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The podcast · new episodes every week

RIDEOUT: The Other Side of Hard

Raw, gripping conversations with people who've pushed past the breaking point. Stories of resilience, redemption, and what's waiting on the other side.

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Latest episode · Oct 9, 2026 · 1 hr 39 min

Alabama National Champ. LabCorp Janitor. UFC Fighter at 30.

with Eryk Anders

Eryk Anders was the last guy picked. He mailed 125 copies of his own VHS highlight tape to every school he could find an address for and heard nothing back. Then a running back didn’t qualify two weeks before the season, Mike Shula called,…

All episodes

  • Oct 7, 2026 · 57 min

    The Country Singer Nashville Wouldn't Sign · Jessie James Decker

    Jessie James Decker was born on a military base in Italy and lived in 14 places before she finished high school. At a sleepover in Newnan, Georgia, two senior girls she had never met pulled up with a bucket of slop they had been saving for…

  • Oct 2, 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

    255 Pounds at 33. Eight Miles a Day at 64. · BeBe Winans

    BeBe Winans grew up a block from Smokey Robinson in Detroit, shoveling his snow for $25 when everyone else paid $2. Stevie Wonder's house was behind theirs. He was the seventh of ten Winans kids, and when his four older brothers got signed…

  • Sep 30, 2026 · 1 hr 39 min

    One Instagram Post Ended His 12-Year MLB Career · Anthony Bass

    Anthony Bass was a Division II kid from Trenton, Michigan who threw 88 to 92 like every other college pitcher. Then in the summer of 2007 he watched a rookie his own size named Tim Lincecum throw 98 for the Giants, copied his delivery in…

  • Sep 25, 2026 · 1 hr 35 min

    It's Just Walking. 1 in 3 Don't Finish. · Marc Hodulich

    Marc Hodulich was a high school sophomore when he ran five months on a broken foot. The scan turned into a bone graft from his shin, two pins across his foot and three orthopedic surgeons before one of them would say he might run again. The…

  • Sep 23, 2026 · 2 hr 49 min

    The Blast that Saved his Life · Mike Sarraille

    Mike Sarraille was three feet away when Michael Monsoor jumped on a grenade on a rooftop in Ramadi and smothered the blast. Mike and another SEAL took the shrapnel Monsoor’s body couldn’t block. Monsoor didn’t survive. He was posthumously…

  • Sep 18, 2026 · 1 hr 55 min

    The Doctor Who Got Sick 22 Times Before Anyone Asked Why · Dr. Clay Moss

    Clay Moss looked like the healthiest guy at Ole Miss. He trained six days a week and got strep throat every other month for four straight years. Twenty-two documented cases. Every visit ended the same way: a steroid shot, a round of…

  • Sep 16, 2026 · 1 hr 36 min

    Too Small for the NFL. Then He Broke a Chiefs Record. · Dexter McCluster

    Dexter McCluster is five-foot-eight and 165 pounds. Bobby Bowden told him he could play defensive back. Urban Meyer told him he could return kicks. He turned both of them down because he knew who he was, and he needed the ball in his hands.…

  • Sep 11, 2026 · 1 hr 55 min

    From a Prison Cell to Nike Brand Director · Jordan Rogers

    Jordan Rogers was using heroin at 15. By the time he landed in county jail, he weighed 116 pounds. His parents had spent his college fund on rehab, and he was facing the possibility of 20 years in prison. I know what it’s like to organize…

  • Sep 9, 2026 · 2 hr 11 min

    From Compulsive Gambler to a $465 Million Exit · Rich Galgano

    Rich Galgano came back from Vegas so broke that a friend had to pay to get his car out of the airport parking lot. He swore he was done gambling. Then he got home, found $500, and went straight back to another casino. I know what it’s like…

  • Sep 4, 2026 · 1 hr 28 min

    19 Million Followers, Losing Everything, and Starting Over in Nashville · Tayler Holder

    Tayler Holder has 19 million followers on TikTok, millions more across social media, and a story that goes way beyond being an internet star. Tayler grew up in tiny Alvarado, Texas, racing dirt bikes and chasing adrenaline from the time he…

  • Sep 2, 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

    The Rise, Fall, and Reinvention of an Olympic Champion · Missy Franklin

    Missy Franklin is one of the greatest swimmers of all time. She made her first Olympic Trials at 13 years old, and four years later she went to London and absolutely dominated—four gold medals, a bronze, and a world record in the 200…

  • Aug 28, 2026 · 2 hr 7 min

    International Fugitive to UFC Top 10 · Ian Heinisch

    Former UFC fighter Ian Heinisch sits down with Ken Rideout for one of the wildest stories ever told on The Other Side of Hard. Ian grew up in Colorado as an elite wrestler with the talent to compete at the highest levels, but drugs,…

Nowhere to Hide

A weekly letter from Ken Rideout about doing the uncomfortable part, and the reasons we use to avoid it.

It starts with 3 Days, 3 Hard Things: one short story from Ken and one hard thing to do, every day for three days. Then one letter a week.