95. Courage is a Learned Skill with High Diver David Colturi
Laura joins forces with professional cliff diver, coach, and performance expert, David Colturi for this week’s installment of the Pursuit of Gold podcast. One of the standout cliff divers over the last decade, David has accumulated 14 podiums in 52 starts, including becoming the youngest ever winner of a World Series event at the age of 24. After returning from the enforced World Series break, he was narrowly edged out of the permanent places in 2021 and will return to the 27m platform as a wildcard this year. David also currently serves as a coach, runs high performance workshops, and is a gifted public speaker.
Together with Laura, David embarks on an exhilarating journey that delves deeply into various riveting topics, such as his awe-inspiring transformation from a budding diver to an experienced professional, the pivotal role of balance in the pursuit of one's dreams, and the fearless approach required to confront and conquer personal fears head-on. From his early days as an athlete determined to conquer the heights of high dives to the heart-pounding moments during his debut at the Red Bull Cliff Diving event in Corsica, this episode is a treasure trove of adrenaline-pumping narratives and invaluable life lessons. Our dynamic duo also go on to share intimate anecdotes and profound insights into the psychological and emotional battles they've waged during their illustrious careers. From grappling with fear and self-doubt to contending with the physical toll exacted by high-speed impacts, they shine a light on the indomitable spirit and tenacity that define success in extreme sports. Their conversation here today transcends the realm of diving and touches upon the profound importance of setting well-defined objectives, aligning actions with one's authentic values, and embarking on a purpose-driven journey throughout our lives. Whether you're a thrill-seeker or an individual seeking inspiration to confront your personal trials, this episode guarantees to leave you profoundly moved and ardently motivated.
If you’ve been wanting to make some crucial mindset shifts like David, in order to perform better, love your sport again or grow your confidence, start getting excited for my awesome Black Friday bundles that are here now but only for a limited time! Every single amazing bundle also comes with a FREE ticket into a new workshop I’ll be hosting in January called Turning Obstacles into Opportunities. Make sure you don’t miss this window of opportunity- go check out these special bundles at LauraWilkinson.com/blackfriday!
Episode Highlights:
David’s remarkable journey
Dedication and sacrifices
How college athletes grapple with the decision of pursuing their sport professionally or exploring alternative career paths
David's unexpected leap into professional cliff diving
Red Bull Cliff Diving events
David's inaugural experience in Corsica
Unforeseen setbacks and the power of resilience and a positive attitude
Overcoming fear and early challenges in high diving
The journey toward control and focus
The role of peer pressure and accountability in overcoming platform hesitation and building confidence
Quotes:
"Courage is a learned skill just like anything else."
"These tough days, these are the ones that define you. This is the good stuff."
"You're just competing against yourself... all you've got to do is be better than you were yesterday."
"You’ve just got to sometimes do what you’ve got to do. And it can be a scary road, but I think you learn a lot of lessons in that, too."
"So it's kind of just learning to take those skills we learn in our sport and applying it into our life."
Links:
Laura’s Social Media:
Connect with David:
67. Unlocking Your Potential with High Diver Ellie Smart
Joining Laura on today’s episode is professional high diver, CEO of the International High Diving Institute—America’s first high-diving facility, and founder of the Clean Cliffs project, Ellie Smart. Their conversation begins with Ellie’s journey from childhood dreams of diving at the Olympics to the tough realization that she wouldn’t reach that standard and her decision to retire from diving during college. She shares the challenges of walking away from the sport that defined her, finding her worth outside of diving, and finally discovering her purpose in cliff diving. Ellie then discusses how she made the move into professional high diving, started competing, and eventually made it onto the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series as a permanent diver.
Next, Ellie talks about her desire to keep challenging herself and working on new dives—including one partly inspired by Laura—so that she can continue unlocking her potential to the highest degree. She also speaks to how she and other cliff divers manage their fear, pointing out that fear can be a good thing physiologically, but only if we learn how to control it and use it in a healthy way. Ellie takes a moment to discuss the impact of social media and how she uses it as a tool while enforcing personal boundaries to ensure she avoids the urge to compare herself with others. Closing out the episode, Ellie reveals some of her pursuits when she’s not diving herself, including creating the High Diving Institute at the Utah Olympic Park and co-founding Clean Cliffs, a project with the mission to prevent plastic pollution in the world’s bodies of water.
Episode Highlights:
Walking away from and coming back to diving
Learning to cliff dive and starting to compete
Unlocking potential and managing fear
Creating the International High Diving Institute
Giving back with Clean Cliffs
Quotes:
“I wanted to represent Team USA, I wanted to go to the Olympics, and I would practice my gold medals speech in the shower every single night as a kid and my autograph. In class, I used to get in trouble all the time for practicing my autograph.”
“The answer is always ‘no’ if you never ask, so I would rather ask and get the answer ‘no’ than not ask at all and maybe miss out on a really cool, incredible opportunity. So I definitely get embarrassed or shy or self-conscious sometimes when I have things that I really want to do, like, it’s definitely not just easy. But I know that the reward of asking and what could come of it is so much better than not asking.”
“It was also very humbling to realize that if I was going to keep diving, I needed to dive for me and not for the results or what it looked like from the outside to other people. Because there’s always going to be something bigger and better and different that you can do if you’re basing your life on decisions or opinions of other people.”
“I really think comparison is just the absolute worst thing that you can do. And so, I try to eliminate that as much as possible from my everyday life. So you know, if any of my friends are listening to this, I love you, but I’m not going to watch your Instagram stories. You can tell me all about it in person.”
“I think that that’s the most exciting thing about life is we don’t know, we get to figure it out as we go. And, you know, I used to have a different approach of, ‘I want to know the answer now. I want to know what I’m supposed to do.’ And now I have this whole new mindset of, ‘I’m so excited to see what I can do versus what I’m supposed to do.’”
Pursuit of Gold Podcast is brought to you by Kaatsu Global
Links:
Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion
Laura’s Social Media:
Ellie’s Social Media:
32. The Secret to Dominance with World Champion High Diver Gary Hunt
Today you will be treated to an ‘extreme’ episode as World Champion High Diver, Gary Hunt, joins Laura for an absolutely fascinating conversation. A legend in the high diving world, Gary is actually a 2-time World Champion and an 8-time winner of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Before he took on the daredevil world of high diving, Gary competed in 10-meter platform diving, and, in fact, took home a Bronze in the 10-meter Synchro at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. If you have ever wondered what it takes to have the courage and skill to dive off of cliffs and castles, and even out of helicopters, and still continue to set even loftier goals for yourself, you’ve come to the right place.
In this conversation, Gary tells his story all the way from first getting into diving all the way to what he is doing now and what his lofty and inspiring new goal is. In the process, he shares his favorite places to dive, his craziest and most memorable dives, the dangers he and his colleagues face, and the mental preparation that allows him to do what he does so well so consistently. Finding coaching in a relatively new sport, maintaining focus, his exciting new goal, and the impact that COVID has had upon him, his sport and his training are all discussed as well. Gary’s calm, thoughtful and humble nature shines through in this episode as he shares his vast amount of experience and insight into a sport which would seem unthinkably perilous to so many of us. Combine all of these qualities with his penchant for setting new goals and pursuing passion projects, and you will undoubtedly agree with Laura’s assessment of Gary Hunt as truly ‘an inspiration’, certainly one well worth listening to here today.
Episode Highlights:
· How Gary found his way to diving
· Transitioning from platform to high diving
· His favorite places to dive
· Gary’s craziest high diving story
· The potential dangers in high diving
· The process involved in introducing a new dive
· The worst lead up he has to do
· Gary’s mental preparation
· The Red Bull World Series
· How he’s navigated coaching
· His favorite moment in diving
· His perfect score dive
· Preparing for dives
· Using juggling to remain focused
· Gary’s new goal
· How COVID has impacted him
Quotes:
“I started noticing the divers in the other side of the pool looking like they were having much more fun than I was.”
“It was like a new door was being opened before me with so many possibilities.”
“Sometimes when it’s really windy, you just want it to be over.”
“The training is often much more scary than the actual competitions.”
“I couldn’t remember anything about after the dive.”
“You have to expect that it’s not always going to go your way.”
“There are horror stories of people being swept away.”
“We feel like we’re in safe hands.”
“In the times where it hasn’t gone well, I think I’ve learned from it.”
“I was the first of a wave of new high divers that were really going to push the boat out.”
“I entered the sport at the right time.”
“I think diving from a helicopter is one of my highlights.”
“Usually, I will do one of each dive before the competition when we get to a new location.”
“This dream of competing on 10-meter again just started to get more and more interesting.”
“I prefer looking ahead and just focusing on my training.”
“As long as your head’s into it and you’re focused, you can do it.”
“You are an inspiration…giving yourself new passion projects…new goals.”
Links:
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn
Laura’s Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson
Learn more about Gary: