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Artwork for Choose the Hard Way

Choose the Hard Way

Andrew Vontz
Mental Health
Pro Cycling
Fitness
Unbound Gravel
Mountain Biking
Endurance Sports
Cycling
Desert Island Survival
Tom Perriello
Multisport Racing
The Better Lab
National Geographic
Polkadot
Bike Racing
Gravel Racing
Unbound 100
High Performance
Mindfulness
Nutrition
Mega Mid South

Conversations about how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun. Guests from pro cycling, sports, politics, business, tech, journalism, the military and more. Resilience, grit, mental health, high performance, mindfulness. Host Andrew Vontz is an entrepreneur & founder of One Real Voice, the strategic & coaching consultancy for podcast guests & hosts. Previously, he was a Strava execut... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes129Founded7 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Society & CultureHealth & Fitness

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Artwork for Choose the Hard Way

Latest Episodes

Chase Wark pounds Frosted Flakes & puts in 4.5 hours on a single bottle of water in his in-laws' 15-degree garage to pass the 760 km mark -- and Kip Taylor -- on the Abandon Your Family 500 leaderboard on day 6.

— Art O'Connor, aka WUKAR Fit, stren... more

YouTube

Abandon Your Family 500 2025 Day 4 with Jonathan Kaplan and Andrew Vontz.

Reflections on bad sleep, big carbs, and the skirmish between Front Range legends Andy Leach and Kip Taylor to top out first and complete #AYF500 in an FKT of under four days... more

YouTube

Abandon Your Family 500 2025 Day 3 brings big drama when 100 mile-per-hour winds mean the power grid goes offline in Boulder and Big Spence has to skip the daily recording to keep banking secret miles to upload later at an undisclosed location. Meanw... more

YouTube

A deep dive on the big action and family fallout from day one of the Abandon Your Family 500 in a groundbreaking conversation with Andrew Vontz / Choose the Hard Way, Spencer Martin / Beyond the Peloton, Jonathan Kaplan / Riding With, and the front r... more

YouTube

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Kip Taylor
Special guest and participant in the Abandon Your Family 500
Kip's Corner
Episode: #AYF500 Update 2 - Kip's Stealth Century Knock Out - Andrew Vontz, Spencer Martin, Jonathan Kaplan, & Special Guest Kip Taylor - Abandon Your Family 500 2025
Colin Allred
Former NFL player and civil rights attorney, current congressional candidate
Texas Congress
Episode: Colin Allred - NFL, Congress, the Senate Race - United States of Sweat - with Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan
Josh Turek
Two-time Paralympic Gold Medalist and U.S. Senate candidate
Turek for Iowa
Episode: Josh Turek - 2x Paralympic Gold Medalist - U.S. Senate candidate from Iowa - ex Pro Wheelchair Basketball Player
Payson McElveen
Professional multi-surface cyclist and adventure filmmaker
Red Bull
Episode: Pro Cyclist Payson McElveen - The Hardest Ride Is the One You Don't See - on Creativity, Pressure & What Comes Next
Stephen Starring Grant
Author and artist, known for his memoir.
Episode: Stephen Starring Grant - Author of MAILMAN: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home
Rahm Emanuel
Former Chief of Staff to President Obama, Mayor of Chicago, and Ambassador to Japan
Ambassador to Japan
Episode: Rahm Emanuel - United States of Sweat
Tom Perriello
Former Congressman and Special Envoy for Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Episode: Tom Perriello: Congressman, Special Envoy - United States of Sweat
Jeff Flake
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. Senator from Arizona
jeffflake.com
Episode: United States of Sweat with Ambassador Jeff Flake - Desert Island Survival, Long-Distance Swimming & More
Shannon Jones
Investor, educator, and executive advisor with deep roots in both private equity and entrepreneurship.
Halstatt Legacy Partners
Episode: From Start up to End up - From The Better Lab to One Real Voice & Beyond - Andrew Vontz x Shannon Jones

Host

Andrew Vontz
Host of the podcast and an entrepreneur with a strong background as a journalist. He has experience as a Strava executive and co-founded TheBetterLab.io, focusing on mindfulness and performance enhancement.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 395 ratings
  • Great pod for gravel riders and outdoors people

    Great pod. The Kemo episode is great!!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Brian FLL
    United States2 years ago
  • Best interviewer.

    Great questions asked. Better responses. Every episode is great

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Newbiebiker1
    United States2 years ago
  • Hard Way Pod is a no brainer

    Andrew’s a consummate professional with a background in journalism and has A list guests. I recently listened to the Lantern Rouge and BWR eps and was not disappointed! Great insight into cycling and business.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Shunting215
    United States2 years ago
  • Outstanding

    This is a top-shelf Podcast with consistently excellent guests and insights pertinent to endurance athletics and gravel biking in particular. Andrew’s probing questions and background as a biker and media executive make these interviews exceptional.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Gravel Dog
    United States2 years ago
  • First class

    Professional, engaging podcast. Entertaining and motivating

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Rip613
    United States2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Many find the themes of resilience and self-improvement to be both inspiring and relevant to their own lives.
Listeners highlight Andrew Vontz's skillful interviewing style and his ability to delve into topics with depth and curiosity.
The production quality is praised as being top-notch, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the podcast.
The podcast has been described as informative and motivating, appealing to those who are interested in endurance athletics and personal growth.
Listeners appreciate the diversity and quality of guests, noting the engaging and thoughtful interviews that uncover meaningful stories.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Abandon Your Family 500 Challenge w/ Spencer Martin, Jonathan Kaplan, Andrew Vontz - p/b Kip's Corner
Q: What is the Abandon Your Family 500?
It's a challenge for cyclists to ride 500 kilometers during the holiday season while making sacrifices in family time.
The Abandon Your Family 500 Challenge w/ Spencer Martin, Jonathan Kaplan, Andrew Vontz - p/b Kip's Corner
Q: What are we talking about?
We're talking about riding 500 kilometers over the next 10 days between December 15th and December 25th.
Colin Allred - NFL, Congress, the Senate Race - United States of Sweat - with Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan
Q: How do you maintain any semblance of fitness on the campaign trail?
I've been there, and I think when I'm on the road, I sometimes have more time for working out than when I'm at home.
Colin Allred - NFL, Congress, the Senate Race - United States of Sweat - with Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan
Q: Can you talk about how your routine changed when you shifted from the NFL to law school?
When I got to law school, I was less than a year off the operating table before I was like in law school, so it was a very quick transition and I realized I just really needed to calm down.
Colin Allred - NFL, Congress, the Senate Race - United States of Sweat - with Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan
Q: When you go into the gym these days, is that your mentality or you go in hard or what's happening?
I want to suffer, man. I got to be honest with you. Like I feel like if I do a workout, I want to suffer at some point that workout.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
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Household Income
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Frequently Asked Questions About Choose the Hard Way

What is Choose the Hard Way about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This podcast offers an engaging blend of inspiring stories focusing on how overcoming challenges contributes to personal growth and resilience. It features a diverse array of guests, including professionals from cycling, politics, business, tech, journalism, and the military, who share their unique experiences of grit, endurance, and mental fortitude. Central themes such as resilience, mental health, high performance, and mindfulness underpin the discussions, providing listeners with valuable insights into the human experience during tough times. The engaging narratives and thought-provoking conversations are likely to resonate with anyone interested in self-improvement and personal development.

Where can I find podcast stats for Choose the Hard Way?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Choose the Hard Way. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Choose the Hard Way and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Choose the Hard Way get?

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What are the audience demographics for Choose the Hard Way?

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How many subscribers and views does Choose the Hard Way have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Choose the Hard Way has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Choose the Hard Way?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Choose the Hard Way:

1. Beyond the Peloton Podcast
2. With Pace
3. Bonk Bros
4. King of the Ride
5. The Matchbox - A Cycling Podcast

How many episodes of Choose the Hard Way are there?

Choose the Hard Way launched 7 years ago and published 129 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Choose the Hard Way?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Choose the Hard Way?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Choose the Hard Way from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Choose the Hard Way?

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What guests have appeared on Choose the Hard Way?

Recent guests on Choose the Hard Way include:

1. Kip Taylor
2. Colin Allred
3. Josh Turek
4. Payson McElveen
5. Stephen Starring Grant
6. Rahm Emanuel
7. Tom Perriello
8. Jeff Flake

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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