Outworker
Stories of healing, personal development, and inner work. Founded on the idea that the relationship with oneself is the most important to develop, but the easiest to neglect, Outworker shares conversations aimed at helping you develop that relationship.
Outworker
#066 - Eric Hinman - Building An Intentional Life Through Wellness
Eric Hinman breaks down how being an only child shaped his gift for community building. From rowdy college parties to wellness-centered gatherings, that instinct to bring people together has only deepened. He shares his transformation from out-of-shape insurance salesman to elite Ironman athlete and how the pursuit of performance pushed him to rethink what health really means. We explore identity shifts, sustainable wellness, and building a life rooted in passion, autonomy, and intention—all while helping others do the same. Eric also unpacks how he’s built a life around content, brand partnerships, and advising early-stage wellness companies. Through it all, authenticity and community remain his greatest assets.
Timestamps:
00:00 Being An Only Child
04:24 Creating Shifts & Freshman Year Of College
08:26 Entering The Real World & Outlook On Life
12:37 Breaking Point For Getting Physically Fit
16:59 New Person, Old Environment
20:15 Unlearning Old Beliefs & Tendencies
24:54 Abusing Fitness
29:03 Working Out To Feel Good
31:54 Living Within Flow State
35:02 Difference Between Fitness & Wellness
36:30 Is It Possible To Abuse Wellness?
39:01 Sticking To The Basics
44:17 Taking All Meetings In The Sauna
45:33 Setting The Standard
47:22 Hybrid Influencer-Brand Consultant
50:58 Balancing EQ & IQ In Business
56:38 Future Of Health & Wellness Brands
58:26 Eric's Next Iteration & Aligning With Your Body Intelligence
1:01:51 Connect With Eric Hinman
Thank you so much for listening. I truly appreciate your time and support. Let me know what you thought of the episode and what you would like to see in the future. Any feedback would be awesome. Don't forget to subscribe for more exciting content on YouTube, and leave a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever platform you are listening on.
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What’s up outworkers. Eric Hinman breaks down how being an only child shaped his gift for community building. From rowdy college parties to wellness-centered gatherings, that instinct to bring people together has only deepened. He shares his transformation from out-of-shape insurance salesman to elite Ironman athlete and how the pursuit of performance pushed him to rethink what health really means. We explore identity shifts, sustainable wellness, and building a life rooted in passion, autonomy, and intention—all while helping others do the same. Eric also unpacks how he’s built a life around content, brand partnerships, and advising early-stage wellness companies. Through it all, authenticity and community remain his greatest assets.
Tim Doyle (00:06.52)
I'm always fascinated by people who are an only child. So I'd love to start there.
Eric (00:10.449)
Yeah, I am an only child. That is indeed true. And I certainly think that has contributed to many of the factors of who I am. So one of the things I love doing is hosting people in a memorable way. And I think that really dates back to my childhood where I didn't have brothers and sisters to, you know, be able to entertain me. So I always had friends over to my parents' house to play basketball and ping pong and
I so looked forward to like inviting friends to go out on my dad's boat to go fishing and camping when I was a kid. And then in college, I hosted massive parties and, you know, left most people probably with a hangover, but certainly a memory of some kind. And more recently, you know, I love hosting people for hard workouts and contrast therapy sessions. And I guess I also really enjoy seeing
people that I connected, not even so much introduced, but just brought together in the same environment and seeing them go off and be friends with each other and have thriving relationships and oftentimes business relationships too. So yeah, I get a lot of joy out of that. I think it's also contributed to being an entrepreneur and just like, I like doing things where I'm in control.
I like having my own businesses. like competing in sports where the purposeful progress is directly correlated to the results. And I am the one who's responsible for whether I work hard or don't work hard that day. So, you know, I think some of that stems from just from being an only child as well. But yeah, I mean, I've never felt lonely. I've always surrounded myself with lots of people and sometimes probably too many people and no sense of loneliness at all. And being an only child, I'm
kind of grateful that's what my upbringing was.
Tim Doyle (02:02.868)
interesting. So do you think it just came really, really natural to you for just being this person for bringing people together? Or do you think maybe on an unconscious level, it was a little bit of like, hey, I'm an only child. So I do want to bring people around me.
Eric (02:18.373)
Yeah, I'm sure there was some unconscious to it of just creating my own community because I didn't have that built in community with a big family. And, you know, I also like with all of the, well, I would say in college, I came out of my shell in high school. You know, I played team sports, you know, I wouldn't say I was the life of the party, but again, I did have people over to my house all the time in college. That's when I started to become more of the life of the party and, know, really wanted to like.
curate experiences for people and have a hundred people over to our house and play beer pong and all sorts of drinking games. And then in the last five years, I've really done that in a wellness way. Having a sauna and ice barrel in our backyard that we call Muscle Mountain, having our backyard being a gym, building a house in Austin that's gonna be a community hub. Now I really love hosting in that wellness way. And again, yeah, I just see like,
So many friendships blossom from it. And, you know, I was just in New York City at this high rocks race and a lot of people came up to me and, you know, from just like the digital community, they were like, Hey man, you got me into high rocks. Hey, you got me running again. Hey, I joined a CrossFit gym because of you. Hey, I'm training for my first Ironman. You know, that's community as well. And, know, you know, God bless social media for the ability to.
you know, inspire people to live a life filled with their passions, whatever that may be.
Tim Doyle (03:48.462)
You're a man who has experienced but also created a lot of shifts within his life and the overarching theme of your story or what people point to. Okay, you were this insurance salesman out of shape and then you transition into this fitness performance social media guy like incredible transformation. But when I look at your story and your life as a whole, there are a lot of smaller shifts as well. Like it's a common theme and thread throughout your
entire life. the first one that I want to go to actually the first shift and you were talking about it there how you came out of your shell in college. I want to go to your freshman year. You weren't performing as well as you could have been and you were partying partying too much lower GPA than you could have had. And so your dad bribes you with a jet boat to turn the ship around so to speak. How did
Eric (04:34.319)
Yeah.
Tim Doyle (04:47.564)
that first shift shape you and getting out of that hole and sort of, guess, turning your mindset around in your work ethic.
Eric (04:55.675)
Yeah, great questions and good find. You dug deep for that one. So freshman year of college, Geneseo, I had like a 2.2 GPA that first semester. And it was honestly the first time in my life that I really felt like I both failed myself and failed my parents. You they were so disappointed in me. I was so disappointed in myself. You know, they were paying for my college education and I didn't really have a taste of the party life in high school.
My parents were pretty strict and a lot of my friends were partying in high school, but I wasn't allowed to go to a lot of those parties. So, you know, I go to SUNY Geneseo and I'm just set free. have no guardrails and, you know, of course I'm going to just take it to the extreme. I guess I've always been kind of an extreme person with whatever it is for good and for bad. So yeah, that first semester, freshman year, man, I was doing shots of Goldschlager every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And I was not.
going to classes, I was sleeping in because I was so hungover. And yeah, I mean, the results spoke for, you know, my compounding consistency of just being an idiot and partying way too much. So, you know, my dad said, hey, if you can get on the Dean's List, I'll get you a jet boat. And like that was some tremendous motivation. I also was just motivated beyond that too, like
I didn't want to disappoint myself and I didn't want to disappoint my parents. And I knew that I didn't perform to the best of my ability. So I go back second semester, freshman year, you know, really curb my partying. It was spending four or five hours in the library every single day studying. And I ended up getting a 4.0, got the jet boat and I was on the Dean's List every semester thereafter from that second semester freshman year on through the remainder of college.
So yeah, I mean, that was just like a kick in the ass of like, and a reminder of like compound inconsistencies. You know, it's not that one decision we make. It's not that one night that we go out and party, but it's the result of doing that day in and day out. And they both snowball, you know, if you're in the library studying for several hours each day, you avoid that party. You probably sleep a lot better that night. You know, you have more mental clarity, mental acuity the next day to be able to study again.
Eric (07:13.957)
you know, it just snowballs into something that massively different than the going out late, partying, sleeping in, missing class, only going to the library for 30 minutes, you know, not having any creativity or mental acuity or energy to be able to study or listen. And, know, both of those just, produce two very different outcomes. So I think that was my first taste of like how things compound over time, just little decisions daily, how they can take you on two very, very different paths.
Tim Doyle (07:42.646)
Yeah, it's all about stacking days. It's not necessarily about just accomplishing goals, but just am I getting better and am I sticking to what I did yesterday? So fast forward to getting out of college, you start to work in property and casualty insurance. that time, was that genuinely what you wanted to do coming out of college or what was your mindset entering into the real world and starting that work?
Eric (07:44.866)
Exactly.
Eric (08:09.297)
I wanted to make a bunch of money so I could get a BMW 3 Series. I could get a Xenia suit. I could have pocket squares and nice ties, Breitling watch. Like that's what I was motivated by when I got out of college. And insurance seemed like the best opportunity for me because my father was the manager of a small mutual insurance company. He gave me a small salary and a company car and basically set me off on my own to go sell insurance. And
The first year was hard. was young, trying to sell insurance to 60 year olds that own businesses. Why would they trust me? Once I started focusing on a niche, which was specifically campgrounds and marinas, I started building a book of business around those niches and I was able to name drop. I was able to say, I ensure Bobby, Debbie, and Billy down the road who own campground A, and C.
you I able to save them some money and better their coverage. Would you be interested in a quote? And when I started doing that, things clicked and I was able to just replicate that for seven years. And I built a really nice book of business over a seven year period. And I'm very, very grateful that my father gave me that opportunity and pointed me in that direction because it's residual income. I actually still own that business today. My father ironically runs it for me now and has for the last four or five years.
The business has been on autopilot since like 2009 when I hired someone to run it for me. But, know, residual income where you work hard upfront, you get the commission, you get paid the same amount of commission every single year thereafter. And it obviously just stacks. you know, really grateful that I wasn't just trading time for money during that time period. It was not my passion and purpose at all. I just wanted to make good money so that I could then move on to do some things that I was passionate about.
And you'll probably ask this question next, but my next business was software. And that was something that I was pretty passionate about. It was building mobile applications when the iPhone, you know, I'm dating myself here. But when the iPhone first came out back in like 2008, 2009, my business partner and I were building mobile applications and we ended up attracting a lot of businesses that wanted us to build applications for them. So we partnered with five Syracuse University students who are super bright, really good with
Eric (10:32.161)
building iPhone apps and designing iPhone apps. And for four years, I was in the software space building mobile applications. And that was my first taste of like doing something that I both enjoyed and, you know, was able to make money doing. And every business I've had thereafter has been more and more aligned with like how I really want to live my life to, you know, today where I'm just living my life and, know, I'm not doing business with people that I don't want to do business with and I'm not.
I'm not trading time for money. I'm living my life, I'm working out, I'm creating content for brands that I enjoy partnering with, I'm investing in brands that I enjoy partnering with, and I'm able to just do exactly what I wanna do each day and monetize a portion of that.
Tim Doyle (11:20.12)
So back then when you start to see some success and growth on the insurance side of things and then the software side of things, that starts to go up, but your physical health and physical fitness is stagnant or you could even say is declining. What was the breaking point for you realizing that and knowing you needed to make a change?
Eric (11:43.505)
Yeah, the breaking point was my aesthetic, the way I looked. I was on a vacation in Lake George, New York, and I looked down at my arm. was wearing kind of a tight shirt and I had like this layer of fat that was just hanging out from my shirt, from my bicep. I weighed like 205 pounds at that time, you know, probably 20 plus percent body fat. And I just kind of felt like a slob. So after that trip, I hired a personal trainer.
and committed to six months of five days a week doing 30 minute workouts with him at 6 a.m. And over that six month period, mean, I wasn't checking my body fat religiously then, but I bet I went from 22 or 23 % down to like 14 % over that six month period. I changed my diet, I was really committed. And also during that time period, and he had me doing CrossFit type workouts before I knew what CrossFit was. So I was lifting moderately heavy weights and then,
At the end, was doing conditioning stuff like row intervals and there was an indoor track, so running intervals. And around that same time, I started running again, signed up for a nine mile race, the Utica Boilermaker 15K, and also met a bunch of friends who were competing in the Syracuse Half Ironman. So I bought a bike and started biking with them and then signed up for my first sprint distance triathlon. And like over a two year period.
You know, I went from that out of shape insurance salesman to signing up for a half iron man and competing in my first half iron man. So it was a two year, you know, change where I slowly, you know, got out of drinking, partying, eating unhealthy training, biking, triathlon. And then after two years, so this is like 2008 to 2010, 2010, 11, I hired a triathlon coach and then I started taking triathlon very seriously.
with the goal of getting to the Ironman World Championships. But it was two years where I kind of still had a foot in of just like having wine here and there and staying out late, partying maybe one day a week. By 2010, 2011, I really wasn't eating unhealthy ever. I wasn't drinking anymore. I was very, very committed to triathlon. And then 2011 to 2014, I was super strict with everything. That's probably.
Eric (14:01.573)
the most dialed in period of time that I've ever had in my life.
Tim Doyle (14:06.486)
And you just felt like that was a natural unfolding? Or did it get to a point where you were consciously like, like, this is what I'm going to go.
Eric (14:17.495)
It was a natural unfolding. It certainly didn't happen like after my first sprint distance triathlon. You know, I just wanted to do another sprint and I wanted to get a little faster running. And then I wanted to do a half iron man. And it was after that first half iron man that I said, like, cause I just, my progress was just like this curve going up. And I'm like, man, I think I can be really good at this sport. So then hired the coach and in hiring the coach, you know, I just continued to progress and started.
coming in top five in local races and then Ironman Lake Placid 2012. That was my first Ironman. I was one spot and one minute away from qualifying for the Ironman World Championships. The guy who got the final spot, he passed me at mile 25 on the run. I saw his age on his leg and I didn't know at the time what place I was in or how many spots even there would be for Kona but.
Turns out he was that last qualifying spot. There was nothing I could do. I was smashed at the end of that race. But the next year, 2013, 2014 qualified. I would say 2011 is when I really started visualizing like every training session, being at Kona. You know, I was, I definitely had that goal at that time. I was enjoying the progress and enjoying the training and enjoying the racing.
but I definitely was always thinking about like, really want to get to Kona. I want to prove to myself that I can be world-class at something.
Tim Doyle (15:43.374)
When you did become this evolved version of yourself, so to speak, and you're still living in New York, how did you navigate the thought and the feeling of like, okay, I'm this new person, but I'm still in my old life or I'm still in this environment that doesn't represent
Eric (16:02.041)
Yeah, was definitely a phasing into a new life and friend group and phasing out of an old life and old friend group. There was no one moment where it was just cold turkey from one to the other. It was gradually starting to say no to going out and partying, starting to say no to that glass of wine at night, starting to say no to that pasta dinner with dessert afterwards, and then starting to say yes to...
6 a.m. runs and 6 a.m. bikes and CrossFit workouts at, 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. So I would say it was just a general like yes to these, no to these, and then it's just amazing, you know, the gravitational pull when you start to make that shift.
to like all hell yeses in this and all hell nos in that. So I eventually got to that point where I was very decisive on that's a hell no, that's a hell yes. And it got to the point where, you know, my old friends, they knew not to ask me to go to the party, to have the glass of wine. They just knew that I was on this new path. And honestly, like they were really inspired and they were stoked for me. You know, they saw my...
progress in triathlon and they wanted to see me succeed in that. So I didn't really ever have that feeling of like pressure to conform to my old friends. They were pretty understanding. And you know, then I also had this new friend group that, you know, I was pretty committed to and I had this new environment that I was in, you know, over time though, I definitely outgrew Syracuse and even outgrew that triathlon friend group. You know, when I came to Colorado,
I experienced what I was doing, but at a much higher level and recognized that there was going to be a much higher ceiling if I was in Colorado. You know, the sun shining every day, access to the mountains, elite cyclists, elite triathletes training here, elite triathlon clubs and cycling groups and run groups and gyms. So when I, when I came out here, I'm like, shit, like now I get why they're so good. Their ceiling is higher than what my ceiling is in Syracuse.
Tim Doyle (18:14.328)
Yeah.
Eric (18:15.173)
I got to go be around people that are doing Leadville every year and, you know, targeting 250 mile races. They're just going to up my limit. And, you know, now when I bring new people into my friend group here, they're just like, this, all your friends do Leadville. Like your buddy's doing a 250 mile race next weekend. He won the high rocks world championships. That's your CrossFit games athlete, you know, like all my friends are at a high level in, in athletics now. And it's normalized for me.
Tim Doyle (18:29.538)
You
Tim Doyle (18:39.31)
Yeah.
Eric (18:44.561)
But when I was in Syracuse, if I were around those type of people, they would have seemed like outliers at the time. So yeah, just like a major lesson in life that if you wanna be an outlier, go where the outliers are in whatever you're trying to achieve.
Tim Doyle (18:59.32)
You're clearly a hardworking, determined person. But what I find interesting is you said there was a point in your life from 2014 to 2019 where the perception of what you were doing and the perception of your life was just playing. And I found it interesting how your Instagram bio used to be at the time. And maybe it went to this perception as well, retired at 34, exploring the world most days shirtless. So that probably played a little bit of a role in it too.
Eric (19:23.953)
Yeah.
For sure.
Tim Doyle (19:27.426)
Do you feel like you needed to unlearn any tendencies or ways of life when you went from Syracuse to Colorado or did it feel just like a natural alignment right from the start?
Eric (19:40.419)
No, I definitely had to give up some old tendencies. I mean, I was brought up in a very blue collar, hardworking family where you show that you're working hard. my parents definitely, mean, God bless them. They certainly taught me to work hard. And I thank them for so many of the opportunities they gave me. But I think that their parents taught them coming from the Great Depression that like,
You know, you need to work hard. You need to show that you're working hard. Like don't show that you have too much. Don't show that you're playing too much. And when I came to Colorado, you know, I definitely have pressure from my parents that, know, like, Hey, you're not working anymore. What's going on? Like, don't post that on social media. Like you don't want to show your insurance clients that, know, that you're playing throughout the day that you're hiking mountains. And, you know, I've listened to my parents a lot of times in my life, but I didn't listen to them on that. And, you know, I think they would say now like,
Okay, we get it. Like you've built this incredible business around content. You you saw where the puck was going. We didn't. And you know, now I've built, you know, my biggest business I've ever built around content creation, which stemmed from that early chapter of Colorado and learning photography, learning videography, and, know, just being around other people who, you know, were really just aligned with their passions, which were wellness. were professional athletes. They were doing something that they were good at in the wellness space.
and they were able to build a community around that. And then obviously eyeballs audience. And ultimately you can monetize that through brands that want to align with that audience you have. But yeah, I had to unlearn that, you know, like I need to have a suit and tie on every single day. I need to show that I'm working from nine to five. I need to be seated on my computer doing something. You know, I really feel like my superpower is connecting people and
you know, just sharing a aspirational lifestyle that others are interested in emulates, emulating small pieces of that's my superpower. My superpower isn't, you know, suit and tie sitting at a computer, like sending emails and building systems and programming and stuff like that. And, you know, I think that's the box they wanted to pigeonhole me into just because that's what they saw work as. And, you know, when I came here to Colorado, I envisioned work and play coexisting simultaneously.
Tim Doyle (22:06.862)
Do think there was somebody externally that you look to to try to emulate maybe at the start or like, that's somebody I really look to who inspires me and I'm trying to do the same or was it just like deeply, deeply internal for you?
Eric (22:22.129)
No, there were other people. I I saw this opportunity of being able to create content and make money from creating the content for brands, know, dating back to 2012, 13, 14, even my Ironman years, saw it. You know, I think then it was more professional athletes, like seeing some of the pro triathletes and how they were able to, you know, monetize their passion and their excellence in the sport. And then when I moved to Colorado, I met more people who were just creators rather than
You know, they were very good athletes, but you know, they weren't a professional athlete getting paid by winning competitions. They were getting paid more from sponsors by just creating amazing content. I wouldn't say there was any one person. It was just like a bucket of people that I was now surrounded with. And you know, also out here, like so many of my friends own their own businesses, whether it's gyms or coaching services. So I saw that too as like, hey, you know, with this, you know,
social media, you can, you're able to reach an audience and you're able to sell products and services to them. So, you know, I can have my own brand and my own business built around my brand, whether it's my own products and services or, you know, promoting other people's products and services that I enjoy.
Tim Doyle (23:38.232)
thing that I'm most interested about when it comes to you and your Iron Man days is the thing that I guess you struggle with the most actually. And I think it's something that doesn't get talked about enough is people's relationship with fitness and how you can abuse it in an unhealthy manner. Can you talk more about that?
Eric (23:56.369)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I definitely got addicted to the David Goggins approach of just go more extreme, pound yourself into the ground, more extreme, pound yourself into the ground, you know, prove that you can go harder and further than anyone else out there. And, you know, I did that to a fault where I was abusing exercise both to like prove to myself that I was macho. And also, like, that's how I was getting my dopamine hits was
by going faster, harder, longer. And I tore my MCL in 2016 from over training. There was a period of time where for about two years, like 2015 to 2017, every day going into the gym, I kind of felt like something was gonna go. Like I was always working around something, something was always bothering me. And it wasn't the fault of triathlon or CrossFit, it was the fault of myself, just massively over training.
And when I moved to Colorado and I got into contrast therapy, all of a sudden I had this new outlet to get that same like sense of community, that same dopamine hit, that same high, but with recovery as opposed to another workout. You know, for four years I was doing three workouts a day and it was just way too much. And then I moved to Colorado and you know, doing two workouts a day and then contrast therapy in the evening.
And I started to feel just way better, but still like it got that high from something and was able to meet people, which is what I enjoyed so much about a lot of the exercise I was doing was that sense of community. So yeah, it's a slippery slope. And I really think endurance specifically is the slipperiest slope of them all because
you can just keep going further. You do an Ironman, you can do a double Ironman, you can do an Ultraman, you run 100 miles, you can do a 250, you can do a 300. And I think we're inclined, especially with a type A personality, to see how far we can take it. But sometimes taking it that far is unhealthy for us, both in the short term and long term. I don't wanna have back surgeries and knee surgeries and hip replacements.
Eric (26:13.553)
I want to do what I'm doing right now when I'm 75 and not be complaining every day about having some issues. you know, luckily I think I caught that early enough that while I still train more than is necessary for sure, and probably still am over training to some degree, you know, what I do now, I can back up day in and day out. And I very rarely feel like banged up or.
You know, I'm not waking up in the morning feeling smashed and there was a two to three year period where most mornings I was waking up and I was like fuck I gotta go down the stairs This is you know, my hips are gonna hurt shit's gonna hurt and you know, I'm going to the gym I gotta work around something
Tim Doyle (26:55.308)
be really tough though at the start though, because going from insurance salesman out of shape, maybe not loving, you know, your way of life to becoming physically fit, performance driven social media, like, that's the easy shift to make, I think it becomes a lot harder when you're in a lane of your life that you still like really enjoy. But then you have the realization of like, this might not be serving me in my best interest. And then navigating that can be
really tough, especially when it comes to your identity. And the thing that I find so fascinating, know, bringing the endurance into it as well. I know, you know who he is, James Lawrence. I had him on the show. And when he was talking about the conquer 100, how he said that wasn't the toughest part, the recovery process and how long it took to recover from that. was like, oh my gosh. And yeah. So for you, and I think it gets more so into this whole philosophy behind
Eric (27:44.698)
after.
Yeah.
Tim Doyle (27:54.87)
wellness, how do you think you lead strictly from a place of feeling that?
Eric (28:01.785)
I am looking to replicate perfect days. mean, that is the feeling that I'm looking to replicate. And I know what amount of exercise in general I can do that I can back up again the next day. With that said, I'm training for certain things that force me to, you know, go above and beyond that at times. Like as I ramp up for Leadville, I'm doing five hour bikes, six hour bikes.
I don't feel great after doing that. know, leading into these high rocks world championships, you know, I'm running a bit more than is good for me and good for me to be able to back up day in and day out. I'm a little achier right now, literally as I sit here in this chair, than I would like to be. But you know, I'm kind of like flirting with that fine line of peak fitness and injury at the moment to show up to those two things at peak fitness.
And I think I know where that line is and not to cross it, but I like to be well below that line at most other times throughout the year and not playing with fire. I would say nine months out of the year, 15 to 20 % below that line, there's just like small segments of time where I'm right up against that line because I'm preparing for a certain event.
know, every once in a while I'll throw in some obstacles that I know are going to, you know, it's not replicating my perfect day, but I still like to have things that scare me a little bit. Like this year, I just did rim to rim to rim. Like that was scary for me. That was beyond my capability. That was not something I trained specifically for. And that was something where I suffered for the last few hours of that. Like I was wishing I...
didn't do it. I had said no, like I just wanted a helicopter to pick me up. But you know, ultimately, like I know I can get through it. And I know it's gonna make me a tougher person. But I'm not doing that every weekend. And, you know, I'm not, I'm not even doing that every year. Like Leadville for me, I can, I can exercise the day after Leadville. I feel fine. I ran nine miles after high rocks this past weekend, I feel fine after that. So, you know, even though some of these would be perceived extreme in most people's eyes, like
Eric (30:24.293)
You know, I've built this brick house that is used to withstanding this hurricane that hits it. But I know like what hurricane wins, can't subject myself to like the rim to rim to rim where it is gonna, you know, mess up my day and mess up the next few days.
Tim Doyle (30:39.928)
Something I've heard you talk a lot about and it seems like you have a great appreciation for is flow state. What's your relationship with flow look like and how you're always trying to live within that state.
Eric (30:51.397)
Yeah, I mean, trying to do everything in my power to produce flow every day in a structured way, like knowing when to work out, knowing how long to work out, knowing when to schedule my calls and podcasts for because my mind is going to be really sharp coming off that workout, knowing when, you know, I'm going to be burned out from calls, doing creative work and when I need to like get out in the mountains and just create space.
I'm doing that recovery every single night, contrast therapy where I have people over, flow state conversations, and then getting enough sleep. mean, sleep is like the best performance enhancing natural drug out there where you get enough sleep, like you wake up the next day feeling refreshed, ready to physically, mentally, emotionally achieve at a high level again the next day. So I also make sure that I wind down at night. don't do...
you know, highly stimulating things late at night so that I can get good sleep and wake up again the next day and rinse and repeat. But yeah, I would encourage everyone to, you know, time block in a way that produces flow. Like I really feel like you need to do certain things for long enough that you get into the flow with them. Like for example, you know, most of my runs, it takes me one to two miles. So seven to 14 minutes.
to really like get into a groove with it, to be like, I'm stoked I'm doing this right now. Usually the first couple of miles, I'm like, I don't really wanna do this, my body's not feeling great doing this. I feel like running is an anomaly of everything I do because you're just like immediately in it where when I go to the gym, I can start with back squatting 95 pounds and then go to 135 and then 185, then 225, then 275, then 315. I can work my way into something.
that my nervous system then is like, oh, okay, no big deal. We worked our way up to it. But running, just feel like instantly your nervous system is like, fuck, we're going again. All right, let's do this. But it takes me, yeah, like 14 minutes to drop into it. And same with anything, whether it's a conversation, you know, creating content on social media. Like, I like to give myself blocks of time to really like focus on that one thing for that one period of time, and then cold turkey, and then onto the next thing.
Eric (33:04.619)
And I do that with life too. Like I think that's why I've been able to be successful at certain things is because I focus on them. I focus on them for long enough with no distractions to get good at them. And then when it no longer serves me like Iron Man, like I'm out and I'm into the next thing. And, you know, I'm doing that for, you know, five to 10 years to try and master it.
Tim Doyle (33:26.572)
my hot take is, it seems like wellness has become a hot term. And obviously the activities that go into wellness have grown exponentially. My hot take is, and I don't know if this won't happen anytime soon, but I think fitness is going to become an obsolete term. Maybe that's, you know, 30 or 50 years from now. What do you think the main differences between fitness and wellness?
Eric (33:53.433)
I mean, I fitness is just one component of wellness. think there's a lot of different spokes on the wheel when it comes to wellness. Fitness is one, diet is one, sleep is one, recovery is one, community is one, relationships, limiting stress, limiting friction in your life to do the things that you want to do. Like all of these things contribute to wellness. So yeah, I think fitness is just one of the, one of the spokes in the wheel. I think it's a,
Tim Doyle (33:57.08)
Yeah.
Eric (34:23.703)
An important one, like fitness for me was at the top of the food chain when I got into wellness. Like that was the first thing that I mastered. And I think it yields one of the biggest returns of all of the different spokes in that wheel. But, you know, diet is an important one. Sleep is an important one. Community, relationship, they're all very important ones. Fitness for me, I think, led to success in a lot of the other ones.
You know, it allowed me to meet people and find community and shared passions in my tribe. You know, I got better sleep because I was exerting myself each day. I made better eating decisions because I wanted to improve my performance. So, you know, I do think fitness is one of the most important, you know, spokes of that wellness wheel.
Tim Doyle (35:16.632)
building off the idea of abusing fitness and what that looks like. In any way, you think it's a, do you think it's possible to abuse wellness?
Eric (35:27.828)
I mean, if you go too extreme with any of those, yeah, I mean, I would say that with anything in life. If you're too much of an outlier with any of those, you're probably unhealthy with it, you know? Someone running 300 miles every weekend, that's an outlier in the ultra world. Like, I would argue that probably is gonna have some long-term negative effects.
you know, someone who's very strict, like a bodybuilder with whatever their diet is preparing for a show. They're an outlier. you know, I would probably most bodybuilders would tell you like that is unhealthy and is unsustainable. So yeah, I do think that you can take it to an extreme in each of those different verticals that make up wellness. I think it's best to be, you know, more well-rounded and more like
20 % under whatever that ceiling is and everything.
Tim Doyle (36:27.694)
The way that I see it as well when it comes from a perspective of abuse isn't necessarily always doing too much, but it's also when you miss those activities or you're not able to get into it and then you get into this like stressed out state. And I've definitely experienced that before, whether it's like missing something on my nutrition or missing a workout, is that something that
Eric (36:39.409)
Beat yourself up.
Tim Doyle (36:52.064)
you think you have a pretty good handle on or do you ever struggle with if you feel like, my schedule and my structure is going to be off, you know, for this day.
Eric (36:59.621)
Yeah, great question. I'm getting better at it. I'm getting better at, you know, if I miss that afternoon bike ride that I was planning on doing, not beating myself up over it. If I take a full rest day and wasn't planning on taking a full rest day, I'm getting better about not beating myself up on it. But I still am very, like, I have to do something physical, mental, emotional. I have to push the ball forward.
in order to feel like I checked the box of achievement for the day. I still am wired that way. I'm getting better at not being as wired that way, but I'm still definitely wired that way.
Tim Doyle (37:41.644)
the exact same way. So you're in good company. Yeah, I mean, it's it's tough. I mean, it's not necessarily a bad thing. But it's, it's really tough. Is there anything that you see when it comes to either fitness, wellness, general health modalities where you see something that's really beneficial that most see as taboo or on the other side of things like something that's become really popular that like you just don't get
Eric (38:11.813)
I mean, I'm into the biohacking stuff, but I think some of it is a little too extreme. If you don't have the basics down, you know, you're always going to get the most bang for your buck by exerting yourself, you know, by lifting moderately heavy weights, by elevating your heart rate, by getting good sleep, by eating mainly single ingredient foods source from nature closer to the source, the better.
finding community, like I think all of those, that's where you get the most bang for your buck. Can you get a little more out of biohacking supplements, some of these other things? Yeah, but they're not the magic thing. I mean, I'm amazed how many people message me asking about what supplements are you taking, like different things where they think I'm getting the most of my benefit when I'm like,
Dude, I'm getting most of my benefit because I've worked out twice a year for 16 years. That's why I look the way I do. It's not some magic pill I took. It's from the compounding consistency of just being unremarkable, but unremarkable often, you know? Not just like shining one day a week.
So I would say that's one of the biggest taboos is just looking for that secret when the secret is just the compounding consistencies of doing the basics. And that is going to make you superhuman over time. I mean, some of the things that have given me tremendous bang for my buck is contrast therapy. Like having access to my sauna and cold exposure, doing that every night. know, physically it helps so much with inflammation, but also just like,
hosting, meeting people, like community. I feel like I check a ton of different boxes by doing those two things every single day. So I would 100 % say that gives me tremendous benefit. And then like on the supplement front, I look at things that lead to a certain behavior as the ones that are the most powerful. So, you know, let's say caffeine or some kind of nootropic, you know, that leads me to hit a hard workout. That leads me to then have really good conversations. It just leads me on this.
Eric (40:24.433)
snowball of positive things. Taking magnesium, L-theanine, I take melatonin, things that make me help me sleep better that then produce a really positive next day. I believe in those things that do that. The other things, yeah, mean, all of them incrementally add up, but only if you're doing the basics first. Dial those in first and then look at these other things as...
You know, I'll get half a percent here, half a percent here, half a percent here.
Tim Doyle (40:57.506)
Yeah, supplements are called supplements for a reason. They're supposed to be supplementing like something else rather than being like your base. Have you ever been a meditation guy at all?
Eric (41:02.789)
Yeah, exactly.
Eric (41:08.633)
Not in the traditional sense of the word. I don't have a structured meditation routine. With that said, I get a deep tissue massage generally every other week. And for me, the checking out for 90 minutes is just as important as the physical recovery aspect of it. I always just am able to think so creatively during that time period. I really consider like my mountain bike rides, my runs, I do most of those by myself.
and I often listen to one song on repeat and just let my mind go wherever it wants. I consider those my moving meditation. I mean, ultimately, like 2010 to 2014, I did a lot of my training in solitude and I feel like I designed my life now then. Like I had so much time alone. I had the ability to just clearly think with no distractions that I was able to design this life I have now during that time period.
where I was able to start eliminating all of these distractions and building my life around things that I really wanted to build my life around. So I consider, you know, my exercise, my meditation, I consider the deep tissue massage I get as meditation. I do red light therapy. have my red light therapy bed right here. I do that for at least 20 minutes a day. I'll generally just have like a podcast on during it, but oftentimes again, I'm just kind of like letting my mind go where it wants during that time period. So I do think like,
having space is so important. Like I love my trips to New York City and Austin, but if I'm in the mix for too long, I just feel overstimulated. There's too many options. I have too many people hitting me up and I don't have the time to like make sense of all of it. So, you know, I love Colorado for that reason of being able to go to the mountains and just like be in solitude and make something of all of the...
you know, things people have messaged me about, all of the ideas, all of the experiences, and let them all marinate and then something comes from it.
Tim Doyle (43:08.834)
really interesting component to your lifestyle that I heard you talk about is how you take all in person meetings in your sauna. Talk to me about that.
Eric (43:19.249)
Yeah, I mean, I used to be the traditional like, you know, drinks, dinners, coffee shops. And, you know, now when people message me, I'm like, come over 5pm Wednesday. I have four other people coming over on Wednesday. Like it'll be a great conversation. I just feel like the sauna is such an amazing place to have really deep conversations. You know, your endorphins are racing just like they would be from a workout. Your phone's going to overheat. So you're, there's no distractions and you know, I'm going to do it anyways.
and I'm gonna be present with people during that time period. I've also learned intention. If someone wants to work out with me, I'm not gonna be intentional with them in having a conversation with them. That workout for me is my primary focus. I wanna get a good workout in, because I'm training for things. If I'm going for a run, I wanna get a good run in, because I'm training for high rocks. When I'm in the sauna, my intention is having great conversations with people. I like...
that as well because I want to be intentional with people and I want to give the most amount of value that I possibly can and I know I won't in other formats that people may message me, you know, asking me to do that with them.
Tim Doyle (44:28.504)
How much does it feel like you have really led the charge here where like I'm going to set the standard where that's the thing? Because I feel like with a lot of this stuff, people could potentially be like, what are we doing here? But like it takes somebody like you to be like, no, I'm creating something muscle mountain, come over and like, this is what we're doing.
Eric (44:48.113)
Yeah, mean, again, it wasn't one defining moment where I said, I'm going to start living this life of intention and purpose. It just kind of happened over time where I started recognizing the environments I was completely present in, the conversations where I was completely present. Like, what led to that? What was the conversation topic? What was the environment? Why was my mind so sharp during that time period?
Tim Doyle (44:57.059)
Yeah.
Eric (45:15.545)
I just started putting all of these pieces together and over time I've been able to figure out, here's what works best for me and I think will work best for you as well. I think this also goes back to being an only child. Like, yeah, I do like things to be somewhat on my terms, but I feel like instead of that coming across as selfish, it comes across as like, this person is living with intention and
I would much rather do something where he's intentional with me rather than something where he's just not present with me at all. So I've just tried to build my life around I'm present in the activities I'm doing, I'm present with the people I'm with and just kind of time blocked in that way where I know I'm gonna be giving it my all whether it's for me or whether it's for the people I'm with at the time.
Tim Doyle (46:09.58)
Yeah, I mean, that definitely comes through in your energy and the way that you talk about it and shifting things over to the business side of things now and how everything has evolved for you, evolved for you there. mean, obviously social media influencers and social media in general, when it comes to health and wellness has become just such a major factor and like a necessity for the space.
Obviously a lot of social media influencers who get sponsorship and ambassador deals, but you're at this really interesting intersection where it's like part your own person and influencer, but also brand partner and consultant. How did that all come to be?
Eric (46:52.945)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, it evolved over the years. You know, I mean, I'm an entrepreneur and business owner first, and then I got into, you know, athletics while also managing multiple businesses. So my background insurance, software, restaurants, gyms, and then content. So I had a bunch of these other businesses that I either started myself or co-founded prior to building this business around, you know, creating content, being an influencer.
and kind of being a digital marketing consultant for brands. So, you know, when I first got into this, it was very much sponsorship. So it was in my Ironman years when a bike company would be like, Hey, we want you riding our bike or, we want you using our gels. And then, you know, when I phased out of triathlon, it became more about, you know, creating content for brands and nut butter company saying, Hey, you know, will you post about this nut butter for us? And I love almond butter. So I'm like, yeah, that's a win-win.
And as social media evolved and more and more marketing dollars poured into the space, I recognize that I have this massive network that I've amassed over the years, just being in so many different businesses, being in rooms with so many different types of people from investors to marketers to entrepreneurs to software people.
that I'm like, man, I can play matchmaker for a lot of what you need help with, especially at an early stage because I've done this myself. I've co-founded companies, I've invested in companies. I kind of know everything it takes to spin up a company. I can help you spin up your company. And, you know, I have a following in the wellness world. So I can also be that, you know, mouthpiece and the spokesman for your company. So I just started like layering on all of these different services.
Eric (48:47.557)
to really become known as a guy who builds brands in the wellness space at an early stage. So, you you'll see the companies I work with, they're generally earlier stage companies that are growing fast. I've also been a, I've always been a whore for good marketing. Like I love, I'm the guy that walks around an air wand and has a hard time not buying everything.
Or one's a high end grocery store in California for those unaware. Like I love brand marketing community. I love all of that stuff. love like, yeah, you know, Nike, Lululemon, these bigger brands that still made you feel like you were part of something. And also like, it's so cool that Nike still is like, they make the coolest shoes, you know, and they're, but they're such a big company, but they're perceived as like awesome, cool, you know, brands. So
I want to align myself with brands that are like that and that's the brands I typically am aligning myself with and picking to work with. Ones where I really see they can build a brand and they're not just selling a product or service.
Tim Doyle (49:53.9)
Yeah, it's awesome to hear and you're clearly a man who goes off of that emotional energy behind companies and more specifically brands. When it comes to the way that you execute within your business, how do you balance that EQ side of things with the IQ side of things?
Eric (50:12.017)
Well, mean, definitely like having a Rolodex has compounded over time. you know, knowing that I can add just as much value when it comes to my network and also just like building community and empathy for the brands as I can with like what I've learned on brand building.
You know, like, hey, here's where you should put your ad spend. Here's how much you should spend. You know, like just kind of the systems verse, like what is the creative side of it? How can we differentiate from what everyone else is doing? How can we, you know, build something that is viral? Like what does a viral brand look like? Why would someone want to share your product on their story if it's a drink?
You know, if it's liquid death, what, you know, why is liquid death so fricking cool? Let's analyze that and let's recreate what they've created in the energy space or in the ketone space. And let's identify people that, you know, are going to be amazing brand builders for what we're creating, you know, is their audience going to resonate with, with this? So, you know, I definitely get in the weeds with these companies and really think through that.
community strategy, that virality strategy. I do a lot of product seeding, both to influential people, but also just like having people over to our house every single night, grabbing products from our grab and go area. And right now, like a lot of what we're designing in Austin is gonna be around hosting people. We're designing this sick grab and go area for people to be able to grab stuff and put it into the feed bag and walk away with a swag bag from coming over to someone's house.
You know, that leaves people with a memory. And I think about that too, like leaving people with a memorable impression and adding value. yeah, those are all of the EQ things that I would think about when I'm working with a brand. And then, you know, there's the deliverables of like, you know, a post per month and a couple of story posts and access to my network of people and I'll do these community events. So, you know, that ultimately is like the proposal that sells
Eric (52:29.711)
the company on working with me, but the backend of it is just like so much more that can really only be shown kind of over time. And, I think I've done this rinse and repeat a number of times now that brands take notice. Brands are like, we saw what you did, you know, early on when you helped 10,000, you're involved with ketone IQ, you're involved with slate, you're involved with Kane, you're involved, all of these brands, you know, that have built really cool communities. And ultimately they built a brand.
Other brands take notice of that.
Tim Doyle (53:02.102)
It's easy to move from a life that doesn't feel like it's aligned for you into something that really feels like it's serving you and your passions and your energy within your life right now. And obviously like we were talking about, you really appreciate the structure that you have, especially on a daily basis of being able to do all the activities that really drive you and make you feel good. Have there ever been times within this chapter of your life?
whether it's different brands reaching out or different opportunities where you're like, man, like I'd really love to do that, but that's kind of gonna take me away from the life on my terms and how I can live on a daily basis.
Eric (53:45.073)
Yeah, a thousand percent. I mean, I would argue that I'm there right now where I've taken on a little too much that it's starting to get in the way of like my happiness, which, you know, I'm cognizant of that. I'm also someone who recognizes that, you know, massive opportunity often comes in spurts and, you know, you take it when it comes. So I'm kind of in that mode right now where I might be sacrificing a little bit now
because of this opportunity spurt that I've been blessed with, but I also know that I don't wanna do this forever. It's kinda like the ramping up for High Rocks or ramping up for Leadville. I'm gonna do it for a short period, but I'm also gonna be mindful that I don't want this to start defining me and I don't want it to turn into a long-term thing. So yeah, I am cognizant of that and I ultimately know what things I wanna do every single day that truly make me happy.
and money is not one of those anymore. I do enjoy helping people. I do enjoy building things. I have a hard time saying no when it comes to both of those things, when it's something that's like super wheelhouse and like a brand that I'm like, damn, that's so cool. I gotta be involved in that. But for everything I'm saying yes to, I'm saying no to 10 things. And that's not something the outside world sees for anyone. Whenever someone is blessed with opportunity,
I think jealousy arises and they're like, Jesus, you just work with everyone. And I'm like, dude, I turned down 10 for every one that comes to me. for all these other people that you see, like if you think Joe Rogan has a bunch of brand deals and you're sick of his advertisements, like he's getting a hundred deals a week offered to him. He has no shortage of cool things he's saying no to.
Tim Doyle (55:33.942)
Yeah. Where do you think the puck is going, so to speak, when it comes in to the health and wellness brand space? Like, where do you think there's unmet needs and for the most growth?
Eric (55:47.437)
I think on a marketing front, it's headed towards like what BPN just did, like truly building, incredible, yeah, truly building virality and brand around awesome community events that everyone wants to be a part of. I think that's one of the directions the puck is going as far as brands, and obviously like creating content around it, creating something that people wanna create content around. Again, like.
Tim Doyle (55:53.23)
That was incredible.
Eric (56:15.119)
you know, just creating virality through organically, you know, not doing, not saying like, please share for us, like just creating an experience that everyone wants to share. Coffee and Chill is another cool brand, you know, doing the same thing in the wellness space. You know, I think it's definitely post-COVID just heading back towards like getting people together, community oriented things. I do think community and having great relationships and friendships.
Tim Doyle (56:23.032)
Yeah.
Eric (56:43.671)
is one of the most overlooked forms of wellness. And then I think like as far as wellness specific things, I think with AI and with like, you know, the ability to read our blood in the moment, I think we're gonna move more and more towards individual solutions based on our unique genetics, our unique decisions each day, what we're putting into our body, what we're doing each day, you know, like literally.
like my aura ring that I have, like something that is giving you your biomarkers in the moment telling you what's going on underneath the hood throughout the day.
Tim Doyle (57:23.768)
Like we've talked about throughout this entire conversation, you've gone through a lot of shifts within your life from going all the way back to that freshman semester college in college, up until, you know, shifting from fitness into wellness and then becoming not just a social media person, but now on the branding and consulting and business side of things now. So clearly it seems like these trends and these shifts will just continue for you. Where do you feel like the next?
iteration comes into place for you.
Eric (57:55.621)
So I don't really have like major goals when it comes to the business side of things. I just recognize that if I put myself in pockets of opportunity that good things will come. So like building this house in Austin, spending six months out of the year in Austin, I know that by doing that, it's going to help create whatever that next chapter is for me when it comes to business. That's kind of what I've done the last 10 years is I've just put myself in places where I know
opportunities are present and, you know, just kind of go based on feel of, know, that is a direction. That's something I want to chase going forward. As far as like athletic stuff goes, I'm definitely getting more into the endurance world right now. I think I'm going to do lead man next year, which is the full Leadville race series, which would kind of be a major shift from how I've been training the last five years, but that's what feels good for me right now. most of my friend group is doing that.
I'm enjoying it, I'm seeing progress there. So I really lean into what I'm enjoying and where I'm seeing progress and also where there isn't tremendous friction. know, living in Colorado, I have easy access to the mountains, I have easy access to mountain biking and running. And you know, if I want to get to the CrossFit Games, I'm starting to recognize that.
there's a little friction with that. I'm not training in like a pocket of elite CrossFit athletes in Colorado. You know, I'd have to move to, you know, maybe like Florida and join a gym in Florida that has elite CrossFit athletes where I'm training in a gym twice a day. And I don't know that I want to do that. And then like with this Austin move, like I know that's going to lead to, you know, more in-person community type things. I host these founders only events and I'm building
I've built a membership club around founders of early stage wellness companies. By being in Austin, I know that'll continue to grow. So just more putting myself in places where opportunities are gonna present themselves.
Tim Doyle (59:57.07)
I had on Graham Betchart a while back. He was a former sports psychologist for a lot of NBA players. And the thing that stuck with me the most about what he said was we always think just in terms of EQ and IQ, but there's this deeper level, which is called BQ, which is body intelligence, where you're just so in tune with yourself on a deep level and focused on alignment. And from hearing you talk,
Eric (01:00:10.833)
Mm-hmm.
Tim Doyle (01:00:24.62)
And from seeing all the stuff that you do, seems like you are deeply in line with your BQ.
Eric (01:00:29.957)
I love that. Yeah, that's not something to overlook for sure. And I think you only get that with experience. I've lived life going through the motions not satisfied and I've lived life very satisfied. So I think you kind of have to figure out the floor and the ceiling and then you figure out what's right for you.
Tim Doyle (01:00:49.494)
Eric, it's been great talking with you today. Where can people go to connect with you and see more of all the incredible work that you do?
Eric (01:00:55.855)
Yeah, Instagram, my name, Eric Hinman, YouTube, Eric Hinman website, Erichinman.com, any of those places.
Tim Doyle (01:01:03.296)
Awesome, it's great talking with you today.
Eric (01:01:05.083)
Thanks, Tim.
