Live Hard is about working, playing, training, thinking, eating and drinking – harder. It’s about maximising the limited time you get on this ball of rock hurtling through space before you don’t get to do anything any more. A lot of it is about training and eating, but that’s because they’re more fundamental to having a decent life than you might realise.

It’s mostly put together by me, Joel Snape. What right do I have to tell you how to live your life? None, really: but here are a few of the things I’ve done that I think make me vaguely qualified to talk about these things. Feel free to disagree.

  • I’ve trained with Shaolin monks in China’s Wushu Guan, Thai boxers in Phuket, breakdancers in Tokyo and BJJ black belts in Rio De Janeiro. I’ve also been drinking with three out of four of those groups. Guess the odd one out.
  • I’ve competed in three strongman competitions, a Swedish kayak ultramarathon, a fair bit of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and four amateur-rules MMA fights (three draws and one loss, which is admittedly not amazing). I’ve also finished a marathon, but apparently everyone’s done a marathon these days.
  • I’ve written five books. The Dylan Douglas series was published by Scholastic and described by the Telegraph as ‘having the flavour of a junior Martin Amis’ – yes, thanks – but I’m a lot more proud of Zombie Titanic, described by SFX magazine as ‘a joy to read.’ More importantly, my wife said it was ‘really funny, well done sweetie.’
  • I’m the associate editor for Men’s Fitness magazine. It’s perhaps the greatest job in existence, since I get to travel, train, and talk to everyone from Olympic gold-medallists to film stars and some of the world’s foremost experts on everything from training to performance psychology.
  • I’ve done a whole variety of other stuff, including but not limited to: bouldering, snowboarding, skiing, surfing, swing-dancing,  gymnastics and Capoeira. I got really good at some of them, though you’ll have to take my word for that.
  • I have the largest set of friends my primate brain will allow, and I don’t think that being in shape and occasionally getting drunk are in any way mutually exclusive pursuits.

2 Comments

  • Dear Joel,

    My name is Eric Johansson and I am a writer at the student magazine Synced Magazine. The magazine is run by students and writes for students. Feel free to check out our writing here: http://synced-magazine.com/
    The reason why I am contacting you is because I would like to interview you for a portrait for Synced Magazine. I would like to ask you about the story behind Live Hard, how your fitness interest started and what tips you can give to people who want to get healthier.
    Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. You can reach me on my phone, 07766042404, or [email protected]

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    Best regards,

    Eric Johansson

  • Joel, your blog has made me smile!
    I wanted to invite you to the launch of chakra inspired herbal tea positivitea at Akasha Spa, this Thursday 11 June. We have no men but all the journalists are female health and fitness and would be right up your street! were also offering some very cool complementary therapies you can try. If you dare!? Email me!

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