Unreal Life of Justin Best: Olympic Gold + Investment Banking
Justin Best, an Investment Banker who won Gold with the U.S. men's four rowing team. What the hell? Not to mention after he won he proposed to his girlfriend with 2,738 yellow roses in front of the Eiffel Tower, and the proposal was broadcasted live. What a Chad.
This narrative seems almost too perfect (for an investment banker). It made me wonder, do any of you know individuals like Justin? Do these guys actually exist? Perfectly balancing life (relationship, fitness, work). Most Investment Bankers I know are either dorks or too busy to do anything else. How on earth do you even operate at that level?
I dedicate my mornings to lifting at 5:30 AM, followed by cold tub therapy and red-light sessions, while maintaining a strict diet. Despite these efforts, I find myself on the brink of burnout literally every week. The weekends offer a slight respite allowing me to sleep in until 8 or 9 AM, but even then, preparing for my mediocre marathon (just to finish) feels incredibly taxing on my body. I can't imagine the amount of recovery needed for an Olympic athlete in IB. I'd imagine they consume zero nicotine/caffeine, no alcohol, just rawdogging life. Could this be sustainable?
The US paid him more for winning gold than HL gave me for my bonus lmao
There was an interview with him. Honestly don't feel too bad you're not achieving the same amount as him outside work.
He works in SF and works 9:30 to 5:30(PM). "Arrive at work by 9:30 a.m., work until about 5:30 p.m..8:30 p.m., go home, finish any other work, and go to bed at 11." Accounting for travel time/showering/getting ready for bed he probs works for 1.5 hours max in this time.
One of the firm's partners was also a rower, and there was a former banker/rower who was at USA a few years before Justin who apparently " blazed the trail and showed there was a value-add in the position in addition to supporting the rowing", so the partner was probably let him get off work early. Then closer to Olympic time he was just remote support.
Obviously being an Olympian requires an insane amount of dedication/hard work but the "investment banker" part of the news is getting blown out of proportion
I think I read it somewhere, he wad going to take some time off and "study for the series 7". Don't get me wrong, Olympic medal is a huge achievement, better than me, but if you don't have a series 7, you definitely are not a banker (literally in the legal sense).
That checks out. I mean obviously you see the title "Investment Banking Analyst wins Gold medal," and you can imagine why they selected that headline - perhaps it's the only story to get clicks. But regardless, it's still an impressive feat. I know absolutely nothing about Union Square or what type of deal flow/hours/pay they have and it's certainly not Evercore or Gugg, but it seems crazy because, in my head, Investment Banking is Investment Banking
when did he have the time to train for rowing then
i cut out the parts about training to show work
iirc from the article he did 3 hours before work and then after work (530-830), then go home
Honestly, no one other than Americans give a shit about rowing. Its like skeleton; no one really cares thus 100x less competition than Baseball. Also, Union Square Advisors is simply an OK bank, not anything like Evercore or even low-tier BBs like DB or UBS. I mean he sure is attractive and seems like a Chad type of dude for sure but he is nothing like Jonny Kim types SEAL + astronaut + Harvard medical school though I assume Justin Best will have 100x easier time getting laid than Jonny Kim.
Quite hilarious that you think Americans are the only ones who care about rowing
Maybe some Europeans. Dude, its one of the least popular sports. Its not like football that the most talented kids in the US are gunning for or like soccer that thousands of Brazilians/Africans want to become the next Messi. Rowing is like Taekwondo that no one other than very small number of the whole population cares about.
To your point, I have friends who still do rowing and win races (not at Olympic levels), all because it was originally their 9th-grade plan to get into Princeton and Yale due to "how niche it was," and it worked. Turns out they still enjoy doing it recreationally. There’s not as much competition compared to other sports like baseball, basketball, football, etc
This seems extremely salty. He’s achieved more with a gold medal than you’ll ever achieve in your life. What’s cooler to look back on when you’re 60? The fact that you worked at a more “prestigious” investment bank or you won an Olympic gold medal?
Meh, I was expecting your type of comments about being salty. I am just being realistic. But isn't it true rowing itself is one of the least competitive sports? Even winning Mr. Olympia would be more competitive than winning a gold medal for rowing or taekwondo.
2k roses? simp
zero caffeine? ha. doubt it.
RIP Aleksey
A prayer for the other analysts in his class who had to carry him
dude seems like he had chad potential but his wife looks...underwhelming...and seeing as they've been together since hs(?) I guess he's basically only been with her lol
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