Rory Warnock: On life as an UltraMarathon Runner and Breathwork Coach for the Sydney Swans
Rory Warnock is an industry-leading Performance & Wellness Coach who specialises in breathwork and nervous system regulation to improve mental and physical health – and people have taken notice, particularly big names like Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, Woolworths, Soho House and American Express. Alongside his role as coach, he’s an ambassador for Lululemon, Apple, Technogym and Whoop (where our paths have crossed!). In his free (we use that term loosely) time, he competes in single and multi-day ultramarathons. We’re sat.
Explain your job as if you’re talking to a 10 year old.
I’m a breathwork coach and I help people use their breath as a tool to improve the way they feel. Sometimes in life we get stressed and overwhelmed but we can use conscious breathing to reduce this stress to help us perform at our best, cognitively and physically. Breathing is incredibly overlooked and undervalued, because it’s an unconscious involuntary reaction that we do every second of every day, but we can use what we have to our advantage.
If you could have a superpower to help with work, what would it be and why?
Breathwork can be incredibly beneficial but like any health fitness and wellness modality, it needs constant practice. If I could teach people one specific breathwork technique that could cure all their mental and physical challenges, that would be a pretty cool superpower.
What was your biggest failure/mistake you’ve ever made and how did you turn it into a positive?
I feel like I fail all the time or face setbacks and challenging moments. I’m also aware if I don’t experience those, I’m probably not pushing myself hard enough. At the end of 2024, I was competing in a 160km race. It was all going so well until 107-117km. I ended up dropping out at 117km and didn’t finish the race. At the time, I was incredibly upset, angry, frustrated and annoyed but after a day or so to think and reflect, I learnt a huge amount from that experience. The lessons that I’ve learned are much greater than if that day had been a success. The truth is we learn so much more from the hard moments than the good moments.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
This is pretty bad, and I’m going to get judged so much here, but when I finish a long run in the mountains, the first thing I do is find the closest burger and chocolate milkshake. Generally speaking, I won’t change or shower first. Death row meal – burger from The Gidley with a milk chocolate and peanut milkshake from Messina.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Angels by Robbie Williams. An all-time classic!
It was great to hear from one of our own this week! Next week we’re putting the spotlight back on the many epic industry talent we work with. Here’s a little hint: he’s all about health and wellness. And if you’re interested in breathwork? He’s your guy.
