Most people watch the Olympics and see the result. Chari Hawkins lived two and a half decades of work to get there, and almost didn't make it. I sit down with US Olympian and world-class heptathlete Chari Hawkins for a wide-ranging conversation about what it actually takes to build mental toughness from scratch, compete at the highest level with a broken heart, and figure out who you are when the sport is no longer the whole answer.

This is not a highlight reel conversation. Chari is honest about the panic attacks, the identity crises, the years of therapy, the breakdowns under a tent at track meets, and the visualization breakthrough that got her to the 2024 Paris Olympics. She's also sharp, curious, and deeply thoughtful about what sport teaches you about life, not the other way around. If you've ever had to do hard things while scared, this one is for you.

What we explore:

• Why tying your identity to a single role, athlete, title, achievement, sets you up for a crisis the moment it ends.
• How Chari used a three-word visualization framework to silence the fear before the race that got her to Paris.
• Why mental toughness is not a personality trait, and what the actual work of building it looks like under pressure.
• What not winning a World Championship medal gave her that a podium finish never could have.
• How competition-day nutrition, breathwork, and sleep tools function as a performance system, and what happens when you get them wrong.

Chapter:

00:00 Intro

01:35 Why Competing Can Disconnect You From Yourself

10:56 Why She Chose the Heptathlon

16:49 How to Learn New Skills Faster Than Everyone Else

21:31 Sports Psychology Tools That Actually Work

36:28 How to Support Someone After Failure

49:25 The “See, Feel, Trust” Performance Technique

01:00:10 Parenting, Discipline, and Mental Strength

01:12:41 Peak Performance and Age in the Olympics

01:24:05 Bouncing Back After a Devastating Moment

01:34:46 What Losing Teaches You That Winning Can’t

01:36:54 What Athletes Eat on Competition Day

01:47:08 Balancing Training, Recovery, and Performance

01:51:05 A 30-Day Plan to Build Mental Strength

02:00:22 Sprint Training Mindset and Workouts

02:11:17 Overcoming Injury Fear and Recovery

02:17:33 Sleep, Travel, and Mental Recovery Tools

02:28:46 Future Goals and Final Lessons

About Chari Hawkins

Chari Hawkins is a US Olympic heptathlete who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics. One of the most mentally transparent athletes in track and field, she has spent over 20 years competing at the world-class level across seven events, from the 100 hurdles to the 800m, and has become as well known for her openness about the mental side of sport as she has for her performance. She is based in Utah and trains alongside her husband CJ, who serves as both her training partner and one of her closest sources of perspective.

Connect with Chari Hawkins

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_charihawkins/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@_charihawkins

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@_charihawkins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChariTrack

X: https://x.com/_charihawkins

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There’s a difference between looking strong… and actually being resilient.

In this conversation, I sat down with Kris Gethin—someone who has spent decades pushing the limits of performance, recovery, and discipline.

But what stood out to me isn’t just how hard he trains.

It’s how clearly he understands that real strength isn’t just physical.

It’s mental.

It’s behavioral.

And it’s built through the small decisions we make every day.

Kris didn’t come into this world through a perfect path.

He found training through injury, through losing his identity, and through having to rebuild himself from the ground up.

And that’s really what this conversation is about.

Not optimization for the sake of looking better.

But using discipline as a way to stabilize your life.

In this episode, we cover:

Why doing hard things first thing in the morning changes your entire day

The difference between physical strength and mental capacity

How community—not just programming—is what actually drives long-term change

Why most people struggle to change even when they want to

The role of identity in building (or breaking) consistency

How nutrition, sleep, and environment shape your ability to perform

The balance between intensity and recovery

And what it really means to be “harder to kill”

A bigger takeaway

A lot of people are chasing performance, success, or some version of “better.”

But if your system—your sleep, your stress, your habits—isn’t aligned…

Everything feels harder than it should.

Kris has a very direct way of saying it:

Do the hard things first.

Build resilience.

And stop negotiating with yourself.

CONNECT

Follow & Connect with Gabby Reece

Website: gabriellereece.com

Instagram: @gabbyreece

Podcast: The Gabby Reece Show

Follow & Connect with Kris Gethin

Website: krisgethin.com

Instagram: @krisgethin

Programs & Coaching: Available through his website and training platforms

Supplements: Unmatched Supps

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Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

Produced by Dear Media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, I talk with Anders Corbett, microbiome researcher and founder of Craft Microbiome, about how the bacteria living inside us may be influencing far more than we realize — from performance and recovery to cognition, mood, and long-term health.

Anders’ journey into microbiome science started at Harvard Medical School, where he sequenced his own microbiome as a former elite rower. What he discovered sparked a much bigger question: do elite athletes carry different microbial patterns than the rest of us?

That curiosity led him to study Olympic athletes, UFC fighters, NBA players, endurance competitors, and high-performing executives — identifying how certain bacterial strains correlate with inflammation control, lactate metabolism, testosterone signaling, VO₂ capacity, and stress resilience.

In this conversation, we explore the rapidly evolving science of the microbiome and human performance, including:

• How the microbiome shifts before and after elite competition

• Inflammation-reducing bacteria found in endurance athletes

• Growth-hormone–associated strains identified in sprinters

• Gut changes after concussive and non-concussive hits

• The gut-brain axis and its impact on mood and decision-making

• How bacteria influence dopamine and serotonin production

• Microbiome changes that tend to happen around 40 and again around 60

• Epigenetics and how microbes may turn genes on or off

• Why sunlight, soil exposure, and environment matter for microbial health

• How stress reshapes bacterial populations in the gut

• The future of performance-focused probiotic formulations

We also talk about something many of us overlook: how modern life — sterile environments, limited food diversity, chronic stress, antibiotics, travel, and poor sleep — may be reducing microbial diversity and resilience.

Anders shares practical ways to begin supporting your microbiome even if you’re not a professional athlete — including simple shifts that may improve sleep, digestion, recovery, focus, and energy.

This conversation bridges cutting-edge science with something more timeless: the idea that our bodies are ecosystems. And it raises a deeper question worth considering:

Who’s really in charge — you or your gut?

CONNECT WITH ANDERS

Craft Microbiome

https://craftmicrobiome.com

(Custom microbiome sequencing and consultations available)

CONNECT WITH ME

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabbyreece

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GabbyReece

If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who might benefit from it. Your support helps us keep these conversations going.

Produced by Dear Media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.