SPRI PRODUCTS’ SNEAK PREVIEW


Phil Keoghan will speak on “No Opportunity Wasted: Creating the Life You Want,” on Saturday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., during IHRSA’s 30th Anniversary International Convention and Trade Show, March 16-19, in San Francisco. His keynote presentation is generously sponsored by SPRI Products, Inc. —|


Typical of Keoghan, the event served to do more


than raise money. A consummate multitasker, he and his wife, Louise Rodriguez, also produced a feature film, The Ride, that documented the trip. “I trained my butt off for that ride—up to 36 hours


Keoghan at start of 2009 Ride Across America


“Not knowing exactly what was going on, I started


to panic, breathing so fast that I was sucking in water, consuming too much valuable air, and stirring up the silt around me. I felt like I was going to die. Obviously,” he continues, “I eventually got out of that situation. My dive buddy came back to get me… But, for me, it was the first time I realized that I could actually die—it was a major wake-up call. The experi- ence prompted me to write a Life List, and, since then, I’ve managed to turn that list into a career— ticking things off, one after the other, ever since.” The Life List notion was popularized by the 2007


film, The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, in which two terminally ill men make lists of the things they want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket.”


Inspired by scary goals If you ask Keoghan about the most difficult venture he’s ever undertaken, he points not to The Amazing Race, or his underwater near-death experience, or to dining atop a volcano, but, rather, to his participation in the 2009 Ride Across America to raise money for multiple sclerosis research. In just 40 days, he rode 3,500 miles from Los Angeles to New York City, aver- aging 100 miles per day, and stopping in 39 cities. In partnership with GNC and other organizations, he helped to raise $500,000.


a week, at one point,” he says. “The hardest part was trying to do the training while also producing The Ride, locating funding, organizing all of the logistics, the support vehicles, etc. GNC was a fantas- tic partner and really helped to make it all happen,” he attests. “The ride really took me to a challenging place, mentally. Having to focus on a long-term goal was incredibly rewarding. I’d never felt so deter- mined to do something. About halfway through, I got a stomach virus and couldn’t eat for about three days. I really went into a crazy place in my mind then—almost like being in a trance. I pushed way beyond what I thought was possible in that state.” Recently, Keoghan took the film out on a national


tour, showing it in 11 cities across the U.S. “We didn’t set out to make a documentary


feature, but we managed to capture a story that’s about so much more that just riding a bike,” he reflects. “The journey isn’t just about the ride— about the enormous physical and mental challenges. It’s also about the relationships between myself, my dad, my training partner, Ben, and the other riders; the brave individuals who live with the crippling effects of MS every day; and the incredible warmth and generosity of the Americans who opened their hearts and homes to me and my crew.” Keoghan is far from done with challenging himself.


Next on tap for him is “a Tour de France project,” he explains. “I’d like to go back to the beginning of the event and uncover some of the old secrets. I’m not sure how I’ll handle it, and that’s a huge part of why I want to do it. I like scaring myself with new goals.” —|


– Jon Feld, jfeld@inc.com www. ihrsa.org | FEBRUARY 2011 | Club Business Internat ional 57


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