Philip Mangan - Wellness Wingman

When you put down for your phone for 7 days, you turn up the vibes.

Honestly I didn’t really consider how hard it might be to shoot content while doing something that was challenging enough as is (hiking 40 miles and climbing 14000 feet of elevation).

Not to mention on top of that having to navigate through 5 days of rain/sleet/snow as well as some random stomach illness.

However, I relished in the opportunity to quiet all the noise and create on this trek, especially for a brand like

I mean not only does their clothing look great, but they’re also made from natural dyes and materials like alpaca fibers, which might be the best material around for the outdoors.

Fun fact: Alpaca is five times warmer than sheep’s wool and provides excellent thermoregulation, which means it’s optimal for both warm and cold climates.

I’m not going to lie for a person with extremely low body fat and gets cold very easily, I can attest I never was too cold on this trek, especially at camp when we weren’t moving our bodies.

So long story my vibes get even higher when my body temp is regulated 😉.

Lastly, a big shoutout to for helping capture these magical moments, you truly are a legend!

Less, but more impactful.

Like most people I have this deep desire to feel all I can feel from this life.

And honestly the more I do / experience, especially the stuff that really makes me feel (like putting myself in the discomfort zone), the more I crave it.

However, I’ve started to realize recently just how important feeling “the in-between” plays a role in allowing me to feel more.

I’m talking about the in-between point where your high starts to die down, and you’re constantly searching for something to do next to make you feel that way again.

Well the thing is if you’re always quickly jumping into the next thing, you’re not fully absorbing the feelings from the previous thing, nor are you allowing yourself to be present to build a deeper connection to the next thing.

So long story short, my aura is less, but more impactful experiences like this one right here.

This whole experience came into fruition from a seed that was planted a year ago, and then me being still enough to allow it to grow into alignment.

7 days, no work, no screens, just out in nature, doing something challenging, with good people, building deeper connections, and feeling all the feelings!

Now, this may be an unpopular opinion in this quick moving and doing world, but I honestly don’t see the point of doing something to just say I did it, instead it’s whole heart or nothing for me.

Lastly, a massive thank you to everyone who made this trip possible, and who came along for the adventure!

To be honest this one hit different……and in the end it wasn’t because of the challenge that I faced, but perhaps more so because of the perspective I embraced.

I’d have say in roughly the last decade or so I’ve slowly grown into a person who constantly searches for new ways to push himself outside his comfort zone because I know its not only where the growth lies, but its also where I feel most alive.

So naturally when receiving the opportunity to take on a challenge of this magnitude I was hopeful for the same thing. And to be honest I even tried to ensure that it was as I pushed for a longer harder route at the very early stages of the planning.

However, as I started building this dream team (which basically involved trying to convince people to say YES to something absolutely crazy without giving too much info away), I slowly began to feel a shift inside me.

This shift was away from being focused on my own potential growth experience, and instead more so on really wanting to give others a powerful one.

I’m not going to lie though, this shift came with weight as I felt this underlying pressure to make sure I didn’t let the entire team down, and not have this experience just be something we all survived.

Well long story short, when we finally got dropped off from the helicopter in the middle of nowhere and s**t got real I saw what is truly possible when people don’t just SAY YES, but when they EMBRACE YES.

I saw this group of individuals from all different backgrounds show up for themselves and come together to support each other in the most beautiful way possible.

And I saw myself smiling like a proud dad whose kids are not only getting along, but are growing up right in front of his eyes.

This wasn’t just survival, this was true connection……..to ourselves, to each other, and to the earth.

From the bottom of my heart I cannot thank each and everyone one of you enough for touching my heart and for trusting myself, and .earth to take this leap of faith.

YOU ALL AMAZE ME!!!

Running down a dream.

For months leading up to I often envisioned being out in the middle of no where just running in the elements.

And whenever I spoke with my friend / coach about this as he equally shared my enthusiasm for having that experience.

So when the opportunity came for us to do one of the harder sections together we not only embraced the challenge, but savored it.

To sum it up we got lost and it got a bit sketchy, but at least we were together. And once we found our way, we most definitely took our time to soak in the views, model flex, as well as just embrace our slogan “run slow”, especially on those sandy hills.

It was honestly one of the most memorable moments for me on the trip, and we were fortunate to have one of my best friends there there to document it all.

I’m honestly thankful for these two people who both want to experience life outside of the comfort zone and make me a better man because of it.

Can’t wait to keep running down more dreams with you guys!

Lastly, big shoutout to for the sun protection in these elements as I would have came back the same color of my shirt if it wasn’t for your support!

A journey of joy.

Many people might not know this , but several years ago I use to run a party bus company.

To me it was much more than just about partying though, instead it was about creating a unique experience for others through adventures.

Our tagline for it even was “ride the moment”, which I believe summed up what we were trying to do perfectly…..showing others what’s possible when you open yourself and just embrace the experience.

Last weekend for the first time in a long time I felt those same vibes once again.

Sure it was purpose driven in other ways, such as doing something challenging like being the first team to complete it in barefoot shoes, but the joy was in the actual journey.

Honestly it was rare you didn’t see a smile on my face as I kept preaching, “savor the journey”, but I wasn’t the only one who was smiling / enjoying as we were unified in that regard.

And with all those smiles combined, it felt less like a difficult challenge, instead more like a series of magical moments after each other propelling us forward with ease!

I still have nothing but gratitude a week later for the experience with this team. Thank you all for the memories and the joy!

Take me back.

Flow.

I’ve never considered myself a person who naturally loved to run.

To me it was just something I did from time to time in order to challenge myself.

However, after going on a journey over the last 4 and half months to relearn how to run properly (shout out for the coaching) I have to say my thoughts on running have now changed.

I can actually say I enjoy it, and maybe partially addicted to it now.

I feel lighter on my feet, and more in tune to my mind body connection.

To simply put it I went from naturally not loving to run, to running naturally and loving it!

How did I get here?

1. Being open to the process of relearning
2. Learning to make shorter and quicker steps (175 bpm)
3. Listening to my body, and tapping into what feels good / natural (no music and a metronome helps with this)
4. I stopped focusing on speed and breaking record times.
5. I ran more frequently, as consistency helps you find your flow and builds strength in the feet and ankles.

And for those that don’t know, I run in barefoot shoes like the one in the picture above called the Primus Flow that I used to run from La to Vegas.

To me it’s not a shoe, it’s a tool for my body to do what’s it was made to do.

Now whether you want to run barefoot or not all the time I suggest at least adding it to your toolkit to help compliment and support your other running.

There’s a barefoot running guide available now as well on the to help you get started.

And lastly if you’re thinking “why would I want to run slow” I say this to you…..

If the joy is in the journey and not the destination then to just means you have more time to savor the journey!

📸 by and

Vivo Las Vegas!

Words can’t truly express how grateful I am for being able to of had this crazy beautiful challenging experience I just had in running “barefoot” for 350 miles from LA to LV!

When I first heard about this event last year what instantly drew me in wasn’t just the challenge, instead it was the joy and connection of doing it with a team.

After throwing out my crazy idea to my coworkers at it slowly started to come to life week by week.

I can honestly say in this moment I’m so damn thankful for every single person who played a part in making this experience as magical as I envisioned.

This did not happen because of me, it happened because of all of us as a team coming together equally for a common goal of having an amazingly unique life experience.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart as I write this from the after party with tears in my eyes behind my sun shades. I love you all so damn much!

Year in the life 2024 Part 3
New experiences with some great people

I’m definitely a better man from the people I’m fortunate to surround myself with.

1-2. Model life in Belize
3-4. Norway/Sweden crew
5-6. International Swiss day / Paragliding
7. NY Knicks home opener
8. Fulham Football game
9. Grandpas 89th bday with the cousins
10. Backpacking trip

Year in the life 2024 part 2
Work life (mostly) away from the computer screen

Mixing work and play is always the goal.

1. My team!
2. Vivobarefoot Winter Solstice Sales Conference - England
3. Eudaemonia - West Palm Beach, FL
4. NBATA event - Chicago, IL
5. US Team meetup - Austin, TX
6. Human Potential Community Event - Austin, TX
7. ACSM IDEA event - Chicago, IL
8. Vivobarefoot head office - London, UK
9. Anya’s Barefoot Shoe Expo - Chicago, IL
10. Vivobarefoot Winter Solstice Celebration - England

Year in the life 2024 Part 1
All the fitness / wellness things (except the ones I couldn’t fit)

1. Fjalmaraton 27km in Ottsjo, Sweden
2. 14er hike - Mount Harvard, Colorado
3-4. Swimrun Orcas Island - Seattle, Washington
5. Bolder Boulder 10k - Bolder, Colorado
6. Vivobarefoot Swimrun - Bantham, UK
7. Yoga on the Rocks - Denver, CO
8. Cold Plunge Barton Springs - Austin, Texas
9. Suana time - Dr J’s Wellness Palace, NYC
10. Jingle Bell Jog 5k - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Started the new year of completing another Olympic Triathlon!

I’m not going to lie this time around was more meaningful to me than the first time I completed one 5 months ago.

The reason I say this because when the newness of it wears off and you know exactly what is in store for you with the long training days it’s not as easy to self motivate.

The thing is I didn’t quite realize this until I got started because I actually thought it was going to be easier since I already went the distance.

Honestly upon signing up I was just looking for that same feeling of accomplishment the first one gave me of completely something that takes a lot of time and effort to do.

What I realized along the way though is just that wouldn’t be enough, and that this time I’d have to dig deeper, most likely to a place I’d never been before and find a new reason why to keep going.

A lot of people would ask me what time I was trying to complete it in or if I was trying for a new PR, but that wasn’t what was driving me.

What was driving me was to do it again given the circumstances this time around.

This meant facing these thoughts, feelings, and questions of wanting to quit and push past them.

Also this meant training in late fall / early winter, which meant mostly facing the boringness of trekking to and training inside a gym and still choosing to show up.

In the end facing these circumstances made mentally stronger and more resilient when thoughts of stopping entered into my mind throughout the actual event.

Lastly I want to also say a big thank you as well to both my dad and brother who inspire me more than anything to keep going!

Pic 1: early morning smiles of excitement with my dad and younger brother.

Pic 2: over three hours later covered in lots of sweat, zinc sunblock, and completely depleted of energy, but with smiles of accomplishment!

Things I never posted from this year part 2.

Alignment.

I’m pretty sure, or at least I hope, that we all know the difference with how it feels to force something and to be connected to something.

Personally I know right away if I’m not connected as I show up more anxious, I get frustrated pretty easily, and things just seem extra hard / don’t seem to flow.

Over the years I’ve come to realize the main thing that separates us from forming a connection starts with simply just being more connected to yourself.

On the day of this shoot I felt a strong connection to myself showing up at ease, confident in my abilities, and really embracing the opportunity to create.

To be honest I hadn’t always felt that way with shooting either, as there were many of times in the past where I felt like I was forcing things by putting too much pressure on myself or lacking confidence and it showed afterwards in the photos.

Anyhow what’s amazing is that when you’re actually connected it often leads to more connection, and I saw that first hand that day after saying I wish I had a basketball to use as a prop for some of the photos.

Towards the end of the shoot the photographer took me to a park where I then randomly found a halfway deflated basketball that I was able to use for some photos.

Now some people may call that a coincidence, but I call it alignment!

Whether it’s connecting through journaling, therapy, quiet time, or running / other physical activity (all of which I do daily or weekly) I highly suggest to carve out some time in your day to connect with yourself in 2023.

The world is fast paced in so many ways and often forces us to try to keep up to its demands, but when you learn to connect with yourself and the pace that suits you best you will realize you never needed to keep up, instead you just needed to slow down and align.

( 📷 photos by .photo )