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Published by Riley Allsop
Looking Inwards is a podcast about self-awareness, discipline, and personal growth. It focuses on taking ownership of your habits, mindset, and actions to become better in all areas of life. Each episode challenges you to think deeper, act with intent, and close the gap between who you are and who you want to be.
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Complaining is easy. It gives us something external to blame when things don’t go the way we want them to. But what if a lot of the things we complain about are actually just things we haven’t learned to tolerate yet? In this episode, I break down why we complain, what sits underneath it, and how comfort can slowly make us less capable of dealing with discomfort. From fatigue, cold mornings and difficult training sessions to uncertainty, failure and being new at something, the goal isn’t to make life easier — it’s to become better at handling what life gives you. I talk through lessons I’ve taken from powerlifting, coaching, journaling, and conversations with people who have helped me look more honestly at pain, discipline and self-awareness. If you can endure it, endure it. Stop looking for every reason why something shouldn’t be happening to you, and start asking what the situation is trying to teach you.
The first time you do anything probably isn't going to be great. Your first lift. Your first run. Your first coaching session. Your first podcast. Your first difficult conversation. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be good at things we've barely had any experience doing. But you can't skip the awkward stage. You can't think your way into competence. At some point, you have to be willing to be a beginner. In this episode, I talk through my own experiences with powerlifting, landscaping, coaching, online coaching, running and starting the podcast — and how each one taught me that getting good at something is largely about accumulated exposure, mistakes and simply doing the work. There's also another side to being a beginner: sometimes you get lucky. You might be naturally good at something, or have a great first result. But one good result doesn't mean you've mastered it. Whether you're terrible at something or surprisingly good at it, the important thing is to keep learning. Because your first attempt isn't a representation of your potential. It's just a representation of where you're starting. Your first time isn't supposed to be your best time. It's supposed to be the first one.
Inner Dialogue — Episode 1 For the first episode of Inner Dialogue , I sit down with George, Chris and Nathan for a long-form conversation about powerlifting, training, gyms, coaching, community and the things that sit underneath all of it. All four of us have spent years around strength training in different ways, and this conversation is less about giving answers and more about exploring why we do what we do in the first place. We talk about what originally brought each of us into powerlifting, why we stayed, the lifters and old-school culture that influenced us, and whether the sport has changed for better or worse. We get into intensity, discipline, ego and the difference between simply training hard and actually becoming great at something. We also talk about the role that gyms and training partners play in our lives — what makes a gym feel like home, what it means to genuinely belong to a community, and how much the people around you can influence what you're capable of. From there, the conversation moves beyond training. We talk about coaching, owning gyms, turning something you're passionate about into a career, the sacrifices that people don't see, failure, identity and what happens when being strong becomes such a big part of who you are. And underneath all of it is a bigger question: why do we voluntarily choose difficult things? Why do we care so much about a number on a bar? Why do we keep pushing when it would be easier to stop? What are we actually chasing when the numbers, competitions and goals eventually change? This is the first episode of Inner Dialogue — a series built around honest conversations with people who have spent years pursuing something, questioning it, and figuring out what it means to them along the way.
If you are lucky, you will die in a bed. So why are you spending so much of your life getting comfortable? We have become incredibly good at making life easy. Scroll. Watch. Consume. Order. Repeat. And there’s nothing wrong with comfort — until comfort becomes the default. Because one day, if everything goes well, you’ll be old, your body will slow down, and you’ll spend your final moments lying in that bed. So the question is: What are you going to do before you get there? Travel somewhere you’ve never been. Take the risk. Have the difficult conversation. Build something. Compete. Fail. Learn. Put the phone down. Sit with your friends. Actually be there. You’re only here for a short visit.
What does it actually take to become an elite athlete? In Episode 57 of Looking Inwards, I sit down with Jack Verman to unpack his journey through CrossFit — from placing 13,233rd worldwide in his first Open in 2021, to 127th worldwide in 2026 , and earning an invite to the Torian Pro. But this isn't just a conversation about rankings. We talk about the years of work, setbacks, injuries, bodybuilding, identity, and the relentless pursuit of becoming better. Jack opens up about what it took to make that massive jump, what he learned from stepping away from CrossFit, and how a serious back injury forced him to redefine what progress actually looked like. We also dive into the less glamorous side of high-level performance — the garage sessions, mistakes, absurd training volume, doubt, frustration, and the reality of what it takes to close the gap between being a good athlete and becoming a winning one. From 13,233rd to 127th . Five years of training, setbacks, detours and relentless pursuit. This is the story of what happens when you commit yourself to a physical endeavour and refuse to stop progressing. What does it actually take to become the athlete you want to be?
What if the thing stopping you from becoming the person you want to be isn’t a lack of motivation — but the fact that you haven’t fully understood what it will cost you if you never become them? We spend so much time thinking about what we want to achieve. What if we spent more time thinking about what we’re willing to miss? The life you imagine. The experiences you want. The people you want to impact. The things you want to provide for yourself and the people around you. Are you actually okay with never having them? Because if the answer is no, then the cost of inaction becomes pretty clear. In this episode, I explore the Law of Inaction, the Culture of Distraction, doubt, and why conviction isn't something you find before you act — it's something you build through action. You don't need to feel ready. You need to identify the next action, take it, learn from it, and repeat. Intention creates the direction. Action creates the evidence. And eventually, that evidence becomes conviction.
What happens when you stop looking for answers in everyone and everything around you, and start looking at yourself? Across conversations with George, Rachel, Darrel, Nathan, Luca and Chris , this episode brings together some of the best moments and biggest ideas from The Imperium Story — all centred around one theme: looking inwards. We talk about identity, ego, failure, relationships, training, faith, ambition, insecurity and the experiences that shape who we become. Different people. Different backgrounds. Different perspectives. But underneath all of them is the same idea: You can spend your entire life trying to change your circumstances, other people or how you're perceived — without ever asking whether the real thing that needs to change is you. This is a collection of the conversations that challenged me most, made me think differently, and forced me to look at my own decisions, beliefs and behaviours. Not a motivational episode. Not a set of answers. Just a collection of people being honest about what they've learned from looking at themselves.
This week I sit down with George Belivanis to talk about powerlifting, mental health, faith, and the experiences that have shaped who he is today. We get into the old-school era of powerlifting, the lifters who influenced us, Louis Simmons, Chuck Vogelpohl, the Lilliebridges, Dan Green, Konstantīns Konstantinovs, Andrey Malanichev and more. We talk about what made that generation different, the importance of intensity, training with purpose, surrounding yourself with the right people, and what the culture created by Chris Mott and Unchained Strength has meant to us. From there, the conversation gets more personal. George opens up about mental health, perfectionism, self-judgement, dealing with failure, finding intensity when you need it, and how powerlifting has helped him through some of the harder periods of his life. We finish by talking about faith — his journey back to Christianity, feeling too far gone, forgiveness, and looking back at the moments where he believes God was carrying him without him even knowing it. A pretty raw conversation about strength, struggle, purpose and faith.
We all have something we lean on when life gets uncomfortable. A phone. Work. Routine. Other people. Comfort. Procrastination. Excuses. Sometimes we don't even realise we're doing it. In Episode 40 of The Imperium Story, I break down the metaphorical "crutches" I personally lean on — anticipation, screen time, needing to be in the right state to work, and rationalising my way out of things. We explore why we naturally gravitate towards these crutches when faced with discomfort, friction, responsibility and accountability, and how something that gives us short-term relief can quietly prevent long-term growth. Because a crutch isn't always inherently bad. Support can make you stronger. The question is whether what you're leaning on is helping you build your own capacity — or allowing you to remain dependent on it. So ask yourself: What are you using as your crutch? And more importantly: Is it helping you stand stronger, or stopping you from learning how to stand on your own?
What does it really mean to put yourself first without becoming selfish? In this episode, Karel Lloyd explores self-respect, responsibility, suffering, emotional awareness, and the difficult process of learning to see yourself clearly. Using powerful ideas from Jordan Peterson and The School of Life, this conversation dives into the relationship between pain and growth, why so many people neglect themselves while caring deeply for others, and how comparison quietly pulls us away from our own path. Karel reflects on purpose, control, discipline, gratitude, and the kind of inner strength it takes to face life honestly. This episode is about becoming more aware of your patterns, understanding your emotions, and learning how to carry yourself through hardship with clarity and intention. Topics include: putting yourself first in a healthy way self-respect vs selfishness pain, suffering, and personal growth emotional awareness and control comparison, gratitude, and ambition purpose, discipline, and responsibility If you've been trying to understand yourself better, let go of what you can't control, and grow through what life has handed you, this episode will stay with you.
#38 — Someone Else Will Do It Anyway What happens when the position you want is taken by someone else? This episode explores the two sides of the phrase “someone else will do it anyway.” On one side, it can become an excuse for doing something wrong. On the other, it can become a brutal reminder that the world doesn't wait for you. The job you want will be filled. The business you want to build will be built. The financial position you want will be reached. The person you want to become will be someone else's reality if you're unwilling to do what it takes to get there. We dive into competitiveness, relentlessness, industriousness, perseverance, initiative, determination, effort and focus , and why small actions compound into the evidence and confidence required to become the person you say you want to be. We also explore the difference between wanting to win and refusing to lose , using the infamous Chuck Vogelpohl vs Dave Tate story as an example of what it means to hate losing so much that you simply refuse to stop. Because ultimately, this episode isn't really about someone else. It's about you. If you don't take your spot, someone else will.
What is inside of you that you haven't shared yet? Everyone has thoughts, feelings, ideas, experiences, and emotions that sit beneath the surface. Sometimes they come out through conversation. Sometimes through journaling, art, training, writing, or creating something that allows us to finally get it out of our heads. But why do we suppress these things? Why are we so afraid of being judged, misunderstood, or criticised? Inspired by The Creative Act by Rick Rubin and ideas I've taken from people like Robert Greene, this episode explores what it actually means to look inward, understand what you want to share, and have the courage to put it into the world. We talk about creativity, introspection, discipline, vices, self-awareness, action, and the importance of staying true to who you are while creating the things that matter to you. Your work doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't even have to be for anyone else. Maybe the purpose is simply to create it for yourself. Because what you put into the world can become source material for someone else. Something that inspires them to think differently, create something of their own, or start looking inward. So the question is simple: Do you want to share what is inside of you?
Why is everyone so tired all the time? In this episode, Stellar Hawke breaks down the three biggest areas affecting modern energy levels: nutrition, movement, and sleep. From a nutrition perspective, the conversation explores how ultra-processed foods, poor gut health, unstable blood sugar, and weak metabolic health are leaving people overfed, undernourished, and constantly running low on energy. Stellar explains why food quality matters, how inflammation and digestion affect how we feel, and why wholefoods create a stronger foundation than quick-fix supplements. The episode then shifts into movement and the female body, looking at how sedentary lifestyles are affecting hormones, fertility, inflammation, and long-term health. Stellar unpacks the role of strength training, how women can better train through each phase of their cycle, and why movement is about far more than aesthetics - especially for hormonal and reproductive health. In the final part of the conversation, the focus turns to sleep - why so many people struggle to stay asleep, miss out on deep sleep, and rely on hacks instead of habits. Stellar shares simple ways to improve sleep hygiene, the effects of blue light, hydration timing, and ultra-processed food on recovery, and how social media fear-mongering has made basic health feel more confusing than it needs to be. Topics include: nutrition and energy levels gut health, blood sugar, and metabolic health ultra-processed foods and chronic fatigue movement and the female body strength training, cycle awareness, and fertility hormones, PCOS, and endometriosis sleep quality, deep sleep, and recovery blue light, routines, and health misinformation
A reflective piece on why we seek external validation, how embarrassment and insecurity shape our need for approval, and what it takes to build self-worth from within. Through self-awareness, purpose, and emotional ownership, this explores how to stop living for other people’s opinions and start living in alignment with your own values.
Pain exists to teach. In this episode, I explore one simple idea: things that hurt, instruct. Through the stories of Louie Simmons and Henry Ford, this episode looks at how physical pain teaches adaptation, how mental pain teaches resilience, and how failure often becomes the price of growth. Louie Simmons showed what it means to refuse victimhood - to focus on what you can do when life takes something away. Henry Ford showed that repeated failure is not the opposite of success, but often the path to becoming capable of it. If you’re dealing with setbacks in training, business, relationships, or life, this episode is a reminder that pain is not always a signal to stop. Sometimes it’s a signal to adjust, learn, and keep moving. Physical pain teaches adaptation. Mental pain teaches resilience. Things that hurt, instruct.
Why do men and women feel further apart than ever before? From the manosphere to the femosphere, dating apps, social media algorithms, emotional suppression, masculinity, femininity, trust, relationships, and modern dating culture — this conversation dives into the growing divide between young men and women. We speak about: • Why masculinity is constantly labelled • How online algorithms radicalise both men and women • Dating apps and the illusion of replaceability • Emotional suppression in both sexes • Why relationships are becoming transactional • Fear of vulnerability and loss of trust • Mental health, communication, and emotional intelligence • What healthy connection actually looks like Not a men vs women conversation. A conversation about why we’re losing connection — and how we bring it back.
For six years, my journal has been the one place where I could be completely honest with myself. In the first episode of The Self Awareness Series , I revisit the lessons hidden inside hundreds of journal entries—from battling a victim mindset and learning resilience, to finding purpose over pleasure, developing healthier self-talk, trusting my younger self, and understanding that life only gives us one chance. This isn’t an episode about having all the answers. It’s about looking inward, making peace with your past, and using reflection to build a better future. If you’ve ever felt lost, stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of who you’re becoming, I hope these lessons remind you that you’ve survived difficult seasons before—and you’ll survive them again. In this episode: Why you’ve already proven you’re capable of overcoming hard times The difference between pleasure and purpose How your self-talk shapes your identity The power of journaling and self-awareness Learning to appreciate the people around you before it’s too late Why your younger self believed in you, even when you didn’t If this episode resonates with you, I’d love for you to share it with someone who needs to hear it.
Why do we approach the things we’re good at with confidence, but meet every new challenge with doubt? In this episode, I explore the idea that most of us already know how to deal with adversity—we’ve just forgotten how many times we’ve overcome it before. Using my experience under a 285kg squat, I unpack why confronting a heavier weight isn’t about learning a new movement, but trusting the skills you’ve already built. The same principle applies to life. Whether it’s a difficult conversation, a career change, a breakup, anxiety, or uncertainty, the challenge in front of you often isn’t proof that you’re incapable. It’s simply asking more of you than you’ve experienced before. We dive into why it’s important to stop belittling your own struggles, how acceptance can remove unnecessary suffering, why action is the antidote to anxiety, and how friction and confrontation become the very things that shape resilience. This episode is a reminder that growth rarely feels comfortable, but discomfort doesn’t always mean you’re on the wrong path. Sometimes, the only difference between the life you’re living and the one you’re capable of creating is your willingness to confront what’s standing in front of you. The challenge isn’t there to stop you. It might just be there to introduce you to the person you’re becoming.
Luke Benicky is the owner of Benicky & Sons and co-founder of Wilder Health — two businesses built around purpose, identity, family, and long-term thinking. In this episode, we unpack what it actually takes to build something meaningful from the ground up. From the philosophy behind Benicky & Sons and the idea of “Wabi Sabi,” to creating spaces where men feel comfortable opening up, Luke breaks down the responsibility, pressure, and creative freedom that comes with ownership. We also dive into Wilder Health — where the idea came from, the gap Luke saw in the health industry, and what “the relentless pursuit of wilder health” actually means beyond supplements and marketing. Beyond business, this conversation explores fatherhood, balancing family with ambition, the sacrifices behind success, and the reality of staying consistent when things feel like they’re not working. This episode is about business, belief, masculinity, family, purpose, and the long road behind building something real. @lukebenicky @benickyandsons @wilder_health @_rileyallsop
Have you ever felt broken by life, by disappointment, rejection, insecurity, or circumstances you couldn’t control? In this episode, we explore kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, and what it can teach us about accepting the cracks in ourselves instead of hiding them. We talk about insecurity, self-esteem, anxiety, trauma, rebuilding, and the importance of finding safety, comfort, and mastery in your own life. Through personal reflection, Stoic philosophy, and the metaphor of kintsugi, this episode is about learning to stop chasing perfection and start accepting the parts of yourself that have been shaped by hardship. Because the goal isn’t to come out of life untouched. The goal is to rebuild honestly. And maybe the gold is found in the repair.
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Observed September 19, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
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