Jason McCarthy: Rucking, Embracing the Suck, and Community Building Through Fitness

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Jason McCarthy
Rucking, Embracing the Suck, and Community Building Through Fitness

Jason McCarthy is the founder and CEO of GORUCK. While serving in Special Forces, GORUCK was born and the goal was simple: build a rucksack with life or death quality standards that would thrive from Baghdad to NYC. Jason is also the co-founder and CEO of Sandlot, an organization that empowers everyone into fitness with the tools they need to workout with real people in the real world.

We get into Jason’s background and the origin story of GORUCK, the extensive benefits of rucking, and building community through fitness.

For more info about Jason, check out the GORUCK site and follow him on Instagram.

Rucks, Life Lessions, and Fitness Festivals mentioned in the episode: 

06:02  Jason joined us from the GORUCK HQ in Jacksonville Beach, Florida
06:30  Jason’s background in Special Forces
08:15  Jason’s wife Emily was in the CIA in West Africa while Jason was in Iraq
08:50  Jason on his motivation for GORUCK, and it’s not building and owning a business
09:55  Veteran transition is real
11:15  The GR1 explained
13:00  The origin of the first GORUCK Challenge
13:00  “Even hard things are fun if you’re with the right people”
15:28  In times of great transition, you have to treat people and yourself with grace and compassion
19:25  Too few people ask for help
25:15  Rucking defined
32:03  The benefits of rucking
34:15  The Starrett’s love the community piece of rucking as well as how accessible it is to literally anyone
34:30  Sandlot Jax
35:53  Doesn’t matter who you are, just pick up the weight and carry it
38:40 The data is in, hanging out at home alone on a screen isn’t working
40:40  GORUCK patches explained
42:55  Joe De Sena mentioned that people are looking for a communal suffering; Michael Easter
45:05  GORUCK is the Lord of Exhaustion
46:20  You should fall in to bed exhausted at night
49:20  Philip Beach describes the things that humans are designed to do
53:50  A life of service
56:40  2022 was the first ever Sandlot Jax Fitness Festival; Melissa Urban
59:50  Jason’s vibe is always STOKED
60:25  Jason’s socials

Full Transcript

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