I really don’t frequent Facebook as much as I used to. Perhaps it is because I have become one of the millions who have become increasingly engrossed with TWITTER and INSTAGRAM. However, a number of months ago, I received a message from the inspirational figure that is Mark Eisenhart. Mark is a man who came from the brink of ruins to transform his life, take charge of his health, career and overall well-being. Talking with Mark and learning more about his empowering journey, helped me to begin to make changes in my own life and to look at implementing a catalyst for positive and influential change. Read on to find out more about his journey to health, read on how the death of his father was the awakening he needed to transform his life forever and more vitally learn how you to can take the necessary steps to move your life in the right direction. Be In-spired!
Mark, in my opinion, you are the epitome of what a ‘Superman’ stands for. You took a second chance at life and turned your entire way of living around. At one point you weighed 455lbs, had high cholesterol, depression and only 25% hearing in one ear and 15% loss in the other, besides other health issues. What steps in your life led you to become that person and what took place for you to begin implementing change that would shape your life forever?
I believe that every moment in my life has prepared me for this moment right now. I also believe that every experience in my life prepared me for the experience of landing at death’s door after my father’s transition. My Dad, Bud Eisenhart, beat cancer to die of liver disease. A pre-existing diabetic cirrhosis was exacerbated in response to the very aggressive treatment of chemotherapy and radiation that wiped out his cancer.
In my view of things everything is a reflection of something else. During his illness, my father’s weight was cut in half and the diseases and comorbidity that manifested from his diagnosis robbed him of his livelihood, caused him to become a prisoner in his own body, and this eventually killed him. I was fortunate enough to take this disempowering experience and turn it into an empowering experience. Anyone that reads my book or watches the adaptation of that story for the screen will see that my journey is one of karmic reversals. So what followed in response to the tragedy of my father’s death was that my weight was cut in half and all of the diseases and the comorbidity that were robbing me of my livelihood were subsequently eradicated. And though my dad had become a prisoner in his own body and his in own mind, I was in turn liberated from the confines of my own diseased mind and body. In other words, one might say that my father died so that I could live.
Indeed, I believe the best parts of who that man was carry on in me. I will go on record as saying that I don’t believe in death. I believe that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, it merely changes form. And to quote Marlon Brando from the original Superman, “the father becomes the son and the son becomes the father.” Therefore, it was this transmutation or transference of energy that leads me to where I am now- a changed man, a different man, a better man. The man my father raised me to be. Made possible only by the turn of events that unfolded after he made his transition and my decision to create for myself (and for him) a career, a life, a trajectory, an empire and a legacy that both best reflects who I am and that celebrates his life and his memory.
You are now a sponsored athlete, actor, model, transformational speaker and spokesperson; were any of these careers in your aspirations before you made this phenomenal and almost unimaginable transformation?
Indeed, all of them were at different times of my life very real possibilities in my consciousness. Though, at the time just prior to my rock bottom I had moved as far away as humanly possible from actualizing any of them. In fact, I had become completely unemployable and for lack of a better way of putting it, had not only stopped chasing my dreams, I had stopped living and started dying. I remember the day that I consciously, knowingly, and willingly took a swan dive off the nearest cliff (so to speak) with the intent of seeing just how far I could drop. The good thing about hitting rock bottom is that it leaves you with two choices, die or climb. In the stillness and the darkness of the place where light goes to die, I chose to climb.
There is no way that you didn’t along the way in your transformational journey hit setbacks. What did you have to come up against on your journey to health and what steps did you take to ensure your overcame these barriers?
I have at different times during my transformation and since that time met with great adversity, many setbacks, tremendous hardship and been handed my hand on more than one occasion. In every case, I have done my best to maintain a code of conduct consistent with Bushido or the way of the spiritual warrior. By this I mean I have chosen to posture from a place of compassion, patience, understanding, gratitude, mindfulness, and unconditional love in relationship to whatever has happened, regardless of the circumstances. And believe me at times those circumstances have been grim. In keeping with this code of conduct, I have also embodied a core tenant of Bushido which is to live with the integrity of the phrase DO NO HARM.
In specific instances where my intentions were misconstrued and/or misunderstood and the persons involved came from a place of fear; I responded from a place of love. When they postured in apathy, I responded with compassion. When they came at me with ignorance, I responded with understanding. I will add to this that in my view of things it is the unity of opposites which balances nature. These alignments makeup who I am. I endeavor to stay in the vibration of unconditional love, compassion, patience, understanding, mindfulness, and gratitude at all times.
As a transformational speaker, there is no doubt that you have come up against a number of individuals who have gone through similar experiences to you. What practices do you implement to assist others to make changes within their lives and do you have any examples or case studies you can share with us where you have helped someone to make life changing steps?
When I first began my career I endeavored and invested a tremendous amount of time and energy into sharing my experience with other people in such a way that they benefited from it. I am quoted as saying on numerous occasions in other interviews that I believe that what worked for me can work for you. I am no longer convinced that this is the case. I say this because to date I have appeared on over 200 TV and radio shows, more than a dozen magazines (including three covers), had my story adapted for the screen, and multiple other mixed media and live speaking platforms.
I have been unable to accurately assess the extent to which I have been successful with this endeavor. Through these various outlets I am unable to observe a measurable return. It is entirely possible that my reach has indeed exceeded my grasp and that as a result of me sharing my experience; people have in fact changed and transformed their lives and I simply do not know about it. On the other hand, it is also entirely possible that despite my best efforts to pay my message forward in a way that helps others, my voice has fallen on deaf ears. I remain frustrated and unfulfilled given the very real possibility that my best efforts and intentions have fallen miserably short of their marks.
You have appeared on over two hundred local and national US radio and television shows/stations including CBS, NBC and G4. Out of the shows you have appeared on, which one has been the most impactful and why?
My appearance on the CBS show The Doctors was very important because it has such a sizeable viewer base and because in many ways my experience and my story is very much in alignment with the content of their programming. Which is to say that many of the people that watch that program are the kind of people that stand to gain the most from hearing about my experience. Though I was injured competing on American Ninja Warrior the very fact that I got there in the first place is meritorious and only made possible because of dramatic weight loss and transformation. It was an important step for me along my journey and another mainstream network TV exposure. And I might add was great fun. My contribution to the film Why Am I So Fat? produced by Tony Hale is a very important touch point as it takes a good, hard look at the problem of obesity, malnutrition, and eating disorders in this country and my transformation addresses all of these components.
You have built up a solid reputation of being the man who lost over 215 pounds; was it simply down to exercising more and eating less or was there much more to it than that?
There is much more to why I was and continue to be so successful. I have adopted a completely and totally different way of thinking, doing, and being. I made dramatic and permanent lifestyle changes. The single most important thing that I did was what the Buddha did. I sat down in a chair and did absolutely nothing but breath. I got comfortable with being uncomfortable for the very first time in my life. I developed and eventually mastered the willingness to be still. And in doing so defined order amidst chaos. I became the “I” of the storm. Over time as I cultivated my spiritual practice, I developed mastery over my internal environment so much so that I was able to remain centered despite whatever was happening in my external environment. I practiced various forms of meditation, mindfulness, detachment and ultimately became The Observer. I explain more about what this process means to me in my book. As an aside, the working title for that book is, appropriately enough, I of the Storm.
There is a major issue with obesity not only in adults but more worryingly in children. This is also an increasing issue in the UK. In your opinion Mark, what processes need to be implemented in society or in the media to help shed more light on this issue and to assist those children who do want to lose weight and their parents who also want to do better by their families and become healthier?
What first needs to happen, in my opinion, is that we all have to agree that it is a high priority. The first step in the mobilization of resources to affect change is to establish a need for that change. We must recognize an imminent need for change in our culture. We must infuse into the consciousness of the right people the reasons for this change. We must leverage the decision makers and the organizations that have the resources to propel this initiative forward. Strategic alliances must be formed with people that are in the same alignment and key players must be positioned so that they can be influential and get traction in front of main stream media outlets. On occasions when rattling the cages isn’t working, it may become necessary to start tearing them down. Bottom line, the epidemic of obesity (especially as it pertains to children) needs to be identified as a tactical priority. This is, in my opinion, the only way in which the proper mobilization of resources will happen.
One of the threads of this tactical priority that needs to be addressed immediately is the propagation of verifiably accurate information to parents. Properly educating parents is integral to the success of treating the epidemic of childhood obesity. There also needs to be, in my opinion, a special dispensation that allocates government resources into an access fund. This access fund will subsidize non-GMO, non-processed foods for those families that demonstrate need by meeting established criteria. One of the biggest problems is that the segment of the population that stands to benefit the most from having access to these foods has been edged out because they can’t afford to buy it. We must make reversing this a tactical priority.
In a previous interview I read of yours you spoke of the fact that you had initially implemented what doctors told you to when trying to lose weight, but instead you were getting worse. At what point, did you realize that you had to do your own research and make your own decision as to how to get your health in control?
I remember the day that I walked into my doctor’s office with a handful of pills and asked him the question, “how many more of these do I have to take before I start feeling better?” At different times in my life I had been in excellent shape and had enjoyed periods of reprieve from my disease process. However, none of those intervals lasted very long and none of them were permanent. When I vowed to take control of my life and health in the last lucid conversation I had with my dad on his death bed; I didn’t vow to alleviate my symptoms, I vowed to take back my life, to restore myself to vibrant health and to do so in a way that was permanent. Therefore, it became readily obvious to me that I needed to identify the root causes of my disease process and address them directly, definitively, swiftly and decisively.
I did what I call the work of the interior. I faced my demons. Head on, up close and personal, in some cases even publicly. Much like the Buddha, who developed the courage and willingness to put an end to his suffering and who defied Mara, I journeyed inward and dismantled the machinations of my egoic mind. In my case, nearly all the root causes of my disease process were constructs. Through diligence and practice and over time, I successfully deconstructed all of the aberrations of my ego. At that time my view of myself and my model of the world was built on a foundation of distortional beliefs. Because I did not know better in my younger years, I accepted these distortional beliefs and they festered into apocryphal truths. Lucky for me, constructs can be deconstructed. Belief systems, whether distortional or not, can be dismantled. Truths, apocryphal or not, relative or absolute can be distilled. What was born out of an entire year of diligence, practice and mastery was a complete and total recalibration of my sense of self and my model of the world. I literally became a new man. Simply put, I am what I believe I am. By successfully changing my thoughts, my beliefs and my truths, what naturally followed was a rebirth of the man that died after watching my father make his transition. Out of the firestorm that burned my life into the ground rose a Phoenix, and along with that came the sound and the fury that can only accompany the clarity of purpose that follows when someone lets die the parts of them that were never really there in the first place. From the ashes of the fire that nearly killed me was forged my true and authentic self.
Your journey has been one where you have worked with a number of professionals; from different fields who have supported you on your mission to take control of your life. Who would you list as the key people who contributed to your progress and supported you along the way and how pivotal were the roles they played?
There are a number of people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. I have been fortunate and blessed to work with a number of experts in their respective fields. The first and most important person I will give credit to is, ironically, my dad. Although he is no longer here on the earth plane, he remains the most influential person in my life and my most important teacher. Second only to my father, my mother, much like my father, amidst a world of variables, remains a constant for me. She has and continues to display the kind of patience, understanding, compassion and unconditional love that is frankly supernatural. It has been said; behind every successful man is a successful woman. My mom is that woman.
My Achievement Mentor Tom Terwilliger is the tip of the spear. Tom is a man who has also overcome great hardship and adversity and experienced dramatic transformation and his expertise and guidance has provided me with tremendous insight into my process. When I get stuck, Tom is the guy I go to to get unstuck. When I need clarity on how best to proceed, Tom is the guy I go to for clarity. He is an expert strategist and tactician. My personal trainer Traci Lynn Cowan is the person largely responsible for my ongoing physique transformation. Traci is the embodiment of the Warrior Princess and interestingly enough, her nickname is Wonder Woman. Therefore, it only seems fitting that in an interview about a featured Super Man that I make reference to a Wonder Woman.
Dino Paris, my Counselor and Peak Performance Specialist, second only to Tom, is the single most important member of my team when it comes to matters dealing with human behavior and decision making. Dino has helped me finish the work of the interior that I started almost four years ago and closed the wounds that I started to heal. The most effective modality that Dino uses to this end is EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing). My Spiritual Advisor Michael Mangus is my confidant, my teacher and a practitioner of the Science of Mind Teachings and Law of Attraction that make up the core of my spiritual practice. His patience, diligence, guidance, and persistence are invaluable to me. When it is time for me to pray, Michael is the man that I pray with.
Andrea Nakayama wears many hats for me, the most important of which is Functional Nutritionist. In addition to the fact that she is an insanely competent one, she is also a remarkable intuitive. Her expertise gives me tremendous insight into what my body needs in contrast to what my mind wants. Joy Houston, Chef and Raw Foods Nutritionist, converts this insight into practical, useful and affordable recipes that even I can follow. Nicki McDaniels, my Physical Therapist, provides expert guidance and treatment and helps me to train safely, efficiently, and maximize my athleticism. Tony Priddle, a Whole Brain Coach and the owner of Mind Mechanix, helps me to eradicate any limiting beliefs in my consciousness that might stand in the way of actualizing my potential.
And last, but not least, my cousin Eric Eisenhart functions very much en loco parentis and also as Intuitive Strategist/Business Consultant. Eric will be taking a much larger role as I build my brand and extend my outreach globally. Behind the scenes the guidance, direction, and friendship of Rodger Ruge, James Tenebrook Madison, Mike Torchia. Steve Gelle, Del Rey, Lesli Eisenhart, and Leah Grow are a CRUCIAL part of my success, groundedness, and motivation. I would also like to acknowledge and thank ALL of my sponsors. Were it not for them I could not be who I am and do what I do. I am so amped to be working with EON Therapeutics as a Sponsored Athlete and Spokesperson. Stay tuned for details on the Canada to US Brand Extension and Outreach Program that I will be a part of.
Having lost weight and taken charge of your health; you now work in part as an actor and model. What are the highlights of working in these fields and for you and what have been the key highlights of working in both these fields?
I have wanted to work as an actor my whole life so that is a dream come true. It is a bit like taking a vacation from myself. I get paid to be someone other than me. It is an incredibly creative process and I really enjoy it. The work I have done as a model is uniquely different and unlike before, I enjoy being in front of the camera. It has been a great way for me to express myself and celebrate my new look.
There are many people out there who will read this and not know where to begin. What advice can you give those who feel their backs are up against the wall and don’t feel they can implement positive and lasting change?
Ask for help. Do not do it alone. Consult your physician. Get support. Give yourself some credit and take your time. Rome was not built in a day. And most importantly, do the work of the interior.
Since your dramatic weight loss and ultimate life change, you have continually expanded the bench mark and have set new goals to achieve. This year, you have set the goal of climbing Aconcagua, a 7,000 meter peak in Argentina and this climb will be the subject of your very own documentary ‘Rattle The Cages’. What made you decide to embark on this new challenge and what other goals have you set for yourself to achieve before the end of this year?
I started climbing in my twenties and fell in love with it. Mountaineering is a lot like being an astronaut. And it is a sport that challenges me. It is born out of the qualities that I embody, which is to say fortitude, resourcefulness, brute force determination, perseverance, courage, stamina, purposeful movement, reverence, and patience to name a few. I so enjoy the triumph of conquest and yet at the same time the experience of being present in the journey. It is inherently dangerous and I like doing things that others might steer away from. I will be advancing my career as a Sponsored Athlete focusing mostly on mountaineering. Like me, the sport exemplifies the boundlessness of the human spirit. I have also embarked on a second transformation, one that will give me the traction that I need in order to really compete in the Los Angeles acting and modeling market.
With fitness comes a great amount of ‘fitness fads’ and trends which encapsulate a nation. Fitness crazes like Zumba and the Insanity workout come to mind. What are your views on these types of workouts?
Though I see the importance of mixing it up and hitting the body with variable stimuli in order to alleviate boredom and stimulate growth, I also see the merit in programs that are tried and true. Having said that, if what gets you up off of the couch and moving is the next trendy workout style, then by all means GO FOR IT. I am an advocate for whatever gets the job done. 😉
What drives and motivates you the most within your life?
1. The promise I made to myself and my father;
2. My desire to have the right and perfect relationship with the right and perfect mate;
3. My commitment to not just be alive, but to EXPERIENCE LIFE in all its fullness, richness, and glory;
4. I have a burning desire to be remembered as the guy who did EPIC SHIT during his lifetime and really IMPACTED other people’ s lives;
5. I believe that I experience the greatest amount of growth when I am pushing my limits and when I am UNCOMFORTABLE. When my “Spidey Sense” is tingling, I am right where I am supposed to be.
What or who in-spires you?
My father remains my biggest inspiration. He always will be. I am also inspired by my Achievement Mentor Tom Terwilliger, Eric Weihenmayer, Aron Ralston, Ed Viesturs, and Earnest Shackleton. These men are true warriors and have displayed heroic courage, fortitude, resourcefulness, and drive in the face of great adversity. I also look up to the work of Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Clive Owen, Christian Bale, Mickey Rourke, Clint Eastwood, and Matt Damon. There is a story I once heard (by a reliable source) about Keanu Reeves that has stayed with me and continues to be a source of inspiration. It really resonates with me- very close to my heart. I will not go into any detail about it, but it is an important admission for me.
Do you have any positive quotes that you turn to in times of trouble? If yes, what are they?
Why do we fall? (So we can learn to pick ourselves back up). If life gives you lemons, make an RPG Launcher.
What can In-spire LS readers expect from you over the next few months?
I will be in the shadows for a stretch, using the darkness as my ally. It is time to hunker down, write, revise, train, and slip through the cracks. I will still do interviews and some speaking events but I will drastically reduce my exposure radius. When I resurface there will be a very different version of me in the public eye. This is part of my re-branding process.
In the face of adversity, what would Mark do?
Fall back, quiet my mind, meditate, look at the situation from both sides of the equation, do no harm, and make the best decision that is in alignment with my highest and greatest good and the code of conduct that I live by. I believe that there is always a way to do something. I must be willing to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING necessary to find it, and once found, I must be willing to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING necessary to make it work. Having a willingness to look at the face of adversity and reframe it brings a fresh and new perspective , which also means that solutions reveal themselves that might not have been readily apparent or visible in the absence of that reframing.
Thank you very much Mark for answering our questions. Please round them off by completing these sentences….
I am at my best when…..I feel most alive. Vibrantly alive. What is at the core of who I am is verve, purpose driven passion, and a burning desire not just to live but to EXPERIENCE LIFE- in all its richness, fullness, and vibrancy. I feel most alive when I am testing my “limits” and when I am on the edge of my “comfort” zone. I am also my best when faced with adversity, when confronted with challenges or setbacks, and at any time that I have to dig deep INTO my stores of courage, resourcefulness, strength, fortitude and resolve. I am the guy that finds a way when all indications are pointing to the possibility that a way doesn’t exist.
Dreams can…manifest into reality. The world is what you create. And there are an infinite number of possibilities. EVERYTHING is possible. Believe me I know, I am proof.
I am most focused on….advancing my career on all fronts and ramping up to epic shit! I am currently in discussions with an industry leader in organic sports nutrition and am very excited at the prospect of helping them to extend their brand from Canada to the United States. This initiative will be my primary focus as a sponsored athlete/spokesperson.
I am at my happiest when…I am standing next to the woman of my dreams. This has happened to me one time in my life and until it happens again I will keep my energy focused on being Mr. Right trusting that it will attract Miss Right. I believe that everything is a reflection of something else and I am committed to being the embodiment of my true and authentic self. I also believe that staying in integrity with this guarantees that the right and perfect relationship with the right and perfect mate will manifest for me.
With belief….comes confidence, certainty, hope, and inspiration.
Three words that best describe me are…..I have endeavored to be as self-actualized as I could possibly be. I am committed to knowing myself as intimately as possible, because I believe that by doing so it paves the way for me to know others as intimately as possible. I also believe that my best efforts thus far to pull this off have been almost entirely misconstrued. This remains a source of frustration for me. Therefore, the three words that best describe how many people see me are… narcissistic, reckless, and impulsive. The three words that best describe who I am are…intensely passionate, visionary, and directed.
I am a ‘Superman’ because…..it best reflects who I am. I believe our world is asking for leadership and guidance; someone who will make a stand and lead by example. Maybe even Rattle the Cages if necessary. I am doing my best, and will continue to do my best, to answer that call. I was given a second chance after my father’s death. I am putting it to good use, which also means creating a life for myself that I have always known was possible and dreamed about having.
Though some might say that my vision for how that will show up may seem unlikely or even impossible, my response is this- in my heart, I’ve known my whole life that I am something more. Now is my chance to prove it. My name Mark means brave, my surname Eisenhart, translates to “iron heart”. I am endeavoring to live up to my namesake and to be the embodiment in mind, body and spirit of my true and authentic self. I see this best served by approximating a SUPERBEING. In doing so I believe that I am finally the man my father raised me to be.
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I| Interview with Sasha Shantel
