The Profile: The finance nerd who is the country’s best quarterback & the mountaineer pushing his body to extremes
This edition of The Profile features Fernando Mendoza, Kílian Jornet, Lindsey Vonn, and others.
Good morning, friends.
I am typing this with sweaty palms as I watch Alex Honnold climb one of the planet’s tallest skyscrapers in Taipei.
Honnold has become a paramount symbol of fearlessness. He is history’s greatest rock climber in the free solo style, meaning he ascends without a rope or protective equipment of any kind. If he falls, he dies.
I wanted to share this 2016 profile, in which scientists take a close look at Honnold’s brain to determine what occurs in his amygdala, the “fear center” of the brain.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Even to the untrained eye, the reason for her interest is clear. Joseph had used a control subject—a high-sensation-seeking male rock climber of similar age to Honnold—for comparison. Like Honnold, the control subject had described the scanner tasks as utterly unstimulating. Yet in the fMRI images of the two men’s responses to the high-arousal photographs, with brain activity indicated in electric purple, the control subject’s amygdala might as well be a neon sign. Honnold’s is gray. He shows zero activation.
“Flip to the scans for the monetary reward task: Once again, the control subject’s amygdala and several other brain structures “look like a Christmas tree lit up,” Joseph says. In Honnold’s brain, the only activity is in the regions that process visual input, confirming only that he had been awake and looking at the screen. The rest of his brain is in lifeless black and white.
“There’s just not much going on in my brain,” Honnold muses. “It just doesn’t do anything.”
PROFILES.
— The mountaineer pushing his body to extremes [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The finance nerd who is the country’s best quarterback
— The actress opting for the quiet life
— The company using AI to solve rare disorders
— The skier making an Olympic comeback
PEOPLE TO KNOW.
The mountaineer pushing his body to extremes: For Kílian Jornet, extreme effort is a way to strip life down to its essentials and reconnect with body, mind, and nature. The legendary ultrarunner and mountaineer has redefined human endurance, from oxygen-free Everest climbs to running 72 major U.S. peaks in a single month, yet speaks most passionately about calm, presence, and restraint. He sees both fear and euphoria as dangers, learned through close encounters with death and loss in the mountains. His philosophy? Push hard, listen closely, and know when to turn back. (The New York Times; alternate link)
“I loved to suffer, just to get out and push my body.”
The finance nerd who is the country’s best quarterback: Fernando Mendoza looks like a typical business-school senior — internships, investing, LinkedIn — except he’s also Indiana’s starting quarterback, fresh off a national championship run. A former Cal student who commuted from football practice to real-estate internships, Mendoza applies the same whiteboard-driven discipline to mastering playbooks as he did to finance coursework. Once overlooked as “too academic” for football, he’s now one of the most efficient passers in college football and a legitimate Heisman contender. (WSJ; complimentary link)
“My football career might not go the way I want, but I still have a little sliver thinking I’ll be the next Ryan Fitzpatrick.”
The actress opting for the quiet life: In a quietly rooted upstate life far from Hollywood flash, Amanda Seyfried has grown into one of the most daring and emotionally precise performers of her generation. As she approaches 40, her work — from volatile thrillers to a radical, feminist musical biopic — reflects a career defined by risk, discipline, and depth. Grounded by family and her animal-rescue farm, she chooses roles with intention rather than momentum. (Vogue)
“It surprises me that she can still access that part of her that wants to do simple, quiet things.”
The skier making an Olympic comeback: Lindsey Vonn’s had already built the most fulfilling life of her career after retirement. She returned for one reason: after a groundbreaking knee surgery, her body finally made the impossible feel possible again. Now, at 41, she’s chasing the 2026 Olympics because she genuinely wants to — and because she can. It’s a comeback story fueled by clarity, confidence, and most importantly, enjoyment. (SELF Magazine)
“I never stop believing in myself.”
COMPANIES TO WATCH.
The company using AI to solve rare disorders: For the first days of her life, every medical crisis Jorie Kraus faced seemed fixable, until a devastating diagnosis revealed an ultra-rare, incurable genetic disorder. Then an AI-powered tool helped doctors repurpose an existing drug, quietly rewriting what “no treatment” meant. Within days of starting a microdose, Jorie began moving, problem-solving, and speaking in ways her parents had never seen. It’s a story about how artificial intelligence, used carefully, can turn medical despair into cautious, life-altering hope. (New York Magazine; alternate link)
“We’re not just focused on one disease. Our goal is to move toward a treatment for any condition.”
✨ The rest of this newsletter is only available for premium members of The Profile, whose support makes this work possible. If you’re not already a premium member, consider upgrading your subscription below for access to an additional section of weekly audio + video recommendations. ✨
