Show Notes
Yannick Bernard is a podcaster and the voice behind the Man's Search for Meaning Podcast. In today's episode, we sit down with Yannick in Austin, TX (our first episode recorded here). Yannick is a German-born former soccer prospect turned entrepreneur, copywriter, and podcaster chasing one question: who am I? We get into the retreat that broke him wide open, the year he lost everything, and why he moved to Austin with no job and a special mission.
Key Moments and Highlights: - The concept of "the entreprisoner" - Dropping a $100K soccer scholarship, and the acid trip that started it all - A one way ticket to Mexico with $1,000, the week COVID shut the world down - Building a skincare company and what became on of Germany's top psychedelic companies - Nearly getting hit by a car on a bike ride four days before this recording - The ten day Vipassana retreat that broke him open and surfaced childhood trauma - How his experience mirrors Tim Ferriss's own public story of retreats and trouble with integration - Losing his businesses, money, and relationship within weeks, and the year that followed the season of the retreat - Running marketing for Richard Branson's mushroom retreats, then walking away - Moving to Austin with no job and a special mission
Getting to sit with Yannick in this chapter of his life was a real felt treat, and it's been a real inspiration watching him full-send on his dreams. I don't know exactly where his story goes from here, but I know I want a front row seat for it. Grateful he took the leap all the way to Austin, and even more grateful he let us be part of the next chapter. Thanks for listening. Be Where Your Feet Are.
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From the Episode: The Tim Ferriss Show #464, My Healing Journey After Childhood Abuse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9rvOfdk10c Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=424w9fJRgYk AfrikaBurn official aftermovie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgxpJhC4MSU
Thank You To Our Sponsors: Black Coffee Roasters: https://www.blackcoffeeroastingco.com/coffee/
Episode Chapters: 0:00 Intro, defining "the entreprisoner" 1:33 Dropping a $100K soccer scholarship, and the acid trip that started it all 2:26 A one way ticket to Mexico, the week before COVID hit 4:23 A childhood built entirely around soccer 8:20 The myth that finding your calling makes life easier 9:38 A friend's death, Mount Everest, and what resurfaces later 11:49 Nearly killed on a bike ride four days before this recording 16:19 Making decisions by asking "what would the hero do" 19:02 Leaving everything behind 20:48 Building a skincare company and Germany's leading psychedelic retreat brand 22:40 Life on "chronic cocaine energy" across a dozen countries 25:13 Meeting his fiancée as his own company's first hire 26:52 Burnout and the savior complex 28:42 His first vacation: a ten day Vipassana retreat that broke him open 31:20 Tim Ferriss's parallel story of surfacing childhood trauma in silence 37:25 The addiction to self-improvement nobody calls an addiction 45:11 Losing everything in a matter of weeks 56:31 How much of his own suffering he thinks he created 1:03:59 Naming this chapter of his life "Greenlights" 1:06:40 Richard Branson's mushroom retreats, and walking away from an 8 figure business 1:07:46 AfrikaBurn, and quitting cold turkey 1:09:16 Two months in an Indian ashram, and starting his own podcast 1:11:19 The pull back to the U.S. and finding Chris Williamson 1:19:07 His why: giving a voice to people who don't usually get one 1:21:59 Becoming a cultural bridge between Germany, South Africa, and America 1:26:19 Closing thoughts
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