MIKE COUSINO
COACHING SPECIALTY
Adult Freestyle
Triathlon & Open Water
CERTIFICATIONS
Total Immersion™
NSPF® Certified Pool & Spa Operator®
Certified Shallow Water Lifeguard
American Red Cross First Aid and CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers
EXPERIENCE
80+ Triathlons: Sprint, Oly, 70.3 & 140.6
Liquid Lifestyles® Coach since 2005
GET TO KNOW COACH MIKE
ONE WORD THAT DESCRIBES ME
Methodical.
FAVORITE STROKE
Freestyle.
5 FUN FACTS ABOUT ME
My wife and I were born 36 hours apart in the same hospital. We didn’t officially meet until we were sixteen. We married in 1992.
Before joining Liquid Lifestyles as a partner, I was a serial entrepreneur who failed miserably on my first attempt: an outdoor adventure and kayak retailer. From the ashes of that misadventure, I built a successful sports sales and marketing agency. After selling that company, I launched a sports nutrition e-commerce business, ran it for 8 years and sold it upon acquiring a sports nutrition manufacturer out of Canada.
My garage looks like a bike shop. I have eight bikes: two road bikes, a mountain bike, a bikepacking bike, a gravel bike, two fat tire bikes, and a tandem. My neice Victoria lives with and she has a road bike and TT bike. My wife, Michelle, has two road bikes. The optimum number of bikes to own is N+1 with “n” being the number of bikes you currently own. We have a full training gym in the basement with FOUR Wahoo Kicker training stations, a Peloton Tread, and 70” Samsung TV, and three Alexa enabled floor fans.
I am an avid photographer and began my journey working in a camera store in college. I started with film based SLRs and transitioned to digital in 2001, eventually migrating to DSLRs. I own just about as many cameras, lenses and drones as I do bicycles. All of the artwork in our home is my photography and I took many of the images on Liquid Lifestyles’ website and social media.
I have ridden several self supported bike tours: Venice, Italy to Innsbruck, Austria (2001), Maryland to Tennessee along Skyline Drive & The Blue Ridge Parkway (2009), circumnavigated around Lake Erie (2010) and Calgary, Alberta to Jackson Hole, Wyoming along the Continental Divide Mountain Bike Route (2019 & 2021).
FAVORITE QUOTES
“That's been one of my mantras -- focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains”.
- Steve Jobs
“One of the really tough things is figuring out what questions to ask. Once you figure out the question, then the answer is relatively easy.”
- Elon Musk
“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.”
- Unknown
“Your attitude calibrates your reality”
- Mike Cousino
“Never put a short term goal ahead of a long term goal.”
- Mike Cousino
”You are the cause of your experience.”
- Mike Reilly
When I did my first triathlon in 1991 I, like so many others, struggled to get through the swim. Back then my training plan was to just go to the pool and swim yards. The more the better and the harder the better, or so I thought. After several years of this strategy, I was experiencing a modest level of success relative to how I started. When I was introduced to Liquid Lifestyles through a triathlon swim group, circa 2004, I was hesitant. I reluctantly did the prescribed drills during practice and questioned the concepts and new focal points. I actually felt like I was going slower in the water until we started timing our sets. It was only then that I learned I was actually going faster with less effort! I was hooked. I trained with Liquid Lifestyles for a number of years with an entirely new mindset – one that was focused, critical and embraced the concepts that once seemed so counter-intuitive. My personal swimming experience has been incredibly rewarding since then and I’m excited to share the process of smart training and smart swimming with others. Since 2009 I’ve had the rewarding experience to assist at weekend workshops, open water clinics and offering private lessons to recreational swimmers, triathletes and beginners of all backgrounds and ability levels. In 2015 I joined Liquid Lifestyles on a full time basis.
I have competed in over 70 triathlons (and counting) - everything from sprint distance to 140.6 full distance triathlons. Whether you are just getting started or stepping up to your first Half or Full Ironman I can help you reach your swimming goals and PR in any distance.
