Episode 675 – Claire Dowdall

Claire is a Director of Brand & Powerlifter

Claire Dowdall, Director of Brand at Exactly What to Say, shares her unexpected journey into the world of powerlifting, a passion she only discovered a year ago. She explains how she overcame setbacks, including failing her initial competition, to eventually win first place in her category at the British Showdown Championships. Claire reflects on the valuable lessons powerlifting has taught her about mindset, resilience, and progressive growth, and how these principles translate directly into her professional life. She emphasizes the importance of having pursuits outside of work and how these interests can positively impact creativity, problem-solving, and workplace wellbeing. Claire encourages leaders to actively learn about their team's outside-of-work passions, noting the positive ripple effects that can result. Her story exemplifies the power of a personal "And" and how sharing it can inspire others to find and embrace their own unique interests.

Episode Highlights

· The discipline, mindset, and lessons learned from powerlifting—like progressive overload, embracing failure to find your limits, and gradually improving—translate directly to achieving success and resilience in the workplace.
· Claire believes having an interest outside of work makes life richer and more balanced. Personal pursuits create a positive ripple effect in both professional and personal spheres.
· She emphasizes that sharing your interests with colleagues can inspire others and bring fresh energy and creativity to the workplace. She also urges employers to actively ask about and embrace employees’ outside interests.
· Claire highlights the crucial role that mindset plays in both sports and professional life. Building confidence, developing an “alter ego” for challenging situations, and being present in the moment elevate performance and wellbeing.

Claire's Links

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Podcast Transcript

Claire Dowdall [00:00:05]:
Hi. This is Claire Dowdall. And when I’m not powerlifting, I’m listening to John Garrett on What’s Your End.

John Garrett [00:00:16]:
Welcome to episode six seventy five of What’s Your And. This is John Garrett. And each Wednesday, I interview a professional who, just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it another way, it’s encouraging people to find their and. Those things above and beyond your technical skills, the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work, is the answer to the question of who else are you beyond the job title. If If you like what the show’s about, be sure to check out the award winning book. It’s on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are at what’syourand.com.

John Garrett [00:00:49]:
The book goes more in-depth with the research behind why these outside of work passions are so crucial to your corporate culture. And I can’t say how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such great reviews on Amazon. Thank you so much for those. And more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it. If you want me to read it to you, that’s right. This voice reading the book, look for What’s Your Hand on Audible or wherever you get your audio books. And please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. You don’t miss any of the future episodes.

John Garrett [00:01:14]:
I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week. And this week is no different with my guest, Claire Dowdall. She’s the director of brand at Exactly What To Say out of Telford, England. And now she’s with me here today. Claire, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your End.

Claire Dowdall [00:01:30]:
Thank you so much for having me, John. I’m excited about our conversation.

John Garrett [00:01:34]:
I am too because I do not know a lot about power lifting, and so I’m gonna be learning and asking all the questions. It’s gonna be so fun. And just to hear your journey is gonna be awesome.

Claire Dowdall [00:01:44]:
I’m excited to share. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:01:45]:
Yeah. Yeah. And I have 17 rapid fire questions, though. Get to know Claire right out of the gate here. This might be an easy one. Favorite color?

Claire Dowdall [00:01:53]:
Purple.

John Garrett [00:01:54]:
Purple. Solid. Okay. How about a least favorite color?

Claire Dowdall [00:01:57]:
Brown.

John Garrett [00:01:58]:
Yeah. Everybody says that. It’s amazing

Claire Dowdall [00:02:01]:
how dull. Right?

John Garrett [00:02:02]:
Right? It makes purple look amazing. But, yeah, it’s it’s how about, your favorite concert? I love going to concerts.

Claire Dowdall [00:02:10]:
My favorite band is The Offspring, and I saw them a couple of years ago, and they were amazing.

John Garrett [00:02:14]:
Yeah. There you go. Okay. Nice. How about a favorite actor or an actress?

Claire Dowdall [00:02:19]:
It’s gonna be Jason Momoa. And people can’t see this, but I actually have him on my desk.

John Garrett [00:02:26]:
Oh, there you go. Yes. You do. An action figure.

Claire Dowdall [00:02:29]:
Nice. Okay. Nice Aquaman action figure there for everybody.

John Garrett [00:02:32]:
Yeah. That’s not just a picture. That’s, like, all legit. Okay. I like it. How about a toilet paper roll? You go over or under?

Claire Dowdall [00:02:39]:
Oh, it’s gotta be over. This that’s the only right way.

John Garrett [00:02:42]:
Right. Are you switching around if somebody’s got it wrong?

Claire Dowdall [00:02:45]:
100%. Even if I’m in a public bathroom as well.

John Garrett [00:02:48]:
Oh my goodness. Okay. That’s that’s awesome. I love it. I love it. How about puzzles? Do you go Sudoku, crossword, jigsaw puzzle, Wordle?

Claire Dowdall [00:02:57]:
I play Wordle every morning, and I share my score with my dad and my brother in a family group chat.

John Garrett [00:03:02]:
Oh, okay. So that’s there’s some competition going on there too.

Claire Dowdall [00:03:05]:
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

John Garrett [00:03:06]:
How about books? You go audio version, ebook, real book?

Claire Dowdall [00:03:10]:
I like a real book, but I find it really hard to focus, so I end up with ebooks mostly.

John Garrett [00:03:18]:
Oh, okay. Interesting.

Claire Dowdall [00:03:19]:
Yeah. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:03:21]:
Well, there you can also carry more around, I guess, that

Claire Dowdall [00:03:23]:
way. True. And I like buying books. I have a lot of books, but I’m not very good at reading them.

John Garrett [00:03:31]:
That’s awesome. I love it. That’s so great. Here you go. Arm day or leg day?

Claire Dowdall [00:03:36]:
Leg day.

John Garrett [00:03:37]:
Okay.

Claire Dowdall [00:03:38]:
Yeah. Every day.

John Garrett [00:03:40]:
Every day is leg day. Right? How about a favorite number?

Claire Dowdall [00:03:43]:
Seven or multiples of seven.

John Garrett [00:03:46]:
Yeah. Is there a reason?

Claire Dowdall [00:03:47]:
It’s just a lucky number, and it it’s also to do with my birthday and my both my daughter’s birth dates are multiples of seven.

John Garrett [00:03:56]:
Okay. Nice. No. That’s that’s fantastic. How about a favorite adult beverage?

Claire Dowdall [00:04:02]:
Oh, see, I don’t drink very often, but I do love a spiced rum.

John Garrett [00:04:07]:
Oh, nice. Okay. Yeah. There you go. How about a ice cream? Do you go in a cup or in a cone?

Claire Dowdall [00:04:14]:
Do you know, I’m one of those weird people that doesn’t really like ice cream.

John Garrett [00:04:18]:
Oh my goodness. Show is off. We are done with no. I’m just kidding. My kids no. Fair enough. Fair enough.

Claire Dowdall [00:04:24]:
I do quite like the nostalgic value of an ice cream from an ice cream truck with a chocolate flake in and maybe some raspberry sauce on the top.

John Garrett [00:04:33]:
Yeah. Okay. No. That’s fair. I’ll I’ll take it. How about a favorite animated character? Cartoon character, Disney character, whatever.

Claire Dowdall [00:04:41]:
Oh, that’s so hard. There’s so many, and I have teenage children, but I’ve watched every cartoon and cartoon, like, Disney film ever, so it’s really hard to choose. I’m gonna say Olaf from Frozen.

John Garrett [00:04:56]:
Oh, fun character. Absolutely. Yeah. He’s great. Very fun. How about, a favorite animal? Any animal at all.

Claire Dowdall [00:05:04]:
It’s gotta be a dog. Their love is unconditional. Every dog is kind. They’re just the best.

John Garrett [00:05:11]:
Yeah. So you seem like a healthy eater with the no ice cream. Do you have a least favorite vegetable?

Claire Dowdall [00:05:16]:
Celery. Like, why? Why does it exist? And why does it always make things worse?

John Garrett [00:05:24]:
I think it exists to act like a spoon to put peanut butter and, you know, hummus and

Claire Dowdall [00:05:29]:
everything else in your face. That’s it. And then put it straight back.

John Garrett [00:05:33]:
There you go. Yeah. And then and then put it back into the thing. Right? How about your computer? PC or Mac?

Claire Dowdall [00:05:39]:
Mac. Everything is Apple related in my world. This makes life easier.

John Garrett [00:05:45]:
Three more. Star Wars or Star Trek?

Claire Dowdall [00:05:48]:
Oh, I’m gonna say Star Wars.

John Garrett [00:05:51]:
Yeah. Me too. I mean, I’m the same. I haven’t I did a little bit of Star Trek, but not I didn’t get into it.

Claire Dowdall [00:05:55]:
I watched the TV series when I was growing up. Like, they had reruns of the one with Captain Kirk and, like, I remember all that. And Next Generation, Jean Luc Picard. That’s great. But I just don’t think there’s a comparison. I think Star Wars is just epic.

John Garrett [00:06:10]:
Yeah. No. It is. How about diamonds or pearls?

Claire Dowdall [00:06:14]:
Diamonds. I love my sparkles.

John Garrett [00:06:16]:
Right.

Claire Dowdall [00:06:17]:
Listeners can’t see, but everything I have sparkles. I love jewelry, and it’s sparkly.

John Garrett [00:06:23]:
That’s fantastic. And the last one, the favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you own?

Claire Dowdall [00:06:28]:
Probably my medal. I can show you. But for anybody listening, it’s the biggest medal on the planet.

John Garrett [00:06:35]:
That’s a Flavor Flav It’s like dark clock kind

Claire Dowdall [00:06:37]:
of size. Hand sized medal, and it’s just very cool. And I will just look at it every day forever.

John Garrett [00:06:44]:
That is very cool. And what’s the medal for?

Claire Dowdall [00:06:47]:
So this is for the British showdown championships in November, and this is my first place medal for my category.

John Garrett [00:06:55]:
That’s incredible. And was it this past November?

Claire Dowdall [00:06:58]:
Yep.

John Garrett [00:06:59]:
Yeah. Congratulations. That’s so fantastic.

Claire Dowdall [00:07:01]:
Thank you.

John Garrett [00:07:02]:
Yeah. I would look at that. I would wear it all

Claire Dowdall [00:07:04]:
the time.

John Garrett [00:07:05]:
I would

Claire Dowdall [00:07:05]:
just be like

John Garrett [00:07:07]:
right. Yeah. But, like, go to the grocery store, go to hide, like, everywhere. Just like

Claire Dowdall [00:07:11]:
It would make a great weapon. It could deflect bullets, like, all sorts.

John Garrett [00:07:14]:
You really could. You really could. I love it. Well and that that translates perfectly into powerlifting and and all that. So how did you get started with this?

Claire Dowdall [00:07:24]:
So I didn’t even know what powerlifting was until January of last year. So only just over a year ago. I’ve enjoyed going to the gym and lifting weights since about 2017, but I didn’t know what powerlifting was. I didn’t know how good I could get. And then I was watching a podcast interview January of last year, with a powerlifter called Jody Cook. And she also has an AI company. So I was like, oh, I quite like her. I could probably relate to her.

Claire Dowdall [00:07:55]:
And she talked about powerlifting and what it was. And I was like, I think I could do that. And powerlifting is squat, bench, and deadlift. So squat is a back squat with a bar across your back, and then you squat down. Deadlift, you’re picking up the bar, and then bench, you’re lying down and pushing the bar off your chest. And I tried bench once, and it hurt my elbows. I didn’t like it. I didn’t feel very strong.

Claire Dowdall [00:08:21]:
So I just went, that’s not for me. Let’s not have that in my program. I’ll just do the other two. And I did a tiny bit of deadlift, but not much. And I just enjoyed squatting. And that was just what I did in my gym sessions to to, like, get in shape and feel strong. But I thought, well, I’m actually getting pretty good at two of them. Maybe I could try again on bench and see if I can learn to enjoy it because I could probably do this power lifting thing.

Claire Dowdall [00:08:48]:
So I’ll give it a go and see. Turns out, I wasn’t too bad. And then I did some research on what the total qualifying weights were to be able to compete and to qualify in competition. And it turned out I wasn’t actually that far away and that I was maybe with a few months training ready to compete. So I thought, well, give it a go. And I’d always wanted to find my sport. And my sport when I was younger was athletics, but I feel like let’s say at my age. I’m 43, so I’m not, like, ancient.

Claire Dowdall [00:09:24]:
But you worry as you get into your forties about hurting yourself. And I know that athletes in their forties are very prone to injury. I thought, well, rather than sprinting and triple jump and stuff like that like I did when I was younger, what else could I do? Well, I could do a sport where I stand still, and I pick something up, and I put it down again. Right? Surely, that’s a better idea. Right? Right?

John Garrett [00:09:48]:
I love it.

Claire Dowdall [00:09:49]:
And I thought, well, I like this Jodie, and I can relate to her. She’s got a marketing background, and she’s a powerlifter. And so I just I did some research, and I just thought, I can do this. And I set myself a goal of competing, and that was my only goal last year was to be good enough to compete.

John Garrett [00:10:08]:
And then you end up with a medal and a first place medal at that. I guess.

Claire Dowdall [00:10:12]:
Now I’m just gonna be really open about this first place medal and say that I was the only person in my category. But to be able to go and compete in a national competition in my first ever year of powerlifting was like that was the most incredible thing to just be able to qualify and be on the same platform as some elite lifters was just, like, crazy. So to come home with a medal that says first place on it, hey, I earned it.

John Garrett [00:10:38]:
Yeah. Absolutely. There’s other people out there that tried. They just didn’t qualify. They didn’t get there. So, you know, it could it’s not like you’re the only person in all of, you know, The UK that was doing

Claire Dowdall [00:10:48]:
it. Exactly.

John Garrett [00:10:49]:
And even if you were, that’s awesome. There’s plenty of people walking around that have books that say they’re best selling authors that, you know, at 2AM on a on a Monday, you know, in some rando category where you sold three, but you earned it. Absolutely. And and I love that, though. And was there ever a part where you were like, oh, I don’t know, like, if if I should do this, or what if I fail, or what if, you know, it’s it’s a flop or whatever? Or it was just more of, like, let’s give it a go.

Claire Dowdall [00:11:16]:
I think when I knew that I wasn’t too far away, I had some belief that with some work and a good coach, I would be able to, you know, do fairly well. And I actually didn’t qualify in my first competition, so I competed in a qualifier, and I absolutely bombed it on my squats. I didn’t get any of my squat attempts with a white light. I got three red lights, which was an experience that I didn’t enjoy. But it was the biggest learning experience and taught me way more than I would have done if I’d just gone straight in and done brilliantly the first time. So that was a wake up call, and it I had a wobble at that point and thought, can I do this? You know, do I go again, or do I just say that’s it for this year or try again next year and go away and train harder? But I was like, I’m not giving up on this. Like, this was the goal. I had to qualify, and I really wanted to lift on a national stage.

Claire Dowdall [00:12:11]:
So

John Garrett [00:12:12]:
Yeah.

Claire Dowdall [00:12:12]:
It was just to keep going. And it’s taught me so much about myself. And, yeah, the whole process of it has been massive.

John Garrett [00:12:21]:
Yeah. I mean, in I mean, a year. I mean, or less, really. And so is any of that translated to work? I mean, I have to believe that mindset of, you know, having that quote, unquote fail and then bounce back and, you know, and then go even further type of thing. But are there ways that this has played out?

Claire Dowdall [00:12:38]:
Honestly, the lessons and the the sort of correlation between how you succeed in a sport like powerlifting that you can apply in work are just there are so many. I have actually seen so many things as I as I’ve gone along. One of them is, like, just even in your training, there’s a a method of training called progressive overload, which is where you add either a little bit of weight or a couple more reps each time that you train so that you’re progressively overloading your muscles and they grow as a result. And it’s the same with, like, creating habits in your work where, you know, can I handle a bit more work? Can I make a couple more calls, send a couple more emails, ask a couple more people? It’s the same sort of principle of you don’t necessarily have to jump straight in with, like, massive action because that can become overwhelming and you can fall flat with that. But if you’re gradually adding onto habits and onto activity, that’s massively helpful. So I’ve I’ve definitely used that. Certainly, also in the the lessons from where things haven’t gone well, where I’ve failed a squat, you know, dropped the bar and fallen over and hurt myself, pulled muscles, all those sorts of things. Every time that you have that experience, you learn something new and you learn more about your own limit.

Claire Dowdall [00:14:01]:
So you have to have those failures to learn where your limits are and to improve even faster. And again, that’s the same in in work life is, you know, being prepared to to take imperfect action and to just push the boundaries a little bit because that’s when you learn the most and that’s how you get much better at some things. So I’m becoming less of a perfectionist in my work, which is very hard for me because that is my my sort of default is that everything has to be perfect or I’m I’m sort of anxious. I’m an anxious perfectionist.

John Garrett [00:14:40]:
Yeah. I mean, I can relate to that as well.

Claire Dowdall [00:14:41]:
Yeah. I’m not sure a lot of people can. Yeah. The overthinking, you know, does not help. And the overthinking doesn’t help in powerlifting either because much of it is a mindset thing. You can have your body completely ready, but if your mind tells you you can’t do it, then you won’t do it. And it’s you can have all the skills in the world in your job. And if your mind says, I can’t deliver on this.

Claire Dowdall [00:15:03]:
I can’t make it work, then you won’t. And you have to have that mind and body connection to be able to say, you know, I have to say to myself, particularly on bench, which isn’t my weakest or the lift that I have the least experience in, I have to tell myself before I lift that I am powerful. I can’t just go, let’s see what happens. I have to psych myself up for that. And that’s what connects to my muscles. I have to be thinking I’m engaging this muscle. I’m driving through my legs. I’m pretending that I’m pushing away from the bar rather than pushing the bar up from me.

Claire Dowdall [00:15:39]:
I have to remember all of these things, but I have to tell myself I can do it at the same time. The mindset piece is is huge.

John Garrett [00:15:47]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s so great too because, I mean, we’re all afraid to fail at work because we think, oh, we’re gonna look stupid. We’re gonna get fired. People are gonna laugh at me as I’m tripped out of the door, you know, like shoved out and everyone, you know, mocks me and I never get hired again and whatever. But then I think that prevents us from really finding our limit because I don’t wanna go close to the edge because if I fall off, then it’s all over. And that’s how we think anyway. And so that’s awesome to hear, like in power lifting, you’re always pushing to find that edge and you find out that the edge isn’t even close to where you thought it was.

John Garrett [00:16:24]:
And you have so much more room to go, which is awesome because then you really find where the edge actually is, but then you push it, and that doesn’t become the edge anymore. Now the edge is somewhere, you know, higher. And so I love that parallel to work because so many of us, I think, can relate to that.

Claire Dowdall [00:16:42]:
There’s a book called The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman. In powerlifting, you know, it helps if you can step into an alter ego to enable you to just feel like your powerful self in that moment and to be you know, you’re looking at the bar and you’re like, you know, I have a particular phrase to say, which I won’t say, but it works for me. And I’m saying something to the bar, and it’s like, this is who you are, and this is who I am, and this is what’s gonna happen here. I don’t have that same persona in work, but I do you know, to have a persona that enables you to show up with confidence in certain situations, to push forward on ideas, to present an idea with confidence, to be influential. Especially, you know, in my role, it’s you know, I’m driving a movement. We’re coming up with ideas. We’re creating campaigns, and I’m having to sort of bring people along with me, I have to step into a slightly different persona in that, which, again, is different in my home life when I’m, you know, dealing with challenges with having teenage daughters. You know? You’ve got all these different personas.

Claire Dowdall [00:17:43]:
And I definitely find that helps that you you create a persona that suits whatever you’re doing in that moment. And and if I had a soft persona when I’m powerlifting, it’s just not gonna work.

John Garrett [00:17:55]:
Right. And but it’s important to remember that all of those personas are Claire. You know, they’re all you. You know? And and because I I feel like sometimes people think, oh, well, you know, that’s just there. No. No. That’s still you. The powerlifter you that, yells at a bar like it’s a piece of celery, that’s still you type of thing.

John Garrett [00:18:13]:
Because I feel like we try to compartmentalize so much, and not just ourselves, but also everything around us, and put it into buckets, and put it into clean, neat boxes. And, you know, we, as individuals, spill over all the boxes. You know, we’re just a sloppy mess, but a beautiful mess. And and you’re all of those things, and that’s fantastic.

Claire Dowdall [00:18:34]:
Well, thank you. And and that’s an interesting point that you make there, actually. And that’s one that when I mentioned before the powerlifter Jo Jodie Cook, she talked about that in in your life, you have three main areas, three main buckets, and you’ve got your profession, your obsession, and your decompression. And that’s basically those three personas that I’ve just mentioned. And my decompression is me at home as, you know, relaxing, doing family stuff, house stuff, whatever. Then I’ve got my profession, which is me as director of brand, and then there’s my obsession, which is powerlifting. And one thing that she said about that is, like, while you’re powerlifting, don’t be thinking about work. When you’re at work, you’re not a powerlifter, but you can, you know, you can draw upon it if you need to.

Claire Dowdall [00:19:18]:
If you need to, you know, feel strong and powerful in that moment, great. But it doesn’t spill over. So when you’re at the gym, you are present at the gym, and you’re not answering calls, and you’re not sending emails, and you’re not letting other areas of your life spill into it. And similarly, in your personal life, there’s a little bit of power lifting goes on, but I’m not making it part of everything, and I’m not being distracted by it. And I’m not letting work distract me from it either. So the time is very intentional. And if they do spill over, it’s for a good reason. It’s for a positive reason.

John Garrett [00:19:52]:
And just curious, is there one of those three where it’s easier to be locked in, focused, not get distracted by the other two?

Claire Dowdall [00:20:00]:
I think it’s easy not to be distracted by powerlifting when I’m working because they don’t really clash in any way. So what I do you know, obviously, I’m I’m scheduling my my training within my day. So I’m making sure that each of the areas are prioritized in some way. So I will train during the day, and then I’ll have specific time for work. And then I plan my personal life around, like, all of that. Or all of that is planned around my personal life as a priority. And I think blocking your day and giving the attention to each area that they deserve and need is the important thing. And then that means that they’re not necessarily spilling over into each other, and that’s what makes it work.

Claire Dowdall [00:20:45]:
And everyone understands what the priorities are. And as long as you’re delivering in all of those areas, as long as I’m progressing in powerlifting, as long as I’m present with my family and my partner, and as long as I’m delivering at work, it’s all good.

John Garrett [00:20:57]:
No. I love it. That’s so fantastic. Because, I mean, it’s so easy for us to get wrapped up in just one of those identities, the work identity typically, and then maybe the second one is a family identity. But there’s so many other dimensions to, you know, who we are and we forget that because the work identity consumes so much, and I get it too. The family identity also consumes so much time. The work identity pays the bills. And so, but it’s hard to remember that no, no, there’s a part of us that’s just us that needs this.

John Garrett [00:21:31]:
You know? The powerlifting isn’t a family activity. You know? Like, this is just

Claire Dowdall [00:21:35]:
a player. I do like training with my partner. We do have, like, a sort of Saturday fun day session where we go and train at the gym together, and that that’s fun. And I enjoy that. And my girls take an interest in my powerlifting too, and that’s really nice. They’re really proud of me. But I think that element of powerlifting and going to the gym is just for me, for me and only me. It’s my safe space.

Claire Dowdall [00:21:56]:
It’s my my sanctuary. It’s it’s something that I’m doing that is purely for me. It isn’t to to benefit work in any way, although it does. But it’s the thing that is, like, this is my thing, and I and I love that I found that. I’m glad I found it. You know, it’s taken me to this time of my life to find it, but this is the right time for me. And the great thing about it is you can compete in powerlifting until you’re a hundred. There will always be an age category available.

Claire Dowdall [00:22:27]:
As long as I can still pick stuff up and put it down again, I will. And I know it’s always gonna be there for me and and, you know, from a, you know, the sort of mental health aspect of it as well, it keeps me grounded, sharp, and focused, and relaxed for work. And, yeah, there’s just so much about it that’s amazing across all aspects of life.

John Garrett [00:22:52]:
That’s fantastic. And and I know this is something that you do share with with colleagues and and what have you. And and earlier in your career, was there another and that you might have had that you shared, or was it more all work all the time kind of focus?

Claire Dowdall [00:23:06]:
I would say it was definitely all work all the time. Early in my career, I it didn’t feel appropriate to talk about much else of what I was doing. And I think that was the pressure of being in that sort of I was in a managerial position straight out of university. So I was always working to prove myself that I was worthy of being in that position, having a level of authority. And if I brought something else in, maybe they thought I wasn’t serious or dedicated enough. I think that’s less of an issue

John Garrett [00:23:36]:
now. I think it’s

Claire Dowdall [00:23:37]:
more accepted that people have things going on outside. But to think that dimensional, you know, that as soon as you enter work, you close the door and the rest of your life is is unrealistic. And, actually, I think if companies don’t embrace that, they’re missing out on such wide skills and lessons and color and interest and creativity that people can bring in. And I just think imagine if I could have brought that in back then. But I don’t think I felt like I could.

John Garrett [00:24:10]:
Yeah. I mean, if if you’re not powerlifting, you’re not living your best life.

Claire Dowdall [00:24:13]:
Absolutely.

John Garrett [00:24:14]:
So, you know, if leaders make sure that their people are doing their ends, then all their people are gonna be living their best life, and they’re gonna accidentally do their best work. There’s just gonna be a much better place.

Claire Dowdall [00:24:24]:
Absolutely. And we and we all know that there’s so much focus on health in the workplace now and, you know, losing money because of time off for health issues. And if people were, you know, exercising, they were helping people to find the right kind of lifestyle choices, and perhaps they fall into a sport like I have. But companies should be interested in how their employees are actually doing great things for their mind and body that are going to inevitably enable them to do better at work and be at work more.

John Garrett [00:24:58]:
Absolutely. Yeah. And especially if they’re moving offices, then we need the powerlifters. You guys come on in.

Claire Dowdall [00:25:03]:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I’m pretty handy for carrying boxes. I did receive a new tumble dry for my my laundry today that I managed to lift up out of the packaging myself. So I felt very powerful in that moment. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:25:16]:
You were like, no wonder I’ve been training all for this moment right here. No. No. That’s awesome. That’s so great. And and and I love it so much, and and it’s so cool that you’re able to step back and realize how much this impacts the other parts of your life and, you know, really just, you know, makes you a bigger, badder, Claire all around, which the world needs. So that’s fantastic. So cool.

John Garrett [00:25:40]:
So do you have any words of encouragement to anyone who’s listening that feels like, you know, I have an and that no one cares about because it has nothing to do with my job, or why should I share? No one’s gonna, you know, be interested.

Claire Dowdall [00:25:52]:
I think I’d more have words to say to their employer. And that is Fair. You’re missing out. Go to your team tomorrow or today or whenever you see them next and just take an interest in their interests and be interested in them because you never know what you’ll find out. It could be something that could benefit everybody. It could benefit you personally. It could bring a new dimension to your work, some creativity, some ideas. So ask that question.

Claire Dowdall [00:26:21]:
And then if you are that person who has something to share, share it proudly, and don’t assume that it’s completely unrelated because you never know. There could be someone who is impacted by it, is inspired by it in a different way. You know, I have people message me and say they they’ve seen my powerlifting. And although it’s not exactly the same thing, it’s inspired them to start looking after themselves and start, you know, going out walking more or or just doing something, some physical activity. And I’m like, that’s amazing. That’s what I love. And just by sharing what your and is, you could completely inspire somebody to take up something that could change their life as well. So please don’t hold it in.

John Garrett [00:27:02]:
Yeah. And the the ripple effect of that is is so powerful.

Claire Dowdall [00:27:05]:
Oh, completely. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:27:06]:
That’s so fantastic. Yeah. So fantastic. Well, this has been so great, Claire. But I feel like since I rudely peppered you with questions at the beginning, 17 exactly, I feel like it’s only fair we turn the tables. We make this the Claire Dowdall podcast. And thanks for having me on. I’m in the hot seat.

John Garrett [00:27:23]:
Whatever you wanna ask me, I’m all yours. So here we go.

Claire Dowdall [00:27:26]:
Okay. I have a couple of things in mind. The first one is, for anyone listening, I can see a helmet behind you, and I wanna know the story about it.

John Garrett [00:27:35]:
Ah, yeah. So that’s another thing that I do love about the virtual work is have a real background. Like, have stuff in your house. Like, I wanna see the artwork on your walls and the dog running around or whatever. You know? And so Yeah. So it’s a, University of Notre Dame football helmet. And I was fortunate enough to be a part of an amazing team. I wrote their football award show at the end of every year, and it was kind of like the Oscars or the ESPYs.

John Garrett [00:28:05]:
I mean, it was a big, big TV production. Two of them were nominated for Emmys, which is pretty crazy. And so the head coach at the time signed it with a personal note to John Garrett. Thanks for making the Echo so special. Go Irish.

Claire Dowdall [00:28:22]:
Beautiful.

John Garrett [00:28:23]:
And it’s a real, legit, actual helmet from the equipment team that not game worn, but it’s very heavy. And you gotta do a lot of neck work for wearing one of these bad boys. That’s for sure.

Claire Dowdall [00:28:36]:
Do you ever put it on just to feel, you know, powerful?

John Garrett [00:28:39]:
I have. And especially when, like, COVID started, and people would be like, hey. What’s with the and then I would turn my camera off and then I would turn it back on and I have this giant face mask. And it’s it’s like a linebacker, and I’m not a line I’m a kicker. I’m not a linebacker. And so it’s a a big person’s helmet and so the people are like, what are you doing, man?

Claire Dowdall [00:28:58]:
You’re way more athletic than those people. It’s better.

John Garrett [00:29:01]:
I hate it a lot. I appreciate it. Yeah. So it it is kinda fun. On occasion, I will put it on just more for laughs. But, yeah, it’s it’s it’s just a cool thing because I went to school there, but I also grew up watching. You know? I mean, it’s on par with the the football teams, you know, the, you know, soccer, football, you know, in The UK where you grew up watching this and then you’re able to be a part of it and behind the scenes for it, and then they give you a a thing. It’s like, man, this is crazy.

John Garrett [00:29:30]:
Like, I feel like Forrest Gump sorta, you know, where it’s I’m just part of these awesome things on accident.

Claire Dowdall [00:29:35]:
It’s special. I like having, like, artifacts around that have a story attached to them. It’s just nice to be surrounded by that as well.

John Garrett [00:29:43]:
Yeah. And it’s it brings me joy. It reminds me of cool moments and big things that I’ve done. And it’s like, oh, yeah. Alright. I’ve it’s my power lifting medal of sorts since we didn’t win the Emmys. But then, yeah, I gotta go with the helmet.

Claire Dowdall [00:29:55]:
That’ll do. That’s fine.

John Garrett [00:29:56]:
Yeah. Totally. I think it’s cooler, actually.

Claire Dowdall [00:29:59]:
Yeah. I have another question for you. It’s a really simple question, and it does relate to my work. I wanna know what is your favorite word?

John Garrett [00:30:07]:
I mean, I I would be a terrible ambassador if I didn’t say and. Like, it’s that would be pretty obvious. It’s right there, John. It’s right in front of you, which is great because it’s a connector, and I do love that. Ampersand, which is kinda my my logo. I think that’s a cool word also. I mean, it’s kind of a cool word and not a lot of people it’s not used enough.

Claire Dowdall [00:30:27]:
No. I feel like I only really knew about it fairly recently, which is shocking, to be honest. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:30:32]:
But And there’s a national ampersand day. What? Which happens to be a week before when my book was birthed. So which I didn’t even know it was on accident or I probably would have synced it up. So, yeah, I would I would go with that. Yeah. I don’t know. I mean, ice cream, that’s also I love that. I know it’s two words, but I’ll take it.

John Garrett [00:30:50]:
I know it’s not yours, but

Claire Dowdall [00:30:51]:
If it reminds you of something that you love, then that’s great.

John Garrett [00:30:54]:
Right? If anybody says it, I mean, I’ll I’ll turn my head. I don’t care. I’m like, hey. Yeah. That’s a great question. I’m gonna have to think of that. I need to know exactly what to say next time. But, no, that’s that’s a great question.

John Garrett [00:31:07]:
We got one more if you if you’d like.

Claire Dowdall [00:31:09]:
Okay. One more really random one. What was your favorite childhood toy?

John Garrett [00:31:15]:
Probably in The United States, we had what’s called a big wheel. So it’s all plastic, like hard plastic, kinda like a tricycle, but the front wheel is a giant wheel, like two feet in diameter. And so you sit on the ground and it’s kind of like the handlebars are up like a motorcycle, kind of like And so you’re low to the ground and the rear tires are fat wide, but because it was hard plastic on asphalt, you could do a little skid and slide and Yeah. So, and that was my first freedom. You could ride wherever you thought, wherever you wanted. It was just two blocks away or whatever, not even a block away. But you felt freedom and you know, getting away and, you know, just being on your own and that independence and but also that that daredevil side of, like, learning how to do these things without, you know, wrecking your face or whatever.

Claire Dowdall [00:32:12]:
It sounds like a fairly safe pursuit if it got three wheels. So it sounds it sounds fun.

John Garrett [00:32:17]:
Yeah. You’d be surprised. I find I found the limits.

Claire Dowdall [00:32:21]:
It’s a challenge. How can I flip it over in the most dramatic way or skid it around a corner and hurt myself? Because that’s just cool because I have a scar and yeah.

John Garrett [00:32:29]:
I accidentally found that out one time. There was a basketball court asphalt just outside of where we had lived. And so I found that out where I I accidentally pinched, like, too much tight, like, pinched the wheel. And so it rolled over, but it was like slow motion. And rather than put my hands down, I left my hands on the handlebar and let my face stop me. And so then I and then I ran to my front door and rang the doorbell. My mom answers the door. I got, like, bloody face.

John Garrett [00:32:58]:
My nose is broken. I had, like, a tooth knocked out, a baby tooth. And I can’t even imagine as a parent now of, like, what is going on? And it’s just crazy. But I still love that thing and, you know, still wrote it. And, yeah, it was great. I I just knew don’t do that again.

Claire Dowdall [00:33:13]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:33:14]:
So yeah. And so that’s probably why I don’t do powerlifting because I found the limit, and I didn’t wanna go any back.

Claire Dowdall [00:33:20]:
It’s just boring, really. Yeah. Where’d it go?

John Garrett [00:33:24]:
What are you, a celery eater? What’s going on? No. This has been so much fun, Claire. Thank you so much for being a part of What’s Your Ann and just being a living example and and changing so many people’s lives because of it. So it’s so great to hear.

Claire Dowdall [00:33:38]:
Thank you. I appreciate you having me on.

John Garrett [00:33:42]:
And everybody listening, if you wanna see some pictures of Claire in action or connect with her on social media, I’m telling you, her Instagram stories are super motivational, be sure to go to www.whatsyourand.com. All the links are there. And while you’re on the page, please click that big button, do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture. And don’t forget to read the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread, that who you are is so much more than what you do.