Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Tough Mudder

Learn how this former tax attorney gets thousands of people to pay to torture themselves in 10-12 mile physical endurance events.

Marathons and triathlons are so passé. They’re just not thrilling enough; you need an endurance event that’s going to make you feel truly alive. Enter Tough Mudder, a 10 to 12 mile obstacle course designed to test participants’ all-around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. This isn’t a race, it’s a challenge, and participants are greeted upon entry with an ominous sign that reads, “Remember You Signed a Death Waiver.”

If you choose to sign up for one of these events, some of the extreme challenges you’ll experience include trudging through a mile of waist-deep mud, sprinting through blazing fire, being submerged in ice water so cold that hypothermia is a real possibility, and running through 10,000 volts of electricity. If that sounds crazy, it’s because it is.

This is the kind of torture that could only have been dreamed up by a former Biglaw tax attorney….

Say hello to Alex Patterson, a former tax lawyer at Davis Polk. He’s currently the Chief Creative Officer at Tough Mudder, where some of his duties include developing insane new obstacles and challenges. Before Patterson moved over to the business side of the company, he served as in-house counsel.

But how does one make such a huge career jump — one Patterson likens to a blindfolded man trying to find his way out of a room? He discusses his interesting path with interviewer Spencer Mazyck of Bloomberg Law:

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If you’ve got a little imagination, anything is possible. Congratulations to Alex Patterson for all of his success in his new and exciting career. If you’re interested in signing up for a Tough Mudder event, you can do so here.

Stealth Lawyer: Alex Patterson, CCO of Tough Mudder [Bloomberg Law via YouTube]

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