RIDEOUT: The Other Side of Hard

Alabama National Champ. LabCorp Janitor. UFC Fighter at 30. | Eryk Anders

Eryk Anders was the last guy picked. He mailed 125 copies of his own VHS highlight tape to every school he could find an address for and heard nothing back. Then a runnin

The Country Singer Nashville Wouldn't Sign | Jessie James Decker

Jessie James Decker was born on a military base in Italy and lived in 14 places before she finished high school. At a sleepover in Newnan, Georgia, two senior girls she h

255 Pounds at 33. Eight Miles a Day at 64. | BeBe Winans

BeBe Winans grew up a block from Smokey Robinson in Detroit, shoveling his snow for $25 when everyone else paid $2. Stevie Wonder's house was behind theirs. He was the se

One Instagram Post Ended His 12-Year MLB Career | Anthony Bass

Anthony Bass was a Division II kid from Trenton, Michigan who threw 88 to 92 like every other college pitcher. Then in the summer of 2007 he watched a rookie his own size

It's Just Walking. 1 in 3 Don't Finish. | Marc Hodulich

Marc Hodulich was a high school sophomore when he ran five months on a broken foot. The scan turned into a bone graft from his shin, two pins across his foot and three or

The Blast that Saved his Life | Mike Sarraille

Mike Sarraille was three feet away when Michael Monsoor jumped on a grenade on a rooftop in Ramadi and smothered the blast. Mike and another SEAL took the shrapnel Monsoo

The Doctor Who Got Sick 22 Times Before Anyone Asked Why | Dr. Clay Moss

Clay Moss looked like the healthiest guy at Ole Miss. He trained six days a week and got strep throat every other month for four straight years. Twenty-two documented cas

Too Small for the NFL. Then He Broke a Chiefs Record. | Dexter McCluster

Dexter McCluster is five-foot-eight and 165 pounds. Bobby Bowden told him he could play defensive back. Urban Meyer told him he could return kicks. He turned both of them

From a Prison Cell to Nike Brand Director | Jordan Rogers

Jordan Rogers was using heroin at 15. By the time he landed in county jail, he weighed 116 pounds. His parents had spent his college fund on rehab, and he was facing the

From Compulsive Gambler to a $465 Million Exit | Rich Galgano

Rich Galgano came back from Vegas so broke that a friend had to pay to get his car out of the airport parking lot. He swore he was done gambling. Then he got home, found

19 Million Followers, Losing Everything, and Starting Over in Nashville | Tayler Holder

Tayler Holder has 19 million followers on TikTok, millions more across social media, and a story that goes way beyond being an internet star. Tayler grew up in tiny Alva

The Rise, Fall, and Reinvention of an Olympic Champion | Missy Franklin

Missy Franklin is one of the greatest swimmers of all time. She made her first Olympic Trials at 13 years old, and four years later she went to London and absolutely domi

International Fugitive to UFC Top 10 | Ian Heinisch

Former UFC fighter Ian Heinisch sits down with Ken Rideout for one of the wildest stories ever told on The Other Side of Hard. Ian grew up in Colorado as an elite wrestl

Brutal Hits, Broken Bodies & the Business of Football | Bernard Pollard

Bernard Pollard earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s most feared hitters — and became known throughout New England as the “Patriot Killer.” In this episode, Bernard s

The Cop Who Went to Prison for 19 Years | Kent McGowen

Kent McGowen spent years enforcing the law. Then he spent nearly two decades behind bars. Kent is a former Houston police officer and Harris County deputy who was convic

The Wall Street Executive Who Had Everything—Except Peace | James “Jet” Davies

James “Jet” Davies spent more than two decades inside high finance, eventually becoming CEO of Deutsche Bank’s broker-dealer for the Americas. But behind the titles, mone

From Small-Town Kid to Everest, Equinox & IRONMAN CEO | Scott DeRue

Scott DeRue has spent his life creating experiences that push people beyond what they thought was possible. Ken sits down with his longtime friend and current CEO of The

Jail, Navy SEALs, Fentanyl & the French Foreign Legion | Taylor Cavanaugh

Taylor Cavanaugh’s life has been a cycle of achievement, self-destruction, and rebuilding. Before becoming a Navy SEAL, Taylor had already been expelled from school, arr

Four Brain Surgeries, Total Deafness, and Refusing to Break | McKinnon Galloway

McKinnon Galloway was diagnosed with NF2 at 16 after a routine MRI for a volleyball concussion revealed two brain tumors. What followed was years of chemotherapy, a phase

A School Shooting, a Shipwreck, and the Long Run to Sobriety | Mishka Shubaly

Mishka Shubaly has lived several lives: gifted student, touring musician, Columbia-trained writer, addict, shipwreck survivor, ultrarunner, Yale professor, and the editor