On this episode of the WHOOP Podcast, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by award-winning writer and director, Mike White, and his trainer Hallvar “Hoho” Sigmundstad, who helped him stay fit throughout the production of White’s hit show The White Lotus.

Mike White is an American writer, director, actor and producer known for his award-winning show The White Lotus. Prior to The White Lotus, White wrote and produced Enlightened (2011) and Year of The Dog (2007). Some of his early works include Nacho Libre (2006), School of Rock (2003), Chuck and Buck (2000), Orange County (2002), The Good Girl (2002) and having written 2 episodes of Freaks and Geeks (1999). Mike White has also appeared on the 14th season of The Amazing Race, which he did with his father, Mel. Mike White was also a contestant on Survivor: David and Goliath where he made it to Day 39 and finished in second place.

On this episode of the WHOOP Podcast, Will and Mike discuss how Mike came to create White Lotus (1:04), developing and casting the characters each season (3:32), building tension within the narrative (5:02), balancing being a writer and a director (8:24), and maintaining Mike's health during production (12:44). Mike introduces his trainer Hallvar “Hoho” Sigmundstad and his important role in keeping Mike healthy on set (18:14). Hoho explains the top training tactics and methods to combat intense production hours to help Mike maintain his fitness levels (19:20). Will, Mike, and Hoho discuss Mike’s WHOOP stats (21:56), Mike's ability to manage stress on set (25:51), and how Mike created a WHOOP community within the cast and crew (28:58). Mike walks Will through a day in the life of the set of White Lotus season 3 (34:51), assign each White Lotus character with their own WHOOP metric (40:31), and how Mike developed the narrative of White Lotus Season 3 (48:09).

Don’t miss the Season 3 finale of The White Lotus this Sunday (4/6) on HBO and streaming on Max.

The White Lotus

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Hallvar Sigmundstad

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Behind the Scenes of The White Lotus with Creator Mike White 51:36 Share

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Behind the Scenes of The White Lotus with Creator Mike White