Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 839 is my conversation with Kevin Cullum, known online as the push-up guy. Kevin is on a mission to complete one million push-ups, documenting the whole journey on his Instagram, @one_million_push_ups. He started in 2015 and was already past 800,000 reps when we talked, averaging roughly 100,000 push-ups a year. We get into the systems that keep him consistent, why the hardest part is mental rather than physical, and how a goal this big reshapes the way you show up every day.
Listen now: press play in the player above to watch the full conversation, or stream Episode 839 on your favorite podcast app.
Kevin Cullum is a fitness content creator known as the push-up guy, on a mission to complete one million push-ups. He documents his journey on Instagram at @one_million_push_ups, where he has built a community around consistency and discipline. Born outside Chicago, he started the challenge in 2015 and uses the daily practice to inspire others to take on their own big goals and stay accountable.
It is a long-term commitment in which Kevin aims to complete one million push-ups, documenting his progress publicly on Instagram. He started in 2015 and was past 800,000 reps when this episode was recorded, averaging roughly 100,000 push-ups a year. The challenge is less about a single physical feat than about proving the power of showing up every day and maintaining discipline over years.
At the time of this conversation, Kevin was at about 806,000 push-ups and did not have a fixed end date. Based on his pace since 2015, he was averaging roughly 100,000 a year, and he said that if he kept that pace and got close, he would want to finish before 2025.
Kevin does not rely on motivation. He has built systems and triggers that make hitting his daily push-ups automatic, even on chaotic or exhausting days, and he leans on public documentation for accountability. He breaks the massive number into daily manageable targets and focuses on the process rather than the outcome, an approach he says transfers far beyond fitness.
Kevin explains that the push-ups themselves are not the hardest part. The real battle is mental, the moments when the number still left feels crushing. He has learned to reframe those thoughts, break the goal into small daily pieces, and focus on showing up rather than the finish line, and that discipline has carried over into other areas of his life.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 839 with Kevin Cullum is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
We run a 10,000 push-up challenge every February, and most people find out fast that 10,000 is nowhere near a million. Kevin is doing the actual million, and he was already past 800,000 when we talked. I wanted to know what makes this guy tick and why he keeps showing up day after day.
Press play in the player above to hear the whole conversation.
The math is staggering. Kevin started in 2015 and was at roughly 806,000 reps, averaging about 100,000 a year, with no hard end date. He talks about how the averages actually come together over years and how he thinks about the finish line. Worth hearing in his own words.
Kevin does not wait to feel motivated. He has built triggers and routines that make the daily work happen no matter what, and he uses public documentation as a second layer of accountability. He breaks down exactly how he never misses a day, and it is a blueprint that applies far beyond push-ups. Listen to that section of the episode.
The surprise of this conversation is that the physical toll is not the real challenge. Kevin describes the mental moments when the remaining number feels impossible and how he reframes them by focusing on the process. It is the part of the talk I keep coming back to. Press play in the player above.
Kevin did not expect what going public would create. Sharing every stage on Instagram built a community of people starting their own challenges and holding themselves to a higher standard, and messages from strangers have carried him through his hardest days. Scroll up and watch the player above.
Listen to the full conversation: press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
What sticks with me about Kevin is that this goes way beyond fitness. The million push-ups are really a masterclass in commitment and the mental toughness it takes to show up every single day.
If you have ever struggled to stay consistent or wondered what it takes to commit to something massive, this is the one. The discipline he is building transfers to everything.
Press play in the player above to hear how it all fits together.
Kevin Cullum (@one_million_push_ups) · Tom Rowland Podcast 10,000 Push-Up Challenge · Chicago · Instagram
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Kevin Cullum is a fitness content creator known as the push-up guy, documenting his mission to complete one million push-ups on Instagram at @one_million_push_ups. Born outside Chicago, he began the challenge in 2015 and has built a community around consistency, discipline, and the power of showing up every day, using public accountability to inspire others to take on their own massive goals.
Full transcript of the Tom Rowland Podcast, Episode 839: The Road to One Million Push-Ups, with Kevin Cullum.
Tom Rowland: What's going on, everybody? Welcome to the show today. We have a fantastic guest for you. And also, we have the ten thousand push-up challenge coming up in February. We've been talking about it a little bit, and that sounds like a really big goal for a lot of people, and it is. But imagine doing 1,000,000 push-ups. That's exactly what our guest today, Kevin Cullum, is doing. They call him the push-up guy. His Instagram is one_million_pushups, and you can go there and follow him. He is doing 1,000,000 push-ups. He started in 2015, and he is over 800,000 push-ups in. We're going to find out what makes this guy tick, what makes him continue to do what he's doing, and why. It's a very interesting conversation. I think you're going to love our guest, Kevin Cullum. Here we go.
Tom Rowland: Kevin, what's going on? How are you?
Kevin Cullum: Hey, Tom. I'm doing well. Thanks for having me on. This is exciting.
Tom Rowland: I'm really happy to have you here. Love what you're doing. Gonna do a million push-ups by what? Do you have an end date?
Kevin Cullum: That's the big question. No, I don't have an end date. I'm currently at about 806,000. And if everything goes to plan and I continue on this current pace, it looks like it should be 2024, maybe early 2025. But I feel like if I'm getting close, I'm gonna want to try to do it before 2025. There's no telling what the future holds.
Tom Rowland: That's what happens to most people that do the 10,000 push-up challenge that we have. It's nowhere near a million, but as you get close, it's like, man, I could just finish this tomorrow if I really pushed it. And I see you doing that. By my math, if you started in 2015, you've done eight hundred and six thousand. You've done a hundred thousand seven hundred fifty per year for eight years, which comes out to about 8,395 a month. Is that about right?
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, probably on average. Over the last few years it's ratcheted up. If you look at my early years of doing this, the numbers are much lower than what I'm doing now, and I think that's for a bunch of reasons. That's just how life goes. So yes, that's what's fun about looking at the averages, but there's no telling — I've had a few big months here and there. Something I realized to myself is, my god, there's more I can do.
Tom Rowland: Well, we're gonna get into that. One of the things we do here to get to know you a little better, and for the audience to get to know you a little better, is we put you on the hot seat. About 12 either-or questions, quickest answer you can come up with. Silly questions, really. Are you ready to roll?
Kevin Cullum: I'm ready to rock. Let's do it.
Tom Rowland: Would you have a reptile as a pet?
Kevin Cullum: I did. Yes, I would.
Tom Rowland: One of your favorite bands?
Kevin Cullum: Oh, favorite bands. I should be answering faster, shouldn't I? Wilco.
Tom Rowland: Instagram or Twitter?
Kevin Cullum: Instagram.
Tom Rowland: Where were you born?
Kevin Cullum: Outside of Chicago.
Tom Rowland: One thing you're afraid of?
Kevin Cullum: Throwing up.
Tom Rowland: Office or Parks and Rec?
Kevin Cullum: Office.
Tom Rowland: One piece of technology you rely on heavily other than your phone?
Kevin Cullum: Jesus, I don't know. The microwave?
Tom Rowland: I love it. That's the first time anybody's said the microwave. One supplement you take?
Kevin Cullum: Nothing. Food.
Tom Rowland: Coffee, tea, or energy drink?
Kevin Cullum: Energy drink.
Tom Rowland: Mountains or beaches for vacation?
Kevin Cullum: Beaches.
Tom Rowland: Cake or pie?
Kevin Cullum: Cake.
Tom Rowland: A movie that makes you laugh?
Kevin Cullum: Oh, a movie that makes me laugh — I'm not a big movie guy. Shoot.
Tom Rowland: That stumped you. First paying job?
Kevin Cullum: Caddying.
Tom Rowland: Winter Olympics or Summer Olympics?
Kevin Cullum: Summer.
Tom Rowland: Okay, and one that's a little more serious — three nonnegotiables in your day.
Kevin Cullum: Three nonnegotiables: a gallon of water, a Diet Coke, and, ideally, some push-ups.
Tom Rowland: I would think so. Alright, so for you guys just joining, or who don't know who Kevin is — Kevin is in the process of doing 1,000,000 push-ups, and he's 800,000-plus in. That's very impressive, man. I've got so many questions. I love so much what you're doing, and your Instagram is very positive. Why did you start this?
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, well, thank you — I'm flattered to even hear that stuff. It's still, honestly, a little uncomfortable for me to even talk about it. It's one of those things I would almost prefer to just exist, but not have to talk about with people. I'd rather people be aware of it and find value in it, and then I can just do my own thing.
Kevin Cullum: A huge reason is I've always wanted to help people. I remember driving with my dad after college to Washington, DC, where I had my first job, and talking to him about the future and careers. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I specifically remember saying, I just wanna help people. I don't mean that like I'm some special soul — I don't mean it that way. But it feels good to help people, I just never knew what that looked like.
Kevin Cullum: So, how this got started: growing up, I was such a skinny, scrawny kid, and I was intimidated to go to the gym. It was an uncomfortable place for me, but I wanted to get stronger and bigger. And growing up, I would always see my dad do push-ups at home. So it got to the point in college where I thought, well, shoot, I'm still not comfortable going to the gym, that's not for me. So I started cranking out a ton of push-ups in my own room, door closed — good workout, felt physically good, I'd look in the mirror and think maybe I could see a little difference. Over the years, that just became my workout of choice. It was nothing special, some push-ups here and there just to feel good about myself.
Kevin Cullum: Then I remember hearing a guy at a conference at one of my first jobs say he tracked his workouts and had for years, and could look back at the data of his push-ups, sit-ups, and running. I thought, my god, why don't I do that? What a cool thing to look back on twenty, thirty years from now if I ever have kids — I have two now, but that was my thought process then, around 2012 or 2013.
Kevin Cullum: Around that time social media was getting bigger and bigger. I became a fan of Gary Vaynerchuk, just because of his mentality — one of the things he used to say was, who cares what everybody thinks, and another one that stuck with me: you can build a career off anything. He said, if you love the Smurfs, start a Smurfs account. He was saying it half in jest, but also seriously — you could build something off of anything. And I remember thinking, my god, I do push-ups, why not start posting that with hopes of inspiring people? So that's where it began. I thought, this could be something — I don't even know that I'd call it something yet, but I still believe it could be, and I've just been working to find out what that is.
Tom Rowland: So obviously, have you made it into something financial, or what do you do for a living?
Kevin Cullum: The goal is to make it into something financial — I haven't quite figured that out, and the entrepreneur, startup guy in me kind of cringes when I say that, because I'm the type who thinks you can find any way to make money. But I haven't found the right way yet to make money off of this. So it's not my full-time career, though I'd like it to become that eventually, and I've got ideas about where I want this to go. Part of me has thought for years, this is just part of the process — I don't even really think of it as my career, this is just who I am, this is my life, I'm gonna do this either way. So I firmly believe it'll eventually become my financial path.
Kevin Cullum: But as it relates to my current career, I work in logistics, at a tech startup, since the company launched back in 2014. So I've been there nine years — we've raised a bunch of money, we got acquired, and I'm still doing that.
Tom Rowland: So your coworkers since 2014 — you started this in 2015 — they've watched you do push-ups throughout the day this whole time?
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, some. It's still a little strange when it comes out at work, because — this is what's funny, and you've seen some of the stuff I post — it probably looks very self-serving, posting things shirtless and all that, and I struggle to this day to post some of it. But there's a strategy behind it, or at least I think there is — the more attention I get, maybe that helps more people. My colleagues who are aware of it have been super supportive and friendly. I work in sales, so a huge part of my job, at least what I tell myself, is that I can make sales and do push-ups at the same time. So that's what I do — I've done it for years and years.
Tom Rowland: There have been people who do our 10,000 push-up challenge every February who liked it so much they just continued, doing 10,000 push-ups a month for three years now — it's a great way to stay in shape and maintain consistency. What I like about what you're talking about is that anyone can do anything given enough time and enough effort — and I love that qualifier, because there's more to it than that. One of the things we've been talking about lately is getting ready for New Year's resolutions — a lot of people start in February and by mid-February they fizzle out. When I look at what you've done, over 800,000 push-ups over a long time, and the commitment you made when you started is like a ten-year commitment — I wonder, when it comes to consistency, how have you been able to maintain it? We'll have Navy SEALs or UFC fighters on here, and I'll ask them the same kind of question, because it makes it easy to apply to a regular person's daily life. So, how have you maintained that tremendous amount of consistency?
Kevin Cullum: Sure. I appreciate the question, there's a lot to it. I think about this every single day, and I've tried to pinpoint exactly why I continue — one of my hopes is to figure out a way to share this, whatever this is. I've stayed very committed to this, though I wouldn't say I've stayed that committed in other areas.
Kevin Cullum: I think a few things have helped. One is sharing it with people and making it known. I remember early on when I started posting on Instagram — it's been just over six years now — the first couple of years of doing push-ups, I didn't tell a soul, it wasn't even the same mission yet. Then suddenly I realized, man, this could be something. But early on, I remember thinking, if I just start posting about it, that in itself will hold me accountable. The first people who followed were my friends, and that was a little embarrassing, truthfully. But I thought, it might be embarrassing now, but it'll be even more embarrassing if I quit — then my friends will think, well, that was a weird stage he went through. So, I hate to say it, but part of it early on was just not wanting to look like a doofus. And I actually share that with others — if you just tell people what you're up to, even one person, that adds accountability. That helped me a ton early on.
Kevin Cullum: Another thing that's helped is tracking all my progress daily, which I've done since 2015. I've got a Google document I use, and I've sent it to a lot of people — if any of your listeners want something like this, they can reach out to me, I'll email it for free.
Tom Rowland: Tell them — I'm sure that would be great for the upcoming 10,000 push-up challenge. What's your email address?
Kevin Cullum: They can email me at kevin — just kevin — at acdanything dot com. I've taken that Google Doc and turned it into an Excel document that's easy to send out. That's been huge for me for a couple of reasons — one, it's fun to look back at the years; two, I can literally see my momentum, see myself doing it more often, see the push-ups growing. Making it known to people and then actively tracking it has kept me going. And the more you do it, momentum takes over — the hardest part is just starting. Once you start, the further you get, it's like, why would I stop now? I've got all this momentum, I know what to do, it's just a matter of continuing.
Tom Rowland: Right, the momentum is massive — sharing, tracking, building on the momentum, honestly that's the recipe to accomplish anything. Have you ever thought about quitting?
Kevin Cullum: No. I posted something the other day to the effect of — the only way I will not do a million push-ups is if I die, or get severely injured or sick, or physically cannot do it. I don't mean that like I'm challenging life, I just mean I'm not gonna stop. Even if it takes me the next ten years, I'm gonna do it, because I know myself, I know I'll get there eventually. So it becomes kind of a game — how fast can I do it? The biggest part of never wanting to quit is that I said I'm gonna do it, and now I'm a dad, I've got two kids — the last thing I want is for them to ever ask why I stopped.
Tom Rowland: What about injury? You must get sore, but have you had any injuries?
Kevin Cullum: Nothing severe. Over the years I've had some elbow issues, I forget which elbow.
Tom Rowland: Overuse-type things, tendinitis?
Kevin Cullum: Probably, something like that. I've given myself a little break at those times, but not much. I'm also not a fitness guy, I don't consider myself knowledgeable about diet and all that. What I know is that we're more capable of doing things than we thought possible. Yeah, it hurts sometimes, I don't feel good, I'm tired, but you work through those little aches and suddenly you're locked in.
Tom Rowland: That's exactly it. Even during the 10,000 push-up challenge every year, the first three or four days you're sore and tired, and you think, I'll just do a set of 25 — then another 25, and another, and suddenly you're at 100, and the next set is two sets of 50, and you're almost there. It's so important to just get started and work through it. But 800,000 — that's a lot of push-ups, man. The funny thing is, so many people say your shoulders could never handle that, you're gonna blow out your shoulder — but honestly, in February my shoulders feel better than any other time of year. I do CrossFit and pull-ups and everything else, but when I'm doing that many push-ups is when I feel the best with my shoulders. I'm a big believer in use it or lose it. I'm 55 — how old are you?
Kevin Cullum: I'm 34.
Tom Rowland: So at 34, you're still a little bit use-it-or-lose-it too.
Kevin Cullum: Totally. You look great for 55, by the way — I'm getting to the stage where I'm starting to notice that stuff myself, starting to see people my age and think, wow, you look different than that person. Those dots are starting to connect. I was scrolling Instagram today and saw an old picture of somebody and thought, god, they're getting old, I can't believe the time is passing for them.
Tom Rowland: And then it's your high school reunion — that's when it really hits home.
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, it's dawning on me more and more that I'm in that bracket too, time's not stopping for me either. When you're young you can consciously say time will keep passing, you'll get older, but you don't really know what that means. I hear what you're saying completely — you use it or you lose it.
Tom Rowland: You ever hear that story — probably made up — about two boats leaving the harbor at exactly the same time, same speed, but one degree apart? For a mile, they're right next to each other. For two miles, still close. For three miles they start to deviate. But over a hundred miles, they end up so far apart. At 34, that's about the time someone either decides to be on a healthy road or not pay much attention to it. At 40 you can still reverse it pretty easily; at 50 it takes a lot more work. I've always just thought, stay in shape all the time and you're good — but your thing is extreme. Do you do any other exercise besides push-ups?
Kevin Cullum: I do — that's actually one of the most frequent questions I get. I do other bodyweight work, sit-ups, crunches, I've got an ab roller I love, an adjustable set of dumbbells I mess around with, a pull-up bar, and I like to go on runs. But I'm not that knowledgeable about what people should do. I see comments all the time like, this is a dumb way to work out, people saying they're making so much more progress and they're in the gym all the time. Part of me wants to respond snarky, but I usually respond sincerely: that's awesome, good for you, but that's not the point. I'm not doing this to look great or get massively strong — those are benefits, sure, which is such a beautiful thing about fitness that I didn't really appreciate growing up. But the point of what I'm doing is to prove something to people, and it manifests through push-ups, but it's relatable to so much else.
Tom Rowland: What would you say you're trying to prove to people?
Kevin Cullum: The main thing is that with enough time, energy, and effort, you can accomplish anything — literally anything, career-wise, health-wise, some fitness goal, doing a million push-ups, getting a job, or being a multimillionaire, which I'm not. If I focus on something wholeheartedly, I can make it happen. That's what I'm trying to prove — that we're all capable of a ton, it's just a question of whether you put in the time to make it happen.
Tom Rowland: I love that. When people comment that they're making more progress in the gym, it's like, man, awesome, good for you — that's what we're all about here, consistency. That's the message. My consistency is on push-ups. In eight years you can say you've been to the gym 800,000 times, or done 800,000 reps combined. What I love about the physical world is that it's a microcosm of the rest of your life. If you just get started and move forward, you've done more than your share for the day, and the next day you don't feel that bad, and you continue on. Apply that to sales — you don't know who to call, but if you just start calling, it's easier to do the next thing, and the next. One little success builds on the others. And if you're tracking it — like a back squat, if you can't remember whether you lifted more than last time, you're not benefiting from that win. But if you're tracking, you can see, I went up two and a half pounds — not huge, but more than last time. That little win sets up all the other wins. That's what I love about push-ups, it's just numbers, man.
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, it's such a simple thing, which is another reason it makes sense to me — everybody can do a push-up, whether the traditional one, on your knees, or against a wall. There's some form everybody can do, and that's all you have to do. As long as you can do it once, you can do it twice — there's a guy named Truett Hahn.
Tom Rowland: Yeah, Cam Hahn is his dad.
Kevin Cullum: Yes, sir, who's become a big name. Truett just broke the world record for most pull-ups in twenty-four hours a month ago — funny enough, two other people have since broken his, which is kind of a bummer but also cool, that's how the world works. I was listening to Cam's podcast with Truett the other day, and Truett talked about that exact theme — I was driving, almost cheering, because it's like, why isn't this spoken about more? His point was, he did 8,100 pull-ups, and while doing them he thought, my god, I've got 3,000 left, and that's daunting. But then he said, you do one pull-up and suddenly you have one less to do, and you keep going, and an hour passes and you've got 400 less to do. If you just keep going — whether push-ups, pull-ups, career work, or being a parent — as long as you keep going, something good happens eventually. It might not be today or tomorrow, or you don't have to know what the next step is — you just do this step, and the next step reveals itself, a door opens, and suddenly you're where you wanted to be a year ago. That stuff never ceases to stop me in my tracks, because it's so applicable to everything.
Tom Rowland: It sure is. If someone said, I have a big goal of starting a business, or quitting my job to do this over here, what advice would you give a regular person? You're probably asked this a lot, because you're closing in on the million — you're at 800, and the final 200 won't be as hard as the first 200. So what have you learned about goal-setting that applies to a regular goal?
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, I certainly didn't invent this, but what's worked for me is breaking it down. I went into this nine years ago knowing it would take a while — it's fun now to go back and read early captions where I said, this will probably take seven to ten years. And here I am nine years later, still not done. I knew that going in, and I learned that in order to get anywhere, you've gotta break things down. So for a normal person — which I am — asking that question, I'd say, first, write down whatever you want, whether starting a business or getting fit. A lot of people are like, I wanna be a good runner, I wanna be stronger, but that doesn't just happen, it happens over time. The best way to get there is to write it down and understand what you're aiming toward — a vague 'I wanna get fit' goal doesn't mean much, but if you go on a run every day for a month, suddenly you're fitter, and you've reached your goal. Getting specific about what you're aiming toward has helped me, and then breaking it down.
Kevin Cullum: I track every single day, but I look most often at how many I'm doing in a month, to understand how I'm shaping up for the year — that gives me a regular challenge to go after. I think personal challenges are essential to making progress. So the short of it is: get specific about what you're trying to accomplish, then break it down. What can I focus on today? Even if I only do 10 push-ups, that's still progress — I'm moving toward my goal. I wouldn't be fulfilled with just that, but it's progress, and I think that gets lost on people — they think 10 is nothing, but it's the wrong thought. Flip it, because it is progress.
Tom Rowland: Some people think, why bother with 10? But if you did 10 every day for 365 days, that's 3,000 push-ups versus zero. Everything matters, everything is progress, even small progress. A lot of people look at big goals and get overwhelmed — how did you avoid overwhelm early on, at 3,000 push-ups on your way to a million? I imagine you'd say it comes back to breaking it down — it's not about being at 3,000, it's about getting the next 300 done, whatever your daily number was. But it's still really big — when you've had a hard day and look at the scorecard and see 975,000 left to do.
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, from my experience that momentum piece is very real. In those earlier days, I used to speak at high schools, thinking maybe this could be a career, and I'd love to do more speaking engagements. I remember telling one classroom I'd done 230,000 push-ups — years ago now — and seeing a student's eyes pop like, whoa, that's a big thing. At the time I didn't think much of it, I said it for effect. But there's a momentum piece — the more you do it, the more regular it becomes. If you're at 5,000 and get to 6,000, it's like, wow, I've never done that many. Or you hit 10,000 and think, what will 20,000 feel like? That just keeps going. I just crossed 800,000 a couple weeks ago — a huge milestone, like every other 100,000, or 50,000, or every big month. There are all these little milestones you can hit throughout, applicable to everything in life. When I hit 500,000, I thought, oh my god, this is cool — one of the first times it really felt that way. But then quickly you get to 501,000 and think, okay, I'm kind of back to square one, a lot more to do.
Tom Rowland: Halfway.
Kevin Cullum: Halfway, right. But then the cycle starts over again — it's all cyclical. You get going, momentum takes over, you get to the top and it rolls again, and there are moments where you ebb and flow and it doesn't feel great. But you push through, and another milestone comes up.
Tom Rowland: What else is interesting about what you're doing — when I look at your social media, I think, who is this guy, what makes him tick? Does he have other hobbies? Do you like to fish?
Kevin Cullum: God, dude — I live outside Chicago now, so it's getting chilly this time of year. I've done a little fishing in the summers. I went on a bachelor party to Florida nine or ten years ago, and we were on these little boats in shallow water, and we caught so many fish — it was amazing. I say this as a complete clueless bum, admiring what you guys do — I remember the guide being amazed at how skilled he was, naming every fish that swam by, knowing how to handle all of them, while we were just hanging out drinking beer. So, fishing — no, I need to do a lot more of it.
Tom Rowland: You need to do more. But what else do you do — you're a dad, you've got two kids.
Kevin Cullum: Yep, a little boy who's five and a little girl who'll be three. I'm married, so that takes up a lot of our time. My wife is a stud, she's been supportive of this since the very beginning. We're making more friends in our community, mostly parents of our kids' friends, which is fun. But we're in the grind of little kids these days — I'm doing my kids, and I'm doing push-ups.
Tom Rowland: Mine are grown, similar ages though — 25, 23, and 20. My wife and I had two close together, took a break, then had our daughter. I wonder — you said your wife's always been supportive — do you think she realized she was signing up for a ten-year commitment with this push-up deal?
Kevin Cullum: We met working together. At the time I was starting a side business — remember those silly bands, the rubber bands that formed animal shapes? My much younger sister was big into those, and that's when the entrepreneurial thing started ticking in my head, right after college. I was creating these little rubber links that connect into a bracelet, and I was 22 when she met me — she knew early on I was a little quirkier than the standard guy. She always says I'm a zero-to-sixty type, not great at moderation, and I've had to work at that. So, did she know? Probably. Looking back at old Instagram posts, you'll see one comment and 11 likes — the likes are my mom, brother, sister, dad, wife, and the only comment is my wife, on every single one. She's always been there. There were probably early days she thought, Jesus, what's this guy doing, what will people think? But she's never said it — she's always maintained that I am who I am, and she's gonna support and believe in me.
Tom Rowland: That's awesome, and that takes a lot of communication between the two of you. There are situations where my wife's been a little embarrassed, like when we're at the airport and I'm knocking out a hundred push-ups in the corner during the challenge — I made a commitment, I've gotta get it done. But everybody doing the 10,000 push-up challenge knows how it breaks down — over eight years, it's about 8,395 a day for you. For 10,000 over 28 days, that's about 348 a day for us. If you get ahead, great, you can take a day off — but it never really works that way, the momentum takes over, and you think, if I just do more than yesterday, I'll finish soon. But the finish line is way out there. Doing 10,000 a month instead of 8,300 — do you really notice the difference day to day? Do you go by feel, or try to beat last month?
Kevin Cullum: It all depends on the month and what's going on. I try to hover around 10,000 a month at least — it's grown over the years, this year I've probably averaged 11 or 12,000 a month. Day to day, I just do what I can, I've gotten used to doing a lot. The averages work out to about 230 a day over nine years, but that's increased because I've done more over time. It's funny — you can look at a big goal and think, that's huge, I'm not sure how I'll get there, but you start chipping away and your mind reframes itself. The first time I ever did a thousand push-ups in a day, beforehand I thought, I can't do a thousand, who does that? Then I did it, and for a split second thought, alright, we did it — but a minute later thought, huh, I don't feel that different physically. It's so easy to put limits on ourselves, or have the world put them on us, but the second you break through a limit, you think, what's the next one, what more can I do? This past June I did my most ever in a month, about 21,000 — a concerted effort at the start of the month. It really just depends on what's going on, how I'm feeling, where I'm at.
Tom Rowland: What's that on your hat?
Kevin Cullum: That says ACDA.
Tom Rowland: Oh, I see, it's upside down, like a reflection — that's the first time I've noticed that. So, anyone can do anything, that's your motto.
Kevin Cullum: That's my motto. I'd eventually love to build a big brand out of it, which is actually what I'm working on right now. Years ago, since I love hats, I made some. I remember being in a Starbucks and a woman asked about my hat — I actually told her it was my friend's company, because I was a little embarrassed. I said it stands for anyone can do anything, and she said, that's a cool message, but within reason. I understood what she meant, but at the time I remember steam practically coming out of my ears, because that's the problem with the world — this belief that only within limits can we do anything. That's just my whole thing, it's been my rallying cry, and I still believe in it.
Tom Rowland: Where do you think that comes from for most people — these limiting beliefs? Societal, parental, school?
Kevin Cullum: Good question, and I don't have the perfect answer. I can speak from my own perspective — I've been blessed with incredible parents, still around, three great siblings, grew up in a great town, put in a position to thrive. But I realize the whole world isn't set up that way. I firmly believe our school system doesn't talk about this stuff — I don't remember it being addressed growing up. I was fed the belief that I am capable, by my parents, through my upbringing, and I don't think that's true everywhere. It's probably a combination of parental and educational factors, mixed in with the media — you're not fed positive, uplifting messages as often as I'd like, which is why I started posting this stuff. I assume some people roll their eyes at it, but I believe in it, and I wish it were spoken about more.
Tom Rowland: You're doing it, though — that's the difference. You're saying, here's a really big goal that once seemed impossible, and I'm 800,000 on my way to a million, by consistency, discipline, and effort. But even the most positive people, who've broken through limiting beliefs in some areas, still have them in others, until they remind themselves, that once seemed impossible too, and I did it. It's like the gym — you never thought you could do 50 pull-ups, but there was a day you couldn't do one. Then someone who can do 50 says they don't know if they could ever do 100 — it's a habitual thing, putting glass ceilings on ourselves. Your message is, you could, if you wanted it bad enough and put in the time and effort — but most people don't want it that bad.
Kevin Cullum: Totally. I often say anyone can do anything, but not everybody will do something — so be somebody who does something. I remember a friend, years ago, saying, well, what if I wanna live a certain lifestyle? My response, learned indirectly from guys like Gary Vaynerchuk, David Goggins, and Jocko Willink, was that it's all possible, but you need to look at it from 50,000 feet. You want a big house — okay, in Manhattan? Then you need to make millions of dollars a year — so what are you gonna do to make millions of dollars a year? My friend wasn't looking at the big picture, just thinking he wanted a nice house and a perfect family, without a plan for how to get there. Growing up, I thought things would just fall into my lap — I wasn't pampered, my parents did everything right, but I still thought, as a privileged kid from the Chicago suburbs, that a good job would just come. It really hit me in college when I saw my friends get jobs while I was puttering around, and I moved home and caddied again while my friends started their new jobs. That's when it hit me — the only way I'll get where I wanna be in life is by doing it myself. My parents can give me everything, but it's up to me to turn on the jets and figure it out.
Tom Rowland: I don't think that lesson is spoken about enough either. I once won a fishing tournament that was supposed to be a huge deal — it aired on ESPN and ABC Sports, 17,000,000 people saw it. I got home, sat by the phone waiting for sponsors to call. Guess how many times it rang? Zero. So I thought, okay, what do I need to do — write a press release, call some people. It wasn't until I took action that anything happened. If you win the Masters, sure, that comes with a spot automatically, but most of us don't benefit from something that big without making it happen ourselves. You're the top salesman at work — what do you get for that? Nothing, unless you make something of it. Did you write it down, put it on your resume, let a prospective employer know? If you don't do that for yourself, nobody will do it for you. It's not that people are holding you down, it's a lesson you have to learn — you're fortunate enough to have a big thing happen, but there aren't any results unless you make them.
Kevin Cullum: Yeah, it's fascinating. I met a super successful, now-retired businessman through work a couple years ago, who worked in finance, and I remember him saying about his team, we are students of the market. I wrote that down — there's something powerful about a wildly successful man calling himself a student, an active learner. I'd assumed successful people had just figured it out, when really I'm still learning, still not mastered this — I've stuck with push-ups, but elsewhere in life I'm not necessarily where I thought I'd be as a 22-year-old, now at 34. It's probably a theme of life — you're always chasing something. That's always stuck with me — we're students of the market.
Tom Rowland: Right — student of the market, always something else out there. A lot of people set their sights on one thing, like, when I get to a million push-ups and a million followers, everything's gonna be great. Maybe, but probably not, if that's all you're focused on. It's more fulfilling to focus on the journey to a million push-ups than the destination itself, because it only gets better if you make it happen. So many people think, I'll make a million dollars, or get this promotion, and everything will be fine — then they get it and think, huh, I thought this would be better. Or athletes who win the Super Bowl and think, now what? If they'd focused on the entire journey and everything they learned, that's way more fulfilling. Then it's, okay, that next peak is next, and I'm looking forward to the whole climb — whether or not you make it, you still have that daily journey of accomplishing whatever it is.
Tom Rowland: There's a why behind the whole thing. I did something called SEALFIT Kokoro once — you go to California and hang out with Navy SEALs for a week, and they put you through a snapshot of hell week, a forty-eight-hour conversion. It was originally set up for guys thinking about going to BUDS, to make sure they really wanted it, and now it's also for people like me who just wanted to try it. What they kept harping on was, you can do anything as long as you have a strong enough why. So what is it about this push-up thing for you? Helping people is one thing, but there's gotta be more — I know you have two kids, I'm sure that plays in. Your why must be really strong to keep this going for ten years.
Kevin Cullum: Yeah — first of all, I'm such a huge fan of Navy SEALs, I've watched an old Discovery Channel special about BUD/S class 234 or so like a thousand times, mad respect to those guys. But the why behind this is fairly extensive. Earlier, you asked about a fear, and I said throwing up — as a kid I had a debilitating fear of it, and I'm 34 now and still sort of deal with it, my kids puke all the time, and I've had to work through that. For years and years I didn't want anyone to know about that fear — it was such an insecurity, only my family knew. Now, as a grown man, overcoming those demons, those insecurities, that feeling of being a victim of life, is a huge why for me. The only way I'll do a million push-ups is if I actually do a million push-ups, one push-up at a time — it's in my control, just like everything else in life. The only way any of us get where we wanna be is by doing it ourselves. So much of this is me doing it for my little kid self — I think if I were that kid looking at myself now, I'd be so pumped. The other big why is my kids — whether I live to be 100 or die tonight, I want them to have something to look back on and think, my dad was something. Maybe they'll think it's weird until they're 34 themselves and get the picture — there's a good chance they'll get made fun of for it, and I'm sorry to them, future them, but my hope is the lesson breaks through. And truthfully, I just want to help other people — those kids who were like me at 17, a hundred and thirty-five pounds, nervous, despite a beautiful upbringing, unable to get out of my own head. The message I'm pushing is the one I would have benefited from at that age. I get asked a lot what I'll do after a million push-ups — I don't know, I've gotta get there first, still a lot to do. Beyond that, I'll figure it out then — as long as you keep going, doors open, things happen, you learn something else.
Tom Rowland: I love that. One final, more technical question — we've got the 10,000 push-up challenge coming up in February, and you and I are gonna collaborate on it somehow, maybe live Instagrams with both our followers, maybe raising money for charity. I'm really looking forward to that. But from someone who's done 800,000 push-ups — if someone's considering the 10,000 push-up challenge, maybe they've watched others do it over the years and thought about trying it, and it's late November now with time to prepare — what's your advice for someone who wants to take that on?
Kevin Cullum: Sure, I'd say two things. First, for anyone who's never done this and thinks, that sounds fun but I'm not sure I could do it — you can do it. It is completely possible. If anybody has ever done something before, you can do it too. Second, people ask how to get started — you just break it down. Start small: 10 push-ups in the morning, 10 at night, or whatever amount fits how you're feeling. That's what I did, and it's amazing the results you'll see, physical or mental — even just feeling proud of yourself in the shower is a result. Start small, write it down, and before you know it, if you start today, you've got two, two and a half months under your belt by February — that's a lot of push-ups, and suddenly you're like, yeah, I know what I'm doing.
Tom Rowland: That's right. And add to that your earlier advice — share it, get a buddy, hold each other accountable, start tracking now so you can see the progress, and build on the momentum. It'll be fun to put that together, we'll kick it off February 1st. But, Kevin, tell people how they can find you, follow you, support you.
Kevin Cullum: Thank you again for all of this. I'm on Instagram and TikTok, both under the username one_million_pushups. My website is acdanything.com — not much there yet besides some shirts people can buy, though they certainly don't need to. Or email me at kevin@acdanything.com — if you want a buddy for this, message me, you don't even have to follow me, I'm not asking for followers, just tell me what you're working on and I'll respond. Would love to help anybody.
Tom Rowland: Alright, man. I know you're gonna make it to a million, that's not even a question, but it'll be fun to watch you get there. You also wanna get to a million followers — how many do you have on TikTok?
Kevin Cullum: On TikTok, just over 60,000.
Tom Rowland: 60,000, and 20-something thousand on Instagram — you've still got a long way.
Kevin Cullum: Totally. One thing I'll say is the follower count isn't really the important piece. I'm a big challenge guy, so this is just a fun challenge to attempt — the more it grows, hopefully the more people it can inspire. Will I get to a million followers? I don't know, who knows.
Tom Rowland: You'll get a lot closer having set the goal of a million than just saying you'd like a lot of followers. But you have plenty right now.
Kevin Cullum: Totally, exactly what I think too. If I end up with 26,000 followers, great — that's 26,000 people I'm grateful to have following along.
Tom Rowland: Alright, well, you'll have more after this, I promise. Kevin, thank you very much, and good luck on your way to a million. We'll be in touch about the 10,000 push-up challenge, and everybody planning to do it can look forward to doing some with Kevin — we'll do them on Instagram Live, that'll be fun. Alright, that's it for today, we'll see you next week with another awesome guest just like Kevin. See you.
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