Podcast 317: Behind the Scenes of The White Lotus with Creator Mike White

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.

Will and Mike discuss how Mike came to create The White Lotus, from casting characters for each season to building tension within the narrative. Mike shares how he balances being both a writer and a director, and how he stays focused on his health while working on set. Mike introduces his trainer Hallvar “Hoho” Sigmundstad and his important role in keeping Mike healthy. Hoho explains his training methods to support Mike through intense production schedules. Will, Mike, and Hoho discuss Mike’s WHOOP stats, his ability to manage stress, and how Mike created a WHOOP community within the cast and crew. Mike walks Will through a day-in-the-life on the set of The White Lotus Season 3, assigns the characters to typical WHOOP trends, and provides an exclusive look at how he crafted this latest season.

Episode Chapters

1:04 - How Mike created The White Lotus

3:32 - Developing and casting the characters throughout each season

5:02 - Building tension in the narrative

8:24 - Directing in the mind of a writer

12:44 - Being on set and starting to use WHOOP

18:14 - Mike on training with Hallvar “Hoho” Sigmundstad

19:40 - How Hoho trains Mike on set

21:56 - Mike’s WHOOP Stats

25:51 - Managing strain and stress on set

28:58 - Mike on creating his WHOOP Community

34:51 - A day-in-the-life of The White Lotus Season 3

40:31 - Assigning WHOOP metrics to each character

48:09 - Key takeaways from this season and looking forward to the finale