Interview by Tyler Johnson | Feb. 28, 2019

I heard LIFEAID president Aaron Hinde on Jon Gordon's Positive University podcast and was excited he was willing to be a part of elev8 questions. Find him on Twitter or Instagram.  Thanks for reading!

1) Were you an athlete growing up? What’s sports did you play? 

I have always enjoyed sports and played basketball, baseball and tennis growing up as well as water and snow skiing.

2) How or what evolved you to a lifestyle of fitness? 

Fitness has been a part of my life since day one. The more fit we are, the better we feel and the better we can perform on and off the field. Staying in physical shape also is a great confidence booster and allows me to live in alignment with the best version of myself.

3) What was the ‘WHY’ behind creating LifeAid?  

The big beverage companies have gotten a free pass for over a hundred years for poisoning our kids with their sugar water. For every customer we get off the high-sugar, and high-caffeine "sports", energy drinks and sodas, we are permanently affecting their health and life trajectory in a positive way.

4) What similarities come from being underneath a heavy barbell and building a company? 

With both you have to push into the uncomfortable zone regularly in order to grow.

5) I heard you speak about alignment as one of your core pillars, can you expand on that and the others? 

We all visit the ATM machine when we need to get out money. Life itself is an ATM that will keep "paying" you in perpetuity by following Alignment, Trajectory, Momentum.

Aligment starts with yourself as you look in the mirror. Are you happy w/ the person you see? If everything you did showed up on the front page of the NY Times, would you be ok with that? Alignment extends to our spouse, business partner and team. Henry Ford says "when everyone is moving forward together, success will take care of itself." To me, that is an alignment issue.

6) High-school athletes always seem, as many do, to underestimate the value of recovery; Can you speak about its importance? 

You can get away with a lot when you are in your teens and early 20s because testosterone and growth hormone are on your side. That being said, injuries can and will come back to haunt you. If you want true longevity in athletics, emphasis must be put on "prehab" and "posthab" as well as injury treatment and prevention. Nutrition, hydration, stretching, strength and conditioning, ice, therapies, etc. all play a role.

7) If you could go back and tell 16-year-old Aaron one truth you’ve learned from starting a business and/or being an athlete, what would it be? 

Be smart with your money. Keep moving forward. Don't underestimate what you can accomplish in the next 5 years, focus on trajectory over momentum. And lastly, buy Facebook and Google stock!

8) Definition of Success? 

Have a completely packed church at my funeral. I believe the value you contribute to the world is reflected by who and how many people show up at your funeral.

> > > Live well.