This week’s Fitness Citizen Profile features Nike+ Run Club coach, Sam Strutt. The running expert has previously lent his expert opinion on finding the right shoe, but this time we’re focused on getting to know him beyond the track.
Keep scrolling to find out what keeps Sam happy, healthy and inspired (spoiler alert: Mr Crackles is involved).
Getting To Know You
Born: Sydney
Lives: Sydney
Known for: Nike+ Run Club Sydney Head Coach
Personal motto: ‘You are better than wheat’. Now this might sound weird but the meaning behind my motto is far more powerful to me than this complex carbohydrate. I’m allergic to wheat and this allergy is a challenge that I face every single day of my life. It requires me to be diligent about the choices I make. So when I tell myself “you are better than wheat”, I am reminding myself that I am able to overcome challenges if I apply myself diligently.
Success is: A point of view.
Advice I would give my 20 yr. old self: Ask for help. You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to help younger people. By 20, you have made just enough mistakes to take the advice of others wholeheartedly and know that their experience and knowledge can benefit you in big ways.
People are surprised that: I love photography. I would really like to spend more time developing my skills as a photographer. What I love about running is the passion and community that envelops every runner. I love that photography can be used to capture all of the moments that I love about running and be shared with my friends and family, no matter where they are in the world.
I’m inspired by: My parents inspire me; I’m inspired by how my father looks at my mother every day after 30 years of marriage. I’m inspired by how passionately my friends have chased their dreams. My coach, Gary Howard, who sacrifices a lot to help his runners, inspires me. The pursuit of trying to understand the vast complexities that come with coaching runners is inspiration enough for me. Coaching is a beautifully intricate world of balancing physiology with psychology. This balancing act is heightened by the fact that these two factors are never fixed but instead they are dynamic, which means a coach must always be dynamic and adaptable. A hard trait to consistently get right and one I know that I often stumble on.
The biggest risk I have taken (that has paid off) is: For an athlete, changing coaches can be a very daunting task. Change will bring the unknown and doubt into the situation but for me it was a decision that I thought about for quite some time before ultimately making decision to move. I learnt a lot from my previous coach and I will always be grateful for the guidance that I received but for me the change of coach allowed me to gain a mentor. That risk also taught me a very valuable lesson about the power of change. Change can be uncomfortable because in order to have change we must push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Don’t be scared of change but instead focus on your ability to handle the transition during change. Change will present you with the opportunity to learn and as you learn you will gain vital experience. The more you learn, the more valuable you will become to yourself and to others.
From my mistakes, I have learnt: Mistakes are the most valuable lessons you’ll ever have. I have learnt that I can adapt if I am willing to allow myself to. I have realised that a lot of the mistakes people make are important to make on their own. It is in the period after you’ve made a mistake that the people who you decide to surround yourself with are most important. These important people are the ones who help you rationalise the mistake and offer differing opinions that ultimately lead to you making a decision. That decision is a lesson learnt. In saying that, I’m not suggesting you go into every situation unprepared and expecting to make a mistake. I am saying that prepare yourself as best as you can for any situation but ultimately know that no matter the outcome you will gain valuable experience.
My most used emoji is: This is probably very predictable but the Running Man emoji.
Out And About
Wake up time: 7am
Morning ritual: I have a lot of variation in my schedule but one constant is that I start my day by consuming enough caffeine to power a small village. Once my focus is sharper than Leonardo DiCaprio trying to capture his first Academy Award, I go for my morning run/gym workout before getting on with my day.
Desk lunch: I don’t have a desk but if I did I would be eating a ham, avocado, tomato sandwich, some fruit and an assortment of nuts at it.
Last thing I do at night: I try my best to stretch.
Guilty pleasure: I’m a big movie fan!
3 things vital to my day: Running, eating delicious food and music.
Cafe: Mr Crackles (It’s not a café but I think about it a lot so it deserved a mention)
Juice: Orange, apple, watermelon and pineapple.
Coffee: Soy cap
Culture stop: Centennial Park
Studio/gym: Stadium Fitness Centre @ the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Wardrobe
Sports top: Nike Dri-FIT tee – the fabric keeps you dry when you break a sweat
Sports shorts: Nike Flex Speed Running Trousers – great for chilly morning or night runs.
Sunglasses: I really love sunglasses but I can’t financial support the rate in which I break them.
Watch: Apple Watch – the ability to sync up my Powerbeats2 Wireless with the Apple Watch whilst using the Nike+ Running App has changed my relationship to running with music.
Store: My favourite store in Sydney is The Running Company at Bondi Beach. I also love a long and romantic peruse through nike.com to stay up-to-date with my favourite gear.
Related Article: We Road Tested Nike’s LunarEpic Flyknit
New season must have: This season’s new low LunarEpic Flyknit. They have the same tech features as the original mid-rise – the Flyknit construction of the upper gives a snug fit, the Lunarlon cushioning offers a super responsive midsole (meaning the shoe moves with your foot as you run), and the laser cut pods on the sole mean they’re suitable for any surface.
Culture and Tech
App: Spotify and Nike+ Running
Website: flotrack.org – I’m a pretty big fan of track & field and this is where I stay up-to-date.
Binge watch: It’s very nerdy but at the moment I’m really into Dark Matters – Twisted but True, a TV show about controversial scientific discoveries.
Instagram stalk: zhetrick
Album love: Ed Sheeran
Logging On
Twitter: strutty_21
Instagram: samwillstrutt
Snap: strutt
Nike+ Training Club
UNLIMITED SYDNEY
Nike+ Training Club meets Unlimited Sydney for a 60 minute training experience like no other. Our Nike Trainers will push you beyond your limits as you join team endurance, strength or mobility and train to win.
Location: House of Unlimited 901 Burke St, Waterloo
When: Saturday 13th August, 2016
Time: 5.30pm – 8pm
Register here.
