John Newsom on slowtwitch
A few weeks back we chatted with Kiwi Bevan James Eyles of IMtalk, and now we had a few words with coach John Newsom. IMtalk co-host Newsom is actually quite a good athlete with a sub-9 Challenge Roth finish in his resume.
Slowtwitch: Did you feel slighted because we talked to Bevan first?
John: We have clearly defined roles with IM Talk. One of the unwritten one’s is that Bevan takes the show pony role, so I imagine he bribed you somehow for the right to go first.
ST: Well, Bevan did tell us all of this IMTalk stuff was his idea.
John: Yes it was his idea. When we started I didn’t own an i-pod and didn’t even know what a podcast was. I was a little skeptical to start with but it’s all turned out really well.
I don’t think either of us ever imagined it getting as big as it is now and I really think we are only at the tip of the iceberg. People seem to like what we do and our downloads just keep growing every week.
My main concern when we started was a) we’d sound stupid as we’d never done anything like this before (our first few episodes were pretty weak) and b) we’d run out of content very quickly. Thankfully we kept coming up with new ideas but we stick to a structure that works and we deliver every week.
ST: So Bevan did come up with the idea after all. I thought he might have been swindling a bit when he told us that.
John: Bevan spends a lot of time online and always has something playing in his ears – music, podcasts, audio books so he knows how it all works. For anyone who listens to the show they know Bevan is not short of a word. As I said, I was a bit skeptical when we started but we have opposite personalities – which seems to work.
ST: Do you have a nickname too?
John: Nothing that has really stuck.
ST: So there just isn’t a nick name that stuck or there isn’t one all together? Remember we can ask Bevan.
John: Sorry to disappoint, but there is nothing really that is not derived from my name (Johnny boy, johno, Johnny …….)
ST: Are there any topics you don’t touch on the show?
John: We’re generally pretty happy to cover almost anything. We do generally get sucked into April fools pranks. I’m trying to become more vigilant on spreading gossip but there is some juicy stuff that gets sent into us.
ST: Who was your favorite guest?
John: We’ve had some great guests on the show but the live interviews are the best, especially in Kona last year. It was great talking in person with Macca, Crowie, Hillary Biscay, Belinda Granger, Farris Al Sultan and Dave Scott amongst all the others we talked to.
ST: When did you start coaching?
John: I trained and raced (short course) full time for about 3 years straight after Uni (1997-2000) then came home to do a graduate diploma in E-Commerce. Ironically one of my assignments was to come up with an internet based business – I basically wrote up what I am doing today. After this bit of study I went to the UK for nearly 3 years and got some business experience and some more exploring of Europe (sans bike). We came back to NZ in late 2004 and I’ve been coaching full time since then.
ST: In 2008 you went sub 9 in Roth. That is certainly quite a nice result.
John: It was my fastest time but I was hoping to go faster (don’t we all). My swim was great, bike was dismal and whilst my run was a battle all the way – I did a 3:00:18, which I was pleased with (19 seconds faster would have been nice). That said, it was absolutely the best I could do on the day. Mentally I had a very, very good race and so I didn’t go home with any questions in my mind that I could have gone harder. Finish time ended up being 8hr 51min. What was interesting was that I rode then 2nd half of the bike course with Erika Csomor and Yvonne Van Vlerken – any rubbish you read about them sucking drafts off guys was certainly not true. I was very impressed with the way they rode and then ran away from me to set new world best times.
ST: You got involved with triathlon at fairly young age, correct?
John: I remember my first involvement with triathlons very well. I hooked up with a couple of schoolmates in December 1990 and we did a couple of team races. I was 13 at the time and was feeling that I’d peaked a bit with my swimming and wanted to move on, as I knew I could run OK. Tris seemed the obvious choice. Later that season I did my first sprint tri, which doubled as our regional champs – I won that and got a free trip to Nationals. I was hooked from then on. 20 years on and I’m still going.
ST: So with 20 years of triathlons behind you, are there 20 more years in front of you?
John: I sure hope so. I love training and love exploring new places by foot or bike. I definitely find that with less training I get knocked around a lot more from racing, hard training etc but in general my body still seems to hold up to training well. At the moment I’m looking forward to try and get some speed back next summer via short course racing.
ST: What about Kona?
John: I raced Kona in 2005 as a pro even though I was far from training like a pro. It was not the most memorable day. I arrived in pretty good spirits 2 weeks before the race but immediately picked up a groin injury. The day before the race I could not run more than about 500m so I was proud I stuck with it and finished the race. I couldn’t walk for days afterwards and it was at least a few months before I could run. Whilst it was a cool experience to be there, I won’t be rushing back – there are other iconic races I’d rather check out first.
ST: What race are you currently getting ready for?
John: With 2 kids (11mths and 2.5yrs) training time is pretty minimal right now but I have just started to train for the Christchurch marathon. Bevan and I are supposed to be having a show down, but he might chicken out with an injury. I’ve never done a fresh marathon so it will be interesting to see what I can do. After that I need to get ready for a camp in Poland that I do each year with a few guys I coach over there
My main event for this season was to complete our recent Epic Camp where we covered the length of NZ. That was very satisfying from an organizational point of view and a once in a lifetime trip that I will never forget – it was a bloody long way.
ST: Tell us about your personal training philosophy.
John: There are a number of reasons I do triathlon and this transcends into my coaching and training philosophy. First and foremost I love training – races help with motivation but I genuinely enjoy going out swimming, biking and running. If you don’t enjoy training the likelihood of you staying in the sport long term are slim. Secondly I love competing – since 2000 I’ve been getting slower rather than faster, but I am getting better at judging my performances based on current fitness levels rather than looking at the past. Thirdly, I’ve always gained a lot of satisfaction from triathlon because you don’t have to be the most talented athlete to do well. I was typically one of the slowest athletes in training but was able to punch above my weight in racing which gave me a real buzz. I became great at comparing my training numbers to my past numbers not anyone else’s – I try to reinforce this with athletes I coach. Finally, I really don’t like being out of shape and this affects other aspects of my life negatively so it’s fair to say I’m addicted to being fit.
ST: How is your cookbook coming long?
John: The recipes are rolling in but I’m realistic that this will be a long-term project. If anyone wants to submit a recipe go to imtalk.me and flick us an email
ST: Didn’t you just recently have a wedding anniversary?
John: Yip – happily married since February 2006
ST: What did you do?
John: Flowers ☺
ST: Did you wife approve of the flowers / did you get brownie points?
John: We’re about to head on a extended Easter holiday so that will be a good chance to get some balance.
ST: Can you share with us some of your food likes and dislikes?
John: I like savory foods – particularly salt & vinegar chips (crisps for the poms). Favorite meal is probably mum’s roast beef, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, fresh veg and lots of gravy. Topped off with either a pavlova or boysenberry ambrosia and Italian food.
Dislikes are Brussel sprouts, olives, anchovy, peppermint, black jelly beans.
ST: What music do you like?
John: One thing Bevan can’t believe is I’m not really big into music or movies. The most recent music I bought was Back Eyed Peas.
ST: What was the last book you read?
John: Before our 2nd child (Felicity) was born, I enjoyed a bit of reading but since then I literally have hardly read a book. I do like Lee Childs, Ben Elton, Dan Brown and John Grisham along with a good sports biography. I’ve been trying to read a Jeffrey Archer book since Christmas but I don’t think I’ve even passed page 100 yet. At the end of each day all Belinda and I want to do is vegetate (our kids are not the greatest sleepers and we are up most nights)
ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
John: As far as IM Talk goes I would like to have it running as a nice little side business. We’ve got a tremendous, passionate and global audience, which I think is a huge asset for potential advertisers. We just need to get off our butts and get some more businesses backing what we do. The growth in our audience size has been staggering.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
John: I have a great team of sponsors Avanti bikes, Blue Seventy wetsuits, Mizuno shoes, High Five Sports nutrition and Uvex helmets and glasses.
My wife Belinda is very tolerant of my lifestyle and I have two great kids in Thomas 2.5 years and Felicity 11 months.
