WATCH: Music Producer Diplo CRUSHED His First Spartan Super
What does the morning after playing a sold-out show at Colorado's Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre look like for a DJ, music producer, and songwriter? For Diplo, it consists of a pit stop in San Bernardino, Calif. to run a Spartan Super before flying directly to Las Vegas for yet another show, just hours after crossing the finish line.
Thomas Wesley Pentz — known publicly as Diplo — is the founder and manager of the record label Mad Decent, a co-founder of the nonprofit organization Heaps Decent, a co-creator of the electronic dance trio Major Lazer, and a member of the musical group titled LSD (alongside Labrinth and Sia). Along with dozens of additional projects and creative pursuits (including being a member of Silk City with Mark Ronson and the Grammy-winning DJ duo, Jack Ü), the 43-year-old father of three has recently made public his interest in — and seemingly natural success at — a more commonplace pastime than world-renowned music production: physical fitness.
Chasing New Challenges
While Diplo said that he doesn't follow a specific training program, he regularly runs and surfs, changes his nutrition in cycles to cut or bulk up, and is constantly seeking all sorts of different workouts that will challenge him.
That's exactly why, when his mother, Barbara Jean Cox, bet him that he couldn't complete a Spartan race, it was on. With only one previous Tough Mudder race under his belt and no obstacle course race-specific training, Diplo flew from Colorado to California the morning of Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, to run his first Spartan race, a 25-obstacle 10K.
"All of my friends give me a hard time because I commit myself to things I’ve never done before all of the time, and I'm usually not the most prepared," Diplo said. "That’s what makes it fun, though, is knowing that I’m challenging myself."
Alongside his surfing and hiking companion, Viktor Simco, Diplo completed the 6.2-mile course in 1 hour and 21 minutes, landing him in 20th place overall in the Open heat and first place in his Open heat age group. Despite his lack of OCR training, the 25 obstacles proved a nonissue for the "Where Are Ü Now" artist.
"I nailed the Spear Throw on my first try, which I had been a little nervous about, so I was super happy about that," he said.
What Will Be Diplo's Next Athletic Conquest?
Just one week after earning his first Spartan medal, Diplo defied the odds once again when a friend expressed disbelief in his ability to run the Miami half-marathon on Feb. 6 with no training.
He completed the 13.1-mile course in 1 hour and 50 minutes — an 8:24-per-mile pace — earning him 1,263rd place out of 9,833 total racers. And not only did he finish, but at the race's conclusion, he went straight to the club wearing his medal and bib to celebrate his accomplishment.
And while the producer told TMZ that he'll be running the 2022 Los Angeles Marathon on March 20, the month of March also marks another major milestone for Diplo: his first full-length album in a long time, Diplo, which will be on his own label, Mad Decent.
"The album is guaranteed to make you win your age group," Diplo said.
Pre-save Diplo here.
