happened before in history. these guys give us a phenomenal case study for looking at flow and the level of performance has gone up so much we know these athletes have to be in flow to perform. if they re not the general rule they re ending up in the hospital or dead. who are the most impressive athletes you studied. all the athletes i studied are astounding. if they re in the book their stories are there because they did something impossible. there s a paradigm shift in athletic achievement. the one i look at as a climber named dean potter. dean potter is a free soloist, climbses without ropes or protection. at the time he started climbing, he went down to pad gown ya and free climbed 400 foot walls, staying in flow three and four days at a time. that s what s incredible. they have figured out how to extend the state, not just a brief moment of victory, it can last for days in certain cases. you write about surfing. surfing is a phenomenal