Oct. 23, 2025

The CBS Survivor Who Swims Like an Olympian and Defies Age: Janet Carbin, ENCORE EP 290

What if your 60s is your prime? We sit down with Janet Carbin—a CBS Survivor Season 39 favorite, veteran swim coach, and one of the few female chief lifeguards in the country—to unpack the mindset, training habits, and nutrition choices that keep her strong in open water and in life. Janet brings a rare mix of humility and edge: she earns respect by doing the work, leads by example, and shows how authenticity can be a competitive advantage when the clock doesn’t lie.

Janet breaks down the mental models that carry her through discomfort, from framing tough days as “five 500s” to practicing hard skills until they feel simple. She takes us behind the scenes of her Survivor prep—learning to start fire without flint, drilling balance challenges, and building resilience for cold, rain, and social stress. We talk candidly about injuries, shoulder surgeries, and how to reinvent your relationship with sport at 60 by moving daily, adding variety, and redefining success beyond old personal bests.

We also dig into performance nutrition and why Janet calls sugar “poison” for long-term health and recovery. Expect practical guidance on when electrolytes actually matter, how to spot junk disguised as protein, and why real food supports consistent training. Leadership is the throughline: earn it, own it, and stay open enough to learn from the 17-year-olds on your team. If you’re navigating age, comeback goals, or a new chapter, this conversation offers a clear framework—be direct with yourself, move every day, fuel well, and practice the hard thing until it’s yours.

If this spoke to you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. It truly helps. And don’t miss my new book, False Cure, now available at Amazon and Barnes Noble. www.False-cure.com

Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

00:00 - Host Update And Encore Setup

02:26 - Meet Janet Carbin: Survivor And Coach

04:43 - Defying Age And Earning Respect

08:16 - Mental Toughness And Fire Without Flint

12:18 - Authenticity Over Strategy On Survivor

16:06 - Obstacles, Shoulders, And Healing Ideas

20:40 - Direct Self-Talk And Owning It

24:22 - New Goals At 60 And Reinvention

28:18 - Lead By Example And Stay Humble

32:08 - Routines, Training, And Daily Movement

36:45 - Nutrition, Sugar, And Real Food

41:20 - What Makes A Champion

45:18 - Key Takeaways And Close

47:52 - Follow, Share, Review, And Book Plug

WEBVTT

00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:05.759
You're gonna walk out of here and do something different in your life.

00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:35.840
And I'm gonna start by saying that my first takeaway out of interviewing you is truly being authentic and owning my age and my limitations and my unlimitations, and just being inspired to be authentic and go out and continue to add to my repertoire and not look at what I can't do anymore, but what I can add.

00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:38.560
Hello, friends.

00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:45.920
This is Kelly Pallas, host of Champions Mojo, your place for better health, resilience, and master swimming.

00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:52.560
I'm taking a short break from recording new episodes of Champions Mojo for two exciting reasons.

00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:56.399
First, I'm launching my latest book, False Cure.

00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:02.079
It's a whistleblowing investigative journalism book about a denied health epidemic.

00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.159
If you'd like more information on that, it's in the show notes.

00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:29.040
The second and most compelling reason I'm on a break is here at Champions Mojo, we're preparing for the January 2026 reboot of powerful new weekly episodes with expert guest interviews, inspiring topics, and tips to take your mindset, health, and personal performance to the next level.

00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:36.400
We will be announcing some exciting partnerships with show.

00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:53.760
We will be announcing some exciting we will be announcing some incredible partnerships with the show, and I guarantee what we have in store for you will empower you and keep your mojo strong in the new year.

00:01:54.000 --> 00:02:03.359
While I'm prepping all this great stuff, we've selected while I'm preparing all this great stuff, we've selected some of our shows.

00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:12.800
While I'm preparing some of this great stuff, we've selected some of our best shows ever for an encore series.

00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:20.719
My hope is that if this is your second time listening to this episode, you'll take away even more insight and motivation.

00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:26.240
Or if it's your first time, you'll love this episode as much as everyone else did.

00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:31.520
So settle in and enjoy this Encore presentation in its entirety.

00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:37.599
We are going to be talking with my favorite survivor from season 39.

00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.039
She was the second to last person voted out of the show.

00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:45.759
If it hadn't been for that damn idle nullifier, I think she would have been the champion.

00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.520
But she is with us today because she's an amazing swimmer.

00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:53.840
And as you know, we have a lot of swimmers that listen, but we also have a lot of non-swimmers.

00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:02.400
But we're going to be so inspired to hear from her on how Survivor was, what she does with these four times a week open water swims.

00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:21.199
She got my attention and the attention of the swimming community because in the first water challenge of Survivor Season 39, she kept up with on a let's say it was about a hundred meter swim, maybe 50 meters, but it didn't matter, against Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel.

00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:25.360
She went stroke for stroke with Elizabeth Beisel.

00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.879
And everybody on their couches just was like, what?

00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:32.800
But um she also has been a lifelong coach.

00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:37.439
She's coached many swimmers to the Olympic trials level.

00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.639
She swam herself in at Trenton State.

00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:46.639
Both of her kids got Division I swim scholarships, and she is here with us today.

00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.520
It's none other than Janet Carbon.

00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:51.439
Hello, thank you for having me.

00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.199
We're so excited to have you, Janet.

00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:54.159
Thank you for coming.

00:03:54.479 --> 00:04:03.919
Yes, and our theme for this show today is I'm I'm just gonna call it breaking barriers and defying age.

00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:05.759
So Maria and I are for us.

00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:07.120
I love it.

00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:08.719
I love it.

00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:20.720
You know, we're older gals here, and yet we're still out there doing like Maria did a 12-hour endurance road race on her bike this weekend.

00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:31.920
And, you know, I'm still doing master's meets, but you, Janet, you really inspired me because I feel like there is ageism is out there.

00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:37.199
People look at us, and they, you know, a lot of times people in Survivor that they vote the old people off first.

00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:43.040
So, what are your thoughts on how you're just out there still kicking butt?

00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.879
Well, I've always felt like age is a number.

00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:57.120
I'm very, very fortunate to have spent my entire life working with young people, swimmers, students, lifeguards that I continue to work with.

00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.839
And that keeps me young.

00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.720
And I'm a leader by example.

00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:11.759
I'm not going to ask my swimmers, my athletes, my lifeguards to do anything that I am not willing to do myself.

00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:22.560
It's a family, a swim family, a beach family, and uh there's a level of respect that I give them and they give me, and that's what motivates me.

00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:34.160
You know, when I have my lifeguards who are swimmers going off to college and talking about, you know, Janet, I don't know if I should get in the boat and row or do this or do that.

00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:38.000
Should I compete at Lifeguard Nationals or this lifeguard competition?

00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:40.800
Because, you know, they're on scholarships for swimming.

00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:49.519
And um I am a beach captain that understands that whole life since I was in it myself and a coach of it.

00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:53.120
And uh, you know, it's just they keep me young.

00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.600
They're they're the awesome people in my life.

00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:04.160
And then down here, I am so blessed with people my age that we open water swim with.

00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:09.920
And I just feel I I drive to the ocean going, how lucky am I?

00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:22.240
How blessed am I that I am driving to the beach in February and I'm meeting up with my swim partners and we're going for an ocean mile just to get it in.

00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:24.560
How how lucky am I?

00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:25.680
That's terrific.

00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:33.199
Well, we should say that you move recently, three years ago, moved down from New Jersey where it wasn't so easy to open water swim in February.

00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:34.319
It's true.

00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:46.879
I have always said that if you're an athlete in cold areas, you're a tough athlete because not only are you getting up at four and five in the morning when it's dark, but it's cold.

00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:47.439
Right.

00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:50.560
And it but yeah, it's worth it.

00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:53.199
So you're good at discomfort.

00:06:53.519 --> 00:07:08.959
It's kind of, yeah, my jam, you know, when you spend eight to ten hours a day on a beach and you know, getting up in the morning and getting in cold water and doing all that kind of stuff, it's cool, it's just a part of life.

00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:12.639
It always feels good afterward, like that first cup of coffee.

00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:14.560
Oh boy, isn't that the truth?

00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:15.360
It is.

00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:25.199
So, what things did you learn or take from your swimming career into being successful on Survivor?

00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:34.319
Well, my swimming career enabled me, I I became one of the first female lifeguards back in 77.

00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:39.839
I was the first one in Manisquan, and I I don't know how many were in the state of New Jersey at that point.

00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.879
You were the first female lifeguard on the beach.

00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:43.920
Wow, yeah.

00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:54.720
So, and as a female chief lifeguard now, which I've been I'm going into my 15th year in Spring Lake, I was always second in command, and I got this break.

00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:58.720
And there's only one other female chief lifeguard.

00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:06.240
She just got the job in Fort Lauderdale, and she came from my area and she swam with my daughter, and I'm so proud of her.

00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:09.439
But there's only two of us probably in the country.

00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:16.480
Um, and I work in a man's world and I'm and I respect the men I work with and I've earned their respect.

00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:22.560
I don't ever that's what swimming brought, you know, to survivor for me.

00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.519
Don't give me accolades that I didn't earn.

00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:32.080
If I'm not up on that clock, if I didn't swim that time and make that cut, don't give me respect and accolades.

00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:36.000
So when I went to the island, that's what I went with that attitude.

00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:38.159
That's why I started fire the first day.

00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.639
Yes, that's so beautiful.

00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:46.320
Yeah, I forgot about that, but yes, you that was one of my goals because you probably would have been voted out early.

00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:47.360
Yep.

00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:48.240
That is so good.

00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:50.960
So you're used to having to earn respect.

00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:52.960
Yes, and that's what swimming taught you.

00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:58.639
Swimming totally taught me that because you can't fake it in swimming.

00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:05.919
You know, you can't, the clock doesn't lie, the laps don't lie, the the effort doesn't lie.

00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:11.840
And when you turn that over to open water, that's what I do with my rookies and my senior guards.

00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:23.039
We take I take them in by myself and I teach them, you know, that and I'll say to them, you're a six foot three 20-year-old, but I can swim faster than you.

00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:24.000
Think about that.

00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:24.879
Why?

00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.200
And then they start thinking, and then they start working, and then I talk to them.

00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:38.720
And the mental focus, which we know is 90% swimming, is what I and that's what I brought to the island to me, is my mental focus.

00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:51.919
I knew I wasn't gonna have a problem with the beach itself, but I wanted to break the barrier for women, older women, and I knew my best way to do it was to start fire without flint.

00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:58.480
So I practiced, and my husband, he helped me, and I learned what bamboo to use and how to do it.

00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.559
And he was a he was a great coach.

00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:08.480
He had the backyard set up with balance beams and and boards and giant slingshots, and yeah, it was great.

00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:10.799
Oh my gosh, that is so that's so great.

00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:25.519
So the you practiced, and how would you say like you could equate that to if you're giving someone advice and they're going into something really difficult, what would your advice with your mindset?

00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:28.240
So you said your your mindset was there.

00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.960
What what like did you ever do you ever talk negatively to yourself?

00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:34.879
I mean I try not to.

00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:36.399
So what is your mindset?

00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.759
My mindset is is I can get through anything.

00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:47.120
And the funny thing is, and I've taught my daughters this, who were both swimmers, and I'll say it to my swimmer lifeguards.

00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:54.720
When we were on the island, I've been thinking, you know, and it's cold and rainy, and I know in three days I might be able to get a food reward.

00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:59.679
I used to go in my head, okay, this is like doing five five hundreds.

00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:01.679
Just put your head down.

00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:03.840
Let's get the first five hundred done.

00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:05.600
Let's get the next 500 done.

00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:12.720
And by the second day, I would equate it to the next set of whatever I was swimming, you know, and and it's true.

00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:16.159
And I would tell my daughters that, you know, my one daughter's in labor.

00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:22.240
I have two granddaughters from her, and I'm like, okay, we're doing it, we're doing a the double workout today.

00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:24.480
You know, just like think about that.

00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:30.240
And she'll she's been very successful in business also, and attributes that to her swimming.

00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:38.639
So the the the the mindset of the athlete, I've done this before, I've done this hard thing, I can do whatever this next thing is.

00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:41.759
What would you say to somebody who maybe isn't necessarily an athlete?

00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:46.320
What how would you say, what would you say to reach for when you're trying to do something tough?

00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:51.120
I tell people, and this is something that I really strongly believe in.

00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:53.519
There's that inner voice inside of you.

00:11:53.919 --> 00:12:00.320
And as women, I believe our culture doesn't cultivate that.

00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:09.200
And that's what I really that's been my mission, and that's my mission today, is to cultivate that inner voice.

00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.279
You know, I say, listen to your gut.

00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:12.879
Everybody has it.

00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:18.080
Listen to it, and that's why I told Elizabeth Weisel at one point when we were together.

00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.320
I said, What is your gut telling you?

00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:21.759
She's like, You're right.

00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.399
And it's it's so true.

00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:27.840
It is never, ever, I'm 60 years old.

00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.080
It has never ever failed me.

00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:31.600
And listen to your gut.

00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:35.519
Listen to your gut, listen to that little pit of your stomach.

00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:39.759
And if you're gonna give up, what is that little pit of your stomach saying?

00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:41.039
Is it okay with that?

00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:42.720
Because it might be.

00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:47.120
Some situations you might need to step back.

00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.600
Listen to it, you know.

00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.759
But if it doesn't sit right, then you gotta figure out a new way.

00:12:53.840 --> 00:13:09.759
As I as I t I would tell my athletes and my girls, you know, we know we want to get to here, you know, and this was our goal and our path, a straight line, but bumps come in the road, and you just gotta go around them, you can still get there.

00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.200
And uh, and both of them did.

00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.559
I remember sitting, I sit all my swimmers down at some point.

00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:20.799
I just had another talk with another one this past summer, but I sit them all down.

00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:27.200
And I with my girls when they were 12 and 13, I sat them down and I said, What do you want out of swimming?

00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:28.879
Do you want to enjoy it?

00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:30.720
Because it's an awesome sport.

00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:32.720
Do you want it to pay for college?

00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.759
Do you want to go to they had the ability to be Olympians?

00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:41.919
And we sat and made decisions as where we were gonna gear their swimming towards.

00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:42.879
And I did that.

00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:55.440
I had one of my girls that went to South Carolina, and uh she's graduated and we went to Lifeguard Nationals, and she's like, I'm having a hard time.

00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:02.159
And I said, You need to develop a new relationship with swimming periodically from year to year.

00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:07.120
Andreas Rostenberg, he's a coach in New Jersey, he swam for Texas.

00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:15.919
You know, at one point he had, you know, when the Olympics fell out of focus for him, you know, he was like, I don't know where to go with my swimming.

00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:21.519
Every swimmer, every single swimmer I know has to develop new relationships.

00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.879
It's like a toddler that grows up, a swimmer that grows up.

00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:27.200
Where does your swimming change?

00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.720
And for me, my swimming has changed.

00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:34.559
I still pool swim probably two or three times a week.

00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:40.879
You know, in the summer I'll do a little bit more because the master's swimming that I run is right there at my office.

00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.360
So how can I not when it's right there?

00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.000
But I do a lot more open water swimming now.

00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.399
That's my new relationship.

00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:54.159
So, what really inspired you to get way out of your comfort zone and do Survivor?

00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.440
I wanted to do Survivor since the first season.

00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:06.960
I it was like I used to physically be in pain when I'd watch the show and I'd be like, oh, I want to be there so bad.

00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:16.879
And I applied four times over a 20-year period, and they were really funny, funny and fun to do.

00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:23.679
The last one that actually flat they noticed, Survivor noticed, was a rain day with my lifeguards.

00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:27.360
We were all bored, and I said, let's make a video.

00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:44.960
And we had the best time making this video, and it was so funny, and sent it in, and um, the irony was I probably should have been on the edge of extinction, but when they called me, the time was too close to make it happen.

00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:52.559
So I actually thought my survivor dream was over, and I finally accepted that it wasn't gonna happen.

00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.720
And then August, I got an email and a phone call.

00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:05.759
I'm leaving for Lifeguard Nationals, my boat's hooked up, and I got, hey, would you like to audition again?

00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.399
And it started from there.

00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.399
So when I look at Survivor, I love watching it.

00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:16.000
I've watched every season at least, at least once or twice.

00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:24.080
And I see bug bites and starving and freezing and uncomfortable, and I just say, Oh, I would never do Survivor.

00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:25.679
So, what attracted you to it?

00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:27.519
Like, what was the what was the attraction?

00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.000
I knew living on a beach was gonna be okay.

00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.080
I knew swimming was gonna be okay.

00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:38.559
I knew open water swimming, since I'm a chief lifeguard and I've spent my life on the ocean, was gonna be okay.

00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:40.159
Why not?

00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.120
You know, I'm I love adventure.

00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.320
You know, at this point I need a new adventure.

00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.000
And you like to suffer.

00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:50.480
I guess, you know, you know, it was funny.

00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:55.519
At one point on the show, when I fell from grace, is what I call it.

00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:59.679
I dug a hole, because that's what we do on the beach when we have bad weather.

00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.879
And I slept in the hole two or three nights.

00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:05.119
By the second or third night, I loved it.

00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:15.039
I was like so much happier there, and but I needed to get back into the game, so I had to enmesh myself back in with the with the tribe.

00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:23.519
But yeah, I mean that was the most wonderful nights when I slept by myself in the hole that I dug.

00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.160
What was the hardest thing in Survivor?

00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:27.119
Like, what was the hardest?

00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:32.880
The two hardest things were it was very, very cold at night and it rained.

00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:37.359
I can tell you day 26 and day 34 were brutal.

00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:38.319
Brutal.

00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:41.759
It rained for 17 hours, one of them.

00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.599
And you were freezing, you were cold, you dreaded the rain.

00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:51.519
Um, the other thing was the psychological game was much harder than the physical, much harder.

00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:56.799
I did not expect it to be as intense as it was.

00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.039
Um that's my question.

00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:01.359
You seem like a real straight shooter.

00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:10.480
I am, and so how do you go on to a show like Survivor and do as well as you did being a straight shooter?

00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:19.119
You know, prior to going on, I didn't know because I had four goals going on break the glass ceiling for older women.

00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:27.039
That was my first goal, and start fire without Flint, find an idol, and win the show.

00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:29.599
I oh, and spear a fish, which I did.

00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:31.519
That was like awesome.

00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:40.960
Um, I was going to go in with a game plan lying about my age, you know, because I thought that would have but you know what?

00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:45.839
48-year-old woman, it wasn't gonna be any better than my uh actual age.

00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:49.839
So I've right before I went on to the show, I said, you know what?

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:54.799
I could probably lie for about three days and then it would all fall apart.

00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:56.720
So I'm just gonna go be me.

00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:02.880
And I did have a people think that even my survivor friends think that I can't be devious.

00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.240
I absolutely want 100.

00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:09.680
I tempered my it was said to me, oh, there's the chief lifeguard.

00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:19.440
There were some couple moments that I you saw the boss come out because I have 150 lifeguards that I manage and was a swim coach for you know what I mean.

00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.559
It's that's there.

00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:21.839
But I tempered that.

00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:28.240
I didn't want them to see, I wanted them to see the person they thought that couldn't be devious.

00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:33.920
There was a lot of stuff that you didn't see on the show that was behind the scenes.

00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:36.160
So you were deliberate in your interactions.

00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:36.720
Yes.

00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:41.279
I I love the two, like you just hit two gems for me.

00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:45.200
One, you had goals, you had defined goals going in there.

00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:47.680
Like I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna do this.

00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:48.720
That's from swimming.

00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:50.160
Yeah, and that's beautiful.

00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:54.240
And then you were clear that you were gonna be authentic.

00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:56.480
You could have gone in there and said, Hey, I'm 48.

00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.640
And but you were gonna be authentic.

00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:00.000
So I I love that.

00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:03.119
And also, yeah, you know two sides of yourself.

00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:12.079
There's the there's the leader manager side, and then there's the side that can be nice and and be more interactive, relational, I guess.

00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:14.319
I didn't want to be the leader coming off.

00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.559
I was trying very hard not to be.

00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:23.039
But in my job, and as a teacher, a swim coach, and a lifeguard chief, my I observed people.

00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:26.240
So there was a lot of observing that I that was going on.

00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:30.160
And when I saw the cracks happen, I used them.

00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:35.920
Janna, what is your biggest obstacle that you've overcome in your life?

00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.880
My biggest obstacle?

00:20:39.440 --> 00:21:03.359
Probably creating the position, it's it's probably creating the position that I'm in now as a chief lifeguard in a man's world, and I don't know that I would view it as an obstacle as much as a challenge, and establish myself rightfully so, not because I'm the token woman.

00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:15.359
You know, I there's another man that I we run the County Lifeguard Associate Chiefs Association, you know, I earned it, and I'm proud of that, you know.

00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:21.119
But any mother can say the biggest obstacle is making sure your kids come out okay, you know.

00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:26.880
My older son is challenged, and uh he's a wonderful human being.

00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:32.400
He's 34 years old, and you know, I could say that was a biggest obstacle.

00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:37.519
Um, they're just challenges, you know, a failed marriage.

00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:47.279
Uh, I was a single mom with two kids before I met my current husband who took the kids on, and we had a child together also.

00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:49.839
We had to explain to them that they weren't biological.

00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:53.279
They all think that John's their dad anyway.

00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.880
Any health challenges?

00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:56.400
Have you ever had any health challenges?

00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:57.200
Your shoulders?

00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:58.160
Oh, yeah.

00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:07.279
Well, that's kind of just I have a full replacement in my left shoulder, and I'm trying to hold off replacing my right shoulder, and I've had five shoulder surgeries.

00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:13.359
You know, it's the old swimmer, you know, I was a butterfly, which I can't swim butterfly anymore.

00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:27.119
I mean, I used to swim butterfly while everybody was doing freestyle, you know, and uh I just I can barely do a lap of butterfly without dying.

00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:34.400
Well, this is a great time to tell you and launch some a little bit of a little bit of coaching.

00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:41.359
I have had diagnosed MRI uh shoulder impingement and a torn rotator cuff.

00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:46.880
Couldn't raise my arm here, used to do butterfly, can barely do butterfly anymore.

00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:56.400
And I have recently found a book, and I'm gonna put it in the show notes because but it's called Hanging to Cure Your Shoulder Problems.

00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:56.960
Really?

00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:58.799
And it is amazing.

00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:14.880
You hang from a a pull-up bar straight down and you hang, you need to look it up, but you hang for on and off, you start slow, like three times 30 seconds, but you work up to hanging for a total of 15 minutes, and it remodels your shoulder.

00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:16.000
I could believe that.

00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:30.720
And it totally like even the the stats, this just you know, double blind, placebo controlled, they had a hundred people, 50 of them had torn rotator cuffs and shoulder impingements, and it healed a torn rotator cuff.

00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:34.640
So without surgery, so you may want to try hanging.

00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:52.880
I will absolutely try it because after each of my surgeries, it's it's pretty funny that you say that because I used to hold on to the flagpole and just while I was coaching and just hang on to the flagpole and just try and stretch my shoulder, and it would feel so much better.

00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:53.759
Yeah.

00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:59.440
Well we'll put that in the show notes, but I while we had everybody's you know attention in the bad moment.

00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:08.480
So your obstacles, what what I'm hearing is you've had a lot of big obstacles that are typical and and not typical, but that are pretty bad.

00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:12.960
And yet you don't even like when we ask you that question, you can't even find the obstacle.

00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:13.920
They're just challenging.

00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:14.960
They're in the past.

00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:15.759
Yeah, I'm past.

00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:16.640
I like that.

00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:21.359
You know what I'm really impressed with, and I I want to hear you talk about this.

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:24.559
Your self-talk is so positive.

00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:32.160
And I think, you know, I don't want this to be a sexist thing, but I think sometimes we women can be hard on each other, hard on ourselves, in our heads.

00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:34.480
So did you that's something you developed?

00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:36.400
It's funny, yes.

00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:45.759
I would have to say I developed it because I grew up in a very crazy household, so there wasn't a lot of that going on with my husband John.

00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:48.079
He actually taught me this.

00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:52.400
He used to say, get more direct in your thinking.

00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:54.319
I and I used to go, that's thinking like men.

00:24:54.480 --> 00:25:09.279
So I'd sit back and I'd watch the other chiefs interact and different men at different points interact, and I'd watch the way they interact, and none of men don't put themselves down.

00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:14.960
And I started developing, and I would call it my male way of thinking.

00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:25.839
If I could teach more women to do that, which I have, you know, I think talk to us, give us the three things be much more direct.

00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:26.880
What does that mean?

00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:29.440
Be direct, like women don't hint.

00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:31.920
Yeah, women, yeah, be much more direct.

00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:37.519
Women talk flowerly until they get to the point they want to get to.

00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:42.640
It might take in five minutes, the last 30 seconds is what they really wanted to say.

00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:47.680
Men start with the first 30 seconds, the that last 30 seconds.

00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.599
So I started doing that.

00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:51.200
Be direct, that's one thing.

00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:59.119
Be direct, be honest, as hard as it might be, be honest, and then own it.

00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:03.279
Whether somebody agrees with it or not, own it.

00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.079
And if you'll notice, men do that.

00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:14.160
And that's why I think their relationships, and I watch them, and I started to do that with myself.

00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.079
So your thoughts are the same.

00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.480
You try to be direct and honest and own it.

00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:19.279
And own it.

00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:39.359
Owning it's really important because I think a lot of people, and I hate to say it, but probably more women than men, are afraid to own it because it might not be the popular or the maternal or the feminine way of thinking that they might be thinking, but it's okay.

00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:40.160
Own it.

00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.680
Well, look, can I can you can coach me for a second, coach?

00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:44.000
Okay.

00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:57.920
So if I'm you know, I'm freaking out a little bit about a birthday I have coming up, same one you have coming up, and I tend to find myself talking about age.

00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:01.519
So what what do I say?

00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:10.880
Okay, what I do, because I turned 60 in June, what I do is prior to that, I started referring to myself as 60.

00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:11.920
What is 60?

00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.680
I'm 60, so what does that mean?

00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:19.200
So what can I do at 60 that I couldn't do at 59, 58, you know, 50.

00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:24.960
And then then I started to embrace it by saying it, saying it out loud.

00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:31.279
I started to embrace it, and then now I'm like, dog, I'm 60, let's go.

00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.799
And that's that's owning it for me.

00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:41.680
And it's a lot of self-talk, and it's a lot of saying, you know, it's okay.

00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:50.240
But you're saying things that you can do now that you couldn't do, and I'm finding as I turn 60, there's so many things that I can't do that I used to do.

00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:53.119
Then find something else, find something new that I can do.

00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.079
I started trail riding on a bike a month ago.

00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:56.640
Okay.

00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:06.079
Met a whole bunch of women that have now come to me, my age and maybe probably younger, but that are meeting up with the trail ride.

00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:11.039
Met a bunch of women that are playing pickleball up at Wickham Park every week.

00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:12.000
I do that.

00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:13.599
Find something new.

00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:14.240
Yeah.

00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.440
And do it.

00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:19.279
And keep doing what you're doing, but develop a new relationship.

00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:20.079
I love that.

00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:20.880
I do too.

00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.440
I like that.

00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:24.720
I like the idea of becoming a new person at 60.

00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:27.759
Yeah, and Maria, you and I were talking about this this morning over coffee.

00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:33.519
That, you know, you and I have won about every title you can win in endurance cycling and master swimming.

00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:34.720
Find something new.

00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.599
And those are not gonna keep easily.

00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:38.160
Yeah.

00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:40.000
You know, so we need to find something new.

00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:44.559
You need to keep doing that, but have a new relationship with it and say, you know what?

00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:46.559
I did that.

00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:53.200
And I can still do that, and it can still be a part of my life because it's part of my life, but in a different way.

00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:58.480
It's like it's like a a relationship that you have with your children or your partner.

00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:03.519
It has to keep changing in order for it to get developed and grow.

00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:05.119
Well, same thing with you.

00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:07.680
Develop that relationship with yourself.

00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:12.720
You know, that's where us as women sometimes worry about everybody else.

00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:16.000
But they're gonna be better if we're better, right?

00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:17.440
That's so great.

00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:24.240
I love this concept of developing a relationship that changes with your sport, with your family, and with yourself.

00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:27.599
I just think that's really, really smart.

00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:47.839
Yeah, and how about I think what we women do really well, and I think people do it in general, is we do as I say, not as I do, or you know, I can coach others to tons of success, but when it comes to my own self talk, like I can coach people all day long about what they need to say.

00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:50.160
What do you how do you respond to that?

00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:56.480
Um, my response is it's very important to me to lead by example.

00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:03.599
And I may not be able to get in and swim an 8,000 or Or do you know whatever that the kids are doing, but you know what?

00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:05.359
I'm gonna get in and swim.

00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:08.400
And I'm gonna show you what I can do.

00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:12.640
And I've never I've always gotten respect for it.

00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:26.240
You know, um, and then when you try something new, like I started rowing several years ago, so I got that's my goal on my beach is to get all my girls rowing, plus my boys, you know, my boys are just as important to me.

00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:33.839
And without my boys and my girls respecting each other, which they do, you can't grow.

00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:36.000
And they do, and that's important.

00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:44.960
And if if I'm going to be vulnerable, you know, I may have been a champion at one point in my life in butterfly.

00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.559
It's okay not to be right now, but you know what?

00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:51.920
You're you're gonna see what I can do, and that's my vulnerability.

00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:56.160
If you let people see that you're vulnerable, they're gonna respect you.

00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:01.359
If you're gonna do something new, you may not do it the way you used to.

00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:04.559
Oh well, but you're still doing it.

00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:19.440
Lori Kruger, who is a a cyclist, triathlet, and one of my open water swimming friends, said to me one day, she she we were we were swimming, and I said to her, I said, we're not unique.

00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:21.680
And she looked at me and she says, Well, we are.

00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:22.960
She's 59.

00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:25.839
She said, We are unique to a lot of people our age.

00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:27.359
I said, Yeah, but we're really not.

00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:32.799
There's still a lot of people out there that are don't believe you're unique.

00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:35.200
That's another key thing for me.

00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:43.359
There's so many people out there that can do what I can do, and then some that I can learn from and enjoy.

00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:52.559
And I think that's really important, is to not believe that I'm and I think we do that a lot as human beings as we get older, men and women.

00:31:52.799 --> 00:32:00.240
Just because you get older, you think you're better, or you have to live to a certain standard, or you have to do something, you don't.

00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:02.160
You're not unique.

00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:06.160
Do the what you can do, and people will respect you for it.

00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:08.799
For trying, for just putting yourself out there.

00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:15.039
I mean, I have 16, 17-year-old kids that I learn from.

00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:21.759
And I think too many older people think that they should they they can't do that.

00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:28.079
That they'll be less than, or they should just because they're older, they deserve the respect.

00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:29.599
No, no, no, no, no, no.

00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:32.079
I've never believed that.

00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:34.000
And it's worked for me.

00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:35.759
I love that.

00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:40.079
I love that combination of earning it and also humility.

00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:40.319
Yeah.

00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:41.200
That's what you're talking about.

00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:42.480
It's like, hey, we're not unique.

00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:48.160
There's there's people out there, but but but you're obviously confident in who you are and what you've done.

00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:56.160

The CBS Survivor Who Swims Like an Olympian and Defies Age: Janet Carbin, ENCORE EP 290

Listen On

Recent Episodes