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Tim Ferriss

John Crowley — The Real-Life Captain America and Bruce Banner (Seriously) (#225)

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john crowley

This is an incredibly powerful episode of the podcast.

John F. Crowley is the Chairman and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotechnology company, which he helped found in 2005 and is now a 300+ person company in 22 countries. John’s involvement with biotechnology stems from the 1998 diagnosis of two of his children with Pompe disease — a severe and often fatal neuromuscular disorder. In his drive to find a cure for them, he left his job and became an entrepreneur as the Co-founder, President, and CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals in 2000, a biotech start-up conducting research on a new experimental treatment for Pompe disease (which he credits as ultimately saving his children’s lives). In 2001, Novazyme was acquired by Genzyme Corporation for nearly $200 million.

John and his family are the subjects of a book by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Geeta Anand, The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million — and Bucked the Medical Establishment — in a Quest to Save His Children. The major motion picture Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, is inspired by the Crowley family journey. John is the author of a personal memoir: Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope, and Joy.

John also served as a commissioned intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2005-2016. He was assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and is a veteran of the global war on terrorism, with service in Afghanistan. He graduated with a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard.

He previously served (2014-2016) as the National Chairman of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and is a founding board member of the Global Genes Project. John is a Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute.

Enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

#225: John Crowley — The Real-Life Captain America and Bruce Banner (Seriously)

Want to hear another interview with a superhuman scientist? Listen to my in-depth conversation with Dom D’Agostino. In this episode, we discuss fasting, heavy deadlifts, and the end of cancer:

#117: Dom D'Agostino on Fasting, Ketosis, and The End of Cancer

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

  • Connect with John F. Crowley:

Facebook | LinkedIn

Show Notes

  • John explains what it’s like to be afraid of heights and practice fast-roping drills with Navy SEALs. [08:00]
  • What John learned about sudden loss in childhood. [12:03]
  • Was John like Captain America even at age 10? [15:52]
  • In high school, what did John think he’d be when he grew up? [19:41]
  • Mentors who had an impact on John during his early years. [20:26]
  • What does a curriculum at The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown entail? [22:44]
  • John’s special connection to the University of Notre Dame. [23:49]
  • What a class at Harvard Business School is like for someone who’s not good at math. [28:22]
  • The events surrounding John’s children being diagnosed with Pompe disease. [32:04]
  • How looking for a cure became a full-time job. [37:00]
  • On the difficult protocols involved with getting John’s own children treated. [47:10]
  • The best Christmas present John could have wished for. [50:11]
  • Conventional rules of the biotech business John broke in pursuit of a cure. [52:16]
  • Early treatment: improvements and plateaus. [55:46]
  • How are Megan and Patrick doing today? [58:03]
  • On the principles of good parenting. [1:00:57]
  • Advice for parents of children with special needs. [1:04:23]
  • “Little people can teach us big people an awful lot if we just listen.” [1:05:53]
  • How does one create an economically viable company when developing drugs to treat rare diseases? [1:11:08]
  • What drives John today, and how did he choose the name “Amicus” for his company? [1:13:29]
  • What prompted John to get reinvolved with the miltary? [1:16:09]
  • Characteristics that make John capable in the elite military world, and what carries over from his business experience? [1:17:23]
  • As someone who’s so busy on multiple fronts, how does John keep from feeling overwhelmed? [1:20:07]
  • Most-gifted books. [1:21:34]
  • Inspiring, but underrated or lesser-known leaders. [1:23:22]
  • How would John advise someone to train for resilience? [1:28:01]
  • How does one balance living like there’s no tomorrow with the planning required for long-term goals? [1:33:02]
  • Altruism: where to begin? [1:41:43]
  • Hopes for the future of genetic medicine and the pursuit of longer lifespans. [1:44:02]
  • Likely breakthroughs ahead. [1:45:46]
  • John’s daily habits. [1:48:38]
  • What a Crowley evening workout looks like. [1:52:32]
  • Ways of coping with insomnia. [1:55:03]
  • What is grace? [1:56:40]
  • What would John’s billboard message be? [1:56:58]
  • Parting thoughts on healthcare and high heeled wheels. [1:57:30]

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