Episode Details

Pita Taufatofua is best known as the shirtless Tongan flagbearer who achieved worldwide fame at the Rio Olympics in 2016, but that’s only scratching the surface of his story.

Show notes | Episode 57 | Pita Taufatofua|

1.52 Seamus as one of millions who tagged Pita on Instagram back in 2016 and Steven learns about his exploits over the past 48 hours

5.41 The 24 hours after the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro

16.18 Would you do anything differently?

17.59 On being a sex symbol and getting objectified in the media

22.20 Growing up in Tonga and the influence of his family

27.32 “20 years of work for 30 seconds of shine”

31.03 The start of the Olympic dream in 1996

34.35 Turning down a million dollar Hollywood opportunity post-Olympics

41.15 Giving back: using his platform as leverage to talk about social causes

46.05 From taekwondo to cross country skiing

54.10 Dealing with criticism

57.07 The last race in Iceland to qualify for the Winter Olympics

1.10.42 Sacrifice: $40,000 of credit card debt and losing people along the way

1.15.37 Famous faces along the way: Snoop Dogg & Kevin Hart, Morgan Freeman, Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

1.22.26 Trying to qualify for a third Olympics in sprint kayaking

1.26.02 Pita on the Olympics and mental health

1.29.48 Next steps? Paris 2024? Training facilities in the Pacific

1.33.32 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Pita

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