Fueled Transformation winner essay - sammy listoe
How you do one thing is how you do everything.” This quote has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. From gasoline-fueled triumphs as a kid on the motocross track to six-string adventures across oceans and through countries as a musician. The mentality never changed. Put in the work, grind it out and success will come.Unfortunately, I misplaced that fire at the very end of 2018. Several weeks spent going round after round with demons and I’ll tell you, they swept the floor with me. Storms come in forms greater than thunder and lightning. This storm woke me up. It was a call to action. Luckily, the Fueled Transformation Challenge was announced as I picked myself up. I decided to take on the challenge, to improve my overall fitness and incorporate that same drive throughout all other areas in my life.
Having grown up racing motocross, cardio was always a strong suit of mine, but running was one form of cardio that I always hated. I thought I didn’t like it because it seemed boring, but really it was because I didn’t have the mental discipline to lay down the miles without stopping. I suppose that’s why I have always had “complete a half-marathon” on my goals board. It would be tough, I didn’t really want to put in the work to do it, so that’s why I knew that I HAD to do it. The journey to 13.1 miles started at the beginning of January. Up before the sun at 5 AM, two miles a day grew to three, then four. By the end of January, I had run 150 miles and completed a 14-mile run. My training continued and I ran my first official half-marathon on March 3rd, completing it in 1 hour and 51 minutes.
The drive behind this run also fueled my strength training. My mentality and confidence shifted once I started laying down the miles in my morning runs. I defeated the idea that I wasn’t a “runner” so now anything was possible. I would spend hours on Sundays preparing clean meals consisting of complex carbs and lean meats for the coming week. The diet was the easy part. Learning how not to count reps in the gym and go to failure ultimately rendered changes that I
had never seen before. How I ran those miles is how I approached weight training. I put in the work, growing stronger than ever and shattering previous personal bests in every lifting category.
The Fueled Transformation Challenge re-introduced me to who Sammy Listoe is and brought me to where I am today, writing this essay, in a basement in Nashville, Tennessee. Singing and songwriting are my ultimate passions. They have taken me all over the world, given me life-changing experiences, and helped me through some pretty dark times. Pushing my physical limits opened my eyes to the idea that anything is possible. How I ran those miles and how I strengthened my body is how I approached booking a trip and a week’s worth of shows in Nashville, and I have to be honest, it feels like home here. This is how I will continue to approach my musical endeavors as I put together a plan to ultimately move to Nashville. “How you do one thing is how you do everything”. I am so grateful to have participated in the Fueled Transformation Challenge; for the barriers it forced me to break through and the mental as well
as physical strength I gained along the way.
Having grown up racing motocross, cardio was always a strong suit of mine, but running was one form of cardio that I always hated. I thought I didn’t like it because it seemed boring, but really it was because I didn’t have the mental discipline to lay down the miles without stopping. I suppose that’s why I have always had “complete a half-marathon” on my goals board. It would be tough, I didn’t really want to put in the work to do it, so that’s why I knew that I HAD to do it. The journey to 13.1 miles started at the beginning of January. Up before the sun at 5 AM, two miles a day grew to three, then four. By the end of January, I had run 150 miles and completed a 14-mile run. My training continued and I ran my first official half-marathon on March 3rd, completing it in 1 hour and 51 minutes.
The drive behind this run also fueled my strength training. My mentality and confidence shifted once I started laying down the miles in my morning runs. I defeated the idea that I wasn’t a “runner” so now anything was possible. I would spend hours on Sundays preparing clean meals consisting of complex carbs and lean meats for the coming week. The diet was the easy part. Learning how not to count reps in the gym and go to failure ultimately rendered changes that I
had never seen before. How I ran those miles is how I approached weight training. I put in the work, growing stronger than ever and shattering previous personal bests in every lifting category.
The Fueled Transformation Challenge re-introduced me to who Sammy Listoe is and brought me to where I am today, writing this essay, in a basement in Nashville, Tennessee. Singing and songwriting are my ultimate passions. They have taken me all over the world, given me life-changing experiences, and helped me through some pretty dark times. Pushing my physical limits opened my eyes to the idea that anything is possible. How I ran those miles and how I strengthened my body is how I approached booking a trip and a week’s worth of shows in Nashville, and I have to be honest, it feels like home here. This is how I will continue to approach my musical endeavors as I put together a plan to ultimately move to Nashville. “How you do one thing is how you do everything”. I am so grateful to have participated in the Fueled Transformation Challenge; for the barriers it forced me to break through and the mental as well
as physical strength I gained along the way.
