Mitchie Brusco - X Games Gold Medalist, Professional Skateboarder, History Maker

Mitchie Brusco is an action sports athlete, professional skateboarder, skydiver, and a record-setter who has done things that no one else on the planet has done. Mitchie pushes the progression of skateboarding farther than anyone else has before. He has also learned to build trust in himself as an athlete while facing real-life risks on a daily basis. Learn how Mitchie manages fear & risk, the pressures of competition, pushing the envelope in sports, and the expectations of others when you are seen as the best in your field. Dr. Shepp sits down with Mitchie to talk about sports psychology and the pursuit of continued excellence in what may be his most in-depth interview.

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Podcast transcripts coming soon at: ManageTheMoment.net

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Music by Brad Buxer

Episode Transcript

Dr. Shepp (00:08):
Thanks for tuning in to manage the moment,
conversations in performancepsychology.
I'm Dr.
Sari Shepphird.

Mitchie Brusco (00:16):
A lot of people ask, how are you not scared, are
you kidding me?
I'm scared all the time, likeI'm literally terrified.
Oh, majority of the time.
I explained that.
It's like I think the peoplelike me and the people like
these guys I've mentioned, kindof just found a way to have a

(00:38):
healthy relationship with yearand learn how to kind of live
with it and use it as kind oflike a chisel to make yourself a
little bit more precise, alittle bit more well thought
out, and it's kind of what keepsme in that focus.

Dr. Shepp (01:02):
Michi Brusco is someone who is well acquainted
with fear.
In fact, he's one of thoseathletes who faces realistic
fears and risks nearly every dayof his life, both as a
professional skateboarder and inhis more recent pursuit of
skydiving.
Having logged over 940 jumps atthe time of this recording.
Mitchie is also someone who hasdone things that no one else on
the planet has done, likelanding a 1260 in a skateboard,

(01:25):
big air competition as Michiepushes the progression of
skateboarding farther thananyone else has done before.
He has learned to build trust inhimself as a performer, as an
athlete and as a human being.
I recently sat down with Michieoutside on a summer evening in
orange County, California forwhat may be the most in depth
interview he has given.

(01:46):
And in these moments, Michiedescribes his process, his
preparation, and how he gets hismind into the moment when
everything needs to cometogether in a competition.
Hey Mitchie, how are you?

Mitchie Brusco (02:00):
I'm doing well.
Thank you.
Thank you for, thank you forhaving me and reaching out.
I'm pretty excited to sit downand chat for a bit.

Dr. Shepp (02:06):
Oh, great.
Thanks.
Yeah, I'm really excited aboutit too.
You're not only, um, an actionsports athlete who's won X games
gold, but you're also aninnovator.
It sounds to me, from what Iknow about you, that you want to
be able to constantly pushthings forward.

Mitchie Brusco (02:22):
Yeah, I guess so.
I mean you say like actionsports athlete and I mean you
say innovator, but it's like, tome it's like been the same
process like one without theother.
It never would have been athing.
I think the things that got meinto those contests, the things
that made that path possible waskind of trying to do different

(02:47):
things.
You know?
I wasn't like I was followingfootsteps and taking advice and
I was like really payingattention, but when it come time
I'd try something else.
I try to, okay well everyone cando this, I can do this now.
Obviously it's go time.
And as a little kid that made alot of sense.
It's go time, tried to learnsomething, one step, you know
more.
And then so that kind of openedthe door and then I've just

(03:11):
tried to stay with that ideathat like, well got me here is
kind of what I should keepdoing.
And like, yeah, just don't bepredictable and keep, keep
pushing.

Dr. Shepp (03:23):
So you're, you're a creative athlete.
I mean you're not just doingwhat you're told to do.
You're also wanting to thinkabout how you can expand things.

Mitchie Brusco (03:32):
Yeah.
I mean I don't like, I don't, Iam getting better as I get a bit
older.
I'm getting better at reallygrinding some specific tricks
and things that I really need tohave consistently.
But doing the same thing overand over for me is not, not what
I look forward to.

(03:52):
So like always trying to expandand try new things.
Yeah.
It's just basically it's keepingmyself entertained in kind of,
it's now within the realm ofcompeting and a at like a high
level in skateboarding.
But how do I keep doing that andstay just blissfully
entertained.
The like a majority of the timeit's kind of like you're forced

(04:16):
to try to learn new things causeit's just going to get
monotonous and no time.
So which motivates

Dr. Shepp (04:20):
So what motivates you more, the, the entertaining
yourself and pushing yourself orthe[inaudible] competition.

Mitchie Brusco (04:26):
They work, they work together.
Uh, if I wasn't getting ready tocompete, I would not push myself
as hard and I would not openthose doors to then be ready to
try these new things that I wantto.
So it's kind of like within theprocess of working, let's say I

(04:47):
do work on a run for fourmonths, five months, by about
halfway through I'm like man Ineed to add something and I'm
like I can't do the same.
I'm doing three tricks that areexactly, they're different.
But in my head they start tofeel the same cause they kind of
work from the same origin Iguess.
And it's like that's not okay.
We got to add something new inone of those tricks.

(05:09):
So all of a sudden now I'mlearning different ways to get
through this like run that Ibuilt that I worked super hard
on.
So that's where the consistencyand that's where the contest
comes in and then then I startpicking at my brain.
Once I get it down, once I do itwell enough it's like it
doesn't, it just doesn't stopthere.
Like it's like I, I can'tphysically work on something the

(05:30):
same like beyond reason.
Like, some people are like supergood at that, but once it gets
to a certain point and I got itdown like, okay, grind it for a
couple of weeks and then I justnaturally I start changing
things and adding things.
And I think that's important ina subjective sport to do things

(05:52):
that excite you because ifyou're getting judged, that
excitement is like, uh, what'sthe word?
That excitement it.
People feed off of it and itkind of like you can feel it and
a judge can feel it and thecrowd can, it's like if you're
doing something you do all thetime, it's like sometimes it

(06:12):
doesn't have the same effect.
So I think everything kind ofhas a nice like relationship
with each other to kind of keepthe process, you know, kind of
sound.

Dr. Shepp (06:22):
There is this sense of the crowd being a big part of
what happens.
And even if you've seen the samesick trick done, um, a couple
years in a row, three years in arow, it, it might be like
intense to watch and, and, andsick trick to do.
But you still kind of get thesense that it's been done before

(06:42):
so the crowd gets a little bitmore mellow.
It's just, it's a little bitmore predictable even if it's a
really, really difficult run.
I mean

Mitchie Brusco (06:50):
it's like it's, it's like anything, if you go to
a comedy show and then you goagain, I mean if you've heard
the punchline before, it's notgoing to be a new memory.
It's not going to be somethingthat sticks with you.
And I think that's somethingthat like action sports
specifically and skateboardingit I think has been so beautiful

(07:14):
because growing up I have somany memories because I watched
these people, I look up tocreate memories like for
themselves and I kind of feellike I shared that and it like
pushed me to now be in the spotthat I'm in.
And so going in and repeatingsomething is like, it's a good

(07:35):
strategy and it works and it'sfun and you can do it for a long
time and you can, you know, andyou need to pay the bills and
you need to stay healthy and itis awesome.
You watching it, it is awesome.
But it never will match themoment of something new
happening.
Like, you know what I mean?
It's, it's never gonna matchthat.

Dr. Shepp (07:57):
And it's interesting just how your culture is so
different than my generation.
Right?
Because you were born in 97 so,and Tony Hawk's 900 was in 99
so, so as long as you canremember, you've seen this kind
of outcome in your sport.
Nine hundreds where havehappened

Mitchie Brusco (08:14):
before I ever stepped on escape.
Yeah.
So first time I stepped on askateboard, I knew technically,
you know, nine hundreds could bedone,

Dr. Shepp (08:23):
which is so crazy for someone like me who all of a
sudden, what's, what's ex games?
Like when I grew up, there wasno such thing.
Right?
So it's, it's really differentfor my generation to see the
progression as being somethingoutside of our scope outside of
the world.
And then here's this phenomenonthat now is now, it's a part of
our culture, but it's a good,there was a beginning for us.

(08:44):
Right?
But for you it's always existed.

Mitchie Brusco (08:46):
Like the, like the origin, you're like you were
there for the origin and you'rethere for the beginning and the
start and then like the trialsand figuring out what the sport
is and if it belongs on a bigstage or not.
Or big big ramps came into playsomewhere along the way, you
know, 99 2005 like big airstarted and you know, all these

(09:10):
new things.
And these are times when I'm,I'm just coming up on a
skateboard.
I'm like watching, you know, I'mfour years old, five years old
and I'm watching Danny way domegaramp and I'm watching Tony
Hawk do nine hundreds and I'mwatching these people push the
boundaries.
So I mean ever since I was akid, I was like, yeah, people do

(09:32):
five forties they flip theirboard, they do nine hundreds
they compete.
This is a thing, you know, itjust always was.
I was just, I guess that theperfect at the perfect time in
ed, somehow with no one in myfamily ever skateboarding ever
being involved.
Somehow I got my eyes on theright content for me.

Dr. Shepp (09:53):
It probably gave you a different sense of what's
possible?

Mitchie Brusco (09:56):
Oh, I mean it definitely shaped like I watched
very few skate videos growing upand they were so different like
the DC video with Danny waydoing mega ramp and I'd watch
almost around three with day onesong doing flat ground tricks
and kick flips and manuals andyou know, and, and those two

(10:19):
extremes kind of fascinated me alot more than, than like going
down eight stairs and doing atrick or hitting a rail, like
for some reason like the two,those two outliers where is
always what I was watching whenI was five, six years old and

(10:39):
it's now how I skate.
I'm either doing, you know, Imight have 50 feet in the air or
skating vert or preparing for acontest or when I mess out
around at the skate park I'm on,I'm on the manual pattern.
I'm playing skate on flatground.
I'm like, I S I, I know Istruggle in the, in between
zones.
It's really weird.
Like where everyone seems toexist in skateboarding.

(11:02):
I kind of, I'm on the[inaudible], I can't, for some reason, I'm
kinda on the, on the weird cuspsof what I like to do.

Dr. Shepp (11:12):
Well, as I came to know a little bit more about
your background, it, that's notjust true with skateboarding,
right, because you also, so tellme a little bit about the, the
um, the jumping you do.

Mitchie Brusco (11:24):
Oh, Oh, with, with skydiving, man.
So growing up within actionsports, I mean, I say within
action sports because I wasobsessed with it.
I wasn't like growing up in likeat X games every year when I was
super young, but I was for somereason just like vert skating

(11:45):
was, I could do that.
I knew I could do it.
It was the, I can't explain it.
Um, and then I'd see guys,Travis Pastrana and Bob
Burnquist and Matt Hoffman andthese names who are so like huge
and X games who sometimes goskydiving or base jumping or

(12:06):
flying parachutes or landing onthe ramp and then skating the
contest or you know, doingthese, doing these things that,
so I think through that process,once I started competing, once I
started skating and you know,started to feel like, Hey, I
kind of have some of this, likesome of that juice I have like

(12:26):
kind of, you know, all the kidsI was skating with aren't at
these contests now.
And like everyone I grew up withas kind of seeming to go a
different route and I'm kind ofgetting more and more in this
zone of competing and like doinga good job that I think I had so
much faith in myself and I builtthat trust and I started to feel

(12:50):
like with those guys, you know,and then I turned 18 and I did a
tandem skydive.
Just a normal one.
Just like, I think a lot ofpeople have that story.
I think a lot of people turn 18into a skydive.
I didn't expect anything fromit.
I went with a couple of friends.
It was cool and that was it.
And as soon as that parachuteopened and I was sitting there

(13:13):
with, with this kid calledMikey, who took me on my tandem
and we landed and I startedasking questions like, how do I,
how do I start?
What's going on?
And I was back in three days,learning, learning how to, no
question, is it hard?
Is it this is it that?

(13:33):
It was like, where do I start?
Hmm.
Have you ever asked thosequestions though?
When you're thinking aboutprogression and developing new
tricks, do you ever ask if it'shard?
Um, everything is hard.
There is not, there's not onething that I've done that I'm
proud of or that usually on adaily basis that's genuinely

(13:55):
easy.
So I think you just get used topushing through that everyday.
A lot of people ask me, it's,it's actually, it makes me very
curious.
A lot of people ask me, how areyou not scared?
And I'm like, are you kiddingme?
I'm scared all the time.
Like I'm literally terrified amajority of the time.

(14:16):
And like I explained that it'slike, I think the people like me
in the people, like these guysI've mentioned kind of just
found a way to have a healthyrelationship with that fear and
learn how to kind of live withit and use it as kind of like a
chisel to make yourself a littlebit more precise, a little bit

(14:39):
more well thought out.
And when it's time, when it's gotime it, it's kind of what keeps
me in that focus and that zone.
It's like, so I do ask all thetime, is it so, so much of this
stuff is so dumb.
It's like, but that need that.
Like the, the, I didn't chooseto want these things.

(15:01):
Like it almost sucks sometimesto be in these positions.
Like to I'm going to try a 1260today.
Like I was so excited two monthsago and now it's time.
And I'm like, uh, but you learnhow to push through those and
you learn how to feel if it'sright or if it's wrong or in, I
mean that comes with mistakes,but hopefully they're not too

(15:24):
bad and you say, I'm not feelingit today.
I don't have to do this.
It's not the day I'm staying onthe ground.
I'm not going to skydive.
I'm not going to skate guy.
I'm not going to go to this fornot going to do a 900 in this
contest.
Like those days happen and theykind of slip under the radar.
And so I think having like a, ahealthy relationship with fear

(15:46):
is probably, I think the D adifference maker for sure.

Speaker 4 (16:01):
[inaudible]

Dr. Shepp (16:01):
it makes a lot of sense.
And it also makes sense that youfind a way to focus on what
you're about to do as a way totune out the fear.
So you become hyper focused onexecuting your tricks.

Mitchie Brusco (16:15):
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, usually I'll focus on acouple of really simple things
that I know if I do those thingsright, even if I don't land it,
even if something happens, if Ihit spot one with this speed and
I take off and it feels likethis and I keep my, my key

(16:37):
thought, you know, throughoutthe whole thing, I'll be fine.
And just whenever something elsecomes in, if, if I'm not
comfortable with that processkind of shifted a little bit.
Okay.
Think of it like this.
Take off, think about spinningas hard as you can not take off.
Oh, that's really scary.

(16:57):
That means no touch, no anythingkind of re reframe it.
Okay.
Relax and take off smooth.
It's like, okay, I like that.
Just take off smooth and holdit.
Okay.
Smooth and hold it and then kindof all of a sudden it feels good
and then it's time and you goand then before you know it,
you're standing there, it'sover, you're okay.
And you're like, okay, I trusteda little bit more now.

(17:19):
I trust it just a little bitmore now.
And it's kind of like you playthat game and then you know,
when it's time you stand up onit.
It's kinda like always kind ofin the, for me I guess.

Dr. Shepp (17:30):
No, but that makes sense because you're focused on
the process of executing yourskill and when you talk yourself
through it, you use some cuewords.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
Some keywords, like you said, sothat even though the trick might
not last long in terms ofseconds, you're able to break it
down a few key

Mitchie Brusco (17:50):
things that you focus on to work your way
through it.
Yeah.
And it just, that I think thatfeeling of safety and comfort
and you know, I think if you canfind that within the, within the
moments of like all this fear,because it doesn't go away, the
fear does not go away.
But if you can find those littlemoments, like if I do this, you

(18:14):
know, if I take off this wayI'll be fine.
And then you know, you can takeoff that way.
You're like, every time you getscared you're like, I can do
this though.
You know, you're kind of thisbattle, do it, do it right, but
you also can do it.
And then just not letting thateat you alive kind of and

(18:35):
staying kind of on it.
And then the thing I've gottenbetter at with more experience
is when I'm in the air, when I'mskateboarding to know if it's
good or bad.
Right?
Because when you're firstlearning a bunch of these
tricks, you have no idea.

(18:56):
It feels like I'm leaning back alittle bit.
It's like, it's like good orbad.
Like you're going to come in andthe only way to know is try to
land a couple, you know, youfall forward.
Sometimes you lean too farforward, you felt it in the air,
but you didn't know what itmeant.
And then, so now when it came toa 1260 I was spinning, I got
through 900 and I was like, noalarms were going off in my

(19:20):
head.
I was almost like in my, like Iwas literally thinking like,
like really like is this theone?
Like there's literally, there'snothing wrong with it.
Like, you know, I was comingaround, I got through 900 I had
that last spin that like, wellthat was the one that was giving
me the most trouble in my head.
And I got there and it justlooked good.

(19:42):
It felt good.
I was like, man, we're here andthere's nothing wrong with it,
you know, and like the, I thinkthat's just from experience of
being in similar places and I'vemade stuff way worse than that.
Way more put myself in such abad spot on a five 40 take off,
leaning too far forward, pop outwhen too high.

(20:06):
It's windy, didn't take accountanything inland it and you're
like, Whoa, I got lucky on thatone.
And but like it's almost like ifit's a scarier trick that you
don't know, it has to be evenbetter.
And it kind of like, I dunno,there was nothing wrong with it.
There was no, so you knew onthat last rotation that you were
going to land it pretty muchsince I took off.

(20:29):
I mean since you took, I mean,yeah, pretty much.
I was like, it felt good.
And then as I came, as I got to900 it was like, and then I
could see it, I could see thelanding.
I knew I was like in the perfectspot.
I knew the spin was just notover rotated and it was almost
like just surreal.
Like that moment lasted forever.

(20:51):
That last, that last rotationusually when I would try 1260
the last rotation would lastforever cause my back, it feels
like my back is to the rampforever.
But the one I made, I felt likeI looked at where I was going to
land and I just, that is whatsticks out in my head that like

(21:11):
that visual of seeing that thisis going to work right now.
Like this just worked, you know?
And it kind of feel likeeverything froze in that, in
that moment for sure.
[inaudible] was, was just hyperthat day.
Oh for sure.
For sure.
I mean, uh, yeah, there's no,there's no question.
I mean, I watched the video andI'm blown away.

(21:32):
Yeah.
I think about it now and Iwouldn't want to go try anything
close to that.
You know, it's like getting backto normal and people have
probably asked you if it feltlike slow motion.
Um, actually nobody, nobody hasasked that.
Um, it felt really consistent.
That's, I think that's whatsticks out to me.
Cause a lot of the attempts onthe 1260, I tried four before

(21:54):
that, right?
Two in Shanghai months beforeand then to in that same contest
right before I made it in thespin, felt like I'd speed up and
slow down and speed up and slowdown within, within the spin.
And the one that I made feltthat had a really nice pace all
the way through.
So I don't know if that meansslow motion.

(22:14):
I just think that means I wasn'tin a rush.
Okay, great.
I think that means I wasn'ttrying to skip anything.
I was just kind of hanging out,kind of knew that I would get
around in the, when I turned myback to the ramp that last time
I wasn't freaking out and then Isaw it and it was good.
So maybe slow, but I think I wasjust patient enough.

(22:37):
That's a great description.
Yeah.
And so most people listening aregonna know what you're talking
about, but for those who don't,so the 1260 of course is three
and a half rotations.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was uh, uh, the, the biggercontests in Minneapolis just
couple of weeks ago.
It was in, uh, end of July wasit?

(22:59):
Man is four weeks ago.
It feels like an eternity causethis month in August, August
3rd.
That's wild.
Um, so yeah, skateboard, a bigair, 1260 on the quarter pipe,
three-and-a-half rotations.
And uh, it got silver causethough the way the, so I won the

(23:21):
year before in, in big air andthen this year I got silver
because it's scored half on thequarter pipe and half over the
gap.
And I did a really easy gap Trekto set up for it.
So I maxed out the score on thequarter and kind of had a dot on
the, on the gap, which was worthit for me.
I mean, you know, my style andyou know of like, well let's do

(23:43):
something else.
Obviously I assumed you want thegold.
Forgive me for forgetting.
No, it's, it's fine.
It's like a lot of people havethat question and I really don't
like, how did you not win?
It's like I care pretty muchzero because I could
technically, I could have oneand not have had this

(24:03):
opportunity or so manyopportunities from it and so
many cool conversations that I wI think I will always choose if
the, if it's there, I willalways choose the route of
something new for me.
Something new in the contest,something fresh, something fun.

(24:23):
Then trying to do an equation towin something.
So you want to go before, Iknow.
So when you compare the two,this, this is more meaningful to
you.
They're exactly the same.
Cause I did it, I did a 10 80for and I got gold.
And to me, you know, being theonly person to do a 10 80
[inaudible] in a megaramp concontest is cool.

(24:46):
But for me it's like I didn'tknow if I could do that.
It's so that was like somethingthat was fry.
Yeah.
Throw a gold medal on.
I'm not complaining, you know?
Um, but I think that are equallyas special and without one,
without that 10 80 a 1260 neverwould've crossed my mind.

(25:06):
And just the same way that, youknow, at 1260 happens, you start
scratching your head like, well,kind of blew the lid off of that
one.
Yeah.
Like, you know, there's a kidout there who is three years old
who just watched a 1260 happen,which that's, that was me, other
than nine hundreds.
Right, right.
And you know, 900 happens,everyone goes, that's it.

(25:29):
[inaudible] that's, we gotthere, we did the most.
Okay.
And we'll now someone did atangy.
It's like, Nope, all right, nowwe're done, now we're tending.
And then now at 1260 happens inthe same thing.
It's like we can't go anymore.
We did 1260s it, but there somekid out there who now knows that
if he wants to do 1260s he can.
And so it's like that you can'tcompare it, you know, a gold to

(25:54):
a silver or this year, that yearit's like they're different,
they're different memories.
There are different things.
And it's just kinda like thatone opened the door to the next.
I mean I love the contest.
I was a complete dud in as wellbecause it showed me what
mistakes I made.
You know, it's like there is notany good without the bad, that's

(26:17):
for sure.
And you keep learning.
Oh, never stopped.
Never stopped even gettingsilver or gold or whatever.
It's like you learn every timeand I mean if you're not
learning you, I mean I getbored.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Like imagine knowing everything,like what?

(26:38):
What'd you do?
Right?
Like you are not going to getpaid enough as a coach to know
everything.
It's not going to help youanywhere in life.
So if I don't learn anything onmy skateboard, I learned off.
I think that's where I'velearned the most growing up a
little bit, like growing up asin like once I became turned 18

(27:01):
I moved out and all this stuffand I kept competing.
Like I am way more focused andmy schedule is way tighter and
I'm way stronger and healthierand dialed in than I was when I
was 1617 when I lived at home.
Because it's like it's now if I,if I'm going to do this, it's
my, it's my decision.

(27:22):
So preparing for contests iswhere I've learned the most.
I used to work out, I eat right,I go to the ramp these days
during the week, work on theseruns, work on this.
And that I think is where I'velearned so much every contest it
motivates me more and more.
Cause no matter how hard I work,I get there and I'm like, I

(27:43):
could've worked harder, youknow?
And it's kinda been a slow, youused to prepare one month, one
month, super hard, get a rundown.
Ooh, I could've done a littlemore two months this year I did
five months, four months, fivemonths straight, getting ready
for X games, same ramp, samepeople, same runs.

(28:05):
And I get there and I'm like,I'm not ready for this.
Like, so now I'm just trying tobe more even keeled and
consistent coming off of X gamesa month ago less.
And um, on my schedule, youknow, I'm in the gym, I'm at the
Ram skydiving, I'm a little bitmore relaxed in skating, super

(28:26):
way more relaxed, you know, I'mstill good coming down, but my
goal is to be more consistentfor closer to eight to 10
months, even if it's for onecontest, then you know, the last
three kind of peak, you know, sosometimes you learn a foot
placement, sometimes you learn atrick.

(28:47):
But lately I've just beenlearning that like managing your
time and managing your, yourmental mentality and your mental
health and not letting all theselike influences around you eat
at your, at your energy or yourtime or your motivation.

(29:09):
Just kinda keep it easy and juststay consistent and then, then
then hit it hard and you onfoundational just be better and,
and better.

Dr. Shepp (29:18):
You take responsibility for yourself as
an athlete for sure.
Yeah, I mean, I can, I can hearthat.
But you also have, like youdescribed, I'm sure a lot of
people who have expectations foryou.
So you've been skating since youwere skateboarding since you
were, um, three since you were alittle guy, but you already had
expectations on you by the timeyou were five.

Mitchie Brusco (29:37):
Yeah, for sure.
Um, and I'm used to it.
I've always been a skateboarder.
I've always been a competitorand the day I don't want to
compete, I won't.
And I've always preached that.
And it is so true.
Like I love that people believein me enough to where they think

(30:02):
it's easy for me.
You know, that that happens.
Some, some friends oracquaintances maybe, I don't
know so well or you know,sometimes even in my family
sometimes it's like, you know,they're just, you know, show up
to a contest and be like, yeah,you mean this is what you, this
is what he does, you know?
And I can tell and that's fine.
Where for me it's like, that'sawesome that you guys have this

(30:24):
like faith in me, the blindfaith that, you know, it's a
blessing to be that consistent.
But to me it's very much a realthing.
And for me, and I think that wasevident, like you know, I made
the 1260 if you watch the video,I almost had no reaction.
I remember that.

(30:45):
And well even the cast or evenGraham was like, wait, what?
What just happened?
Or you were confused?
Everyone who was confused.
I was confused then and I thinkI was so in my, in my zone and
it was so for me that I did itand I was just kinda like, it
was a mixture between a Pat onthe back to myself and also like

(31:10):
I worked so hard and I put somuch energy and effort into this
one thing and it's over.
It's like, it was almost like amore of a hard goodbye than a,
than a real party.
It's like, dude, it's like in asuperhero movie.
If he just kills the, thevillain, what do you do?
What are you going to be asuperhero for?

(31:33):
And it kind of felt like I hadjust, I put it to bed and I was
like, wow.
Like, this kept me up formonths, like breakdowns and so
sessions alone and eating at mywhole life and like getting like
making relationships harder,making my like family life home

(31:54):
life, like skating, like it wasstressing everything out and
then I did it.
It was like good and it was, itwasn't easy but it worked and
then it was just like damn, likeit's over.
And it was so like for me that Iwas like, if I were to throw in

(32:16):
a board and the area would havebeen so fake, Hmm.
You know, I, I walked down theramp, I was happy to, I gave my
roommate a hug and that's aboutall that, all that happened and
ever since I've just had alittle smile on my face and
that's like, I'm totally coolwith that.
That more of a like even keeledkind of come[inaudible]

Dr. Shepp (32:40):
that probably helps you though, right?
Because if it's, if it's more ofa rollercoaster, um, and if, if
you have a hard time letting goof something, you're not going
to be looking forward.

Mitchie Brusco (32:54):
And I know some people who thrive like that who
are just an absolute mess, aroller coaster.
And when they're on their so onand when they're off they're
off.
Where I have a lot of averagedays, I have a lot of really
good average days and I likethat.

Speaker 5 (33:14):
And[inaudible]

Mitchie Brusco (33:16):
I built such a strong shell around myself, like
an emotional shell.
I was so strong.
I mean I still am, but for thatmoment I was so strong, so
relaxed, so smooth that like ifI made it, if I didn't, if I got
hurt, if I won, I don't think Iwould have fluctuated much.

(33:40):
It was like just the real slowrelease after it was really nice
cause it went a good way and nota bad way.
Sure.
But I was so solid and where Iwas my, my state I guess that,
you know, doing a 1260 didn'treally knock me out of that.
It was like, it was like I lookat it like holding your follow

(34:04):
through on, I cook on like agolf swing.
Like if I was, if I was thisclose to freaking out and losing
it, it would have never, itwould have never happened.

Dr. Shepp (34:16):
I was going to ask if that's what helps you trust
yourself more, the fact thatyou're kind of solid.

Mitchie Brusco (34:22):
I've used the same thing for so long.
I understand.
Like I almost lost it.
Right?
Right before the contest.
I almost lost it but I didn't.
But I knew I almost lost it andI started talking to myself and
I started, I was like, I was, itwas too intense and I was more

(34:43):
numb than I was comfortable andit's easy to not know, not
notice that where you know whenyou are comfortable, when you
are in the zone you are numb toa lot of things.
You know, fricking Obama couldwalk by and my eyes are on the
ramp.
Like you know what I mean?
Like there you are numb to a lotof these things that normally

(35:06):
you would catch your attention.
Yeah.
But it was like numb in a waywhere I wasn't genuinely five
minutes before the contest, Iwas not ready.
And then I just told myselflike, dude, like I was
completely alone.
I had my own zone, I was justlike, whatever you are feeling

(35:31):
like please like feel it now.
Like it's like time to likesomething's going to happen
soon.
Like you know, and that momentalways just like flushed with
all this like overwhelmingemotion.
And it was just like this hugespike and then, you know, and

(35:53):
that made me more comfortable.
I was like, I felt human again.
Like it was me feeling though itwasn't these outside pressures
that I was like kind of, Iwasn't like making any decisions
cause someone else, Oh do a 1260because Oh this or that or the
expectations since I was threeyears old, you know, your whole
life flashes before your eyes.

(36:13):
And I felt so much that I waslike, it was so for me and it
was so clear that it was for meand it was the right time.
And then kind of like, it'sunpredictable, but I used that
huge spike and come down andthen, you know, you can feel
more relaxed after that.
And then I felt kind of euphoriccause I was like, you know, the

(36:36):
hard part was already over andnow the contest is about to
start and I would just go rip acouple, you know, and it kind of
simplified everything butallowing, that was where it
happened.
It wasn't, it wasn't after wordswhere I think most people that
would kind of be the processthat was already over with that

(36:59):
that huge flocks and emotion and, and confusion and everything
and feeling and you're tinglingand crying and being like, what
is going on?
And then, then you're back tonormal.
And I think that once I, once Ievened out, it was so possible
and it just got a little biteasier with each attempt and a

(37:20):
little bit more relaxed.
And then, you know, by the lot,by the third go, I trusted it
and I knew I could do it and itwas good.
And I looked up and I was, I wasback to, you know, I wasn't this
stressed out person.
I was like, I was focused and Iwas relaxed and you know, the
trust was there.
That's so important.

(37:40):
And then it was over and I wasjust sitting, I was just
standing there like, dude, youjust went through that and you
came out on top like good on you.

Dr. Shepp (38:01):
That's an awesome description of your mindset
though.
And though the way you're ableto, to narrow your attention to
what was about to take placecause it was all over the place.
Right.
And I remember watching you whenyou were 14 at your first X
games and just the look on yourface.
I remember it was like justthinking, Oh my gosh.
But then you came through it andit was so obvious that you are

(38:21):
learning, like as you weregoing.
Um, and not to take away fromanything you did cause it was
awesome.
But like just to see, I mean Icould see that you are just
learning as you were going

Mitchie Brusco (38:30):
and I still am.
And like there's no shame in, inthat I'm going to make so many
mistakes and that's fine.
You get into capital, right.
And hopefully that it does youwell, you know, but I think it's
a slow, you know, I don't snapin or out of Annie zones or any,

(38:53):
yeah, shit slows down when it'stime like for sure it gets more
intense.
But the weeks before it's justthings start to change you.
What you care about starts tochange what you would I worry
about if I like little things.
If I wake up and I'm tired, Idon't care because I'm going to

(39:17):
here and I'm working on this andyou slowly kind of, to me, I
slowly kind of creep into thiszone.
By the time I'm on the flightgoing to whatever contest, I'm a
brick wall.
Like there's like I'm, I'm ahappy go lucky kid smiling more
times than not and runningaround and being stupid and
skating around and you know likeI just met like a 12 year old at

(39:42):
the park who had a skateboardand we were like Alling over a
trashcan and like you know likethat is cool.
But like by the time I get onthe plane to go to a conscious,
I'm so far in like step one Iguess of or step two or three in
that zone.
That's like it just keepsnarrowing and then afterwards

(40:03):
it's not like it just ends.
I think like after the 1260 is agreat example cause it wasn't,
it's not like it's over and youcan just snap out of it.
It's been like I was so deepthat it's like, yeah weeks I bet
of kind of re coming back tolike life I guess.
Like

Dr. Shepp (40:25):
and speaking of all these, so when you, when you
knew you were going to do oneover Conan O'Brien's head, what,
what kind of nerves and fearenters your mind when it's not
just about you potentiallygetting injured but somebody
else,

Mitchie Brusco (40:41):
I mean [inaudible]

Dr. Shepp (40:42):
that one's on him.
I'll be fine dude.
Like

Mitchie Brusco (40:52):
you're six feet tall and add a couple inches
because of the hair.

Dr. Shepp (40:57):
Like

Mitchie Brusco (40:57):
that kind of stuff is, is fun.
The risk is different.
Sure.
But without you, like it's moreof like fear of embarrassment
than it is like fear of doublefemur ING, you know what I mean?
So it's, it's a little bit less,it's a little bit different, you
know, there's less preparationand less like, you know,

(41:20):
seriousness.
But those kinds of things, likeyou get used to pushing, right?
You get used to doing somethingthat makes you a little bit,
makes you question just a littlebit.
And like, I think that's a hugekey.
Once you can, once you can, OhWhoa, get nervous, question
yourself a little bit.

(41:41):
And they'd be like, Oh yeah,cool.
And it's ready in.
I think that's where a lot ofpeople get kind of backwards.
Do you know a breakaway layup ina basketball game?
You're completely alone.
You see the, how do I do?
I put this leg and then somepeople are like, all right, I
just went through that now.
Just put it in the hoop, youknow?

(42:02):
And I think you just get used tothat kind of get pressure in
your own thing.
And for me it's just likeskateboarding on OnRamps for
some reason.
I like it though.
I like I live for the moments,those kinds of moments I feel
very comfortable.
I have like, I think instead oftrying to get away from those

(42:24):
moments or avoid that, I think Iput myself there in times that I
shouldn't.
Right.
I'm at home, I'm in normalplaces with normal people and
trying to have a conversationand my head's just like, dude,
you're going to be standing onthis ramp in three months and
you're going to be this andthinking this.
Did you prepare right to, Ohwait, okay wait, I'm around

(42:45):
people.
I'm, you know, a lot of timesI'm home alone with a notebook,
making notes, like pinning eachtrick I want to do in Iran to my
wall and then like visualizingeach one or watching videos of
old runs and just cringing andbeing like, I never want to look
like that again.
And just kind of like livingwith that.

(43:06):
Like those little write a trickpainted on the wall, get that
feeling.
I couldn't, I can't do that 10times in a row.
And then you wake up and you'relike, you know, you get used to
those, those little fears.
I think some does mentallyrehearsing it help you get used
to that.
Yeah, I think I do that morethan anyone for sure.

(43:30):
I've always wrote writ writtenthings down and I've always been
very visual and differentprocesses.
I mean, one, one thing that'sstayed very consistent is I'll
pin pin my run to my wall formonths sometimes.
All right, I'll have each trickon one piece of paper.
So it's its own separate pin.

(43:51):
So like I know to me that's likea marker.
I use that kind of as a markerto see if that trick makes me
feel weird.
Right.
If, cause if I'm taking itseriously and I write five 40
and I pin it on the wall and I'mreally comfortable with it.
Cool.
Right.
And you'll know and then you sayone trick and all he barely,

(44:12):
he'll flit[inaudible] a weirdpart in the run and that one was
hard for me and I miss it a lot.
And I put it in the wall and Iwas like, Ooh, I gotta work on
that one.
You know?
And then sometimes I'll do itagain the next day.
Sometimes I'll have stacks ofthree or four stacked on each
other, pinned in the same spotof the same tricks.
Sometimes I'll put them in mypillow case and sleep and then

(44:35):
I'd move around.
I hear it scrunch in the wholelist, goes through my head.
And just little things like thatwhere I kind of try to live in
it and it's, it's annoying forpeople.
Other people who don'tunderstand, you know, if I'm
like having headphones on,writing notes, walking in
circles, they're like, are youokay?
You know?
And I'm like, what are youtalking about?

(44:55):
I'm great.

Dr. Shepp (44:57):
Part of what helps you to compete at your level.
And I think it's great forpeople to hear about your
preparation because there is somuch that that goes into being
top in your sport.
You know, obviously you don'tjust show up and start trying
tricks, which of courseeverybody knows.
But I don't think everyone knowsthe mental side of the
preparation for it.
It's not just the physical, it'salso, it's also largely mental.

Mitchie Brusco (45:20):
Yeah.
And that's just how I'm wired.
Right.
I pick up a golf club, like Idon't know what's important and
what's not.
You know, like I played a lot ofvideo, like last year I built a
computer, picked up a mouse andkeyboard, never played on it.
Played like 1600 hours in a yearto get my hands to work how I

(45:42):
want it, pick up a golf club anduntil I can shoot in the 80s
nothing else exists.
Are you shooting in the 80s Imean, I can sometimes.
Yeah.
Awesome.
And so I'm juggling a golf ballin my room and watching videos
and grabbing a stick or club orthis or visualizing where the
ball goes and you know, it justhappens that skateboarding, I've

(46:02):
done it long enough to wherethose same techniques are taking
me to places that people reallyhaven't been where in most
things I'm just like a quicklearner because mentally I'm so
like focused and obsessive and Ido things a genuinely love and I
love them so much.
I do it all the time and it'slike focus I think is the

(46:24):
hardest game for me to play.
And if I can focus on skating, Ithink that's what I did.
So good last, last year, focusedon skating better than ever.
Six months straight.
I took six months off of skatingand then six months.
So that's the only thing thatexisted.
Stop playing video games.
I mean as much, maybe an hour, acouple, you know, twice a week,

(46:48):
which for me is absolutelynothing.
[inaudible] six months ofskating.
I didn't skydive.
I barely flew in a tunnel,skated every day, five days a
week, Monday through Friday.
And I went home and I wrotenotes and I made this and I made
plans and I watched videos and,and that's kinda, that's the

(47:11):
hardest game for me to play.
Spoke it.
And now since I've been sofocused after the contest, it's
really nice to just do it forfun skate.
And you know, yesterday I wokeup had I had a personal
training, like my personaltrainer to workout at eight.
I scared it from nine 15 to nine45 in the morning alone cause I

(47:35):
knew like if I wanted to get asession and that's what I had to
do, then I went and got coffeebreakfast with uh, with some
friends.
We went skydiving, went and flewin the wind tunnel right after
and I went home and played videogames and then I woke up so
tired today and, but being ableto do that now is like, that's

(47:58):
the reward I think because myanxiety for at least a little
bit is gone because I worked sohard.
I did my thing.
Now my day can be super spreadthin, which I really like
jumping from one thing to thenext and right.
Staying entertained and saying,but slowly I'll have to start
bringing that back down to wheremy day is going to look more

(48:20):
like working out.
Hopefully I can grab breakfastwith a friend and then go skate.
Not from nine 15 to nine 45 butfrom 11 to two 11 to three than
hang out and think and then, andthen decide, okay, is my night,
am I gonna fly in the windtunnel or am I gonna play an

(48:43):
hour of video games?
Like kind of having to makethese decisions, these small
sacrifices.
It's like you can do one skydiveon Wednesday morning if you wake
up early enough, you know, kindof getting that schedule dialed
in, but right now do it all, doeverything.
A little bit of everything.
Just have flood and like, yeah,it's kind of like, it's an

(49:06):
interesting way that I've founda stay dressed.
So fresh,

Dr. Shepp (49:10):
passionate.
Yeah.
And balanced.
I mean, because even thoughyou're intense about what you
do, you found a way to bringthings into your life that, that
keep you balanced.
You're not just thinking aboutskateboarding all the time.
Yeah, I mean in that that's,

Mitchie Brusco (49:25):
that's my main killer.
Okay.
And I say focus is hard for me,but focus is hard because I get
so bored.
Like I can love something sointensely and just put it down
and be done with it once I am.
And having other things thatkeep me keep me fresh and not,
and I'm not saying likesometimes I jump out of an

(49:51):
airplane to stay fresh.
It's like I have something thatI treat as important as
skateboarding, sometimes moreimportant.
That makes me a differentperson, a whole different
person, a whole new me.
And then all of a sudden Iremember, Oh, I can skateboard,
I can do this stuff.

(50:11):
Let me pick up a board or acouple of my friends, I haven't
talked to her going after acouple of months, go step on a
board and then you're back andyou're like, wait, this is me.
And then you're like, Oh my, andthen you're fresh and you're
like, Oh I forgot about thisside.
And it's like, I thinkcompartmentalizing these sports
for me is really like this weekhas been tonal flying.

(50:35):
Like today I got an hour ofcoaching, I was getting coached
for an hour straight and thatwas, that's Wednesday to Sunday.
Every day an hour straight.
And I show up there early and Iwatch videos and I make notes
and go, go, go.
I get out, I watched thatsession, I make more notes, I
ask questions, I make a list, Imake a plan, get back in, you

(50:57):
know, Wednesday to Sunday, boomevery day.
And then when that's over I kindof snap out of it and I'm like,
wait, that's not even my thing.
Like, and I treat it soseriously that it's like get
back on my skateboard and it'slike I love this so much and
it's so much.
And the thing is skateboardingis hard physically, but it's so

(51:18):
much easier mentally than almostanything I know how to do
because I, I know myself sowell.
Yeah.
Cause you've been doing it sinceyou could run.
It's like it's therapeutic inthat way where even if I can't
do something, I know why and Iknow how to fix it and even if I
can't fix it right now, I willwork on getting my foot like

(51:39):
this and opening my hip likethat and putting my head here
and there's no stress and it'slike so nice in that way.
But then it's nice to go tosomething new like tonifying
where I need someone else doingthat for me.
Hey your foot's like this.
You ought to turn more here.
You, your came in late, you werethis, your timing's off.
Where I can feel that in skatingand I get in.

(52:01):
So like golf is the same thing.
You know, I take lessons and Ido these things.
I play with my dad and I go tryto make 103 footers in a row and
just torture myself and I haveno idea what's going on.
And then yeah, it puts intoperspective like, wow, okay, I
am good at skating.
Like, but only because Iunderstand it only because I've
spent hours and hours and hours,you know, where I can kind of

(52:23):
just coach, coach myself a lot.
And I like that.

Dr. Shepp (52:28):
But you've also spent hours and hours and hours with
skydiving and now with e-sports,right?
So aren't you wanting to competein both of those areas as well?

Mitchie Brusco (52:35):
Well, and lo and behold, I mean I have over 900
skydives in the, in four yearsand over a hundred hours in the
wind tunnel.
And I should be able to doublethat within this calendar year,
which is an insane opportunity.
And then as in, I have a tunnelcompetition coming up in October

(53:01):
that I've just put together of afour way team and a two way
team.
So I'll be in two differentdisciplines.
Um, and I actually got tocompete in an East sports event
for ESPN just a couple of weeksbefore X games.
Which game was it?
Uh, apex legends, which is agame that I love, but it's not
like one that I'm playing like awhole lot, but I absolutely love

(53:24):
it.
And the opportunity was great.
And do the craziest thing.
What happened, I'm good at, I'mgood at video games and shooters
and stuff, but I'm pretty newwith mouse and keyboard in.
The same thing happened.
Like I turned it on.
I was very good with my hands,my keys.

(53:44):
I was like very methodical withthe buttons and the sequences
and it was smooth and my aim wasokay, was good enough.
I was hitting clutch shots andattacking when I needed to in
surviving and staying alive.
But when other times, and it wassuch a cool thing to be on stage
with the streamers that I'veknown for a long time and watch

(54:07):
on Twitch.
Right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean I, I'm obsessed withTwitch.
I stream myself and being withthese guys that I see all the
time and competing against themand killing some of them, it's
like, you know, it makes it areality and everyone's just
having fun.
It was for charity, it wasn'tsomething anyone trained for.
So everyone was laughing and itwas a good time, but it opened

(54:29):
that door.
And so like, yeah, skating,skydiving, like as far as flying
parachutes.
And then C, indoor Scott IQ,like body flying, indoor
skydiving, competing in that andjust flipping that switch in.
Each of those sports is like,you know, I do it for a while
for fun and then you go, okay,it's time.

(54:49):
Like let's see, let's compete inthis.
Soon as that happens, the wholesport changes.
Scary things get less scary,hard.
Things get less hard.
It's easier to be motivated forme and then it's like it's
diamond.
You just kind of shift from oneto the next to the neck.
Like I'm totally present.
I don't take shortcuts.

(55:10):
I like learning the slow andmethodical way because I know
that when that's over it's goingto be gold time and it's like I
love when that happens and thatjust happened in, in tunnel
flying probably three monthsago.
That shift happened where it'slike, I love this, but I don't

(55:32):
want to just fly around with nopurpose anymore.
Like it's like I want my feet acertain way.
I want my hips a certain way.
I want my eyes to see thingslike a competitor.
I want to know where I am.
Not, not sort of like, I want toknow exactly where I am and I

(55:57):
want to know how to go fast,slow in the middle, faster than
fast, faster than that fast.
And you know, it's like I lovewhen that, when that happens and
it kind of happened naturallyand ever since I've been, I was
at the tunnel today and peoplewere asking me, are you okay?
And it just made me laughbecause in skateboarding at when

(56:19):
I'm at a contest or I'm inpractice, I hear all the time,
Oh, I saw you, I didn't want tobother you.
You looked focus and it, I'mused to that.
But at the tunnel where I'mflying around, I've always been
happy and go-lucky and smilingand running around and poking
fun and you know, take your hatand run away.
And today I walked in and Ididn't say anything and I had my

(56:39):
headphones and I was watchingand I was hiding my notebook and
you know, people are really, Heyalready is everything okay?
And it's like, yeah, it's just,you're not used to this side.
No,

Dr. Shepp (56:50):
that's a great description of the shift.
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (56:53):
Okay.

Dr. Shepp (56:58):
So people who might be used to you are the, are the
roommates that you have, right.
I, I work with some East sportsplayers that live in a house
together and of course you haveto adjust to being around
someone else who does what youdo.
Cause there's differentpersonalities.
So I imagined the, was it six orseven of you that have different
personalities?
What's that like for you?

Mitchie Brusco (57:18):
Uh, they all know me very well, but I can
feel the little bit of distancebecause everyone's a
skateboarder, right.
And half the time I'm not, andthey don't really venture out
like that.
And it's really weird becauseI'll disappear for months at a

(57:42):
time.
You know, I'm in Spainskydiving, I'm sorry I missed
your call.
Like, you know, yeah.
You know what I mean?
So it's like, Oh, are you goingto be, are you going to be
competing or are you going tobe?
And then like I said, I don'twanna just like go to the skate
park.
It's like, okay, I'm back fromwherever I was.
If it was skydiving, tunnelflying video games or whatever,

(58:05):
it would gall, you know, I wason a golf trip to, you know,
Vegas like with my dad, youknow, and then I come back and
it's like, it's not like I gohang out at the skate park.
It's like, okay, I'm gonna goget ready for X games.
Now we're at, I'm at the vertramp at a warehouse alone at
nine in the morning.
So it's like they all know meand I've can tell that I've
built a lot of trust in like,they're less confused in the

(58:30):
whole process, but it's like, itis a, I'm very definitely on my
own speed for sure.
And you're comfortable that way?
You're way more comfortable.
I mean, I, I've, I've lived alot of moments naturally where I
kind of lines up with otherpeople's kind of rhythms and it

(58:52):
only lasts for so long beforemy, my kind of need for to
change something kind of kicksin.
Yeah.
And like I don't really likefeeling like I would say I don't
like maxing out.
Like, there's only so much youcan do if you're, you know,

(59:20):
going to a certain place everyday or you know, you kind of get
into like this rhythm that, youknow, you just know it's not
going to change.
It's not going anywhere.
And that's when I freak out andkind of change everything.
It's like I'm going to go tothis drop zone in this place

(59:42):
alone, see who I meet and I'llfeel way better.
Cause then all of a suddenyou're on a different rhythm and
you get re that imagination issparked and you know, that kind
of stuff is like, I always, Ifeel like make that shift when
it starts to get like,monotonous or like dull in a
way.

Dr. Shepp (01:00:00):
But you're describing something that's really
internal, right?
Because some athletes have theexpectation from their sponsors
or their family or their coachesand they're, they're motivated
by some of the external or theaccolades, the praise.
But you, and then also, youknow, you mentioned Matt
Hoffman, Travis Pastrana,there's an, there's an internal

(01:00:20):
moment.

Mitchie Brusco (01:00:21):
Yeah.
And they're very, uh, internalpeople as well.
Bob Burnquist as well.
And, uh, I lost all my, I shedit.
I like to say I shed it all mysponsors when I was 18, I had
some good sponsors that wantedme to post certain things and go

(01:00:43):
certain places.
And that same thing happened.
That same feeling where I waslike, Nope, sorry, like I'm
actually going to disappear forawhile.
Don't know why.
But I like skydiving.
So catch me in a couple of yearswhen you realize that this whole
thing is going to make sense andit wasn't a struggle.

(01:01:08):
It felt good.
There were times where I'velooked back and I've been like,
Ooh, maybe I should have madethis work.
But then you get through it andyou're like, I've opened this
door with I fly because I didn'thave an energy drink sponsor.
I didn't have these things.
And I've had opportunities withTwitch and the streaming in the,
in the video games on ESPNbecause I can post video games

(01:01:30):
on my Instagram.
I can post 10 10 videos ofskydiving, a couple of things, a
tunnel flying, some video gameclips.
Someone asks if I've beenskating.
I said no and no one cares.
And it's like in I fly isawesome because they believe in
me.
It's like, Oh that's great.
They're ski, the skateboardingis great.

(01:01:51):
They didn't sign me cause I wasgoing to do a 1260 they didn't
know that wasn't what it'sabout.
I told them I was probably notgonna do anything like as long
as that expectation is there,then it's, if you sign me with
that man I'll be your favorite.
And it's like that's my onesponsor now.
And it's like they believe inme, I'm allowed to do whatever.

(01:02:11):
And it's like it's a storytelling business.
It's not a, I'm not chasing adragon of accomplishments, you
know, cause you know, I meanknock on wood, I'm, I'm one
mistake away from not doing whatI do, you know, at a breath,
wrong time, I ought to take thiscontest off, which is fine.

(01:02:33):
As long as that precedence isset and it's known and everyone
is, you know, onboard.
It's like dude, but that's why,you know, I want to, I want to
have like my own podcast.
I like streaming.
I like doing these things.
That's like, I'll have fun.
I'll figure it out.
Like, yeah.
And I won't go anywhere becausethat's for sure.

Dr. Shepp (01:02:54):
Well that comes back to you being an innovator for
sure.
Yeah.
You've been awesome with yourtime and, and we can keep
talking, but it did get dark outhere and for awhile there were
no lights.
So we're on a porch in the OSIand it was pitch black for
awhile, kind of.
I didn't even see, but, but, um,that's, that's cool though
because we were just having agood conversation.
So I have some questions that Iask everybody.

(01:03:15):
Perfect.
Um, so if, if it's okay,

Mitchie Brusco (01:03:18):
please, please.

Dr. Shepp (01:03:21):
So Michi what in life are you still curious about?

Mitchie Brusco (01:03:26):
I'm curious because I have so much to look
back on already, which isinsane.
At 22 years old, like I have alifetime to look back on.
I've lived an entire lifetime by22.
And I mean that and the wisdomand the things that I've
learned.
It's like if I stay the course,the kind of the kind of

(01:03:49):
intuition and the, the littlethings I'll be aware of and the
stories I'll have to tell andthe life I have to look back on.
I th I think that's what ismaking me curious because my
consistency is the only done megood and I want to keep that.
So in another 10 years ofwhatever it is, it's like the

(01:04:11):
road, the road is going to bewild.
And I know and I know that.

Dr. Shepp (01:04:16):
So you're curious what else you can do where else
you can go?
Yeah, 100% so some people saythat praise is more distracting
because it's something to liveup to.
And other people say criticism.
So what, what's more distractingto you?

Mitchie Brusco (01:04:29):
The thing that's most distracting is actually
neither of those.
The, the thing that's mostdistracting to me is the people
who don't know what go is goingon that's barely like, Oh I
heard you did this.
Like congrats.

(01:04:50):
And I don't know, it's either Itell them my life story or I
just say thank you and it's themost surface level thing ever.
And then it's over and it'slike, I don't know your name.
You don't really know me.
And what do we talk about nowit's like I don't, I think if

(01:05:13):
someone genuinely compliments,Hey, like what I saw you do
motivated me in this area in mylife.
Like to me that's like a form ofpraise.
And that makes me feel like youunderstand what I put into it.
And if there's criticism and itmakes sense and it's reasonable,

(01:05:36):
which I've asked for and, and Ithink I get the most criticism
from the skaters who are reallyclose to me because they know me
and keep me in check and I askfor that and it's, I'm thankful
for it.
So those things, kind of thecriticism in the praise, cause
there's both those kind of keepme in, in line.

(01:05:57):
It's the kind of weird stuff inthe middle that I don't know how
to, I wish that would go away.
I wish I was either.
Hello, my name's Mitch.
It's nice to meet you.
Like what's your name?
How was your day?
It's like cool, like you have anormal right.
And it's like that kind of stuffwhere it's just like, I don't

(01:06:19):
know how to navigate a normalcommerce.
Oh, I heard you did this thing.
It's like I did a thing.
You know that.
So I would say that.

Dr. Shepp (01:06:27):
Okay.
That's a great answer.
Yeah, that's, that's a greatanswer.
As a skateboarder, you obviouslyprepare for every, for every
run, right?
Yet the unexpected happens.
What is something unexpectedthat has happened to you in your
sport?

Mitchie Brusco (01:06:43):
So within I think what, what's happened
unexpected, what has happenedfor me that's unexpected is the
amount that I change.
When a contest starts, I can goin with absolutely no there no

(01:07:06):
chance right now, right beforethe contest, zero chance that I
could make half of these tricksand then the contest starts and
all of a sudden I can doeverything.
And that was so unexpected forme when I was young and it's
been really hard to learn how tomanage that and not rely on it.

(01:07:29):
But play into it.
And so that has been super whenI was 14.
I remember that being a reallyweird, unexpected thing that I
like.
Okay.
How do you, how do you preparefor, for that moment?
Because you know, it's differentthan how you feel right now, but
you can't, you only get thosemoments and it's basically a

(01:07:52):
blackout.
So how do you, you know what,you know what I mean?
I do know what you mean.
Yeah.
So I would say that.

Dr. Shepp (01:07:58):
So what is one comment or, or tweet that still
stands out to you, whether it'sbecause it's good or bad or for
whatever reason?
I mean, it could be somethingthat someone says to you after a
competition.
It could be something that justcomes out of the blue.

Mitchie Brusco (01:08:13):
Uh, when I was pretty one of my, I think second
X games, second X games.
Yeah.
In LA will, Wayne tweeted meright after.
It's like Mitchie be goingcrazy.
And that was like such an insanemoment.
Very being w I was 14 maybe itmay my friends listen a little

(01:08:35):
Wayne and stuff like, you know,at that age it's like, it's
funny.
I don't know.
Um, and so that was like kind ofgetting attention from these
weird places that you don'treally expect.
Yeah.

Dr. Shepp (01:08:53):
How do you recover from failure?

Mitchie Brusco (01:08:55):
I fail every single day.
I feel way more comfortable withfailure than I do success
because it happens so much moreoften that it makes me feel
completely like I'm doingsomething right.
Right.
If I won, like after X games, Idid really good.

(01:09:18):
I wanted to get home and getback to a ramp and try really
hard at some things that Istruggle with because that to me
is, is grounding

Speaker 5 (01:09:29):
and

Mitchie Brusco (01:09:30):
there's different levels of failure.
Let's say X games didn't gowell, that would hurt.
Right?
But it would boost myconsistency.
It would boost my work ethicbecause I know I made a mistake.
There's no, no one else toblame.

Speaker 5 (01:09:51):
And

Mitchie Brusco (01:09:53):
I like it.
And sometimes I don't enjoysmall pats on the back.
I don't enjoy, if I'm not readyto Pat myself on the back, I
don't need a small compliment.
I don't need a, Hey, it happens.
I know it happens.
I know everyone fails.
I know I'm going to fail a lotmore.
I know it's okay.
It's like just wait until I doit and we can, we can smile, you

(01:10:18):
know?
And so I think living in thatfailure, I like it.
I don't know, I just like it.

Dr. Shepp (01:10:26):
That's an awesome perspective because I think so
many people are afraid offailure.
Um, of course it's gonna limitthe risks that someone takes if
they're afraid to fail.
But you see it as not just alearning process, but actually
something that really benefitsyour life.

Speaker 5 (01:10:42):
I mean,

Mitchie Brusco (01:10:44):
it's like I've had so many instances where I'm
absolutely terrible atsomething, first time doing it
and so comfortable with beingterrible at it, that it almost
makes whoever's teaching me likechuckle.
Like I remember I got lessonsfrom a golf coach and I'm just

(01:11:04):
standing there.
He's like, okay.
And says a couple of words.
I don't know.
And I was just saying, I wasjust like, instead of instead of
taking a swing, I was just like,I don't know what that means,
and he just was taken backbecause it's more important for
a lot of people to fake thatthey know what's going on where
to me it's like there's no shameif people preach failure.

(01:11:27):
Michael Jordan preach failure.
Wayne Gretzky and it's so, youknow, overly Don and like, but
the, you either enjoy the grindor you don't.
I think that's like a verysimple, easy to understand.
Either you enjoy the hard daysor you don't, you know, everyone

(01:11:50):
feels like a rock star sometimeswith the days you feel very
normal, you either love it orit's very simple and I think I
look at those days of what mostpeople would perceive as
failure.
I skated bad today, but is thata failure or is that part of the
process?
Is that, are you going to havegood days and bad days?

(01:12:11):
Are you going to have goodcontests and bad contests?
It's like a joke.
My friend and I would always saywhen we could, we both would
like get spikes of anxiety andfreak out and you know,
teenagers and trying to figureeverything out.
And one day he was like, dude,like today is not the day that

(01:12:34):
everything falls apart.
Right.
And we don't, and we'd alwaysjoke once we'd get into that
goat zone, we'd sarcastic, wewill today's the day and it
would, it would kind of snap usout of it cause we'd realize
like do today's not the day thatthere's, so there's everything
in front of you, so mean you canuse the word failure.

(01:12:57):
But to me it's like I love toget, I love when I'm sore and in
pain and struggling and suckingand that's fine.
It's just what it is.
Kind of just keep pushing.

Dr. Shepp (01:13:11):
That's awesome.
I mean that's, that's a lot ofwisdom from a 22 year old, but I
think it's going to be reallyhelpful for people to hear your
mindset and, and help people tobe able to maybe cope with their
own failures a little bitbetter.

Mitchie Brusco (01:13:22):
I mean, I, I sure hope that like it, that's
what builds trust in yourself.
Like when you know, you workedthrough don't give up, like
don't stop, but you know, if ittakes two years, five, seven, 10
years, 15 years, it's like onceyou work through it, genuinely

(01:13:45):
work through it, you can putthat in your pocket and you have
that in your arsenal now youhave that ammo, that protection
from like, you know, the, the,the idea of failure.
You're like, well, I workedthrough it and I can do this
now.
I know, you know, you getthrough school and you know

(01:14:05):
certain things and you know, itno one can take that away.
And it's the same thing insports for me.
So those days that I'm likeconfused and my body's like not
listening and I know that oneday I'll be comfortable in that
same same place and I've justbuilt so much trust for that.
Right.

Dr. Shepp (01:14:25):
I can totally hear it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You really do trust the process.
Yeah.
And you trust yourself.
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, yeah.
What else was there?
Have you ever had what you wouldsay was a transformative moment,
whether it's in your sport or inlife, and if so, what was it
that

Mitchie Brusco (01:14:43):
Ben?
A lot of of little moments, butthere were some times when I was
pretty young where I made somebig decisions and I took them
seriously.
And you know, moving toCalifornia, I had a lot of
responsibilities at 13 yearsold.
I had basically had to do wellin contests to stay in
California is to put it simply,yeah, we didn't have money, you

(01:15:06):
know, to do that.
So the contest were veryimportant.
So making that decision, eventhough it wasn't something that
happened to me, it was kind ofall of a sudden it was time.
And so that more thantransformed, I think set a path

(01:15:27):
and kind of like at a placewhere I could have chosen left
or right.
I kind of went straight.
And I think that hardened me alot in the process because I
haven't gone anywhere since thatday.
You know what I mean?
Yep.
So less than like a transformingmoment.
It's more like there's some beensome pivotal decision making

(01:15:51):
times shedding some sponsors.
Yeah, that was another one.
That's a lifestyle choice andthere's no going back.
I'm either gonna be runningaround trying to please Pete
please, companies and things anddo what I want and do what they
want or I'm not.
This middle ground makes no onehappy, it's going to end in

(01:16:12):
disaster.
And so it's like, I think thatwas like a huge shaping, a huge
transformation moment, a hugeshaping moment that I didn't
know what it meant and I didn'tknow, but I knew it felt right.
And then staying consistent inthat.
Now four years later I'm like,have a sponsor that believes in

(01:16:35):
that and I have some new tricksthat kind of came from being a
little bit unique and I havedifferent stickers on my helmet.
Then the rest of the guys and Ihave a different lifestyle and
it's starting to really show andit's only been, you know, four
years, which I think to a lot ofpeople, especially a 22 four

(01:16:58):
years, God, it's a very shortamount of time.
You know, you know, I've beencompeting 10 years and I'm just
kind of figuring out, beingconsistent enough, but it's like
I'm just kind of, and I'll get,I'll get knocked back and I know
I will.
I'm going to take fat else, hugelosses and it's going to be

(01:17:20):
tough because of how hard Iwork.
But it's just, it is what it is,you know, just trying, trying
to, so those, those, thosemoments, those two I think stick
out to me a lot.
And it's funny cause neither ofthose are external.
Right.
It's funny, like I realized thatit's just like decisions that I

(01:17:42):
made that, I mean, I guessunless it's a traumatic
experience, that's going to bewhat transformations kind of
are.
Yeah.
Yeah.

Dr. Shepp (01:17:52):
Well you have a lot of self awareness.
Um, you do, you do you, you knowyourself really well, not just
as an athlete but, but as ahuman being.

Mitchie Brusco (01:18:00):
Yeah.
I try to, I mean I'm learning,I'm young so I'm still learning
a lot, you know, we all are.
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.

Dr. Shepp (01:18:08):
Which leads me to the last question.
So in like 30 seconds or less,what have you learned about
yourself in your particularsport?
In as being a skateboarder?

Mitchie Brusco (01:18:18):
Man, what I, what I've learned about myself,
just having fun and stayingconsistent, like practicing for
consistency over perfection isgoing to be so much better for
longevity and staying safe andhealthy and put, keep pushing
forward is kind of the, therhythm you gotta keep in

(01:18:39):
whatever you do.
Because if you look for anythingelse, it's just gonna fizzle
out.
It's going to be a flash in thepan.

Dr. Shepp (01:18:48):
Great answer.
I've learned a lot about you inour conversation and I'm sure
people listening will feel likethey did as well.
And I think you've shared a lotabout just your mindset that um,
will open a lot of a lot ofeyes, which is great.
Thank you so much for your time.
This is a great conversation.
I appreciate it.
Well it got dark so I couldn'tsee my watch anymore, but I'm

(01:19:08):
no, seriously Mitch, thanks.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
It's nice to meet you and talk.

Speaker 6 (01:19:12):
Good to talk to you.
This has been managed.
The moment with dr[inaudible].
Life is a collection of moments.
It's how you manage thosemoments that makes the
difference.
My thanks again to Michi Bruscoor look not only at his
accomplishments and his pursuitof continued excellence, but for
the wisdom that he has gained ashe has made some difficult
decisions along the way.

(01:19:33):
And thank you for listening.
For more information about themanage the moment podcast, you
can see the episode notes forthis broadcast and you can
follow us on social media andI'm on Twitter at dr Shep.
You can subscribe to thispodcast on Apple podcasts,
Google podcasts, or wherever youchoose to listen to podcasts.

(01:19:55):
Thanks so much for listening andsharing these moments with us.
Until next time

Speaker 7 (01:20:24):
on the next episode of manage, the moment we will be
chatting with five time e-sportsworld champion, Stephanie
Harvey.
She has many things to say notonly about e-sports, but as an
innovator, as a game designerand as an advocate.
I think the internet should belike sex.
Sex is in schools and we teachthese kids how to have good

(01:20:49):
relationships and why sex can bedangerous.
So why you're going to have sexyour own life most likely and
why it should be a funexperience.
And we teach that very young tomake sure that people understand
the limits, right?
We don't do that from theinternet, but you needed it.
It's the same thing.
You're going to have most of thetime a positive experience, but

(01:21:11):
like yo hurt.
Like it's the same thing for meas sex and we need to understand
the consequences really youngbefore it's too late.
You can subscribe to the managethe moment podcast on Apple
podcasts, Google, Spotify, orwherever you choose to subscribe
and listen to podcasts.
Until next time.