Snowboarder Jeff “The Shredneck” Lavin: 5 Work Ethic Lessons We Can Learn From Athletes

Emotional intelligence from self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, to relationship management. These all play a big effect on the life of an entrepreneur. As the saying goes “never reply when you’re angry, never make a promise when you’re happy, and never make a decision when you’re mad.” Leaders like Abraham Lincoln often would get raving mad, he’d write a letter and wait to send it. Often times he’d throw it away. In today’s connected world, it’s important to take a moment to first react, process, and then respond.

As a part of our series about the work ethic lessons we can learn from professional athletes, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff “The Shredneck” Lavin.

Jeff “The Shredneck” Lavin is a snowboarder, surfer, inspirational speaker, #1 selling author with his book Get Awesome, award-winning snowboard shaper/designer, but most importantly an adventure-preneur dedicated to helping people become free-range humans, finding their true north, guiding them to chart their navigational path, recruit, and hire their crew.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! It is a great honor. Our readers would love to learn more about your personal background. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in Southern Wisconsin in the farming and industrial city of Janesville. My dad’s side of the family came from a lineage of farmers going back to the 1800s, emigrating from Ireland around 8 generations ago.

While my mom’s side is from Chicago by way of Boston and Poland. She was the first generation born stateside.

They met on the ski hill (Devil’s Head) and I came a few years later. Our family time was often spent on snow skiing and snowboarding to various outdoor sports.

I started skiing at age 2 1/2 and switched to snowboarding around age 12. Being in the active outdoor world was a big part of our family culture. We also traveled quite a lot in our van or by air. By the time I was 14 I had seen quite a bit of the country.

Winter and mountains became a big part of my life. Even though I rode on hills that were the size or actually were garbage dumps, it allowed me to focus on the fundamentals. Gaining time, lots of practice, and repetitions.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career as a high level professional athlete?

Extreme sports bring their own breed. Don’t get me wrong I loved Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan, But I really loved watching the guys doing it and making films, extreme skier Glen Plake, Scott Schmidt, Greg Stump, Tommy Moe.

All the 90s pros like, Palmer, Bjorn Nate Cole, Jake Blattner were getting in magazines, videos, and winning the comps. I started snowboarding before it was accepted as an Olympic sport. It was more of a lifestyle thing like

Skating or surfing. The x games started right after snowboarding was accepted into the Olympics, from there it took off. It went from fad to more accepted and mainstream. Such a rad boom. It was always my dream to get into the

Olympics, or a big comp. Like a good Catholic kid becomes a priest, a good kid that grew up on snow turns pro. It was and still is in my blood.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

As the saying goes “It takes a village” and that couldn’t be truer. I’d say the people that are most responsible for having a helping hand are every kid’s first sponsors “team mom and dad.” They got me to all my events when I was super young and even as an adult sometimes.

I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. They were my biggest supporters and cheerleaders and I’m blessed for it. They supported me in taking the road with endless travels. Not doing the normal thing of going to school or pursuing an apprenticeship. They always said you have time, you’ll only be this young, this good and this hungry. Go get 'em. After we left Wisconsin for the east coast I was able to ride on bigger and challenging terrain. Almost like a high school athlete transitions to a college athlete. My new peers were also super talented and helped push me to the next level. Not only that, they were super supportive! In 2001 I showed up as one of the lower-ranked riders, and by 2003–2004 I was one of the best. It takes a village and community. They’re a big part of why and where I’m at today. Love you guys!

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your sports career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

My coach always said “You gotta dump before you jump!” I learned that one the hard and stinky way. Sometimes you take a landing short, or long, causing you to butt check. You can imagine what happens from 80-foot jumps! That was not fun, and a very messy mistake. It happens! The lesson is to surround yourself with good mentors and coaches. You’re only as good as you can be coached. Eat a balanced diet. Always have a backup plan or pair of clothes. Stuff happens (so does shit hahaha), and you’re not pushing it in snowboarding until you crap your pants! ( haha )

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. As an athlete, you often face high stakes situations that involve a lot of pressure. Most of us tend to wither in the face of such pressure and stress. Can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to optimize your mind for peak performance before high pressure, high stress situations?

Whether it’s the top of a mountain, competing, or life in general. The 4 P’s are what I use. Practice, Patience, Persistence, Perspective.

• Practice: it’s all about the preps and getting the time. We’ve been there before, maybe not in the same situation, but a similar one.
• Patience: this is relative to ourselves, and amongst others, it’s a virtue. Often times we don’t get it right on the first try, or the second. It’s okay, breath, slow down to speed up.
• Persistence: Keep going, we get knocked down, we get back up. Failure is okay because we can adjust from it and give it another go. The biggest failure is indecision or not taking action. Fail Forward!
• Perspective: The perspective of those we surround ourselves with, mentors, coaches, family, friends, cheerleaders.

Practice, patience, persistence, perspective is what it takes to create belief. If we believe it, we can achieve it. Crossing out the IM in impossible, it becomes possible. The evolution that sparks the revolution happens when we go towards what we fear or what holds us back. On the other side of fear is freedom. Freedom is fun. By doing so we’ve gone from ordinary to extraordinary.

Can you tell us the story of your transition from a professional athlete to a successful business person?

Athletes die when we retire and then again when it’s all said and done. There’s a lot of time in-between there. Especially with action sports athletes. I had some time to think about my next steps. Luckily, having multiple sponsors allowed me to see it from multiple angles. I also was able to create an online site with a directory that ranked well while I was going through an injury for a season. Eventually was able to sell it. It gave me my first taste of entrepreneurship. When I started my business I figured I had three options, to go back to school, the trades, or why not start a business?

I jumped in headfirst with the sink or swim attitude. There’s no such thing as failure, just failing forward. I started a snowboard brand in 2011. The time and energy that goes into a startup is a lot like competing or filming. I was able to put in those hours, but also surround myself with people as advisors/ mentors that had made the transition. I also knew I needed a coach to hold me accountable for my goals.

It’s not always the easiest transition, but I couldn’t see it any other way. I love and thrive off the challenge. The big three, i.e. mindset, systems and processes make me excited.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting new projects you are working on now?

Right now I’m thrilled to work on two of my newest projects: Our Community, and Adventureprenuer. Our transformational community which helps entrepreneurs is focused on the big three of mindset, systems and processes. Mindset is so crucial in not just life but business as well. How we do anything is how we do everything. We touch on mindset items, such as presence, clarity, purpose, finding limiting beliefs, clearing limiting beliefs, flow state, and diversification of multiple revenue streams. From there we dive into systems and processes. Stuff like IRO (Immediate Revenue Opportunities), what assets worked in the past, back end sequences, data, and building automated systems around them. Then we dive into the processes, with things like tasks, delegation, sales follow-ups, etc.

Do you think your experience as a professional athlete gave you skills that make you a better entrepreneur? Can you give a story or example about what you mean?

At one point I had 10 sponsors. I was able to experience the marketing side as an athlete, to collaborating with the sales teams. Some projects I worked hand and hand with the design teams. Even when I worked on contracts with my agent it gave me a view into the admin/ legal side and negotiations. I was able to see multiple different brands/ companies how they operated, their systems, and processes. Some were different but they worked in the quadrant of having 4 pieces, marketing, sales, fulfillment, and admin. It made me think on a deeper level, how many companies all run like this. The things they did that I liked I incorporated, the stuff I didn’t I changed, and strived to create an environment focused on culture!

Ok. Here is the main question of our interview. Entrepreneurs and professional athletes share a common “hustle culture”. Can you share your “5 Work Ethic Lessons That Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Athletes”? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Presence, being in the moment aka being present in the purest form aka flow state. Flow: In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time. We’ve all heard slow down to speed up. There’s a rhyme and reason, just as much as there’s a time for the season. It’s okay to take a break, in fact we should be granting ourselves that time. Rest and recovery in athletics just as they are to entrepreneurs. Burnout is real, and happens to everyone. Find the balance. On the other side of the spectrum, we can speed up to slow down. We’ve all had those moments where time stands still. We can do it with almost anything. Time is a perspective that expands and contracts based on our perception. Ever hear of a top Quarterback saying the game moves in slow motion. That’s because they have mastered their skills, and are hyper-focused.
2. Clarity, and purpose. What are we here on this earth to accomplish!? Becoming purpose-driven in conjunction with your passion makes us unstoppable. Having a clear vision of the why allows us to figure out the what and how. As long as we have that why, we can make those adjustments as needed. From there it’s about setting intentions and goals. Reverse engineering from a date set. Similar to the way we graduate school. It’s a series of goals leading to a big goal with years, semesters, and quarters. Once there’s a goal, or game plan we can make the adjustments as needed on the go. I envision it the way Peyton Manning called Omaha as audible. He was changing the play on the go. He had a powerful why, a goal, game plans, Playbooks, and a system.
3. Identifying and releasing limiting beliefs. 1st we have to take a deep dive to discover our limiting beliefs and what emotions are attached to them. Often times it’s a fear of failure, but just as much it can be a fear of success. What are the things we tell ourselves: I’m not good enough, I don’t want to be rejected, etc. We’re only as good as what we tell ourselves and who we allow ourselves to be. People say I have to or I got to, rather than just saying I’m going to. It’s subtle stuff we say to ourselves, and even some of that stuff we’re told at a young age. It’s all about trans-mutating and transforming from it. Saying to ourselves positive affirmations: I’m good enough, I’m worthy etc.
4. Emotional intelligence from self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, to relationship management. These all play a big effect on the life of an entrepreneur. As the saying goes “never reply when you’re angry, never make a promise when you’re happy, and never make a decision when you’re mad.” Leaders like Abraham Lincoln often would get raving mad, he’d write a letter and wait to send it. Often times he’d throw it away. In today’s connected world, it’s important to take a moment to first react, process, and then respond.
5. Personal and professional growth, leaders are readers, and leaders are learners. We have to know ourselves to grow ourselves. How we show up to grow up is just as important. Always show up as your best self.

• Bonus — I said it up top before with the 4P’s, practice, patience, persistence, and perspective.

What would you advise to a young person who aspires to follow your footsteps and emulate your career? What advice would you give?

To the young person who aspires to follow the path, I commend you on taking the first step on an amazing lifelong journey. Divorce the results, trust, fall in love and marry the process. It’s not the destination, it’s the path we take. With that said surround yourself with amazing people that have done it before to mentor you. Pay them to show you the blueprint. Invest in a coach, to challenge you to hit your goals. Surround yourself with friends that challenge your thinking. Too many “yes men and women” lead to stagnation. Systems, processes, and delegation will set you free, embrace them.

There are good days and there are bad days. Like anything in life entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster, remember you build the tracks. With all the advice I can give you make sure to stay balanced. That includes taking time for yourself to be your best self. Eat, sleep good, and it’s okay to take a break. Family is everything, family first! Embrace the suck and enjoy the ride of your life.

You are by all accounts a very successful person. How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’m all about supporting causes along with my community. My college and friend Dustin had stage 3 colon cancer. My team and I created a campaign, with shred for the cure boards, raffling off donations. I wanted to help him fight the good fight. The other causes I support are suicide awareness. I was talking with a friend about mountain town life and he mentioned the rates were substantially higher.

When the pandemic hit. Everything closed down. People were out of work. We opened up our courses for free showing people how to start their own online business, brand it, drive traffic to it, and more. I even offered free life and business coaching for groups. I’m a big believer that making an impact, creates income as a side effect. Do good, help others, meet people where they’re at, it will all come back. It’s like skipping a stone in the water, eventually, those ripples come back.

I said “well some are going to see things the way they are and ask why. I’m going to look at things the way they were and say why not.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I love the idea of paying it forward. Helping others in need when we can, expecting nothing in return. The person then pays it forward to the next person in need, and so on. It creates ripples, upon ripples. I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, E Plurbis Unum: out of many comes one.

In turn: Movements create movements and movements create moments.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

The words of Sir Alfred Tennyson hold a near and dear meaning for me.

“I am a part of all that I have met

To [Tho’] much is taken, much abides

That which we are, we are —

One equal temper of heroic hearts

Strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

It hits a deep spot, to keep growing and to keep fighting the good fight. The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. I’m here to make an impact. Touch as many hearts, help as many people as I can, while doing my best to invoke change amongst humankind!

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

I’d love to meet Joe Rogan, I’ve followed him for the past 20 years. He’s made an awesome transition, and I love his show. I see eye to eye with a lot of his subject matter of biohacking, and world views. Regardless I think it’d be an amazing conversion.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!