Joseph Maroon is an American neurosurgeon, author, and triathlon athlete. He is the professor and vice chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and is the current Medical Director of WWE. He is a sports medicine expert and innovator in concussion management, personal fitness and nutrition. As an Ironman triathlete, he lives and breathes his own advice. He is the author of Square One: A Simple Guide to a Balanced Life. Dr. Maroon joins me on The Midlife Male Podcast this week to talk about his journey from despair to redemption and happiness.

“I was 40 when I suddenly lost my father to a heart attack and a marriage and family subsequently to divorce. I had been so focused on my work that I neglected most other aspects of my life – including my health. I was out of shape, living on fast food and not exercising. All these factors resulted in a deep depressed. Within a week, I plunged from a bright career as a clinical professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh to helping my mother run my father’s dilapidated truck stop in Wheeling, WV, which included pumping gas into 18-wheelers as they rolled in from the nearby interstate.  My metamorphosis back to a healthy lifestyle began months later when a friend and running enthusiast invited me to go for a run. I ran just four times around the track and was exhausted. But that night was the first time I’d slept well in about a year. This memory still makes me smile. I started running more and more, and began to feel better and better. I became something like the Forrest Gump of Bridgeport, Ohio. After experiencing some muscle strains from running too much, I discovered cross-training: I learned how to swim, started biking, and soon competed in the first of what would be more than 70 triathlons. The exercise propelled me out my depression and back onto my feet, and soon after I returned to the University of Pittsburgh as Vice Chairman of the Department Neurological Surgery.”