Mike Reilly | The Voice of IRONMAN, Author of Finding My Voice, Host of Find Your Finish Line

Greg Spillane: 0:03

I read the book. I got it the other day went through the entire book in like two days. Absolutely loved it. I think we were working together when you first started talking about wanting to write a book. I mean, you know, 25 years, whatever 1989, your first Ironman? How did you put it all together? Like, how did you get the stories and like figure out the framework?

Mike Reilly: 0:28

Well, I have, I've always been a diary note taker of events. So if I got home from an event, and as a matter of fact, it's all it's all in this thing. And there's even the original pages of, of the events with the notes, what the weather was, like, who won the race, what I thought of it. And so I, I've always done that. And I decided I go, Well, let me start taking a look at that stuff. Well, it wasn't detailed enough. Then I started thinking, Well, I've come across a lot of stories that that inspired me, why don't I just put those people in the book, and maybe they'll inspire others. And I did it. I felt it would be selfish if I didn't put a book together on some of these stories. And some were stories that were on NBC TV, but others were stories that people just never heard about. But they always seem to want to tell me because they knew I was going to call their name and bring them in. And they wanted me to know their backstory. And I did too. So I always have this stuff flowing in. What am I going to do with it? What am I and I always started somewhere. That's what I did. I started researching and, and the stories that affected me, I start reading something like, oh my god, I remember that that was on, I gotta, I gotta see if I can find this person again. And I go out and try to find him. So it was a serious labor of love.

Greg Spillane: 1:57

Yeah, I we were kind of going back and forth. Before the show. And, you know, I was explaining to you, you know, one of the reasons why I originally started this podcast was that connection between entrepreneurship and athletics, and specifically around athletics, the, you know, the need to be, you know, resilient, and perseverance and endurance and fearlessness, and, you know, having a goal and training towards that goal, and all those types of things. Because ultimately, starting a company being successful in businesses is the same thing. There are no shortcuts. And and I basically said, you know, I mean, Iron Man is like the epitome of that.

Mike Reilly: 2:39

There are no shortcuts. And yeah, I think if Ironman has taught me one major thing, it's to finish what you start. Can you imagine if everybody world finished, what they started, what kind of humans they do in the the world to be. But in sports, we always saw that Greg, we saw, you know, what, you're up against the nose tackle, we're at the start of the game, you got to finish with this too, and you got to do the best you can do, you're not going to walk off and go, I'm done. You'll be halfway through a race and you'll kick yourself in the butt for the rest of your life. So finishing what you started is what I learned the most. And when I started seeing some people that in life, were going through horrendous physical stuff, diseases, loss of a loved one. But yet, they kept moving forward to try to get to a finish line, whether it was daily, you know, just to get through the day, or whether it was that, you know, Ironman finish line. That's what it taught me the most. And that's why the sport and the entrepreneur and the business connection is so strong, because the most successful people in business that I've come across, are always finding a finish line on a physical side. Always well and, and the demographic,

Greg Spillane: 4:01

right, you talk a little bit about it in the book, but I knew it just coming from the space a little bit. The demographic of your typical person doing Ironman are in many cases, people who have been very successful professionally.

Mike Reilly: 4:15

Yes. People say hey, you've called some famous people across the line, you know, and and I have I've called owners of baseball teams and governors and and it just goes on and on. And the one thing that I'm your man and in the tough nature of the event, it equalizes everybody into really the same person, someone that said, his big ass goal to get to the finish line after 140.6 miles, no matter if you're a billionaire, or you just got out of college and you're trying to find your way. it equalizes everything and that that's why I think people that are very, very successful are drawn to it, because they want to, they want another mountain They want another mountain. But now what I'm finding insane is Oh, my gosh, this, this first timer is only 24 years old and she just got her first job and she's climbing the Ironman mountain. I always think when I call young ones in Greg, my guys, there's gonna be I if I had a company, I'd hire that one I'd hire that guy or that one because, you know they're going to be successful.

Greg Spillane: 5:23

Yeah, so let's take a step back. I think most people everyone's probably heard of Iron Man. I think a lot of people out there sort of know what an Iron Man is, but maybe just take a second for anybody out there that's not familiar with what exactly an Ironman triathlon is,

Mike Reilly: 5:38

well, the sport of triathlon is swim bike run. I was born and bred right here in San Diego. And in 1978, Commander John Collins of the United States Navy was stationed in a wahoo with a bunch of his buddies, they ran a 10 kg race, you know, they worked out all the time. And there was Navy guys there and Marines. And after the race, they sat around drinking beer. And Collins said, I wonder who the fittest athletes in the world were, or are and they started arguing about what has to be a swimmer, you know, the endurance or a cyclist or a runner and, and they were drinking a little more. And finally Collins said, I pay what we do. We do the Waikiki rough water swim, which is 2.4 miles, which you know, is an organised event over there. Then we'll ride around the island of Oahu, which is a bike ride there, then we'll run the Honolulu Marathon. And they all looked at him and said, Collins, you're crazy. We've already done those things. And this is this the this is the mind of a true champion. Yeah, I know we've done those things. But we're gonna do them on the same day. And whoever finishes will be an Ironman. So there was 15 of them showed up at Waikiki Beach and 7812 of them finished took some of them 24 hours. 23 year old United States Marine Guevara Loski, who we just lost last year, didn't cut off shorts and stopped at McDonald's for his aid station. The stories are, but it grew into this event where now we have 40 full distance Iron Man's worldwide and over 200 Half Ironman 70.3 distance Ironman is worldwide. And that's what Ironman is, it's, it's from the thought of a guy who said, you know, what, we can do more than those individual events, we can do them together. And and the world took hold to it. And now there's, you know, every year there's about, I think it's three or 400,000 Ironman finishers throughout the world.

Greg Spillane: 7:32

So you know, reading the book, you know, I, like it made me want to do one so bad. And then at the same time, like scare the death Atomy at the same time, right? Because I'm, you know, I'm like, God, that'd be so, so amazing to do that. And, you know, I like to take on challenges and like to do things and plus, I'd have to find a way to definitely do an event that you were calling because I want to hear you call the end. But then you started for perspective. And and the training side of it, I think, is the biggest issue. I actually have a really cool quote that you basically that says something like people come up to you all the time. And they say, I could do a try a triathlon if I trained for it, and you're like, yeah, the if is the biggest part of the the training. But for perspective, right? I don't know the mean time the average time of your your run of the mill triathlete? Not that there is such a thing. 1415 hours 13 to 15 hours. How much time are you in the water MSI, the world champions like but just you know, your, your, your run of the mill, normal kind of middle of the pack person? How long are you in the water? How long are you in the saddle? How long are you running?

Mike Reilly: 8:44

The the average is I think it's it's hanging right around 13 hours, you know, the winners come in and eight hours. Not in fact, we just had a Norwegian. I called it in Florida and he went 742 and then his countrymen won 720 Something for in Yeah, the times are going to New World Zack a new world record. That's the new Ironman World Record. Yeah. And so a 13 hour person do an average, they'll be on the water an hour and a half to an hour and 40 There'll be on that bike for seven to seven and a half, eight hours. And then they'll run you know, four hours and 30 minutes, five hours to get in. And you have you have from the time the race starts 17 hours to finish and there's a swim cut off you got to be out of the water into 20 You got to be off the bike and 10 and a half hours and you got to finish before midnight to be an official Ironman finisher. So we have them all walks of life from 18 to the last race I had to had an 84 year old you know start the race down and he didn't get he didn't finish didn't get off the bike in time. But no, but he started that. I said to him afterwards I go you are such a champion. No Mike I didn't hear he's at 40. And I, I got to get out there next time and I got to do it. I didn't. You're a champion. You got to your 84 Dude, everybody's grandparents out here are home and under Lazy Boy, you know what I mean? And and but that's that's the type of people that gravitate to Ironman. Yeah,

Greg Spillane: 10:19

it was it would it? Would that have been their first Ironman or was it someone who had already been?

Mike Reilly: 10:23

No, he's done. He's done quite a few. Yeah,

Greg Spillane: 10:25

he's done. He's done a quite a few. Usually.

Mike Reilly: 10:28

I know I had in Arizona, I had a couple of 6364 year olds that did their first. And when I bring them in, I go oh, by the way, here's Billy Brown from San Antonio. 64 years old, his first Ironman, the place goes insane. They're gone. Yeah. And then I'll say something like the crowd and you're worried about your sore feet standing there. You're 35 years old? Guys. Look, I know. Yeah, but it just, it's infectious. It really is.

Greg Spillane: 10:58

Did I see 200? What was it? I thought I saw some congratulations to you. The other?

Mike Reilly: 11:03

Yeah. Arizona was my 200 Call of an Ironman the 200.

Greg Spillane: 11:10

So for anybody out there listening, and I've been lucky enough to experience it a little bit closer, you know, we just talked about this, right? You you, this isn't something that you train for in weeks. And in many cases, you're training months and months and potentially up to a year to be able to be in this type of shape. And you're thinking about it, you're dedicating your life to it, you know, you've set this goal for yourself. And then you have the event itself where, you know, 13 hours, two hours in the water hour and 45 minutes, seven hours on a bike, which sounds insane. And then you want a full marathon to end it out. And when you're coming into the finish line, right at the end of this unbelievable journey, you are the voice you are the person who is calling that that person and not not exclusively, of course, but probably the most well known. And the meaning that that has been to so many people's lives. And I think that that comes out in the book, and I've I've seen it firsthand, and restaurants is unbelievable, right? Like, I mean, you you you're asked constantly to sort of give your catchphrase and I mean, you I mean, tell me about some of the stories some of the people that you've come across that are just,

Mike Reilly: 12:22

well, I it was probably I started coding in 89. I didn't say those four words till 91. You know, I've got that story in the book as to why and why I did it then. But it was about 10 years, Greg, that I just made the call, you know, you're an Ironman. Cool, cool. But then people started coming up to me, and telling me by the way, you just changed my life. I don't know what I mean, I didn't your call just changed my life. They then they tell me what they were going through and what they battled and, and what their family was battling. And everybody has a backstory. And it started to hit me. I go this is not about declaring someone an Ironman, it's about telling them there's somebody else, they're new, they they renewed, they've coped with what has come their way they transform themselves into a human they actually like now and a lot of people go through life not liking themselves. They battled illnesses mental and physical. And, and that was about that 10 year mark, I go, my guy says, you know, I would talk to my Riley. Don't freakin take this for granted. Don't throw those words out as if, you know, Hey, your hamburgers ready, you know, they don't throw these words, these words are doing stuff to people and for people. And when I got that, in my frame of mind, it actually started building me up as a better person. Not that I looked for that, but it just started happening. And then I see somebody's face when I call them an Iron Man. And I'd see him straighten up after you know, being out there 15 hours and lean in and the tough time and and when that call came, it's like the world is perfect. Their world now is almost perfect. So the call became you know, it's not a declaration of of saying you're a finisher it's a declaration of who you've become.

Greg Spillane: 14:27

Yeah, you know, one of the things that I really appreciated in you know your story and having known you for as long as I have now and haven't seen you at firsthand is this concept of like you you don't phone it in like you're you treat every race like it's the most important race you you treat every call like it's the most important card. I think that's something a lot of people don't necessarily do they take shortcuts and it's like well you know, this is Hines Ward NFL Super Bowl champ. I'll make sure I give him everything and this is whoever I'm not gonna curate you You treat everybody the same when you're out there, right?

Mike Reilly: 15:02

I don't I, you know, it's like, I don't care who you are. I care who you are on that day. Yeah. And you're right, it becomes a i, I look at it, like I'm having a one on one conversation when I'm having a one on one conversation, like you and I right now, I'm into it, you're into it, people are into their one on one conversations, if they're to re engage. And that's what I want to have with each person, which each finisher. You know, I when I call out their name, and I say where they're from and, and how old they are, or what their profession is, and then I call him an Iron Man, that's me just saying, you know, you're the best in the world. Dude, you, you, you are the best in the world at that moment on that finish line. No doubt in my mind. And I think having that attitude gives me the passion to give it to them, because it's all about them. It's not about Mike Riley making the call. It's about being able to enhance someone else's life at a time that they deserve. You know, they say if you go through life and make other people's lives happy, you're doing something right. And I get to do it 2500 times an event. I mean, yeah. It's, it's a blessing. It's, it's, it's a blessing.

Greg Spillane: 16:26

Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna compare you to a Beatle right now. So like, The Beatles, Beatles. So bear with me here. I, I was listening to this interview one time with Paul McCartney. And he was talking about, you know, being a Beatle and what it's like, and when people come up to him, and you know, he and he's gracious and you know, pretty kind person and engaged people. And he made this comment. And it was it was similar to a comment you made in the book, coming from different perspectives. But he had enough wherewithal, it didn't come from a place of being braggy. But he came from a place of, I know that the moment of somebody coming up and meeting me is a big moment in that person's life. So it's, it's my responsibility to make that moment special. And and you you touch upon that in your book, the extent of like, when somebody was crossing that line after an Ironman, you calling them in is really important to them, and you owe it to them to give them the due respect, and I really respect that that resonated with me. In the book,

Mike Reilly: 17:31

it is amazing when people walk up dragon a lot come up and and if I'm doing a book signing, they have a chance to talk to me and I you know, I take a long time the line could be long and but but it's about that person in front of me. But I'll have you know, 45 year old grown men come up with their two children in he looks at me and Hi Mike I'm so and he starts quivering. I don't know what's going on and almost losing it. You don't know how long I've been wanting to meet you. You called me an Ironman eight years ago. And, and my kids know, I'm an Ironman, and I'm thinking oh my gosh, he's, he's, you know, passing it on how good is this? And it's just uh, you know, I don't call an AI home run. I don't call a touchdown. Because that's for the masses. I have the opportunity to go directly to a person to every person and and make that call. A sure I love baseball and I have to sit on my butt for nine innings and call baseball games. It'd be great but I stand up for 17 to 19 hours and because I know what I get to do for everybody it Yeah, it's actually a long day but it's a it goes so fast. I go why it's almost midnight. Wow, here we shoot.

Greg Spillane: 18:56

So I I've been asked a few times what's my favorite charity or you know have been in a situation where I've had to donate a charity and I go to the challenge Athletes Foundation that's that's that's what I say and you know, that's where I've I've been able to point donations. I was introduced to ca F through you and Bob Babbitt initially I think I I actually took part in a try. Yeah, and I ran I took the Ryan leg try um, unbelievable organization that you've been a part of. Maybe just take a second and talk a little bit about that. Yeah, the

Mike Reilly: 19:40

challenge yeah, you know, Bob Babbitt and Jeffrey Aza cow and Rick kosnovski started it out. I remember sitting with him at one of the very first meetings I go, this would be cool. My time I couldn't I couldn't put into it at that time running sales and but they they they took the bull by the horn because of a gentleman we all knew that needed to Sadek needed a band to be able to drive around. But it's grown into this network of, of grants of giving grants to athletes who lost their leg in a cycling accident or a car accident or was born with a degenerative disease and had had a leg and arm taken off. And what sure they give prosthetics out and they try to make them whole. But what they really do is they make their mind whole, they people walk away, and if they're part of the challenge Athletes Foundation, I wrote about a few of them in the book. Rudy Garcia Tolson and, and others, you know what, what, what ends up happening, they become even holder than a person with all their limbs, if you can understand what that means they, they've overcome all odds. And you and I, as athletes, if we would lose a limb, I don't know if I could get through the I don't know, I there'd be a lot of doubt challenge Athletes Foundation washes away that doubt for so many young ones. You know, when we go to the race, you see some, you know, they're a year and a half, two years old, and they're in a prosthetic and and I remember back to my kids that little I go I couldn't imagine if that happened to my kids, but they are able to wash away that that doubt and create help create humans that become Paralympians gold medalists like Rudy, I mean gold medalist in the Paralympics, for goodness sake, though, Sara Reinertsen number one, the first, you know, amputee, female amputee to finish Ironman failing the year before and not making the bike cut off, and coming back. And she didn't need to come back. You know, she, like she proved to the world but she she wanted to be an Ironman. And, and she is so yeah, the challenge Athletes Foundation definitely leads the way to create humans that they can't even believe they are. Yeah,

Greg Spillane: 21:59

anybody out there, you don't even have to participate in the event just just come out to the events. You know, as a father, and probably at the time, you know, the first time i i attended on a few, you know, my daughters were in that five and seven range or five range. And, you know, you see these, these young kids like he said, you know, two, three year and a half years old with with prosthetics, but like, running around and playing and participating, like there isn't anything different about them than anything else. And I just think that that ability for that foundation to, you know, take these cute children and it's not just children, of course, but you know, children hit me close to me as a dad, and allow them to live normal lives and like you said, even you know, more fulfilling lives than they might if they just were, you know, whatever, fully lammed I guess but anyways. Oh, yeah, it's hard. It's hard even go from there. There's so many stories in your book, that talk about people who have overcome just unbelievable odds and people who have, you know, had prosthetics and double amputees. One in particular, we just lost recently, probably the most famous I think I first saw him on 60 minutes, you know, 1015 20 years ago, was Dick coin. And what he was able to accomplish with the sun you want maybe quickly tell people out there who decode is if they're not familiar with him?

Mike Reilly: 23:34

Yeah, did coin is the father of recode. Rick had cerebral palsy. And he, you know, one day in Boston, Ricky wanted to participate like his brothers and sisters. So, Deke, put them in a big chair, and, you know, like, random 5k. And, and he saw the look on his son's face like he'd never seen before he was, he was part of it. He was, he was competing. And so Rick and DEC, very famous, you know, went on, did like 30 Boston Marathon. My first year in Kona 1989. They started the race look down from the tower, saw this guy wrapping a harness around himself with this inflatable raft behind them. I had no idea who they were, I just didn't know and I asked one of whose add ons a guy is gonna do the race with his son and push them around. I go what, it's never gonna happen. I hear I hear man. And sure shooting, you know, he pulled them in the water, had him on the front of his bike, which I can't believe against the winds of West Hawaii, on the Big Island and then ran and came on in and when he came in, I thought I I thought I was seeing a miracle in the making. And from you know, he, he just went on to keep doing that and now that they Deke height foundation and how many? Oh my gosh, how many mothers and daughters and fathers and sons and brothers, Kyle and Brent peace, the peace brothers just finished Ironman Florida together for like the third Ironman. It's all because of decoy. It's because he, he knew anything is possible for his son and himself. And he proved it over and over again, not just doing one. He just kept coming back and doing them all it is and like, fast times, right? I mean, dude could run man, he'd run pushing that thing. I swear it looked like he was doing 20 miles an hour pushing it. I go, yeah, he just flying. Yeah, he, he did all out. Oh,

Greg Spillane: 25:42

yeah. Anybody out there that doesn't know decoders. look him up. And you, you, you, you have to see what he was doing. I mean, we just talked about how ridiculously challenging a Ironman is. He was doing it, pulling his son in the swim, riding his son on his bike, and then ultimately pushing him while running and still competing. I mean, it's really unbelievable. And, and the purpose behind it, it's what's even more special than that. So Mike, you're you're you're obviously known as the voice of Iron Man. You know, it's it's been a huge part of your career. But it but it's not all your career, right? Like, I mean, here. That was that was I mean, I don't want to call it this, but it was like a part time gig in many ways. I mean, you you you have a full time career as a as a extremely accomplished Well, entrepreneur, and then sales leader.

Mike Reilly: 26:36

Yeah, I've always you know, I I've been fortunate because I've got the produce my income in the endurance world. And without working out doing races, the whole deal. I was teaching school in San Diego and opened up running shoe stores with my brother, we had four of those, and we sold those and I became a rep. I was wrapping running shoe lines, I was dropping nutrition products, you know, selling to all the guys that go work out with. So it was fantastic. And then I just found this, I found this passionate about sales, I love selling products to people and I love giving them something that they could resell and make money from and, and so I just was doing that constantly. And then and then in 99 went to work for a company that was you know, eight of us at active calm and we started building that machine. And I was doing the sales with that and built a team. I think we had 60 or 80. Salespeople at one time leading them through the ranks of selling and I don't know I just I've always found sales to be the heartbeat, the hardest thing to do. Yet the easiest. If you prepare you, you can't go in blind. And sure I relied on relationship with a lot to get the door open. But at the end of the day, a smart buyer knows good product sells product. Mike Riley or some other salesperson is not going to sell that product off the shelf. It ain't gonna happen. I can't do that. So they have to realize that yeah, you gotta sell him good product. The other part of the scenario is I go back to manufacturers whether it was up in Saucony running shoes or a tennis ball, I go this is what they're telling me why the shoes not selling? They did. What do you mean I it's a good shoe? No, no, it's not because of what they're so I would be the conduit between a lot of the big dealers in the in the West and the manufacturer to help them build a better product. And then you know, obviously I was selling a lot of triathlon products which I loved and sold bikes and and so I was building a career in my passion of endurance sports and building my income in that announcing was yeah was second because race directors didn't have huge budgets for race announcers even in the early years. And and but we get paid compared to like I said somebody calling a nine inning game of Major League Baseball, it pales in comparison and and that's okay. You know, it's just just how it is and I'm not complaining about what the the incomes produced but it's it's harder in our profession than some others. But yeah, sales have always been my passion. I just love selling. I mean, if I sell today it's yeah, I sell me or I try to sell the book or you know, or sell the speak at a corporation's things like that. But not product. Are you are you doing much speaking now? Yeah, I have a call this afternoon of San Diego company with a sales kickoff. I think I've got 80 salespeople. I did. I did a few during the pandemic on Zoom, which was weird. You know, I'm seeing all these faces and I'm telling them Stories. But you don't get any reaction. I mean, you might see somebody smile or laugh. But some people may be looking at their phone and I go, this is tough I am. So I, I resigned myself to the fact, just, hopefully, you'll get to one or two of them, they there was like 100 people on the screen, maybe one or two, and I got back, probably 20 or 30 messages. God, that was fantastic. And I go, Well, if I got the 20 or 30 of them, and that got to them to where what I say is got, you know, to where they maybe could sell better or be a better manager. That's great. So I did I did those, but I miss, I want to go back live, man, I want to go back on the stage and, and go live can't

Greg Spillane: 30:43

beat it. I can't beat it. Yeah, you know, the, obviously COVID is forced us to all adopt technology. And I think it's accelerated a lot of things. And I think some good some bad. I find that one on one conversations, like we're having now are actually pretty good. Like, I've had very engaging conversations me and you were both engaged. But once you get into that mass audience conversation, it just, you're like, I think you absolutely, you just lose that connection. I noticed even running, you know, my company, I can have my one on ones. And I think they're really effective through this medium. But once we have like all hands meetings or team meetings, just not the same as it is if you're all in a room together. Yeah,

Mike Reilly: 31:27

it obviously the one on ones are very powerful, because the person on the other end that may be working for you, or you're trying to help lead them in a direction they need to go. They know it's about them. So that's easy. When when people are in a group? Is he talking about me? Is she talking about me? Is that pertain to my role, my category I work in, you know, there's so many variables when it's built into that. But when I'm able to give a talk, I and you know, I entwine the story I'm telling as to why it should help make you a better salesperson, a better manager, a better CEO. And and I believe those stories are stories that hit home, and that are going to last I've been in you have been to I've been to a lot of conferences with motivational speakers and what they say at that present moment I go, Oh, my God, that's funny. That's great. He's right. But I never seem to leave with one bit of it. That could help me tremendously. And I think the stories that I'm able to tell because I've seen and witnessed, I think some people they leave, because they people will come up to me 10 years later, I remember you gave a talk to a company and you told that story about that boy that was crushed by the garbage truck. Oh my god, I still remember that today. And I think they remember like, because you came through and he ended up doing an Ironman and then they remember those people remember stories? Well, and you're

Greg Spillane: 32:59

not, you're not just you're not just someone who's telling these unbelievable amazing stories from your Ironman career, like you think about a you know, a lot of athletes, right? I went to a keynote the other recently with Gosh, I'm blanking on her name, that the tennis player, Billie Jean King, Billy, wow, okay. And she was great. It was she was a spitball fireball and told some amazing stories. And it was motivational. But she's never been a part of a startup. She's never scaled a startup, you know, she doesn't know what it's like to have to, you know, recruit, hire and fire salespeople. But I think one of the things that you bring to the table is you're not going to wait till those amazing stories of of the different people that have come overcome adversity and those types of things. You've been in the trenches, right? You you, you've been a sales guy, you've had a number, you've had to hit numbers. But you've also had to build a sales team and motivate a sales team. And so I think that that brings something different than you know, maybe someone who just comes purely from an athletic background.

Mike Reilly: 34:09

It does because whenever you are part of a startup, trust me, there's more down days than up days. In that verse three, four years, you're going What are we doing here? And then you have people working with you getting despondent and want to leave and, and and it's just and then when you think you're on top of the mountain, you get knocked down again, you go, Oh, my gosh, what happened? So, I think being in the trenches like that, you've got to keep positive. Obviously, it's easy to say that, but when day after day after day, you start getting you get pounded. You know, wait a minute, what if you finally have to go, we're doing something wrong here. We've got to change direction. We've got a pivot here, or we're going out of business. And pivoting sometimes is the hardest thing in the world. Do people do not like change? You know, they hate it. He says, And and so many times that active we had to pivot. When you and I worked together at events calm it was pivoting almost every day going back and forth. What do we do here? You know, another startup. So what I think it does is when you're in that world it smooths those rough edges so that the highs are great, but you don't, you know, go on a bender for eight weeks because you did something great. The lows are bad, but you don't put yourself in the bottom of that hole. You're always halfway up and going, Okay, I'm gonna get out of here. Because if you don't, you're gonna lose. And athletes don't like to lose. And that's why that I love your podcast because you're combining, you know, even though you can remember the tough losses you had at San Diego State or when you got your buck hit by some guy. Oh my God, he's so fast. But you remember that, but you know what? You came out the next game you learn from it? You go, alright, we won this one. And that's that's the way businesses you know, you don't like to lose, but you sure as hell aren't going to win every day.

Greg Spillane: 36:12

Yeah, and the opposites just as true, right? And athletics. You go out there and you have a big win. You go out the next week, and you're like, I don't need to even prepare. I don't need a practice. I'm the best. Did you see what we did last week? You're going to get your ass handed to you the next week. And and I think it's the same as as in business. Right? Like, Alright, great things are going well, you had a good quarter, you move in the right direction. You just close this round, can't get complacent. It's like, celebrate it, celebrate it, let's let's let's be happy. But at the same time, like, gotta keep grinding. Gotta keep grinding, right?

Mike Reilly: 36:47

That's why That's why people ask, cuz I don't race like as a mat races. So I don't but I still work out a lot. And I could be out with some guys doing an 80 mile ride. And, you know, in North County, Harrison, you know, we're climbing. Riley, what are you training for? And I go, I'm training for life. I'm just trying to Yeah, I'm just trying to stay healthy and happy. And this makes me happy. So I you know, it's all about the journey. You remember some of those workout and practices wrestling in college, and I remember some workouts that was so much better than any match I ever had. Because you just gave it all you know, and you had to go up against three or four different guys and and you'd walk out going that I still remember him today. You know, throwing up after leaving the room? I think I think I gave it everything I

Greg Spillane: 37:36

I gotta ask you this question. I've known you now for a while. I'm sure you're not far off of the way you were when you were wrestling. In college, you stay you always stay in great shape. I remember you riding your bike to work 20 miles, whatever it was, you just mentioned you you, you know, do 8080 mile bike rides. I know you're a sub three hour marathon, or at least we're where you've never. But but but you never did an Ironman. Which which was was the choice? Well,

Mike Reilly: 38:08

yeah, it was a choice. Later on. I mean, I 89 is when I really wanted to do Conan, I was training for it. But that's, that's when I got the call the call, you know, and I was called up to the big leagues. And I actually said no first couple calls, they made sure because I was doing the race there was all buddies were doing it. We were training, run and doing everything in the pool every morning. And going over there and but then the call came in. And I figured well, you know what, I can always do that race. Well, that was 32 years ago. Yeah. And I'm never gonna be you know, my Ironman now is being able to call others an Ironman I, that gives me more satisfaction than crossing that finish line. I mean, I remember the first marathon I ran. I can remember like it was yesterday, I couldn't believe the feeling of euphoria, euphoria I had, even after wrestling and playing sports, high school and college, coming across that marathon finish line. Because I because for most of my life, I believed I couldn't do it. Until I signed up and decided I'm going to do it. I'll try to do it. I'll put the training in. And so when I came across that line, it was euphoria. And so that's what I think people feel about, you know, businesses when they succeed and they sell a business they do well Wow. But they they always want to go do the next one. I wanted to do more marathons I wanted that feeling over and over again. You know, yeah, you win a game you go. I want to win again. I like this. That's

Greg Spillane: 39:43

right. That's right. So you got a great podcast I enjoy thank you find your finish line. How How has it been been being a podcaster Have you have you enjoyed it?

Mike Reilly: 39:56

I think I've enjoyed it. You know, there's there's we're obviously as you know, we're involved and getting guests and hooking up schedules so that you can, you know, match them up. And a lot of my guests are global. So I, you know, I'm interviewing somebody at 2am here because it's morning their time and but that I don't care. I mean, I, it's not about the sleep or anything. But I think the biggest thing I'm getting out of it, even people that I know, if I have mine as a guess what I learn about them? I had no idea. You did that, or you're, you're like that, or that's where you came from. I mean, Joe de Cena, the creator and founder of Spartan I met him when he was doing Ironman back in Lake Placid in 99. As a executive, they had an executive division, because he had built and sold a Wall Street firm from his pool cleaning business that he started in high school. So his story alone, you know, is not just

Greg Spillane: 40:57

you missed the important part. It's his poor cleaning business that he started in high school that was primarily to the organized crime families that lived in his neighbor.

Mike Reilly: 41:08

Yes, yes. Yes. All the all the in Jersey in New York, all the families he worked for all families. But But, so So yeah, I like the podcast because I find out things about people. I like telling, having people on that are just, quote unquote, every day just like you and I, but they've gone through some just amazing hurdles that jumped over. And I want to introduce people to people like that. Sure, I've had Lionel Sanders, one of the most gregarious professional men in our sport and just, you know, crack up and a training, insane training I, II, you know, I'll have pros on like that, but I love having the age groupers on to are the guys like Joe, who have built a business and a multi million dollar. And and if you listen to that podcast when he talked about the pandemic, and saying that this is the hardest thing I've ever gone through, and we're talking about a guy who raced the identity fraud, race in Alaska on foot, and going this pandemic is the hardest thing. It mentally you could see it be it's beating him up. But he'll, he'll come out on top.

Greg Spillane: 42:21

So I listened to that episode. I know Joe a little bit. I met him at events. And then we did a little bit, a couple things we're working on together afterwards. He's an absolute wild man. Such an interesting character I anybody out there, please listen to that episode. I love and find your time. But there was one part that stuck out to me, I've talked about it a little bit on this show. Because, you know, the original, I guess the idea when I was putting this together was about grit. It was just about like, what what makes somebody successful, like what is a high achieving individual life, and so much of it just comes down to just the ability to just grind and work and think it's, it's what makes someone successful in sports, I think it's what makes someone successful in business, I think it would make someone successful in life in general, right. And I talk with a lot of people about how you helped develop that in your kids, right. And it's a lot of people that I've talked to that have been very successful all come from this background, where it's like, I didn't have my child. So I had this chip on my shoulder, I wanted to prove people wrong, and you know, all these things. And, you know, in most cases, the people I've talked to have all been very successful. And their kids are growing up with a lot more privileged than they had. So the question becomes, like, Well, how do you have your kids be hungry? And, you know, I've had this conversation with, you know, a handful of different people on the show and off. And I loved what Joe talked about on your show, that he basically manufactures adversity for his kids. So his kids don't grow up with privilege, and they know how to get through adversity. And I mean, I think he talked about having like a kung fu master or something they live in Luke Zetas house, whose sole job is an hour in the morning and the hours in the night is to basically kick his kids butt and teach them toughness. I mean, it was unbelievable. To hear this story. Yeah. And

Mike Reilly: 44:27

I think if you introduce your children to sports, and they make the commitment to it, the big commitment you have is to make sure they stick with it. Don't let them quit. And even if they're on the bench, second string, who cares? Don't let them quit. Because I think the grit and grind comes from sports. We can do so much as parents obviously if we wrap them up and helicopter them and as Joe says, put them in bubble wrap. We know deep inside them not going to be prepared for the world, they're going to be more have to be more prepared for the world upcoming than we have. Oh my gosh, think about it. My, my seven year old and three year old grandson, what the heck is it going to look like when they're 25 and 28. And, and so they've got to be able to grit and they've got to be able to grind. And sure you got to get the education, go to school, you know, stay strong, stay smart, be physically active. But man, you got to be grinding, because they're gonna have to grind. So if they're grinding today, playing Little League baseball or soccer or whatever it may be or football. You know, I think that's such a good thing. And the parents just because you know what, when my son, who has you know, played minor league baseball and through the ranks and we have so many conversations about baseball, I say who some of your best coaches we talked about this over Thanksgiving, you know, Joker, I mean, Kelly, Dan Kelly, I go away, because he taught me the game. Dan Kelly had rough edges he was at RB and Rancho Bernardo. He played for Blaylock. He coached for Blaylock. So he knew baseball. But he had these hard edges and some kids would, I'm not listening to him yelling at me. But Andy goes, he said to me, he goes, all I did was flush that other stuff out. Because I knew this guy could teach me the game. I go really, and this was when Andy was like, seventh grade or sixth grade I go, he's figuring that out. Like, I know, he yells and everything. But then he said, Dad, you've you've kind of got a loud voice and you yell, and you know, it didn't really scare. It scared us at first, but then we figured it all out. Because that's what I do with Dan. So it made him a better man. Because he listened to somebody teach him the game of baseball became a better baseball player. And that's what I hope kids do in sports, they find a mentor, mom and dads can't do it all. And if they think they can, their kid is going to suffer. You know, you can't do it all. Yeah. So hopefully you get them in the right program. And, and you know, coaches, I know, coaches I'm go, that one there is going to be good for him. That one may kick some butt, but they're going to teach him that in her the game of life, you know, and the game they're in. So sport is that equalizer of helping the parents out. You just got to introduce him to it. I have

Greg Spillane: 47:27

a guest on the show. Also a friend of mine. He's a commanding officer in the Marine Corps. And he currently I think his squadrons around 300 Marines. Wow. 80% of the Marines are under 25. That's actually one of our really interesting statistic, Mike, he's telling me seems like from what from it, the number 65% of the Marines that are in his squadron have only known a post COVID world, they all join the Marine Corps. It's just how young these Marines Wow, join the Marine Corps after code, which is really, you know, kind of fascinating. They've only known the Marine Corps post COVID. But we were talking about how because he's, you know, my age and how you reach young kids. I mean, you know, 22 year old kids, you know, it's different. It's not like it was when we were and you know, he gave the analogy of like, you know, when we were younger, grabbed the guy by the facemask, shakeup, like that resonates. And it doesn't really work with the young generation. But what he did say, and I think it's interesting is, if you give the guide give the the younger generation purpose, or you give them meaning of why we're doing this, or what we're trying to accomplish together, they'll do anything. They I mean, they're, they're capable, they're hard working, they're smart, they're intelligent, all those things, but they just need to understand or at least have that feeling of what they're doing has meaning in a bigger picture. And you know, I just think about sports. And I think of Andy and I think I'm a tough coach. And you know, I think it's something that does come out of sports is if you know deep in your heart that that coach wants you to be better, and you want to be better, then you're going to take the yelling and the screaming and the critic, right because it's like he's at the end of the day, he's pushing you to help you reach the goal that you've already set for yourself. And I think that that's that's something that that does come out of sports

Mike Reilly: 49:22

and you know, in coaching, if if, if an athlete listens to that coach intently and and tries hard that coach is going to be you know, people say why is the coaches favorite? Well, because the kid is listening to the coach of learning through doing the drill, maybe making a mistake coming back, what do I what I do wrong, and of course the coach is going to it's a teachable kid and that coach now wants to see that boy or girl succeed more than anybody because they're teachable. They're they're learning and coaches are drawn to success of a Have an athlete. But if but if but if they, if the, you know, the kid doesn't like the sound of the voice or it was too loud or whatever, you make me do drills and why am I doing extra? And I mean, parents, I just hope you can put them into a program. And I'm not saying sports for everybody. I don't care if it's a camp, I don't care if it's a computer school, I don't care what it is, but get them into something where they can find a mentor to push them along. Yeah, no, I

Greg Spillane: 50:34

agree. I think one of the things about athletics, especially at the high level, it's not the same. I mean, you know, kids, eight, 910 years old, there's Daddy ball, Bob, you know, it's very political. But like, when you get to like college and the professional level, it's a meritocracy. Right. Like, like, like that head coach of whatever sport it is, he's gonna play the people who he believes give them the best chance of winning. And, you know, I think as the athlete, you go into it, realizing that so you compete on a day in day out basis, because you want to be that person. And you know, that's another way to say it translates really well to the professional world. Because, you know, once you get into the real business world, you got to realize it's a meritocracy. Everybody wants to be an entrepreneur, everybody wants to be the next Elon Musk, or, you know, start the next unicorn company, but like, no one's gonna give that to you, you got to go out there and earn it. And, you know, I think it's the same as, as, you know, being a world champion and in the Ironman, right, like, I mean, sure, great stories about some of the epic battles that have occurred in the past, but like, I mean, you got to

Mike Reilly: 51:39

earn that. I've never once brought a champion to an Ironman finish line that I know didn't work to get there. I mean, in St. You can't, you can't fake it. There's no faking an Ironman. And there's no faking. If you want to be a CTO of a of a major company, you got to put in the grit and the grind you have to put in. It's funny we keep saying grit and grind because Because a good friend of mine, Rhonda Valarie who's the CIO right Herbalife she wrote the book grit and grind, show love this Hi Southcenter the podcast and and there's no faking it. So when those and there's no faking it for the 17 hour finisher, I stood at 2019 The last Ironman we had in Hawaii, before the pandemic with Yan for Dino, he's our goat. He is Olympic gold medalist one Kona three times as one. Everything holds the course record in Kona. And we're at the he comes back at like 15 hours to party with us and bring the final, what I call the final winners in and now it's about 45 minutes ago, and he's standing there and Yan is six foot three, six foot four. He's just a, he's just a specimen of an athlete. And he looks down at me. He goes, Riley, I don't believe this. I go, What are you talking about? Look at that woman who just finished going 1640? I could never do that in a million years. How does she How did she do that? How could she be out there that long? And hear a world champion many times over and a gold medalist in all of a 16 hour and 45 minute, every day human finisher? Because he couldn't believe she could. He knew because I couldn't do be out there that long. In other words already saying to me, I quit. I'd be done. Yeah, I'm not gonna go out there that long. So that tells you what type of event it is. But it also tells you you know what she just did what Yan did, obviously went faster. She finished when she started. And it took her 16 hours and 45 minutes to do it. Yeah. So it, it resonates when when you see something like that, and then you get into a business meeting with eight people. And I remember those conference rooms. And so to you, Greg, you know, you jump out with an idea and it'd be like two of you going Yeah, and the others. No, I don't want to do that. And I'm thinking oh my gosh, this is a heck of a how are we going to work this one out? You know, and but you got to try to find that finish line together. If you don't the company's going away.

Greg Spillane: 54:15

Right. Well, look, Mike, I really appreciate you coming on and doing this man. It's been an honor to call you a friend and I've enjoyed our time together and the conversations we've had and maybe maybe we could do this again with a Guinness and Jameson,

Mike Reilly: 54:31

but not too bad. I'm I'm leaving my Patrick my older brother's 80th birthday party is in outside of Austin and a whole brothers and sisters. nieces and nephews some great nieces and nephews are gonna be there. And I think I think there might be a little Guinness and a little a little Irish whiskey falling it's funny rose she said to me yesterday now cuz you know all this spouses will be there and, and she'll know you guys aren't going to go crazy. I go, honey, you've been with me 40 Some years, you've been at these things. I got no control on what I'm the youngest one. I got no control over the big brothers and sisters. So, we're gonna have a blast.

Greg Spillane: 55:17

It's amazing. Yeah, I'm, um, I'm actually going to be meeting up with a bunch of my old college buddies here this this weekend, and we get together, you know, four or five, six times a year, whatever it is. And it's, it's wild. Like we we've part we party, like we're still in college. And I think I had the same conversation with my wife recently. Who by the way partakes she's she's having fun as much as anyone, but you're like, No, it's never gonna change. Like, why would it change if we're not find this fun in the future? Like we found it fun for the last 30 years like so. Anyways, Mike. Well, I appreciate it, buddy. It was great speaking with

Mike Reilly: 55:53

you. Hi, Greg, in you know what I still one of the most amazing things about you is when you first when you showed me the picture of your size and weight in the same day and the Aztec uniform? I go that's not Yeah, that's me. I could not believe I still to this day, and then look at you know, doing CrossFit and everything and and how big you were, but you had to be on the on the line. If you were the size today, you'd be You better be fast, because you'd be a tight end. Yeah.

Greg Spillane: 56:26

I think I have that anxiety dream. Yeah. I don't know if you ever had these sports, anxiety, cheers. But I'll have these dreams where all of a sudden, it's like I have to play in a game or something like that. And I can't find my helmet and I'm like, how am I gonna play? I'm like, 210 pounds. I'm gonna get crushed out. I'm gonna wake up in a cold sweat.

Mike Reilly: 56:47

I have them because I ran somewhere. You know, you go to sleep at night, my dad ran track at Ohio State. He actually ran on the same team with Jesse Owens, and he was a miler. And he would tell me about these dreams of running away from somebody chasing him and his legs would move. And I always thought, funny, and then that started to happen to me when I was on. I'd be running I go, Where's everybody going? And I was stuck in mud and it's the worst anxiety dream. You just can't go anywhere and nobody's leaving you. I've been there.