Welcome to The Athlete

Subscribe

Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox. Subscription is free, but you can become a paid subscriber if you want access to paywalled posts.

Discuss

Comments are open. I volley a lot of (hopefully) thought-provoking ideas here, and discussion is encouraged. If you pine for the days when disagreements were educational rather than vitriolic, you’re in the right place.

About

I’m Matt Zamudio, Editor-in-Chief. I practiced Literature & Writing at the University of California, San Diego, and have been published in myriad magazines and journals, some of which still exist. I write essays and stories, mostly, and am currently working on a book.

The Athlete publishes essays and criticism on art, culture, and creativity, along with whatever else happens to pop into my head. The namesake has to do with my being an athlete in the typical sense (swimmer, cyclist, weightlifter, etc.) but also in the not so typical sense (writing, design, religion, etc.).

To be an athlete, I think, applies to all realms of life, as the athlete must train to become better…
…compete with confidence, sportsmanship, and finesse.
….be focused.
…endure pain.
…know their mind and body.
…trust their instincts.
…give all.
…know the rules.
…be creative.
…play with joy.

In short, the athlete operates in a world of firmly established truth, but this doesn’t remove the need to discern what exactly that is, and how best to approach it. In a game, only when the players know the rules, the parameters of the field, and where the goal posts are, can the unlimited freedom and beauty of play begin. Contrary to today’s popular ideology, we are not on our own playing fields, each with its own, tailor-made rules. We are on the field together. So, let’s play.