Big Dreams and Doing the Hard Thing: Talking With Hollywood Big-Shot (and Friend of Fatty) Paul Guyot

03.7.2016 | 11:39 am

Sometimes, I write for my readers. Those are the fun posts. Sometimes, I write for myself. Those are the important posts, and also generally wind up being the stories that my readers like the best.

The new episode of The FattyCast — a conversation with TV and movie writer/producer (and occasional Fat Cyclist guest blogger — here and here, for example) Paul Guyot (Twitter / Web) is the first podcast I’ve ever done that really fits into the “for myself” category. 

But I don’t mind if you listen in. 

Crossroads

At the risk of stealing my podcast’s thunder, I’m going to tell you a little bit about this conversation, and I’m going to drop a few hints about why it’s important to me right now.

Originally, when I scheduled a podcast with Paul, my plan was to talk with him about biking, his impressive weight loss, and about the new TV show he was pitching.

And the first time we talked, we did talk about all of those things. And it was…OK. But neither of us was really happy with it. Both of us felt a little bit like we hadn’t really gotten to the conversation we ought to have had.

So I erased the recording and we scheduled another one.

And this time, Paul talked about how 2015 was a real crossroads year — about relationships, about forgiveness, about discovering what he is truly capable of.

He talked about how he had a big dream, but also had bills to pay…and a really good, practical offer for steady work.

He went with his dream. And it was hard, and scary, and a lot of work.

But in the end, he had multiple networks competing for his dream. He’s fought his way to the starting line, and he’s now positioned to build something extraordinary. 

And the thing is: I’m at a crossroads, too. I’m in the place of needing to make some big decisions.

So this was a remarkable conversation to have.

Much More

This is a long conversation — about two hours. We talk about  the transformational moment you realize you’re going to be a cyclist, and how we both vividly remember that moment. 

We talk about Paul’s son and a remarkable ride with Team Garmin…including a really touching moment with Tom Danielson.

We talk about what it’s like to pitch a TV show to big networks. 

We talk about inspiration. We talk about forgiveness. We talk about the weird, uncomfortable politics of Hollywood.

And we talk a lot about the really amazing show — based an amazing, little-known, and very relevant part of American history.

So, make the time. Listen to this one. You’ll find the FattyCast on iTunes, Stitcher, FattyCast.com, Google Play Music, and with the RSS Feed: http://fattycast.com/rss. 

You can also listen to on this page, or just click here to download: 

PS: I’ll have more to say about my own crossroads in the next day or two.