Lessons From The World's Best

Greg Minnaar is the greatest downhill mountain bike racer of all time. His professional career has spanned 21 years at the very top of this high-risk and highly-technical adrenaline sport. In 2021 and at the age of 39, Greg was crowned Downhill World Champion for the fourth time in his career, 20 years after his first World Cup series win. He has been runner up in the World Cup four times, placed third three times, and has been the winner in 23 World Cup events, the most by any racer in history. At 40, he is still competing, and winning.

In this interview he is his usual cool and calm self. He discusses how he manages fear of injury and crashing at speeds of over 70km/h, how he maintains consistent performances and a consistent performance mindset, and about adapting and adjusting to change. He speaks riding the fine-line of the perfect race, between hesitation and caution on one side, and reckless over-striving on the other, and about riding your own race in sport and in life. He also shares advice for recreational mountain bikers to go faster, with while getting injured less, and more.

Greg is the GOAT of downhill racing, and his lessons are applicable to all of life.

Ingredients for Performance  5.35

How it started 9.00

Critical voices 12.00

Managing self 17.10

Evolution of the sport 19.00

The best from the rest 21.15

Mitigating risk 28.10

Fear of injury 29.30

Mindset 31.35

Process and preparation 33.45

Fear of failure 37.00

Overcoming fear 43.20

Flow state 47.00

Character 52.05

Adapt and adjust 53.35

Downtime hobbies 1.02.50

Downhill tips 1.05.40 

Advice to young athletes and their parents 1.07.10

Life lessons 1.10.25 

The big question 1.11.35

Ryan Sandes is one of the world’s best-ever ultra-distance trail runners. His remarkable career started only in his 3rd year of university, when as a wannabe Springbok rugby player and non-runner, he entered the Knysna marathon – only because the half marathon was fully booked.

After only three weeks of training, he completed the 42.2km in a little over three hours - which marked the beginning of a rather unexpected and quite remarkable career.

His first official race as a novice trail runner, was a 250km race across the Gobi desert. Four months of training later, this totally unknown runner from Cape Town surprised the ultra-running world by crossing the finish line first.

He went on to become the first person to win all four races in the 250km Four-Desert Series, and then to become the first person to win an ultra-trail race on all seven continents.

Ryan upped the ante again, when he and a friend, Ryno Griesel, went on to set a new trail-running record by running 1 435km across the Great Himalayan Trail in Nepal, in only 25 days. Which included climbing 63.7km in elevation - the equivalent of running up and down Mount Everest 7.5 times!

He speaks candidly and without filter about his career challenges and lessons - and let’s us into his head as he describes the most extreme spiritual high moments of ‘going to the well’, and to the depths of hell when the mind and body shuts down through sheer exhaustion.

It’s a riveting conversation with someone who’s been to places that few humans ever have, or will go.

First Ultra .840

University/work life 13.45

Gobi Desert 16.40

Competition 19.20

Bonking 30.00

Winning 34.30

Going pro 36.15

Sponsors 42.10

In the Zone 44.40

"Going to the well" 47.10

Ex-South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes is still regarded as one of the greatest fielders of all time, having played in 52 Tests and 245 One Day Internationals for his country. He also represented South Africa at hockey, including being picked in the 1992 Olympic squad.

Since retirement, Jonty has coached professional cricket teams around the world. He has become an avid surfer and biker - joining local motorbike clubs for outrides on tours of particularly India, and on his tours around the professional cricket world.

In this episode, Jonty speaks candidly about the gifts sport gave him, how he succeeded against some of the odds and of his life lessons along the way. He also shares insights into his close friendships with the late Hansie Cronje and Shane Warne. And lots more...

Shaun Tomson is a former World Champion surfer, one of the pioneers of professional surfing, has been called one of the most influential surfers of the century, and is a successful businessman, author and evangelist for finding your purpose, commitment and positivity in life.

His life has seen him achieve the highest of highs- in being a World Champion, and possibly the lowest of lows- in tragically losing his happy, healthy 15yr old son, to a prank gone wrong. He co-produced and featured in the award-winning surf documentary ‘Bustin’ Down The Door’, which remains one of the iconic sporting documentary films. His book, the Surfers Code, in which Shaun shares 12 commitments to his purpose as a surfer, has translated to hundreds of thousands of people writing their own 12-part code for their own life.

Shaun is a masterful story-teller. He describes the elusive flow state (the ‘zone’) as beautifully and poetically as any. And has possibly experienced it more than most elite athletes. He is passionate about helping people find their purpose, and about helping others to be an even better and healthier version of themselves.

Shaun’s life experiences, his hunger and humility to continuously learn, and so much more about him, translates to him being something of a wise elder. The result is an insightful, thought-provoking and easy to listen to conversation.

Hawaii North Shore 3.00

Dreams to Reality 5.30

Sharks! 8.55

Surf safety in the early days 13.30

Scariest moment 17.30

The Tube-Rider 20.30

State of Flow 25.00

Competition vs Soul Surfing 33.00

In the Zone 39.20

Pro Surfing in the 1970s 42.20

Bustin' Down the Door 48.30

The Surfer's Code 52.00

"Paddle Back Out" lesson for all 56.00

Surfing Today 1.12.10

New book "The Surfer and the Sage" 1.14.13

Tragedy and the lessons 1.21

The Poem 1.31

The Big Question 1.34.42

Multiple International athlete and World Champion Oscar Chalupsky is a once-in-a-lifetime high-performance machine. Few will ever be like him, but almost all of us can learn some valuable lessons from the man.

Whilst still at school, he played South African schools water polo, was a springbok lifesaver, became the youngest Springbok canoeist, played provincial schools rugby, was the South African Iron Man champion, and South African ocean kayak champion.

He went on to become 12 times World Champion paddle ski or ocean kayak champion, winning his 12th title at the age of 49, 29 years after winning it for the first time.

Throughout, he was an amateur athlete who also worked full-time and built successful businesses. In the year South Africa was banned from participation due to apartheid policies, he took up golf, and a year later had a scratch handicap. For aspiring golfers, he shares how he did this, whilst remaining married and holding down a full-time job.

In November 2019 and at the age of 56, Oscar was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer and given 4-6 months to live. Today (April 2022) he is still running, swimming, kayaking, working and competing against the world’s best, whilst taking this cancer, plus a more recent diagnosis of skin cancer, head on and with a glass of wine in his hand.

This is one hell of a conversation with Oscar Chalupsky.

Young Oscar 3.30

Mindset during a race 13.00

The Molokai 17.30

Brain Training 22.40

The Science Behind the Sport 25.00

Entrepreneurial Mindset in Sport 29.40

Out of the Box 33.00

Pushing the Body 34.50

Winning (12th) Molokai  37.50

The Switch to Golf 42.30

1992 Olympics 48.30

Disappointments 49.45

The Diagnosis 51.50

Message to Cancer Patients 58.10

What's Next? 1.02

The Big Question 1.07.40

Indian Cricketer and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh started out as a young kid from Jalandhar, with big dreams, an abundance of passion, a love for fun and had a huge work-ethic.

His international career spanned 18 years, during which time he became one of the world’s leading wicket takers. Bhajji the cricketer was a warrior and fierce competitor. He is someone who chooses authenticity about political correctness, and being outspoken and passionate above mute diplomacy. This mix, along with his high work ethic, huge heart, love of having fun, and an unbridled passion, both on and off the field, saw him being one of crickets genuinely successful and colorful personalities.

His career spanned highs and lows, and his fighting spirit saw him rise again and again after getting dropped, injury, surgery, having his bowling action repeatedly questioned and falling foul of controversy.

In this chat, Bhajji is characteristically outspoken, unapologetic and whole-hearted as he speaks about his career, his philosophy on performance, on life, and his passion and current dedication to helping feed, house and uplift others. He is direct, authentic, funny and pulls at heart-strings. At one point, he rendered me quite emotional, which was no surprise - he doesn’t do dull.

Young Harbhajan 3.00

The Doosra  6.30

Being Your Own Coach  9.45

Attitude As A Competitor 11.10

Career Highs and Lows 

Message to Young Players 15.50

Disappointment 16.45

Fame and Publicity 18.30

Playing Australia 21.20

Passion and Belief 24.25

Being Yourself 27.45

Social Media 31.20

Pressure 33.40

Biggest Challenge 38.20

Belief Over Statistics 45.00

The Foundation Tera Tera 53.40

Politics 58.40

Journey from Jalandhar 1.03

Saving The Soil 1.08

2011 WC Memories 1.11.20

1.16.30 The Big Question

South African fast bowler Allan Donald (White Lightning) was one of the quickest and most awe-inspiring bowlers of recent decades. As scary as he was on-the-field, he is equally a friendly and consummate gentleman off of it.

Allan shares generously about the stories behind his stellar career. He opens up about some of his duals against the world’s best batsmen that remain stuff of legends. He shares how his career unfolded alongside that of close friend and captain Hansie Cronje, and the devastation of Cronje's involvement in match-fixing. He also opens up about the infamous run out between him and Lance Klusener in 1999 World Cup semifinal, and the impact of it on him personally. This and so much more.

Such is the respect for Allan’s knowledge and experience, since retirement from the international game, he has been appointed coach in numerous teams and leagues around the world, including in five different international teams. In 2019 he was inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame.

Young AD 2.55

Training devices  7.45

Internal motivation  10.50

Army life 14.15

SA comes out of Isolation  17.30

County cricket  23.50

Contest with batsmen  29.15

Hansie, the captain  37.10

1999 World Cup  57.40

Advice on failure  1.15.55

Current role in Bangladesh 1.23.00

Australian Cricketer Shane Watson is one of the most imposing and impactful all-rounders of the modern era. He played 14 years for Australia, and amongst numerous accolades and records, was Australian cricketer of the year seven times, and spent a record 150 weeks as the world’s number 1 all-rounder in T20 cricket.

This outwardly tough and fierce competitor on the field shares how his gentle and sensitive nature needed to be hidden and was constantly at odds with the tough and uncompromising ‘Australian way’. He discusses how he over-trained due to a hunger for success and perfection, and how witnessing the on-field death of a team mate Phil Hughes, killed by a bouncer to the head, caused a year of anxiety, fear and below-par performances. He shares in-depth detail of how he overcame this, and explains the mental game secrets he discovered towards the end of his career. He tells of the extra and unique things he did to stay ahead in his game, how he managed his mental health and wellness to extend his career, and how the IPL changed him and brought an end to the decades-old ‘Australian way’.

Shane is also an international commentator, podcaster, serial entrepreneur and family man – the combination of which makes him an intelligent, insightful and fascinating podcast guest.

In this episode you’ll get to know Chad Le Clos the swimming champion more intimately, as well as gain some remarkable insights into Chad the person. He is South Africa’s most decorated Olympian, a Commonwealth swimming champion, an Olympic champion, a world champion, four times world record holder and was twice nominated World Swimmer of the Year.

Chad is deeply driven, incredibly strong minded and remarkably insightful. In this episode, he drops something of a never-before-told bombshell which reveals his courage to be vulnerable!

One of the pinnacles of Chad‘s career happened at the 2012 London Olympics, where he faced up to the greatest swimmer of all time, Michael Phelps, in the 200m butterfly final. Phelps had not been beaten for over 10 years in that event, and no swimmer had ever beaten Phelps when he turned ahead for the final 50m. Chad explains how he planned to beat his hero Phelps in this final, and to do so coming from behind. Which he did - to claim gold.

As with previous episodes, this is yet another remarkable insight into the mind and the life of a champion, and also into a very real human being whose heart is just as soft, warm and vulnerable as yours and mine. What Chad reveals in this interview left me quite emotional and humbled – which may well happen to you. I didn’t see it coming, and nor did Chad, but shit got real in this conversation.

Credentials and context 00.- 2.44

Lockdown experience 2.45

Surgery  08.00

Competing in your 30s  11.20

Growing up 13.30

Something missing 18.45

Training stats  21.00

The hunger 22.50

Dad's influence  25.20

Parent pressure 35.10

2012 Phelps  40.05

Mental game  45.05

Post Olympic blues  48.50

Distractions 56.15

Tokyo Olympics 1.00.10

Mental health 1.02.10

Advice to athletes  1.14.00

Closing thoughts  1.24.17

The big question. 1.27.18

Bryan Habana has achieved greatness while remaining solidly grounded and being a top quality human being. He soars - with his feet firmly on the ground.

His career included winning trophies in the Currie Cup, Super Rugby, Heineken Cup, European Championship, Tri-nations, Lions series and World Cup; being named South African Rugby Player of the Year on three occasions, as well as International (IRB) Player of the Year; amassing 124 Springbok rugby caps and scoring 67 tries for his country, including an equal world record of eight tries in a World Cup.

That’s what Bryan the rugby player achieved. In this episode, you’ll meet the person behind those accolades. The real, down-to-earth, small, skinny, fast kid who worked incredibly hard to achieve what he did; who made some mistakes along the way; who acknowledges the role that both other people and luck played in this journey; and who speaks openly about tough rugby players needing to speak openly - to be ok with being vulnerable. This and more. 

Bryan Habana is one of the true greats of the game. Here is the chance to meet the down-to-earth good guy who is fast, smart and real.

Mike Hussey is called ‘Mr. Cricket’ for good reason. He’s the consummate professional who never left a stone unturned in preparing extensively for every aspect of his game. He describes how this was largely driven by a deep-seated insecurity formed from school going experiences, which he openly shares.

‘Huss’ spent an incredible 10 years playing first-class cricket, where he accumulated over 15 000 runs before getting his international call up. He shares the professional and personal ups and downs of this long wait.

Once picked for Australia, in one of the greatest teams ever, he went on to be named International ODI Player of the Year. He discusses insightful lessons from this journey - which culminated in him retiring with an ODI average of 48, and being in the elite few who have a test average of over 50.

Listeners will quickly learn why Mike is known as Mr. Cricket, and why he is so loved by everyone who played with and against him.

Credentials and context 00.- 3.05

Who is Mike Hussey?  3.08

Overcoming weaknesses  7.21

Critical growth moments  9.15

Advice to younger self  14.40

Personal life  20.30

Patience in the wait  24.40

Mental skills  27.00

Playing for Australia  28.20

Pressure  38.05

Mindset  41.25

Confidence 46.00

Routines and preparation 50.50

Why Sydney Thunder? 1.03.30

Bio-bubbles 1.19.30

The big question 1.29.43

My promise is that there is very little superficial chit-chat or waffle in this nearly two hour conversation - it’s a high performance masterclass, relevant for sport and life, delivered by someone who has been there, failed and succeeded, against the odds.

Mark is one of the world's best Big Wave surfers. It’s a sport that’s reserved for only a special few who surf 30-50 foot waves that can seriously injure or drown the warriors that ride them. Yet Mark is not a ‘natural' fit for this sport. He is no adrenaline junkie or hell-man; is certainly not fearless and is not particularly powerfully built.

He ’suddenly’ appeared on the Big Wave surfing stage when he rode a wave so treacherous that other more experienced surfers wouldn’t. Following this success he had to figure a way to not only survive on this stage, but to become the world's best.

He learned the hard way. Extreme highs were followed by extreme lows. A string of global awards were followed by tearing every structure in his shoulder whilst a series of 40 foot waves crashed down on his broken body. Weeks after recovering from this year-long injury, he suffered an even worse one. This time he was one hour away from losing his leg - an injury which left him with permanent damage that should have ended his surfing career.

Against all odds, and with no movement or feeling in his lower leg, Mark is back surfing Big Waves.

He has an insatiable hunger for learning, which helped him survive and then thrive in the world of Big Wave surfing. Mark is a sought-after and captivating public speaker on the subjects of fear, resilience, adversity and high performance.

With openness, honesty and sometimes vulnerably, he shares all this and more.

Gary Kirsten (fondly known as Gazza) and I have been friends and colleagues in various capacities for over 30 years. Gazza played professional cricket for 17 years, 11 of them for South Africa, then went on to be a professional coach, which he has been doing for the last 18 years. Both careers are strewn with fascinating highs and lows as he played with and against, coached some of the world's best cricketers. Along the way he has accumulated a wealth of experience. He generously shares the lessons he’s learnt with us in this episode. Gary wasn’t even the most talented cricketer in his family, and by professional standards was a batsman of average talent. He began developing a game plan and mindset early on in his life that would see him leverage the best of his average talent, leading him to the top of the international game. He reflects on this and how he feels he could have done better. A deeply personal coaching conversation between him and I, towards the back end of his playing career, changed his perspective on life and on his game, and lead to his best season ever. At the time he wrote me a letter about the impact that it had on him. Gary opens up about this, and 16 years later, allows me to read you some of that letter. As head coach, Gary lead the Indian Cricket team to become world test champions and to win the 2011 ICC World Cup. He then went on to lead the South African national team to become the first team in the world to simultaneously hold the world number 1 ranking in all three formats of the international game. Throughout the five years with both teams, I was Gary's assistant, confidant, and the team's mental coach. Listen in as we talk about this journey, about what worked, what didn’t, and why. For the first time since it happened 12 years ago, we discuss my biggest ever professional f*#k-up, which negatively impacted Gary. We speak about what lead me to make such a big mistake, the impact it had on Gary personally and on our relationship, and how we dealt with it. We also explore how well (or badly) the sporting world is doing in relation to hiring, assessing and firing coaches - and how this could be done more effectively. This conversation is candid, free-flowing, and authentic. It’s packed with fascinating insights for coaches, leaders and anyone interested in learning from Gazza, an ordinary man who has achieved extra-ordinary things.

Credentials and Context  00.- 4.22

Podcasts thoughts  4.23

Gazza and Paddy's history  5.18

Coaching the Indian team 08.15

Talking talent  09.35

Impact of team mates  19.20

Impact of coaches  25.00

Careers lows  29.50

Lessons from Covid  34.70

Fear of failure 37.00

From player to coach  45.40

Ego and results  48.05

Coaching criteria  55.00

Sex dossier scandal 1.13.50

Dale Steyn started as a young wannabee professional skateboarder from a small bush town, who didn’t even know the game of cricket existed, and went on to become the world’s best bowler, a position that he held for just nine days short of seven years. Inaugurating this very first episode of Lessons From The World’s Best, Dale shares generously about his first professional contract playing overseas, and how he first needed to “do his apprenticeship” and learn the simple lessons in life. Things like washing his clothes and learning to cook before he could focus on his bowling. He discusses, without filter, how he managed himself around the pressures of hate on social media, and how players are not adequately mentally prepared to ‘not win’ at a world cup; which is statistically the most likely outcome. He shares, for the first time, about bowling the final over of the 2015 world cup semi-final where he had six balls to secure South Africa’s first ever final appearance, only to fail. Dale describes what the true impact of that moment was on him and how it moved him to tears in the middle of 2021, six years later. You will get to meet the persona that he adopted and hear how he transformed from his natural friendly nature, to the warrior that intimidated opponents – even when the real Dale was exhausted and felt far from intimidating. Among other things, he shares the truth about his confidence, about how off-field relationships can impact performance and the difficulty of speaking up about difficulties. 10 years into our friendship, Dale surprised me by some of what he shared. The fascinating thing about him is that, on the field he was famous for his fierce and uncompromising assault on the world’s best batsmen, yet off the field, he is genuinely one of the most down-to-earth, relaxed and humble people you could wish to meet. Please enjoy this heartfelt conversation with my friend, Dale Steyn.

Credentials  00.- 4.22

Context  4.23

Podcast history  5.45

Life before cricket  8.10

Career begins 11.20

Life lessons 12.24

Social media 17.23

2015 WC Loss 20.05

Defeat/disappointment 26.35

Career difficulties 28.40

Athlete vulnerability 34.12

Freedom in retirement 42.40

Mental health 44.07

Self confidence 49.40

Being in the Zone 52.20

Vulnerability 54.00

Off field distractions 56.10

Low form advice 1.03.10

Disappointment/failure 1.05.42

The Good Question 1.09.20

Coaching characteristics 1.18.10

Red flags of coaching 1.20.20

Welcome to Lessons From The World’s Best; created to entertain you and to offer practical, relevant and maybe even life-changing lessons for your journey in sport, work and life.

Paddy Upton interviews some of the world’s best athletes, in open, honest and vulnerable conversations about the story behind their stories. These are never-before-heard, courageous conversations about the uncomfortable truths about their fears, doubts, failures and personal experiences, both on and off-the-field.

Paddy has spent over 20 years working as a mental coach to professional, international and Olympic athletes from five continents and across 11 different sporting disciplines. It is in this role that he is and was instrumental in helping the world’s best athletes process their deeper and hidden truths, which, in these profound conversations, he now invites them to reveal.

He has worked as a fitness coach, performance director, mental coach and head coach in international sport. Paddy played an essential role in helping lead two international cricket teams to become the world’s number one team in Test Cricket, and helped lead the Indian National team to win the 2011 ICC cricket World Cup. He is also a professor, business coach and a best-selling author, with a passion for sharing simple, practical knowledge that makes sense and adds value.

Whether you’re an avid sports fan, in business, a professional sports person or simply interested in what it takes to be someone who performs at the highest level, this may be of real value to you. Please enjoy as you listen in to Lessons From The World’s Best with Paddy Upton.