We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Todd Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Todd below.

Todd, appreciate you joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

When I start out with clients, I like to learn about their self talk, their habits, their self beliefs and limitations. In the very beginning of the relationship, I will put them through a series of exercises that does an effective job at having their self-talk come to surface through a physical endeavor. It’s a physical exorcism of sorts with the end goal being: what is a major story that operates how they live in their current life, positive or negative. I will also go through this series again for myself so that I can show them my own self-talk and beliefs.

These revelations from the exercises become the cornerstone for our relationship as we became a tight unit over the weeks/months.

One time, one of my clients sent me a message after successfully accomplishing their target. The message said to me to look out for a package. “The package will have very sharp things and a pair of gloves in it”. I was like “umm, Ok?”.

After receiving this box, I was instructed to put on our gloves and open the package. I had no idea what this was going to be. The box was filled with packaging and metal.

Then I knew what it was.

The story that came up for my client during the cornerstone exercise had been turned into a metal piece of art.

It was one of the most magical gifts I’ve ever been given. Not just because of the thoughtfulness that went into it but because of the impact my work had on them. To see that kind of impact first hand, made my heart melt.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

How I got into my business:

Years ago I found myself in my bathroom. I watched myself in the mirror, in awareness, as my brain was spinning out of control with the same thoughts. I was on a ride I didn’t know how to get off of. There was no stop. No pause. The more things I tried to do, the worse the spinning became. This was my first bout with mental health.

After years of racing triathlon, running, biking and swimming away from every problem I could ever imagine, my world had caught up to me. You can’t outrun your demons, no matter how fast you are.

Meditation found me. Followed by cold water. I then removed all monitors/watches/phones from my body. I tracked nothing. I went inward. I went by feel. I rode my bike indoors in dark rooms for hours on end, simply listening. Listening to my body and my soul.

What I found was an endless supply of peace and inspiration. What I found was an ocean of answers and flow. I began to understand that being with my problems on the bike is far more powerful than trying to ride away from them. The world opened up to me inside. I slowly climbed aboard the train to heal but I didn’t know it yet.

Then I noticed something. The deeper I went internally, the healthier I became. Not only with my body but with my spirit. I returned to racing with a whole new mindset and physical prowess that I had never experienced before. So much so that I was given a random bike, from a man I didn’t know, with a seat post that didn’t work, the night before the NYC triathlon.

The next day I crossed the line finishing first, winning the NYC Triathlon, using a bike I’ve never ridden before.

You see, that summer, I rode outside less than 10x. All of my riding was done indoors, in the dark, tracking nothing, to music curated to take me on a journey.

This is the birth of Surreal Cycling. A cycling content platform that helps create self-driven athletes free from outside validation. There is no data, no metrics and the user can connect with themselves at a higher level.

– I help create self-driven athletes free from outside validation.
– I am an energy facilitator for my clients. They have a problem with producing large amounts of reliable energy inside their bodies. I give them ways to do this sustainably so that all areas of their live improve.
– I am most proud of the lasting impact my teachings have sustained over the last 15 years with clients. Clients that learn the core principles will and have continued to thrive using these same principles.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Getting out into the world has been easily the best strategy for growing my clientele. People can’t really know you till you get on the phone with them Or get face to face with them. That is where business is really effective I feel. I tried to hide behind the computer, behind the email, behind the strategies, behind my stories and behind my fears. It’s when I follow my gut and go out into the world that has been the most successful strategy for me. For me that means going out and shooting in locations that have spoke to me. It means meeting new people and asking them to go out to dinner or meet for lunch. It has been about trying to curate what kind of people I really want in my life and then jumping at that opportunity when it presents itself.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

25 years ago I found myself skiing in Summit County Colorado. After a few days of serious pain in my belly and 2 Dr visits, the pain was gone. So I decided to try skiing again. The pain that was released was actually my appendix rupturing. By the time I got to the top of the mountain I knew I was in bad shape.

I gently maneuvered my way down the mountain and was ordered to get into an ambulance asap. The Dr’s at the Vail hospital called my parents, told them what was going on and that I was going into emergency surgery. The next thing I knew I was in the Vail hospital for 10 days due to a ruptured appendix that nearly ended my life and then an extended recovery period that included massive weight loss and catch up time at college.

Then 7 months later I found myself back on the operating table 7 months later. The scar tissue from the first surgery closed off my intestines and they had to open me back up again in the same spot. 14″ cut that went through all of my muscles, again. This led to another huge recovery period. The university asked me to take the semester off without a refund. That wasn’t going to happen. I slept at the library for the next month or so to ensure that I caught up in my classes because I missed so much school due to surgery.

It was a challenging time. I was scared. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do anything again. It took me a long time to put weight back on, do normal things and get back on track. I questioned a lot of things at that time. But my tolerance for pain was pretty epic for a small kid and my resilience was profound.

Contact Info:

• Website: surrealcycling.com
• Instagram: instagram/surrealcycling
• Facebook: todd1smith
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-smith-91519a6/
• Youtube: youtube/surrealcycling
• Other: playbook.io This is where my app is.