#8 Erik Cooper on Learning to Adapt by Throwing Yourself Into the Unknown

It’s amazing how one adventure to an unfamiliar place can completely shift your perspective on the world. It can even change the trajectory of your entire life. Welcome to The Darin Olien Show. On this podcast, you’ll hear me, Darin Olien, “the superfood hunter,” have inspiring and enlightening conversations with extraordinary people from all walks of life. Although our ideas and approaches to life may differ, our ultimate goal is the same- to save the planet one conversation at a time. If you’re interested in expanding your view of the world by learning new perspectives on health, nutrition and healing the planet, and want to learn more about society’s Fatal Conveniences™- the things we may be doing because the world we live in makes us believe we have to even though they may be doing harm- then this is the podcast for you. In this episode, I talk with the one and only Erik Cooper, adventurer extraordinaire. And when I say adventurer, I don’t mean someone who likes to go hiking or try new foods. I mean someone who is willing to immerse themselves entirely in an unfamiliar country, with a culture of nomadic people and go for broke competing in the toughest horse race in the world. Erik grew up on a horse farm in a small town in Missouri. He always knew he wanted to explore, and his love of horses was just as strong as his sense of adventure. At 24 he heard about the Mongol Derby, a grueling 10-day horse race through the rough terrain of rural Mongolia. Known as “The Toughest Horse Race in the World”, the Mongol Derby changed Erik in ways he never expected it to. I have such a fun conversation with Erik in this episode.  He told me some crazy stories of his first experience with the Mongol Derby, but we also got into the deep stuff on how it changed him. You get to hear some hilarious anecdotes about wild stubborn horses, getting lost in the mud, and how incredibly tough and amazing the Mongolian nomads are. And we dabble in some other crazy adventures Erik has had and his love of Eagle Hunting, which isn’t what you think. This is definitely an episode you don’t want to miss.   Other nuggets from my conversation with Erik: Erik’s reasons for being drawn to Mongolia What happens when someone breaks their neck in the middle of nowhere How Erik trained for his first Mongol Derby What happened in the first few minutes of the race Why the team aspect is so important during a race like the Mongol Derby Why Erik fell into a depression after getting back from his first Derby The glorious details of Eagle Hunting This episode’s Fatal Convenience™: Dental Floss   Links: Erik Cooper on Instagram An interview with Erik in Forbes The Mongol Derby   Download Darin’s amazing new lifestyle app and get 3 days free at 121Tribe.com Barukas Nuts 15% discount with code “DARIN”   The Darin Olien Show is produced by the team at Must Amplify. If you’re looking to give a voice to your brand and make sure that it’s heard by the right people, head to www.mustamplify.com/darin to see what Amplify can do for you.