United States of Sweat with Ambassador Jeff Flake - Desert Island Survival, Long-Distance Swimming & More

During a divided time in America, our love of sports and fitness cross party lines and can keep us healthy as individuals and bring us together as a nation. 

The United States of Sweat is a new series from Choose the Hard Way that features the world’s leading political leaders and policy makers sharing stories about what they do to stay healthy, fit and physically active. 

When we decided to launch the United States of Sweat, we knew the first guest we wanted to land was an endurance athlete of a different kind, Ambassador Jeff Flake.  

Ambassador Flake recently served as U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and previously represented Arizona in both the U.S. Senate and House. 

He’s taught at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, and now leads the Institute of Politics at Arizona State. In 2025, he was knighted by Sweden for his role in securing their NATO accession. 

He’s also the author of the New York Times bestseller Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle. In his spare time, Ambassador Flake likes to maroon himself on deserted islands and survive with little more than a spear and a machete. 

Ambassador Flake and his wife, Cheryl, are the parents of five grown children.

We first crossed paths in 2018 when then Senators Flake and Chris Coons sent a letter to Strava about our global heat map and data privacy when I was running global communications. That led to a trip to the hill and one of the most thrilling and fulfilling experiences of my professional career that I’ll save for another podcast. 

My co-host on the United States of Sweat is Jonathan Kaplan. You may know Jonathan as the author of the popular Riding With newsletter and for his legendary performance at the January 2025 Beyond the Peloton x Choose the Hard Way training camp. 

But wait, there’s more. Jonathan Kaplan is a former political journalist, congressional aide, State Department official, and most recently, comms strategist for the world’s largest human rights funder. 

He now runs Essington Road Strategies, helping organizations navigate Washington, shape policy, and manage reputational risk. He also writes Riding With, a newsletter and podcast exploring the intersection of pro cycling, media, business, and politics. Find that at ridingwithkaplan.substack.com.

For senior execs, pro athletes, and political leaders, podcasts aren’t optional anymore—they’re mission-critical.

At One Real Voice, I coach leaders 1:1 to help them show up as humans and stand out in the long-form podcast conversations where real influence is built. If you’re ready to be great, DM me @hardwaypod or email [e-mail].

Now, let’s get started with the United States of Sweat. DM me @hardwaypod on instagram and let me know what you think.

This episode is brought to you by Blockchain.com. Over $1 trillion in crypto transactions have been trusted to Blockchain.com. They’re your trusted platform for buying, selling and holding crypto, no matter your experience level. When you crypto, crypto with Blockchain.com.

This episode is also brought to you by Lauf. We sought them out as a partner because they take an unconstrained and innovative approach to building that yields best-in-class results. Lauf bikes are elegant, fast and radically fun. When you ride, ride Lauf www.laufcycles.com. 

Palm Tree Pod Co. is our trusted strategic production partner. Why? Because we work with the best. Find Anthony and his crackerjack team at www.palmtreepodco.com.