1185. Always Self-Driven and Never Stopped by Societal Norms

“At 14 I had a bet with my friend that we could both make it into the top ten in a local cycling race that was on TV once a year. I ended up coming in fourth and I think he was 11th. I love that freedom of cycling, the freedom of your mind. And I love the connection to nature. I knew I wanted to become a professional cyclist.

“When I was 17 my dad gave me a choice: ‘You either go to school and your life is paid for, or you don’t go to school and you are going to do your little cycling thing which you are going to have to figure out yourself.’

“I did make it to pro cycling. I was racing around the world and stationed anywhere from Holland to Asia to South America. It was amazing. I loved it. But at the same time, I knew I needed to support myself. I had started my first company to supply a product cyclists needed.  So whenever we would go into different countries to race, I would walk into local bike stores and I’d say, ‘Hey, you guys should have your own custom bike frames.’ And I did well with that business.

“But when I was 20, I completely broke down in a Czech national race. And when I say ‘broke down,’ I mean my body completely shut off and I woke up in the hospital. I literally developed chronic fatigue. I did still race for a time, but instead of me resting and recovering, I was on calls with the factories and with customers.

“This is how I found health. I literally had to quit cycling unfortunately, and lose my identity of what I thought was important at that time. I wanted to do the Tour de France and I wanted do all of the biggest races, but my health did not allow me to. Before I quit, I fell into a deep depression. It was really a tough life because I wasn’t able to deliver on what I was hoping to do. I had to shave off my identity because I was not going to be a pro cyclist anymore.

“I was, however, always self-driven. I knew I was really not inspired by the traditional societal norm. I wasn’t inspired by being in a box and being told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. So through education and through all of these courses and books and workshops I started attending, and trying various jobs, I ended molding what my life should be about.”

Paval Stuchlik, also known as Noa Aon, also known as Pavel Aeon, is a professional cyclist turned serial seven-figure entrepreneur and investor. Pavel made his first million before the age of 21 and has successfully launched, scaled, franchised and exited many brands, including significantly growing Orangetheory Fitness in seven areas of the U.S.

During all of this, his mission always has been to bring people back to their center, in union with others. He has been able to do this most recently through his NOA AON movement. His methods blend ancient wisdom, modern science, and quantum principles to achieve deep personal transformation.

In March 2025 Pavel expanded this with the founding of “Upper AEON.” Pavel is an internationally conscious DJ and EDM producer who is healing people worldwide by delivering transformational experiences at immersive workshops and retreats, providing digital learning and community, and using science-backed transformation tools.

He has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, ELLE & TATLER.