Episode 57: Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About the Olympics with Wes Barnett

Joel Totoro:

This is the Thorne Podcast, Performance Edition. The show that navigates the complex world of sports science and explores the latest research in diet, nutritional supplements and the human body. I'm Joel Totoro, director of sports science at Thorne. As a reminder, statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Joel Totoro:

Hello, everybody. And welcome to the Thorne Podcast, Performance Edition. Joining me today is Wes Barnett, a two-time Olympic in weightlifting, former director of international games at the United States Olympic committee, and currently our vice president for business development at Thorne. Wes, welcome to the pod. How's it going?

Wes Barnett:

Great, Joel. Thank you for having me. Always excited to be on and talk performance.

Joel Totoro:

Yeah. I mean, I think there's so much we could talk about. And we've had so many conversations over the years. But I want to focus a little bit today about, with the Olympics coming up, both your career as an athlete, but also how you see the games evolve, and looking at it as an administrator, as you were for so many years. But you had such a unique career. Can you give our listeners a little bit of your journey?

Wes Barnett:

Sure. So I began the sport of weightlifting at about age 12. It just was something that I got hooked on and continued for, gosh, well over half my life. So we just went after it. And I went from a lifestyle of where I was training Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, once a day, to where we went into the meat grinder, where we trained six days a week, twice a day. So it was quite a baptism by fire. I was one of the fortunate athletes who, my performance just soared from there. And stuck with it for about the next decade after that, until I didn't make the team in 2000. I made '92 in Barcelona, '96 in Atlanta. Did not make the team in 2000 for Sydney. And went on with my career.

Joel Totoro:

Great. So you competed at it as a drug-free athlete in a time we now know had significant struggles with performance enhancing drugs. What did that feel like at the time, and how did it shape your post Olympic career?

Wes Barnett:

Well, that's a big question because it was something that those of us that were participating, we knew right from the beginning what we were up against. And it's a little bit like, some days it was like slamming your hand in a car door over and over again. And you ask yourself, why do you keep doing this when you know the playing field is un-level, you know that things are unfair? But ultimately, it just comes down to the personal decisions that you make, and the fact that you want to control the things that you can control, and to be able to look your family, your friends in the eye, kids that were looking up to you, or that looked up to you and tell them that, yeah, I really did do things the right way.

Wes Barnett:

It really is true that if you work hard, if you take care of those little things, you can achieve these things. Now, I never went on to Olympic prominence by winning a medal. My highest finish was sixth. But for me, that was like a gold medal. I knew what I was up against. Your competitors could be off a little bit because of what they were doing, but you always had to be at your best if you had any chance of being competitive. So that took its toll, and it was a bit frustrating. But the way that it shaped me for the future was, I've always been this staunch advocate for clean sport.

Wes Barnett:

When I was working at the USOPC, athletes were testing positive from contaminated supplements. So they were in a similar situation like I was when I was competing. I knew that I needed some additional support outside of the food that I was eating. So I relied on supplements. They're relying on supplements. And unfortunately, not all companies are created equally. And there were times where athletes were not trying to cheat, but were taking supplements to help support their training and their performances, and ended up with a positive drug test. And I really felt that this was an injustice for them, and basically sought to find a solution where they can have peace of mind knowing that what they were putting into their body was not going to give them a positive drug test. So that was a crusade that I went on for about a decade, which ultimately landed me at Thorne.

Joel Totoro:

So I think you talked a little bit about, there's obviously the intentional doping, which impacts the integrity of the games and so many other things. But I don't think people realize how high the risk of accidental exposure is. But more importantly, can you talk about what a competition ban actually means to an athlete?

Wes Barnett:

Yeah, a competition ban, in some cases, it's like a death sentence. Let's set aside for a second, just the internal turmoil and embarrassment that occurs where now people are pointing fingers at you and labeling you a cheater, when obviously that was not what your intention was. But at the same time, I've always been this believer in strict liability. Meaning, if you put it in your body, then you're responsible for it. And to a large extent, that's the way the system works. I mean, you are responsible for what you put in your body. You're responsible for doing the homework. And ultimately, you are responsible if you come back with a positive drug test, or an adverse analytical finding, to use the technical terms. But it turns your life upside down, depending on what the substance was.

Wes Barnett:

So let's say if it was a cold medicine, okay, it's not going to be as severe. But if it's something that is falling into that steroid class, now you're looking at a first offensive. Usually it's a minimum of two years. So when you think about out of competition for that period of time, it's pretty devastating. And some people continue their training and try to stay in the sport. And we've seen examples of that where athletes have been successful. But it really turns your life upside down, not only from a competitive standpoint, but just from a public perception perspective where no matter what you do, what you say, what evidence comes out in your favor, people always look at you and say, yeah, that person was a cheater. They failed a drug test. And that's a Scarlet letter that is stamped on you forever, which is unfortunate.

Joel Totoro:

So, we as fans get to watch the Olympics for a few weeks every four years. But the training and planning takes place for years. Can you talk a little bit about the logistical side of what goes into sending US athletes to international games?

Wes Barnett:

Sure. So that was the second part of my life, after I finished competing. I was fortunate enough to start working for the Olympic committee and really get a behind the scenes look at what it takes. And even as close as I was to it, I had no idea what went on behind the scenes to make my experience what it was so that when I landed in whatever country the competition was at, from the time I got on that plane to come home, all the logistical details that went into making it the best experience for me, that it could be the best experience for the athletes, it could be where really all you needed to do was concentrate on your performance, and everything else was taken care of.

Wes Barnett:

So when I started working for the committee, I was on the performance side from day one, really getting to understand what it takes to make that happen. It was really incredible, and gave me a whole new appreciation for the team behind the team, if you will. Because we've always said the Olympics, it's not every four years, and I know now it's every two years with the summer and winter broken up, but it's something that's every day. And that's really true for the athletes, but also for those who serve as that team behind the team, whether you work for the committee or whether you work for one of the national governing bodies, weightlifting, Taekwondo, wrestling, judo, or whoever. So there really is a ton of work that goes into it. And when you think about all of the logistics of getting people from their hometowns to a foreign country and back without any incident, it sounds easy. But when you're also providing medical services, when you're providing food services, when you're providing facilities for training and that sort of thing, it is a monumental effort.

Wes Barnett:

And interestingly enough, you're always planning with concurrent games. Meaning, you cannot wait. So let's just use the summer games as an example. You cannot wait to start planning for 2020 after the 2016 games are over. By then, it's too late. You at least have to have a seven year run-up into planning for the next games. So the games continue to overlap. That means, it's not just the games that are staring you in the face. It's the ones that are 6, 7, 8 years down the road as well. So you're doing all of those simultaneously. And then you throw the winter games in there as well, which breaks things up. So now you have a summer games that's about to hit, then you've got the winter games coming two years after that, then you have another summer games, two years after that.

Wes Barnett:

So it's a continual, cyclical process of planning and logistics, that you find yourself on a lot of airplanes, in a lot of foreign countries, making a lot of deals to try and get the facilities that you need, secure the resources and services that you need so that when the athletes get there, the only thing they have to take care of is the competition. And a lot of people don't realize a lot of the challenges, where you'll show up at a games and the village where the athletes live, it isn't finished yet, or they don't have the transportation system worked out yet. And you've got athletes coming in a couple of weeks.

Wes Barnett:

So a lot of times what we did as a staff is, we weren't the complainers. And this is what I loved about my job. We weren't the complainers that said, why isn't this done? Or why isn't that done? Or why isn't this better? What we would do is come in, and we had a lot of respect as the United States and would say, how can we help? Knowing that the things that we needed to help with that would impact our athletes in a positive way, it was also going to be beneficial to other athletes as well. And we didn't mind that because we wanted to be good partners with the organizing committee. But when you come into a situation, and let's say the rooms aren't finished and they need painting, or the beds put together, or the dressers put together, whatever the case may be, and we have done it all, believe me. So, a lot of fun. It's really rewarding, enriching, and fulfilling to be able to do work that you know is in support of the athletes and the US team.

Joel Totoro:

Yeah, there's so many variables to think about. And I had a very small version of this. But when I was in the NFL, we were looking at playing a game in Beijing, one year before the Beijing Olympics. And we had to eventually end up canceling it because little things we hadn't thought about until we went over there was the ambulances, and the stretchers weren't big enough for 6'6, 300 pound athletes. We were having trouble. Our medical docs weren't going to be allowed to carry scalpels in their medical kit on board, down to, I was going to have to fill out import/export forms for frozen peanut butter and jelly, which I know we've joked about in the past. But it's just, there's so many facets that go into it. I think it's mind boggling that it ever happens correctly.

Wes Barnett:

Yeah, you are amazed that it gets done. But you know what? It does. And it's really about the attitude that you use going in. Again, if you're in there complaining about things and yelling at people. And I'll never forget this. This wasn't an Olympics, but it was a [inaudible 00:12:09] games. And the transportation system was just terrible. There were no buses there when they were supposed to take athletes to train. The buses, when they were there, the drivers didn't know where they were going because they were hired from other countries to come in and drive buses. So they weren't familiar with the landscape and the geography. So they would get lost and drive around for hours, where athletes are supposed to be at training or get to a competition, so they're showing up late. It was a complete and utter disaster.

Wes Barnett:

So we would get up at like five o'clock in the morning, go down to the transportation hall and say, okay, let us set down, and we would start this the night before, so once everything was finished, we'd work until about midnight, one in the morning. We'd be back down there at five o'clock. What does tomorrow look like? Or what does today look like? We would help them because we had experience doing this. We would help them put together a transportation schedule that was really, really seamless. And they were just like, oh my gosh, this is incredible. And I'll never forget the comment. They said, "Even though you guys have the full right to yell and scream at us because everything is messed up, we really appreciate the fact that you guys, of all the countries, are the ones not yelling at us. You're the ones coming in and helping us find a solution." And they're so appreciative of that.

Wes Barnett:

Now we're doing it for selfish reasons as well, because we want our athletes to have a great experience and perform well. But that whole international relationship that we try to deploy whenever we go into another country, it's something that's very, very critical. And then, lo and behold, when you need something and you have to go to these people to get something, guess what? They are more apt to bend over backwards to make something happen for you because of the way that you treated them. So it's really just about treating people great.

Joel Totoro:

It's amazing how far being a good person will get you, right?

Wes Barnett:

You got it.

Joel Totoro:

So final question before we take a break and then get into some questions from our listeners. You, as an athlete, you [inaudible 00:14:11] the sport when maybe heart rates and whey protein was the cutting edge. And then at your time working with the performance committee at the Olympic training center, all the way through now, and we've got every wearable in the world, personalized individual blood work and supplements. What have you seen, the biggest impacts in the sport science area, and what are you looking forward to in the future?

Wes Barnett:

Yeah, well, that's a great question. And a big one too, because, obviously technology changes every day. Things that provide so much useful data for you to be able to train better, to prepare better, to recover better. And I think that's great. And I think that what happens is, with all of these bells and whistles, a lot of it, Joel, really comes down to continuing to take care of the basics. I think so many times that is lost on coaches, on athletes as well, where they don't take care of the basics. Everybody's looking for the quick fix, the magic bullet, the thing that's going to propel me to the next level. There are those things that exist, but if you're not taking care of the basic, foundational things and doing those at a very high level, the bells and whistles aren't going to help you that much, if at all.

Wes Barnett:

There are some things to really help with technique. But then you had to take those findings and apply them, and be able to apply them so when you are doing your training, all the extra work that you need to do, even if it's with an empty bar, doing hundreds and thousands of repetitions over and over and over again, trying to get as close to perfect as you could. And it was always something that you were pursuing, was perfection. So getting as close to that as you possibly could. And for the future, I'm just hoping that we can get to a place where some of this technology and data can, in real time, really start to help athletes understand themselves from an injury standpoint. Because really, half the battle, at least in weightlifting, and I have to assume this is the same for most other sports, half the battle, or maybe 75% of the battle was just getting through a training cycle healthy, and that you can go into a competition and take advantage of all the work that you've done.

Wes Barnett:

So if we can find some ways to really identify injuries before they happen and/or speed up the recovery from said injuries so that once you get to the playing field, everybody that's there is at their best. And that's where competition is the most exciting to watch, when everybody is at their best, all on an equal playing field. And now it's just a matter of who's prepared better, who wants it more, and who's willing to leave everything out there on the field of play in order to be successful.

Joel Totoro:

All right, we're going to have to take a short break here. But when we get back, we're going to get into some questions from our listeners and just learn a little bit more about Wes.

Joel Totoro:

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Joel Totoro:

And we're back. All right, Wes, let's get into some questions from our audience.

Wes Barnett:

Sure.

Joel Totoro:

The first one is, what is athlete's village like, where everyone is the best in the world?

Wes Barnett:

Wow. Yeah, that is really cool. I can tell you that from my perspective. Even though I was a part of the Olympic team, and by default, you are considered one of the best athletes in the world. But I know I never saw myself like that. It never really dawned on me to include myself in that group until you're there in the village, until you're there at an opening ceremony. So it is really cool because you'll walk around, and you see other athletes from more higher profile sports walking around, you'll see them in the dining hall, not only from the United States, but from other countries.

Wes Barnett:

So it's really something that you have to not let yourself get overwhelmed with, because it's really easy to do. You're talking about 10,500 athletes that are in the village. And as we've gone along, there are some teams and some sports, from a distraction standpoint, that choose to stay in hotels outside of the village. But it really is this great, harmonious place where everybody is there. Everyone's excited to be there. You meet a lot of new friends. And it's just a great environment to be in. And it is pretty cool to see a lot of these superstars that you've only seen on television walking around or eating at the table next to you.

Wes Barnett:

And in general, the athletes are always very respectful. The village is supposed to be a safe haven. So they're not running up and asking people for autographs or pictures or different things like that. Everybody is really respectful and understands that your job is there to have a competition and to go and compete to the best of your ability. And there will be opportunities for photographs and autographs and those sorts of things in a different setting. But the village itself is one that the athletes are very respectful of each other, and they know they get inundated with those types of requests outside of the village. So it's kind of that safe haven there, and the athletes are all very respectful of one another.

Joel Totoro:

Now, you mentioned you didn't consider yourself one of the best in the world. And you're humble to a fault, we know. But this next question speaks a little bit to that. One of our listeners wants to know, how many statues of you are there?

Wes Barnett:

I'm wondering which listener put that question, I can almost guess. But the answer is two. And they are the same statue. One at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, and one in the center in Chula Vista, California. So a grand total of two.

Joel Totoro:

All right. And is there a Wes Barnett Lane?

Wes Barnett:

There is a Wes Barnett Way in my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri, right in front of the youth center where it all started for me. So I've had a lot of really great opportunities and great honors. And I think it pays to be from a small town where when you do something extraordinary, it really gets a lot of focus. It really gets a lot of attention, and people really take notice. So I've just been really blessed from that regard.

Joel Totoro:

So this rolls into that. I think it's a great question, and I want to know the answer. What does it mean to represent the United States in competition?

Wes Barnett:

Well, I'll tell you. To represent the United States, for me, there's no prouder moment. It's something where you are bringing your best to the field of play that day. And you are taking on your competitors from around the world to see who is going to be best that day. But when you think about the United States, and what a great country we have, and how fortunate and blessed we are to live here, the honor of having that USA on your chest when you go out to a competition is like nothing else. It's really difficult to describe the level of pride that you have, and the enormous opportunity to go out there and represent your country on the field of play.

Wes Barnett:

And there's a lot of pressure. But I always like to say that pressure is a privilege. I mean, if you weren't in the situation that you were in, there would be no pressure. So it's a privilege to be in those instances where you have the opportunity to wear the USA, to wear the flag. And that's something, for me anyways, that was always in the back of my mind whenever I went out there, because I not only wanted to make myself and my coaches and my family proud, you really want to make your country proud as well.

Joel Totoro:

I think we can say you've done a great job of making us all proud. I'm going to combine two questions here. So one of our listeners asks, or two of our listeners ask, what's your favorite city you've ever competed in? And what's the best meal you've eaten at a competition?

Wes Barnett:

Gosh, the cities are fantastic, all for different reasons. I mean, one of the things that I kick myself for now is, all the countries that I've been to that I didn't take the time to stay afterwards and have a little bit of a vacation after the competition was over, and really gain a deeper level of perspective and appreciation for the culture in the countries that I was in. So for me, these countries, they represent things for different reasons. Obviously Barcelona was a great experience for me. And that was my first Olympics. Thailand, we were in Chiang Mai for the '97 World Weightlifting Championships, where I won the first medals for a US man in almost three decades. So that was a very special place for me. Atlanta even, being able to compete in the Olympic Games in your home country, where you're in a setting where the audience is actually all in favor of you. I mean, that doesn't happen in other parts of the world that you go to. But I'd say Australia is another great one.

Wes Barnett:

But I would say that one of my favorite countries that I've been to, my top two, I loved Thailand. And Istanbul was another one of my favorites. Just the cultural piece and just the time that I had there, and the way that the people interacted with you. And I would be remiss to say, Athens. Athens was another one where the people were so proud to have the games back in their country, in 2004. And I was there as an administrator. But to see the pride that the people had, it was just really heartwarming. It's always fun to see, really in all the countries that you go to, the pride that the countrymen have that the games are here in my country. And they're incredibly proud to be hosting the world.

Wes Barnett:

One of my favorite meals, I'd say, I'd go back to Athens. You go down to the Plaka, and every day you can get the euros and just the terrific food there. But I remember going to a seafood restaurant once, and the people are out front trying to coax you to come into their restaurant. And I remember I asked the guy who was out there trying to convince people to come in, "Is the food good?" And he says, "I tell you what, if you don't like it, you don't pay." And anybody that knows me and my appetite, that was just a challenge that I could not refuse.

Wes Barnett:

So we go in. And there's about eight of us there. And it was a seafood restaurant. And I'd never had like grilled octopus and things like that. So they just grill up all of this seafood, and it comes to the table. And I'm looking at this and I'm like, all right, well he told me if I don't like it, I don't have to pay. And I tell you what, I ate and I ate and I ate and I ate. It was probably one of the best meals that I ever had. So I ended up paying, emptying out every dollar that I had in my pocket, because it was quite expensive, but well worth it.

Joel Totoro:

It's unbelievable. And yeah, your appetite does have a reputation. So that means a lot. This one's a little more serious. Do athletes know when somebody is using PEDs?

Wes Barnett:

I think, for the most part, the answer is yes. Because you have to remember, the athletes spend a lot of time together, and a lot of years together. So you're watching one person perform a certain way one day, a year later they're performing at an entirely different level. Which, okay, it's not unheard of to make gains and to progress. But there are some things that are just so out of bounds, and so outside the realm of probability, that you have to scratch your head. At the same time, it's unfair to point fingers or cast suspicions because you don't know a hundred percent.

Wes Barnett:

And I would even use myself as an example. When I first joined the Olympic Training Center Resident Program, again, I went from training four times a week, once a day, to six times a week, twice a day. So my performance skyrocketed in year one, in year two. I was going like gangbusters. And I know there were people around the country in the United States looking at me, saying, oh my gosh, what are they doing out there? They must be doing something. And on one hand, it's hurtful to hear those things. On the other hand, when you know you're a hundred percent clean, it's a little bit a source of pride to say, well, if I'm performing at that level and people think that I'm doing so well that I must be taking drugs, then I'm doing something right. But the reality is you really don't know you. You have suspicions. And there are performances that happen that really make those suspicions pretty legitimate. But I always stopped short of trying to call anybody out or casting dispersions, or making accusations, just because you don't know a hundred percent.

Wes Barnett:

Which is why I've always been a staunch advocate for drug testing, not at competitions where athletes can easily pass a test, but you do it out of competition, randomly. Knock on people's door when they don't expect you to be there and say, I'm here for a drug test. So that was one of the things in the resident program. It was actually an initiative that I put forth to the board of directors of US weightlifting. I said, "Look, if we're going to get all of these services and resources from you, you better be sure that we're not going to go on the international stage and embarrass you." They're like, "Whoa, what do you want to do?" I said, "We should have a random unannounced test every month. Every month. Because you sought us right here in town and just have them come over. They know when we train, they know where our gym's at. We all live in the dormitories. It'd be very easy to do."

Wes Barnett:

So we had a program where every month, and it could be the first of the month, the middle of the month, the end of the month. And then turn around, and the first of the next month. You just never knew. But they would come, walk into the training hall. I need you, you, you and you. We're going to go back here and do a test. Or the worst case scenario, they'd come knocking at your door, usually at about six o'clock in the morning, which was never fun. But they wanted to catch you right before you got up and used the restroom from waking up. So they would come very early in the morning. So really, the way to do it? Out of competition, unannounced, random drug testing. That's the way that you're going to level the playing field.

Joel Totoro:

All right. So we know you don't take performance enhancing drugs, but you do take supplements. What are your favorite products from Thorne?

Wes Barnett:

Boy, you name them. There are so many. I am in this position where I'm getting a little older, but I still like to compete. I still like to work out and train. So I take a variety of products that support my training and my recovery from an athletics side. Then of course, I want to try to live forever. So I try to take all of the healthy aging products that Thorne has to offer so that I can have the best of both worlds. I really enjoy the Niacel. I enjoy the Memoractiv, the vitamin D. Mentioned my appetite earlier, I love the Bio-gest. There's just so many products out there. But the probiotics are also killer. And the multivitamins are always fantastic.

Wes Barnett:

But when I'm out on the road, on my bike cycling, the Catalyte, the Amino Complex, the whey protein, those things that help me recover afterwards. Those are great. So those are just a few of my favorites. And probably high up there on the list is one Crucera, which, one capsule is the equivalent of eating two cups of cooked broccoli. So for those that, and I actually like broccoli, but for those who aren't getting enough of those green vegetables, especially the broccoli, that's an easy way to supplement your diet, to make sure that you're getting all the nutrients that you need.

Joel Totoro:

Yeah, for sure. I always say, you don't have to be an Olympian to fuel and recover like one. So we have time for one more question. I think it's a fun one to end on. Do you have any behind the scenes stories from the Olympics?

Wes Barnett:

Boy, there's a ton of them. Some of them I took a blood oath that they could never leave. Almost like, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. We usually show up to the games with a very dynamic group of people. But some of the things that happen behind the scenes that people don't understand or realize, in a lot of instances, what we try to do is we try to bring like a mini training center to whatever country that we're going to so the athletes can train when they want to. I don't know if people understand that when you're at a games, and let's say you are in the sport of archery. Well, there's one venue. And there's usually a training venue, that's either with the competition venue or they're separated. But you get put on a schedule so that you train when the organizers give you a slot to train. Today it may be 08:00 in the morning. Tomorrow, it's at noon. The next day, it's at four o'clock, the next day it's at 11:00 AM. So it's all over the place.

Wes Barnett:

And in reality, your competition every day is at one o'clock. So what we do is, we try to have a training facility that we secure and we set up so that if you're on the archery team and you compete at one o'clock every day, you come to our facility where you don't have to compete for time against all the other countries, and you train whatever you want to, as many times as you want to, as long as you want to. So we believe that that gives us a competitive advantage.

Wes Barnett:

Now, some of the other countries that have the resources to do that, they try to model what we're doing. So now it becomes almost like this arms race, who can get into the country first, who can secure the best facility first, who can get the contract signed first, et cetera. Now, we bring a lot of clout. So, many organizations love hosting and love being able to brag about the fact that we hosted the United States team at our facility during the Olympic Games. Others, it's really transactional for them. They come in, they pay and they use your facility and they leave.

Wes Barnett:

But one of the special things that we do, and why I think we get special consideration, is because of the community programs that we do when we're on the ground there. So in London, for example, I remember going to several different schools where I would go in and I would talk about the Olympic values, the Olympic ideals, talk about the Olympic games, talk about sport, talk about health. And I don't think a lot of the other countries, well, I'm almost certain, none of the other countries do that. And that's really what gives us our competitive advantage from the standpoint of being able to get the places secured that we want to. Because they know that we're not dropping in, writing them a check, and then pulling up stakes when the games are over. But we want to have a lasting impact on the community, on the people in the community, and not just be seen as, okay, the United States, they came in, they used up all the resources and then they left.

Wes Barnett:

That's one of the more special things that we do behind the scenes at a games that nobody even realizes the things that are out in the community, where we're interacting, we're engaging, we're inviting the community sometimes into our facilities to see how things operate. And you'd be surprised at how far a t-shirt, a hat or a pin go in terms of making a lifelong friend and getting favors at the games that they won't do for anybody else. So it, again, goes back, Joel, to what we talked about earlier about being good people, good citizens, and really representing yourself and your country in a very special way. So, that's one of the more meaningful behind the scenes things that I really like to talk about.

Joel Totoro:

All right, Wes. Thanks. It's been great. It's all the time we have. You're a wealth of information. We'd love to have you back on. There's so much we can talk about. In the meantime, anyone looking for more information on sports performance and how Thorne interacts with athletes, you can go to Thorne.com. And stay tuned to our social media channels because we're going to have some great content around the Olympics and some of the athletes we support. So, that's all the time we have today. That was Thorne vice-president and Olympian, Wes Barnett. Thanks everyone for listening.

Wes Barnett:

Thanks, Joel.

Joel Totoro:

Thanks for listening to the Thorne Podcast, Performance Edition. Make sure to never miss an episode by subscribing to the show on your podcast app of choice. You can also learn more about the topics we discuss by visiting Thorne.com and checking out the latest news, videos and stories on Thorne's Take Five Daily Blog. For this performance edition of the Thorne Podcast, I'm Joel Totoro, reminding everyone to stay active and stay hydrated.