Wow I’m surprised.
Talbot, keep doing what you’re doing!
The funny thing about training numbers transparency. I get a kick out of which numbers athlete’s share in these videos. IE- there’s a reason why LS won’t share a single swim workout split ever, and yet he’ll flex on just about every workout video with eye popping B or R splits. To be fair to LS, others have behaved in the same way (GJ won’t ever give a swim split but she’ll drop every run workout split she does on video). I just find it interesting what splits get shared with and which splits don’t get shared with. I’ve always thought the best content is sharing the workout and splits within said workout video, if you want full transparency (again I get why LS doesn’t share “meh” swim splits, just find it interesting when they then share a strong B or R split in the same video).
All his swim workouts are on Strava…well up until mid Jan anyway.
All his swim workouts are still on the Form app too.
Well for us Strava/app challenged folks, perhaps some of you versed in that language could translate some of the bigger and faster sets he has been doing in the pool? That would be fun to look at and get a glimpse of where he is at these days…
The dude is the current IM World Champ and almost nobody here cares. Mind boggling.
Love the laid back attitude of Detlev.//
Its not that we dont care, just that these guys are new to this social thing and not really very good at it as of yet. I watched Sam’s and Detlev’s vids, they were just ok. Now Joe Skippers are compelling, and now we even know his posse and are getting to like them too. Sam had this whole entro to his posse, and frankly it was boring and I got nothing from it, even fast forwarded through most of it after the first one…Lionle’s posse is always entertaining and he brings them into his world and ours.
The one thing I thought was funny was Sam’s hat and him making a joke from his recent drug scandal accusations. Something like I’m so good that they think I’m cheating? It is not a easy thing to do, and certainly how good you are is a very tiny part of it. Gwen’s are equally bad and she has been at it for awhile longer. I suppose in the end it s really about personality, and how it comes across to us viewers. In some respect that can be manufactured, but reality is you either have it or you dont. Like that other thing we all like to watch, you know it when you see it… (-;
I guess I’m alone then, but I much more enjoyed watching the Laidlow and Ditlev videos than Sanders’.
I really enjoyed Ditlev’s training day video. Really inspirational for us folks in the middle of winter training in a northern city or town watching the current IM world record holder get it done ol school: driving in the dark to a crowded 25 m pool to do a 6,000 m swim, stuck in a tight basement with his gf and dad dropping 500 W intervals just to cap it with a 15 min 5 km through icy Copenhagen bike paths and sidewalks. Had to do a tough tempo run before work today in the dark and cold, and this helped me motivate.
Of course, it is always fun to watch LS et al in wonderful mild weather locations, but it can be hard sometimes to watch when you are stuck trying to do a 30 km run in the middle of winter.
I guess I’m alone then, but I much more enjoyed watching the Laidlow and Ditlev videos than Sanders’.
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You are not alone…
I like to feel like I am getting to know the Pro’s both as athletes and as normal people.I get that with a lot of the Pro athlete YouTubers (not just in Triathlon) but I don’t with Lionel. I feel like he has created a character and is playing that character to the masses for entertainment.
I feel like he has created a character and is playing that character to the masses for entertainment.
When I go to Tucson, I stay with him and Erin. It is not a character. That is truly him.
I feel like he has created a character and is playing that character to the masses for entertainment.
When I go to Tucson, I stay with him and Erin. It is not a character. That is truly him.
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Good to know,I am sure he is not all bluster all the time. I really wish his videos showed more of the personal side as well as I am not in the sport for the tech and science side of it,I am in it for the travel and social experiences so all this constant number crunching wears me down. (Not that what I think matters here on ST or in the Sanders household)
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As for videos and the characters of the sport,I wish we had the Tri equivalents of the Buttery Brothers who cover all things CrossFit.Those guys do an awesome job of getting into the personalities of each athlete not only at each competition but they follow them around to all the CrossFit Camps all year. I am not a fan of “Bro Culture” but I can totally forgive these guys as they are awesome.
Good to know,I am sure he is not all bluster all the time. I really wish his videos showed more of the personal side as well as I am not in the sport for the tech and science side of it,I am in it for the travel and social experiences so all this constant number crunching wears me down. (Not that what I think matters here on ST or in the Sanders household)
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I am not sure I see the “bluster”. I would describe him as intense and focused. But it’s very specific to his training and the sport.
So for example we will be sitting there talking about a test plan and he wants to understand, and he is super focused, intense, will challenge, wants to understand…Then his kid will stroll over in his little roll around chair and he will swing 180deg, play with his son, laugh…then back to me, 180deg turn, intense, focused…
Same with Erin. But I think he very intentionally keeps that personal side out of the videos, which he should. I know he wants to keep his son out and I don’t think Erin enjoys the video focused on her.
Many triathletes are very intense and it spills over to other areas of their life. I don’t see that with him. He seems to be able to put things in appropriate bins.
Just my impressions. I am not a shrink.
Eh I’m more in the lines of it’s fairly easy to see what “side†of the person you are looking into and that side may or may not be your jam. If someone wants to be a character of themselves, cool.
Eric Lagerstrom has a very holistic approach with his social media and that may or may not be your thing. You know how much work that takes to do that approach? Holy hell that dude is living 2 full time jobs with how “authentic†and deliberate he is with his approach.
Others couldn’t be bothered to do social media and it’s very apparent when they are then highlighted, why they don’t do social media (that’s not a bad thing). The oil and water approach, just put head down and ignore the side hustle $$ that can come from the social media side.
Social media isn’t just 1 take of a photo hit send and it’s over. It takes production (there’s a reason why Talbot works with LS on all his content), it takes time. It’s why I thought LS’s last video was very much “doing it to check box†take. But I think that’s what you gotta do when you go down that social media side hustle. The more popular you become the more important it suddenly becomes and is part of the whole experience. Some want it, they love sharing their life and journey (see Ari’s videos who also allow him to showcase his musical artistic side). So to get paid doing that is a win win. To me LS has sorta hit the point in his career that he’s got to have the full package in order to take care of his family, whether he wants to keep the social media train going or not. He’s stuck in that aspect. He can’t go dark even though he may want to in the final stage of his pro career. But the LS experience will pay in gold when he starts his coaching career and keeps living a great life cus so many AG’ers will easily pay any fee to have him “coach†them post his athletic career.
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Good to know,I am sure he is not all bluster all the time. I really wish his videos showed more of the personal side as well as I am not in the sport for the tech and science side of it,I am in it for the travel and social experiences so all this constant number crunching wears me down. (Not that what I think matters here on ST or in the Sanders household)
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I am not sure I see the “bluster”. I would describe him as intense and focused. But it’s very specific to his training and the sport.
So for example we will be sitting there talking about a test plan and he wants to understand, and he is super focused, intense, will challenge, wants to understand…Then his kid will stroll over in his little roll around chair and he will swing 180deg, play with his son, laugh…then back to me, 180deg turn, intense, focused…
Same with Erin. But I think he very intentionally keeps that personal side out of the videos, which he should. I know he wants to keep his son out and I don’t think Erin enjoys the video focused on her.
Many triathletes are very intense and it spills over to other areas of their life. I don’t see that with him. He seems to be able to put things in appropriate bins.
Just my impressions. I am not a shrink.
Perhaps you don’t call it “bluster” but In many of his videos he’s all pissed off about how he screwed himself over in his last race. He sounds very angry and slightly scary. I stopped watching his videos about 3-4 yrs ago b/c I could not stand listening to him bitch about his own mistakes. His tone of voice often strikes me like fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard. 
I worked with these guys in 2016 and sat down to have a long chat with them. This is before they launched their youtube. They were the the guys who all worked officially for Crossfit and did all their media. I shared with them they should launch their own channel as they would build a big brand. I am not in any way taking credit, but I shared with them our idea for when Lionel is retired: to go around the world, train, and workout with not only professional triathletes but athletes in general. This is our goal for when Lionel retires. Lionel will travel all over and train / race / do things with other athletes and we will document it.
Also someone hit it on the head earlier. Coming up with content ideas in the off-season is boring as crap. What else can you talk about? It’s swimming, biking, and running. Yes, the videos do get repetitive during this time. It’s boring as hell, even for myself and Lionel. Haha, it is just ticking the boxes until we have exciting stuff and Lionel starts racing again. These are very much your typical update videos of ‘hi, look at me, I’m a pro athlete, and I’m swimming, biking, and running.’ Not much more to talk about, haha. It’s going to be a fun year; we have lots in store and lots of big things coming. So enjoy these boring as hell check-in videos.
Brooks also hit it on the head. I don’t even know if Lionel would do videos in the off-season as it’s a boring time for a pro triathlete, but I make my living from Lionel’s YouTube, so I can see it as just supporting me and updating his fans, haha. Thanks for at least following along.
Thanks for checking in Talbot, can you share with us his upcoming race schedule? Or is it a secret, or just not in place as of yet? Is he going for the entire Ironman series, or just going to pick and choose a few races??
Hey Monty, good to chat! Lionel’s race plans, gotta stay under wraps for now. Mostly because they’re not set and stone.
He’s been dialing in some serious changes, fully committed to the Ironman grind. We’ve had some solid chats in the hot-tub. He’s firing on all cylinders like I’ve never seen before. Lionel had this massive opportunity to cash in big time by hitting up not only the indoor arena games again (Which he got a nice $ to go) but also the T100 series! yet turned both down. That’s major dedication if you know crazy Lionel. Last year was a blast, but this move just shows how laser-focused he is on crushing Kona this time.
It’s gonna be one heck of a season, especially with dudes like Magnus Ditlev and Sam Laidlow diving headfirst into the T100 tour. That means they will be doing a minimum of 8 races this year. When last year they both did what 4-5?. And then you’ve got Patrick Lange gunning for the Ironman series like a man possessed 2-3 Ironmans ahead of Kona. And those Norwegian? Always keeping us on our toes. I heard KB will be heading to Frankfurt just 18 days after the games. Thats mental.
His schedule’s still up in the air, but keeping his options open means he can pick his races strategically unlike most the top pros this year that are committed to race schedules and racing no matter what. We will see if that plays into Lionels favor.
Right now, he’s got his eye on a North American Ironman or maybe one across the pond in Europe.
Talbot – speaking for myself, I appreciate the regular updates no matter what the content includes. Somehow, through Lionel’s personality and your filming and “story telling,” you’ve managed to create a significant audience that not only “follows” Lionel, but cares about who he is and how he is doing. Just seeing a short Youtube video showing that he is training and is feeling good and motivated is extremely rewarding for me. I imagine others feel similarly, and Slowtwitch can slam me for being a fanboy, but I’ve been around this sport since the mid-1980’s and I’ve seen many athletes come and go. Lionel is one of a kind.
Keep doing what you’ve been dong with Lionel, even more so, if possible. It’s not boring to many of us.
THANKS & God bless!
Ray
I like watching Lionel because he’s real. People are attracted to someone that is genuine. To me, he seems more relatable. Like a really good age grouper that puts in tons of work to pull off his dream, vs someone that has amazing genetics and is a performance freak from day 1 and never screws up. The mistakes are what make him relatable as a fellow human.
That being said, I really enjoyed Ditlev’s last video but his personality is not sustainable for content creation. Skipper is kind of funny/weird. Gwen is boring despite liking her and being somewhat relatable. TTL is good. But Sanders is the reigning YouTube champ for another year or so IMO.
Talbot – speaking for myself, I appreciate the regular updates no matter what the content includes. Somehow, through Lionel’s personality and your filming and “story telling,” you’ve managed to create a significant audience that not only “follows” Lionel, but cares about who he is and how he is doing. Just seeing a short Youtube video showing that he is training and is feeling good and motivated is extremely rewarding for me. I imagine others feel similarly, and Slowtwitch can slam me for being a fanboy, but I’ve been around this sport since the mid-1980’s and I’ve seen many athletes come and go. Lionel is one of a kind.
Keep doing what you’ve been dong with Lionel, even more so, if possible. It’s not boring to many of us.
THANKS & God bless!
Ray
Agree. I like the update videos
Are not boring at all to me
I have one complaint Talbot, actually 2
We need more videos and each video needs to be longer
Even just Lionel talking about training and his ideas, theories etc. Are a much watch in my house
I still think Talbot’s most enjoyable videos are the race week series of videos. I don’t understand why the PTO has not contracted you to run these for every T100 race on the calendar!
That being said, I really enjoyed Ditlev’s last video but his personality is not sustainable for content creation. Skipper is kind of funny/weird. Gwen is boring despite liking her and being somewhat relatable. TTL is good. But Sanders is the reigning YouTube champ for another year or so IMO.
Hit the nail on the head here.