The Ferrissophere
“The What?”
“The Ferrissosphere.”
“What?”
I was referring to the self-help blogger-author-podcaster Tim Ferriss, and how the internet has blown-up circles pyramids of connection in the last ten years.
“Tim Ferriss, you know, the writer, podcaster, angel investor…You’ve heard of Tim Ferriss?
“No”
“He’s been called the Oprah of audio…and that’s probably true for guys more so than gals”.
“The Ferrissophere” was first coined by me while at dinner one night with Ritesh Lal and a few friends. I was talking about where I’d heard about something or somebody. And I realized that so many of the people and businesses I have learnt from or enjoyed learning about over the last ten years all root back to intriguing long interviews hosted by writer-podcaster.
The coined phrase felt like a neat label for the massive gang of leaders in their field that I have been introduced to by the author-podcaster Tim Ferriss. And it’s not only people but emerging concepts too for which I am grateful for the introduction, all through following Ferriss’ interviews.
For example Kelly Starrett is a practitioner and coach in the arena of athletic mobility and injury prevention – and he’s a brilliant communicator too. After a shoulder surgery that was keeping me from surfing, I noticed how curious and hard-working I got in the physical therapy rehabilitation. I’d first heard of Kelly in Tim Ferriss’ third ever podcast in which Ferriss interviews Kelly and Dr. Justin Mager, a functional medicine doctor in San Francisco.
You’ll hear the glug and bobble of pouring wine between questions from the very first minute, which is delicious audio in itself. I had to look this up but Tim Ferriss’ first podcast was with Kevin Rose who founded the news aggregator Digg, and Ferriss’ second podcast was with Josh Waitzkin as Ferriss trialled his idea of branching into podcasting by interviewing friends. My sister then bought me Kelly’s book Building A Supple Leopard for my birthday, I signed up for Starrett’s MobilityWOD (workout of the day) flexibility video series, and I have been a happily paying member of his The Ready State membership group ever since as a way to continuously earn in the area. I then became a Certified Physical Trainer too, under the influence of Kelly, under the influence of Tim – if that makes sense?
Tim Ferriss is without doubt at the center of a whole fascinating cohort of early podcasters and writers online, most of whom seem to also have the entrepreneurialism of building businesses around their expertise. I guess that’s why the tribe of Ferriss and friends has been early to the internet marketing techniques that more recently became normal for everybody else.
Because they are particularly interesting minds within their fields. And you’ll find that with Tim Ferriss rabbit-holes. For example, I first heard the term “ketogenic diet” on the Tim Ferriss podcast and five years later started noticing it emerge into the mainstream.
I’ve so valued what I have learnt from folks like Dr. Peter Attia or Rhonda Patrick on all things athletic health, Maria Popova on new introductions to old literature, Sam Harriss on meditation and hard questions of how humans work, Cal Fussman on journalism and asking great questions. There is a whole ream of books on my shelf that were one-click buys after being intrigued by an interview, wide ranging from Sebastian Junger’s Tribe to Karen Pryor’s Don’t Shoot The Dog. Pryor is a dog trainer in Washington state who uses the clicker method and I remember being sucked into buying her book the moment she talked about how it was an insight into knowing ourselves and habits, and how to train humans too.
From 2014, The Tim Ferriss Show episodes drew out such interesting new ideas while listening that I made a rule to jot a comment every time, a short note on Tim’s website Podcasts page of something that resonated for me. It was fun that one day in 2017, I saw an email in my inbox from “Tim Ferriss Assistant” requesting my address to send me a signed copy on release of Tools of Titans for being one of Ferriss’ top 100 commenters!
So, El Ferriss has been a welcome influence to randomly expanding my thinking and knowledge. A curator of sorts, over the last ten years.
I remember walking home that evening that I first coined the phrase “Ferrissosphere”. I started wondering who my sources of introduction and influence were before online sources of influence built. Probably a handful of newspapers, BBC Radio Four, street advertising and word-of-mouth through friends, rugby team mates, and coffee and pub conversations?
These all remain valuable sources today but think of how the resonance of voice has driven independent podcasting as a source of hyper-speeded intellectual connection. That’s worth a whole essay in itself (note to self!).
At times I have been a little self-aware of some seasons where Ferriss was a “monopoly” of source.
But when I think about what I have learnt and how much these sources have resonated for me, it’s a deep bowing of gratitude to El Ferriss. And then there is the sheer enjoyment of great interviewing and thoughtful questions that have wonderfully evolved over Ferriss’ first five hundred episodes.
And so “the Ferrissosphere” is a respected term of endearment to capture what has been for me a whole epoch of learning and valued introductions.
