HEALTHY MIND
I read that you call modern action sport athletes “mapmakers.” Why? Are they our modern-day explorers? MG: I’m much more interested in those athletes that do what others say isn’t possible. Many of the people that I work with are people that push against conventional wisdom—that voice in the back of the head that says, “Play it safe? That’s ridiculous.” Magellan was one of the original mapmakers, and when he looked at a map, he was more interested in what was around the edges. Based on his vision, he convinced a rival country and 271 men to follow him to the ends of the earth. The entire world said, “You’re going to sail off the edge of the map; you and your 271 men are going to die.” He thought differently.
What was it like working with Felix Baumgartner? MG: Working with Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos project was absolutely electric. It was a team of highly intelligent, highly creative, highly sophisticated scientists that came together for one aim: to see if the boundaries of human potential can be pushed. It was not lost on any of us, the risks that were involved in this venture. In the height of the jump, when he went into a flat spin, it was difficult to breathe. Felix had challenged himself to do something that no other human had done. There was real danger on the line, real risk, and he ran into a situation where he ran out of the tools to manage the depth of the quest. Just like true explorers do, Red Bull became resourceful, and
porate it. I’m one of three for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. Coach Pete Carroll has an advanced degree in psychology. He understands the value of it. He’s really developing an incredible, progressive program around human potential, but it’s not the norm. What about the future? Do you see yourself working with the next generation of aspiring athletes, training in these techniques even before they reach “elite” status? MG: The athletes that are working inside the mental space at a young age, their capacity to handle more is almost exponential. It’s a really rewarding process to be part of that journey, to see it happen—whether it’s a seasoned athlete or a young, burgeoning, world-class talent or the hungry high school athlete who wants to figure out how to get a college career going. It’s really amazing to see how a handful of tools and ways of thinking shift the model, how far they go. Drop me into a high school sports practice in 2050. What do I see? MG: Players will be just as likely to be involved in mental drills as physical drills. We’re also in the age of biotechnology. I’m involved with several companies right now. One is developing a mental skills curriculum for all of their sports coaches. Another has been measuring brain mass of the highest performers in the world, so that we can know what a high-performing brain looks like. We can use that same technology to train particular parts of your brain to function in a similar pattern to the best in the world. And it goes where you go. That’s beyond cognitive training. I’m talking about really forcing your brain to produce specific brain states that increase your control of your brain and body. Are you’re going to do all that from right here in the South Bay? MG: I grew up here. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit, but I love the community of the South Bay. A professional dream is to have an office right on the water, with two beach chairs, so my patients and I can go get lost in conversation on the water’s edge and explore human potential in ways that are just the beginnings of a dream. ?
“I THINK THE GREATEST FEAR OF MAN IS THE FEAR OF NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH.”
Who are our modern-day mapmakers? MG: The action sport athletes are certainly worth noting, as they are pushing the potential of mental and physical boundaries in a very progressive way right now. It’s a really exciting time in the they figured out how to move forward, and the team recognized that Felix could benefit from the psychological perspective shift and some tools. Is sports psychology becoming mainstream, just another stop on the modern athlete’s training schedule? Or is there still a stigma surrounding those that embrace it? MG: Ten years ago, people didn’t know what sports psychology was, and now, in certain sports, it is an absolute embraced process. The athletes I worked with from the UFC were so welcoming. Everybody understands that this is physically and mentally challenging, so let’s get every advantage you can. Individual sport athletes, where they’re responsible for their performance alone—gymnastics, tennis, golf—are all very receptive. It’s seen as a competitive advantage. In 2013, in many sport communities, it’s becoming something that’s expected that athletes are doing. Now, when you take a look at traditional stick-and-ball, team-oriented sports, the really progressive coaches understand the value and are figuring out how to incor-
exploration of human potential from this small subgroup of people. The rest of the world thinks they’re crazy, but what we’ve come to understand is that they’re actually those that have a really deep and rich handle on risk mastery.
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