A Champion Who Looks Forward by Living in the Present
Mondo’s greatness doesn’t just come from raw talent — it comes from a mindset honed through years of relentless focus. In his recent appearance on Go Wild Podcast | Ep.10 Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis: Music, fashion and culture keep me grounded, he shared how he deals with expectations and questions about his “limit.”“My father built the entire setup in the backyard… pipes from oil rigs for the standards. I was three or four when I started. Because I was so young, fear wasn’t really a thing — I just wanted to emulate what I saw from my dad and the best guys.”
“I get asked all the time what my maximum height could be – but I try not to answer it. If I focus too much on the future, I risk missing what’s happening now. I’m living the competitions I once dreamed about as a kid, and it would be an injustice to myself not to enjoy the present moment.”
Fearless From the Beginning
That perspective is rooted in how he grew up. Starting at age three in his father’s backyard, Mondo built his skills before fear could ever take hold. “Because I started so young, fear wasn’t really part of it. I’m not a daredevil—if I’m on top of a skyscraper, I feel the same nerves as anyone else. But in pole vault, it’s different. I enter this tunnel vision, this flow state where my body just takes over. It feels like someone else is guiding me—it’s natural, and nothing can interrupt it.”
“They don’t just give me the gold medal because I’m the favorite. I have to earn it every time. You can never think you’re untouchable.”
