“I think I have experience in rowing, and that has given me some abilit...” — Bryan Volpenhein Quote

I think I have experience in rowing, and that has given me some ability to go about racing. I'm lucky genetically. I have a good VO2 max - I can hold a lot of air in my lungs - and that definitely helps.

I'm very competitive, but I know when not to be competitive. I know how to have fun, but I know when it's time to get serious. That makes things a lot easier.

I borrowed a lot of money from my parents in the years leading up to the 2000 Olympics, and I worked odd jobs.

There's way more pressure cooking for cooks than rowing at the Olympics.

In rowing, you're always striving for that perfect stroke, that repetition, each one being as good as the last. Same thing with cooking. You can't say, 'Oh, I don't feel well, so I'm going to put out a crappy plate.'

At 19, I went to live in the Philippines for three years as a U.S. Air Force 'dependent spouse.' I lived off-base in Angeles City and had to haul water for drinking and cooking.

I was lucky enough to first meet Elvis at his house in Bel Air and he used to invite different artists, singers and musicians, to come and jam with him at his house.

We cannot sell out our public lands for destructive fossil fuel development that pollutes our air, water, and land.

What air is to the body, to feel understood is to the heart.

All at once the cockpit lit up with a sort of white glow because your entry was at 25,000 miles an hour and it was ionising some of the first particles of air you had. So it was kinda a little bit like being inside a weak neon bulb.