For round 1 of the Life-Sparring Podcast, I managed to book an absolute rockstar and professional, trail running “heavyweight” Vlad Ixel from Perth, Australia.

Vlad has an inspiring story to tell and is not just a professional trail runner with an insane winning rate; he is also a running and triathlon coach and a fitness influencer with more than 70k followers on Instagram and he recently started his own supplement company BIX Hydration.

We dive into all three of Vlad’s careers and one thing becomes clear, Vlad’s success is as much coming from his strategic approach as it comes from his innate athletic talents.