Bradley Wiggins: The Trauma Behind My Greatest Successes & Finding New Purpose

We re-visit one of the most emotional and gripping conversations we have ever recorded. Eight Olympic medals, five of them gold, and the first Briton ever to win the Tour de France. For one summer in 2012, Sir Bradley Wiggins was the most famous man in Britain — sideburns, gold medal, sat on a throne at Hampton Court. He couldn't bring himself to put the medal on.Bradley takes us right back to the beginning: a council estate in Kilburn, a father who left when he was eighteen months old and came back only once his son was successful, and a coach who sexually abused him between the ages of thirteen and sixteen — something he didn't say out loud for thirty years. Then he traces, with total honesty, how that damage became the fuel that made him great, and how the same fuel nearly destroyed him when the racing stopped.Moments that will stay with you:Why Bradley laid his Olympic gold medal on the sofa rather than put it round his neckSmashing his trophies off the mantelpiece, and throwing out his knighthoodHis father's line, a week after they finally met: "Don't forget, you'll never be as good as your old man was"Realising the voice screaming at him up every climb of the Tour was his stepfather'sLance Armstrong offering to pay for his treatment, and what Bradley said backThe hotel room his son had to come and find him inHe's unflinching on what drove him: that greatness often grows out of a dark place, and that isn't something to romanticise. That you don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your habits. That fulfilment carries you further than happiness ever will. And his hardest-won lesson — not everyone who helps you is your friend, and not everyone who hurts you is your enemy. The answer isn't to forget the past. It's to change your relationship with it.Contains discussion of the sexual abuse of children and of addiction. Please listen with care.Revolut Business 👉 High-performing businesses need powerful financial tools. Get a £200 welcome bonus with Revolut Business when you sign up at https://revolutbusiness.onelink.me/jLOt/hp-ep9-aud and add money to your account by 30/09/2026. Fees, promotion terms and T&Cs apply. AG1 👉 head to http://drinkag1.com/highperformance and get a free Morning Person Hat to help start your AG1 daily habit - plus a free D3 and K2, and five travel packsGo Henry 👉 Grow their skills and their money at gohenry.com/highperformance with £5 FREE to get started!Eight Sleep 👉If you want to discover deeper sleep. Use code HPP to get £360 off your Pod 5 Ultra here: https://highpfrmc.com/eightsleep_auVitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.