Why “Hustle Culture” is Killing Your Progress (The Truth) | The Art of Wellness Podcast #16

Dr. Gerry: Did you have a good overall last year? You think?

Coach Ramy: I think so.

Dr. Gerry: Let’s reminisce a little bit.

Coach Ramy: I think so. I traveled to three countries which I was really happy about. I went to Japan, which we talked about in the last world travel. Japan, Saudi Arabia, and then the end of the year, Portugal.

Dr. Gerry: What’s your favorite one? Where would you go back to like the fastest?

Coach Ramy: It’s so tough between Japan and Portugal. They’re such different countries. So Saudi Arabia’s out. Sorry, Saudi Arabia. Japan and Portugal couldn’t be more different, but they sound super different. Portugal felt like home. I could see myself living there. And aesthetically I look like a lot of the people there, so I blend in a lot better. Japan, I know this might come as a surprise to you, but I don’t blend in. People knew I wasn’t Japanese. Shocking, I know. But in Portugal, by day two or three, you could just blend in as a regular. Same with you. You have that racially ambiguous look, right? That miscellaneous something—you’re sort of brown.

Dr. Gerry: Uh-huh. Exactly. Right. Exactly. So Portugal then, you would choose?

Coach Ramy: I think so. I loved it. And it was just such a laid-back culture, great food, very slow. So if you’re in a rush, it’s not the place to be. You’ll be in line somewhere and the employees will just kind of look at their phone for 5 minutes and then be like, “What do you want? Like, why are you still here?” It’s very different than the service we’re used to here, but something kind of cool about it. They don’t have that “the customer is always right,” running after the customer type of energy. It’s a lot more laid-back. People are friendly. The food is phenomenal. And you like coffee. Do you drink coffee?

Dr. Gerry: I’m more of a tea drinker, honestly. I’m not a big coffee guy, unfortunately.

Coach Ramy: Unfortunately. Okay. So, the coffee there is good. You might not try it but coffee there is very…

Dr. Gerry: I’d try it but I’m not a big… Are you a big coffee drinker?

Coach Ramy: I love coffee, yeah. I used to drink much more, now I drink like two to three cups a day. I used to drink maybe six to eight cups a day. But I wasn’t sleeping well, which I know we’re going to talk about.

Dr. Gerry: Yeah, we’re going to talk about that.

Coach Ramy: Yeah, so it was supplementing with caffeine to make up for a lack of quality sleep, so I’ve gotten better with that.

Dr. Gerry: Have you?

Coach Ramy: I have, yeah. I have hit-or-miss days when it comes to sleep, especially when my mind is racing. It can be tough to sleep when you have all these thoughts racing. So if I don’t ease into my sleep schedule, I’m just laying in bed with my mind racing.

Dr. Gerry: Yeah. Anyways, welcome back to the podcast. I’m Dr. Gerry. Coach Ramy’s here again and yeah, lots to talk about. Well, I wanted to talk about resolutions, but I know you have pretty big opinions on what you think about people forming New Year’s resolutions. What do you think about resolutions in general?

Coach Ramy: I think because I’m in a fitness or fitness-adjacent industry, I can’t stand the idea of like, “Oh, this year I’m gonna…” because nobody follows through with what they say, right? Every year people say, “I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.” Especially as a coach and a martial artist, people will call the gym and be like, “Hey, it’s been my dream to blah blah blah, and this year I’m going to do it.” And then they never show up. You never see them. Or someone signs up, trains for like two weeks. To me, if you’re going to do something, you do it. It’s okay to set the intention, but I think you prove that you’re going to make changes in your life by changing them and acting upon them. When you make these declarations, oftentimes publicly for other people’s approval or reassurance, to me, it seems insincere. It’s just like an ego boost. It’s temporary motivation and it doesn’t turn into a consistent discipline in order to achieve the goals.

Dr. Gerry: Well, let me play devil’s advocate because I agree with you for the most part. But also, do you think there’s people that actually follow through?

Coach Ramy: I’m sure there are. And I think it can be a good thing if people are sincere. Absolutely.

Dr. Gerry: That’s how I think about it, too. I’m definitely a hater in a way of resolutions, too, but if that’s a foot in the door for somebody—for their fitness journey, for their nutrition journey—and they keep doing it, you know? There’s a stigma of like people do their goals and they just kind of burn out, which I talked about in my last podcast. They can’t really integrate it into their lives because they’ve never done it before. But I think it is good for the people that do follow through. Also, I think it’s a good way to reflect on the previous year. If that gets you to sit down and think about your goals and your aspirations in life at the end of the year, it’s something. So I want to ask you—what is something you can improve upon? Let’s look at business. What did you like about your business that you did last year?

Coach Ramy: Last year I liked that I expanded by adding new classes and new coaches. Shout out to Enrique. And just having my students compete more in various combat sports. Growing the impact, right? More workshops, seminars, more free programs for people who can’t afford training, going to underserved communities. I like that our impact expanded.

Dr. Gerry: What communities? Let’s shout those out.

Coach Ramy: Chatham on the southside, Englewood, the Austin neighborhood which is close to where I live in Oak Park. These are communities with incredible people and they don’t have access to gyms like PSSE. At best, maybe there’s a park district, and park district boxing in the city is the most intense thing you will ever see. They go hard. They might not have the patience to teach you the fundamentals the way they should. So yeah, I’m really proud about the growing impact PSSE has had.

Dr. Gerry: And then what do you hope to improve upon this year?

Coach Ramy: This year we turned 10 years old. We started in 2016. Most small businesses fail within a year and most gyms don’t make it past a couple of years. It’s a tough business. If you’re in it just to make a profit, there’s much less stressful ways to make a living. You have to love it. But one thing I want to balance better is work-life balance. That’s why personally, I prioritized travel. Before, I’d always say there will be a time when I can just do whatever I want. Then almost 10 years went by and I noticed that wasn’t happening. If I don’t set aside the time to enjoy my life, it’s just going to be like me running on a hamster wheel.

Dr. Gerry: That’s where I’m at right now. I’m like, “Can I even leave for that long?”

Coach Ramy: I get it, man. But I mean, why do you think travel helps you overall in life?

Dr. Gerry: Sometimes when I think of travel, I think of people wanting to escape their lives. But if you have your purpose and you’re working towards it and then you travel to expand your horizons, I think that’s a better frame.

Coach Ramy: It reminds you that the world is much bigger than your day-to-day life. When I speak about travel, if you go to some resort in Cancun and just drink at the swim-up bar, that’s a vacation—an escape. I’ve never done a vacation like that. When I go somewhere, I want to live like a local. You pick up phrases, you learn about cultures. You just feel like a more well-rounded person.

Dr. Gerry: What about personal stuff? What do you think you could improve upon this year?

Coach Ramy: Maintaining relationships, friendships, putting more effort into them. I had a lot of life stuff going on the past few years that made it difficult to do anything other than work. Home was like a safe place for me mentally. But I can’t just live the rest of my life like that. I have friends who have children I haven’t seen much and I want to be a part of their lives. People are irreplaceable. If PSSE fails, I can do something else. But the people I might be pushing to the side are not replaceable. Prioritizing people over the “grind” is the goal. I work seven days a week. I don’t take any days off unless I’m traveling.

Dr. Gerry: It is tiring, though. Especially with me in healthcare—people walk in in pain, sad, or angry. It can be very draining. Okay, so your first resolution is doing better with relationships. Let me give you one of mine. A big one for me is sleep. I need to have a cutoff time to cease all business stuff—devices, laptop, phone. I set my time to 9:30 or 10:00 PM to just stop. Because if not, I keep going. If I sleep an hour earlier, I wake up feeling like a different person. So that’s my first goal for 2026.

Coach Ramy: That’s enough. That’s great.

Dr. Gerry: Yours was relationships and balance. Personally, what did you do too much of last year that you want to cut out?

Coach Ramy: Managing all different types of stress. Stress is a killer. I noticed when I don’t have a healthy outlet for stress, it stays with me longer. I need to start planning things that are for no other reason than to have fun. Enjoying a walk in downtown Chicago is productive for the mind.

Dr. Gerry: Is that something you like doing?

Coach Ramy: I love walking. That’s when I do my best thinking. And being around friends and family laughing. Also, boxing and kickboxing. When I train, I feel so much better.

Dr. Gerry: How often do you train now?

Coach Ramy: The busier the gym gets, the less I train. Recently it’s been one to two times a week, and I can feel the increase in stress in my body. I’m walking around tense. People around me will notice and be like, “Maybe you should go train.”

Dr. Gerry: This is funny because I teach anatomy now at Lewis. We were just talking about this in my class—the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system. Your vagus nerve is responsible for the parasympathetic response. When your body is on high alert, your sympathetic nervous system is activated. Your muscles clench, your heart rate increases. And a lot of people are in a constant state of stress. Meaning they’re in a constant state of muscle tension and they’re always ready to go when nothing really is a threat to them. It’s kind of weird how that works. I asked my class, “How do you guys de-stress? How do you stimulate the vagus nerve?” Exercise is a good way. Meditation, deep breathing. There’s a reason people say “take a deep breath.” Your body calms down. You don’t want to be in that constant state of distress. It manifests in tight muscles, tension, and pain. You can’t negate those effects.

Coach Ramy: Relationships too. Trying to get more with that.

Dr. Gerry: A goal for me this year—not a resolution—is less phone stuff. I want to read more books. I was an avid reader in my 20s and I remember how good it felt. When I read before bed, I feel more present, focused, and relaxed as opposed to staring at a screen for an hour. I fall asleep a lot better. 10 or 15 minutes a night, I’m chilling. What about you?

Coach Ramy: I agree. I need to read more. A friend of mine, Alex, told me years ago that I read on my phone but it’s not the same. You read an article and you scroll right past it. When you read a book, you’re focused and stuck in the story. Scrolling is fast; reading is slow. I went to the movies recently—a movie about 1970s Brazil with the guy from Narcos. It was subtitled in Portuguese. In the middle of it, I realized this is a rewarding experience. Reading is like a slow, steady dopamine release—like eating a good meal versus fast food. You have to sit and say, “For the next three hours, this is my only source of entertainment.” I feel so much better when I do that. Reading is akin to traveling; the more you read, the more personal growth you experience.

Dr. Gerry: What’s your favorite book ever?

Coach Ramy: Man, that’s such a tough question. I’m going to have to think about that and get back to you.

Dr. Gerry: One that always jumps out at me is Antifragile by Nassim Taleb. It’s about how organisms require stress to get better—not enough to kill you, but a dose response that makes you stronger. You don’t want to avoid stress, but you don’t want to overdo it. You want the most effective dose. Pushing myself in things like social media or business will make me a better entrepreneur. It clicked with me right away. Stress yourself, but don’t overstress yourself. My third goal: be the creator, not the consumer. Instead of scrolling and consuming what someone else is doing, put value into the world.

Coach Ramy: Absolutely. I read somewhere that every time you open an app and start scrolling, you should post on that app. Contribute rather than just consuming. It’s more rewarding and fun. We’re in a weird space where it’s cool to mock social media even though everyone uses it. If you put yourself out there, you open yourself to criticism. A close person in my life, Asha, told me to put myself out there more. Most people learn more about me from these podcast episodes than they have in 15 years. I’m inspired by small business owners who don’t just post their products, but their journey—day one of opening a restaurant, the struggles. People only see the end result at PSSE—the medals and the merch—but there is so much more going on.

Dr. Gerry: I’ve thought about doing a reality show of my day-to-day, but I can’t because of private health information. But showing our personality is key. There will be people who don’t vibe with it, but as long as we know we’re doing good, who cares? Hopefully, someone scrolling hears us talking about injury prevention or mindset and decides to keep listening. Instead of just doing nothing looking at a rectangle.

Coach Ramy: I always think if aliens were watching us just sitting there looking at phones, they’d be like, “What are these humans doing with their time?” One thing I’m proud of is that PSSE has become a brand outside of just classes. We released shirts and had orders from New York and California from people who have never even set foot in the gym. Why? Because I talk about what PSSE represents—our values. We are a rebellious business. We wear our values on our sleeve. We are inclusive. Most combat sports gyms are extremely bigoted and mean—it’s like high school again. Creating an environment where a 40-year-old who has never done sports feels empowered—that’s what people resonate with. I should share our story more. And you should too, because you’re a rebel as well. You rebelled against the healthcare system.

Dr. Gerry: Yeah, most people hate the healthcare system. They see their primary care and get shooed off with pills. If your knee hurts, they should refer you to PT. And then when people do get PT, they go to some corporate clinic that sees them for 20 minutes and hands them off to an aide. I hated working for those companies. You can’t see three people at a time and be effective.

Coach Ramy: Do you think the people who stick with that system know it’s wrong?

Dr. Gerry: Oh, they know. They complain about it all the time. But they stay because it’s the safe option. Pay, 401k, stable job. But that wasn’t me, so I left. Now it’s all private and I love getting to know my patients. Any other goals for this year?

Coach Ramy: Just to get Dr. Gerry back in PSSE practicing.

Dr. Gerry: I’ll be there soon! My knee is good, but I strained my rotator cuff testing a grip strength dynamometer with a patient. I went too hard and felt it pop. It’s been bugging me for a couple months, but it’s getting better. I’ll be back to training soon.

Coach Ramy: Good. I’m also moving away from being anti-marketing. I used to never print a flyer or do ads, but I realized for the ambitious goals I have, I can’t just wait for people to magically appear. I hired a crew called Map Masters. By putting a little bit into marketing, we’re changing lives of people who would have never known about us. I want people to see that Phoenix logo and know what we stand for. I want to travel and teach—I just did a workshop in Portugal for a university. That’s the dream.

Dr. Gerry: Marketing is huge. I want to do more of that too—more clips, more podcasts. This is fun. Go ahead and do some marketing for yourself right now.

Coach Ramy: Phoenixsports.com. I’m Ramy Dawood. If you’re in the area, come check us out. If not, I’m happy to come to you for a workshop. Shout out to Asha, my parents, and the coaches—Haimey, Brooks, and Enrique. We wouldn’t be here 10 years without them. Thank you for having me, Dr. Gerry.

Dr. Gerry: I’ll have you on regularly. You guys can find me at artf.com. If you have any pain or injuries, schedule something on my website or DM me on Instagram @apt.drg. Subscribe to my newsletter, The PT Handbook—the link is in the description. Anything else?

Coach Ramy: No. Let us know what you want us to talk about next time.

Dr. Gerry: Maybe we can do a Q&A next time with questions from your clients and my patients.

Coach Ramy: That’d be fun.

Dr. Gerry: All right, brother. We’ll see you next time. Peace.