178: IED Survivor To World Record Endurance Athlete | Mike Egan

**Nick Bare** (0:00)
Before we dive into today's episode, I want to let you know that we just launched the strength collection at bpnsupps.com. Now the strength collection is a three product system to be used around your strength workouts. It is pre, pump, and post. So the way that I use these products in my routine is I stack pre and pump about 30 minutes prior to my strength workouts. I sip on that and I walk into the gym with pure intention, intensity, and grit and passion. It jacks me up for my workout. It primes my training session with energy, tunnel vision focus, muscular endurance, and crazy muscle pumps.
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**Mike Egan** (1:32)
There was a shift in the air. Hey, we need to be ready to push. We needed to be careful where we were heading. Whip on chin up.

**Nick Bare** (1:39)
Get the spurt. How was this IED triggered?

**Mike Egan** (1:43)
It was a pressure plate. Stepped on it.
And then after that, it was confusion, trying to like get back up and dust myself off. And then realizing, oh, I can't get up. Then it hit. It felt like breathing was optional. I just realized I wasn't done and I want to stay here. I went through about 30 surgeries. It was just like, what does life look like now? I had no idea.
I got this idea of going after the world record for the most miles covered in a wheelchair in 24 hours. And when I got to the end of it, that was like, I think I could keep going.

**Nick Bare** (2:20)
What did you want to come and do at the Ultra?

**Mike Egan** (2:22)
I wanted to see what broke first. When that torrential downpour came, I couldn't push anymore. I got out of the chair and I started yanking it and dragging it.
I knew the race was done for me, but I wasn't done with the race.

**Nick Bare** (2:39)
27 hours, 110 miles.

**Mike Egan** (2:42)
I just had hundreds of messages from people all over the world telling me how it spoke to them and how it lit a fire in them. And I'm just like, holy crap, dude.
I had no idea.

**Nick Bare** (3:01)
So I want to dive into a lot today in our conversation.
But I came across a post of yours, and it said that you wanted to be remembered for giving back more than you took. What does that mean to you?

**Mike Egan** (3:21)
Yeah, for me, that's service in a nutshell. I think being a contributing factor to your community, your people, your circle is the meaning of life to me. Like I just imagine, what do I want to be remembered for is just giving back more than I took. Like it's a belief, it's a lifestyle, and it's something I try and live up to every day.
I am so blessed and fortunate in this life that it's hard to keep up with that, and it's just a constant reminder of like, how can I give back?

**Nick Bare** (4:04)
I mean, obviously, joining the Marine Corps, getting hit by an IED in Afghanistan 2012 shifted your life completely. But did that mindset of wanting to be remembered for giving back more than you took, did that start prior to the accident or was it after?

**Mike Egan** (4:29)
No, it was after.
My definition of service changed drastically from when I signed up for the military to join the Marines to where I am today. And I think when you're in the military, you have this clear trajectory of service and what your purpose is. And when I got injured, I could no longer do that anymore. I had to find what is service to me now. What I saw as service was taken away. How do I be of continued service? And one of the things I actually shared, and I realized that I don't really talk about it is, I found out what the true meaning of service is from my, he's got to be in his 70s now, my 70-year-old neighbor. I got injured and one of the hardest things for me to do is to bring my trash can up the driveway. I struggled like every week, I just, it's hard to push something up a driveway in a wheelchair. And a couple weeks after I moved in, I noticed my trash can was at the top of my driveway, like every time, like clockwork, as soon as trash truck came, it was at the top of the driveway. And I was like, who the heck is doing this? And I put up cameras so I could see who was doing it. And it was my neighbor.