Episode · Mar 6, 2026 · 1 hr 20 min
Cocaine, Cancel Culture, and 300 Miles in the Desert
with Eli Wehbe
Eli Wehbe is an ultrarunner and former partner in Los Angeles nightclub Warwick who discusses an overdose investigation and his move into endurance racing.
“Yeah. And it's just like you can be the dopest runner, but if you can't be marketable, you're no one's going to use you nowadays.”
Summary
Wehbe grew up in Moreno Valley and moved into Los Angeles nightlife, first working the door and eventually becoming a partner at Warwick. He describes the celebrity-driven club scene and cocaine-fueled partying. He says a woman who had visited his home later died after a gathering elsewhere, and that he was away when it happened. He walks through the police search, the texts he gave investigators and the public backlash that led him to withdraw from social media.
During the pandemic, he began running, first on roads and then on trails, where a bad first race, a water shortage and a close encounter with a mountain lion changed his view of the sport. He and Ken discuss racing 100 miles and beyond, managing sleep and food, finishing Moab 240, building an online following and setting sights on Arizona Monster 300. Wehbe talks about the pull of competition, sponsorships and the difference between an online persona and daily life.
Show notes
In this bonus episode I sit down with Eli Wehbe for a raw conversation about status, addiction, reinvention, and the cost of living for validation.
Eli talks about growing up inp Moreno Valley, breaking into Hollywood nightlife, going from door guy to partner at Warwick, and building relationships with celebrities at the height of LA club culture. He also opens up about the partying, the public fallout that blew up his life, and the decision to disappear from social media and rebuild from scratch.
What started as a reset turned into a full obsession: marathons, trail racing, 100-milers, Moab 240, and now a real shot at podiuming Arizona Monster 300.
Ken and Eli get into sleep deprivation, fueling, sponsorships, social media, and the mindset it takes to compete in races most people can’t even imagine finishing.
This is a conversation about image versus reality, losing the identity you built, and finding something real on the other side of pain.
Transcript
Made from YouTube's automatic captions and lightly corrected, so a few words and names may be off. Click a time to play the video from there.
Ken Rideout
Eli Wehbe, welcome to the show.
Eli Wehbe
I'm with the man, the myth, Ken Rideout. It's been a
Ken Rideout
I'm with a I'm with the man.
Eli Wehbe
It's been a journey, man. I I think I first heard about you like in I don't know, I think 2023 or 2022 and I heard your podcast with Rich Roll and I was like, "Yeah, this guy's got a badass story. He gets it."
Ken Rideout
It's funny how you uh alpha guys don't follow anyone until you feel like it's safe to like, "Oh, no. I I kind of like him. I don't want to be for us to follow."
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Yeah. We got
Ken Rideout
Andy Glaze did that to me. I was like, "This guy doesn't follow me." And then I realized I don't follow him either. And I was like, "Oh." But then as soon as I followed him, he followed me. Same with Matt Johnson. There's a whole bunch of you alpha lunatics.
Eli Wehbe
LA [ __ ] bro. You know, I I've always been like that. I always kind of let somebody follow first and then I follow back. Even if I like see him or tag him. I don't know. I think that's just from the [ __ ] nightlife [ __ ] you know?
Ken Rideout
Yeah, man. I'm dying to get into it. You were the nightclub legend in LA.
Eli Wehbe
Guess you can say that.
Ken Rideout
For the record, I read your book, Mask. It was unbelievable cuz I started hearing bits and pieces. is I heard you on Cam Haynes and I was like, "Wow, this is an interesting story." Because obviously you're an ultra raw, not obvious to the audience, but you're an ultra runner and a super accomplished, but you have such a dynamic story before that start. Probably like a lot of us that find endurance sports to kind of replace some other like effed up behavior we were getting into. But let's start at the beginning.
How the hell did you get into nightlife promotion and where'd you grow up?
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Uh, I grew up in Marino Valley, California. It's probably like 60 70 mi out from uh from LA, but it's basically like another island, bro. That's like it's just LA is its own its own beast, you know? Um got into everything around like 20 years old in LA and then just kind of worked my way to the top and uh started just being a door guy, then like a stage manager, and then like turned into like, you know, partnering with some other guys and running one of the most successful nightclubs out there.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. But to say you just came and got got to the top is like uh glossing over a lot of the [ __ ] I like the part in the book how you got here and we're basically given the runaround by typical scumbag nightclub people. When I think of nightclub promoters and nightclub people in general and obviously there's people making a lot of money and they're successful. I just think of like the shadiest of shady like ongoings. And to be 20 years old and be like I'm getting into that world.
Tell me just a little bit about what it was like trying to break in.
Eli Wehbe
Oh, it was like the Hollywood dream kind of. You kind of seen it all and you're like I was like I gotta do this. Like this is I wanna I gotta be the man here. I gotta be the I gotta be the guy everyone wants to go to. And and at that time there was social media wasn't cracking. Like Facebook was at the top. Instagram was just slowly starting to come into play. And I just was like, yo, if I could be the best out here and be the most connected, I don't I don't even need to.
So my goal was to like be on like MTV's Real World or MTV's Road Rules Challenge. And I always wanted to kind of do stuff like that when it was popping at the time. And I was like, "Nah, [ __ ] all that. I want to do this." And I feel like everyone's going to need me and I'm going to be the connector and I'm going to be the man. And then just kind of worked through it. And it was [ __ ] tough, man. There was there was no there was no handout, so nothing.
Just went through the [ __ ] mud like like it is in running now. And and just kind of worked my way up. Just got [ __ ] over by a lot of people and and learned from it. And you you understand cuz you've read my book. And uh yeah, it's uh it's it was one hell of a [ __ ] journey.
Ken Rideout
But the one thing that I want to touch on is or the one thing I want to get into is you just wanted to get on top, make the connections, and be the man.
But I know for myself, like I've got some interesting friendships and connections. And people will ask me like, "How'd you make those connections?" And I'm like, "I never really thought about collecting relationships like assets. I was just being myself. I wasn't necessarily trying to be friends with some of the people I've been lucky enough to be friends with. But I also at the time when I started to develop some of these relationships, I had been around like I had had some success in finance. I had some like credibility, I guess.
Eli Wehbe
Correct.
Ken Rideout
But for a 20-year-old kid from like the suburbs to come into LA and be like, I want to be friends. Because for people don't know, like you were friends with Bieber, Dan Bilzerian, tons of athletes. Like you were the man. You were friends with like crazy the highest level of celebrities.
Eli Wehbe
I was just myself. Like you know, people in LA, they can just kind of read through [ __ ] quick if you're bullshitting or not. And I think like my parents raised me really well. I don't know why the [ __ ] I ended up like in night life. I think they raised me too well that I was like, "Fuck, I want to see what this dark side's like, you know?" And then
I kind of got into that. I think I would meet people that were like someone like I'd meet someone big and then they would introduce me to some other big celebrity and the second we meet they'd be like, "I [ __ ] with that guy." Like they could just tell off the break. And then that's how like the rolodex started building up cuz once you get in with one of them, then the other one cosigns for you and then you're just kind of in with the rest of them.
And I was just kind of smart. Like most like the hosts and promoters were focusing on having a ton of girls out. I was kind of focused more on the relationships. I knew the girls would come depending on the relationships that I had with certain people and it always worked out that way.
Ken Rideout
And what was the first big club that you promoted?
Eli Wehbe
Oh, it was a club called Playhouse. It was [ __ ] insane. It was like
Ken Rideout
I remember it.
Eli Wehbe
They started EDM. Like we were like the first people to book like Tiësto and Alesso and I think Avicii we had there and just so many so many [ __ ] big people. Well, there'd be like 2,000 people lining around the door. It's not like it just times are different now. This is the [ __ ] ain't the same now. But it was it was crazy, man. It was like the hottest spot. And it was just like a club full packed of just all hot people.
Like it was just, you know, everyone went out. Girls had to go out to meet [ __ ] rich dudes or celebrities. Like you couldn't just get a DM on Instagram, get flown to Dubai, you know? Like it's not working like that, bro. Like you got to you got to get in the mix and and end up at the tables and end up in the right sections to meet people back in the day. It was
It's cool. It was like a It was a dope era to see. I don't really miss it, but like it I'm I'm glad I got to live it through that era and that time because now it's just that it doesn't exist anymore.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. Well, speaking of Avicii, one of my really good friends is Mike Posner who took a pill with uh Mike. I love Mike Posner. I genuinely love the guy. Super that one of the nicest people in the world.
Eli Wehbe
Did he move?
He moved to Austin. Yeah. Because I would run into him every day in in uh in like Santa Monica Mountains when I was running. I mean, not that long ago. A couple I mean maybe a year [clears throat] or two ago, whenever he didn't move, but u
Yeah. And it was funny. We ran into each other and I was like, "Mike," he's like, "I know you." And I'm like, "Bro." And then like I pull up before, dude. He's like, "You look so different." He's like, "Oh my god." He's like, "I'm glad we're both doing this [ __ ] now."
Oh yeah.
Ken Rideout
Cool dude.
He really turned his life around. Walked across the country, climbed Mount Everest last this past summer. He walked the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico.
He's uh I love Mike Posner, man. He's just he's up for any kind of like weird challenge and uh just a super
He doing something right now? No, he's in Austin living with his girlfriend, getting ready to get married, probably have kids soon. He's like in He's a spiritual warrior, right? He's into it,
Eli Wehbe
Bro. I'd be cruising on the mountains, hitting 20 miles. I'd come back, see him like just sitting on a rock and like
Some like, you know, Buddhist some Buddhist position, and then I come back and he's just like cruising and then he'd be like,
I'd be like, "Yo, what up?" He's like,
And it's like I can't talk for 5 days.
Ken Rideout
And he starts like typing out what he wants to tell me, you know?
Dude, he doesn't have text on his phone. you got to email him or call him. He's like he's into it. Like he's living the life.
I'm close with Brody Jenner. Okay.
Eli Wehbe
And they're and they've been doing like a bunch of DJ acts and and things together now. So that's been cool. So he's kind of like in like getting a little bit back a little bit in the mix. You know, he'll pop in with his music stuff here and there, but shout out Mike Posner there. Good dude.
Ken Rideout
When I saw him in uh at one of the I don't I'm not into e electronic music. He did the thing out in um Vegas and Brody was on was DJing. Mike was up on the crowd and I was so happy for him. I was like, "Look at that." There was so many people. It was like a mad, you know, one of those men.
Eli Wehbe
EDC.
Yeah. That was like the first time Brody played Main Stage, too, which was sick.
Ken Rideout
Oh, and he went off and Mike had a freaking killer set. Like really like lit a fire under my ass. I was so happy for it. But so you're in that life and you're doing those things. And what what was the drug scene like? Were you like doing drugs and everything? I mean, I know you were.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, I was I was getting [ __ ] up on Coke majority of the time. Um, it's weird because I didn't get into it at the start. It like just happened out of the blue just hanging out with certain girls and people and like them be like, "Oh, like this is what I do. This is what I do." And then eventually I kept doing over. I was like, "All right, this is kind of fire." And then it just kind of got into it. And then, you know, dude, I was going up on like there was there was I think the longest I ever was like a six day bender.
Ken Rideout
It's [ __ ] insane, bro. Cocaine is I'm glad I discovered it early in my life and got it out of my system because I always think like when I went when I went to New York and started working in Wall Street and see like adult guys with families get into that and they couldn't like shake it. I'm like
It's the big lie. The whole thing is a lie. You think it's such a great idea and then you get there and there were the happiest moments were like when you called the guy you're like it's coming.
Yeah. And then the first like 10, 15 minutes were awesome and then it slowly just went down into the depths of hell.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Be kind of chasing this high and then you get anxiety and depending how [ __ ] good the coke was or was and whatever the [ __ ] it was cut with, you're just [ __ ] tripping now. I mean, this should have been cut with like crack and some kind of [ __ ] cuz like
There'd be just times you'd be sketching out and then like if I'd have a little bit left, I'd like make a line into like seven different lines. Even though like one line was normally what I do, then I call him and be like, "Yo, bro, like you need to pull up or I'm going to come find you." And like you know was like
Ken Rideout
Worst feeling in the world.
Eli Wehbe
Good to be off it man. [snorts] You know you used to do it too. So you know I always you know I always say I'm an extremist or whatever like
I didn't like wake up and need it. It was more of like a social thing with people and I like to party with it cuz like when I shook it I just shook it. It was like it was like a matter of one night where I was like okay it's done.
Ken Rideout
I would never be sober and say like I'm going to do coke. Like I have a few drinks and then I'd be like let's do this like with my Boston friends who were hooligans. And it got to the point where my Boston friends would be like, "Call the guy." I'm like, "I don't have any money." We none of us had any money. Be like, "So what? When they get here, we'll just tell him we'll pay him later." And the guy would be like, "Uh, you got to pay me today." And we like, "We can either take it all or owe you for it." And the guy, you know, it was it was it was a crazy time.
Ken Rideout
He's really into Ultra Run. He just did Cam's podcast, blah blah blah. And she goes, "What's his name?" And I said, "Eli Wehbe." And she's like, "Hold on." She goes, "I think I just watched a documentary about this guy." I'm like, she's like, "Are you sure?" And I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, that's him. I read his book that that's him that you're talking about and she was like, "Oh my god." So, let's get into because it's in the book. So, let's get into it.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Crazy situation, man. Um, long story short, you know, I had some people at my house. They left and um, a couple people left and went and after partied somewhere else and one of the girls there ended up overdosing and then, you know, they do like a whole investigation on it. I wasn't there. I didn't give her any drugs. Didn't happen in my house. She left my house fine. She left like anybody leaving a nightclub would. And um gave them my text messages. I had like a lot of locker room talk in there which I put everything in my book and explained it all.
And um yeah, I mean it doesn't look great when you put it on paper, but it is what it is. I didn't [ __ ] do anything to the chick. So I basically gave it to them was like here I'm innocent. I didn't do anything in the text.
And then they were like all good. Like you know they went over and they're like yo you're innocent to us and if anything happens and boom. And then two years later, the parents put out a, you know, civil lawsuit against me and I think six other people, like two nightclubs, another dude that was there, her, one of her girlfriends and another dude, and it's just all [ __ ] man. You know, I it it's just crazy [ __ ] situation, but that situation um ended up turning my whole life around.
Ken Rideout
Sometimes the worst things in the world that happen to you can either become the greatest source of inspiration or they can kill you. And and 99% of the time, the choice is yours. But what was it like going from, you know, the basically the nightclub hero to now all of a sudden the whole industry is like
Eli did this. Look at what he did. Look at the way he's talking. Because the locker room talk was like, you know, like you said, it doesn't look good when it's on record.
Eli Wehbe
Is like majority [snorts] of people in that scene all saw and they're like, "Fuck, we're deleting our group chats. Our shit's way worse than this." You know, but like cancel culture didn't even exist at that time, right? The word didn't even exist. I was like the first person down. That should I should be in the dictionary as the first person that went [ __ ] down with that. But um it was a rough time, bro. Like, you know, I I looked in the mirror, I cried, and I was just like, "Fuck, man.
I didn't do any of this shit." You know, but I literally just kind of I don't know. I would have dealt with things differently in in today's world, seeing all this cancel culture stuff. I probably would have attacked it differently, but um you know, I put, you know, apology out for my language at that time and and and just basically stated that I wasn't with the person and didn't give them drugs or anything like that. And then started up a whole catastrophe and I was just like, "Fuck I deactivate my social medias, put the statement up on my on my website, leave it up there, and then was like, I'll come back on the internet in like 3 months.
I need to figure out what I'm going to do, you know? Like my whole name got tarnished, you know, from overnight from being like this nightlife mogul to like [ __ ] you're done in like 24 hours, you know, and like
Ken Rideout
But how what was that like going from someone who's engaged with social media? It's a big part of your life.
Well, you're like there and then all of a sudden you're like I can't open this with okay and like trashed by people who don't know me. And it's like you want to react to everything.
Eli Wehbe
Was that,
You know, was in such a weird time cuz all the co [ __ ] was going on. So like nothing was open, right? No one was leaving the house.
Ken Rideout
So he had nothing to do but look at social media.
Eli Wehbe
No be social media. And the guy that spun the story knew what the [ __ ] he was doing. He was talking to my friend. He's like, "Yeah, I just [ __ ] it was like a chess piece and Eli worked. So now I'm going to just attack him the whole time." Like even knowing like he didn't even really [ __ ] do anything, but he was just running with the story because it was getting him hits. Yeah.
So it just got so crazy that I was like, "Fuck it. I just need to disconnect. I changed my number at that time. I have that same number back. I got it like right back at the end of the three months and they like, you know, give a new number to someone else. And I kept both numbers. But it was [ __ ] miserable. But I ended up taking eight months off from social media. Had the best eight months of my life. You know, I didn't look online.
I didn't watch media. I didn't even know like there was riots going. I had no idea what was going on. I just [ __ ] dipped out and started running. I read Rich Roll's book was the first book I read.
Ken Rideout
Finding Ultra.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. And then I read Goggins' book.
Yeah. and then just said, "Fuck it." I got a notepad, stayed off my phone, and just started marking 100 mile weeks. And just started running 100 mile weeks. 100 mile weeks.
Ken Rideout
You went from no running to 100 mile weeks. I
Eli Wehbe
Was running like half marathons and marathons at that time. I think I ran like a 249 marathon on my [ __ ] treadmill. On your treadmill?
Yeah. Yeah. During that during that like time. And then before that, I had ran like a couple sub three marathons.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
That's so So you had some running skills?
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. I mean, I was [ __ ] doing blow and then [ __ ] then being sober for three weeks, running a marathon, then celebrating by doing [ __ ] cocaine for [ __ ] three days again, you know? Like, it wasn't real training. But like I think now if I were to go run a [ __ ] marathon, I think I could I could do like a 239, 238. Like I Yeah,
You should absolutely like after I like accomplish some bigger goals here in the ultra world, I'm going to go just like knock out a fast marathon. Like that's
Ken Rideout
Dude, that's a fast That's a fast marathon. If you can run that fast, that's impressive.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. I'll put it out here. I think I'm like positive I could do it.
Ken Rideout
All right.
Eli Wehbe
I'll clip down maybe like 10 15 lbs and then just get after it
Ken Rideout
Cuz you're a big guy.
When I see you doing your weightlift and stuff, I'm like this guy is [ __ ] huge for an ultra runner.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, it's it's it works for the 200 300 mileers though, you know? It's actually it's actually kind of beneficial in like in these in these longer races with the 15 lbs on your back all the time. And so yeah, but um yeah, I ended up coming back onto social media 8 months later and [ __ ] dude, I just thought like 50% was going to hate me and 50% was going to love me and I had like love from like 99% of the people. It was Yeah, like the celebrities like Kyrie Irving's liking the post.
Kevin Hart's liking the post. [ __ ] all these big celebrities are commenting under there. Marlon Wayans is supporting like all these big people, bro. Like it was it was it was crazy. I think everyone kind of dug into the story while I was missing. We're like, "What the [ __ ] did this guy do other than have bad language?" Yeah. What are you you going to [ __ ] throw him in jail over him [ __ ] talking [ __ ] with his boys?
Ken Rideout
Oh, really? Bad language. Yeah. You know, not bad language. Bad context.
Eli Wehbe
Bad context. Yeah. So, it's like
Ken Rideout
But I mean, you've heard things like Trump's locker room talking and everyone likes to act like they're shocked, but any guys No, people talk crazy.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Everyone talks [ __ ] bro.
Ken Rideout
Even if I catch friends like talking crazy, I'm like delete. Please don't text this to me. Yeah. You know, the good thing about what I've gone through is I don't give a [ __ ] what I say. I don't care at all. You can't. You've already said the worst [ __ ] about me and I [ __ ] outbeat it, you know? Like, and I gave you what you guys were talking [ __ ] to me about. It wasn't like
Eli Wehbe
They [ __ ] breached my phone and found these messages. Like, I gave it to them. That's how they tried to sell the story, though.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. Well, that's the thing I want to I want to talk about for one second. So, the cops come to your house, the girl unfortunately dies, which by the way, this is [ __ ] tragic for the whole thing. poor girl and she overdosed on GHB.
Eli Wehbe
Cocaine and GHB.
Ken Rideout
Okay. What is GHB? I've never seen I've never
No one has even ever I don't even know anyone that was ever like, "We're doing GHB."
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Back in the day, it was like a party drug. It used to be legal. It used to be like, from what I understood, it used to be like in GNC's and you can buy and it was a muscle relaxer.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Eli Wehbe
But then if you overdo it, like it's easy to OD on it. And then
Ken Rideout
Muscle relaxer with cocaine. Like Xanax and cocaine never really mix.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. They don't mesh. But um
Ken Rideout
Although everyone does it.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. And I mean now they consider GHB like a date rape drug because like you could get it slipped in your drink and then you [ __ ] wake up and don't remember what the [ __ ] happened to you.
But you know
Ken Rideout
People weren't using it as a date rape drug in the context that we're talking about this girl. No.
Eli Wehbe
No. Like first off I never saw it right. Like I wasn't the one doing it. So like you know she texted me and said hey your friend poured half G in my drink. Come check on me when you can. That's her telling me she's willingly doing something. It's not like I'm fine. Like she just wanted it anymore. It's like, you know, people will take whatever they want and they already have their they've already created their narrative of you and it doesn't matter what you say. We see this every day with everything online.
So like
I don't give a [ __ ] You want to believe I did something, believe it. Leave me the [ __ ] alone. I just don't care. I know I I don't go to bed thinking like I did anything wrong. I know I didn't do anything wrong. So, like, and even when I was on my hiatus, like,
I wasn't I was never looking over my shoulder while I was sleeping. I was figuring out how the [ __ ] I'm going to rebrand.
That's all I was [ __ ] worried about. How the [ __ ] am I rebranding? What if what am I rebranding to? And I had no [ __ ] idea I was rebranding into a [ __ ] athlete. Like, that was that never even came to my mind. Even when I came back running, dude,
Ken Rideout
That's funny cuz that's my story, too. I wasn't trying to be a runner. I was trying to survive. Same. Like, similar
Running cleared our head and [ __ ] got us away from all the [ __ ]
Yes. And when I was running, I was focused on what I was doing and not thinking about what I like what I had to do or concentrating on getting sober. I was like, at least for an hour and a half, I'm not going to have to think about getting high. I'm only thinking about one thing, finishing this damn run. When people talk about runner's high, I always say,
Yeah, I feel high as a kite as soon as I'm done.
Eli Wehbe
You know what I mean?
Yeah. I mean, you feel like [ __ ] majority of the time you're running the whole time. Yeah. It's like [ __ ] miserable. And I was thinking today on my run,
I was like, yo, I'm [ __ ] winning this next race. And I was like, I don't give a [ __ ] what happens. my feet hitting that finish line before I [ __ ] drop dead. Like I don't like and like that's how I was with everything in life. Like it's all or nothing.
So I go through all that [ __ ] and like I said, there's a certain type of person that just creates a narrative about certain people and then that's all there is. There's no open mind to these people and like I just don't give a [ __ ]
Ken Rideout
But there was another guy that was there with her that was like much more like closely.
Eli Wehbe
There was a football player that was hanging out with her the whole the whole time. So like he kind of got the heat on him. But they basically spun me so big into the story because I was the popular one. I was the friends with all the celebrities. I was
Ken Rideout
Crazy to think that you were more popular than like a very famous football player.
Eli Wehbe
Correct. But in that time, his time was done already. You know, he wasn't like the Odell Beckham of our time, you know? Like Odell Beckham would have been like a huge hit.
Ken Rideout
And he was much more involved. Like he was with her though.
Eli Wehbe
He was the one with her and he was the one. Yeah. Correct. So like it, you know, it was him and another girl that was at that was at the house with her and then it was them three, you know, and
I don't know what the [ __ ] happened. They told me a story. There's another story. It's not It's not my [ __ ] problem. I [ __ ] I wasn't the one that was [ __ ] with her and I didn't [ __ ] give her drugs.
Ken Rideout
But the part that I wanted to talk about is when the Cuz I talk to my wife and kids about things like this all the time. I'm like, if anything ever happens to me, not that I plan on that happening and the cops ever say to you, "Hey, what happened here? You don't have to talk to anyone." And 99% of the time, everything is they tell you whatever you say, we're going to use it against you. Just FYI, you don't have to talk to us, but we're going to use it against you.
So, the cops show up at your house. When I'm reading this in the book, I'm like, "Oh, I can see where this is going. This idiot, this idiot." They ask you for your phone and to open your phone and they scare you and you give them the phone. And that's basically that's basically was like the worst thing that could have happened to you cuz you weren't involved in the incident necessarily, but now you they've got your phone and the talk in there prior to this girl showing up.
Eli Wehbe
Some [ __ ] warrant. The area code was off. I didn't even look at any of this stuff. I've never dealt with the cops like this before, right? So, like they're like, "Oh, we're going in your house. We're raiding the place." And they pull me over with 10 cop cars and like on the dude, thank God. They pulled me on a street over that like nobody was on for some reason. If they would have pulled me right outside my house, this would have been all over the media like that.
Nobody knew about it. Like, it was it was great that nobody knew about it.
And how scared were you?
Ken Rideout
Like, dude, if the f me over
Eli Wehbe
to the gym, I was actually out with Machine Gun Kelly that night and and another girlfriend and we left we left this place called Avenue. We went to go eat at this place, Crave Cafe, and I drop him off at like maybe like 3:00 in the morning, something like that. They're watching this whole thing.
Ken Rideout
I get anxiety just thinking about being awake at 3:00 a.m.
Eli Wehbe
And and then I get back and then I remember getting up like at 8 or something, and then I I I'd leave to the gym and uh I like look behind me and there's like 10 cars like [ __ ] undercovers like And I'm like, damn, this got to be some sort of mistake cuz this is 6 months after the incident. Okay.
So, they pull me over and like, "Put your hands out the window." And like, you know, they made it a whole scene, you know?
Ken Rideout
Well, how scared were you?
Eli Wehbe
I was just kind of like I I just thought it was a mistake still. Okay. I I thought it was a mistake until like we started talking, right? And they're like, "Put them on the curb, cuff them
And and then, you know, and then they're like, "You know what? Just cuff them and put them in the back of the put them in the back of the or in the front of the car with this other
Ken Rideout
Totally bamboozling you."
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. So, like then I'm sitting there and I look behind and there's all these folders and it's all this [ __ ] press from the same [ __ ] that had been posting [ __ ] like and it was all gossip [ __ ] you know? That's all they had.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Eli Wehbe
And I'm like, "Ah, [ __ ] Now I know what this is about." So then they came to me, "Hey, is there any drugs in your house?" And I had gotten sober cuz I had gotten back with my ex and I think I was sober for like maybe five months. And I was like, "No." And they're like, "You're lying." And I'm like, "I'm not lying." He's like, "I'm telling you I'm going to [ __ ] you if you're lying." And I'm like, "Dude, I'm not lying." He's like, "All right." comes back and he's like, "Well, how much cash you got in the crib?" And I was like, "I don't know, like five grand." And then he's like, "Okay, what else you got?" And I was like, "I don't know.
Maybe a few watches, this and that." And then and then he goes he's like he's like, "Get him out of the car. We have a problem." And
Ken Rideout
A few watches. They're your watches. That's like saying, "I got a few pairs of shoes. How arbitrary."
Eli Wehbe
So he said, "We got a problem." And he pulls me upstairs. He's like, "I counted the money." And I I go, "Okay." He says that there's $5,040. So it looks like I'm going to have to keep the 40. And I go, "All right." So now he's just busting my vault.
Yeah. Okay.
So then he's like, "Um, let me get the password to your phone."
Ken Rideout
And by the way, I'm asking you about this as a cautionary tale to everyone listening. If you show the cops your phone, even if you have 25 eyewitnesses and you haven't been involved in anything, and the cop says, "Give me your phone." I'd be like, "As soon as my lawyer soon as my lawyer gets here, you can have everything you want." And a lawyer will get there and be like, "Get out of here. We're not
Eli Wehbe
Oh, yeah. So then I was just kind of I was kind of just tired of this whole thing cuz they kept hitting up my lawyer and this and that.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, they got you. They did exactly what I was like. They wore you down.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, they wore me down and I was just like I didn't do anything. I'm over this [ __ ] you know? So like
I was just like, "Yo, look, let's make a deal. I'm going to give you my phone. If you find anything deleted or anything that you think maybe have me at fault, you can keep my phone and you can do whatever you want." So they get in the huddle and they're like, "Sure." You know,
Ken Rideout
They're going to [ __ ] me regardless if they want to, right?
Eli Wehbe
Of course. So then they sit down and we're just chitchatting. He's asking me about my girl, about somebody mutual that we knew and we're just bullshitting and there's some guy looking like he's from the [ __ ] geek squad just cruising through my phone like [ __ ] screenshotting
Ken Rideout
And they're screenshotting and texting it to themselves.
Eli Wehbe
Yep. Then he goes, "All right, you're good." I'm like, "I'm good." He's like, "Yeah, you're good." And I'm like, "All right, so so what now?" He goes, "Nothing." "So if I hit you up, do I need to hit your lawyer up or will you just talk to me?" I'm like, "Yeah, sure. Hit me up, bro." Whatever. Yeah. Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. So, so then, so then, uh,
This is everything not to do if you're being talking to the cops, even if you don't even know what they're talking about. And they're like, "Guys, uh, no offense. When my lawyer gets here, we can go over."
Eli Wehbe
He goes, "Why don't you talk to us from the start?" I go, "Cuz my lawyer told me not to." He goes, "Smart man. Have a good day." You know, like, he goes, he goes, "You did the right thing." And he goes, "Have a good day." Basically telling me, "You weren't a [ __ ] dummy, but you're a dummy right now." You know? So time goes on some crazy like right before the two years I was going to hit from when she passed. One of the other guys he's they were suing.
He met up with one of the sheriffs cuz he wanted to have like one last talk and he's like hey let's have a talk and he updated me and he was just like yeah they just wanted to know if I had any more information. He's like there's not. I told him everything and I told him when the you know the football player that came to the house what he had in his hand like you know cuz he he was out in the kitchen with them when I was in the house with with my with another girl.
So, I wasn't out there. And then he's like, "Yeah, you know, like no one's at fault. This is like, you know, this is going to be ruled as an OD." And then, you know, um if the parents want to sue, they're probably going to sue all of you guys for like a wrongful death lawsuit.
And then Yeah. And that's kind of how that that whole [ __ ] thing. Whatever.
Ken Rideout
And no one was found at fault, including the football player. Didn't face any charges.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Um No, nothing like, you know, No, nothing criminal. It's all civil.
Ken Rideout
Damn.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Nothing.
Ken Rideout
Well, I just want to say like how sad it is that like someone lost their life. It's um people underestimate the dangers of all these drugs, man. Especially mixing drugs.
Ken Rideout
Like in a typical week, like let's say the first few weeks, how much are you running? And what was your experience? Like what pace are you running?
Eli Wehbe
Like I started just running on the treadmill at the start like when all the COVID [ __ ] was happening and then I was like all right cool let's start with 51 week 60 one week 71 week but then I was running kind of like I was running like 630 paces some days 640 645 cuz my mind was locked in on how I was running these marathons and then I started realizing once I got in the mountain for the first time I was like holy [ __ ] this is a whole different ball game I'm [ __ ] dead I'm never doing this again.
The first trail run I ever did was in Ojai when it was like 110° outside. My boy hits me up and he's like, "Dude, just bring like half a liter of water in your bag and we're going to hit these 26 13 out 13 back. There's like six." He doesn't tell me there's 6,000 ft of climbing. I don't even understand this stuff yet.
Ken Rideout
He tells you to bring how much water?
Eli Wehbe
We brought like a half a liter maybe max a liter and like it was like in a in a small like osprey pack
Ken Rideout
And there's no water out on the trail.
Eli Wehbe
No, no, no, bro. We got [ __ ] cooked. He ends up like almost dying out there and he does this [ __ ] He was for a living. So, we get out there and I I was running fast at this time. So, I'm like cooking up the hills.
Ken Rideout
I responsible if he knows what he's doing. It's crazy.
Eli Wehbe
I was pissed at him. So, we get like 13 mi in and I'm like thinking like, "Fuck, my water's going to be gone in like by like at least mile 16."
So, I start jamming. He goes, "Yo," he like go without me. He's like, you know, he he found like the very like a a string of shade and lays in it. He goes, "I don't think I'm going to make it down there, bro." And I'm like, and he he he's done these races before. We did 100k, did 100 mile. I go, "All right, bro. I'm going to get back down to safety and and I'll come back and get you." And I'm flying, bro. And I'm like dehydrated.
I run into some mountain biker and I'm like, "Yo, you have any water? Nothing." He's like, "I'll give you a squirt, bro. It's so hot out here." And I end up making it back down. I go to this grocery store. I think I spent $150 on food and eat it all in like 10 minutes. I text him [snorts]
And he's like, "Yo, send me your location." So, he's like cutting down the whole mountain in the middle of nowhere. And 4 hours later, he makes it back down.
Ken Rideout
Oh my god.
Eli Wehbe
And I said, "I'll never do this [ __ ] again." I woke up the next day and I go, "Fuck it. I'm finding a 50K." And I [ __ ] signed up. And then it all started in 2021.
Ken Rideout
Well, dude, I ran one time. So, once in a while, I'd always do my long runs on the beach, but I lived in the uh in the Highlands in Pacific Palisades. So, right at the one of the Temescal trail heads, and I would run to the um
Eli Wehbe
[ __ ]
Ken Rideout
Do you know where the um do you know where the missile silos are? the old in the palisades
In the uh well it's probably up in Calabasas the top of Brent was top of Mandeville Canyon it's like old missile side
Eli Wehbe
I never ran over there
Ken Rideout
Anyway there's a there's a water bubbler there
And my house was 9 miles there 9 miles back so when it was in the summer dude you know it's how hot and dry it is like the desert dude
I'd run to that bubbler and gorge on water I never brought anything and I get there one day and it's scorching and I'm like oh thank god I can't wait I I get to the bubbler and there's a gigantic hornets's nest there and I'm It's swarming and I'm like, "Oh my god, I'm not going to make it back." So, I start running and I come upon this elderly couple and I'm like I'm like seeing sideways. I'm like, "I'm not going I'm I'm going to die."
I come up to them. I'm like, "I'm so sorry. Do you guys have any water?" And the guy pulls out of his bag a freezing cold like uh liter bottle of Coke.
Eli Wehbe
Correct.
Ken Rideout
I was like, he's like, "You can have it." I was like, "Are you serious?" I go, "You might have just saved my life." And I drank that Coke in like 3 seconds. And it was like, but it was crazy. And it was so irresponsible. But the time that I spent in the trails between Malibu and and Pacific between Malibu, Calabasas and and Pacific Palisades were like the most magical times when I made the most improvement.
And one day I was out there running. I always brought my phone and I this girl from the New York Athletic Club was our professional runner and she's like, "Oh, I want to run with you." I leave my phone at home and we're coming around a little bend on one of the trails and I see some rocks trickle down and I'm like, "What the hell?" I look up and I am not [ __ ] you. like 10 ft elevated and maybe 10 ft behind us. Like set back is a full grown mountain lion just looking at us.
Dude, when you see a mountain lion in person, if it was a rhinoceros, it wouldn't have been more startling. I was like, "Oh my god, there's a lion on the high ground here." She's like, "We got to run." I'm like, "No, no, no. I I don't know much, but I know you're not supposed to run." And eventually the lion turned and walked down. I told Joe Rogan about he was talking about it on his podcast. It was crazy. If I had a picture of this, it would have been on National Geographic.
I left it at home. I was just like running. I was running with
Eli Wehbe
Year was this?
Ken Rideout
2018.
Eli Wehbe
Oh, okay. Yeah. Thought you were like on the razors of the Nokia at this time.
Ken Rideout
I am not the most sophisticated killed you before you got your phone out.
Dude, if I took a picture like this with him in the background, it would have been in every newspaper. It was It was huge. And then I was coming back and I saw like, you know, you see the same people running in the trails like walking and I saw this older guy who I always would see and all we would do is nod at each other. I go, "Dude,
There's a mountain lion up here." He goes, "I just saw him. He just went down. He's going down that way." I'm like, "How crazy." To me, it was like like like I said, it was like seeing a giraffe. Um, but you do now you're doing most of the running up in the trails. So, so you do you sign up for 50k like tell me about the evolution of your running.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, signed up for this 50K in January of 2021. I think I came like top eight or nine in that first race.
Didn't know what the [ __ ] I was doing. There were some fast guys in there. There's a lot of fast guys in there because it was the first race open ever since all the CO [ __ ] So, all these guys jumped into it and I was [ __ ] cooking and then I got smoked like at like mile 24 and I like never once stopped for water. I brought like a liter with me and I don't even think I went through the whole thing.
Like I like I don't know how I was even operating.
Ken Rideout
Were there aid stations?
Eli Wehbe
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
It always surprises me when someone carries water when there are aid stations.
Eli Wehbe
I I didn't know really know any better, but I just had a leader on me and I thought if I didn't have to stop at the aid station and kill any time, I could just cruise this whole thing and do well in it. You know, I used to eat [ __ ] all the time. I used to kick rocks and just fall cuz I was so used to running low from running marathons. And I got to a point where I just kept eating so much [ __ ] that I was like, damn, maybe the sport isn't for me.
Like I'm so [ __ ] up every time I leave the mountain. And then eventually like after a year I finally figured it out where like it's very [ __ ] knock on wood I fall at all you know.
So I did that 50k then I did a 50 mileer then I jumped into 100k and then I jumped into 100 mileer and then after the 100 mile I just jumped into Moab 240 and then ever since then I've just been running these 200 300 mile races.
Ken Rideout
And when you're running these you can finish this. When you're running these longer races um like what was your experience? Would you go out too, how often would you go out too hard and be like, "Oh my god, this is so much longer than I thought." Or were you very strategic from
Eli Wehbe
No, like you always took I always like take off at the start. It's like a known thing that I do. Everyone's like, "Yo, like, you know, they always have like those funny guys that like that take off like they're going to win the race."
Ken Rideout
Nothing pisses me off more than someone sprinting at the beginning of the I'm always like, "Buddy, you want to be out here clowning? You're going to trip someone up who's actually here to win. Like, get out of the way." Like, I want to kill them.
Eli Wehbe
Correct. Yeah. Um, I started Moab 240 fast and I just like I just felt good. So like I wasn't thinking about it and then uh you know Jesse Haynes. Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. And then Jesse Haynes ended up coming by me like at mile like eight and smoking me and then just cruising. But like
It didn't smoke my run. I just was like there's probably no point in me going out that [ __ ] fast at the start. And like I'll do it as a joke now cuz like people expect me at Moab to do it now. But like even this last race I went out like
I just took off at the start so that I'm not stuck in this bunch going to a single track and then I was slow down. But like even with me slowing down the guys that won the race
Didn't even like pass me until like mile four when then they end up kind of like slowly slowly slowly going. But
Ken Rideout
But that's the funny thing when people talk about triathlons a race they're like I was leading through 15. I'm like but it's a 30 mile race. It doesn't matter if you were leading at 29 if you didn't win. Like the guy who won is like, "Yeah, someone else can lead the whole way."
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, whatever. I get some good I get some good shots at the start. We get some We get some I end up I end up in all the shots at the start.
Ken Rideout
I know. But let me tell you something. Those shots will pale in comparison to when you go out strategic win and have a shot of me holding up the tape.
There's no better picture.
Eli Wehbe
It's just it's just a joke now at this point cuz the first time I went out it was like for real like you know I was like oh yeah like I'm going smoke I'm I'mma smoke this race. I feel good. And then I was like all right. You just kind of learn from it. But
Ken Rideout
In those 240 races, how much of the time are you spent walking? Like what is the like do you sleep?
Eli Wehbe
I don't sleep much.
Ken Rideout
But you do stop and lay down.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. If it gets really
I've never even like I've never done any this last race. Uh the race you saw me finish with Goggins. Slept maybe like an hour and 40 minutes, hour and 45 minutes like broken up like you know.
So you would just pull over somewhere? Dude, like there's like a video that went viral on the internet cuz my boy filmed me and I just like I just [ __ ] hit the like back of this tree and then he ended up like he broke all these trees. I think he was in the Marines or something and like covered me. It was so cold and he just films me and he's like my boy is knocked. And then like I woke up and I was like oh this is lit.
I just uploaded it and just went viral you know. It's
Ken Rideout
You are like the king of social media. None of those things would even occur to me.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. It's like the best time to post. Like the engagement goes so crazy like while you're racing and like
So I like you know I plan to do very well in this next race. So like
Ken Rideout
And what's the next one?
Eli Wehbe
Uh Arizona Monster 300. It's on March 27th.
Ken Rideout
300 miles. And like what what would the winner run a 300 mile race in?
Eli Wehbe
I'm planning to fish in 75 and 80 hours. And last year's finish was 86 hours.
Ken Rideout
And on an 80 hour race you definitely have to sleep.
Eli Wehbe
I'm going probably sleep 20 minutes.
Ken Rideout
What?
Eli Wehbe
Yeah.
And what would you do?
Ken Rideout
Do you have a crew or do you just pull over and sleep?
Eli Wehbe
Like you have a crew crew, but sometimes it just depends. Like you you can try and map it out when you get to your crew, but sometimes you're just [ __ ] and you're just like I you'll sleep anywhere.
You literally like black out in the middle of the dirt, you know?
Ken Rideout
But what about when you wake up, how hard is it to get moving again? Cuz like if I sleep like this, like you wake up like you had an 8 hour sleep. It's crazy. It's like a hit of caffeine
Eli Wehbe
Really.
But like they they say like the best is to sleep is like for 90 minutes cuz you get into the right. So like
Um it's hard though. Like I'll try and then I'm like, "Damn, I can only get 20. Let's just go." You know? And you just kind of
Ken Rideout
You don't ever get up feeling like, "Oh, I don't want to be back out there." You're just like, "Oh [ __ ] I got to go. I got I got to go. I got I got like my feet." You get like
Eli Wehbe
For me after like the first 24 hours, my brain finally locks. And the first 24 hours are the hardest. Like the first 24 hours you're just like,
"Fuck this sucks. Like I got to be out here for another two nights." Like, you know, like I got a long day. And then once you go for the once you get over that hump of the night and you're in the next day, you're like, "Oh, [ __ ] these [ __ ] I'm coming for all of you know, like that's how like that's how you feel, you know? I don't know. That's just kind of how it is for me.
Ken Rideout
Well, I think that if you really want to win, you kind of have to have that kind of mindset where it's like not really balanced where, you know, I was hearing Tom Tom Brady that last week talking I heard an interview where he was like, "Yeah, I practiced I was a psychopath like all week on the practice field. Like I was I was nuts." And I was thinking like you don't really get to be so good without some kind of like lack of balance or crazy gene where you're like, "Oh, that guy's crazy." Yeah, but you if you want to win, there has to be some trade-off.
You can't just be like, "Oh, I'm perfectly balanced and happy and living a normal life and then on race day I just turn up and I'm crazy horse."
Eli Wehbe
No, there's no balance with winning those races. You just got to be all out. It's just uh
It's brutal. You just I've done a I've done quite a few of them now. So, you just like right right when it starts to suck, you're like, "All right, this is just going to suck until you get done. You're going to be done." The sooner you get done, the more the suck's over with, you know, and it's just you and then like when you get to the end, you're kind of sad that it's over.
Ken Rideout
Well, I tell a story about the first time I qualified for Kona Hawaii and it got uh the Iron Man in in World Championships and as soon as it got hard on the run, I just didn't know what I didn't know and I quit the race.
I just stopped and was like told my wife like, "Ah, I can't do it. It's too hot." And I was like, "Oh my god, what have I done?" But had I not done that, I would never have adopted the mindset that I have now where like, "No, no, no. I'll die before I because I will never let myself feel like that voluntarily again." cuz you know when you when you're when you've quit versus when you're just out of juice and you're like, "Okay, I'm hurt. I can't go on." Like only you know that feeling, right?
And there's a big difference between being injured and being hurt. Like everything hurts when you're like on the limit. But when you throw in the towel, you can't undo it. So that's why I always say it's so much harder to quit in the long run. You just have to stay in the fight
Eli Wehbe
And you feel miserable like if you end up dropping out of race. I had a DNF one race and it's a race. I'm coming back for redemption this year. felt like my knee blew out and I tried to go like another
30 mi on it, hyperextended it. It just got worse and like
It was [ __ ] painful. I probably could have walked another 150 mi, but for what at this point? Like I've already done multiple of these races. If this was like a one and done and like
I had a whole [ __ ] live stream and camera crew and I was like one of those [ __ ] streamers and I just wanted to say I ran at 300 miles and I would have been like [ __ ] it. We're walking the race, you know?
And I was like I was in fifth place at that point. And so like I had already like popped into like I went from like 50th overnight into 12th and then eighth and then [ __ ] fifth and like and then I blew out my knee.
I had my whole plan was to was to do the slow roll and catch everyone at mile 200 and then [ __ ] smoke them. I think I would have done I think I would have podium but I didn't. I DNFed and that's it. Like I got to go back there and I got to [ __ ] kick ass in and like four weeks. So
Ken Rideout
I did an ultra in Kenya a couple years ago and there was a Russian kid. There was a Taiwanese kid who was awesome and we him and I would take it out hard every day and and just he would just eventually wear me down. He's like he did this I uh crazy race in the in the in the tundra in the winter dragging a sled at like minus30° like a 7day like crazy and the most mildmannered young kid. Anyway, him and I would get off the front.
The Russian kid would be gone every single stage with about five miles to go. I look back and here comes the Russian like a nut and he would like two out of the two out of the five days he caught me and like ran right by me including the last day and I was like
Eli Wehbe
Which race was this?
Ken Rideout
It was called four rangers. It was a race in Kenya like a like the race that I won in Mongolia was called the goi march. That was
Eli Wehbe
That one I know you've talked about that one and I
Ken Rideout
That's a good one for you if you like ultras if you can run long and steady and and can keep getting up and doing it day in and day out.
Eli Wehbe
You guys sleep overnight?
Ken Rideout
Yeah. You stop at a camp. They they provide a tent and they provide water, but you have to carry everything else. So, all the food, some minimal safety equipment. It was hard. I'd never run with a backpack and I had never run an ultra and I've only done a couple trail races.
Eli Wehbe
This is like the one that everyone's been doing now. Uh what did this does it say? Marathon was kind of like that same thing. Yeah,
Ken Rideout
It's Marathon des Sables. You they don't provide a tent. You sleep kind of out in the open desert and you have to bring they don't provide hot water. So, if you want to heat water, you need to bring like a little gas stove thing. Yeah, man. It was a quick It was a crash course and I like I figured it out on the fly and ended up winning in in Mongolia. But it was um that's like right in your wheelhouse cuz that's when you're really locked in with everyone and there's like a lot of
I found it to be very psychological cuz you're like living with everyone and the after the first day
Eli Wehbe
And the bag gets lighter as the time goes, right?
Ken Rideout
But not like you would think cuz you have minimal safety equipment that you have to have
Eli Wehbe
And that's the heavier [ __ ]
Ken Rideout
Yeah. and in your sleeping bag and a sleeping pad. So, you're losing like a couple MREs every day. But they're like freeze-dried. They're lightweight, like dried freeze-dried noodles.
Ken Rideout
So, you start running, you start winning, and like what what's the highest finish you've had at one of these?
Eli Wehbe
Just top 10
Right now. Yeah, top 10 right now. And like I
Ken Rideout
You're like right in the journey. Like you're right at the beginning of the
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, like I'm just still I'm pretty fresh to it all still. Like I this is not what I used to do. I used to do I used to drink and do drugs and get [ __ ] up, you know? So like
Ken Rideout
How long you been racing?
Eli Wehbe
Um
Ken Rideout
Since co I guess, right? So 20.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, I did I did half marathons and marathons though, like starting in 2018. But I never really went into any of these being like, "Oh, I need to win them." And now like going into this next race, like I'm like, "Yo, I'm [ __ ] hitting this podium. Like I don't give a [ __ ] I'm podium." So like this was like the first year I tapped in where I was like, "Yo,
I don't need any more participation awards. Like I need to I I need I need I need to hit the [ __ ] podium." So like I already know I can do this [ __ ] So for me like
My story is what inspires people. They weren't even looking for me to win. They like me see doing seeing me do hard [ __ ] and complete it and document it and that inspires them enough. But I like the support that I have now is so [ __ ] crazy on there. They're like this is your [ __ ] year. Like this is it. This is podium year. And I'm like yeah I know I need to [ __ ] I need to do it this year.
But this is the first year that I'm like
All right I'm [ __ ] locked in. Um, my boy Killian, he was the one that broke all the records on three of the 200s. And he's coaching, crewing, and pacing me on the whole thing. And I've been just following his lead for the last 5 months. And he's like,
"Yo, we're [ __ ] winning this [ __ ] I'm coming with you."
So, like, yeah. So, it's been good, man. And
Ken Rideout
What's the fueling like? Like, what are you eating during these?
Eli Wehbe
Trying to do like 90 grams of carbs per hour is the goal. Any like, you know, even if I get 60 to 90 in, I'm good. Um, lots of gels. um eating as much as I can when I get to those aid stations and just jamming food in my pockets, grabbing like quesadillas and [ __ ] burritos.
Ken Rideout
And your crew can provide everything for you.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, but when you get to the aid stations, they cook food and [ __ ] like that for you there. So like, but then if I want certain things,
I don't I don't think I even see my crew till like mile
90 or something at this. Yeah. Yeah, it's [ __ ] cooked this race.
Ken Rideout
But like I know you're with ketone and you use ketone ketone IQ for a lot of your training. So, like will you carry ketone IQs with you or will you try to link up with uh crew and get those?
Eli Wehbe
I'll do both, you know, cuz obviously having that many ketones on is going to add in weight. I thought about getting one of those canisters to put all the ketone IQ in one there and just swinging them
Ken Rideout
Like have on a camel back of water and camel back with
Eli Wehbe
Well you they got these like bottles now like that are like that look like you know you can just bring that like you can just kind of put like gel gels and stuff like that. Yeah. And I'm thinking about doing that like for me with the ketones they've been like solid boost of energy for me. I usually start one before my runs and then every 10 miles. So, I'll definitely have my crew set up with a ton of them and then I'll probably carry some right off the break
And I can put them into my drop bags. Yeah.
So, I think the drop bags and I can keep them in there and then when I don't see my crew, I can grab them from there. So, I'm going to bring my own snacks
And my own stuff in the drop bags. But, my goal is to be in and out of those aid stations like super fast. If I want to win and podium this race, like I got to be in and out. Like, you can't [ __ ] around.
Ken Rideout
I can tell you this from experience. Do not obsess over like I got to get out of here quick. Obsess over making sure you have a game plan and you're getting what you want and need there. Prioritize that over trying to get out of there fast. Cuz if you leave fast and you forget something, it's like
Eli Wehbe
I usually set up a timer and I'm usually out of there before the timer goes off. So like
Ken Rideout
That's what I mean. I would abandon the timer and just be like I know what I need to get and focus on that. 10 seconds, 1 minute isn't going to matter.
Eli Wehbe
These [ __ ] like I was talking to Killian. He's like, "Yo, two two two two to three minutes. It's got to be you got to be like don't want to forget [ __ ]
Ken Rideout
You don't need the pressure. You need to make sure you get what you need there. It's like [clears throat]
Eli Wehbe
Sit there and [ __ ] hang out and [ __ ] put my feet." Those guys at the aid stations, the volunteers, they'll they'll [ __ ] hit you with like bedtime stories. They'll put the fire on. They'll put you in a blanket. Next thing you know, you're there for an hour, bro.
Ken Rideout
Well, this is the thing. Even when I did Iron Man, I'm like, the pros, the professionals who are winning shouldn't be beating anyone out of the transition if you're serious about what you're doing. But you also don't want to try and break the record as the fastest transition if you're going to like forget to grab the ketones or forget a gel. Correct.
You want to just get your [ __ ] calm down, relax, and get out of there.
Eli Wehbe
Yes%.
Ken Rideout
It's like Navy Seals like slow as smooth as fast.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you. I agree with you on it. I'm not going to stress myself over that type of stuff. And I run pretty fast compared to, you know, most people in these ultras in that space. So I always make up a lot of time running downhill and stuff like that. I move really fast downhill.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Eli Wehbe
Running downhill is a skill. Yeah, that's I just fly downhill.
Ken Rideout
Really? That's when I think I'm going to lose my teeth.
Eli Wehbe
Oh, no. I just go and like just let my feet fling. Like they just go, dude. You know.
Ken Rideout
Did you play sports growing up?
Eli Wehbe
I played basketball. I skateboarded. Um yeah, that's about it. Basketball was like my I love basketball. I was pretty good at basketball.
Ken Rideout
You played in high school?
Eli Wehbe
Um yeah, but I usually played like more for like clubs and like you know, private stuff, not like for the actual like high schools.
Ken Rideout
as you're starting to get into this, you obviously you're getting sponsors. You got Ketone-IQ. What about shoes? What are you wearing for shoes? And are they
Eli Wehbe
I love Hoka. We're actually talking right now. So,
Ken Rideout
HA is a good one. I wore Hokas in um in Mongolia and then I wore Reebok in um in Kenya.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, they're my favorite shoe. I I just I always just steered away from shoes. I just like manifested that I was getting Landis Hoka thing and literally like I'm in the talks right now. Well, they wanted me to run speed project with their team and then I had told them if originally
No because it landed on I thought it landed on the same week as Monster 300 but it's a week after and then I hit them back up and they're like uh maybe we can bring you on as like team leader and this is how you can kind of get your foot in the door because we already put the team together and you can come in a wheelchair after Monster 300 and lead the team and then if someone gets hurt then you can take over and run with them.
But I think it'd be a cool experience. I'll go do that with them if it ends up working out and yeah
Ken Rideout
I did Speed Project two years ago last year or the year before with Nick Bear.
Eli Wehbe
Oh yeah. Okay. I think I saw that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Ken Rideout
It was You know what sucked? I love Nick. There was We had Nick. We had a kid called Mitch Ammons who was like 216 marathoner. He won the Austin Marathon last year. The kid was insane. So fit. I mean, he was a He's a real runner. He's like a professional runner.
Me, Nick, Mitch,
And there were a couple people that weren't like hardcore runners. They were kind of like more for fun. And it was a little bit frustrating because I was like, "Guys, I'm turning myself inside out. Like, let's win. We can do this. Let's go." and she was just kind of like, "Oh, I'm just going to go this time." I'm like, "We're in a [ __ ] race. What are you talking about?" It was so me. But then I realized I'm a dick. And but I also said like, "Who thought it was a good idea to invite me to have fun?" Like I This isn't fun.
Like winning is fun.
Eli Wehbe
Winning is fun. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The grind is fun. Yeah. Yeah. I want to feel like [ __ ] this whole time.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
But I don't like staying up all night like really it emotionally it like really messes with my chemicals and I like in the morning I'm mad depressed. So, I was running extra times.
How long did it take you guys to finish? [gasps and sighs]
We started like 40 like four o'clock in the morning and we finished probably at 5:00 the next night.
Yeah. So, probably like 30 hours or something. I'm going to get the timing wrong, but it was basically
Eli Wehbe
Oh, like 5:00 a.m.
Ken Rideout
It was No, it was like a 24 hours
Eli Wehbe
Plus
Ken Rideout
And then plus the day.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. So, at least done the next day
Ken Rideout
Cuz you know what's funny? They were like, "Yeah, we're going to hang out in Vegas that like if we get in, we leave on Friday morning and uh Saturday night we're going to stay in Vegas." And as we're going, I'm in like, you know, we had like a RV that would follow. So, you'd run four miles, get in the RV. Soon as I realized, oh, we're going to get in at like 6:00. I'm like, I'm on the 8:00 flight out. So, now I'm like, "Guys, we got to go.
We got to soon as we cross the finish line, I grab all my bags, run out, Uber right to the airport." I got on that plane. I'm telling you, I've never slept like a dead person like this. And it was a Southwest flight, which I can't stand. And I'm jammed on there. But I was in an aisle seat. I got in that seat, closed my eyes, opened my eyes. They're like, "Hey, we landed." Like, not even we're landing. I didn't put my seat back. I didn't move.
And I was like unconscious. I was never so tired. And uh but that that's a fun race. It's a really festive atmosphere. And uh
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, possible I might do it, might not. We'll see. Uh we're in the talks now. I I I should have just told him at the start I was down, but then I was like, damn, there'd be some legendary [ __ ] I go win this next race, come back crippled like 4 days later and just run this race. I'm I mean, dude, I know what it's like being done with those races. You're [ __ ] up. Like, like I know I'm going to be like, "Yo, what the [ __ ] did I sign up for?" You know,
Ken Rideout
Takes a couple months for me after like after Mongolia and Kenya, the only two long ultras that I've done. It really took me like a month to feel normal again. I I don't know how to describe it other than I just wasn't right.
Eli Wehbe
Correct. Yeah. Yeah. No, you're you're pretty [ __ ] up, dude. I I like I after Moab it took me two months to start running normal again. And normally like I've done some like you know races where I'm like oh I run I run a 250 mi race and then 3 weeks later I run a 200 mile race and I'm fine. But I think the long the more that I've been doing the more [ __ ] up I've been getting.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. Oh for sure. How old are you?
Eli Wehbe
I'm 37.
Ken Rideout
Oh man, you're a kid. I don't even think I ran a competitive race till I was 37 or 38
Time bro. Dude, I didn't I I was psyched to break three hours um when I was probably 40.
Eli Wehbe
Oh, on a marathon.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. So, from 40 to 51, I took like 33 minutes off my time. Um won a bunch of races and like that's part of the message of my book, right? It's the other side of hard is everything you want to do is hard, but it's never too late. And I talk about things like how I switched careers, how I got sober, how I started running, adopting a daughter, having children, getting married, like, and I don't tell people like so many like self-help books. I'm not trying to tell you what to do.
Matter of fact, I'd say don't do what I do, but here's some examples of how I accomplished a lot of things that are like aspirational, I guess,
But
Eli Wehbe
It's crazy you haven't even sent me a book yet. You know, I
Ken Rideout
You're looking at the first hard cover I got. I got it like two days ago. I saw a copy on Cam Haynes's counter. You know,
That's a that was a reader like the people that blurbed it got it's called a bound
G. It's all right, bro. I get I get how this [ __ ] is.
You didn't see this book. You didn't see
I'm like a toddler for you guys right now.
No, not true. You know what's funny? On the way here, someone some woman posted, "Can't wait to read this." And had the actual one. And all I can think is like the publisher must have sent it. I didn't send it. And then it goes on sale March 10th. So, people have pre-ordered them. I just got the final copy and like sent them to like back to the publisher, you know, they're like, "Sign these, send them back." Yeah.
But they go out now. But that's why I have this here for you now.
Eli Wehbe
Oh, this one's for me. I thought this one was just for the podcast.
No, no, no. Thought this one just stays here on this table forever. You know,
Ken Rideout
I even brought an extra one for you to do a for you to do a giveaway.
You sign it for me live on the show. What's going on, bro? This is really crazy. You know,
Eli Wehbe
I even brought a Sharpie for you.
Ken Rideout
But what I could You know what we could do? We could do if you're down, you can um do a giveaway on your site.
Eli Wehbe
I'm I'm down to help you out any way you'd like, brother.
Ken Rideout
That's a sign one that you can give to anyone you want. You can give to a fan or you can keep for yourself. But you have you have a personalized one coming.
Eli Wehbe
I like I love reading uh any autobiographies or memoir, especially people I can relate to. And I remember when I first listened to your uh your podcast with uh with Rich Roll, I was like, "Ah, this [ __ ] He's like this this guy's like me, bro." Like he's or I'm like him, you Oh, he just gets it. I think I I think I even messaged you after we know each other. You're like, "What the [ __ ] this ch?"
Ken Rideout
No, dude. But I was glad we connected because like talking to your story, there's a lot of things that you're like really good at the social media stuff. Like I will say a lot of these people like that you see on social media cuz I get this a lot where people like I didn't I I had a different impression of you when they than versus when they meet me. And same for you. who you come across online as like unapproachable, like [ __ ] nut job.
And then you start to meet these people like Cam Haynes, David Goggins. I mean, David might be crazy all the time,
But you meet these people and you realize like, no, this is a damaged guy just like everyone else cuz only damaged people are acting like this.
But when you get to know people like feeling like I get to know you, I understand like an empathetic like kind person. But someone seeing you on the internet or bumping into you in a nightclub is not going to be like, "Oh, he's a very kind, empathetic guy." You have to like get beneath the surface.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. I'm a big teddy bear once you get hard on my sleeve for sure.
Ken Rideout
How often are you lifting weights?
Eli Wehbe
Six, seven days a week.
Ken Rideout
Six or seven. Holy crap.
Yeah. Strength training is like [ __ ] just very important with the [ __ ] that we're doing. The other thing that I find interesting about you is how you like basically bumrush your way into everything when you were like, "I'm doing Cam Haynes podcast." Yeah. I hit him up and then I just kept hitting him up until he's like, "All right, come on. Let's do the podcast."
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Know, it was funny cuz I [ __ ] we were talking.
I'm a [ __ ] I send an email if someone doesn't respond. I'm like, "Nah, that guy hates me. He doesn't want He doesn't want to have me on the show. I don't like asking anybody for favors." And me and you both talked about this before in private and like I it [ __ ] feels like knives are in my throat when I have to ask someone for a favor. 100%.
I remember I had done uh Andy Frisella's podcast and then I did my friend Sally McRae and then I just hit or Yeah, Sally.
Ken Rideout
Well, hold on. How the hell did you meet Andy Frisella cuz like I want to know Andy. I like that. He's another one who I think is a lunatic. I'm like, "Man, that guy's crazy."
Eli Wehbe
Andy came to the club I was partners at once and like he knew who I was. And then like I remember when I had like my whole comeback online, I started like uh like messaging him here and there and then he followed me and I followed him back and then you know we back to that that situation. And then
Um he just followed he was watching the journey. He's just like, "Yo, I [ __ ] love your brand, bro. Like I [ __ ] love the way you move. I love the things that you write. Like you're just authentic, dog. Like I [ __ ] with your brand." And then
Um I remember running Moab for the first time. He goes, "Yo, why the [ __ ] are you not on our first form team?" And then he connect me at someone and then I was like ah like I don't like these guys are trying to do like like like this is just too corporate for me like I so then I just didn't do the deal at that time and then it didn't fall through. He hit me up again after [ __ ] I finished another race.
He's like yo why aren't you on the [ __ ] team? And then he connect me again and then finally I was like and then and then it didn't happen again and then and then he hit me again and he's like brother you have five minutes to talk and I was like yeah he goes yo what do you want? Like I don't I don't ever do this for anybody. I don't put anybody on the team. Like I let my like I step down from all this [ __ ] Like tell me what you want to get paid.
Tell me I want you to be I want you to be your own brand. I want you to do things organically the way they do. And I was like all right this is what I want. He's done. Now I'm going to connect you with someone. And this guy's my right hand man. It's been dude they've been the best [ __ ] team to work with. Like
Ken Rideout
I want to meet Andy. He's friends with Dana White. Dana White has been like the best guy ever to me. Invited my flew my son out to Boston for like my son was eight. Sat him not front row cage side. brought him in the octagon. And I see Dana always posting Andy stuff, but I like business together now.
Yeah, I love I love Andy's message. I like his like [ __ ] you mentality. He does not care what people think, which I love.
Um, but he's a perfect match for you. That's a good mix. So, okay. So, you get on for us form and then how do you connect with Cameron Haynes?
Eli Wehbe
Um, Cam started following me last year on Instagram when he started or maybe was it not last year, the year before when I was starting to run all the 200s. He's like, "Yo, you're a badass." Boom. He didn't follow me yet. He just wrote me. He was seeing.
Then I ran another one. He's like, and then I saw him follow. He goes, "Dog, you're a [ __ ] beast." And then this is how this started. Then I followed him and then we started connecting on Instagram here and there. And then
I did Bradley Martin's podcast, Sally McRae, and then Andy Frisella's. And then I wrote him and I was like, "Yo, bro. Um, I did all these podcasts. Would you be open to having me you on?" And then I got like he didn't even respond. I got like a text a day later from the the girl that runs all his [ __ ]
Ken Rideout
Rihanna.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. Rihanna. And then, you know, he tells me he plays good cop, bad cop. You know, usually if if if you're not on the show, it's because he's either hunting or doing his own. He's doing his, you know, doing his [ __ ] And then
Ken Rideout
She's definitely the bad cop.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
She does. She is. She can be difficult.
Eli Wehbe
So, um, so then nothing came out
Ken Rideout
In a good in a good way.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. So then we're kind of going back and forth and then I like remember I'm I'm in the middle of this race and I end up uh I end up running with Goggins in the middle of Moab and and I I like you know my my start off talk with Goggins was like yo I'm boys with Cam and he just like you know he's just running by everybody not even talking about money and then he looks at me and he's like oh yeah you're boys with Cam he's like tell that [ __ ] I said what up you know and then uh and then that was that and then we kind of started chitchatting he was just like yo and I was like yo uh he's like yo I'm a nice guy I just
I just like to just run when I'm out here bro I'm just in my [ __ ] you know and And you know, we end up running a couple miles and like it's just we were just kind of like this, you know. And then I was like, "Yo, uh, you want to send Cam a video?" He goes, "Yeah, let's send that [ __ ] video, you know." So then I filmed this video of us running and he's like, you know, he says all this funny [ __ ] to him and I like rewatch it while I'm running like, "Oh, this is fire.
I'm rolling this up as a real."
So then like I'm waiting to
Ken Rideout
You like missed the social media. You got it all figured out. It would never even occur to me, honestly. I suck.
Eli Wehbe
So then I'm like trying to [ __ ] get a hold of Wi-Fi out there cuz there's no [ __ ] service. So finally we get to like mile 96 and that was at mile 26. Okay. Get to mile 96 they got a Starlink. I got my feet up. They're [ __ ] doing it. I'm on [ __ ] on here [ __ ] putting this [ __ ] reel together. And then I collab Cam on it. Cam goes like we talked about it later, bro.
He's like, "Bro, you couldn't have hit me at the most perfect time. I just got done on this crazy like couple day hunt and open up my phone. The first thing I see is you and [ __ ] Goggins running and talking about me." He accepts the collab. The video goes viral. That's how the whole thing starts. And then we get towards the [ __ ] end of the race. Goggins got 20 m ahead of me at one point. And then I somehow caught up to him at like mile 200.
That's how these [ __ ] races go.
People get hurt, they get sick or like what? You know, you just don't know what's going to happen.
And I'm just running and like I have like Dude, I'm not kidding you. There's like thousands and thousands of DMs. I end up getting back to them and it took me about two and a half weeks to finish the race. I like to respond to everything.
Ken Rideout
I try to respond to everything too.
Eli Wehbe
These are your supporters
Ken Rideout
100%. The problem is when people act crazy and they're like, "Yo, you got a minute to call for a call?" Like,
Eli Wehbe
You know, at that point, like I just don't respond to stuff like that. Like, if like they're writing me and supporting me and they're not writing any [ __ ] wild, I'll respond, you know? Same.
Ken Rideout
Or I'll just hard it, you know? That's it.
But I feel bad when people like, "You got a minute to talk." And I'm like, "Dude, I got four kids and 10 jobs."
Eli Wehbe
They're just excited.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. But then I feel like a jerk cuz I'm like, "But I don't talk to my friends."
Eli Wehbe
I think they're going to think you're a jerk. They're like, they're excited you haven't even responded, you know? So, it's like how it is. So then I don't know what came up and I just [ __ ] send him a voice note while I'm running. I don't know if I saw him like something or he like re oh he I think I opened up like my phone and he had just like responded to the tag in the DMs and he goes yo you guys are beasts or whatever and then I was like send him a voice note.
I was like yo bro I'm [ __ ] five miles behind gogggins. I'mma catch this [ __ ] and he's like
Ken Rideout
Oh I got
Eli Wehbe
And he goes he goes
You guys are [ __ ] legends or some [ __ ] like that. He said something close to that. And then I go, "Yo, uh, what do you think about doing the podcast next week?" He's like, "Yeah, [ __ ] yeah. Let's do it. Write me when you [ __ ] finish." And then he goes on his podcast, I think, while I'm still running. He's like, "Yo, guys, we're just going to give you guys a Moab update. I got [ __ ] Eli out there, not even done with the [ __ ] [ __ ] race." And this motherfucker's talking about podcast, Eli, get the [ __ ] race done.
And then he's like, "Yo, I was actually hyped that you even did that cuz the fact that you came in like 4 days after the race was crazy." I was excited. I knew you were going to want to come in.
But we and him talked about that. He goes, "Yo, you just your marketing and nightife works everywhere because
He's like, "Bro,
I would have never known that. You didn't even know Goggins up until like this race." Like, you just
Ken Rideout
I didn't either. I was like, "Oh, they must be boys
Eli Wehbe
Off the [ __ ] fly." You know? I explained the story to you when we talked. And then
The ending of the race, I didn't plan for that to happen that way at all. And it just [ __ ] did. And like
What happened? Um, I caught him like right like there's probably like [ __ ] a thousand feet left of the race. I caught right up to him. He turns around, he starts taking off. My boy was like, "Fucking take his ass." And then I was like,
"Nah, this ain't it." And then he he kne he knew what was up, you know? And then he [ __ ] cruised in. Second he cruised in, he just turns around with a smile on his face. He's like, "Dog, you made my [ __ ] race. like I just saw your we were we were he's like dog you was running 530s because I I couldn't you were running so [ __ ] fast they're watching my headlamp get closer and closer
But
Yeah it was a really dope interaction at the end like you know both of us will remember that [ __ ] forever and like it was just cool man it was like you know the race director was thanking me because like he doesn't even stay at the end of these races he's like out here with his shirt off [ __ ] talking on people's cameras with all the fans and we had a good interaction that's probably it's all over the internet and
Yeah it was cool man I think that was like to me better than winning the race. It was like one of those things that like, you know, um I don't really look up to anybody, but I've read the guy I've read both his books and he's got a [ __ ] dope story and it's it's motivational and I relate so much to his story and I talked about him in my book. So, I felt like that was like a full circle moment.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, dude. That's awesome. And the thing that I love about guys like Cam, Andy, the way they reached out to you, Dana White, is like they almost understand and know their place in the world and they understand how people admire them and that like, you know, they're not the kind of guys that get to the top and pull the ladder up. They're like, "Yo, let me help you out from there. From there, it's up to you." And that's the thing that people have to understand is like no one is going to save you.
No one knowing Cam Haynes, knowing Dana White doesn't give you entree into like the next chapter of life. It's basically a small little validation like oh I have the respect of these guys that I look up to. I'll tell you speaking of again a voice memo scrolling through Instagram a couple years ago and I see the Rock follows me and I'm like oh that can't that can't be the real Rock. It must be some like cl some clown account, right? I look like you know whatever 100 million followers.
So it was right after you had done Rogan. So I just sent a DM. Hey, thanks for following. And he he only followed a couple hundred people.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Thanks for following. Like big fan. Loved your interview with Rogan, who I'm friend kind of friends with.
And dude, he sent me a voice memo that I still have on my phone. Like, hey brother, rock here. Uh, love your content. I got super motivated going on your page. I'm ready to run through a brick wall. Keep doing it. Keep doing it. And I was like, but my main takeaway from that was like, what a freaking gangster to be like, yo, let me just call this guy. Like I mean I probably have 20,000 followers, right?
But just it was just such a cool move. And then he eventually unfollowed everyone and started adding people back on. And there's a part of me I was telling I was telling my kids I'm like they're like, "Dad, does Rock still follow you?" I'm like, "No, he doesn't follow me anymore." And my my oldest son was like, "Dad, just send him a DM. Ask to follow." I'm like, "That's it's not how life works, buddy. If if you have to earn things like that. It's if I were the kind of person that would ask, he probably wouldn't have followed me in the first place.
Eli Wehbe
It's like
Ken Rideout
You can't ask for that [ __ ] It's so corny, bro. It's like,
And this is what I mean. Nothing in my life changed because The Rock sent me a voicemail. It just was like some small validation along the way of like, yo, people that I admire. I mean, I don't care what you think about anyone. When you become the best at something, wrestling, acting, like this guy has like elevated his own life to like the point where he's like an international superstar. Regardless of what you think about anything about how he did it, he did it.
Eli Wehbe
Correct.
Ken Rideout
And it's like when you talk to people like that, I'm like, "Dude, you're doing it. You're winning." I was saying that to Pner. I'm like, "Man, you're doing it."
Eli Wehbe
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
And it's like I don't know. I get like a high from seeing my friends and people that I consider my friends winning at that level cuz everybody wants to do it. I was telling someone a story like
I was talking to my kids about this too and explaining to someone like my kids were like, "What about college dad? Should I go to college?" They're little. They're young. They're they're not even in high school yet. the the boys and I was like, "Guys, it isn't about college. It isn't about anything other than chasing something you're passionate about. As an example, you could decide to be an electrician. There will be a hundred,000 electricians that start next year. Some of them will be perfectly happy to make 50, 100 grand, whatever.
Work for a company. Check the box. Punch the time clock. Cool. But there's a few people that will start the next gigantic international electrical company that will be worth billions of dollars. And what separates them? They're both in the same trade. It's the mindset, the attitude, and the determination of the guy who's like, I don't care what you're doing. You could have an ice cream truck and own every ice cream truck in New York City or like take, you know what I mean? There's someone who's winning at every profession in life.
There's a taxi driver who owns 100 taxis and there's a taxi driver that makes 45 grand and is like content to do that. You got to figure out what's your station in life and I want to be the best at whatever I whatever I do. You want to be a runner, you got to be the best. You want to be a nightclub promoter, nightclub promoter. Another example, there's guys out there who are just happy to go to the club and have free drinks and like hobnob with the models.
And then there's guys that end up owning nightclubs and like dominating the space.
And it's like the the cost of entry is free. Anyone who wants to in this country can elevate their lives to whatever they want, which is why, again, not to be a dead horse, why I I respect guys like Andy and Dana White, and they're just they're just doing it.
Correct. Yeah. So, next up, next up 300.
Eli Wehbe
Yep.
Ken Rideout
What's it called?
Eli Wehbe
Arizona Monster.
Ken Rideout
Arizona Monster.
Eli Wehbe
And then four weeks after that, I got [clears throat] Coca-Cola 250
And then I got Leadville 100 and then I got Moab 240.
Ken Rideout
Maybe I'll jump into Leadville with you.
Eli Wehbe
You should. I'm going in through uh with Ketone.
Ken Rideout
Oh, really?
Yeah.
To do a training camp or to do the race?
Eli Wehbe
Um to do the race. They hit me up about it and I was like, "Yeah, I'm down." So, um
Ken Rideout
But I don't understand. What do they have to do with you doing an individual race? They have a team.
Eli Wehbe
No, I don't know what happened. They were just kind of like, "Yo, do you want to go run? Do you want to go run the race?" And I was like, "Yeah." They're like, "All right, cool." Like we'll get it all set up. So, I don't know what kind of connection they had or whatever they had. So,
I've been invited to do it before. I just like I have to those are the kind of things I have to be like dialed. I don't want to show up and jump last minute last year and try to race his kid. So, like it was like or he he did race his kid. So, like
Ken Rideout
Had a great chat with Trulaw.
I'm going to reach out to Michael Brand. I ran with him yesterday on the beach. He's a really good runner. He's He's He's getting fast.
Eli Wehbe
He throws down,
Ken Rideout
But I'm going to ask him if there's an extra spot. I would could be I could easily be con talked into doing that
Eli Wehbe
Cuz I I already wrote them wanting to do like a ketone house and get like an like a ketone house starting on the first so that we can acclimate and all this stuff. So, they're open to
Ken Rideout
What day is the race?
Eli Wehbe
August 16th, something like that. Don't go.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, you probably need a good two or three weeks. I want to see weeks. That's what I want to do.
Eli Wehbe
That's what you need cuz I'm not getting fried by the elevation. It's going to [ __ ] me up. I've gotten [ __ ] up in elevation in Tahoe and I don't want to deal with that [ __ ] again.
Ken Rideout
Dude, I did a 30 I did a 3-day 30 mile race per day uh event in Tahoe with 29029. It was It wasn't necessarily competition except for the few people. It was more about just finishing,
But man, it was the elevation destroyed me. The first day I got there, I did a 5K just shake out off the plane. I called my wife. I'm like, I don't even know. I don't even know if I'm going to be able to run 10 miles. I can't breathe
And I have asthma. I was dying. But I got I acclimated pretty quickly. I mean, I never felt good. I would always feel like hung over the next day.
Eli Wehbe
Dude, I was Everyone was just You get like Tahoe lung up there when you're doing these race. You're just coughing up dirt the whole time. Like people were just throwing up everywhere. Like
It was brutal that year. It was just hot, too. It was like [ __ ] 90° and like
With the elevation, bro. I remember I'm over here like running with the top five and then like I'm like three miles in and I'm like, "What the fuck?" And I'm like, I feel like I'm running like a six men like in the [ __ ] mountains. And then
Took took me up until like mile 14 to figure out was a [ __ ] elevation seeing everyone like [ __ ] throwing up and like and I was just running by other people that like had already ran the race. They're like, "Yo, I don't know what the [ __ ] up this year. We're [ __ ] fried." There was like I think eight people that dropped at the first aid station over the elevator. Oh my god. It was bad, bro. Like
Ken Rideout
Have you done Leadville before?
Eli Wehbe
No. I was gonna do it last year and some [ __ ] came up and then I deferred it and then and then I was like, "Yeah, I don't know if I care about doing anyund 100 mileers." And then when ketone hit me up, I was like, "Fuck it. I'm down." Like I was like, "I think it'd be good like good to go go out there, create some content out of it, have some fun with it." And you know, I'm not [ __ ] huh
Ken Rideout
Missed the content.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. You know, I'm not I'm not running that race to [ __ ] I'm not I'm not competing with those [ __ ] 100 mileer twig twig guys. [ __ ]
Ken Rideout
What is um What's the hardest part of a 100 mile race relative to a marathon?
Eli Wehbe
I've only done one, so I don't know. I mean, they're just two different ball games. You got to stay out there longer, you know? So, like, you just got to kind of like pace yourself and make sure you're eating. And the first 100 I did, I felt good up until like mile 85. Like, I just [ __ ] I power hiked all the ups and just [ __ ] cruise the flats and downs and just felt good.
I just had no dude, I would hang out at aid stations for like [ __ ] 30 minutes. I don't know what the [ __ ] I was even doing. I would just hang out there, put my feet up, and like I still relatively didn't do bad. Like,
You know, I think I finished in like 21 hours or something like that. And that's great. Yeah. And it was in the mountain so like it wasn't like a [ __ ] I I like and I was just like I remember uh Andy was in the race and he had like finished like a couple like maybe
Ken Rideout
Andy runs ultras
Eli Wehbe
Glaze.
Ken Rideout
Oh Andy Glaze. I thought you ran Andy Frisella. I'm like I didn't know Andy Frisella was a
Eli Wehbe
We met at this race and uh he had finished maybe like 15 minutes ahead of me and he was running way slower but like he wasn't stopping at the aid station. I like a minute and out and I'm over here like feet kicked up by the fire with like ramen in my mouth and like
Now there's no way. I think I' I'd run I'd run this race like way faster. I just Yeah, I think I'm just like honed in on these 200 300 mile races and I feel like what I can create for people out of these races like documenting these things is like so [ __ ] bizarre compared to even the 100 mile races that like people are very interested in watching. There's only 300 of us and like people in the entire world running these races at a time.
So like there's so many eyes on you when you're running them.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. What about you UTMB?
Eli Wehbe
Open to it for sure. Like I just
Ken Rideout
My buddy who I did the Gobi March with Scott Daru who was the CEO at Equinox at the time is now the equ the CEO at Iron Man and he oversees UTMB as well.
Eli Wehbe
Well then send him send him an email.
Ken Rideout
Oh, he said to me, "Come do it." He said, "You got to do a race to get in, but just do a race and we'll like make it happen."
Eli Wehbe
Well, then let's do it one race together and then we can go do it together.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, dude. That looks like a fun race.
Eli Wehbe
It's badass. I've I've ran in Switzerland a lot and it's very similar and it's [ __ ]
Yeah, that's where it is, right? It's in France. Yeah, it go I think a piece of it goes through for Switzerland as well, too. And he does it every year.
Ken Rideout
Oh, really?
Eli Wehbe
Yeah, he does. He's done I think he's done like six years in a row now.
Ken Rideout
We're going to talk about that.
Eli Wehbe
[ __ ] runs like 18 races in a year, bro. He doesn't stop, dude. [snorts]
Ken Rideout
What? Um, so this is your main source of income now. You do this for You have brand partners. So, you got 1st Phorm, you got Ketone-IQ. Who else you got?
Eli Wehbe
Might be the shirt that I'm wearing coming up here soon. I uh I'm I'm off I I left Dark Sport, so tomorrow will be the last day. And uh this this this I I don't want to say anything yet. So So uh
Ken Rideout
And and um in the mix,
Eli Wehbe
That's the plan. Um
The plan is to move over onto uh represent and 247 rep and George the the founder very successful. Um been a really really close friend of mine.
Ken Rideout
It's an apparel company.
Uh yeah, higher end street wear. Okay. I can see you in street.
Eli Wehbe
They did like 135 mil this past year.
Ken Rideout
What?
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. They're huge huge brand.
Ken Rideout
They have like higher end [ __ ] They have investors or is it just one guy?
Eli Wehbe
I think him and his brother started it from scratch, but I think they've sold pieces of the company now. I
But um I don't really know the full full story, but it's funny. I went into the store right now before I came in here. I was like, "Yo, should I get should I get diced out for that thing?" He goes, "Yeah, [ __ ] yeah."
Ken Rideout
You had to you got to take me in there. I'm like the least cool fashion person.
Eli Wehbe
I told him I told I told him about you. I was yelling this guy Ken Rideout's podcast. I think he saw you uh Truit's the only American on their team right now.
Ken Rideout
Oh, really?
Eli Wehbe
He's on 247 represent.
Oh, now I know who it is. who represent is the big brand. He started 247 represent for like fun basically like oh I'm going to start this athletic brand cuz he runs marathons. He's I got
You know and he does stuff. So
That's the plan, you know. Uh we haven't signed anything yet, but we're going to meet up next week and All right. Yeah. So
Ken Rideout
Well, cool. What else? What else?
Eli Wehbe
Couple other brands and you know sometimes doing uh some brands here like once every three months, stuff like that. But yeah, making good living from it.
Ken Rideout
Hell yeah. It's like a dream come true when you're getting paid to do things you actually enjoy.
Eli Wehbe
Yeah. And it's just like you can be the dopest runner, but if you can't be marketable, you're no one's going to use you nowadays. And that's just it's like a hot topic right now. Everyone's
Ken Rideout
The bane of it's the bane of my existence when you hear like really elite pro runners, but they don't put content out and they're like pissy that they're not getting paid. I'm like, you have all the tools, but you're you're brand. If you don't tell people what they need to know, like, why would you expect someone else to do that? You got to like
You're a perfect example. Like
I would call you a professional runner. Professional runners would get insulted. I'm like, the guy gets paid to run. He maybe not get paid to win the race, but even if you win, I mean, if you win, I think Tokyo, they just announced if you're the winner, you win, you make 80 grand. I guarantee you that those brands, every brand is going to pay more than every brand is going to pay you more than that. And people just don't these pro runners, they're like leaving money on the table.
I get it. You can't no one can be good at everything. So, if you're elite at running, maybe you're just like there's a void there where you're not good with the marketing. But the the key is when you get someone like Usain Bolt who's good at everything and now the guy's maximizing all his earning potential.
Eli Wehbe
Crushing it. Yeah.
Ken Rideout
But listen, brother, I'm so I'm I'm I'm happy and proud to be your friend. Thank you for doing this. I'm looking forward to getting some runs in with you. Uh it's going to be I'll be like a fish out of water out there in those long trail runs. I mean, I did a lot of trail running, but not like on a on a rag long ones. I'm going to have to like get my uh legs in trail shape.
Eli Wehbe
be dope to uh do a race together.
Ken Rideout
Hell yeah. Well, I'm serious about Leadville. I'm going to talk to Bren. See if I can
Eli Wehbe
[ __ ] beat your ass up.
No, I got to I got We got to push each other, bro. That's the whole point. You're going to see me hurt and you like, "See you, sucker. Catch up to me,
Ken Rideout
You know."
All right, we'll see.
Eli Wehbe
It'll be fun.
Ken Rideout
Hell yeah. Well, listen. Where can people find you?
Eli Wehbe
Uh Instagram pretty much. I got Tik Tok and [ __ ] and and just
Ken Rideout
And you changed your name. You got a new name on Insta, right?
Eli Wehbe
No, no, it's just Eli Webb.
Ken Rideout
No. Is this It said something else. Eli like didn't you have like
Eli Wehbe
Well, my my full name is Elias Michael Weebi.
Ken Rideout
Oh, cuz I thought it was Elias Michael the last time.
Eli Wehbe
No, no. Well, that's what you see pop up, but my actual name is Eli Weebi as Instagram username.
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Oh, okay. Maybe it was always that way.
Eli Wehbe
It says Elias Michael like when you click on my page, but then like my like my is Eli Wee cuz that's what I've always used for.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. Yeah. All right. That's where I was confused because I was like this doesn't make sense. But um the other thing you guys should know if you like if you want to hear the real gritty details of Eli's story uh the book is called Mask available everywhere you buy your ratings bro
Fivestar rating
Eli Wehbe
There it is bro that's 10 out of 10 people
Ken Rideout
I did it in uh I listened to it on Audible a lot of time in the sauna lifting weights but yeah man awesome book awesome story check them out if you want to uh pick up a copy of my book it's available now for pre-order everywhere you buy books officially on till March 10th.
Please uh pick up a copy and I look forward to meeting so many of you. I'm going to do some live events in New York, LA, Nashville. I'll be a little bit of everywhere. But um thanks for doing this, brother. And thanks for being with us.
All right, guys. I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. Please take a quick minute to subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening. This is a new show, so subscribing makes a huge difference. Please also take a minute to give it a review and leave a comment on Apple Podcast and on Spotify. You can also subscribe and leave a comment on YouTube. Again, this is really important for us, especially now since we're just getting started.
Key takeaways
- A public identity built around nightlife can disappear quickly when a crisis changes how people see you.
- Wehbe started running as a reset, then kept raising the distance and difficulty of his races.
- Long races require plans for food, water and sleep, not just a strong pace.
- He says finishing hard events depends on continuing through discomfort and uncertainty.
- A large online following does not always reflect how someone behaves face to face.
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