Neil Adams: Judo, Olympics, Winning, Losing, and the Champion Mindset | Lex Fridman Podcast #427

I was in a competition with Neil in the late eighties. There were 70 of us in the same weight class. I overheard a conversation where Neil said ‘yeah and I’ll be the last one standing here at the end!’ He was. As ever. Top man

I know this is not a subject for a lot of people, but thank you very much for having Neil Adams on. This is so interesting for people who are into judo, thanks Lex

Proper british Judo legend, nice one Lex for having him on the podcast.

"You see a true champion when they lose" - absolutely spot-on.

Here are the timestamps. Please check out our sponsors to support this podcast. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/neil-adams-transcript 0:00 - Introduction & sponsor mentions: - ZipRecruiter: https://ziprecruiter.com/lex - Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/lex to get special savings - MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lexpod to get 15% off - LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack - NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour 1:46 - 1980 Olympics 19:09 - Judo explained 27:14 - Winning 45:28 - 1984 Olympics 54:29 - Lessons from losing 1:10:11 - Teddy Riner 1:29:46 - Training in Japan 1:45:25 - Jiu jitsu 1:56:33 - Training 2:19:52 - Advice for beginners

Well, that is a guest I didn't expect! I'll be here for the next 2hrs 30.

Great interview Lex! Thank you. What a passionate athlete Neil Adams is! "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up." - Vince Lombardi

Crazy, I met Neil he visited our Dojo in st.albans England i was about 8 years old, must have been almost 40 years ago. Now he's sitting down with one of my favourite podcasters.

This is my favourite episode that you’ve done Lex as a British judo player myself , this was great to here some of his old stories and just an overall quality conversation - thanks for putting this out there.

A brilliant episode. I have the privilege of knowing Neil, and he is every bit as passionate and kind as he seems - and every bit as distinguished as Lex says. Kudos to Lex for steering a very interesting and inspirational chat. The time flew by. And yes it's a cliche to say so, but both men restore one's faith in humanity, as does Neil's wonderful wife Niki.