To be successful in any field, you must be selfish. Olympians, businesspeople and stay-at-home moms are all selfish. However, the top of any field, embraces a deeper, less discussed ideal of selfishness. The most successful embrace an ethic of radical self interest. Radical self interest, as Olympic gold medalist Adam Kreek defines it, is caring so much about yourself and your immediate family that you give whole-heartedly to the environment and your community. You want clean air, water and land to support your health; you want a strong community to support your ambitions; you want a workplace that is as radically self-interested as you are.

From an engineering background, Adam lives the ideal of radical self interest. He has built an appleseed biodiesel reactor from scratch and is a member of his local biodiesel co-op. Adam also lives at Dockside Green in Victoria, BC, a master planned community that was just awarded LEED platinum certification for its forward thinking ethos: People, Planet, Profit. Radical self interest delivers poignant truth: Adam would not have won a gold medal had he not embraced an ethic of radical self interest. Adam found out first hand that low-level selfish achievement is empty.

Adam Kreek is a loving husband and proud father who lives part-time in two cities: Victoria, BC, and Ottawa, ON.

An Olympic gold medalist in Beijing 2008, he is writing a book due out this fall with a working title, Confessions of an Olympian. Adam explores the secrets of great achievement through the lens of his Olympic journey, in a sport that is often described as the most physically demanding, and most reliant upon teamwork: rowing in an eight-man shell. Adam has retired from international competition, but keeps close ties to the Olympic movement. He sits on the Canadian Olympic Committee board of directors and is the vice-chair of the athletes commission.

Although retired, Adam still rows. He regularly fishes for crabs in his sliding-seat whitehall spirit dory. Also, in December of this year he will row across the Atlantic ocean from Liberia to Venezuela, supporting Right to Play and making another documentary.