3/GO Magazine Profile

So this is pretty insane. And quite honestly, surreal.  Almost embarrassing, in fact.

I am very honored to be the subject of a cover profile in the upcoming issue 06 of 3/GO Magazine, hitting shelves around February 7.

If you haven’t checked out 3/GO, or its Move Press sister publications Peloton and Switchback, you should.  Not your ordinary outdoor / multisport magazines, these periodicals are quite literally art.  With unparralled graphic design, gorgeous layouts and the best photography in the business, 3/GO focuses less on race results and product reviews and more on the soul of sport, taking you deep into the heart and personalities that comprise the backbone of triathlon, cycling and mountain biking.  From issue 01 of each, I was hooked.

But never in a million years did I think I would ever appear on its pages, let alone the cover.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot for Zoot with the great John Segesta.  I was astounded by this man’s talent.  Sure, he takes a great image.  But lots of photographers are more than capable in this regard.  What John has is rare — an uncanny acumen to see the person that lingers invisible behind the masked visage.  The ability to take full possession of his subject and strikingly present for all to see what he — and he only – can see.  His talent is huge.  In fact, last year his epic portrait of cyclist Tony Martin was selected by jurors to appear in the very prestigious 2011 Communication Arts Photography Annual 52.  No small honor, it’s photography’s version of the Oscar.

Anyway, John and I became friends, and I knew I wanted to work with him again – as often as possible.  Whenever he called, I’d drop whatever I was doing, hop in my truck and drive the 3 hours south to San Diego just to be with him — for free.  The honor was always mine.

In 2009 we reconvened to shoot some images for Triathlete Magazine  and the cover of Matt Fitzgerald’s book Racing Weight.  And during that session, he captured an image of me running on a bluff above the ocean in San Diego.  The image ran as a two-page spread in Triathlete that year, has always been my Facebook avatar and now graces the cover of FINDING ULTRA.

This past summer, my buddy Stu Bone and I drove down to San Diego to meet John and shoot a bunch of images for this 3/GO piece.  Rather than pursue the obligatory and predictable set up of me holding my bike above my head, or standing on the beach in my wetsuit, instead we did the opposite, hitting the barrio in a sketchy section of San Diego — a most unlikely location for a triathlon publication.  John had fallen in love with some street art he always wanted to shoot, so he had me running barefoot down a dicey alley against the backdrop of the incredible mural you see in the above video.  It’s an amazing capture.  And only took John about 5 minutes to snag.

Thank you John for always making me look much better than I do in real life.  I owe you buddy.

At the time, my publisher was intent on using the 2009 image of me running for the cover of my book.  But Motorola had expressed interest in using that exact photograph for an advertising campaign.  Fearing a conflict, we decided it might be a good idea to recreate as best we could that same image as a backup book cover to avoid any licensing issues that might crop up.  Not for 3/GO, but for Random House.  Plus, I was now far more fit than I was in 2009, and wanted to see if we could top it and come up with a better cover for the book.  Of course, John came through in spades.

I thought we found a lock for the book cover, but Random House ultimately decided to stick with the 2009 shot.  I figured the new image would just sit in a drawer (by that I mean John’s hard drive).  Instead, it found its way to the cover of 3/GO.

The article was penned by LA Times contributor Roy Wallack, himself a writer of note with several publications to his name, including Barefoot Running: Step by Step, Run for Life, and Bike for Life.  Roy interviewed me at length and I’m really happy with the piece.  I think he captured what I’m all about, so I hope you enjoy it.  

But more than anything, I am humbled.  I really don’t deserve this kind of attention.  There are so many amazing and committed athletes out there – countless triathletes whose talent and accomplishments dwarf mine tenfold and then some.  The cover tagline reads: “Is Rich Roll the Ultimate Athlete?”  To this I respond with an unequivocal “No!”  I’m just a guy who found something he loves doing and decided to pursue it.  Nothing more, nothing less.

But let’s be honest.  I’ve never been on the cover of a magazine before.  I’m quite human, so I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it’s sorta awesome.

As for the 3/GO issue 06 promo video, I think it’s pretty cool in a synchronistic kind of way that the song used is “You’re a Wolf” by Sea Wolf  (Alex Brown Church) – an artist on my friend, fellow cyclist & Pablove Foundation founder  Jeff Castelaz’s label Dangerbird Records.  Killer tune that always gets heavy rotation on my training playlist.

The issue drops on newsstands everywhere February 7.  Get a copy.  Check it out.  And let me know what you think.