavy things. We have to be fast and explosive cuz we're basically propelling a sled downhill on ice. And then during winter you add in the complexities of being at a track all day and sliding. So actual bobsledding we only do maybe two minutes a day, which is crazy. And then there's all this other stuff that needs to get done, like sled moving, sled maintenance, driving from stop to stop sports med. Um, so you get your treatments and your rehabs and things like that. And then like actual physical training.
00:09:49
Raquel Baldelomar
But during the winter season, am I, is it, I think I read that your training eight to 10 hours a day at a minimum?
Yeah. I mean that's probably a rough estimate. Uhhuh
, I think it just depends on the day. So, um, usually it's a couple hours of sprinting. There's a couple hours of lifting and then you're at the track for like two to three hours and then you have like rehab stuff and then you have treatment. So it's not like eight to 10 hours straight. Okay. But yeah, it's a part of
00:10:17
Raquel Baldelomar
It is also the recovery
Time. Yeah. It's a full-time job for sure.
00:10:21
Raquel Baldelomar
It just seems so incredibly difficult and exhausting. I mean, for your mind and body to sustain such physically taxing work. I mean it's, it seems incredibly difficult.
Yeah. I mean I think it probably is, but it's also fun. You're used to it. Yeah, exactly. I dunno, it's just, it's what I love to do.
00:10:42
Raquel Baldelomar
It's exhilirating too. Right.
So I never really saw it that way. The, the only part I didn't like was the cold. I do not like cold.
00:10:49
Raquel Baldelomar
But it's partly too because you grew up in California, right?
Yes. . I don't even like getting into pools. It was cold. I don't like cold water. I don't like temperature. I like it to be warm.
00:10:59
Raquel Baldelomar
Where do you train now?
Uh, well I just retired, so I've been training for the past four years down in Chula Vista. Mm-hmm.
, there's the elite athlete training center. Mm-hmm. . So I'm actually there now cuz I just had bilateral hip labrum surgery. Um Oh wow. Yeah. So I'm doing my rehab there, which is great cuz it's like a second home.
00:11:16
Raquel Baldelomar
You mentioned you do dry needling mm-hmm.
and chiropractic massage. What's that like? Explain what dry needling is.
Dry needling. Dry needling is basically like a more targeted form of acupuncture. Okay. So they'll find a tight muscle, take a very thin needle and stick it right in there. And sometimes they'll move it up and down or connect it to stem or twist it, um, to unbound the, the fascia and the muscle.
00:11:42
Raquel Baldelomar
I'm a big believer in acupuncture. Yeah. I, I mean I, whenever I get headaches, sometimes I get migraine headaches. I feel like that's like I, I go to this amazing Chinese doctor that mm-hmm.
studied, you know, just Chinese medicine and is and is great I mean, the acupuncture really helps me.
Yeah. No, I'm a huge fan. It's, uh, the, for me, the best thing that I've ever discovered. Um, cause I'm just very tight.
00:12:08
Raquel Baldelomar
Like, but you've also, you've had surgeries, so had two surgeries, hip surgery. Did that, did that come from the, just the Bob sledding work or?
I think it came from 30 years of being an elite athlete. I've been, I started playing soccer at like seven or eight. Yeah. And I'm 38 now, so it's a long time to,
00:12:26
Raquel Baldelomar
It wears on your body.
Beat up your body. Yeah. So, thank you body for holding it down for me.
00:12:31
Raquel Baldelomar
I know. I mean, that's something that, you know, it's, I've never, I mean, I'm not an elite athlete like you, but like I, I like to run, I like to work out and train. I, I train for two hours every weekend with my trainer and, you know, it's, it's hard. It's intense. But I also realized that at 42, like that's, your body just needs a lot more recovery and it breaks down more real quick. It really does. .
00:12:59
Raquel Baldelomar
So how do you, I mean this has been your, I mean your body is almo. It's like you're almost like a surgeon. Mm-hmm.
, I mean, your body is your tool. How do you both are able to make it just work for you, but also take care of it and nurture it?
Um, I think it's important to listen to your body. I'm very strong-willed, so I want what I want. But as you get older, if you don't listen to it and take care of it, it will not do what you want it to do. Yeah. It's just, you know, there's limitations to everything. Yeah. It's, yeah. So I think it's really important to listen to it. It's important to hydrate, it's important to do all the little things. So
00:13:35
Raquel Baldelomar
How do you listen to your body?
00:13:38
Raquel Baldelomar
What do you do? Like, one of the things I do is when I get a headache or when I, when I have pain, like I don't like taking pain medication. Mm-hmm.
, I don't, I don't like taking Advil until, unless it's like really, really bad. Because I believe like taking Advil, it's like almost like taking the fire alarm and turning the battery outta. That's so for me, like pain actually tells your body. But yeah. But that's one version of like what I do to listen to my body. What would you say?
I try and get more sleep. I try and drink more water. . Try.
00:14:07
Raquel Baldelomar
How much sleep? How much sleep do
You get? I don't get an, I'm a terrible sleeper. Why is that? I actually just did a podcast on sleep. Really?
00:14:14
Raquel Baldelomar
Oh it's so important. Especially as an athlete. Yeah. I mean you need that, that's the recovery time. Like being asleep, the sleeping is the real recovery time.
Yeah. I have a, I have a whoop, so my whoop measures my strain and recovery. Okay. So that's really helpful. Cause it tells me like how many hours of sleep I've gotten. If it's rem sleep, if it's um, deep sleep mm-hmm.
how long it took me to fall asleep. Uh,
00:14:40
Raquel Baldelomar
How many hours would you of sleep would you say you get?
Ugh, I'd love to get eight. I'd probably get six to seven. Okay. So I just, I have trouble staying asleep.
00:14:50
Raquel Baldelomar
Yeah. But if you're pushing your body to those limits, I mean, extreme training. Mm-hmm. I mean the training that an Olympic athlete does is like, on such a different level than what just, just normal people do. I'm sure you need also like a high amount of recovery and rest and
Yeah. It's interesting cuz I, I'm able to do a lot on very little. So would my body perform more better? Uh, not more but better on more sleep probably mm-hmm.
, but I'm also pretty impressed on what it's done with like what I've given it. Um, cuz everybody needs I think a different amount of sleep. That's true. And I think sometimes too much sleep is in great either mm-hmm. and there is a certain amount of tension that I find is really important in my body in order to perform well. Right. Cuz I'm doing elastic explosive movements. Um, so that's something I worked with a lot of people that are much smarter than me in those areas. A around my nutritionist, a coach, sleep specialists. I've done a number of sleep studies. I have a C P A P machine. I've gotten my tonsils removed, deviated, septum repaired. Like I traveled with a pregnancy pillow, not pregnant. Uh, I'm mask earplugs, C P A P, mattress pad, you know, so I, I did literally, uh, essential oils. I did everything humanly possible, um, to get enough sleep. So that's also a full-time job. Sleeping.
00:16:20
Raquel Baldelomar
. Well it's, but then it's from sleeping and resting and recovering, you then have to go, you know, especially what you do, be super explosive and, and almost like sprint and just be, have your body just be able to go into these just extremely high intensity. Yep. Moments. So it's, it's an interesting like, balance of like really calming yourself down and you know, just doing everything you can so you can sleep long. But then also being able to rev yourself up and get yourself going. Right. So to that, um, let's talk about nutrition. Okay. You say you have, you have a nutritionist
00:16:57
Raquel Baldelomar
Yes. Oh, you had a nutritionist. Mm-hmm.
. What is, do, do you have different eating schedule while you know, you were, you're training for an event versus when you're not?
Yeah, unfortunately I had to be 170 pounds to compete. And some people out there are like, that's a lot of weight. Well my body likes to be 180 5, which is what I am now.
00:17:17
Raquel Baldelomar
And you're muscular.
Yeah. And so that was tough because I love food. And so having to very be very strict for the past eight years was tough. Um, I don't recommend being on a restrictive diet for any long period of time. Uh, I think it messes with your head and it definitely messes with your body. Yeah. But, um, we try to do it as safely as possible. So that's why different nutritionists, different eating plans. I ate a lot of the same thing every day. What did you eat for breakfast? It was like six egg whites and like oatmeal
every day. And, but luckily I love plain oatmeal, so that works out well. Um, yeah. And then some kind of like lean protein and like white rice or, and broccoli. Spinach. I had a lot of spinach. So it just, it just depends on the day. It's a little tougher when you travel cuz you know, dietary restrictions in Europe are different. Mm-hmm. . Right. Uh, so you can't get the same, uh, amounts of protein that you may get in the US that you would want need in Europe just cuz like their, their portion sizes are different. So,
00:18:23
Raquel Baldelomar
And you have stated too that, that during the past eight years you have actually had to starve yourself.
00:18:30
Raquel Baldelomar
To be able to make the, uh, weight limit in bobsledding. Yeah. What was like, would you just not eat, just go long periods of time without eating? Is that what you would do?
No, I definitely eat every single day. And I definitely don't, I don't wanna lay it out. Cause I don't want someone to look at this and be like, Ooh, I'm gonna try that. Definitely do not do that. Um, 10 out of 10 do not recommend. I just would eat less. And then, you know, if a race was in the morning, maybe I'd skip breakfast because with bobsled it's not like we get weighed in ahead of time and then you go, it's, you go down the hill and then you get on a scale. And so it's you, your partner and the sled. And so then you, you I'd bring food with me to the track mm-hmm.
and eat after the first run.
00:19:15
Raquel Baldelomar
And how would you mentally prepare for your competitions? You know, you're, you, you sleep, there's all the pre-training you have to do before it mm-hmm.
, all the training, the sleep, the nutrition. But is there something that you do before like a ritual, like meditation or, or listening to music or amping yourself up just to get to that zone that you have to be just for that competitive zone?
Honestly, I think training really hard every single day is what got me excited for race day really is it was like putting to test everything that I'd put into getting ready to race.
00:19:54
Raquel Baldelomar
Yeah. Do you, did you ever do a meditation or any sort of ritual, uh, to get you there? Like you talked about visualization. Mm-hmm.
, like, you would look at videos of yourself and just see what a good hit feels
Like. Yeah. So that was always pre-race, race day. It's just, you just, you're an athlete. You just compete. Like on race day, there's no time for vis visualization for me at least. Mm-hmm.
. Mm-hmm. , the pilots visualize a lot cuz they have to drive down the track, but I push a sled hop in. And so I think sometimes people can get, and this is my opinion, can get too into all the little things that make a perfect performance. Yeah. And most performances are never gonna be perfect. So I worked really hard to prepare every single day so that on game day or on race day, it was just, this is what you prepared for.
00:20:49
Raquel Baldelomar
You were relaxed. Yeah. It was just like, okay, I'm gonna give it everything I know.
Yeah. It's supposed to be like race day's fun. Yeah. Yeah.
00:20:54
Raquel Baldelomar
Was it fun before all the races, like all the training before?
Yeah. I mean, I, I don't, hopefully you don't do something for eight years that you don't enjoy . Yeah. I generally enjoyed most of my training. Like I said, the thing I hated most was being out in the cold
00:21:08
Raquel Baldelomar
. Did your coaches, like, would you say your coaches really helped you? Or was there one particular coach that helped you? Or was it really just more yourself and your own determination that says, you know, I really wanna do this?
Oh, I definitely don't think an you can become an Olympic medalist without a lot of help. Was it, it says, they say it takes a village to raise a child. I think it takes a really a village and to raise an Olympic medalist. So yeah, I mean I have the most incredible support system. My personal coach is, uh, was BJ Cole, he's out of Toronto, um, speed coach. So he, you know, he did all my like weight training and, and you know, just speed training type of programming.
00:21:48
Raquel Baldelomar
And what do you think coaches do? I mean, are they able to help with your mental toughness, build that up? Are they help, are you able to help you overcome a weakness, would you say?
Yeah, I mean, I think, I think coaches can do all of those things. I think the most important thing a coach needs to be able to do is to understand what their athlete needs. Mm-hmm.
. So I never really had, I never struggled with mental toughness. I climbed outta my crib at eight months old, so
00:22:15
Raquel Baldelomar
Wow. ,
You know, okay. It's me. A little strong wound.
00:22:18
Raquel Baldelomar
So you were very strong from, from the start.
Yeah. If anything, I was probably too hard on myself. So I think what my specific coach has really helped me with is I was always a very strong athlete. I wasn't very technically refined. So that piece was really helpful. And BJ, my coach, really helped me a lot with that.
00:22:37
Raquel Baldelomar
And do you think that's why you were able to be successful starting at 30 years old and winning an Olympic medal is, and that was at 33, right? Mm-hmm.
is because you just yourself already had like a lot of mental toughness already. Do you think that it came from that?
Yeah, I think mental toughness is a big piece of it. I think, you know, being coachable is a big piece of it. I remember I sat down with my teammate, I competed with Alana Meyers Sailor, who is the most decorated black winter Olympian. Um, and she said, this is what you need to do to be successful. And so I just listened to somebody who had more experience than me. So I think being strong-willed is important, but there's that mix of like being mentally tough but also being coachable and being open to learning from people who have done what you're trying to accomplish.
00:23:30
Raquel Baldelomar
So you think it's more possible to see another, you know, when people who are watching this, listening to this and they're 28 years old mm-hmm.
and they're like, you know what, maybe I wanna try out for the Olympics. You know? Do you think it's possible for other people? It's, this is not an anomaly?
No. I mean, I think, I think anything is possible in some degree. It how badly do you want it? Mm-hmm.
, how hard are you willing to work for it? And how realistic are you with yourself about what you need to do to get there? I mean, I always say everybody can have their own Olympic moment, right? So it doesn't, it doesn't necessarily have to be in sports. The Olympics are great, but there are a lot of amazing things out there, um, that that one can take on and accomplish.
00:24:19
Raquel Baldelomar
But to your point of what you have to do to get there. Mm-hmm.
, one of the things that I discovered while researching this, um, this interview was that 80% of Olympians and Olympic trainees live below the poverty line.
Yeah. So I'm not sure if that's the exact stat, that's the stat I've always used, but a, a large percentage of Olympians, Paralympians and Olympic hopefuls. Yeah,
00:24:43
Raquel Baldelomar
That's incredible.
00:24:45
Raquel Baldelomar
That's, I mean, it's incredible because the Olympic makes billions of dollars a year in revenue. Yet according to my research, only 3.4 million are given to the 205 Olympic teams.
I'm surprised it's that much That's incredible. That goes to the Olympic teams. Yeah. I mean it's, it is a business, um, yeah.
00:25:05
Raquel Baldelomar
That it's utterly baffling that Olympians where the pride and joy of our nation are barely paid enough to put food on the table.
Yeah. And then until recently we, they Olympians, I was lucky enough to be after the change, but Olympians had to pay taxes on their really, uh, on their medal winnings.
00:25:23
Raquel Baldelomar
Why do you think there is so little financial support through the International Olympic Committee?
So you mean from the IOC? Yeah.
I don't know that it's necessarily I O C's job. I think the I O C brokerages, you know, deals with each country's Olympic, you know, group. And then our US Olympic team or the U S O P C decides how the money is spent. Mm-hmm.
, I don't, I don't have a lot of insight into the inner workings of like how the money flows. I know that, you know, sponsors pay a lot of money to have their logos showed, which is, you know, great for them. Mm-hmm. and then they spend money on sponsoring specific athletes. So there are some athletes that do get, you know, supported quite well, which is great. Um, you know, I wouldn't take anything away from those athletes. They deserve it. Um, but the US Olympic and Paralympic team is one of the few Olympic committees and Paralympic committees that isn't government funded.
And so I think that is the toughest piece is that, you know, we have a lot of really talented athletes in the US and on both the Olympic and the Paralympic side. And how do you divvy up funds to support everybody because you don't know who's gonna go to the games. There's a little bit of luck in that, you know, someone could get injured or, or what have you. Um, and so all of the money that goes to athletes is heavily relied upon by donors and sponsors that want to support the Olympic movement in the United States. And we have some incredible donors and sponsors. Um, I got a chance to spend a good amount of time with them in Park City and in Montana during the Beijing Olympics. Just, you know, being able to say thank you. And so it's just, it's expensive. Right? It's expensive to live in the US It's expensive. Yes. It's to do a lot of these sports. I mean, bobsled can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to find a sled. That's fast enough. And to be honest, we are behind in sled production in the US and sled manufacturing is a big piece of why I'm not an Olympic champion and I'm a silver medalist. Do I take anything away from my silver medal? Absolutely not. But it's a fact, right? Germany is ahead of us.
00:27:39
Raquel Baldelomar
Because you didn't have the training, the tools to be able
The training. Yes. We were there in the training. Cause we out pushed them by like eight tenths of a second, but they just have better equipment in Germany cuz bobsled is a sport that is a priority sport, right? Like we're competing against basketball and football mm-hmm.
and soccer and uh, hockey, which is, I love all those sports too. Um, so yeah, it's just, there's a lot that goes into why mm-hmm. , I guess is my answer. my very long-winded answer. It complicated. Yeah, it's definitely complicated.
00:28:14
Raquel Baldelomar
What did you have to do to make ends meet before you got sponsorships?
Yeah. Well luckily I have a, uh, background in sales and so, you know, I started very early just cold calling companies that I really liked. Um, and there were some companies that, you know, took me on as a sponsor very early on before I had won really anything.
00:28:34
Raquel Baldelomar
Wow. So before you even won an Olympic medal, you could just cold, cold companies Yeah. Then, and you just said, listen, I'm, I'm, you know, in these championships mm-hmm.
, this is what I'm doing. Will you sponsor me? Mm, yeah. I created,
That's amazing. I created like, uh, packages. So, you know, I agreed to a certain number of social posts or Instagram takeovers. I do a lot of public speaking mm-hmm.
. So I'd speak at events. Um, so yeah, I'm, I'm very fortunate to have the skills and the support to be able to support myself.
00:29:00
Raquel Baldelomar
Well that's your sales skill too. Yeah. Like you had your, you know, you took all of the, your sales experience working in corporate America, understanding just like how the business world works. Right. And you were able to apply that, but not a lot of other, I mean, a lot of other Olympic athletes who started maybe training very, very young didn't go into the corporate world mm-hmm.
maybe didn't even go to college.
00:29:19
Raquel Baldelomar
They, like, they don't have those opportunities. . So what do other kind, what kind of jobs do Olympians get usually if they aren't able to get sponsored?
I mean, anything that will take them part-time. So a lot of people are, you know, they'll work in the restaurant industry so when they're off season Wow. They'll,
00:29:40
Raquel Baldelomar
So they're just like waiting. Wow. Yeah.
They'll wait tables full-time. Um, you know, work in department stores or nanny mm-hmm.
, um, just any, any company that will take somebody part-time or flexible or, you know, remote. I think, um, before 2020 working from home wasn't, or working remotely wasn't as popular as it is now. So, um, I think opportunities to fund your, your Olympic or Paralympic dream were, you know, sparse. Um, so I know, I mean, I know athletes have slept in their cars. I know athletes that have like, you know, all rented houses, slept on mattresses on floors and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches during the season if they were funding their own seasons. So Yeah. I mean if you, if you really want it, you'll find a way to do it. Um, but I'm curious to how many incredible, you know, Olympic or paralympic performances we missed out on cuz someone just couldn't afford to continue on. So yeah.
00:30:41
Raquel Baldelomar
Well, sponsorships, that's where sponsorships helps and, and absolutely. And uh, and but even the pay gap in professional sports sponsorship is massive.
00:30:53
Raquel Baldelomar
Huh? It's, I it's a 66 billion market. Yep. But of that 66 billion market men capture 99.6% of that market and women only capture 0.4%. Yep. That is astounding. Yeah.
You are the spokesperson for Parity Now an organization that tries to change this disparity. And instead of having women fight over the few limited seats at the table for sports sponsorship, you are trying to grow that table and give every woman a seat. So that is the fact that of this professional sports sponsorship, which, which is really just how so many of athletes make, make the, their primary source of income. Mm-hmm.
to know that 0.4% of women are, are not part of that is incredible. Why do you think there is such an immense pay gap in professional sports?
I mean, I think there, for a long time there has been a conversation of, you know, women's sports aren't as exciting as men's sports or, you know, women, people don't watch women's sports, which we know isn't true. Right. The women's NCAA March Madness final was the most watched, you know, college basketball, um, event ever. Um, so I think it's, it's really just about educating people, um, about the opportunity to watch women's sports creating an infrastructure for people to be able to, to support it. You know, it's, if you look on, on, you know, your TV guide or whatever, it's so much easier to find a primetime men's game on mm-hmm.
. It's a lot harder to find a women's game. You can find professional, quote unquote professional tag or cornhole, um, a lot easier than you can find sometimes, you know, professional basketball for women. So I think it's, it's companies realizing that there is value in women's athletes, in supporting women's athletes, in sponsoring women's athletes.
Um, Parity is amazing. You know, they've launched an NFT marketplace to support women athletes in finding other ways to fund their training. They connect athletes, uh, for sponsorship opportunities with different brands. And so it's just about people taking an interest in it and then doing the work to provide more opportunities for women. And, you know, sports are, it, it's amazing. I'm, I'm more than an athlete, but I wouldn't be who I was, who I am today without sports. And there's so many little girls that drop outta sports early for whatever reason. Things like getting their period, imagine like your period stopping you from, from playing sports. And we know how valuable being in a team sport environment is for somebody.
00:33:48
Raquel Baldelomar
It teaches you so much. I mean, it teaches you so much in terms of just competition and working in a team and know, learning how to, uh, be a leader and how to be a team player Yep. And when to just, you know, help somebody else, you know, take the glory. Right. I mean, there's so many things that I have learned just how to run a business and, you know, being, you know, running my two businesses, like being able to play just, just soccer mm-hmm.
, you know, even though it's not, not at a high level at all. Just learned so much. Yeah. So much that, but, but it is interesting that culturally men are more appreciated in professional sports. I just Why do you think that is? I mean, is it, is it just they're more fun to watch? They're, it's, it's kind of odd maybe to see women play. Where do you think
It, I mean, I, I think it's a societal issue, right? It's like men do this, oh, men do this and women do that. And I think we now know that men can do this and that and women can do this and that, whatever this and that is right. Yeah. Whether, um, you know, a man works and their wife stays home or vice versa. I think that, you know, social norms are hopefully being broken down and realizing.
00:35:00
Raquel Baldelomar
Do you think it is being broken down? And and do you think their culturally women are being women sports are, are more appreciated, are more elevated?
Um, I think we have a lot of work to do. I think, I think there are a lot of people trying and no one is trying harder than the pro-woman athletes. Mm-hmm.
, right? Mm-hmm. , you know, the women's national soccer team, the WNBA, um, women's hockey even, you know, women's bobsled is very small, but we do our own thing. We tried to get four women bobsled so that more women would have an opportunity to compete in the Olympics. The guys do. Mm-hmm. , they gave us Mono Bob instead, which is just one person, which didn't really, wasn't really what we were looking for. But I think, you know, it's gonna start with women and then it's gonna start with people who realize, hey, there's a lot of value in pro-women sports and they're fun to watch. And women are incredible athletes. And the crazy thing about pro-women athletes is that we don't have the luxury of just playing our sport. You know, it's not like we can just focus on our sport. My teammate has a two-year-old, you know mm-hmm. and competed for the past two years with a little boy who came with us. I call him my emotional support guy. Oh, that's, he's the best. Beautiful. He's the best human I've ever met. Um, so yeah. It's just women are capable of doing whatever we wanna do. Um, and given the opportunity and the support, we'll surprise you 10 outta 10 times.
00:36:28
Raquel Baldelomar
But I do think it starts with money. The money too. Hundred percent. Like do people, do people wanna watch women's sports? And I think, I think the more like the WNB A mm-hmm.
and the women's soccer, the more you see those organizations, like more women, not just women, but also men. Yeah. You know, it has to, it has to, the more we can show that, I think the more money there could be towards that helping that disparity.
00:36:54
Raquel Baldelomar
What Is parody now doing to help mitigate that pay wage gap?
Yeah. Parody does a really great job of finding sponsorship opportunities for pro and athletes that normally wouldn't come to them. Um, because generally women have, in some instances smaller Instagram accounts, right. And or social media accounts. And so some companies only wanna work with the massive athletes, but there are some really incredible stories to be told in those micro influencers. Um, and so Parody does a really good job of doing that. Also starting an NFT marketplace because usually an opportunity like that comes to women after it's been around for men. And so I think they look to, to create something their own, theirself because there wasn't really anything out there that was specifically focused on helping women create NFTs, educating women on NFTs, and then helping women sell NFTs. So I think I was the first bobsled to sell an NFT.
00:37:52
Raquel Baldelomar
Really?
00:37:53
Raquel Baldelomar
Okay.
That's, that's last fall. So that was pretty cool.
00:37:55
Raquel Baldelomar
That's really, that's so tell me about that. What did you sell? What was your nft? My
NFT was a, it was a, a beautiful photo of me done by, uh, incredible photographer, Sam Kin,
, and then Borba, who was the artist that did it out of New York. Um, he, it was a black and white photo. He took a bunch of photos from my Instagram and kind of overlayed it here in my kind of chest area. And then there was some just video of me on the push track, um, training for bobsled and then some audio over it as well. And I, if you ask me what the audio said, I can't remember. But the title of the NFT is, uh, This Is Me. So, yeah. That's exciting.
00:38:33
Raquel Baldelomar
Oh, that's great. That's great. Cuz it, it is something too culturally we're seeing like Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and NFTs mm-hmm.
, that's also more traditionally men are more, have been more into that. Right. But it's great to see this, the parody now is actually mm-hmm. encouraging women to have their own NFTs rather than it just be just more focused on men. Yep. How are they adding more seats to the table? You said that they're adding more seats to the table.
Adding more seats to the table. I think that by specifically looking for opportunities for women. Cause a lot of these women that we work with, they're 700 pro women athletes, 700 plus per women athletes that are part of the Parity community. And because some of them are in like, I'll call 'em like the fringe sports, right? They're not in the major like basketball mm-hmm.
, you know, soccer, football, sports. They don't have agents. And so usually you have to be at a certain quote unquote caliber of athlete and caliber really just means popularity of athlete in order to get represented. And so what Parity does is help these athletes that normally don't have a, you know, an agent to speak for them or negotiate for them and do it on their behalf and then bring them opportunities so they can focus on their sports mm-hmm. , um, and still have opportunities to, you know, work with and promote other companies.
00:39:52
Raquel Baldelomar
To a young athlete that wants to see about trying to see if they can make a career out of being in professional sports. Would you recommend there's so much money in the big sports basketball mm-hmm.
, soccer, volleyball, but some of these other smaller sports, the Yeah. You call the fringe sports mm-hmm. that might be less competitive, but there's also a lot less money in it. Where would you, what would you recommend to a young athlete that maybe isn't as like such a superstar athlete to get, you know, be able to compete at a basketball level or a soccer level, volleyball level, but, but really has a, it's is a good athlete mm-hmm. and maybe it could possibly be a professional athlete by going into some of these other lesser known sports. Is there an opportunity there? Would you, would you make your recommendation as there needs, you know, there is an opportunity in some of these smaller,
I mean, it's hard. You, I think as an athlete, in order to get to the highest level in any sport, I truly believe you have to love it. Mm-hmm.
00:40:56
Raquel Baldelomar
Yeah. So I think if you're just doing a, because we've seen it, I've seen people come into bobsled because they hear it's a quicker path to the Olympics than most sports. Cuz no one, not no one. Most people don't grow up bobsledding. Um, but they generally don't do all that well. So I think first
00:41:20
Raquel Baldelomar
They don't like it. They're just their passion isn't in it.
Yeah, I think first things first you should, younger athletes should do sports that they love. And I, it's interesting to me how specialized younger athletes are. Now, I never specialize. I did all sports. I wanted to do all sports, I played soccer, I ran track, you know, I loved soccer. Realized I wasn't great at it. You know, tried softball, wasn't great at basketball either. Not a great swimmer, not very buoyant. But I tried it, you know, so I did a lot of different things and I never meant to specialize, honestly. My first love with was figure skating. But at 5"10 and 185 pounds , I don't think it's in the cards for me. Um, so I would just say to younger athletes, like, you need to remember why you started that sport and if the reason you started that sport no longer exists and you're not enjoying it, then you should probably go do something else. Yeah. You know, the Olympics isn't for everybody and that's okay. But to my point earlier, everyone can have their own Olympic moment.
00:42:17
Raquel Baldelomar
So it's not even about trying to find a, oh, I, you know, this is not a very well known my chances. It would be easier to get into this area. It's really just, it has to be something that you really, truly, truly enjoy. That's what's getting into the drive.
I mean, to each their own. That's just not how I would approach it.
00:42:35
Raquel Baldelomar
Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, it has to, you know, it's what, what motivates you? I mean, at the, at the end of the day, it has to be like something that every single day, even when it's hard, you're, you're willing to get out and train. Yep. Like, I remember years ago I did a triathlon and I realized like pretty quickly that like the swimming part, like I just did not like
00:42:56
Raquel Baldelomar
You know, like I loved the biking, I loved this swimming, I loved the biking, I loved the running. Those were, and then I loved running. And that's when I realized like, I really
Enjoyed you enjoyed running, you enjoy being clobbered by a bunch of people in, in like dirty water. Yeah.
00:43:08
Raquel Baldelomar
. I didn't enjoy that. And then at that point I was just like, okay, you know, it doesn't make, you know, maybe I just, this will be my last like, you know, triathlon I do. Yeah. And then it's just, then I just learn to focus on running and bike riding. Yeah. And then I realize like, I really like running a lot and then kind of put, you know, focused on that mm-hmm. . But I, I realize that if you don't really love something, you're just not going to do it.
Correct. I mean, for me at least. Yeah.
00:43:37
Raquel Baldelomar
After you won the Olympics, it must have been this like high moment. Like what was, how long did that high last for you? Just, just the, the realization that you're an Olympic.
I don't think it's worn off yet. Really? That's great. Four years later. That's wonderful. I mean, I think especially when you don't grow up trying to go to the Olympics and you try out for something as a joke, I don't know that that will ever wear off. I mean, I don't sit around thinking about the fact that I went to the Olympics every day, but I do wear my Olympic ring every day, so, oh, that's beautiful. Mind.
00:44:07
Raquel Baldelomar
That's, that's, yeah. And after that though, you, you say you're retired now mm-hmm.
. And what are you doing now? Are you doing other spons? Are are other training for other kinds of events or are you working for the organizations now or Yep. Are, are. How, how are you still like actively training if you're not in the Olympics now?
So right now I'm recovering from bilateral hip labrum surgery. Shout out to Dr. Phillipon at Steadman Clinic. Um, I'm about three weeks out from my second one and eight weeks out from my first one. So my training's a lot different. It's just re rehab, hip rehab now. So that's why I'm down in at the training center in Chula Vista. Um, and then I work full-time for an incredible organization called Heroic. I'm the VP of partnerships and our mission is to help 51% of the world flourish by 2051. And I understand that that term flourish, like what does that mean? Um, we're all about helping people get to the most heroic version of themselves. Um, I hear people all the time personally say, you know, if I could just do this better, if I could just do that better. And so we launched an app that is gonna help people just do this or just do that a little bit better. And so it's about who you show up as every day and your work, your love and your energy, the virtues that are tied to those identities, and then the small actions you take daily.
00:45:33
Raquel Baldelomar
And what does the Heroic app exactly do to help you shift that mindset?
Yeah, so what I love about the Heroic app is it allows you to figure out who you are, but also who you want to be. So one of the things I always said when I was training for the Olympics is that everything you do is either gonna push you closer to your goal or pull you further away. And the way I got to the Olympic podium was focusing on all the little small details, right? It was making sure I was hydrated, making sure I went to bed on time, uh, making sure I did my rehabs, making sure I did my recovery, making sure I ate well, um, making sure I wasn't on my phone all day. And so you can put all those little things into the app and every time you complete something you get to swipe it. And it's got the same haptic sensation that like the Apple products do. And so it's awesome. And you can see how many people around the world are also hitting similar targets. Uh, I think we hit, uh, 1 million, you know, uh, annual recurring virtues two days after our app launched, which was really cool just to see how many people are excited about showing up as the most heroic versions of themselves.
00:46:42
Raquel Baldelomar
And is it something that you set, like you set these things into the app and then the app will just give you like reminders, gentle reminders, and then once you complete it you're like, okay, this is something that I've done to get to that heroic version of
Myself. Exactly. So you wake up in the morning and you recommit to your identities, you re commit to your virtues and you recommit to your actions. And so you don't work out every day. So, you know, hip rehab is in a target that I put every day. Yeah. But I need to drink water every day. Yeah. So that is a target that I, that I put in every day. And then as soon as you do it, you get to swipe it and it shows you your streaks, how many other people are doing it. So we're looking to launch a social portion of it in October, which will be really cool to just connect with other people who are also trying to be the most heroic versions of themselves.
00:47:28
Raquel Baldelomar
How did it get created. What was the thought process behind that app being created?
Yeah. I don't know the full thought process, cuz that genius lies with, uh, Brian Johnson, our founder. He actually started Optimize years ago, but he does tell a story of on election night, uh, a few years back mm-hmm.
, uh, he just was not happy with what our world and our, our society was looking like. And he felt like it wasn't a place that he wanted to raise his children in, so he decided he wanted to do something about it. Um, and that's kind of how the, the how heroic and the app began, um, through that one night. And that feeling of, well, if I'm not happy with it, I need to do something about it. Mm-hmm. , which is very much what the app is all about. Right.
00:48:15
Raquel Baldelomar
Well, what I like about it is that it actually also makes you hold yourself accountable to these things every day. It's not just a visualization exercise. It's not just like, okay, I'm gonna try to do these things. It's like, okay, I've done it and now I can see all these other people who've done. Right. Something similar too.
Yeah. But hopefully not, not to a, not to a place where like things don't go perfectly mm-hmm.
, you're not beating yourself up about it. Right. Um, becoming the most heroic version of yourself is always gonna be a journey. It's never gonna be an endpoint and it's never gonna be perfect. And so, um, we hope that people just really enjoy connecting with other people who are like-minded in the sense that we're all just trying to better ourselves.
00:48:54
Raquel Baldelomar
Is there an element of like, the personal part of it? Just the, you know, the, the mind, just the, the, the meditation, the personal development, not just like your trying to achieve your goals, but also balancing your life outside of your work.
Absolutely. And I think that's why it's such a, my hope is that in my role, I'll be able to bring this app to companies as a, as of as a piece of like a corporate wellness. Mm-hmm.
. Cause I think the piece that some programs miss is that they only focus on who you are at work. Mm-hmm. . Right. Exactly. If you have not figured out who you are at home and in your love, how can you show up as the most heroic version of yourself at work? And so it's kinda like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right? Mm-hmm. , before I can be my best in any setting, I have to know that my foundation is set and that's our homes and our love and our energy. And so, you know, we are working on a case study now with all of our heroic founding members. We have about 12,000 people who, who signed on to be part of the app before it was even launched. And so in 30 days we wanna be able to say, if you use Heroic, you will be more connected, energized and productive. And that heroic helps you flourish.
00:50:11
Raquel Baldelomar
I think it's great that there's a personal element of it as well, because it's not just your life and to be successful in your work life and your professional life, you have to have a balanced home life. You have to be able to have a balanced, like self-care, mental health. Mm-hmm.
. Uh, so I think that's, that's excellent. So who is Lauren Gibbs at home when you're not training, when you're not, uh, working towards achieving these incredible just goals? How, what's your downtime look like?
Um, I'm, I'm a pretty big goofball. . Like I spent a lot of time talking to my mom, and my dad actually. Um, do
00:50:47
Raquel Baldelomar
You have brothers or sisters?
I do have an older brother. Uhhuh
. He is a voiceover artist. Great. He's the successful one in the family. That's what I always say.
00:50:54
Raquel Baldelomar
, your parents must be so proud.
Oh, they're whatever they did as parents. Like they need to write a book. Yeah, they do. Um, yeah, I don't know. I have the most amazing friends. Last night I spent a few hours at my friend's house. We've been friends since we were four. Um, and now she has two kids and a husband. And so we are just catching up. And so I have friends all over the country and all over the world. Cause I keep moving around and so I do my best. And I think for me, like that's something that's, that I love about the app is like my love targets is appreciate someone and encourage someone mm-hmm.
. Um, so I try and do that every single day. And so I spend a lot of time just chilling too. I'm actually an introvert, so I don't, I don't get lonely and I, I just like being alone.
00:51:40
Raquel Baldelomar
I am too. Well, I am too. Like I find that I, I enjoy being in social gatherings, social settings, but for me to just recharge myself. Right. I need to be by myself or around like, very small groups. Yeah. You know, small groups of people. Yep. But to your love targets. Are you, are you single? Are you married? Are you dating?
00:52:02
Raquel Baldelomar
What is it like to date being an Olympic medalist?
Um, I wouldn't know. Cause I move around so much that it's hard to form any kind of relationship with any one person. It's also hard cuz you don't know where you're gonna end up. You're gonna go next. Right. And so that's been a little bit tough, but you know what, that's what I signed up for.
00:52:25
Raquel Baldelomar
Well, it's, is there something like an Olympic tinder or something for people who are in your position, who are traveling, who are at such a, these like peak, like just you have to be performing at such a peak level. It must be really hard to try to meet somebody, you know, like let's say a like your brother. Like a voiceover. Yeah. After. And like it's such a different life than what you have to live.
Yeah. I mean, uh, if there is one, I don't know of it. Maybe I'm just not that cool of an Olympian . Um, but yeah, I think there's, there's different dating platforms that are for very busy people. They're just like the elite. I don't know how you, you have to apply to them or something.
00:53:07
Raquel Baldelomar
But even just meeting people just organically through, you know, you talked about you spend time with your, with, with your friend mm-hmm.
, you know, since you're four years old Yeah. And he's married. Um, is that a goal that you wanna have something
To get married and have kids? Mm-hmm.
. Yeah. If it happens, I mean, yeah. If, if it happens, that would be great. If it doesn't then, you know, I have a lot of things in my life that's great too. Yeah. That are great.
00:53:33
Raquel Baldelomar
I also think about just your friendships. Mm-hmm.
like, you know, for someone that I also just, I find having, like when I came to LA 12 years ago, I did not know anybody here. Yeah. So I didn't have any family members here. Mm-hmm. . And I also think developing your friendships, your network of just very loyal friends.
00:53:56
Raquel Baldelomar
Has been really important too. Like, that's partly what also I believe in balance is, is having a network of just small friends that you can rely on.
00:54:05
Raquel Baldelomar
And, and even if when you do travel, um, you, you know, you, you might not see them all the time, but then you, when you talk to them on the phone or you see them, it's like not much, not not much time. Right. Goes by. I mean, we're truly great friends like that.
Yeah. I, I mean I have the best friends in the world. I'm the luckiest person. I know.
00:54:27
Raquel Baldelomar
I wanna talk about money.
00:54:30
Raquel Baldelomar
And, and you said you never really, you were making a lot of money mm-hmm.
before you bef you know, when you did this joke when you tried. But money wasn't really a motivating factor for you when you tried out for The Olympic Olympics, right?
No. Mm-hmm.
. And it's a good thing cuz it wasn't a lot there .
00:54:47
Raquel Baldelomar
Yeah. But you also said that money cannot buy the feeling I feel every morning competing on a national competition with the letters USA on my back. Money cannot buy the physical, mental or emotional transformation.
00:55:05
Raquel Baldelomar
What does it feel having the letters USA on your back?
I think for any athlete, the dream is to compete for something bigger than yourself. And that's what that is to me. Um, my hope is that I'm competing for other little girls that look like me and are, you know, maybe in a situation where they don't feel supported or that things are possible. That anything is possible. And so I think it's less, less than those three letters, but what those letters, the, and the people that those letters represent, um, you know, because we're a very diverse country and to your point earlier in 2018, that was the first time that, you know, three black athletes, black athletes won medals in each category. And so, um, you know, my hope is that because I've lived such a charmed life and you know, have had the opportunities that I've had that now I can pay it forward. And the ability to do that on a worldwide stage is pretty cool. And I don't take, I never took that opportunity for granted. Um, you know, we live in a social media culture where everything's supposed to be and pretty all the time. And so I try and show up as often as possible with my hair unbrushed and no makeup on nor have makeup on today. Um,
00:56:33
Raquel Baldelomar
No, you're beautiful. Thank you. I think you're really beautiful.
And then just show people that like, you know, you can look different ways in different stages of your life and you don't, I don't always have six pack, six pack, six pack abs right now. They're on vacation . Um, and that's okay. And so I just, I just try and show up as Lauren all day, every day. Um, and hope that my story and how I present myself inspires someone else to do something in their own life that will, you know, put them in a position to be the best version of themselves
00:57:06
Raquel Baldelomar
And that's the transformation. Yeah. You talked about transformation and how you are very different than you were before, you know, before you started training.
00:57:19
Raquel Baldelomar
How would you say you've grown since taking that,
00:57:24
Raquel Baldelomar
Taking training?
Yeah. I think I'm more patient with myself. I was always in a hurry to try and, I don't know, be the most successful without really knowing what, what, how I define success. And so now I feel like I'm more patient with myself. I feel like hopefully I'm more patient with others and hopefully my focus is on purpose and not so much on myself, which is something one of my mentors told me a long time ago. Off self on purpose.
00:57:55
Raquel Baldelomar
And how has this transformation defined your relationship with money and success?
I mean, I still love money.
00:58:03
Raquel Baldelomar
Yeah. It's important. Yeah.
Especially living in California, especially
00:58:07
Raquel Baldelomar
Living in California, it's really important.
Yeah. But, um, I think it's, I I've always known that money isn't everything. Um, there's very little value in money if to me, if you don't also have purpose, um, because you can't take money with you. Um,
00:58:33
Raquel Baldelomar
But it is a scorecard too. And it's a way of just, it's a scorecard. Like going back to the Parity Now, just how the, the payback in professional sports. I mean, to see that women are only being given 0.4% sponsorships. Like that's money. Like that is, that's a scorecard that needs to be
Changed. Right. And that's, that's more about equity. Right. It's like it should be equitable mm-hmm.
and equal. So we, we should all have the same opportunities. Um, but like physical money, like the actual money, it's no.
00:59:04
Raquel Baldelomar
So what drives you now though, now that you're retired?
I just love to see what I can do. Like what new joke, why not? And so what new, what new challenge are you gonna take? I just like to see like, what else can I do? Mm-hmm.
, I mean, I think once you figure out or a recipe for success for yourself, it makes duplicating success more possible. It's still a lot of work, but you can, you can do it again and again. And it just comes down to like, for me, how disciplined do I want to be in whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish.
00:59:41
Raquel Baldelomar
I was watching, uh, this incredible documentary on Dr. Dre mm-hmm.
and Jimmy Iovine called The Defiant Ones. Mm-hmm. . And, um, in that episode, uh, Dr. Dre says, you know, I'm 50 years old, I've been doing the music for 30 years now and music is a young man's game. And it got me to thinking about athletes and you in particular, and it's in many, it's a young, it's a young person's game. Mm-hmm. Do you, how do you feel about that knowing that just your body breaks down and you can't achieve the same level of just the, the physical. You can't do the physical demen even though your mind maybe wants to do it. Your body has just broken down. Like, is there a, is it, what is the fe what is that feeling to know that your body, just your body at 38 can't do the things it did at 33?
I don't know. I'll let you know when I get there. . I'm still not there. I mean, I competed last season, so You did. Yeah. I'm still faster than 99.9% of Bobsledders in the world.
01:00:48
Raquel Baldelomar
So you still think you can win another?
Oh, absolutely. Really? I, if I wanted to go back to Olympics. Absolutely, a hundred percent.
01:00:56
Raquel Baldelomar
You said though, that it's a lot harder to watch your loved ones play than it is to actually
Yeah. The next to play . A hundred percent. Watching my teammates compete in the Olympics was, uh, uh, fun but awful all at the same time.
01:01:10
Raquel Baldelomar
Because you're not there and you just
No. You wanna be out there not No, because I want them to do well and I have no control over whether or not that happens. Mm-hmm.
. I see, I know the, I know the hard work that everybody, I mean, everybody that goes to the Olympics works hard. I mean, unless you're a complete a complete genetic freak. And even those people work hard, so you just want people on their big day to have a big day. So Yeah.
01:01:38
Raquel Baldelomar
Now over the next five years, how do you see your life shifting?
I don't know. I try not to put like strong like limits like that. I, I focus on showing up as the most heroic version of myself every day. Mm-hmm.
and seeing what that effort leads me to mm-hmm. mm-hmm. . Um, you know, it was, it was different when I was competing in bobsled cuz there were definite things that you wanted to accomplish. But I feel like I've accomplished a lot.
01:02:11
Raquel Baldelomar
You have.
So
Um, yeah. I mean I love real estate. I love investing in real estate. I love to travel for fun. Um, I have some friends that are gonna be giving me new little nieces and nephews soon. Mm-hmm. , you know, I want to, I have my own blood niece and nephew. My nephew is 14 and like six feet tall. My niece is God 10. And just like the star of the family and, you know, so yeah.
01:02:36
Raquel Baldelomar
Do you ever have a desire to try to coach young athletes
Or not even a little bit. Really? I do not have the patience for that. Yes. It does. It takes a very special human to be a teacher, a coach, yeah. Anything like that. And I just, I don't know if that's in my DNA.
01:02:53
Raquel Baldelomar
That's a really good point. Yeah. Some people are much better teachers. Yeah. And some people just like, they, you know, if they have it in themselves, like you can maybe guide them, but
01:03:04
Raquel Baldelomar
Really hard to just put that fire. Mm-hmm.
in someone. Okay. We're gonna end with just, uh, a few rapid fire questions. Sure. What are your top three healthiest habits?
Top three healthiest habits? Uh, not like, well I won't say not so drinking water is one. Uh, getting some sort of vegetable or fruit and or fruit every day. Um, and telling somebody I love them every day.
01:03:39
Raquel Baldelomar
Oh, I love that. Especially the, I love them part. Mm-hmm.
, we don't say that enough.
01:03:44
Raquel Baldelomar
I have a principle that a part of balance is having healthy vices. Mm-hmm.
, what are your top three vices that bring you great joy?
Top three vices that bring me great joy. I, um, I love real estate. I'm obsessed with house hunting.
01:04:04
Raquel Baldelomar
Is that's a vice?
01:04:06
Raquel Baldelomar
, because then you can buy something.
I need to stop trying to buy houses. . Um, let's see. I, oh, let's see. Second one. I love spending time with my family.
01:04:24
Raquel Baldelomar
How is that a vice though?
I don't know. You said healthy vice.
01:04:27
Raquel Baldelomar
Healthy vice. Like, like I don't, I don't think spending time with a family is a vice.
So like what would you, what would you define as a vice? What's an example of one of your healthy vices?
01:04:38
Raquel Baldelomar
Poker is a vice.
01:04:40
Raquel Baldelomar
Okay. Okay. See now we're like talking because it's like this, this whole show is about balance. But a big thing about for what I believe in is that you can't have balances without just like doing a little bit of things. That's a little bad. I for you.
I misunderstood the question.
01:04:54
Raquel Baldelomar
You know, vices like, I get it. Drinking.
When you said healthy vices, I thought you meant like it's something that you're addicted to, but It's good for you.
01:05:01
Raquel Baldelomar
Carbs.
Okay. I love food and I, I I will eat food that's not healthy. I love pizza. It brings you great joy. And I am here to say that I love pizza.
01:05:13
Raquel Baldelomar
I love pizza too.
Let's see, I love to shop. I just bought these new sandals that I probably paid too much money for and I love to to travel to warm beaches.
01:05:24
Raquel Baldelomar
What are your favorite places to travel to?
Um, Tahiti, Spain. I love Spain. Um, Barbados was amazing. I really want to go to the Maldives. Um, I mean I wanna go to Europe in the summer cause I spent so much time there in the winter, where else
01:05:42
Raquel Baldelomar
And beaches, you wanna go to places with beaches
01:05:45
Raquel Baldelomar
No winter places,
No to me vacation is not going somewhere cold. I mean I would probably go to Antarctica or a lot cuz like you gotta go there once. Mm-hmm.
. But like, I really wanna go to Greece. Greece, Greek food is my, one of my favorite cuisines and I wanna see the, you know, Olympic stadium there, have that experience. My friend and my friend and I were supposed to go to Peru when the pandemic hit and obviously that didn't happen. So I would love to check out Machu Picchu. Um,
01:06:12
Raquel Baldelomar
Those are beautiful places. Yeah. It's a just incredible, I mean, and hiking do go do, do the hike.
01:06:18
Raquel Baldelomar
You know, you can, you can take a bus but you actually, the way to see it is just hiking.
You have to train for that. You can remember I'm very finely tuned to push something for five seconds and then sit down. So I have to train for that one. . Yeah. It'll
01:06:31
Raquel Baldelomar
Be a fun training. Yeah. What are small things you do every day to try to achieve balance?
Small things I do every day. I have a bedtime alarm because if I don't focus on my bedtime then I am useless the next day. Um,
01:06:55
Raquel Baldelomar
Small things and you can also, you know, use the bedtime alarm with a heroic app. Right, right.
That's great. Yeah, so that's exactly, yeah. I really work to not, my mom calls it mouth hunger where you just eat cuz you're bored.
. So I really work to fight my mouth hunger . Um, just cuz it's, you know, as you get older you have to be careful about what you eat. So can't just be eating, which is one of my vices. Um, third thing and then again, I know I've said this like three times, but I really focus on my water intake. If you notice I've almost finished this bottle of water. Um, because so many things can be solved with sleep and water. Mm-hmm. . So,
01:07:46
Raquel Baldelomar
Uh, you mentioned your parents mm-hmm.
, your how, like they just like, they should write a book. Yeah. , what do you think your parents did that raised, that raised you to be who you are?
I, well, one thing they, they let me be me and I'm sure that was trying cuz I was a piece of work. Um, they let me express my feelings. We, we talked about things in my family. My dad's a clinical psychologist, so everybody went to therapy mm-hmm.
, um, yeah. And they allowed me to be real and human and fallible. And they told me they loved me all the time and they hugged me as a kid. Mm-hmm. and Yeah.
01:08:29
Raquel Baldelomar
And that's why you now are telling everyone you love them.
01:08:31
Raquel Baldelomar
You know, it's, it's a, it's a, yeah. They taught you that. Those are beautiful.
01:08:37
Raquel Baldelomar
What does wealth mean to you?
Uh, living with purpose and, you know, finding a way to pay it forward.
01:08:52
Raquel Baldelomar
It's beautiful. We like to leave our viewers with what we call a meditation. What is an important life lesson or insight that you have learned that has given you the greatest amount of balance in your life?
Uh, life is short. Tell the people that you love them. That you love them.
01:09:10
Raquel Baldelomar
That's beautiful. Lauren. Yeah. Is there anything else you would like to leave our viewers and listeners with?
Uh, yeah. Go check out the Heroic app can come join us in helping 51% of the world flourish by 2051.
01:09:23
Raquel Baldelomar
Check out the Heroic app. Yeah. . Lauren, thank you so much, uh, for being on The Mega Podcast. And thank you to our viewers and our listeners. Thank you for your time. And until next time,