300lbs And Running with Martinus Evans

Welcome to Let It Be Easy with Susie Moore.

Susie Moore:

Where do I start with talking to you about Martinus? Martinus Evans is, oh my gosh, just such an incredible, inspirational human being. I initially was introduced to him when he joined my course, five Minutes of Famous. We actually talk about that in the interview. We touch on it, and I was following his story because he wanted to get media coverage for the work that he was doing. His social media handle. His brand is called 300 Pounds in Running, and he is all about inclusivity. His new book is called The Slow AF Run Club. He is here to show us that you don't have to look a certain way, fit a certain mold, be a certain type of person, or implement any limitations in terms of what it is that you can do in order to run. And as you hear Martinez and I discuss throughout this conversation, this is about so much more than running.

He is a avid runner, marathon completer. Oh my gosh, what a guy. But what I really take from this conversation is that so much more is possible for us than we maybe even realize. Where are we holding ourselves back? Where are we thinking? That's not for me, or I couldn't do that. Martinez has run now over eight marathons since his doctor told him to lose weight or die in July, 2012. And since then, he's coached hundreds of runners and founded the S Slow AF Run Club. I belong probably a community of over 10,000 people all over the world. His book, the Slow AF Run Club, is coming out in June, and it's the ultimate guide for anybody who wants to run. And when Martinez isn't running races all over the world, he enjoys speaking passionately about issues related to size, inclusivity, mindset, DEI, and mental health. I'm psyched to share this conversation with you today, my friend. It was a very moving one for me, so please enjoy Martinus Evans Martinus Evans. Oh my Welcome to the Let It Be Easy podcast.

Martinus Evans:

Susie, thank you for having me.

Susie Moore:

I am so happy you are here. You are hard to book, by the way. You are hard to book, but here we are. We made it. And I have to say, first of all, congratulations. Congratulations on your new book.

Martinus Evans:

Thank you.

Susie Moore:

I've read it. I love it. It's so comprehensive. So practical. Is full of heart, yet full of advice, full of your own story. Congrats. How do you feel? Publish all that coming out June this year,

Martinus Evans:

Susie. I feel tired. I'm not going to lie.

Susie Moore:

That's very honest.

Martinus Evans:

I am tired. But it has been an amazing feat and an amazing journey to write this thing and put my heart and soul out to the world.

Susie Moore:

I can imagine. Because as I read your book, first of all, of course I hear your story, why you wrote this book, why you got started running in the first place, and how so it's full of just information about you, which is so moving. And I think that we can all see ourselves in other people's stories in different ways. And also it's so highly practical. I mean, this could be an entire course guide, a membership for three years, what you tell people to do, how to begin from cold scratch, what to eat, how to prepare the right gear. I mean, it's all there.

Martinus Evans:

Yes, yes.

Susie Moore:

Well, how long did it take you to put this book together, Martinus?

Martinus Evans:

Oh man. Susie, the whole process took about two years from pitching the book to writing it and so on and so forth.

Susie Moore:

And I can see, I am sure there are lots of rewrites, lots of edits. Having gone through that process myself, I see how much went into this. And truly, I'm so happy for you,

Martinus Evans:

Susie. You don't know how much that means to me.

Susie Moore:

Well, Martinus, I would love to kick off by asking you about, I mean, I have so many questions here, but I'd love to hear about your very first run because it wasn't a straight out of the gate success. It wasn't a, oh, let me just slip on my shoes and this is heaven and dreamy and I found my thing.

Martinus Evans:

No, my first run was hellacious. So let's take it back a little bit further. So the reason why I even went on my first run,

Susie Moore:

Yes.

Martinus Evans:

So back in 2012, I was working a commission sales job at Men's Warehouse on my feet all day, eight to 10 hours in hard bottom shoes that then had me to have some hip issues. I went to go see a doctor. This doctor, instead of telling me what's going on in my hip, he had a whole nother thing for me, Susie. He was like, Mr. Evans, I know why you in pain? Why am I in pain? It's because you're fat. What? So as I'm sitting in this doctor's office thinking to myself, I'm going to kill him.

I'm just thinking to myself, I'm going to kill him. It's over. I'd go on and say, you know what, doc? I'm going to run a marathon. And he's going off on me. You got a stomach as a pregnant woman, all this other stuff, you just need to lose weight. And I said, I'm going to run a marathon. And this guy laughs and has the biggest laughs that I've ever seen. Somebody laugh, somebody who's not laughing with you, but laughing at you. And I stormed out that doctor's office and I bought some runny shoes. I went home and got on a treadmill. So while I'm on a treadmill, there's two people beside of me. There's a person on beside of me going like 10 miles an hour on a treadmill. And then that's another person that's going like nine. Me having ran in a very long time since my collegiate football days, I'm sitting there and thinking to myself, sizing these guys up.

I can at least go seven. So I put the treadmill on seven as the belt sped through my legs, I hesitated and I was like, you know what? Here goes nothing. And my life lasted before my eyes. I don't know Susie, if I was rejecting the treadmill or the treadmill was rejecting my body. But next thing I knew I was on the ground, your boy had fell off the treadmill. So you got to remember, I'm a 300 pound guy, so I make loud noise inside of the fitness center. So everybody's looking at me. So I hurry up, I gather myself, try to get everything out and make a B line for the door. And right before I grabbed my cell phone, I looked at the time and it said 15 seconds defeating. That was my first run.

Susie Moore:

It's so interesting how that very rude doctor, and by the way, I loved how in your acknowledgements you're like, I wish I could find you and send you this book. I still think you're a dick by, I just love how I can hear your voice in the boat as if you're with me. I can hear as you share your stories so that doctor, you're not going to him for advice about your overall body. You're asking for advice about a specific pain. And in the book too, I like how you reference, there's just all this unsolicited feedback that people think that they can give us. Right, exactly. You're not asking. And so what was it actually in your mind that made you buy a pair of running shoes? I mean, I feel like if someone gave me some unsolicited feedback, I might go to a bar and just drink or I might, I don't know, just do. I wouldn't necessarily think I'm going to counteract this with something really constructive actually. What was the connection with running?

Martinus Evans:

So truthfully, it was like I'm a very quick witted individual, and as he was going off on me, he was like, you should be walking. Go buy walking shoes and walk around the track one time and if that make you tired, you need to do it again over and over again. And I was like, walk, I can run a marathon if I want. So it was just me being facetious and being like, I'm going to run a marathon. And then he pretty much called me out. He laughed at me and was like, this is stupid. If you try to run a marathon, you'll die. And for me, I'm like, oh, so this is a challenge. Challenge is a septic. I can do this. Having no idea what a marathon was, what it even entailed, I was like, oh, I'm gang. Let me go do this today.

Susie Moore:

This is some hero stuff, right? Yeah. It's like, whoa, really? And so you have this first run and it's completely defeating. I'm sure you're just thinking maybe in that moment where you're like, gosh, maybe the doctor's right, or maybe this. Is that how you felt?

Martinus Evans:

Absolutely. I really felt like the doctor was right. He know better than I do. I am dumb. All these things that circled in my head, especially being a person of size. When you have bad things, or not necessarily bad things, but things that don't go your way happen, your first choice is to go to what the voices has said to you. So all the voices are swimming around in your head. They're right, I'm wrong. So on and so forth. And I had this tattoo on my right wrist. It says, no struggle, no progress. So it's from the famous speech from Patrick Douglas. And I got this tattoo when I was very young, which is by far one of my first tattoos I had, I probably got it illegally back then,

But when I heard the Frederick Douglas speech, I was like, oh, I remember being young and being like, you know what? I'm going to get this as a tattoo. And it always was a grounding force for me that for whenever I am facing some type of adversity. So when I walk home, tears running down my eyes, I reached out to the doorknob with my right hand and my sleeve rolled up just enough for me to see my tattoo. It says, no struggle, no progress. And it hit me. I know what I need to do. I cannot let this doctor beat me. I cannot let anybody who has said anything about me, I can let those words get me. So I need to get my butt back out there and prove all of them wrong. And that's what I did.

Susie Moore:

And what, 10 years later now, right? Years later with your random house, me with your running community, with you showing us what's possible when we are willing to be uncomfortable. When we're willing to struggle.

Martinus Evans:

Exactly.

Susie Moore:

When we're willing. I mean, I took some of my favorite quotes from the book here and wrote them down, I'd love you to talk about this one. Martinez, don't get on the bus. As I was reading that, I was like, wow, that mini bus driver was really aggressive. Let the man run.

Martinus Evans:

Exactly.

Susie Moore:

Could you tell us about that? Don't get on the bus. Why should we not get on the proverbial bus?

Martinus Evans:

So you should not get on the bus. There's always going to be people there telling you, get on the bus. So a little context about this story, this is my first marathon. I am mile 19 into my first marathon. I'm losing it. I'm excited. So many emotions are going through my head at once. And as I'm starting to run this bus that every race has, right? Every race has this sag wagon. We call it SAG wagon, right? It stands for supporting gear. But every race has this low bus that picks up stragglers or help injure people and things of that I saw. So I get the mild 19, I'm going strong, but I'm having this internal battle in my body and in my head, my mind is like, Martinez stop. My heart is like, no, keep going. And then this bus bus comes alongside of me, and this guy with his raspy voice is like, Hey, big man, do you want to ride to the finish line?

And at first I'm like, no, I'm okay. I'm good. And then mile at the mile, Hey big man you want to ride? Hey big man, you want to ride? And now my mind is really playing tricks on me, Susie, my mind is like, Martinus, you are in pain. Do you want the pain to go away? If you want the pain to go away, all you got to do is get on this bus. But my heart is like, no, please don't get on that bus because you came here to do something. You came here to run this marathon, and if you get on this bus, the race is over for you. So I have those two internal things going on in my head, and they have this bus, this bus that's like, Hey, big man, let's go get in here. I'll take you to the finish line. And then all of this comes to head about a mile to a mile and a half away from the finish line where I blow up on the guy and I'm like, why would you even ask me to get on the bus when I'm so close.

Susie Moore:

You're so close.

Martinus Evans:

I was so close. Why would you even offer me this thing? And I think it's just aary for just life where you're so close to your goal and you know are so close to your goal, the enemy. Well try its best to stop you. And that's what don't get off the bus mean or don't get on the bus. Mean

Susie Moore:

As I read the book, I think to myself, this is a book about running with so much incredible advice, and it's a life coaching book, right? This is motivational speaker, Martinus, on stage, put running and insert your C talent, right? This could be online dating, don't give up, right? This could be start your business, don't give up. This could be explore this part of yourself that feels scary, but you want to expand into it getting on the, and like you said, so close, there's always the invitation, there's the temptation. You, because you also say in the book that the mind gives up before the body gives up. It's almost as if when you push your body, your body can respond. And you also speak about being responsible with that too. You had a couple of scary situations yourself running, but could you say more about that? Because I feel like I always want to give up when I even start to sweat and Pilates, I'm like, oh, can we just, I'll go get a water. Could you say more about that? Because I feel like it, it's like the two selves, like you said, the go go, the heart and the head. Could you speak to that for a moment? Because I think we all experience it,

Martinus Evans:

Susie, we all have this as I like to call it this little fireplace in ourselves. And it's like this little flickering flame and we can do something that and the flame goes out, or we can fan this flame and make it like this huge fireball. And for me, it's all about trying to flame that flame, making sure that I'm doing the things that's possible to make sure that I'm doing the things that's bringing me in the same way to flat out va, are you going east? This is a phrase that I like to ask myself and ask my coaching people. Are you going east? This is your values, this is your compass. We're all on a journey in life going in a direction that has no final destination. And the only thing we know is that are we going in the right direction that we want to go? Or are we going in the opposite direction or we want to go? So something that always guides me is that phrase of are you going east? I want to go east. My goals are east. The things that I believe in is east. Now if I'm going west, south, north, I'm not going in the right direction. So that's a grounding tool and technique for myself to help me stay grounded when stuff gets hard. And then there's other mindset tricks that I try.

My favorite one is to find an enemy. I'm a big Michael Jordan fan. Yeah, you represent it. So I'm all about finding an enemy and getting that I'm a type of guy to ruminate to get that feeling to like, alright, got it. Let me go. I can now I'm able to rely on those past experiences where I had these feelings and I experienced them, and now I can use those things to drive me now.

Susie Moore:

So it's like you are this master now within yourself of knowing how to create the emotion that's required that will drive the behavior to make you go east to get the result. And that takes some training, right? It does. But once you have it, once you know can conjure up what you need to keep moving. And I love in the book too, you have a values-based exercise too. Understanding what your values are, your why. Speaking to that, you also say, I love this. Not everything you think is true or not. Everything you feel is real because it easy to go, I'm not a runner, I can't do it. I'm lazy. I have a story. Sorry Martin. My story is that I can't run because I get a stitch. Oh, it's so dumb. But I'm like, oh, I had a stitch once four years ago. And so that's it for me,

Martinus Evans:

Susie. I know

Susie Moore:

I'm embarrassed now and I see runners and I'm like, I'm always envious. I think it's such a great way to experience a new city.

Martinus Evans:

It is.

Susie Moore:

And it's great to be outside. I'm not really outside that much and I just feel, I know that there are all these benefits, but I don't feel after reading a book, I think maybe it could be for me.

Martinus Evans:

So Susie, let me tell you about this. So running, I ran my way to London. Somehow I met with some people that then led me to go to London. And before I went there I asked social media, what should I try in London? I know bangers and mash and things of that sort, co fish and chips. And somebody was like, oh, you need trickle pudding. A proper pub has trickle pudding.

Susie Moore:

Trickle pudding. Yeah.

Martinus Evans:

So Susie, I spent my whole trip running around London trying to find trickle pudding, and it was by far the funniest experience of my life. We were running pub to pub like, Hey, I know this is going to be a weird question, but do you have trickle pudding? And they were like, no. I'm like, ah, next bar. Hey, do you have trickle pudding? And then eventually, I still haven't had trickle pudding, but a bar was like, we don't have trickle pudding, but we have sticky totie pudding. And we would say that's probably the next closest thing to it.

Susie Moore:

Wow. So the places it brings you, the opportunities that you, the way it can just be a bridge.

Martinus Evans:

Yes.

Susie Moore:

It almost feels too, you don't need transport. You've got yourself, there's just something soothing and and what I love too is you say this too, and you recite this lovely poem that I think that you learned from your mom. You say, I'll go even if I have to go by myself. I know that you said that this has been, I mean, not a lonely journey, but you've done a lot of this on your own. And a lot of people who are getting started, especially who are slower, who can don't compete at any level, it's okay. Again, this comes back to your self-reliance coming back to Yeah. So could you tell us a bit about that going by yourself? Because you are such an advocate for you've got this, you belong here.

Martinus Evans:

Absolutely. Yes. So for those of you who don't know, there is this gospel song by the Canton spirituals called Send Me. I'll go. So after listening to this podcast, go listen to the song. Yes, Susie, I'm going to sing a little bit for you.

Susie Moore:

Oh yes, please.

Martinus Evans:

The song goes, I'll go if I have to go by myself, I'll go. If I have to go by myself and it says, if my mother don't go, my father don't go. My sister don't go, nor my brother don't go. I'll go if I have to go by myself. And I think this is a great aary about life and doing things and living in your own purpose that sometimes you have the go by yourself. This journey. Sometimes it's scary, it's mucky, you don't know what you're doing, but guess what? The more you do it and the more rely on yourself, the more gritty you become, the more that you're able to do harder things. It's okay if you have to go by yourself. We have a lot of people, maybe the person who listen to the day. You like, yo, I'll do it, but I need somebody to go with me. But there may not be nobody to go with you, so you're not going to go on this journey. So I think that's the thing. Right. And that also goes into my next notion of delusional.

Susie Moore:

Yes. Practice delusional selfie right down here. Yes, please.

Martinus Evans:

I think those two kind of go hand in hand because by you going by yourself, you're going to have a lot of doubt. You're going to have a lot of naysayers. You're going to have a lot of people that's going to question you. And for me, I start to feel like that I was delusional and my own dreams. I remember having a conversation with my wife and be like, am I delusional? Am I the only person that sees what I see for myself?

So it's the point of you have you to be so enthralled and so witted with your own goals and dreams that for other people it looks as you are delusional. And in the book, I give great examples, the telephone, the cell phone flying. Imagine being back in the day and somebody being like, yo, you know what? I'm tired of sending these telegrams. I wish I could just talk to them right now. Or I'm tired of traveling by a horse. I wish I could fly there. I see these birds, they say birds go south of the winter. I want to fly there and imagine a person that was standing next to them and being like, man, if you don't get back on this horse and come with me,

Susie Moore:

What are you thinking? Exactly. The world was created by unreasonable, unreasonable people. Exactly right. The things that we enjoyed the most, all of the incredible invention. I always say that be realistic is the worst advice I've ever heard in my life. And I hate it. I hate it. Be realistic. Said, what does that even mean? Speak to 10 different people from different parts of the world and talk about realistic nothing match it. So when I saw practice delusional, I was like, oh yes, I'm home.

I'm home with this book. Keep going. Yeah. One thing that I love that you say too is when you say there are going to be people who judge, especially if you don't look like a traditional runner, so someone who's super thin, you say white in all the right gear, just running a lot, they're just flowing through the air. These super experience and you said running is, I didn't even realize that running is kind of elitist or it's like the gold standard of fitness. You say this, you belong here. No matter what happens, good or bad, I want you to know that running is for everyone. The outdoors are for all of us, people of every size, color, and age, because that wasn't always your experience. When I was angry on your behalf, as I read about that running club in San Francisco, you went there and they said, oh, this is for anybody, all paces, all levels of experience, and they left you.

Martinus Evans:

They left me high and dry.

Susie Moore:

And as I read this and I see the work that you've created with this book, I'm like, we really need it. Because that's what we all feel like being left, being scared. Where the heck am I? How do you feel about that experience now with how far you've come? The marathons, this book, oh my gosh, on the cover of Runner's World, I mean I used you Martinez as an example all the time. As someone who's brave enough to share their story, to inspire others, look what can happen. Look what you've created. I mean, when you remember that experience now, how do you feel?

Martinus Evans:

Oh man, I feel grateful. I feel grateful that I stuck it through. And here's why. The world profits off of people feeling as if they cannot do the thing that they want. So diet entry industry or any type of industry, it's like, oh, you want this? Well, you're not good enough to get this, but if you buy X, X, Y, Z product or if you look X, y, Z way, you can get there. And then you do that and then you feel empty inside and you still never got to the feeling that you want it. So I'm grateful and honored that I'm able to practice and live in my truth. And for some people that pisses them off and for other people they celebrate that. But when it's all said and done, I'm doing my best to live in my truth and that feels amazing.

Susie Moore:

Isn't it interesting that when it comes to doing something that scares us, so say it's going for a run, we've never done it and we don't look like a traditional runner and we are scared that we'll embarrass ourselves or stop after three seconds Or isn't it interesting that it's not even necessarily the fear of stopping or the fear of maybe getting a stitch or whatever happens? It's not that stops us. It's the fear of judgment.

Martinus Evans:

Exactly.

Susie Moore:

And then you say, and I quote, fuck 'em,

Martinus Evans:

Fuck 'em.

Susie Moore:

Can you just speak to that for a second because, and I just love how you put it in just such candid language. It's not come back to your center. You're like, this is what I say, fuck 'em

Martinus Evans:

Susie. I don't know how many people in this world, let's just say 100 million people in this world. There's 100 people million in this world. I don't know. But the thing is that there's so many opinions, there's so many thoughts. Everybody is not for everybody. And that's cool. And if they are going to criticize you about what you're doing, fuck them. Simply put right, that's it. Fuck them. Because there's just so many other people out there. There's people here for you. There's your community here, you just haven't found it yet. Right? I build a community of over 10,000 members of slow runners. We are all slow and we celebrate and we take pictures and we have fun and we cheer each other on and we're all slow.

And for some people it's like, don't y'all want to get faster? Or the question I like to have, well will, if you run long enough, you lose weight. And it's like, that's not the point though. The point is this journey of life of the running and enjoying what you are doing, and it's like that don't make any sense. Why aren't you training to get better? It's like, well, do you not see that training to get better is what's wearing everybody down. This whole toxic hustle culture is wearing you down this whole, I need to get to where I need to be, and if not, I'm a failure is wearing you down. I think for me, it just unlocked the journey and all of this, that's the fun part. I ran races my first marathon, I got depressed, I got sad, Susie, I almost thought I was done running because I had spent so much time and effort focusing on this one thing.

I did it. You got to go, you got to do it. You got to put all your heart into it. I did it. I crossed the finish line, I went home. I ate something to eat, went something to get something to eat, and then I cried. I cried because it was over. It's like, well, why would I want to put myself throughout all of this again? And I think for myself and for everybody else, that's where finding and understanding that this is a journey and it's about the ever going of it and the ever evolving of it versus being like, oh, I need to just get to this one thing. Because once you get to that one thing, as humans, we're never going to be satisfied. We never going to be satisfied. And for me, I wept. I cried a baby in the bathtub with my medal on and it's like, I don't know what else I'm going to do

Susie Moore:

Because you hit the goal. And then it was like, now what?

Martinus Evans:

And it was like, now what? I had nothing else to look forward to. Nothing. Complete emptiness.

Susie Moore:

It's interesting, you hear this a lot, right? It's like someone wins an Oscar and then they're like, or someone, their wedding's over and they're like, I'm depressed. And then so you ran your marathon, but you've just kept going and going, right? It's like new chat and okay, I want to speak to what you said just a moment ago, which I think is really lacking in this world, frankly. It's like the joy of the thing. So you have this group, this big community of runners who are slow. They're not like, okay, goal this week, improve by X Minutes or this, all the statistics, you are celebrating where you are and just being there and doing the things. Yes. No one does that, by the way, right? It's like even I think to myself sometimes if I'm not reading business books, if I'm reading fiction books, I should really be back on my success books or my self-help books. And sometimes I'm like, I just want to read all day. That just gives me pleasure to read some classics, to read some old literature, whatever. And what you are saying is something that I think people don't give themselves permission to do,

Martinus Evans:

Susie, the celebration is in the application.

The celebration is an application. And so I've had many of lives, I was this close to starting a PhD and getting all that stuff. And one of the things as I was going through this whole process was we have to write grants and my advisor would be like, alright, we wrote the grant. We apply. Let's just celebrate. No matter what happens, because you're writing these scientific grants and you're writing to these larger organizations, there's a 1% chance that you're going to get it. And my advisor taught me we're going to celebrate. Now we applied, and her thing was the celebration is in the application. You did it. You went through the process and let's celebrate that. Let's celebrate that you applied and you can use applied for everything. So let's celebrate that you applied your life. Let's celebrate that you went through this journey. Let's celebrate that you even started. Because most people have all these great ideas, but they do nothing with it. So you need to celebrate that you actually did that thing. That's where a celebration comes, not in the outcome.

Susie Moore:

I love this. I mean, I said to a friend recently who was scared to ask for a raise. Frankly, she was scared to ask for more money. I was like, you know what? I coached her through it, how to set it up, how to prepare, and I was like, I don't care what the outcome is. High five. You did that scary thing that most people never do and women are known to be underpaid. And I was like, I don't care what the outcome is. You did the thing, there's some back and forth and negotiating. But I was like, it's irrelevant. The celebration is in the application or is the celebration...

Martinus Evans:

The celebration is in the application.

Susie Moore:

So when you get together with your community, the fact that they're just running, the fact that they're showing up, whatever that looks like, it looks different for everybody.

Martinus Evans:

It's high fives, high fives, high fives to everybody. The fact that you applied yourself, you thought about it and then you took the next step to apply yourself. That's what we're celebrating.

Susie Moore:

What's mission for this book? When you think about this going out into the world very soon, being in the hands of people who are like, oh, what is this? Could this open up something for me? Or who is this guy? What's he going to tell me about writing? What is your dream, your intention as it goes out yonder?

Martinus Evans:

So for running, I got a bunch of intentions, but for running in general, my goal is to inspire 1 million people to start running in the body they have right now. So I want people to look at this book, pick it up and feel inspired to take the first step. So that's the overall goal for this. I think for myself, it's like Martinez Evans, who is this individual. I want to move more into general motivation and letting people know that I have a larger story to tell. I'm bigger and I have a message bigger than this running persona. I grew up on the east side of Detroit. I grew up next to a crack house before the age of 10. I had two brothers pass on me, who? Two brothers who died. I flunked out of college my sophomore year, right? I've lost a football scholarship. So I went through a lot of adversities that I just haven't been able to tell and share these stories to let people know how I became the man who I am. And I think there's this running is just the 1% of what the world has been able to see.

Susie Moore:

That's what I think. As I read your work and I've been observing your journey, you and I got connected. I can't even remember when five years ago, maybe even longer,

Martinus Evans:

Susie, I was in one of your classes. I was in five minutes to Famous.

Susie Moore:

Yes, I remember. Remember being on Calls with You. I always use you as an example. Look what happens when you share your story. Look what happens when you're willing to show up and be generous to talk about.

Martinus Evans:

I still use that list. Shout out to you. I still use that content list that's in Five Minutes to Famous.

Susie Moore:

I hope you're getting a lot of media for this book. And that's another thought that I'm having too. I'm like, Martinez, this needs to be everywhere. I mean, we're in the stretch now leading up to your launch, which is so exciting. Although a book you promote forever, right? A book you have forever. But I thought to myself, Martinus is just getting started. That's what I feel. You are just

Martinus Evans:

Not here to last for me, this is just the

Susie Moore:

Oh, I know. I mean, I've observed you on the cover of Runner's World, working with a, I say added ass. That's the English way we say it, not Adidas added ass. I see you in the Huffington Post. I see you talking about your story, talking about your hand off 300 pounds and running. The people who are connecting with you inspired with you. I'm like, wow. Yes, it's running and it's more than running. Running is.

Martinus Evans:

Susie, I pose naked in Men's health. I know. I would've never thought that 10 years ago when a doctor called me fat and told me I was going to die, that I'll be naked and Men's health and be happy about it. I remember when I got the call and it was like, Hey, Martinez, we're doing this thing. We would love to have you a part of it, but there's this one catch. And I was like, what is it? And they was like, it's a nude shoot. And I was like, let's go.

Susie Moore:

Were you immediately like, let's go. Yes. Wow, that is so cool. I can imagine 99.9% of people would be like, oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And you are like, yes. Is this, do you think that running how you've maintained this discipline, how even when it's uncomfortable, you still go and you push yourself, push yourself, expand, expand. Has that just parlayed into so many things? Has it boosted other areas?

Martinus Evans:

Running is aary for life. The term life is a marathon is a term because a marathon is just not generally easy about the Tale of a marathon. The guy who ran the first marathon, who was the deliverer of the news to say the battle of the Marathon was done. He died after running to the place and telling the news. So just that in itself is just a super hard thing that most people can't even fathom doing. Right? Less than 1% of the population has ran one marathon. I've ran eight of them. So those doing hard things, as I like to say, gives you clout to do even more harder things. And it's just about momentum. It's really about momentum. Like Susie, I remember when I couldn't run for five minutes straight, let alone a mile. I was so happy and telling my parents and my girlfriend and my wife, now I can run five minutes straight and being the happiest thing that I've ever accomplished. And now moving from like, oh, I can do this to, oh, I've ran eight marathons and understanding that I've done this hard thing, that I can always compare even harder things to the previous experience. So I'm always comparing those experiences like, oh, you think this is hard? Oh no, this ain't hard. What you did last year, Martinez, like that was harder than this. You going to let this get you. You did this thing way harder, right? So the same thing. So Susie, this hoodie, you see these T-shirts?

Susie Moore:

Yeah,

Martinus Evans:

I made those, right? I went through the process to find a manufacturer, understand how to make a tech pack, understand what I need to get to them, figure out shipping from China, not get ripped off and be like, oh. And I remember going through this process like, oh, you think losing a couple a hundred dollars in China, it is hard. Martinus, you wrote a thesis, you wrote a master thesis. You applied to go to a PhD program. You ran eight marathons. So what if you lost $500 in China? You did that. You thought that was hard. So it's always those things. And I think for your listeners is that we've been through even harder things in the past that we're going through now, and we can always compare those things to say like, oh, you thought this was hard? Try that you did that though, but you did that. So if you can do that, I know you can do this.

Susie Moore:

I agree. And we're so quick to forget the wins that we've had. I mean, I always think, oh my gosh. Even any woman who's ever given birth, like, whoa, you've done something really, really hard. Or someone who's published a book, someone who's even forgiven somebody. Maybe you've had a lot of people have had very difficult abusive parents, or they've had unforgivable or unthinkable experiences. And when we think about where we've come, what we've done, you think about, gosh, running eight marathons, there must be in the moment of recalling that and recalling that voice, stop, give up. Who are you to do it? You're going to look silly. People will laugh. And you proceed, huh? You kind of come back to the truth a little bit.

Martinus Evans:

Yeah,

Susie Moore:

Right. Of who you are. Do you think that when you complete a marathon that it's about the marathon or about you?

Martinus Evans:

It's about the experience. It's about the marathon. It's not about me starting and running a distance. I think I'm a little bit beyond that. It's more about, as I'm running a race, I'm always looking to who I can talk to. Who can I pass on jewels to? Or who can I help experience a runaway because I know I'm going to forget to the finish line. I've already did that. But I know there's people around me, this is their first time or they're struggling through something and it's for me. Or I've taken it on the responsibility to be like, Hey, you need some help. Or do you need to call Prime example? I was running a marathon actually, the Detroit Marathon, and I was about halfway through, maybe about mile 18. So they have the marathon. The way it's set up is that the half marathoners run with you, but they run the second half of the race. So I'm at mile 18 and I see this young lady, she's sitting on the curb with her shoes off as a runner, that is a bad sign on the curb. Alright, that's one thing. But you're on the curb with your shoes off. Did you twist your ankle? Did you sprain something? Is it swollen? So I remember just going over there, she was sitting down with her headphones on and her shoes are off. And I remember tapping on her shoulder like, Hey, are you all right? And the look on her face like, oh my God, you're Martinus Evans.

Susie Moore:

Give me a hug. Give me.

Martinus Evans:

And I'm like, I'll give you a hug. Calm down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you okay? And she was like, man, I bought these shoes at the expo. This is my first time wearing these shoes. I was calling my sister trying to figure out if she going to come bring me some new shoes.

I said, are you okay though? She's like, I'm good. I'm even better now. I thought I wasn't going to finish this race, but now I'm finishing it. And I told her, I'll be waiting for you at the finish line. So I finished the race, Susie, and I get my medal. I remember talking to my wife like, Hey, there was this lady at the sitting on the ground. And I just wonder. I was like, I wonder if she's finished. And as soon as I said that, here she comes running down the street with no shoes on.

Susie Moore:

Oh my.

Martinus Evans:

She ran the race of the race with no shoes on. And I asked the person at the finish line like, Hey, can I give her her medal? I met her. And they was like, yeah. So she crossed the finish line and then she's crying, hugging family members. And I tapped her on her shoulder and I was like, you did it. Here's your medal.

Susie Moore:

Oh my gosh.

Martinus Evans:

That experience is that feeling, that emotion that I can give to somebody else, that hope that I gave her and then that she finished. And for me to be there and be like, you did it. Congratulations. And to be able to hand her medal, that's way better experience than me running 10 more marathons.

Susie Moore:

Oh my God. And without shoes.

Martinus Evans:

Without shoes.

Susie Moore:

So she saw you. Something clicked like, okay. It's like one thing that I love about courage and kindness and generosity, which I just, that's what I take from your book is you don't even realize. Of course there are all the practical steps and so forth, and you speak about new shoes in the book too. Never run with new shoes. They need to be really comfortable from the get go. It's so much bigger that you don't even realize. Of course people say, you got me running and thank you so much. But you don't even realize who you're encouraging just by being yourself and by sharing yourself with others. In fact, I would love to read a passage of your book that comes towards the end, which I love so much. You say, finally, as you continue your running journey, you're going to encounter other people in the same shoes that you and I were in. It's now your duty to help those people be the person I needed. The person you needed the person they need. You don't have to know everything about running to help. Something like a smile, a wave, or a nod out on the road can be the only thing that stands between someone giving up, running for good and staying the course.

Tina, oh my. Where do we go to get this book? Where do we go to find out more about you? Give us all the things because we want more. And truly, anyone curious about running? I didn't think that I was because of my stitch problem so dumb. I dunno. I'm thinking it could be something I could try and you say just again, all the advice is in the book, my friends. Okay, friends, we need this book out in June available everywhere Books Sold, I'm assuming Robert, but Your Salt. But Martinez, tell us where to go to follow you, to find out everything about you, and then also any just parting words from you if you have any.

Martinus Evans:

Absolutely. So you can find me on the intranets at three pounds and running. That's 300. Spell out pounds and Running. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, 300 pounds and running.com. You can find out more about the Slow F Run Club at slow f run club.com. We have an app on iOS and Android, which is the Slow Runners Facebook. So you can search for Slow Af Run Club and iOS and Android. You'll find us there. And I think the last piece that I want to give your listeners is that in life, regardless if it's running or whatever you're trying to do, you can do it and it may look different from what you see or what you've had in your mind. But please be flexible because you never know what's on the other side by just being flexible and applying yourself. Celebration is in the application.

Susie Moore:

Martinus, I hope you'll come back. I could talk to you forever. Truly, we're scratching the surface in terms of this conversation, in terms of what's coming for you. This is just the foundational piece of am thrilled and honored to continue to watch you and to just see you just flourish and serve others. And Martinus, thank you so much for being here.

Martinus Evans:

Thank you for having me, Susie.

Susie Moore:

Until next time, my friends, get the book, slow AF Run Club, follow Martinus. He's the man. There is so much to follow, so much incredible information groups to join. And until next time, my friends love it. Take care.