Life-Sparring Podcast - Fighting Mediocrity, One Round At A Time

Shadowboxing rounds are solo episodes where I, Life-Sparring host Fabian Gruber share "What's On and Poppin" in my life, what current books provide "Food for Thought," and what else is going on. There are no interviews, just a bit of solo rambling and occasionally some awful singing.This episode is somewhat of a comeback after an almost four-month podcasting hiatus. As it looks, a lot changed, and in the meantime, we entered a new world order.My thoughts on the state of the world and how to d...

For the last three years, working out during my lunch break with a personal trainer has been one of the few affordable luxuries in my life. Since the summer of last year, I have trained twice per week with Aiko Liu, also known as " Little Hulk, " in Hong Kong Bodybuilding circles and by his 10k followers on Instagram.Aiko has been successfully competing in the amateur bodybuilding circuit in Hong Kong and beyond for the past five years and is working as a coach with several other competitive ...

Before I started podcasting and Food for Thought became a regular book review segment in the shadowboxing solo podcasts, it was the title of an annual blog post introducing my top five books I read in the outgoing year.I just published this year’s Food for Thought blog; it is the seventh consecutive year. But since 2021 was the year of the Life-Sparring podcast, it felt unavoidable not to record a Food for Thought Podcast special. To make the best of the audio/video format and to spice t...

Middle of October, I was glued for 4 days to a Facebook Live stream from Bell Buckle, Tennessee, following Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, one of the craziest ultra trail running races in the world.Different from a traditional start to finish race, “Big’s” does not have a finish line. Instead, all race contenders must start a loop of the course at every full hour. If they manage to get around the 6.7056 km / 4 miles 880 feet long loop in less than 60 minutes, the remainder of the hour can be used f...

I always get real experts in their respective feels to join me in the virtual Life-Sparring ring. However, this time, I hit one out of the ballpark and convinced an actual rockstar of medicine to spar with me. Henrik Widegren (MD) is based in Lund, Sweden, where he works in the university clinic as Otolaryngologist or Ear, Nose & Throat doctor. When Henrik is not seeing patients or is participating in clinical research, he is composing, writing, and performing songs about healthcare and m...

In Life-Sparring Round 14, Jonathan de Potter, founder and CEO of Behold Retreats, takes us on a trip far outside my comfort zone and our usual range of topics. Lo and behold, we are talking psychedelic plant medicine!Psychedelics received in recent years a scientific renaissance. Reputable institutes like Johns Hopkins or the Imperial College London are conducting studies on substances like Psilocybin and Ayahuasca, showing promising results in treating addictions, trauma, and depression.How...

Round 13 of the Life-Sparring Podcast is an ambitious one. With Professor Elizabeth George and Professor Prithviraj Chattopadhyay, I face not just one but two academic heavyweights in the virtual Life-Sparing ring, and our topic is nothing less than the eternal question “Who Am I.”As Professors of Management, both Elizabeth and Raja have spent large parts of their professional lives researching and teaching what makes organizations run. The social and personal identity of employees is a recur...

Shadowboxing rounds are solo episodes, where I, Life-Sparring host Fabian Gruber share “What’s On and Poppin” in my life, what current books provide “Food for Thought,” and what else is going on. No interviews, just a bit of solo rambling and occasionally some awful singing. The summer heat in Hong Kong made for a slow summer. What’s On and Poppin’ is all about carbohydrate supplement UCAN SuperStarch, which I have tried for the first time. I also recap a German podcast that I just did, ...

As the founder & editor-in-chief of Green Queen, Sonalie Figueiras is somewhat of a role model for me personally and Life-Sparring. After all, Sonalie turned a personal blog that she started ten years ago, fueled by her search for a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle into a sprawling impact media outlet. Today Green Queen generates 7 million-plus monthly impressions, with the mission to inform, inspire and empower.In our discussion, Sonalie tells her story and how she, of all people...

For the May round of Life-Sparring Shadowboxing, I spare you the usual signing. I usually interpret a loneliness-themed song, but this time there is a special feature guest. No loneliness and no singing! You wonder, who that surprising guest is? Well, nobody other than The Wife. Usually, she contributes to the show through constructive or not so constructive criticism, but this time she joins me on the mic.In “What’s On and Poppin’” we recount our experience with moderate side-effects taking ...