“The future is unwritten, it’s up to you to write it.”
In short: Episode 1 of IRONMIND, “This Is Ironman, Not Pussyman”, was published in March 2018 and opens London Real’s 11-part docu-series following Brian Rose‘s training for his first Ironman race. It begins months after Brian interviewed John Joseph, lead singer of the hardcore punk band the Cro-Mags, in the London Real studio, when John calls him and dares him to come back to New York and face the city he left behind.
Brian had moved to New York in the 1990s to trade on Wall Street, and the city was where his life fell apart. John walks him through Tompkins Square Park and the Lower East Side where he grew up, then takes him to a bike shop and lays down the challenge: race a half Ironman with him in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 20 May, three months away.
Key takeaways
- You cannot outrun your past. John told Brian that everyone is running from something, and that the only way forward is to deal with what happened rather than hide from it.
- A curse can become a blessing. Looking back on his own childhood on the streets, John said that the experiences he once resented ended up shaping who he became, and that Brian’s struggles in New York led him to London.
- The future is unwritten. Quoting the Clash, John said how you live is decided every single day when you open your eyes.
- There are no breaks in an Ironman. John explained that the swim, bike and run follow each other with no rest between them, which is why he calls it a test of the mind as much as the body.
- You make the time. When Brian listed his full-time show, two young boys and his age, John pointed to a friend with a full-time job and three small children who still trains.
A call back to New York
The episode opens on a cold, rainy night on the Brooklyn Bridge, with John demanding an answer from Brian, before flashing back to how they met. Brian admits he knew nothing about the Cro-Mags or hardcore punk, but something about John intrigued him, and when John later calls him, he tells Brian that he left New York running from something and needs to come home and deal with it.
Brian explains that New York was his home in the 1990s, when he became a Wall Street trader straight after college, wearing a suit by day and living on the Lower East Side by night, in the same streets where John grew up and played with the Cro-Mags.
Tompkins Square Park and the challenge
In Tompkins Square Park, John describes an upbringing without parents or school, where survival on the street was everything. He tells Brian that every life experience makes up who we are, and that what looks like a curse at the time can turn out to be a blessing.
At a bike shop, John reveals why he really brought Brian to New York: he wants him to race a half Ironman with him in Chattanooga on 20 May. Brian protests that he has not been on a bike since he was a boy, runs a full-time show, has two young sons and is turning 47. John refuses to take no for an answer and invites him to train with him for the rest of the week, and Brian agrees to give it a go.
About IRONMIND
IRONMIND is London Real’s 11-part docu-series, released week by week in 2018, which follows Brian Rose from John Joseph’s challenge in New York to the finish line of his first Ironman race, a half-distance IRONMAN 70.3 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with 90 days to train on a 100% plant-based diet. The episodes were later cut into the feature film IRONMIND, which is free to watch on londonreal.tv. In this first episode Brian meets up again with John Joseph in New York. The story continues in Episode 2, where Brian starts training with John and coach Samantha Murphy.
Frequently asked questions
IRONMIND is an 11-part London Real docu-series from 2018 that follows Brian Rose as he trains for a half Ironman triathlon in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 90 days on a 100% plant-based diet, after a challenge from Cro-Mags singer John Joseph. The series was later released as the feature film IRONMIND.
Brian Rose and John Joseph, lead singer of the Cro-Mags, who brings Brian back to New York and challenges him to race a half Ironman in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It was published on London Real in March 2018, about two months before the race in Chattanooga on 20 May 2018.
John felt Brian had left New York running from his past and challenged him to come back, face the city and commit to the race.
The feature film IRONMIND is free to watch on londonreal.tv.
“Ironmind – The Movie” is not affiliated with Ironmind Enterprises, Inc., the owner of the trademark IRONMIND®.
