Today’s guest is Sara Gross. Sara is the Founder and CEO of Live Feisty Media, a progressive media outlet aimed at empowering new perspectives in triathlon & beyond. The company empowers these new perspectives through the production of podcasts, written content, and videos. Prior to founding Live Feisty, Sara was a professional triathlete for 13 years, mainly focusing on long course triathlon and Ironman events. Her triathlon career accolades include: winning the 2014 Ironman Brazil and the 2014 Ironman North American Championships; being named the Canadian Long Course athlete of the year in 2008; and compiling 20 top 5 Ironman finishes around the world. Sara also holds a PhD in Ancient History and Religion with her dissertation in the field of women’s history. She continues to remain passionate about women’s history today and in addition to the work she does with Live Feisty, Sara is also the co-founder of the Outspoken: Women in Triathlon Summit. In this interview, we get into Sara’s experience growing up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), her passion and studies in women’s history, her pro triathlon career, and of course, Live Feisty Media.
Timestamps
00:02:48 Moving to the UAE from Canada
00:06:37 What the Dubai area was like when she was growing up there
00:07:55 Sports she played growing up
00:09:49 Biggest shock for her when she moved to the UAE
00:11:46 When her passion for women's history started
00:14:17 Studying world religions in college
00:16:07 Career ambitions while in college
00:16:40 College swim team
00:18:55 Continuing graduate studies in women's history
00:24:38 Her start in triathlon
00:29:13 What changed in 2014 to get her over the hump in winning her first Ironman races
00:32:06 Her favorite Ironman races
00:33:50 Biggest takeaways from competing as a pro triathlete
00:35:27 Why she stopped competing professionally
00:36:20 2015 Kona qualification changes
00:39:17 Live Feisty Media
00:43:49 Ultimate vision for Live Feisty Media
00:45:22 What would she want to have accomplished 5 years from now
00:47:04 Her daily routine
00:47:53 Her driving force
00:48:31 Advice around staying committed to your passions
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.