Photo Credit: Marion Abrams – Madmotion I was standing at the edge of the Chittenden Reservoir, shivering, panicking, and crying. The second Death Race I ever entered had brought me to this moment: a three-mile swim in freezing, murky water. I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have the right gear. And worst of all, I knew … Read More
Author: Tony Matesi
No Finish Line: How Building a Startup Feels a Hell of a Lot Like the Death Race
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s no glory in comfort.The Death Race taught me that. The kind of brutal, soul-stripping event that doesn’t care how strong you think you are—it’ll break you just to see what’s underneath. But I never expected to feel that same tension, that same grind, in the … Read More
The Soulsborne of Suffering: How the Death Race and Soulslike Games Test the Same Spirit
There’s something intoxicating about a challenge so ruthless, so unrelenting, that it forces you to confront your limits. For some, that challenge is found in the merciless worlds of FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games—where every death is a lesson, and survival is never guaranteed. For others, it’s the Death Race, a test of endurance that breaks competitors … Read More
Surviving Political Chaos: Endurance, Activism, and the Power of Persistence
If there’s one thing the Death Race taught me, it’s how to endure. How to push forward when everything inside me is screaming to quit. How to navigate obstacles that seem impossible. How to accept suffering as part of the journey and still find the will to keep moving. That kind of endurance isn’t just … Read More
Beyond the Battle: Why Therapy is the Ultimate Finish Line
The Unseen Burdens of Endurance Athletes When I started recording The Legend of the Death Race podcast, I expected to hear incredible stories of resilience, endurance, and grit. What I didn’t expect was the common thread running through so many conversations—unresolved trauma. Again and again, I heard fellow Death Racers talk about using the race … Read More
The Triforce of Life: How Courage, Power, and Wisdom Help You Conquer Any Challenge
When I set out to write The Legend of the Death Race, I wasn’t just telling the story of an insane endurance challenge—I was crafting a legend. One that, at its core, mirrors a legend that has shaped my life in a different way: The Legend of Zelda. At first glance, the Spartan Death Race … Read More
The Power of Sobriety and Single Motherhood with Tera Spencer | LotDR Episode 049
Welcome to the Legend of the Death Race Podcast, where you’ll hear the legends of past Death Racers, new and old. In this week’s episode, we hear from Tera Spencer, a single mother who got sober and found fitness as her new outlet. Upon discovering fitness, she found Camp Rhino in Las Vegas, and shortly after … Read More
The Ever Charitable Frank Fumich | LotDR Episode 043
Welcome to the Legend of the Death Race Podcast, where you’ll hear the legends of past Death Racers, new and old. In this weeks’ forty-third podcast episode, we talk to Frank Fumich; an entrepreneur whose racing career includes raising funds for causes close to his heart. Listen as he recalls his history leading up to his … Read More
The Jovial Death Racer – John Chambers | LotDR Episode 040
Welcome to the Legend of the Death Race Podcast, where you’ll hear the legends of past Death Racers, new and old. Join us as we catch up with Scottish Death Racer John Chambers. John is a next-generation Death Racer who came to the event through the Spartan Agoge and a series of other endurance challenges from … Read More
Sage Advice From Determined Winter Death Racer – Dion Mindykowski | LotDR Episode 039
Welcome to the Legend of the Death Race Podcast, where you’ll hear the legends of past Death Racers, new and old. In the thirty-ninth episode of the podcast, we hear from Dion Mindykowski. In 2014 Dion happened upon a chance meeting with one of Death Race’s most recognizable figures, leading him down the path that would … Read More