Episode 161 An Unlikely Olympian with Ruben Gonzalez (Part 1)

John talks with Ruben Gonzalez — 4-time Winter Olympian in luge, speaker, author, husband, and dad. Ruben competed in 4 different Olympics over four decades (1988, 1992, 2002, 2010), setting the record for most Winter Olympics competed by a single athlete. He plans to compete in the 2026 Olympics in Milan at age 60 to become the oldest Winter Olympian.

Listen to this episode to learn more:

[00:00] - Intro     

[01:16] - Competing in the Olympics over four decades    

[04:56] - Ruben’s TED talk

[11:27] - Ruben’s backstory of becoming “The Luge Man”

[14:34] - Ruben’s high school soccer experience

[16:12] - Ruben’s determination to pursue his Olympic dream

[23:24] - How Ruben supported himself between the Olympics with limited sponsorships

[25:52] - Failing and crashing as part of learning and improving       

[29:51] - Ruben’s dream to make a movie

[34:48] - How Ruben became a speaker

[37:02] - How finding a mentor and coach helped Ruben improve and succeed

[39:21] - The difference between mentors and coaches

[42:35] - Ruben discusses his adventure trips

NOTABLE QUOTES:

“Study the lives of great people. You figure out what works and what doesn’t work in life.” 

“Perseverance is key. All these successful people, they were a bunch of hard heads, just like me.”

“Follow your heart and take action. I quit my job and started my own business because I believed in myself.”

“Success is not about being the strongest or the fastest. It’s about perseverance and never giving up.”

“Listen to the advice of mentors and coaches. When I finally started listening and applying what my coach said, I started improving and achieving incredible things.” 

“You’re never too old to pursue your dreams. I competed in the Winter Olympics in five different decades and became the oldest Winter Olympian in history because I listened and applied what my coach said.” 

“If you give it all you got, then you know, the more you commit, the bigger the probability.”

“I’d rather eat pasta in Milan, Italy than an egg roll in China. I’ll be older and it’ll make the story better.”

“Don’t use your age as an excuse. Just go for it and make your life an adventure.”

“Failing is the only way we learn.”

“You don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t know what’s gonna hurt you. Find someone who’s been there.”

“I might not be able to tell you everything to do. But I can tell you an awful lot of what not to do. And that honestly is sometimes more valuable.”

USEFUL RESOURCES:

https://ruben-gonzalez.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelugeman/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruben-gonzalez-olympian/

https://www.facebook.com/thelugeman

https://twitter.com/TheLugeMan

https://ruben-gonzalez.com/product/the-shortcut-book/

Watch Ruben’s TED Talk: The Power of Following the Leader

CONNECT WITH JOHN

Website - https://thejohnhulen.com    

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen    

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen    

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen    

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen    

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA    

EPISODE CREDITS

Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/