MEET THE CAST of 'Rise of the Sufferfests', the first feature documentary about the obstacle race phenomenon. The film explores the history of the sport, psychology behind it, personalities that drive it, and most importantly, WTF it says about the world we’re living in. Specifically… WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE SUDDENLY PAYING FOR PAIN?

1.
THE CAST

2.
(LIVES FOR SUFFERFESTS)

3. "
While the majority of ‘mudders’ will do
one event, post the epic profile pic and
move on, a growing community of OCR
apostles are crisscrossing the globe,
braving as many sufferfests as they can
squeeze into their schedule.
"
Rise of the Sufferfests follows a motley
crew of kick-ass characters from all
corners of the cultish OCR community:
elites, weekend warriors, Wounded
Warriors, entrepreneurs, event
producers, etc. Each member of this
“Suffer Club” reveals something
different about the phenomenon, and
speaks to a different motivation and
hypothesis.
"
FEATURED STARS WILL INCLUDE…

4. MR. MOUSE
“THE UNSUNG HERO”
Mr. Mouse is the wildly eccentric Godfather of
Obstacle Racing. An ex-barber in the Grenadier
Guards, he pioneered the industry way back in 1987
when he hosted Tough Guy on his horse farm in
England. And while almost nobody knows who he is,
his fingerprints are all over our FB newsfeeds.
"
Given the man’s many philosophies, inventions,
idiosyncrasies, and influence on modern fitness,
Mr. Mouse is a folk hero waiting to happen.
He’s not just a once-in-a-generation character,
but once-in-a-wormhole. He’s the kind of
figure you only ever see in great works of
fiction… or Daniel Day Lewis films.
Mr. Mouse was
featured in the
60 Minutes Sports
segment I worked
on. And stars in
this short film.

5. "

6.
AMELIA BOONE
“QUEEN OF PAIN”
"
I wrote a ‘Rising
Star’ profile of
Amelia for
Outside
Magazine.
"
Amelia Boone doesn’t just win; she CRUSHES. At
the 2012 World’s Toughest Mudder, for instance,
she traversed 90 miles and 300 obstacles in 24
hours to place 2nd... overall. 8 minutes behind
the winner, 10 miles ahead of the dude in third.
She was so good Topps made a card.
"
Here’s the kicker... the 30-year-old Alpha
somehow finds time to train—and dominate—
while working 60+ hours a week as a corporate
bankruptcy attorney for Skadden, Arps in
Chicago.

7. "

8.
HUNTER McINTYRE
You’d be hard pressed to find a more (comically)
narcissistic person on the planet than a Malibu
SoulCycle instructor named Hunter McIntyre.
With the help of a sub-16 minute 5k that defies
his linebacker stature, the hard-partying former
male model is one of the most dominant athletes
in the sport. The Reebok-sponsored athlete is
OCR’s answer to Patriots star Rob Gronkowski. Or
like a young Schwarzenegger, if you swapped
psychedelics for the steroids.
“OCR’S UNBEATABLE EGO”
"
"
I wrote a wild
profile of this
self-proclaimed
#machoman for the
July cover of
Men’s Journal.

9. "

10.
THEPAINTEDWARRIOR
“MOST COLORFUL MAN IN OCR”
"
"
We created a
time-lapse video
to promote our
crowdfunding
campaign.
Sure, Amelia and Hunter may be the most dominant
athletes in the game, but The Painted Warrior is the
most recognizable. Known for their imaginative body
paint designs, husband/wife duo Stephen Sinek and
Aeni Domme are fan favorites of the sufferfest
scene. They’re based out of Phoenix, but travel to
20+ races a year, bringing color to the mud.
For more, check out their Media Kit.

11. "

12.
SEAN CORVELLE
“MASTER MOTIVATOR”
HOORAH!!
Ever wondered what it’d be like to EAT the people around you?
No? Then you probably haven’t been in the Tough Mudder starting
corral when emcee Sean Corvelle is at the mic. With a mix of
moxie and motivational mojo, the former actor and comedian is
famous for stirring up strangers into a tribal frenzy. If OCR had a
yearbook, he’d be “Most Likely to Inspire Cannibalism.” Or “Most
Popular.” Either way, the dude is utterly unforgettable.
"
See for yourself in Tough Mudder’s heart-pumping promo.

13. JOE DESENA
“THE HARD-ASS” F*CK UP!
SPARTAN THE
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more
obsessive or outspoken about the sport than Spartan
Race Founder, Joe DeSena. The man eats, sleeps,
breathes and bleeds Spartan red. And with Reebok
as his title sponsor, he’s hellbent on bringing OCR to
the Olympics. He’s an accomplished endurance
athlete who once ran two ultra marathons and an
Ironman in one week, and finished the Iditarod on
foot. A former Wall Street exec, the guy is a hyper-
competitive badass who thinks we’ve all become a
bunch of lazy animals. His new advice book, Spartan
Up! recently debuted at #2 on The New York Times
Best Seller List.
WATCH his book trailer.
*DeSena was a key character in my cover story
for Outside, and featured in the ensuing 60M
Sports segment.

14.
WIM HOF
“THE ICEMAN”
Wim Hof is a world famous extremophile.
The Dutch stuntman made global headlines
when he tried summiting Mount Everest
wearing nothing but shorts and hiking
boots. He’s run barefoot marathons in the
arctic circle and submerged his entire
body beneath the ice for almost two
hours. He believes he’s stumbled upon
hidden evolutionary potential that has
been buried by the creature comforts of
modern civilization.
Hof designed “The Iceman,” a signature
cold water obstacle for Europe’s Strong
Viking Obstacle Run, and shared some of
his techniques when we interviewed him in
Amsterdam. #brrr
*Check out this very clever Columbia
Sportswear spot starring Wim Hof.

15. "

16.
While I’ve somehow survived two winter Tough
Guys, thanks to an essay I wrote for Outside about
quitting a 3-mile Spartan, I’m much better know
for being a wimp. When people talk about “The
Death of the American Male,” they’re talking
about me. It may be funny, yes, but it’s also bit
depressing. SO… for the final six months of our
production, I’m going to finally let my health nut
wife, Amber, a personal trainer, Spartan me up.
"
Though my pursuit of some semblance of actual
fitness is not a Morgan Spurlock-style centerpiece
of the film, as a narrative thread, it lets me
explore some of the training techniques and
technologies associated with this modern fitness
revolution: CrossFit, fitness trackers, wearable
tech, weighted vests, training masks, nutrition
supplements, The 4-Hour Body, etc.
"
"
"
SCOTT KENEALLY (me)
“DEFINITELY NOT A TOUGH GUY”

17. "

18. "
THE EXPERTS

19. "“TALKING HEADS”
While the film mostly features the crazy
SOBs who eat barbed wire for breakfast —
(or, according to Gawker… shit!) — I’ve also
recruited a bunch of TED Talkers, authors,
sociologists, culture critics, psychologists
and such. Each will help me make a little
more sense of this sufferfest stuff.
"
• I’d ask Malcolm Gladwell (David &
Goliath) to discuss the London Blitz and
its unexpected effects on the psyche of
the city.
"
• Michael Norton, a Harvard behavioral
scientist, discusses the idea that
experiences are the new luxury good.
"
• Christopher McDougall of Born to Run
fame jokes that OCR is “everything that’s
wrong with modern fitness.”
"
• AJ Jacobs, one of the funniest men to
ever hold a pen, will share tales from the
#QuantifiedSelf movement.

20. "

21. "
“ThE ColD Is
MerCIleSs, BUt
RIgHteOuS.”

22.
*OUR CAST IS STILL evolving.
WE hope IT evolves to the point where
Louis C.K. talks mud & masochism

23. JUST DO IT, LOUIS!
CONTACT
Scott Keneally
writer/dreamer
email me Louis!