Driving Force Podcast: Recent Episodes
Chase Rosa
The Driving Force Podcast brings you an in-depth look into the lives of high-performing individuals. Founded and hosted by Chase Rosa, Chase teases out and extracts the key insights and moments from his guest’s lives that have propelled them to the top of their given fields. Tune in to find out the behaviors, actions, and habits that molded their journeys to get to where they are today. Chase is a former private equity analyst who hit pause on the worlds of high finance and traditional corporate business to pursue podcasting, coaching, jiu-jitsu, and endurance athletics. Today, in addition to running the podcast, he works as a business analyst, startup advisor, and tennis coach.
Today’s guest is Anne Donnell. Anne is a psychic medium and reiki practitioner based out of York, Maine. Over 12 years ago, Anne suffered a life-threatening medical condition with her third child's birth, leading her to make significant shifts in her life. It was through Reiki Training that Anne discovered her intuition and psychic abilities. After a great deal of self-reflection and several years of studying under many different leading psychics worldwide, Anne began her career as a Reiki Practitioner and Psychic Medium. Today, she uses her knowingness and psychic abilities to deliver thousands of healing messages and intuitive guidance to clients across the country and worldwide. She continues to study and expand her practice around the needs of her clients and offers many diverse classes from Manifesting 101, Psychic Intuition Development and Psychic Medium Development. I’ve had a couple intuitive psychic readings with Anne and would highly recommend her if you’re interested in seeing a psychic medium. In this interview, we get into Anne’s relationship with spirit growing up, her journey to discovering her psychic abilities, Reiki healing, psychic readings, and much more.
Timestamps
00:02:28 Growing up in Maine
00:05:41 Her interaction with spirit and spirituality growing up
00:11:49 The feeling you have when you're around a spirit/ghost
00:13:16 What she wanted to do for a career growing up
00:15:05 The life threatening medical condition that led her to make significant life changes
00:21:43 Stress cardiomyopathy
00:25:46 Overview of Reiki
00:28:01 A Reiki session
00:31:18 Discovering her psychic abilities
00:36:58 Developing her psychic abilities and creating a business
00:41:56 Filtering and controlling her psychic abilities
00:43:11 Overview of Clairs
00:45:49 Preparing for a psychic reading
00:48:24 What she feels when she connects to spirit
00:52:10 Ethics when it comes to conducting readings
00:55:07 What she recommends clients do after a reading
00:56:37 What clients typically want clarity on the most during psychic readings
00:57:38 Her mission as a psychic medium
00:59:47 Teaching others to tap into their psychic abilities
01:04:41 My quick reading
01:06:08 What it's like to be a mother with psychic abilities
01:07:27 What she wants to have accomplished 5 years from now
01:08:08 Her daily routine
01:09:25 Her driving force
01:10:31 Parting words of wisdom
Today’s guest is Ric Prado. Ric is a paramilitary, counter-terrorism, and clandestine operations specialist, with a focus on international training operations and programs. He is a twenty-four year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where he served as an Operations Officer in six overseas posts. He was Deputy Chief of Station and "Plank Owner" of the original Bin Ladin Task Force/Issues Station as well as Chief of Station in a hostile Muslim country. Ric also served as Chief of Operations in the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) during the September 11th attacks, where he helped coordinate the CTC’s special operations (SPECOPS) activities with the National Security Council and FBI, as well as with elite U.S. military representatives from Delta Force and SEAL-Team Six, then detailed to CTC. He retired as Senior Intel Service-2 (SIS-2, Major General equivalent at CIA). Ric’s new book Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior hits bookstores on March 1st and details his life and career conducting some of the most important covert wars that America has fought since Vietnam. In this interview, we’ll dive deep into the contents of the book.
Timestamps
00:02:33 His reasons for writing the book
00:10:11 Difference between CIA officers and agents
00:11:02 The subtlety of CIA work
00:11:44 Enhanced interrogation techniques
00:15:47 Growing up in Cuba
00:20:54 The sacrifice his parents made to give him a better life
00:24:32 Getting in trouble in Miami
00:27:16 The impact that martial arts has had throughout his life
00:29:36 His time in Air Force Pararescue
00:35:16 Transition into the CIA
00:39:00 His relationship with his wife Carmen while working in the CIA
00:41:02 Helping train the Contras in Honduras
00:50:28 Lessons learned about gaining trust
00:53:38 His perspective on high performing teams
00:57:56 America's engrained sense of fair play
01:02:01 Recruiting agents in the field
01:06:39 Cooper's Colors
01:10:06 What he could share and not share with loved ones while working in the CIA
01:12:05 CIA vs. Washington DC politics
01:15:16 His perspective on the current Russia-Ukraine situation
01:19:15 What he wants to accomplish 10 years from now
01:22:06 His daily routine
01:23:40 His driving force
01:27:56 Parting words for the listeners
This year, I want to include more guests on the show who lean toward the more spiritual side of things. To kick that off, the guest on this week’s episode is Natalie Walstein. Natalie is a career astrologer at Soulshine Astrology, where she focuses on the intersection of career coaching and astrological counseling to help others find their true calling in life. Originally born in Minneapolis, MN, Natalie went on to study at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Canada for Communication Design before running her own design studio as a graphic, web & magazine designer for creative entrepreneurs for 5 years. Then, everything in her life came to a standstill. Her relationship went south, she had an intense near-death experience in which she also got misdiagnosed with cancer, and she was falling out of love with her career. By tapping into her own astrological birth chart, she decided to pivot to working with others on a deeper spiritual level through astrology. In this interview, we get into Natalie’s background and how she got into astrology, the work that she does today as a career astrologer, the value of comparing astrological charts in relationships, and my own mini birth chart reading.
Timestamps
00:02:11 Definition of astrology
00:03:38 What got her into astrology and spirituality
00:06:05 Her career prior to becoming an astrologer
00:08:42 The severe illness she dealt with for 3 years
00:10:13 What her parents did for work and their reaction to her career change
00:11:40 When she decided to become a full-time astrologer
00:13:43 Overcoming her doubts and hesitations to become a full-time astrologer
00:16:20 Overview of Soulshine Astrology
00:18:23 The kinds of clients that come to her for guidance
00:19:07 Increased interest in astrology during the pandemic
00:19:58 What she looks for in a person's birth chart when helping them find their true calling
00:21:16 My quick birth chart reading
00:26:09 Not being in alignment with your true calling
00:28:35 Determining when significant shifts in your life might occur using astrology
00:30:53 Interplay between free will and astrology
00:32:48 The ethics of astrology
00:34:28 The value of comparing astrological birth charts in relationships
00:40:01 What inspired her to write her new book?
00:41:00 Where is the best place for people to start when learning astrology?
00:42:07 Jupiter crossing my career line
00:44:52 What she wants to have accomplished 5 years from now
00:46:53 Her other spiritual interests
00:47:23 Her daily routine
00:48:32 Her driving force
00:49:29 Parting words of wisdom
Today’s guest is Quin Sandler. Quin is a designer, product builder, investor, entrepreneur and musician. He’s founded four start-ups in the last 12 years: Keystone Learning, a mobile tutoring company; Principle Design Group, a branding and identity company; FestThis, a media and live events production company; and is currently leading the charge at Plantiga, a human analytics company with one simple goal: to build the most comprehensive, intelligent system that monitors, analyzes and predicts human movement for recovery, health and fitness. Plantiga provides members insights on their movement health through a combination of sensor insoles – which track how you walk, run, jump, and change direction – and 1 on 1 coaching with certified movement specialists to help you better understand what to do with the data you’re getting from the insoles. In this interview, we get into Quin’s career pivot from musician to entrepreneur, the companies he founded prior to Plantiga, and all things Plantiga and movement health.
Timestamps
00:02:22 Growing up in Vancouver, Canada
00:04:45 Wanting to become a professional musician
00:06:31 Is he a natural/born entrepreneur?
00:07:28 Pivoting to entrepreneurship and leaving college
00:10:24 The tutoring company he founded
00:12:46 The other companies he founded prior to Plantiga
00:15:29 Key takeaways from his prior ventures
00:16:39 Founding Plantiga
00:18:05 The name Plantiga
00:19:05 Plantiga overview
00:20:04 Plantiga use cases
00:22:05 The Plantiga insoles
00:24:06 The movement health crisis
00:27:13 The Plantiga user experience
00:30:53 Target markets and customer base
00:32:48 The sedentary lifestyle
00:35:23 Why movement is the best lens into human health
00:38:37 Plantiga business model
00:39:59 How the pandemic affected the business
00:42:50 Raising money for the company
00:44:55 Ultimate vision for Plantiga
00:48:30 Other niches within human performance he finds really interesting
00:51:13 Being a space enthusiast
00:54:00 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
00:55:25 His daily routine
00:56:38 His driving force
00:58:32 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guests are brothers Shane and Josh Rogers, co-founders of RPM Training. Founded in 2012, RPM was born out of the idea that legit, purposeful functional training is the foundation for a truly full and adventurous life. It all started with jump ropes. Shane and Josh began noticing the frustration their fellow gym members were having over completing the dreaded double-under jump rope workout. They scoured the market for the best jump ropes out there only to find critical flaws in every one they tried. So, they took it upon themselves to build a jump rope unlike any other. In addition to jump ropes, the company also recently announced the launch of Atom, a first of its kind virtual functional training program. Atom members get an unparalleled at-home workout experience through a combination of the best coaching, the right gear, and the power of community. Personally, it’s something I’m super excited about and I can’t wait to hop on the platform! In this interview, we delve into their backgrounds and relationship as brothers, the genesis of RPM, the reinvention of the jump rope, the Atom platform, and their annual 10k Challenge.
Timestamps
00:02:27 Growing up in Northern California
00:07:15 What they thought they wanted to do for careers growing up
00:09:47 Their backgrounds prior to RPM
00:12:37 Biggest takeaways from their prior jobs
00:16:11 The genesis of RPM
00:22:14 Nailing the foundation of their jump ropes
00:25:03 Doing everything in-house
00:28:02 The RPM brand and its evolution
00:33:07 Marketing RPM
00:37:41 Defining functional training and the creation of Atom
00:42:13 Overview of Atom
00:43:50 How do people come into Atom?
00:54:41 The Atom gear kits
01:01:04 The Atom leaderboard
01:08:55 The 10K Challenge
01:13:22 Ultimate vision for RPM
01:15:24 Working together as co-founders
01:17:00 What they want to have accomplished 5 years from now
01:17:46 Their daily routines
01:23:11 Their driving forces
01:25:16 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is Tony Blauer. In his return to the podcast, we dive deeper into the self-defense system and fear management program he’s created. We discuss the scenario-based approach to his self-defense system and why it’s called the Spear System. He emphasizes the importance of what it means to know fear, discusses the fear loop and how to get out of it, and provides tools people can use to better manage their fear. If you’re new to the show, I would encourage you to listen to part 1 of my conversation with Tony prior to this one. Part 1 goes over Tony’s background and upbringing and will provide you with the context to understand why he does the work that he does today.
Timestamps
00:03:05 How he went about creating his self-defense system
00:19:23 2 biggest things out of the 80s that drove the development of the Spear System and Know Fear
00:21:15 Simple rule on applying force in a fight
00:24:54 Why is it called the Spear System?
00:40:25 Idea for the Know Fear program
00:44:50 Change your relationship with fear, change your life
00:48:15 Fear management needs new management
00:54:50 Why a lot of people don't fight back
01:02:03 How people can get out of the fear loop
01:12:36 How business leaders can apply Know Fear principles
01:19:33 Why a lot of people just call him "Coach"
01:23:42 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:26:29 His daily routine
01:30:16 Parting words for the audience
Today’s guest is Tony Blauer. Tony has been in the martial art, self-defense, defensive tactics, and combatives industry for over four decades. He founded Blauer Tactical Systems (BTS) in 1985 and it has grown into one of the world's leading consulting companies specializing in the research and development of performance psychology, personal safety, and close quarter tactics & scenario-based training for law enforcement, military, and professional self-defense instructors. His research on the neuroscience of fear and the startle-flinch led to the development of the SPEAR System®, a modern personal defense system based on physiology, physics, and psychology. It has been used by defensive tactics and combative trainers all over the world for over 30 years. After decades of interviewing victims of violent encounters and studying violence, he created the KNOW FEAR® program which focuses on managing fear through self-awareness, resiliency, and a 'movement' mindset. This program has also been integrated by psychologists helping Vets to deal with PTSD. In part one of my interview with Tony, we define fear and Tony’s personal journey in dealing with fear over the years. We unravel his origin story, get into scenario based self-defense training a bit, and set the stage for part II where we’ll dive deeper into the fear management and self-defense systems he’s created.
Timestamps
00:03:58 How he defines fear
00:07:27 Reframing fear in the moment
00:10:38 Where he grew up and his parents
00:12:19 Dealing with a lot of fear growing up
00:25:51 Self-awareness in fear management
00:32:51 Discovering and studying martial arts
00:41:44 How often he would train martial arts
00:43:25 Martial arts progression
00:46:50 Why does he have so many haters?
00:55:50 Opening his first self-defense school
01:08:31 His driving force
01:11:01 Advice on managing fear in our day-to-day lives
Today’s guest is Nikola Mrvaljevic. Nikola is the co-founder and CEO of Strive, a human performance company. Strive enables clothing with technology to capture performance insights to empower real-time decision-making. By outfitting an athlete’s clothing with their technology, it allows coaches & trainers to compare body input to body output, and provides insights on muscle activity including load, symmetry, and fatigue. So, as an example, as athletes near the end of a hard practice, coaches will be able to see through Strive if certain individuals are beginning to favor one side of the body vs another or if certain muscles are exerting excessive amounts of load. The inspiration to start Strive started many years before Nikola officially founded the company. As a pro basketball player in Montenegro, he often asked himself why his coaches were having the team do these workouts that would leave them overly fatigued. If only there could be a way to help coaches understand how their players are feeling – hence the beginning of the idea for Strive. In this interview, we get into Nikola’s time growing up in Montenegro, his pro basketball career, and all things Strive.
Timestamps
00:02:27 Growing up in Montenegro and culture
00:07:56 Playing pro basketball in Montenegro
00:13:53 Biggest takeaways from playing pro basketball
00:16:40 Questioning his coach's training methods
00:19:53 Moving to the US and adjusting to the culture
00:25:18 Going to University of Rhode Island (URI) and doing research for Strive
00:28:04 Time between URI and starting Strive
00:34:35 Strive overview
00:38:07 Strive's technology
00:41:02 Example use case of Strive
00:45:06 Thoughts on partnering with other human performance companies
00:46:07 Strive business model
00:47:42 Target markets
00:52:52 Product roadmap
00:56:41 Fundraising for Strive
01:00:15 Impact of the pandemic on the business
01:02:21 Ultimate vision for Strive
01:06:33 Pivotal moments that changed his perspective on human performance
01:08:45 Being a Thalassophile
01:10:34 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:13:40 His daily routine
01:15:25 His driving force
01:17:58 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is Ricky Williams. Ricky is the co-founder and CEO of LILA, an Astrology powered dating and relationship app, and the co-founder of RW Real Wellness, a unique line of herbal-based wellness products that can be incorporated into daily routines. Upon the completion of a successful football career (which saw him win the Heisman trophy in college and lead the NFL in rushing in 2002), Ricky turned his attention to spiritual exploration and development. A Gemini fueled by a passion for learning, he studies and practices yoga, meditation, astrology, craniosacral therapy, pranic healing and Ayurvedic medicine. It’s been through his journey of spiritual exploration and development and exploring these passions that ultimately led him to co-founding LILA and RW Real Wellness. Ricky also hosts a popular podcast called Curious Questions with Ricky Williams, where he discusses astrology, sports, and the benefits of medical marijuana with a special guest every week. In this interview, we dive deep into LILA and Ricky’s exploration of astrology, his passion for plant medicine and spiritual development, RW Real Wellness, and much more.
Timestamps
00:02:31 Ebbs and flows of building LILA
00:04:49 Inspiration to start LILA and overview
00:10:53 Showing people that astrology can be utterly useful
00:12:10 Describing astrology
00:15:53 Making sure LILA is approachable and understandable
00:17:28 Sagittarius and compatibility
00:22:01 Launching LILA publicly
00:23:01 Ultimate vision for LILA
00:26:08 Biggest rewards for him in practicing astrology
00:27:36 Gemini season
00:29:41 Has he always been a spiritual person?
00:31:13 Passion for plant medicine
00:37:48 What it was like to wrestle his two passions of plant medicine and football while in the NFL
00:39:57 His retirement from the NFL
00:41:43 Co-founding Real Wellness
00:43:28 Real Wellness products and his favorite product
00:47:10 How he sees his focus shifting with LILA and Real Wellness
00:49:29 His podcast
00:51:44 Perspectives on the psychology of high performers
00:53:18 Is he a really competitive person?
00:53:56 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
00:55:41 His daily routine
00:56:30 His driving force
00:57:07 Parting words for Gemini season
Today’s guest is Jon Dengler. Jon is the Executive Director of The Well, a Tampa, Florida based non-profit comprised of a community of people committed to living in direct relationship with the materially poor. They work to help people meet material needs such as food and clothing and do it in a way that provides opportunities to meet each other’s spiritual needs as well. The Well builds real, strong relationships with the people it serves and in that way they engage needs holistically. One of the key ways that The Well does this is through the WellBuilt Bikes initiative, a bike shop that provides access to affordable bikes and workshops, ranging from repairs to safety. By accessing bikes that would have been considered garbage, as well as donations from supportive neighbors, WellBuilt Bikes ensures that all people who need a bike are able to own one. Jon’s story of how he ultimately got to where he is today is also incredible – surviving a near fatal car accident and having a life changing, mind-altering experience through LSD. In this interview, we get into the important distinction between being kind and being nice, his near-fatal car accident and life-changing experience taking LSD, the relationship between the rich and the poor, and his WellBuilt Bikes non-profit.
Timestamps
00:02:26 Growing up and his love of Tampa, Florida
00:06:36 Compassionate work and actions
00:11:53 The distinction between being kind and being nice
00:20:56 What he wanted to do for a career growing up
00:25:34 His near fatal car accident and the life-changing LSD experience
00:34:40 Leaving the partying lifestyle
00:39:32 Renting a house to welcome in impoverished people
00:51:10 The Well and WellBuilt Bikes overview
00:57:59 The weekly group rides
01:00:10 Biggest challenges in running The Well
01:05:54 Thoughts on expanding WellBuilt Bikes and the idea behind it
01:10:14 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:17:51 His driving force
Today’s guest is Doug Lewis. Doug is the founder and CEO of ELITEAM, a company that provides sports and fitness camps and programs focusing on building complete athletes. They do this by teaching the concepts of sports physiology, sports psychology and sports nutrition all while ensuring the programs are fun and challenging for the participants. Doug created ELITEAM in 1991 with a desire to pass on his winning knowledge of world class sports to future generations. Prior to creating ELITEAM, Doug was a 2x Olympian and World Championship medalist in alpine skiing. After retiring from competitive ski racing, Doug found a new passion in endurance sport that provided a new avenue for him to push the limits of his mind and body. His accomplishments so far in this arena include completing multiple 100 mile ultramarathons and winning the first ever Spartan Death Race in 2007. In this interview, we discuss Doug’s time growing up in Vermont, his journey to becoming an Olympian, his ski racing career, ELITEAM, and his passion for endurance sport.
Timestamps
00:02:41 Growing up on the slopes of Vermont
00:05:14 Starting to compete in ski racing and why he focused on downhill
00:08:52 Overview of a downhill ski race
00:11:55 Were family and friends supportive of his Olympic dream?
00:14:00 How does someone train to become an Olympic downhill skier?
00:16:22 Breakthrough event in his ski racing career
00:17:43 His mindset on his journey to becoming an Olympian
00:20:21 His race routine
00:24:36 What it was like to compete in his first Olympics
00:26:28 Biggest takeaways from his first Olympics
00:27:48 His greatest accomplishment in ski racing
00:30:19 Low points in his ski racing career and how he overcame them
00:33:23 Biggest takeaways from his ski racing career
00:35:04 Retiring from ski racing
00:39:07 Why he started ELITEAM
00:41:12 Overview of ELITEAM
00:43:49 Example of an in-person camp
00:46:08 How he weaves the sports psychology aspect into his camps
00:48:30 What he enjoys most about running ELITEAM
00:50:13 What sparked his passion for endurance sport?
00:52:37 The first Spartan Death Race
00:59:13 His next big endurance challenge
01:00:36 Pivotal moments throughout his life that changed his perspective on human performance
01:03:15 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:04:19 His daily routine
01:05:32 His driving force
01:07:35 Parting words of wisdom for the athlete looking to get to the next level
Today’s guest is Isaiah Kacyvenski. Isaiah’s diverse background includes earning two degrees from Harvard, playing in the National Football League for 8 years in between, and achieving success as an experienced entrepreneur and investor. Perhaps what’s most impressive about Isaiah’s background though has to do with where he started from. Isaiah grew up in Endicott, NY where at times he grew up homeless and without food with his parents. His rise from poverty led him to becoming a subject of an NFL Films profile that received an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Long Feature, and was also featured on an Oprah Winfrey show titled "Why They Beat the Odds". Following his NFL Career, Isaiah acted as Global Head of Business Development at MC10 and co-founded the premier sports tech research and advisory firm, Sports Innovation Lab. Immediately prior to founding Will Ventures, Isaiah was the Managing Partner at Blue Star Innovation Partners, where he led the firm’s sports technology investment practice. Today, Isaiah serves as Managing Partner of Will Ventures, a venture capital investment fund focused on sports technology and the massive, adjacent market opportunities that it opens up (human performance, health and wellness, media and entertainment, eSports, and more). In this interview, we dive deep into Isaiah’s time growing up in poverty, his journey to Harvard and playing in the NFL, perspectives on drive and managing setbacks, and all things Will Ventures. We could have talked for 3 hours, and due to time constraints we couldn’t touch on everything, but I promise part 2 is in the works.
Timestamps
00:03:06 Growing up in poverty in Endicott, NY
00:07:33 Both his parents grew up in orphanages
00:11:49 What homelessness looked like for him and his family
00:15:02 The impact of his mother's death on him
00:23:42 Why he feels there's always something big to accomplish
00:26:02 The impact his father has had on his life
00:30:29 When and why he started playing football
00:35:19 When he realized he could make a career out of football
00:41:08 How not making his high school varsity football team changed the course of his life
00:42:44 Journey to Harvard and playing in the NFL
00:52:53 Overview of Will Ventures
00:55:36 The democratization of sports tech and the importance of strong founding teams
00:58:24 A few of their portfolio companies
01:02:48 His driving force
01:04:12 Parting words of wisdom around getting through tough times
Today’s guest is Sebastien Sasseville. Sebastien was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2002, the most severe form of diabetes. Sebastien vowed that the obstacle would never keep him from living life to the fullest, and today his story is a testament to how challenges can be turned into opportunities. In 2008, Sebastien reached the summit of Mount Everest. He then completed six Ironmans and the mythical Sahara race, a 250 kilometer, self-supported ultra-marathon over five days through the Sahara Desert. In 2014, he faced the biggest challenge of his life: run across Canada from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Vancouver: 7,200 km, or 170 marathons in nine months. His next big adventure is coming up very soon, (hint: it involves lots of cycling), but you’ll have to listen to the interview to get the details. Sebastien also spent 10 years in the corporate world and blends that experience with his unique athletic achievements to deliver inspirational and motivational keynotes to large organizations. Per his LinkedIn profile, he works with performing organizations that have reached base camp, but are looking to transform, so as to dictate rhythm, stay at the forefront and get to the top. Some of his clients include Cisco, SAP, and Johnson & Johnson. In this interview, we get into what it’s like for Sebastien to live with Type 1 diabetes, his corporate career and transition to keynote speaking, what it means for him to make a real impact, and his many feats of endurance.
Timestamps
00:02:48 Growing up in Canada
00:05:05 What he wanted to do for a career
00:07:28 Is he an extrovert or an introvert?
00:09:59 When he got diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes
00:12:10 Difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
00:15:17 Did his diagnosis change the trajectory of his life?
00:18:46 When he started to get into endurance sport
00:21:58 A "bad resiliency day" and how overcomes them
00:23:46 Corporate career and working in sales
00:27:20 Biggest takeaways from his corporate career
00:28:27 Why he left the corporate world
00:30:46 His role as a keynote speaker
00:34:23 Fear around raising his fees and how he overcame that fear
00:37:59 Types of companies he speaks to and why his keynotes resonate
00:43:04 How companies can overcome unintentional complacency
00:45:21 What he enjoys most about being a keynote speaker
00:50:11 Why endurance sport was appealing to him
00:52:40 What it's like to be an endurance athlete with Type 1 diabetes
00:56:38 His Run Across Canada in 2014
01:02:01 His next big endurance quest
01:04:47 How long it took him to run across Canada and the importance of pacing
01:08:46 Out of his 3 epic endurance quests, which was the hardest in terms of managing his diabetes?
01:10:51 How he's adjusted to the pandemic
01:16:29 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:18:34 His daily routine
01:20:02 His driving force
01:21:06 Parting words of wisdom around motivation
Today’s guest is Mark Ormrod. Mark is a former Royal Marines Commando, an Invictus Games Medalist, author, and motivational speaker. After triggering an IED on a routine foot patrol in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, Mark suffered serious injuries resulting in a triple amputation: both legs above the knee and his right arm above the elbow. He was the UK’s first triple amputee to survive the Afghanistan conflict. Not one to resign himself to live life on the sidelines, Mark, with the help of an amazing team and mentors around him, used his setback as a springboard for growth and reinvention. He’s since gone on to be an 11x medalist at the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women, an author of an award-winning autobiography, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt, and a husband and father. And he’s got far more that he wants to do and accomplish in this life. In this interview, we get into Mark’s road to joining to the Royal Marines, the day he stepped on the IED, his recovery and mindset during that process, how to handle setbacks, and his work with the charity REORG.
Timestamps
00:02:43 Growing up in England and childhood passions
00:06:55 Interest in joining the Royal Marines
00:10:19 Road to joining the Royal Marines
00:12:12 His role in the Royal Marines
00:18:34 The day he stepped on the IED
00:30:41 His reaction to the triple amputation and being told he'd never be able to walk again
00:36:44 How he was able to use this setback as a springboard for growth
00:43:40 Key lessons he learned during his rehab process
00:45:28 How others can accelerate out of traumas
00:49:10 His transition to civilian life
00:51:17 Writing the book Man Down
00:54:13 REORG Charity
00:58:04 Training jiu-jitsu as a triple amputee
00:59:33 Meaning behind "give yourself permission to perform"
01:00:26 What he enjoys most about jiu-jitsu
01:01:40 Ultimate goal in jiu-jitsu
01:02:24 How he maintains a positive mindset day in, day out
01:03:31 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:04:57 His daily routine
01:06:47 His driving force
01:07:43 Parting words of wisdom around staying driven
Today’s guest is Nic McKinley. Nic fuses counterintelligence methods with technology to solve big problems. One of those problems is human trafficking. By starting DeliverFund in 2014, Nic started the first nonprofit organization to apply counterterrorism methodologies to fight human trafficking. They disrupt the human trafficking market by providing intelligence and specialized analytics about human trafficking activities to law enforcement authorities. Nic is also the CEO of Verafi, a private intelligence and due diligence firm specializing in collecting, analyzing, and presenting intelligence so organizations can make confident decisions about key hires and investments. So, what makes Nic uniquely qualified to start and run these two organizations? Well, as an experienced Special Agent at the CIA and an Air Force Pararescueman, Nic understands the ramifications of bad intelligence and the disastrous consequences of poorly researched decisions. In this interview, we get into Nic’s time in the Air Force and the CIA, fighting human trafficking with DeliverFund, Verafi, and much more.
Timestamps
00:02:31 Growing up in Billings, Montana and sense of service
00:04:41 Interest in becoming an Air Force Pararescueman (PJ)
00:06:26 His time as a PJ
00:10:08 Initial interest in intelligence
00:14:29 Spending a couple years rescuing investment bankers
00:17:31 Joining the CIA
00:19:01 Differences between the CIA and the FBI
00:21:06 His role in the CIA and covert action
00:25:53 Is he the real Jack Ryan?
00:28:53 Why he hasn't owned a TV in 20 years
00:30:07 Handling personal relationships while in the CIA
00:34:30 Optimizing performance as a CIA Agent
00:36:35 Biggest takeaways from working in the CIA
00:39:28 Why he started DeliverFund
00:43:05 State of the human trafficking industry
00:47:43 Identifying a human trafficking victim
00:49:21 The problem with only focusing on rescuing victims
00:50:39 How people can support DeliverFund
00:51:56 Ultimate vision for DeliverFund
00:53:08 Why he started Verafi
00:56:37 Hypothetical use case for Verafi and why companies should use it
01:04:49 Biggest challenges facing Verafi as they look to grow over the coming years
01:06:52 Ultimate vision for Verafi
01:07:20 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:08:04 His daily routine
01:08:51 His driving force
01:12:36 Parting words of wisdom around decision making
Today’s guest is Tony van Marken. Tony has had a successful career as an award winning high-tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, management consultant and independent investor having worked in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada and France. Currently, he is Managing Partner and co-founder of First Ascent Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Toronto, Canada focused on investing in emerging technology companies. Tony is also an accomplished endurance athlete (including marathons, ultra marathons and mountain bike stage races) and a veteran of over 35 high-altitude mountaineering expeditions with over 65 summits. He summitted Everest in 2005 to complete his quest to climb the world’s original seven summits (the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents), becoming the first South African to do so. Blending his success as a businessman, endurance athlete, and mountaineer, Tony has acted as a motivational speaker for corporations and international conferences around the world. In this interview, we get into how Tony has had to adjust First Ascent Ventures and his mountaineering passion due to the pandemic, what it was like living in South Africa during Apartheid, his entrepreneurial journey, climbing the seven summits, and much more.
Timestamps
00:02:43 Adjusting to the pandemic
00:06:58 Managing First Ascent Ventures during the pandemic
00:10:02 First Ascent Ventures investment criteria
00:11:27 Portfolio Company Dialogue
00:13:00 Next big adventure he has planned
00:15:43 Where he grew up
00:18:23 Was he a natural/born entrepreneur?
00:20:31 What traveling a lot growing up taught him
00:22:00 Living in South Africa during Apartheid
00:26:05 Studying computer science and what he wanted to do for a career
00:29:52 How foundational that job as a software engineer was for him
00:31:46 Pivoting to entrepreneurship and going to Architel
00:40:35 How the dot-com bubble affected his career path
00:42:17 Lessons learned on building a company from his time at Architel
00:45:03 His decision making philosophy
00:47:16 Why he decided to tackle the Seven Summits
00:52:09 Weekly training schedule for the Seven Summits
00:53:59 Which of the Seven Summits was the toughest?
00:57:58 His favorite mountain to climb
01:00:53 How mountaineering has prepared him for the ups and downs of life
01:06:57 Taking Vox Telecom employees on expeditions
01:08:27 How he's managed to balance everything over the years
01:11:14 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:12:58 His daily routine
01:14:45 Books that have made a significant impact on him
01:18:27 His driving force
Today’s guest is Ari Tulla. Ari is the co-founder and CEO of Elo. Ari and his team created Elo to turn food into medicine so you can live life to the fullest. To accomplish this, they’ve built cutting-edge AI (from a proprietary analysis of 3,000 peer-reviewed studies) to apply to your personal health biomarkers and deliver precision to nutrition. Then, they relentlessly optimize and improve your nutrition over time. They’re starting with supplement packets, but their ambitions extend far beyond that. They won’t stop until they’ve succeeded at transforming food from the cause of disease to medicine. Ari’s passion for helping others optimize and understand their own health started long before Elo. After months of him and his wife combing through specialist after specialist trying find the right doctor to address a specific issue, Ari, in 2011 co-founded BetterDoctor, a comprehensive doctor data engine that powers the healthcare market with accurate doctor data. Today, BetterDoctor is part of Quest Analytics, a company that builds networks of doctors and is accessed by 200 million Americans each year. When not working Ari spends his time on the steep cliffs, powdery slopes, and big cold waves that only Northern California can offer. And, depending on the month, you may find him on some epic endurance adventure living off of the bare bone necessities, and we’ll get into that. In this interview, we get into Ari’s time growing up in Finland and Finnish culture, what it was like working on the cutting edge of mobile gaming at Nokia, BetterDoctor, and all things Elo and health optimization.
Timestamps
00:03:11 Growing up in Finland and traveling a lot
00:07:45 Finnish culture and happiness
00:11:47 Economy of Finland
00:16:22 What he was interested in doing for a career growing up
00:19:49 Working at VisualWeb and entrepreneurial spark
00:22:17 Working at British American Tobacco and key takeaways
00:27:48 Moving to the US to work at Nokia
00:31:23 Working on the cutting edge of mobile gaming
00:34:45 His perspective on smartphone addiction
00:39:06 Why he left Nokia
00:40:23 Inspiration to start BetterDoctor
00:43:40 What is was like to start a new company
00:46:22 Selling BetterDoctor
00:50:38 Biggest leadership lessons he learned at BetterDoctor & Quest Analytics
00:52:47 Did he accomplish what he wanted to at BetterDoctor?
00:54:06 When he started working on Elo
00:55:54 His world view that he's bringing to Elo
00:59:43 Elo today
01:04:05 The biomarkers they test
01:06:50 What's powering the recommendations behind Elo?
01:09:03 Elo's integration with wearables
01:10:01 Core customers and target market
01:12:22 Cost to use Elo
01:14:33 Ari's spartan month/week
01:17:13 Must-dos when visiting Finland
01:18:40 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:19:34 His daily routine
01:23:08 His driving force
01:24:47 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is Ali Schultz. Ali is a co-founder, coach, and facilitator at Reboot, a coaching company that provides comprehensive offerings to serve leadership development for individuals, teams, and entire organizations. If you’re a tech entrepreneur or venture capitalist, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Reboot. They’ve worked with companies like Etsy, Lyft, and Twilio and venture capitalists from firms such as Union Square Ventures, Accel, and the Foundry Group. Ali and her three co-founders started Reboot in 2014 to foster a revolution around work – that work doesn’t have to destroy us. Work can be the way that we achieve our fullest self. Prior to co-founding Reboot, Ali worked for more than a dozen years in business as an operator managing projects, teams, and human resources, and developing brands. With a Masters degree in religious studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Ali has studied Transformational NLP at NLP Marin, completed the facilitator program at the Center for Collaborative Awareness, and is a certified EQUUS Experience Facilitator in Equine Facilitated Coaching. Ali seamlessly and deftly weaves together her business acumen with the innate wisdom of the body, the philosophies of the world’s wisdom traditions, and the way of the horse to help clients find their voice so that they can find themselves. In this interview, we discuss her early exploration into wisdom and spirituality, her corporate world experience, what it means to be a coach, equine-facilitated coaching, and all things Reboot.
Timestamps
00:03:11 Growing up and upbringing in Wisconsin
00:06:36 What sparked her interest in horses
00:09:16 When did her exploration into wisdom, spirituality, soul etc. begin?
00:17:57 How was she able to pursue wisdom and spirituality in her formal education?
00:25:10 First couple of jobs after college in tech startups
00:29:19 Meeting her Reboot co-founder Jerry Colonna
00:32:16 What sparked her interest in coaching?
00:38:28 What is the role of a coach?
00:42:28 Reboot overview and her role
00:43:40 Different services that Reboot provides
00:46:26 Most common challenges leaders come to Reboot with
00:50:56 Work can be the way that we achieve our fullest self
00:55:11 The "hamster wheel"
00:56:36 Success stories through Reboot coaching
01:03:07 Equine facilitated coaching
01:07:24 What would an equine facilitated coaching session look like?
01:11:53 Adjusting to the pandemic
01:13:56 How the pandemic has amplified some of the challenges that companies face
01:17:03 Strategies that are effective in preventing burnout
01:22:03 What she wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:22:55 Her daily routine
01:24:49 Her driving force
01:26:24 Parting words of wisdom around maintaining well-being as a working professional
Today’s guest is Jason Hardrath. Jason is an adventure athlete, speaker, and physical education specialist who’s made a lifestyle out of pursuing his passion for human performance. After running track & field in college, Jason eventually found himself competing in longer distance events like marathons and Ironmans. His work ethic soon paid off and he qualified for the Ironman 70.3 world championships in 2015. Training was going amazing for Jason leading up to the world championships until a car accident changed everything. He was ejected from his car which left him with, among other injuries, a collapsed lung, multiple broken ribs, a broken shoulder, and a torn ACL. Not allowing this set back to remove his passion for endurance and mountaineering, Jason (after recovering enough so that he regained an ability to run) ended up discovering FKTs, or Fastest Known Times. FKTs are essentially a speed record on any given route (Jason will go over them in more detail during the interview). There’s no formal race or event for these routes, which include everything from long-distance hiking trails to circumnavigations of lakes or mountains, or completing a linkup of multiple peaks. Jason’s currently on a quest to become the first athlete to 100 FKTs, and as of this episode’s release he’s at 97. We cover a lot in this interview. We discuss how he got into endurance sport, his 2015 car accident, perspectives on moving forward from traumatic experiences, his journey to 100 FKTs, minimalism, and much more.
Timestamps
00:04:32 Growing up in Northeastern Oregon
00:06:01 Discovering running in middle school
00:10:07 Constantly looking for the next goal
00:13:42 Why he decided to bike across America and do triathlons
00:18:11 What's driving his athletic pursuits?
00:23:56 The 2015 car accident that changed everything
00:30:05 Recovering from the accident
00:33:57 How the accident reinforced living his life to the fullest
00:38:57 Making sure to not wrap his identity up in his athletic endeavors
00:41:57 How others can accelerate out of traumatic experiences
00:47:35 Road to somewhat normal fitness after the car accident
00:53:30 What are FKTs and how do they work?
00:55:50 What inspired him to want to do FKTs?
01:03:50 The route he's saving for the 100th FKT
01:06:55 The logistics vs. the fitness on FKTs
01:08:44 How he would typically prepare for a long FKT
01:10:36 The hardest FKT he's done so far
01:14:22 What will he do after 100 FKTs?
01:15:52 Covid's impact on his FKT quest
01:17:05 His weekly training schedule during 2020
01:19:24 Being a PE teacher and his teaching philosophy
01:27:23 Living the van lifestyle
01:30:59 Experiment of minimalism
01:32:12 How he approaches sleep, nutrition, and recovery
01:35:50 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:37:27 His daily routine
01:39:52 His driving force
01:41:52 Parting words of wisdom around staying driven
Today’s guest is Jeff Harry. My conversation with Jeff will feel a bit different than most of the podcasts I’ve done. Instead of my traditional focus of unraveling the stories, takeaways, and lessons from my guest’s life (which we do get into a little), most of my discussion with Jeff centers around one topic – incorporating more play into one’s life and workplace. I know what you might be thinking, who has time for play? I’ve got this business, this job, relationship, kids, etc. Well, what if engaging in more play could help you tap into your truest self and feel happier and perform better every day? That’s what Jeff shows to companies and individuals. He’s worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon, and Facebook, helping their staff to infuse more play into the day-to-day. He’s also presented at conferences such as INBOUND and SXSW, and was recently selected by BambooHR and Engagedly as one of the Top 100 HR Influencers of 2020 for his organizational development work around dealing with toxic people in the workplace. Jeff might be the highest energy person I’ve had on the podcast, and I think you’ll find my conversation with him to be an interesting change of pace.
Timestamps
00:02:38 Rise of Superman book passage reaction
00:04:52 When did we decide that play was a waste of time for adults?
00:07:03 When did Jeff's exploration into play begin?
00:09:55 Did his parents encourage him to play?
00:13:30 Affluent deadness
00:15:37 Reconnecting with your childhood
00:19:34 Incorporating play into mechanical engineering
00:20:58 Overview of Rediscover Your Play
00:23:15 Addressing the toxic person at work
00:27:04 Navigating uncertainty through play
00:28:55 Problem with fixating on the result
00:30:55 Will play ever become mainstream?
00:33:05 Why make time for play?
00:34:57 How his work impacts company recruiters
00:37:31 How receptive are companies to Jeff's workshops?
00:40:26 The 8-hour workday
00:42:25 How he's adjusted to the pandemic
00:44:13 Why "play" plays an even more important role during the pandemic
00:48:51 What it means to actually play
00:51:43 Ultimate vision for Rediscover Your Play
00:53:30 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
00:54:45 His daily routine
00:56:50 His driving force
Today’s guest is Jake Bullock. Jake is the founder and CEO of Ravn, a defense technology company building next generation technology for military personnel. Their platform, built from the ground up for use on the front lines, delivers mission-critical intelligence to service members when they need it most. The inspiration for Jake to start Ravn came from his experience as a Navy SEAL. On his first deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, Jake made a mistake on the battlefield as a result of poor information. That mistake weighed pretty heavily on Jake, and after several more deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan he knew that he had to solve this problem of poor information and communication on the battlefield. In this interview, we get into why Jake wanted to become a Navy SEAL, his time in the SEAL Teams, human performance as an operator vs an entrepreneur, and all things Ravn.
Timestamps
00:02:11 Interest in joining the military
00:04:36 How he prepared for BUD/S
00:07:35 His mindset going into and at BUD/S
00:09:52 Biggest takeaways from going through BUD/S
00:13:20 How many years he was in the Navy and where he was deployed
00:16:08 Optimizing his performance as a SEAL
00:19:10 What surprised him the most when he was in the SEAL Teams
00:20:07 How serving as a SEAL changed his perspective on life
00:21:43 What the transition into civilian life was like for him
00:25:23 Inspiration to start Ravn
00:27:13 Ravn overview
00:29:45 The problem with introducing disruptive technologies to military personnel
00:33:36 Augmented reality and how it applies to Ravn
00:38:37 Theoretical use case of Ravn
00:43:26 Applications of their technology outside of the military
00:44:18 Ultimate vision for Ravn
00:46:46 Biggest lessons he's learned so far about entrepreneurship
00:49:03 Why he's pissed at where history has gotten us
00:50:10 His daily routine
00:51:16 His driving force
00:53:07 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is Andy Ramage. Andy is a former professional soccer player, who following an injury which cut short his career, went on to co-create two multimillion-dollar city brokerages. But after achieving traditional “success” Andy was left feeling broken. He was unfit, unhealthy, overweight, stressed and unhappy. Andy believed there had to be another way to be successful while staying super fit, healthy, maintaining a happy home life and doing it with a smile on his face. So, 10 years ago Andy went on an adventure to study the art of behavioral change and elite performance. The techniques Andy uncovered transformed his mind, body, business and most importantly his relationships. Perhaps the key to it all for Andy though was when he decided to stop drinking alcohol. By quitting alcohol, he found it easier to eat healthy, exercise more, have better relationships and found more time in the day, every day. Inspired, Andy firstly co-founded a world-leading behavioral change platform (OYNB) OneYearNoBeer.com which is a 28,90 or 365-day alcohol-free challenge, inspiring over 100,000 people to transform their relationship with alcohol. And his latest venture, Seneca Performance is revolutionizing corporate wellness through its unique mind, body and lifestyle management program for elite business professionals. In this interview, we get into Andy’s time as a professional soccer player, his career as an oil broker, his journey of studying behavioral change and elite performance, and One Year No Beer.
Timestamps
00:03:07 Growing up in East London
00:04:55 Aspirations to become a pro soccer player
00:10:05 Talent vs. mental toughness
00:12:11 Position he played in soccer
00:12:27 Biggest takeaways from playing pro soccer
00:14:00 His career ending injury
00:17:20 Transitioning out of pro soccer and ending up in banking
00:21:26 Role of an oil broker
00:23:41 Drinking as part of his banking career
00:28:50 Did he ever talk to anyone about what he was going through during banking?
00:30:24 What he focused on initially to transform his health & wellbeing
00:33:06 How he entertained banking clients without drinking
00:37:02 The genesis of OneYearNoBeer (OYNB)
00:42:24 OYNB overview
00:44:01 Who is OYNB for?
00:44:57 Effective strategies for people to maintain strong social lives without drinking
00:47:32 Why describe OYNB as a behavioral change platform?
00:49:06 The compound interest of drinking
00:51:17 Quitting alcohol gives you time back
00:53:23 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
00:55:47 Books that have made a significant impact on his life
00:56:52 His daily routine
00:58:12 His driving force
00:59:08 Parting words of wisdom around evaluating your relationship with alcohol
Today’s guest is Peter Chee. Peter loves tackling what he likes to call “peak experiences” and has often found these experiences through entrepreneurship and endurance sport. Currently, Peter is the founder and CEO of Thinkspace. Based in the Seattle area, Thinkspace provides workspace for a community of entrepreneurs, tech startups, non-profits, and small businesses with a common affinity for passion and inspiration. Prior to Thinkspace, he launched the Entrepreneur Organization’s Accelerator Program which focuses on helping startups go from $250K to reach $1M in revenue. He also had almost a 10 year stint in the tech industry in which he worked in software and database development for companies like Disney and Paul Allen’s Starwave Corporation. On the endurance side of things, Peter runs just about every day as he prepares for his next marathon (of which he’s done 13). He finds time to both run Thinkspace and prepare for marathons while raising three kids. In this interview, we get into Peter’s time growing up in Seattle, his stint in the tech industry during the dot-com bubble and lessons learned, Thinkspace, and his endurance athletics career.
Timestamps
00:02:46 Entrepreneurship as part of the family growing up
00:07:08 What he was passionate about as a kid
00:09:01 His desire to seek out peak experiences
00:10:31 Why he went into data analysis as a career path after college
00:13:23 Starwave Corporation
00:15:46 Onecast Media and lessons learned from a failed startup
00:20:28 Disney and lessons learned from working there
00:24:12 Pivot to real estate and working with his dad
00:28:40 Genesis of Thinkspace
00:30:14 Thinkspace overview
00:36:05 Covid-19's impact on Thinkspace
00:41:38 Ultimate vision for Thinkspace
00:43:21 Beginning of his endurance athletics career
00:46:09 His marathoning journey
00:52:01 His weekly training schedule
00:56:11 How he's balanced business, endurance athletics, and being a father
00:58:15 Similarities between entrepreneurship and endurance athletics
01:00:51 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:02:10 His daily routine
01:04:37 His driving force
01:06:05 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur/athlete
Today’s guest is Chris Thomson. Chris is the Co-owner and Head Coach of The Student Works Management Program; an entrepreneur training program for university students across Eastern Canada that helps them develop the necessary skills to become the leaders of tomorrow. The program allows these students the ability to start and run their own business for the summer, with some making over $100k of revenue their first year of business. Chris has been running this program for the past 30+ years which has helped grow over 160 millionaires and counting. Chris is also the Host of the Leaders of Tomorrow Podcast, a podcast that captures hundreds of their alumni’s stories and how they have been able to build upon the skills and values they discovered during their time in the program. In this interview, we get into Chris’s time growing up in Canada, the lessons he learned as a competitive swimmer, the evolution of the Student Works business, and all of the different ways the program grows the leaders of tomorrow.
Timestamps
00:03:07 Growing up in Toronto, Canada
00:06:43 Being a competitive swimmer
00:10:02 Time in college
00:14:15 First few roles after college
00:15:06 Why he joined Student Works
00:16:38 Evolution of the company over the years
00:23:34 Overview of Student Works today
00:30:10 How do they screen program applicants?
00:35:22 How students' grades are impacted by the program
00:37:53 Key skills students are learning in the program
00:41:06 Why his program is considered a "business school of the 21st century"
00:43:45 Ultimate vision for Student Works
00:45:14 How he's had to adjust the business due to Covid-19
00:52:54 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
00:54:01 His daily routine
00:57:55 His driving force
00:59:56 Parting words of career advice for the young professional listening
Today’s guest is Dr. Gil Blander. Gil is internationally recognized for his research in the basic biology of aging and translating research discoveries into new ways of detecting and preventing age-related conditions. He leads a team of biology, nutrition & exercise physiology experts, and computer scientists at InsideTracker, and has been featured in CNN Money, The New York Times, Forbes, Financial times, and The Boston Globe to name a few. Gil received a Ph.D. in biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and completed his Post-Doctoral fellowship at MIT. In 2009, Gil founded InsideTracker alongside leading scientists in aging, genetics and biometric data from MIT, Tufts, and Harvard to realize his mission to transform the way every human being eats, sleeps, and moves to live a longer, better life. InsideTracker is the leading personalized nutrition platform which generates ultra-customized recommendations to optimize an individual’s health by tracking and analyzing blood and genetic biomarkers using a patent-pending algorithm. The expert system matches the most relevant, science-based recommendations to each individual based on blood data, DNA data and demographics, as well as self-reported preferences and goals. I recently received my bloodwork results back from InsideTracker and was very impressed by the platform’s specificity of recommendations and more importantly, why it’s recommending a certain food, form of exercise, or supplement. If you’d like to try it out too, go to InsideTracker.com, choose a plan, and use the code DRIVINGFORCE (all one word) at checkout for 25% off anything sitewide. That’s DRIVINGFORCE at checkout for 25% off your plan. I’ve also included a link in the show notes to bring you directly to the InsideTracker plans page. In my interview with Gil, we discuss the origins of his interest in longevity, the inspiration to start InsideTracker, how the InsideTracker platform works, blood biomarkers vs. physiological markers, and much more!
Link to InsideTracker plans: https://hubs.ly/H0Fdd7h0
Timestamps
00:03:49 Growing up in Israel and interest in longevity
00:07:02 What his parents did for work
00:07:48 Inspiration to start InsideTracker
00:10:31 Story around starting InsideTracker
00:15:43 InsideTracker overview
00:20:00 Biomarkers vs. physiomarkers
00:23:56 How he determined which blood biomarkers they would test
00:28:27 Really important blood biomarkers
00:32:19 How someone can get tested using InsideTracker
00:34:48 How do the InsideTracker recommendations work?
00:40:48 The InsideTracker mobile app
00:43:15 Biological vs. chronological age
00:48:56 Challenges consumers face in adopting a personalized approach to nutrition
00:54:18 Biomarkers significant to fighting Covid-19
00:56:42 Key learnings from starting InsideTracker
00:59:27 Biggest challenges facing InsideTracker as they look to grow
01:00:53 Ultimate vision for InsideTracker
01:01:50 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:02:21 His daily routine
01:03:25 His driving force
01:03:54 Parting words of wisdom around optimizing our health
Today’s guest is Roger Woodall. Roger is one of the leaders when it comes to events in the UK. Over the past 20+ years, he’s created and owned 1,500 Live Events, 12 Bournemouth 7s Festivals, sold over 1 Million tickets and built/sold an International sportswear brand. Entrepreneurship and bringing people together have always been a part of Roger’s life. He grew up in his parents’ busy pub on the River Thames, which also happened to be next door to a nightclub. Even at the age of 10, he saw opportunities to make money and did everything from dumpster diving for toys to sell on a stand to selling Saturday night VIP Line Jump Tickets to the nightclub next door. He was earning £600 a weekend, at 10 years old! This success only scaled up from there for Roger. While in college, he started a student nightclub brands company and in total hosted over 1500 parties in major cities across the UK for over 9 years. Then, in 2007, while sitting on Bournemouth Beach, he came up with the idea for Bournemouth 7s which is now the world’s largest sport & music festival with about 30,000 people showing up every year for the 3 day event. Obviously, the pandemic didn’t allow for the festival to go on in 2020, and so Roger pivoted to create some new ventures. The first, creating a podcast called the Eventful Entrepreneur, and the second, building an online course dedicated to helping people put on successful events. In this interview, we get into Roger’s time growing up in the pubs, his love of sport and rugby, his student nightclub business, Bournemouth 7s, and how he’s adjusted to the pandemic.
Timestamps
00:02:49 Being called "Dodge"
00:03:31 Growing in pubs in London
00:07:36 Cutting deals at the age of 10
00:11:43 Becoming street smart at an early age
00:16:10 Growing up with a pet monkey
00:18:25 Going to school while living in pubs
00:22:37 Why school isn't built for entrepreneurs
00:24:11 Playing rugby and love for sport
00:29:00 The student nightclub business
00:36:55 The idea for Bournemouth 7s festival
00:40:25 The impact the Great Recession had on the festival's launch
00:46:49 Ultimate vision for Bournemouth 7s
00:48:09 His pandemic pivot
00:54:04 His driving force
Today’s guest is Sara Gross. Sara is the Founder and CEO of Live Feisty Media, a progressive media outlet aimed at empowering new perspectives in triathlon & beyond. The company empowers these new perspectives through the production of podcasts, written content, and videos. Prior to founding Live Feisty, Sara was a professional triathlete for 13 years, mainly focusing on long course triathlon and Ironman events. Her triathlon career accolades include: winning the 2014 Ironman Brazil and the 2014 Ironman North American Championships; being named the Canadian Long Course athlete of the year in 2008; and compiling 20 top 5 Ironman finishes around the world. Sara also holds a PhD in Ancient History and Religion with her dissertation in the field of women’s history. She continues to remain passionate about women’s history today and in addition to the work she does with Live Feisty, Sara is also the co-founder of the Outspoken: Women in Triathlon Summit. In this interview, we get into Sara’s experience growing up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), her passion and studies in women’s history, her pro triathlon career, and of course, Live Feisty Media.
Timestamps
00:02:48 Moving to the UAE from Canada
00:06:37 What the Dubai area was like when she was growing up there
00:07:55 Sports she played growing up
00:09:49 Biggest shock for her when she moved to the UAE
00:11:46 When her passion for women's history started
00:14:17 Studying world religions in college
00:16:07 Career ambitions while in college
00:16:40 College swim team
00:18:55 Continuing graduate studies in women's history
00:24:38 Her start in triathlon
00:29:13 What changed in 2014 to get her over the hump in winning her first Ironman races
00:32:06 Her favorite Ironman races
00:33:50 Biggest takeaways from competing as a pro triathlete
00:35:27 Why she stopped competing professionally
00:36:20 2015 Kona qualification changes
00:39:17 Live Feisty Media
00:43:49 Ultimate vision for Live Feisty Media
00:45:22 What would she want to have accomplished 5 years from now
00:47:04 Her daily routine
00:47:53 Her driving force
00:48:31 Advice around staying committed to your passions
Today’s guest is Markeith Price. Markeith is a visually impaired track & field athlete from Baltimore, MD who competes in track & field, specializing in the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints and long jump events. At the Rio 2016 Games, he achieved his best Paralympic result, a 5th place finish in the 400m. Markeith’s dream is to reach the medals podium at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics and of course, strive for the gold medal. At age 3, Markeith was diagnosed with optic atrophy, a rare and permanent visual impairment caused by damage to the optic nerve. In Markeith’s case, his optic nerves were not fully developed at birth. Never allowing his loss of vision to slow down his body or his mind, Markeith embraced sport and fell in love with running. Markeith is a college graduate and is passionate about promoting the value of education. In 2013, Markeith founded the I C You Foundation, which serves the Baltimore community by providing scholarships and resources to visually impaired students and funding to various schools of the blind. He’s also working on getting his Master’s in Information Systems to support his entrepreneurial ventures and post-pro running career. In this interview, we discuss how Markeith has had to adjust his training due to the pandemic, what it’s been like for him to live with optic atrophy, his love of running and fashion, and his quest to medal at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
Timestamps
00:03:08 Adjusting due to the pandemic
00:06:22 Dealing with the news that the Paralympics were canceled
00:07:48 Specific training adjustments during the pandemic
00:11:42 Growing up in Baltimore, MD
00:14:44 Where his self-motivation comes from
00:16:00 Optic Atrophy and how it affects his vision
00:24:03 When he found his love for running
00:26:55 Running track at Division I Tennessee State University
00:30:20 Getting disqualified in track
00:33:23 His interest in fashion and starting a new business
00:40:45 Career ambitions post Paralympic career
00:44:18 When he set his sights on becoming a Paralympian
00:46:53 Road to becoming a Paralympian
00:48:40 Process of accepting his disability
00:51:05 The events that he competes in
00:53:00 Missing out on the Beijing Paralympics
00:57:14 Experience at his first Paralympic Games
01:01:52 Goal for Tokyo Paralympics
01:02:55 His weekly training schedule
01:12:40 How he trains his mind
01:19:46 Biggest athlete influences for him
01:23:55 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:26:17 His daily routine
01:29:00 His driving force
01:29:49 Parting words of wisdom around staying driven
Today’s guest is Chase Damiano. Chase helps get entrepreneurs out of the weeds. He works as a business advisor, consultant, and coach to founders and CEOs and more specifically, helps them clarify their vision, building scalable operational strategies, and executing alongside their team. Few people truly understand the entrepreneurial mindset and journey, but Chase certainly does. Prior to his current consulting and coaching work, Chase served as the Chief Operating Officer for 5 years at Commonwealth Joe, a venture-backed beverage technology start-up in Arlington, VA. He partnered with the founder to accelerate annual revenue from $60,000 to a 7-figure ARR, grow from 1 to over 500 regional customers, and scaled the team from 2 to 70 employees. It was through all of the highs and lows of this experience that inspired him to help entrepreneurs in their journeys. In this interview, we get into Chase’s original path to become a chemical engineer, the shift to business and working in management consulting, his time at Commonwealth Joe and lessons learned, and his current work helping entrepreneurs get out of the weeds.
Timestamps
00:02:28 Growing up in Mechanicsville, VA and early career ambitions
00:08:07 Is entrepreneurship something you're born with?
00:09:42 Majoring in chemical engineering and economics in college
00:13:10 Career ambitions in college and the birth of his son
00:16:13 Path to working at Accenture
00:19:10 His role at Accenture
00:21:25 When he caught the entrepreneurial bug
00:23:26 Biggest takeaways from working at Accenture
00:26:08 Opportunity to join Commonwealth Joe
00:28:42 Overview of Commonwealth Joe
00:30:21 Transitioning from a global consulting firm to a startup
00:33:04 Mindset shifts in order to thrive in a startup environment
00:37:02 Biggest takeaways from working at Commonwealth Joe
00:38:59 How he built himself out of Commonwealth Joe
00:43:16 The spark to start his own venture and taking a sabbatical
00:52:50 His current venture and how he helps founders
00:57:38 His ultimate vision for his business
00:58:51 How he lives a principled life
01:00:53 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now
01:01:52 His daily routine
01:05:13 His driving force
01:06:56 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is fellow Bentley University alum, Mel Latham. Mel is an international poet, voice, creator and author of 'Brown Butter.' Born in Boston but now living in Brooklyn, Mel has been sharing spoken word poetryon stages across the U.S. and Europe, in major cities like Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, London, Berlin and more. In 2019, Mel released her debut book of poetry, Brown Butter, a collection of affirming words and poems for self love, worth, expression and healing. She then booked her own European book tour, with shows in Copenhagen, Berlin and London, selling out of her books at her first stop. As a firm believer in the healing power of words, Mel founded a collective space for positive self-talk and views for self, called Vow to Self. She’s the host of the Vow to Self podcast and The Daily Shine, a meditation podcast by The Shine App, voted one of Apple’s best self-care apps of 2020. In addition to all of this work, Mel is also the Director of Marketing and Communications at Riverview Capital, a Boston based investment and wealth management firm. In this interview, we get into Mel’s passion for poetry and storytelling, what led her to studying marketing at Bentley, the healing power of words, her book Brown Butter, and the Vow to Self platform.
Timestamps
00:03:03 Growing up in Boston and values
00:06:16 Passion for poetry and storytelling
00:08:52 What led her to Bentley University
00:11:20 Racism in institutions
00:13:36 Marketing and career aspirations at Bentley
00:17:11 Working at Riverview Capital
00:18:20 Shift to pursuing poetry and moving to New York City
00:20:27 What she's working on today
00:21:32 What inspired her to perform poetry
00:23:02 Spoken poetry and the healing power of words
00:25:37 The Shine App
00:27:10 Power of affirmations and journaling
00:29:05 Her book Brown Butter
00:32:40 Book tour experience
00:36:11 Biggest takeaways from writing her book
00:37:02 What her writing process looks like
00:38:52 Vow to Self
00:40:05 Adjusting to the pandemic
00:43:25 What she wants to have accomplished 10 years from now
00:44:56 Her daily routine
00:46:52 Her driving force
00:48:38 Parting words of wisdom around compassion
Today’s guest is Rich Keller. Rich is a CATALYST. That’s his “one word” personal brand and he’s on a mission to transform one million lives, “one word” at a time. With over 20 years of experience as a brand marketing executive for some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands like Godiva Chocolate, Chips Ahoy! Cookies, and Planters Peanuts, Rich travels the country as a motivational speaker showing young entrepreneurs how crafting their personal brands and their business ventures around their ‘One Word’ core value is the pathway to achieving excellence. Rich and his wife are also cancer survivors, with Rich having beaten testicular cancer and his wife beating breast cancer. There’s much more to his story, and Rich does fantastic job of illustrating it and bringing out the lessons learned. In this interview, we get into how and why Rich felt invisible growing up, his time as an accountant, the shift to working in marketing for consumer brands, battling cancer, and the current work he does in helping people find their “One Word”.
Timestamps
00:02:37 The story behind his bandana
00:05:19 Growing up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, NY
00:07:22 Growing up in a disconnected home
00:11:55 Success is the best revenge mentality
00:17:35 College days and majoring in accounting
00:23:06 Working in accounting
00:26:34 The moment he knew he wanted to work in consumer
00:29:07 Biggest takeaways from working in accounting
00:31:05 Going to business school at Wharton
00:37:45 Is he extroverted or introverted?
00:39:30 Challenge of finding a marketing job in business school
00:42:53 Moment he knew marketing was for him
00:44:45 Rundown of his marketing career
00:51:15 Importance of having a support system as you progress in your career
00:53:18 Working at the lingerie company and why he left the corporate world
01:00:14 Getting diagnosed with testicular cancer
01:03:26 Battling the cancer
01:05:43 How cancer changed his perspective on life
01:08:11 His wife's cancer diagnosis and how he dealt with it
01:14:50 How him and his wife's cancers have influenced them as parents
01:19:13 The shift to his current venture
01:20:53 The "One Word" idea
01:37:52 What he wants to accomplish over the next few years
01:39:13 His daily routine
01:44:28 His driving force
01:47:52 Parting words of wisdom around personal branding & development
Today’s guest is Mark Gainey. Mark is the co-founder and Chairman of Strava, the leading social platform for athletes. Mark grew up in Reno, Nevada and was slated to run cross country for Harvard. However, after being sidelined by an injury, he then got recruited to join the crew team where he would meet his Strava co-founder, Michael Horvath. It would be many years before they would start Strava, and Mark’s first job after graduating college was at the growth equity firm TA Associates. While at TA, Mark spent nearly 5 years talking with entrepreneurs and learning about their businesses. He wanted to be on the other side of the table. And so, Mark and Michael reconvened in the mid-90’s and began brainstorming a business that would eventually become Kana Communications, an email management software company. Kana became wildly successful and Mark left the company after four years. After several years of advisory type work, Mark was itching to start something again and thought back to the idea he had of somehow re-creating the team-like atmosphere he experienced while on the Harvard Crew team. He then reached back out to Michael Horvath and they began creating what would become Strava. In this interview, we discuss Mark’s time growing up in Reno, Nevada, his experience on the Harvard Crew team, his time talking with entrepreneurs at TA, Kana Communications, and of course, Strava.
Timestamps
00:02:53 Growing up in Reno, Nevada
00:07:00 Path to Harvard
00:09:50 Harvard Crew Team experience
00:16:01 Career ambitions while at Harvard
00:17:35 Time at TA Associates
00:20:57 Launching Kana Communications
00:23:14 Kana overview
00:28:51 Unfinished business with Kana
00:33:40 Strava overview
00:35:33 Genesis of Strava
00:38:26 Go an inch wide and a mile deep
00:42:12 How the Strava user base has grown
00:44:46 Strava's business model
00:47:31 Building community at Strava
00:50:12 Ultimate vision for Strava
00:54:07 What he wants to create 5 years from now
00:55:40 Time in Strava app vs. time spent being active
00:59:23 His daily routine
01:00:50 His driving force
01:02:24 Advice for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is Brandon Green. Brandon is an award-winning entrepreneur with several businesses and is a nationally recognized speaker and expert on balancing success and purpose and leading with passion and practicality. Brandon grew up in Wyoming and Iowa as the eldest child in a Mormon household. A defining moment in his life came in his adolescence when, instead of going on a Mormon mission, he chose to join the global youth educational organization Up With People. After a two-year international tour with Up With People, Brandon then moved the Washington DC area and landed a job in sales and shortly thereafter transitioned to real estate in 2001. By 2006 Brandon co-founded the Keller Williams Capital Properties real estate organization and together with his partners built it into a regional network of 8 offices and $2 billion in annual sales in a little more than a decade. He’s accomplished all of this without a college degree. In this interview, we get into Brandon’s time growing up in Wyoming and Iowa, his tour with Up with People, his experience coming out as gay, his real estate career, and the many different ventures he has going on today.
Timestamps
00:02:33 Growing up in Wyoming and Iowa
00:08:23 Deciding to join Up With People
00:10:08 Fundraising to join Up With People
00:13:31 Up With People overview
00:15:16 Biggest takeaways from Up With People experience
00:19:10 Experience coming out as gay
00:25:11 Balancing love and ambition over the years
00:27:26 Moving to Baltimore without a job or apartment
00:31:50 Transition to real estate
00:33:53 Experience as a real estate agent
00:36:33 Starting his own real estate company
00:38:11 Distinctions between sales success and business success
00:39:13 Overview of his real estate company and his role
00:42:51 Impact of Great Recession on his company
00:44:45 Lessons learned about entrepreneurship
00:48:03 How he recruited employees during the Great Recession
00:49:38 Adjusting to the pandemic
00:52:27 His daily routine
00:56:12 Why he's focusing more on his personal brand
00:57:45 His driving force
00:59:40 Advice around achieving great business success
Today’s guest is Jeff Gothelf. Jeff works as a coach, speaker, author & consultant to help organizations build better products and executives build the cultures that build better products. After his rock band prospects and ambitions faded away, Jeff’s first job out of college was in the circus. That’s right, clowns, the human cannonball, trapeze artists, the whole bit. Jeff worked as an audio engineer for the circus but soon realized a life in the circus wasn’t the life for him. After leaving the circus, he transitioned to working as a designer for some of the first companies to use the internet as a new communication, sales and service channel. Having worked at early internet firms like America Online (AOL) and iXL he saw first-hand the potential this new way of communicating had to transform how we lived, worked and transacted. However, much of the work he was doing was focused on getting software shipped to market with little concern for how well these products and services met the needs of our customers and users. He knew there had to be a better way. So, Jeff decided to go out on his own and become an independent consultant to large organizations struggling with their digital transformation, increasing their agility and integrating good product management and User Experience practices into their ways of working. In this interview, he get into how Jeff has adjusted to the pandemic living in Barcelona, his time in the circus, the importance of quality product development and user experience in today’s digital age, and his new book Forever Employable.
Timestamps
00:03:05 Adjusting to the pandemic living in Barcelona
00:11:50 Growing up in Israel
00:18:15 College days & Mass Communication
00:24:55 Working in the circus
00:31:31 Biggest takeaways from working in the circus
00:33:09 Transitioning to the corporate world during the dot com bubble
00:37:36 Passion for product development and user experience
00:43:07 Starting his own venture
00:44:18 His book "Forever Employable"
00:48:08 Why learning and humility are in short supply
00:52:20 His driving force
00:53:12 Parting advice on career development
Today’s guest is Jeff Byers. Jeff is the co-founder and CEO of Amp Human, a Park City, Utah based company dedicated to creating a new and trusted category of products to help humans push their limits. Their flagship product PR Lotion gives the body more bicarbonate (a natural electrolyte) to neutralize acid in muscles which allows athletes to push harder, feel better, and go longer. And let me tell you, the stuff works. I put it on before my hard training days and every time during the workout I’m stunned by how less tired my muscles feel towards the end. PR Lotion is relied on daily by the world's best athletes including Superbowl teams, Stanley Cup Finals teams, Tour de France winners, and a broad base of athletes and adventurers. Prior to his business career, Jeff spent the majority of the first half of his life as an offensive lineman at the highest collegiate and professional levels. After being selected as the top high school football recruit in the country, Jeff went on to play at USC under coach Pete Carroll. After getting his MBA at USC, he then went on to play in the NFL for about 4 seasons spending most of his time with the Carolina Panthers. In this interview, we get into Jeff’s penchant for grit and suffering, his up and down football career, Amp Human, and thoughts on the human performance space.
Timestamps
00:02:46 Growing up playing sports in the Midwest
00:05:44 Penchant for challenge and suffering
00:08:40 Commitment to football
00:12:25 Offensive lineman position
00:16:11 Playing football and studying at USC
00:19:27 Realization of life after football
00:26:18 NFL career
00:27:58 Biggest takeaways from playing in the NFL
00:33:14 Transitioning out of the NFL
00:36:18 Working in finance and why he left finance
00:38:10 Genesis of Amp Human
00:42:00 How the opportunity came about to join the biotech company
00:44:12 The name "Amp Human"
00:45:56 Core customers and target audience
00:47:37 PR Lotion
00:54:10 Innovation at Amp Human
01:00:28 Adjusting to the pandemic
01:02:50 What excites him the most about the human performance space
01:04:54 What he wants to create/accomplish 5 years from now
01:06:12 His daily routine
01:07:44 His driving force
01:08:57 Advice around embracing adversity and challenge
Today’s guest is Christine McHugh. Christine first started working for Starbucks as a barista at 19 years old. Little did she know at that time that it would mark the beginning of her 27-year career at the company. Her first job for Starbucks as a barista was when the company had 37 stores. 25 years later, and she’s leading some of the most important strategic initiatives for Starbucks across over 13,000 stores in the US and Canada. So, it’s fitting that her up and coming book is titled “From Barista to the Boardroom”, which is expected to be published next year. Christine left Starbucks in 2017 but certainly did not rest on her laurels. Looking for a completely new challenge, she took on the role of Chief Strategy Officer at Tangelo Health, a startup sports chiropractic and rehabilitation company. After successfully expanding their market presence and driving unprecedented revenue growth in her two years there, she left to focus full time on her own consulting firm. Her professional focus today is her consulting firm where she specializes in working with small to medium sized growing businesses in the services industry. Outside of work, Christine is an avid distance runner and is planning to race her fifth marathon next year in Chicago. I should also mention that she serves on the advisory board for Gritlink (which, if you remember, is the company founded by another one of podcast guests, Cortney Jacobsen). In this interview, we get into Christine’s time growing up in Alaska, her long career at Starbucks and stint at Tangelo Health, her current work as a consultant, and her passion for distance running.
Timestamps
00:02:51 Growing up in Alaska with a family of politicians
00:09:58 Moving to Seattle
00:14:20 Interest in working for Starbucks
00:18:58 Caught up in the growth of Starbucks
00:21:33 Times she thought about leaving Starbucks
00:23:33 Her progression at Starbucks
00:27:12 Standout projects at Starbucks
00:31:40 Why she stayed at Starbucks for all those years
00:33:50 Leaving Starbucks
00:37:43 Importance of having a support system as you grow professionally
00:40:20 Attaching her identity to Starbucks
00:42:05 Biggest takeaways from working at Starbucks
00:43:12 Tangelo Health overview
00:47:25 What she enjoyed most about working at Tangelo
00:50:03 Small company vs large enterprise
00:53:37 Starting her consulting firm
00:58:35 How she helps her clients
01:03:46 Ultimate vision for her firm
01:04:57 Starting her distance running career
01:07:05 Why does she run?
01:09:39 Parallels between marathon training and business
01:12:55 One big goal she'd love to accomplish over the next few years
01:14:34 Her daily routine
01:15:55 Her driving force
01:18:23 Parting career development advice
Today’s guest is one of my jiu-jitsu teammates, Tony Negron. After a highly decorated 26-year career in the Air Force, Tony has dedicated his post-military career to aiding both active duty veterans as well as those who have separated from the military through business ventures and charitable organizations. While on active duty, Tony served as a Pararescueman and rose to the level of Pararescue Functional Manager of Air Combat Command, overseeing policy, manpower, and readiness. His work as an operator with Joint Special Operations Command saw him overseeing some of the most critical and strategic missions in our War on Terror from 2000 to 2006. After leaving the military in 2015, Tony took over the SEI business. In leading SEI, Tony works directly with the Department of Defense in providing training to active duty special operations personnel through customized Leadership, Medical, Tactical, and Mountaineering courses. Tony is also a Principal at Fusion Cell, a Windham, NH based company whose mission is to assist transitioning veterans with job placement by matching their unique skill set and talents to the civilian workforce. Lastly, Tony serves on the Board of Directors of the Pararescue Foundation and helps lead their mission in preserving and supporting the Pararescue community. In this interview, we get into Tony’s decision to join the Air Force and become a Pararescueman, his career in the Air Force, his current work in aiding both active duty veterans and those who have transitioned out, and his thoughts on leadership and managing high performance teams.
Timestamps
00:03:20 Growing up in Indiana and interest in the military
00:09:50 Road to becoming a Pararescueman
00:12:25 What is a Pararescueman?
00:15:25 Pararescue training
00:20:40 Moving up the ranks in the Air Force
00:22:48 His journey in the Air Force
00:25:46 Lessons learned about leading teams from his time in the Air Force
00:29:35 Applying those lessons to business
00:33:50 His experience transitioning out
00:38:06 Opportunity to own SEI
00:41:11 SEI overview
00:44:18 What makes SEI trainings unique?
00:45:51 Professor Kevin Landry's role in SEI
00:48:03 Growing SEI over the coming years
00:50:25 Inspiration to start Fusion Cell
00:56:38 The name "Fusion Cell"
00:59:53 How they help veterans more easily find jobs
01:05:18 Ultimate vision for Fusion Cell
01:07:43 Formalizing the relationship between the military and companies
01:17:06 Some of the keys to becoming a high performer
01:20:59 His daily routine
01:23:41 His driving force
01:27:45 Parting words of wisdom around leading teams
Today’s guest is Christian Graugart. Christian is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, author, and founder of BJJ Globetrotters. BJJ Globetrotters is the world’s largest BJJ affiliation (of which I’m a member) with over 750 academies and over 21,000 members on the community’s Facebook page. The BJJ Globetrotters 5-7 day long training camps have become some of the most sought after fixtures on the jiu-jitsu calendar – they’re hosted everywhere from the Austrian Alps to the Arizona desert and the tropical island of Saint Barts. The mission of the community is simple: To continue spreading the message of a non-political, open minded and positive approach to training and life. Christian is originally from Denmark but currently lives in Saint Barts in the Caribbean. He started grappling in 1999, and in 2010 took an around the world trip to train Brazilian jiu-jitsu in as many places as possible. It took him to 56 academies around the globe in 140 days. It was this life-changing experience that led him to writing a book about the trip and eventually starting BJJ Globetrotters. In this interview, we get into Christian's martial arts background, the early days of jiu-jitsu in Europe, his around the world trip, and all things BJJ Globetrotters.
Timestamps
00:02:55 Growing up in Denmark
00:04:30 Martial arts journey before jiu-jitsu
00:07:43 Discovering and starting jiu-jitsu
00:09:55 Training and competing in jiu-jitsu before his trip
00:13:51 Inspiration for his around the world jiu-jitsu trip
00:18:38 The around the world trip
00:24:37 Biggest takeaways from the trip
00:27:20 Returning from the trip
00:30:13 Inspiration for BJJ Globetrotters
00:33:55 BJJ Globetrotters community and camps
00:44:37 Moving to Saint Barts
00:47:00 Living in Saint Barts
00:49:00 Fascination with natural disasters
00:50:22 His contribution to jiu-jitsu
00:54:40 The day he got his black belt
00:55:55 His favorite submission
00:57:55 His daily routine
01:02:33 His driving force
01:03:39 He doesn't want to be anyone's life coach
Today’s guest is Kevin Marasco. Kevin is a full-stack marketing leader, board advisor, startup investor, and ultra-runner. His current gig is as Chief Marketing Officer at Zenefits, an HR, payroll, and employee benefits software company purpose-built for small and mid-size businesses. Prior to Zenefits, Kevin was Chief Marketing Officer at Hirevue, where they grew 4,000%, went from 10% to 60%+ market share, and rated a Forbes top 10 Most Promising Company in America. As Kevin would put it, he’s actually an “accidental” marketer. He started his career as a software engineer and aspiring rock star (his band got a record deal with a major label and opened for folks like Blink 182 and Sublime). When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, running ultramarathons, Ironmans, surfing (he used to be a competitive surfer), and snowboarding. In this interview, we get into his days as a competitive surfer, his winding road from software engineer to marketing executive, his ultra-running career and training, and the stealth sports tech startup he’s working on.
Timestamps
00:02:38 Growing up surfing in Florida
00:12:38 College days and playing in bands
00:17:24 The many jobs he held during college
00:20:53 Working as a software engineer
00:26:50 How his experience as a software engineer benefits him as a tech executive
00:30:47 Pivoting to marketing
00:33:28 His road to Zenefits
00:36:25 Zenefits and his role there
00:47:12 Stealth sports tech startup
00:51:20 His ultrarunning career and training
00:59:25 How he's avoided burnout over the years
01:03:24 His daily routine
01:04:18 His driving force
01:06:11 Advice around living life to the fullest
Today’s guest is Bruckner Chase. Bruckner is an internationally recognized ocean advocate and professional waterman. He’s also an accomplished ultra-endurance athlete whose athletic career spans the most challenging events in water and on land. His 25-mile swim across Monterey Bay in 2010 launched both the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and his own career committed to moving others to sustainable action that benefits our oceans. Prior to this commitment to bettering our oceans, Bruckner was a corporate executive who worked in international project and brand development for companies such as Abercrombie & Fitch and West Marine. Today, as founder and President of the Bruckner Chase Ocean Positive non-profit, him and his team designs, develops and implements innovative and inspiring ocean adventures and programs that connect individuals and communities around the world to our oceans. His work has taken him all over the world from the Jersey Shore to Poland and the American Samoa. In this interview, we get into how he’s adjusted to the pandemic, how he went from almost drowning twice as a kid to becoming a passionate ocean advocate, his 25-mile Monterey Bay swim, and the awesome work he does with his non-profit.
Timestamps
00:02:32 How he's been adjusting to the pandemic
00:11:11 Relooking at the "why" behind your training
00:12:40 Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee
00:17:30 Finding his passion for the ocean
00:20:50 His corporate career
00:24:41 Deciding to leave the corporate world
00:25:26 His 25-mile Monterey Bay swim
00:35:03 His meditation practice
00:39:05 Biggest takeaways from his 25-mile swim
00:41:06 Surf lifesaving sports
00:47:58 His work with his foundation
00:52:55 NOAA Agency
00:57:31 His work in the American Samoa
01:02:18 Biggest misconceptions around ocean safety
01:07:38 What does it mean to be a waterman?
01:08:45 Ultimate vision for his non-profit
01:10:37 His daily routine
01:12:42 His driving force
01:14:33 Words of wisdom around taking care of our oceans
Today’s guest is Elizabeth Carey. Elizabeth is a writer, editor, author, and running coach based in Seattle, Washington. She ran Division I cross country and track at Columbia University and it was her experiences as an elite-level collegiate athlete that inspired her to become a leading voice in the world of girls in sport. Burnout culture, work till you drop, unhealthy and unrealistic body expectations and so on were all things she experienced while at Columbia. Since leaving college, she’s made it a point as both a coach and a writer to spread the word on how to best coach female athletes to help them perform and feel at their best. Most recently, this came into the form of a book titled Girls Running which she co-authored with former high school running phenom Melody Fairchild. In this interview, we get into how she stumbled upon her love of running, her experiences (both positive and negative) as a student-athlete at Columbia, her philosophy as a running coach, and her new book Girls Running.
Timestamps
00:02:33 Growing up in Portland, Oregon
00:04:33 Getting into running
00:08:18 Passions outside of running growing up
00:09:07 Her time at Columbia University
00:12:54 Experiences as a runner at Columbia
00:21:50 Career ambitions in college
00:25:30 First job out of college
00:27:07 Journalism
00:29:52 Coaching runners
00:34:58 Post-college running career
00:37:50 Becoming a large voice in the world of girls sport
00:39:43 Girls Running book
00:49:50 What does she want to have accomplished 10 years from now?
00:50:32 Her daily routine
00:51:36 Her driving force
00:52:20 Parting words of wisdom/advice for the person training for their first distance race
We’re switching things up for today’s episode in that I’ll be the one being interviewed. My background certainly isn’t yet as impressive as any of my guests. However, I thought it might be good to give my listeners a window into the host’s background and also share some of the insights I’ve gained from doing the podcast so far. One of my best friends Alberto Riveroll Usabiaga will be hosting today’s episode and it will flow similarly to other episodes. We’ll get into my upbringing on the seacoast of New Hampshire, the impact that tennis and martial arts has had on my life, my experience in private equity, and my takeaways so far from the podcast.
Timestamps
00:02:23 Why did I want to get interviewed?
00:04:25 Growing up in New Hampshire
00:06:03 Living with my dad
00:08:08 Influence of other family members
00:11:53 Playing sports and getting into tennis
00:16:17 How tennis has influenced who I am today
00:17:30 Martial arts and jiu-jitsu
00:22:37 Decision to go to Bentley University
00:25:55 How Bentley changed my mindset around business
00:27:10 Quick thoughts about going to college
00:28:50 Initial interest in private equity
00:34:43 Getting the job at Equality Asset Management (Equality)
00:38:20 Role at Equality
00:45:42 Should high stress work environments be tolerated?
00:47:43 When did I realize that lifestyle wasn't sustainable for me?
00:53:10 Advice for people thinking about going into private equity
00:55:20 Leaving Equality
01:01:18 Why did I start the podcast
01:05:05 Similarities amongst the people that I've interviewed
01:07:55 Habits that I've picked up from my podcast guests
01:10:46 Sense of privacy with the podcast
01:13:57 Sense of responsibility to my listeners
01:15:00 My daily routine
01:16:30 What does my near future look like?
01:17:45 My interest in human performance
01:20:00 Some driving forces that stand out to me
01:21:45 My driving force
Today’s guest is Hoby Darling. Hoby is an accomplished C-suite executive and passionate athlete and adventurer. On the business side, he has been a senior leader for brands such as Nike, Converse, Skullcandy, Astro Gaming and Volcom, as well as being a board director or advisor for organizations in endurance sports, physical regeneration and recovery, and human performance private equity. On the athletic side, Hoby is a certified Crossfit coach, former personal trainer, and multiple time Ironman finisher. Today, his focus is on helping unlock human potential and extending human capabilities as a Senior Executive at Logitech, a global consumer electronics company, and as a Founding Partner at The Liminal Collective, a broader Collective of world-class human performance experts on a mission to push forward the limitless potential of humans. In this interview, we get into Hoby’s small town upbringing, his winding journey from lawyer to CEO of Skullcandy, human performance and well-being, and his current roles at Logitech and Liminal Collective.
Timestamps
00:02:48 How did he get the nickname "Hoby"?
00:04:25 Growing up in a small town
00:13:18 Park City, Utah
00:15:31 Being a product of your environment
00:17:28 College
00:19:31 Dropping out of college and moving to Mexico
00:22:02 The injury that changed his life
00:22:50 Identity changes
00:27:39 Days as a personal trainer
00:30:56 Career aspirations in college
00:32:46 Transition into law
00:41:50 Days as a corporate lawyer
00:49:15 Leaving law to go to Volcom
00:53:15 Learning everything, and outworking everyone
00:55:42 Contrast between Latham and Volcom
00:58:40 Moving to Nike
01:03:38 Role at Nike and working with the best athletes
01:06:21 Demystifying human performance
01:10:34 Becoming the CEO of Skullcandy
01:12:55 Skullcandy turnaround
01:19:02 Leaving Skullcandy
01:22:30 Genesis of Liminal Collective
01:28:08 His driving force
01:29:10 Advice for the busy professional around maintaining an active lifestyle
Today’s guest is Cortney Jacobsen. Cortney is a passionate endurance athlete, product management veteran of the tech industry, and entrepreneur. Currently, she is the Senior Director of Product Management at Aduro, a human performance company that utilizes a combination of 1 on 1 coaching and technology to improve the lives of their corporate clients. She is also the co-founder of Gritlink, a platform that connects endurance and adventure enthusiasts with healthcare providers who are experts in working with athletes. Prior to Aduro and Gritlink, Cortney spent many years working as a product manager at companies like Amazon and Disney. As her passion as an endurance athlete grew during these years, so did her mission to help people live happier and healthier lives. As a result, while at Amazon, she launched a coaching business which she ran for about 6 years focused on helping senior-level business executives prepare for endurance events. In this interview, we get into her initial background as classical pianist, her career in product management, her passion for endurance athletics, and her current roles at Aduro and Gritlink.
Timestamps
00:02:40 Growing up as a classical pianist
00:10:18 Focus shifting to math & science
00:12:14 Biggest takeaways as a classical pianist
00:15:06 What sparked her interest in endurance athletics
00:21:22 Her hardest races
00:25:36 Career ambitions while in college
00:27:15 First job out of college
00:30:50 Passion for product management
00:34:11 Getting into coaching
00:38:59 Her focus as a coach
00:44:03 Gritlink
00:54:29 Biggest lessons about entrepreneurship that she's learned so far
00:57:43 Ultimate vision for Gritlink
00:58:53 Her role at Aduro
01:02:45 What her days look like now
01:05:34 Next big athletic goal
01:06:35 Ideal day in the life
01:07:31 Has she ever burnt out?
01:08:05 Her driving force
01:08:50 Advice around maintaining an active lifestyle for the busy professional
Today’s guest is Dave Kartagener. Having grown up in the industry, Dave has always had a passion for travel. He went on his first safari at the age of seven and has been exploring the world ever since, having now visited more than 50 countries. Today, Dave is President of Kartagener Associates (or “KAI”), a leader in marketing and sales representation for the travel industry. The KAI portfolio includes exclusive safari lodges in Africa, award winning Palaces in India, luxury cruise ships and Destination Management Companies around the globe. Dave hasn’t always worked in travel and was reluctant after graduating college to join the company his dad started. So, prior to KAI, he spent several years quickly rising through the sales ranks at Madison Square Garden before eventually joining the family business in 2010. In this interview, we get into the impact that travel has had on his life, the benefits of travel, his years grinding it out selling tickets at MSG, and his company KAI and how Covid has changed everything in the industry.
Timestamps
00:02:20 Growing up and traveling
00:09:46 Traveling for self-discovery
00:10:40 Early career ambitions
00:13:07 College days at Tulane
00:17:05 Getting the job at Madison Square Garden (MSG)
00:21:22 First role at MSG
00:27:22 Moving up the ranks at MSG
00:31:04 Leaving MSG and joining KAI
00:37:52 Overview of KAI
00:42:20 Inception of the business
00:46:05 Focus on long-haul destinations
00:48:35 His role at KAI
00:52:04 The KAI Foundation
00:56:43 Covid's impact on the business
01:04:33 How he's coping and moving forward in the Covid world
01:09:05 Ultimate vision for KAI
01:10:22 Young Travel Professionals organization
01:17:30 His daily routine
01:20:55 His driving force
01:23:10 Parting career advice for the young professional listening
Today’s guest is Alli Schaper. Alli is an entrepreneur, community builder, and enthusiast for all things in the mushroom and wellness space. She started her career in corporate innovation and healthcare consulting and in 2019 launched a company called Zigii. Since then, she has partnered with 100+ wellness brands and industry leading clients in hospitality, corporate, and retail. Today, her professional focus is split across 3 ventures: The Multiverse – a functional mushroom marketplace, Zigii – her wellness gifting company, and lastly working as a brand strategy consultant in the health & wellness space. She’s also done some modeling work and is the co-founder of MESH - a community-building initiative focused on intentional connections and curated dinner experiences in New York and LA. In this interview, we get into the genesis of her love of people, the shift from consulting to entrepreneurship, and all of her entrepreneurial ventures including Zigii, MESH, and the Multiverse.
Timestamps
00:02:27 Growing up and early health issues
00:10:44 Early career ambitions
00:17:00 Consulting days
00:21:35 Starting Zigii
00:25:05 Overview of Zigii
00:30:26 Ultimate vision for Zigii
00:31:45 MESH
00:36:56 Passion for mushrooms
00:44:15 Her daily routine
00:47:00 Her driving force
00:48:28 Her holy grail of advice
Today’s guest is Kristen Holmes. Kristen has spent her entire career and much of her life in high performance environments. In college, she was a 3x All American and 2x Big 10 Conference Athlete of the year at the University of Iowa competing in both Field Hockey and Basketball. She was a 7 year member of the U.S. National Field Hockey Team and one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history, having won 12 league titles in 13 seasons and a National Championship at Princeton University. She also founded a successful, nationwide field hockey camp and clinics business and ran it for 16 years. Today, Kristen is the Vice President of Performance Science at WHOOP, a consumer technology company that empowers its users to perform at a higher level through a deeper understanding of their bodies and daily lives. Her role is to drive thought leadership at WHOOP by using a meta approach to better understand individual and team performance across military, sports, and medicine. In this interview, we get into Kristen’s sports background, her coaching philosophy and career, WHOOP, and all things performance optimization.
Timestamps
00:02:41 Moving a lot growing up and sports background
00:09:45 College sports days
00:17:42 Outcome dissociation
00:19:53 Happiness is internal
00:21:20 Habits will accumulate
00:23:30 Extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation
00:26:16 Coaching and performance work after college
00:38:27 How Princeton Field Hockey became so successful
00:44:05 Opportunity to join Whoop
00:47:30 Heart Rate Variability
00:49:45 Whoop
00:54:51 Her role at Whoop
00:59:37 How she optimizes her performance
01:03:00 Her driving force
01:03:57 Importance of sleep
Today’s guest is Nicole Ver Kuilen. At age 10, Nicole made the difficult decision to amputate her left leg to save her life from bone cancer. She would then spend the next 16 years fighting an outdated healthcare system to get access to the prosthetic technology she needed to be physically active. Finally, in 2017, Nicole had said enough is enough and decided to quit her job to engage full time in political activism and advocacy. What transpired next is nothing short of inspirational. She took on a 1500-mile triathlon - swimming, biking, and running down the Pacific Coast – to advocate and educate others on the barriers individuals like her face to living full, healthy lives. She called her journey Forrest Stump. Today, Forrest Stump is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to raising the standard of care for all amputees. Its focus is to raise awareness on the barriers amputees face in being physically active and advocate for expanded access to the appropriate prosthetic technology and care. In this interview, we discuss how Nicole dealt with cancer growing up, what it’s like living with a prosthetic, her epic Forrest Stump triathlon, and goals and aspirations for the Forrest Stump nonprofit.
Timestamps
00:02:22 Growing up
00:07:37 Cancer diagnosis & treatment
00:15:50 Decision to amputate her leg
00:18:35 Transition from treatment & amputation
00:25:28 Maintenance and upkeep of a prosthetic
00:36:48 First running races
00:41:56 Jobs before Forrest Stump
00:46:00 Quitting her job to embark on Forrest Stump
00:51:00 Forrest Stump triathlon
01:07:33 Creation of the nonprofit
01:11:04 Insurance policies around prosthetics
01:25:45 #wejustfeltlikerunning campaign
01:31:51 Big goal over the next 10 years
01:34:09 Her daily routine
01:35:50 Her driving force
01:36:36 Advice for the person listening who wants to run their first distance race
Today’s guest is Alex Harstrick. Alex is a Principal at Shields Capital where he leads investments in ambitious entrepreneurs looking to make positive disruption in the future of healthcare. Alex is very passionate about innovation and investment in healthcare and defense, two industries he has personal experience in. Prior to Shields Capital, he worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield where he helped manage their multi-stage venture portfolio and develop their internal strategy function. During this time he also received a commission as a Military Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, leading Soldiers trained in counterintelligence and human intelligence operations. Upon his return from deployment on a special ops mission in the Middle East, Alex was then recruited to work at the Defense Innovation Unit. There, he worked on the Human Systems portfolio where he focused on human performance and what was going on to the actual bodies of military personnel. I should also mention that, in the weeks following our conversation, Alex secured a partnership with the CEO of Oura Ring to advise the company’s expansion into the healthcare and defense markets. In this interview, we get into Alex’s karate background, how the death of his mother shifted his reality and mindset, his college years, and the various jobs he’s had over his career so far.
Timestamps
00:02:32 Growing up and death of his mother
00:10:47 Karate background
00:18:20 College years
00:24:43 Days as a consultant
00:27:02 Blue Cross Blue Shield + US Army Reserve
00:38:05 Defense Innovation Unit
00:41:20 Shields Capital
00:47:00 His daily routine
00:49:18 His driving force
00:50:25 Career advice for the 20-something year old listening
Today’s guest is Matt Mullenax. Matt is the founder and CEO of Huron, a company that makes premium men’s personal care products without the premium price. Growing up, Matt was the kid with bad skin. He tried everything in order to clear up his skin and eventually found that the more premium products worked best. However, he couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on personal care products. That’s when the spark hit - to create a brand that offered products that would work just as well as super-premium brands but offered at approachable price points. Today, Huron’s products include a body wash, face wash, eye stick, and face lotion. Prior to founding Huron, Matt got his MBA at Stanford and spent several years grinding it out in the finance world in investment banking and private equity. He also spent time at Bonobos in the early days where he got to witness first-hand what it meant to build a brand around a customer. In this interview, we get into Matt’s football background, how he dealt with his skin growing up, his time in the finance world, and all things Huron and skin care.
Timestamps
00:02:13 Football background
00:07:36 Dealing with his skin growing up
00:14:30 Investment banking days
00:19:56 Time at Bonobos
00:28:18 Private equity experience
00:34:05 Spark to start Huron
00:36:42 Huron
00:48:46 The evolving men's skin care market
00:51:36 Ultimate vision for Huron
00:53:53 His daily routine
00:54:37 His number one skin care tip
00:55:27 His driving force
Today’s guest is Manny Lubin. Manny is the co-founder of Slate Milk, a lower sugar, higher protein, lactose free chocolate milk company. After years of waiting for a healthier, but still great tasting chocolate milk to hit the market, Slate founders Manny Lubin and Josh Belinsky decided to take action on the idea to revolutionize chocolate milk. Since launching the Kickstarter campaign for the company last year (in which they more than 5x’d their goal and raised over $50k), Slate Milk is now sold in over 400 locations with 3 flavors to choose from: dark chocolate, classic, and espresso. What’s also cool is that there is no refrigeration required for their products. And, if you’re a fan of the show Shark Tank, you may have seen them on the show earlier this year. Slate isn’t Manny’s first entrepreneurial venture, however. In 2016, he co-founded Reppr, a technology platform that connects brands with college student ambassadors throughout the country. In this interview, we discuss the Shark Tank experience, challenges facing the company during the covid-19 environment, Manny’s background pre-Slate, and all things Slate and chocolate milk.
Timestamps
00:03:35 Challenges running the business during the covid-19 pandemic
00:07:12 Shark Tank experience
00:16:20 His background
00:24:15 Slate inspiration and overview
00:27:25 Kickstarter campaign
00:30:38 What's wrong with traditional chocolate milk?
00:34:57 Who are they targeting the brand for?
00:36:06 Biggest challenges facing the company
00:41:53 Ultimate vision for Slate
00:44:21 His daily routine
00:45:57 His driving force
00:47:50 Advice for the budding entrepreneur listening
Today’s guest is Bryan Wish. Bryan is the founder of BW Missions, a firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, CEOs, and authors build their communities and amplify their voices. Some of their past clients include The Kairos Society, Allen Gannett, and the Atlanta Hawks. BW Missions offers their clients everything from strategy & brand architecture, website development, and PR & marketing services all with the intention to help thought leaders find and carve their path forward. As his prior work shows, Bryan has always had a passion for building community and amplifying voices for thought leaders. While at the University of Georgia, he founded and ran and college sales and marketing program with the Atlanta Hawks that now generates over $250k in annual ticket sales. Following that, he founded a platform called Wish Dish that connects people through the sharing of personal stories. He describes it as TED Talks for personal storytelling and since launch in 2015 the platform serves more than 600 contributors. In this interview, we discuss how and why Bryan did the deep, inner work early on in his life to find his true path. We touch on his days at the University of Georgia and what it took him to build the Atlanta Hawks Brand Ambassador program. We discuss his major takeaways from building Wish Dish and prior work with the Kairos Society and Allen Gannett. Finally, we delve into BW Missions and future plans for the firm.
Timestamps
00:02:37 Upbringing and finding his way
00:14:54 Fitting in vs. standing out in college
00:18:09 Turning point to pursue the startup
00:20:55 Reflecting back on his college experience
00:24:13 Atlanta Hawks Ambassador Program
00:32:50 Wish Dish
00:45:35 Path after Wish Dish
00:52:12 BW Missions
00:56:30 His daily routine
00:59:10 His driving force
01:00:14 Advice on finding purpose for the 20-something year old listening
Today’s guest is Snejina Zacharia. Snejina is the founder and CEO of Insurify, the largest online insurance marketplace in the country. After getting into a minor car accident while getting her MBA at MIT, her insurance spiked. What followed was hours of jumping from different carrier sites, answering the same questions over and over again both online and on the phone. Insurify aims to solve this problem by reinventing the way people search, compare, buy insurance and manage all their policies online. It’s a technology platform powered by artificial intelligence that provides fast, accurate, personalized recommendations and quotes to help you make confident decisions about your insurance coverage and carrier. Prior to founding Insurify, Snejina was a B2B sales leader for many years which included a stint at Gartner. While at Gartner, she established and grew three lines of business, each with millions of dollars of annual revenue across the USA and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In this interview, we get what life was like growing up in Bulgaria, what prompted her move to the US, her work experience prior to Insurify, and all things Insurify and entrepreneurship.
Timestamps
00:02:35 Growing up in Bulgaria
00:09:05 First corporate job in Bulgaria
00:11:05 Moving to the U.S.
00:14:25 Role at Gartner
00:16:52 Leaving the corporate world
00:18:39 Inception of Insurify
00:24:59 Overview of Insurify
00:28:02 How does Insurify make money?
00:29:00 Biggest challenges facing the company
00:36:00 The legacy she wants to leave with the business
00:37:42 What surprised her the most about entrepreneurship
00:40:45 Her biggest mentor
00:42:40 Her daily routine
00:45:06 Remote work vs. at the office
00:46:44 Her driving force
00:47:57 Advice for the aspiring entrepreneur
Today’s guest is Cameron Shayne. Cameron is the Founder and Director of Budokon and is considered the father and founder of mixed movement arts. Cameron pioneered the phrase and concept of BDK Mixed Movement Arts by combining Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, Yoga, Crawling Patterns, Mobility, Calisthenics, and Cognitive Studies into a single black belt system known as Budokon. Cameron describes movement as a way of examining mind, and believes practicing Budokon can be an excellent way to facilitate self-transformation and self-discovery by breaking down a person’s false constructs of self. Cameron began studying Martial Arts and Zen meditation at the age of 12, and yoga asana training at 25. He has black belts in both Karate and Taekwondo, as well as his Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under the Gracie System. He’s also the movement coach for the Bellator world champion Lovato Jr. fight team as well as artists & entertainers Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn, Slash, Courtney Cox, Rene Russo, Meg Ryan and Jennifer Aniston as well as Olympians Kerrie Walsh-Jennings and Sugar Ray Leonard. In this interview, we go into his upbringing and what got him interested in martial arts and yoga. We discuss his experience working as a bodyguard for Charlie Sheen and the lessons he took from that experience. We touch on plant medicine, instant fame, and self-discovery. And of course, delve deep into Budokon and movement.
Timestamps
00:03:02 Intro
00:06:17 Upbringing and technology's impact on self-discovery
00:11:13 Observational quotes and statements
00:14:31 The tool doesn't make the user
00:18:20 Sports and martial arts growing up
00:27:53 Yoga and meditation
00:30:05 Being Charlie Sheen's bodyguard
00:40:06 Plant medicine and psychotropics
00:48:45 Hollywood film industry and "Insta-fame"
00:56:00 Inspiration to start Budokon
01:03:38 His objective with Budokon
01:11:21 Knowing a person by knowing their movement
01:13:19 Budokon's holistic approach to movement
01:16:10 Budokon for longevity
01:21:23 Following intuition vs wanting to be convinced
01:31:00 Negative effects of excessive sitting
01:35:57 His daily routine
01:38:39 His driving force
01:42:35 Parting words of wisdom for the athlete listening
Today’s guest is my Dad, Michael Rosa. In his return the podcast, we expand on some of the things we touched on in the first conversation as well as fill in some of the pieces we didn’t cover. If you’re relatively new to the show, I would highly encourage you to listen to my first episode with my Dad before this one. The first episode (which is episode 1) goes over his upbringing and will provide you with the context that will make this episode much more enjoyable and understandable. If you have already listened to the first episode, welcome back. In this episode, we dive deeper into my Dad’s rigorous exercise history and regimen including his Ironman story. We discuss my brother Skyler (who has cerebral palsy) and what it’s been like to raise him. We honor my grandfather who recently passed away and discuss the lessons about business and life my Dad learned from him (I posted the link to my grandfather’s obituary in the episode description if you’d like to learn more about the extraordinary life he lived). Finally, we go into my Dad’s uber-competitive mindset and what’s next for him.
Link to my grandfather's obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=domenic-rosa&pid=196479391&fhid=4699
Timestamps
00:02:26 Ironman story
00:12:56 Exercise routine after retirement
00:15:23 The large part surfing has played in his life
00:23:54 My brother Skyler
00:44:02 My grandfather
00:54:15 Entrepreneurship and leadership
01:04:16 Why he makes most things a competition
01:08:31 His daily routine
01:11:05 One thing he'd love to accomplish over the next few years
Today’s guest is Kyle Robidoux. Kyle is an avid skier, runner, local beer enthusiast, and non-profit manager who has worked tirelessly to ensure that he is not defined by the boundaries that others place on him and his vision. Born in Massachusetts and raised in Maine, Kyle was diagnosed at age 11 with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye disease that first affects your night vision and often leads to complete blindness. He was declared legally blind at 19. His decreasing vision is far from the only obstacle he has had to battle throughout his life. He has struggled with binge eating for much of life, and in 2010 was close to 250 lbs and having a hard time playing with his young daughter. This provided him the motivation to take up running. It first started as a walk. Now, Kyle has now completed over 25 marathons and ultramarathons, including five Boston Marathons and three 100-mile races. In the summer of 2018, Kyle, with the support of his sighted guides, completed the grueling six-day, 120-mile Transrockies Run, which includes over 23,000 feet of elevation gain. He’s also focused his professional career on building community and works as a Director at the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. In this interview, we get into the impact his eye disease had on his youth, his experience as a blind father, the inspiration to take up running, and all things training and ultra-running.
Timestamps
00:03:00 Adjusting to the pandemic
00:08:57 Dealing with his eye disease growing up
00:18:10 Deciding on whether or not to have kids
00:20:37 Unhealthy reaction to his eye disease
00:24:03 Decision to start running
00:30:18 Running with sighted guides
00:32:42 Using running as a way to raise awareness
00:35:06 Weekly training schedule
00:40:38 His first ultra
00:43:23 Racing different distances
00:47:31 What he does for fun
00:49:16 What he does for work
00:55:52 What he really wants to accomplish in the next two years
00:57:43 His daily routine
00:58:42 His driving force
00:59:26 Advice for people looking to get in better shape
Today’s guest is Heidi Strickler. Heidi is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD), Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Metabolic Efficiency Training Specialist (METS), with a Masters Degree in Sports Nutrition from Liverpool John Moores University in England. Heidi specializes in nutrition for endurance athletes, the female athlete and female physiology, and plant-based nutrition. She has become a notable and respected expert in these areas, which has opened up opportunities to work with athletes worldwide, including both recreational and elite/Olympic level. Heidi also teaches Sports & Exercise Nutrition at her alma mater, Seattle Pacific University. Heidi is an avid, passionate and competitive athlete and outdoors enthusiast. Today, she competes in trail running, triathlon, cyclocross racing, and snowshoe racing for the U.S. Women's National Team. Her favourite foods include peanut butter, strong coffee, good Mexican, and the darkest chocolate she can get. In this interview, we get into her upbringing and love for the mountains, what sparked her interest in sports nutrition, the biggest misconceptions around sports nutrition and common nutrition mistakes she sees athletes make, and her thoughts on diets, supplements, and plant-based eating.
Timestamps
00:02:35 Adjusting to the pandemic
00:07:54 Growing up in the mountains
00:12:34 Nutrition growing up
00:14:32 Finding her love of running and nutrition in college
00:22:05 Becoming a dietitian
00:26:21 Biggest misconceptions around sports nutrition
00:28:04 Fueling for the work required
00:30:14 Common nutrition mistakes she sees athletes make
00:33:37 Plant-based eating for athletes
00:38:51 Plant-based burgers
00:42:14 Dessert during training
00:45:12 Thoughts on protein shakes
00:54:05 Out exercising a bad diet
00:55:38 Grocery store game plan
00:59:36 Overall nutrition philosophy
01:01:01 Her daily routine
01:03:09 Her driving force
01:04:49 Advice for people looking for the right nutrition plan
Today’s guest is Adam La Reau. Adam is the Co-Founder of O2X Human Performance, Founder of One Summit, and a former Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander. After serving just over 11 years in the Navy, Adam knew that a common thread for him was (and still is) to serve others. He also knew that he wanted to start his own business. The coupling of these two passions led him to getting a Masters at the Harvard Kennedy School, which then helped him navigate the transition to starting both One Summit and O2X in 2014. One Summit is a non-profit focused on building resilience in children with cancer through experiential learning rock climbing events and powerful Navy SEAL mentor relationships with each patient. O2X is an organization that provides world class training and integrated educational experiences that improves the health, safety, and performance of the country’s tactical populations (think first responders, military, and federal agencies) and other elite organizations. In this interview, we discuss Adam’s upbringing and what inspired him to become a Navy SEAL, his time in the Merchant Marine Academy, and all things One Summit and O2X.
Timestamps
00:02:38 Adjusting to the pandemic
00:06:00 What sparked his interest in becoming a SEAL
00:08:31 What led him to the Merchant Marine Academy
00:10:11 His time at the Merchant Marine Academy
00:20:10 Applying to BUD/S
00:23:56 Biggest takeaways from serving in the SEAL Teams
00:26:55 Transitioning out of the military
00:32:44 One Summit
00:45:10 O2X
01:10:21 His Driving Force
01:12:06 Advice for people looking to improve their performance
Today’s guest is Meredith Atwood. Meredith is a former attorney turned author, podcaster, speaker, 4x Ironman triathlete, and coach. In her own words, in 2010, she was out of shape, addicted to alcohol, seriously overweight, and lost in her own mind, body, and world. She then found the sport of triathlon and at the time had no idea how much of a life-changer that would be for her. Little by little, she overcame some big things including quitting alcohol and the legal profession. Today, she shares her story and knowledge through her writing, podcast, speaking, and coaching to help transform the lives of others. In this interview, we get into her origin story and life as an attorney, the Spark that provided the momentum for her to turn her life around, competing in triathlons, her podcast and published books, and all things personal growth and self-discovery.
Timestamps
00:02:30 Adjusting to the pandemic situation
00:04:34 Where she grew up, weightlifting days
00:09:30 Becoming an attorney
00:14:25 Living an unhealthy lifestyle
00:18:03 Her Spark
00:22:46 First triathlon and first Ironman
00:34:19 Using her story to serve others
00:38:09 Writing her first book
00:41:32 The self-help industry
00:47:55 The Same 24 Hours Podcast
00:52:07 Nonsense
00:56:46 The dangers of definitive statements
00:59:26 Ultimate fear in modern society
01:01:32 Her driving force
01:04:45 Advice for people looking to become healthier and fitter
Today’s guest is Luis Ubinas. Luis is someone who’s been driven by a strong sense of responsibility from an early age. He grew up in the projects of the South Bronx in the 1970s, arguably the most dangerous neighborhood in the United States at the time. With the amazing support of others, including individuals and the government, Luis was not only able to survive that upbringing but also thrive in the years that follow. After graduating from Harvard in 1985, Luis went on to work at McKinsey and eventually become Senior Partner, where he developed and led the West Coast Media and Entertainment Practice. Following McKinsey, he became President of the Ford Foundation for 6 years and led a major restructuring of the organization during the Great Recession. Now, he’s a Board Member of numerous large corporations including Electronic Arts, Boston Private, and Mercer. Even with all of this professional success, Luis has always made it a point to look back on his past and make sure that others can have the same opportunities he has had. In this interview, we discuss Luis’ upbringing in South Bronx, how that upbringing shaped him, his work as President of the Ford Foundation, and the impact art and technology can have in driving social change.
Timestamps
00:05:31 How the environment he grew up in was a blessing
00:11:43 Why a high proportion of immigrants leads to lower criminality
00:14:27 How he navigated out of the South Bronx
00:17:03 Looking back on your past
00:21:40 Finding purpose
00:29:28 Impact of his time at McKinsey
00:31:55 Advice for people early in their careers
00:33:45 His sense of responsibility as a driving force
00:35:25 Understanding the goodness of what you've done
00:39:37 Taking the Ford Foundation job
00:40:58 Restructuring the Ford Foundation
00:48:02 Making real change happen
00:54:00 Art's large role in his life
00:59:06 Art as a vehicle for social change
01:01:16 Technology driving social change
01:05:54 Economic growth and social inclusion
01:08:27 Income inequality
01:11:00 Opportunities for social change during the pandemic
Today’s guest is Michael Buckley. Michael is the co-founder and CEO of Cadence, an event experience software platform for event organizers and most importantly, their audience. In his previous role at another enterprise software company, Michael realized that it seemed like the most amount of positive impact they were having with their customers was on the events side. After conversations with others at the company who were also very passionate about events, him and some other employees decided to split off and form their own company focused solely on events. Now, they’re aiming for the word Cadence to become synonymous with event experiences. Apart from Cadence, Michael also has some great perspective and thoughts on fitness and wellness to thrive in business. His daily routine is one that many would not picture for a software startup founder and CEO. In this interview, we discuss the impact the current pandemic situation has had on his business and the industry, when his passion for events really started to kick in, the jobs he held pre-Cadence and how those experiences led to the founding of Cadence, and of course, all things Cadence and event management.
Timestamps
00:02:47 Pandemic's impact on his business and the industry
00:13:05 When did his passion for events start to kick in
00:14:30 Does he consider himself a born entrepreneur?
00:15:39 College experience
00:18:00 The interview that changed his career outlook
00:20:11 First couple jobs after college
00:27:08 Impact of Great Recession on his career trajectory
00:28:30 Job where the "aha" moment occurred
00:32:09 Tipping point to start Cadence
00:39:57 Overview of Cadence
00:44:59 How they differentiate themselves from competitors
00:46:15 Culture at Cadence
00:54:39 Fundraising
00:59:22 What keeps him up at night
01:00:40 Ultimate vision for Cadence
01:01:46 Thoughts on fitness and wellness to thrive in business
01:03:00 His daily routine
01:06:00 His driving force
01:07:28 Advice for people thinking about starting a business
Today’s guest is George Hodgin. George is currently the founder and CEO of Biopharmaceutical Research Company (BRC). BRC was founded to address the needs of America's scientific community for diverse types of research quality and federally compliant cannabis and to provide USDA-compliant hemp testing. Cannabis is still illegal under federal law, meaning organizations like universities, biotech, and pharma companies can’t conduct research or clinical trials on the potential medical benefits and detriments of cannabis like they can with other drugs. BRC is working to solve this issue. Prior to founding BRC while getting his MBA at Stanford, George served as a Navy SEAL officer for a little over 6 years where he was responsible for (among other duties) leading a team of 24 Navy SEALs conducting counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations across five countries in Asia and the Middle East. In this interview, we get into where he grew up and the inspiration for joining the military, his decision to want to become a SEAL and preparation for SEAL training, what it was like to adjust to life outside the teams, and finally his company BRC.
Timestamps
00:03:43 Intro and where he grew up
00:05:16 Doing hard things to serve others
00:08:49 Why he decided to go to college before attending SEAL training
00:13:43 What sparked his interest in joining the military
00:15:06 Going to UNC
00:19:55 Only person in his ROTC class interested in becoming a SEAL
00:23:56 Going to BUD/S as an officer
00:27:56 How being a SEAL changed his perspective on life
00:31:46 Inspiration to start BRC and company overview
00:36:30 What the company is doing now
00:38:09 Fundraising
00:39:18 Biggest roadblocks facing the company
00:40:35 Ultimate vision for BRC
00:41:57 His driving force
00:43:06 Advice for people looking to find their purpose
Today’s guest is Chiwete John-Njokanma. Now the third Northeast-10 Conference tennis alum I’ve had on the podcast, Chiwete is the Co-Founder and CEO of FINT, a technology platform dedicated to powering impact investing in Nigeria. More specifically, FINT is a loan marketplace that matches lenders looking for competitive returns with credit-worthy borrowers looking for the most attractive interest rates possible. Chiwete grew up in Nigeria, attended boarding school at the age of 10 (that’s right, 10 years old) and went to school at Adelphi University in New York City. It was while at Adelphi, through discussing with friends around solving core issues in the world that the idea of building a FinTech platform came about. And after graduating, Chiwete turned down two great finance offers in New York to pursue the FinTech platform full-time back in Nigeria. In this interview, we discuss the Pandemic’s impact on Nigeria and his business, growing up in Nigeria and moving to the US, his company FINT, and of course the extravagance of Nigerian weddings.
Timestamps
00:02:43 Pandemic's impact on Nigeria and his business
00:13:07 Growing up in Nigeria
00:17:17 What sparked his interest in tennis
00:21:06 Choosing where to go to college
00:29:30 When the idea arose of starting a business
00:33:20 Entrepreneurship in Nigeria
00:34:51 Mentors
00:42:53 Overview of FINT
00:47:23 How the platform allows borrowers to secure lower rates
00:51:03 Issue with credit in Nigeria
00:54:23 Lender and borrower verification
01:01:05 How loan terms are set
01:03:00 Fundraising
01:08:00 Vision for FINT
01:10:37 Economic upside for Nigeria
01:14:55 Extravagance of Nigerian weddings
01:19:37 What to do when visiting Nigeria
01:22:00 His daily routine
01:24:33 His driving force
01:27:42 Advice for people thinking about starting a business
Today’s guest is Stephen Rasmussen. Stephen has 30 years experience in martial arts, and first trained Karate under the widely respected Sensei Ron Fagan in Nova Scotia, Canada (my episode with Sensei Fagan is episode #2 if you haven’t yet listened). In his early/mid-twenties, Stephen had the feeling that there’s much more to life than settling down in Canada at that point in his life. And so, in what was originally going to be the typical backpacking trip throughout Europe has now turned into 20+ years of living in various countries in the continent. Throughout his travels, Stephen has continued to grow as a martial artist (now focusing mainly on the art of Silat, which we’ll get into) as well as a photographer and now also a commercial actor. Stephen has always been an artist at heart, and throughout this interview, we delve into how his love of art and curiosity with performance has allowed for the organic outgrowth of his passions. More specifically, we touch on why he decided to stay in Europe, the art of Silat, his passion of photography and newfound interest in acting, and also what it’s like to be living in Spain during the Pandemic.
Timestamps
00:03:13 Growing up in Canada
00:08:23 Beginning martial arts and karate
00:17:55 What makes a great martial artist
00:22:36 Personal expression through art
00:25:40 Art of Silat
00:47:28 "You are not that thought"
00:52:53 Philosophy around teaching martial arts
00:56:40 His guiding word of the year
01:00:35 Advice for people starting their martial arts journey
01:10:39 Why he decided to move to Europe
01:15:52 New perspectives he's gained from living in different countries
01:25:43 Journey to photography
01:31:56 Flow state in photography
01:43:17 Thoughts on Photoshop
01:52:17 Getting into acting
02:01:29 Living in Spain during the Pandemic
02:19:50 What his days look like now
02:22:44 His driving force
02:30:18 How can people tap into their creativity
Today’s guest is Fiona Oakes. Probably best described on the Fiona Oakes Foundation website, Fiona is outreach in action. A pioneer for vegan athletes, Fiona somehow finds the time to be both an elite marathon runner and a caretaker of over 400 animals at the Sanctuary she founded in 1996 called the Towerhill Stables Animal Sanctuary. Her typical day (which has changed a bit due to the Pandemic) usually starts with her waking up around 3am every morning to take care of the animals and also working in her training (which could often look like a 20+ mile run) before it’s back to taking care of the animals. She finds the energy to do all of this with just one meal a day, completely vegan. Some of her running accomplishments include: In 2012 being the first vegan woman to complete the grueling Marathon Des Sables, a six-day, 251 kilometer ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert; In 2013 winning the North Pole Marathon (that’s right, at the North Pole!); and being the fastest woman to run a Marathon on every continent. Fiona's successes are even more impressive when one learns she lost a kneecap as a teenager, causing her to experience constant pain when running. She does all of this to promote veganism and raise awareness for her Sanctuary!
Timestamps
00:03:17 Unique love of animals and athletics growing up
00:09:13 Problems with her knee
00:14:38 Recovery process after knee surgeries
00:20:15 What brought her to running
00:24:37 Why marathon running
00:33:24 Start of Vegan Runners Club
00:44:55 Doing Marathon Des Sables for the first time with fractured toes
00:48:00 Pushing through the pain when running
00:53:48 Importance of knowing why you want it
01:03:02 Her exercise outside of running
01:09:30 Does she enjoy running?
01:16:50 Her vegan diet
01:20:04 On fitness wearables
01:35:52 The animal sanctuary
01:47:20 Her driving force
01:50:03 Advice to people thinking about doing their first long-distance race
Today’s guest is Max Adler. Max is currently a face-off specialist for the Denver Outlaws, a professional lacrosse team part of Major League Lacrosse. Max made his professional lacrosse debut in July of 2017, and since then has been arguably the best face-off specialist in the league. Last season, Max won a league best 58.3% of face-offs and was named to the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Team for the first time in his career. What makes this feat especially impressive is that Max barely made the lacrosse team his freshman year at Division II Bentley University. Lacrosse wasn’t even his main sport in high school. When Max isn’t training or playing lacrosse, he’s a Financial Analyst at ESPN working out of their headquarters in Bristol, CT. It’s probably been too long before I’ve brought on a Bentley alum, and so I’m especially excited to share this conversation with my fellow Bentley University Class of 2017 graduate, Max Adler.
Timestamps
00:02:44 How he's adjusted to the Pandemic situation
00:07:20 Growing up and high school
00:11:15 Wrestling in high school
00:19:12 How wrestling helped his lacrosse game
00:21:12 Why he chose Bentley
00:22:20 Bentley tryouts and first season
00:27:15 Putting in the extra work after freshman year
00:30:51 Job of the face-off specialist
00:32:08 Making it a goal to be an All-American
00:34:42 Applying same work ethic to school
00:37:06 How he got the opportunity to play pro lacrosse
00:42:23 Denver Outlaws tryouts
00:45:50 Living in Boston while playing for Denver
00:48:30 Playing for Israel in the World Championships
00:54:05 Getting the job at ESPN
00:58:28 His daily routine
01:00:42 His driving force
01:02:45 What would he say to freshman year Max at Bentley
Today’s guest is Patrick Todd. Patrick is an endurance athlete (notably having completed 3 iron distance triathlons and a 50k ultra-marathon) and he is the Co-Founder of Timer Guys, the premier race directing and timing company in the state of Kansas. Formed by the merger of Oz Endurance and GoRace Management in 2016, Timer Guys was created to continue to grow the running community in the Midwest and directly owns over a dozen events and works with over 150 races each year (including last year’s Boston Marathon and many 100-mile races). In this interview, we get into the impact the current Pandemic situation has had on his business, the inspiration for starting Timer Guys, all of the various tasks and responsibilities involved in making a race run smoothly, and the rising popularity of gravel grinds and ultra-marathons.
Timestamps
00:02:31 Pandemic's impact on his business and the industry
00:09:03 How he's adjusted his training due to the Pandemic
00:12:03 When was the moment that he wanted to start a race planning and chip timing company
00:22:40 Odd jobs that he worked in New York
00:24:23 Insights gained from prior jobs that helped him to form Timer Guys
00:28:40 Overview of Timer Guys and the services they offer
00:32:40 Gravel grinds
00:38:05 How many races are they typically involved in per year
00:43:30 Who are their customers
00:44:42 The importance of preparing good food for ultra-runners
00:53:52 How far out do they start planning for a race
00:56:45 Race Day as a celebration
00:58:09 Races that have gone poorly
01:01:49 Ultimate vision for Timer Guys
01:03:10 Push-back he got for wanting to start the company
01:08:57 Why he does endurance sports and coaches
01:15:56 His first 50k race
01:18:15 Rise in popularity of ultra-running
01:25:16 His driving force
01:26:41 Advice for someone unhappy in their job but isn't sure when the right time is to leave to pursue their dream
Today’s guest, Jack McNamara, Founder and CEO of Tru, Inc., is someone who’s stepped back quite a bit in order to leap forward and get to where he is today. Before embarking full time on entrepreneurship, Jack decided to drop a Division I hockey scholarship in order to play pro hockey over in Europe. It was while in Europe, surrounded by elite athletes putting unhealthy stuff into their bodies when it became time to perform, that he got the inspiration to start TruEnergy. In what actually originated as a product aimed at innovating the liquor industry is now a company that creates all-natural, functional beverages to optimize human performance from the elite athlete to the weekend warrior. In this interview, we first discuss the impact the current Pandemic situation has had on his business, the genesis of TruEnergy and how it’s evolved over time, his pro hockey days in Europe, and the sacrifices one makes and has to embrace while diving head first into entrepreneurship.
Timestamps
00:02:40 Pandemic's impact on his business
00:07:07 When did his entrepreneurial journey start
00:10:42 Software sales for 2.5 weeks and what he learned
00:20:16 Genesis of Tru, Inc.
00:33:27 Why he sleeps well at night with investors' money
00:37:37 Building a mentor network
00:41:32 Customer feedback
00:44:03 Most common critique from investors
00:46:16 Lifeguard Ad for Tru
00:48:06 Pro hockey in Europe while getting a degree
00:55:15 New perspectives gained from living in Europe
00:58:55 Embracing sacrifice as an entrepreneur
01:05:20 Managing stress as an entrepreneur
01:07:00 Working out of the basement of a jiu-jitsu facility
01:11:36 How much of a motivation is money for him
01:13:15 His daily routine
01:15:53 His driving force
01:17:24 What would he do if Tru doesn't succeed
01:19:49 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
Today’s guest is Tom Alaimo. Tom is a B2B sales leader, blogger, podcaster, and self-proclaimed life learner. Currently, Tom works as a Sales Manager at TechTarget, a global leader in purchase intent-driven marketing and sales services to enterprise technology companies. Some of the sales accolades Tom has already achieved in his career include: being named North American Sales Rep of the Year, being named a Top Account Executive as voted on by peers and presented by Sales Hacker, and recently receiving an invitation to join the Revenue Collective, a private, invitation-only organization exclusively for top sales, marketing, and operations leaders and executives worldwide. Tom is also the Founder of Millennial Momentum, a blog and podcast he has run over the past 3 years focused on helping millennials grow their personal development. Some of the notable guests he has had on the podcast include Jordan Belfort (aka The Wolf of Wall Street), Dr. Michael Gervais (world-renowned high-performance psychologist), and Chris Voss (Former Lead Hostage Negotiator for the FBI). He’s also the second Northeast-10 Conference tennis alum I’ve had on the podcast now. In this interview, we get into what led him to a career in sales, why he started the Millennial Momentum, thoughts on grit, productivity, and millennial stereotypes, and how we can thoughtfully pursue total optimization across all areas in are life.
Timestamps
00:03:11 No Social Media March
00:08:12 Intensity while playing tennis
00:12:18 Being intense in business vs. sports
00:13:39 Job at TechTarget
00:17:29 Perspective on job hopping
00:21:55 Starting The Millennial Momentum
00:30:18 Burnout
00:40:03 Passion vs. Goals
00:42:37 Millennial stereotype around job flexibility
00:45:52 Thoughts on grit culture
00:51:54 Having a growth mindset
00:54:35 Achieving total optimization in life
01:00:39 Best book that he's read recently
01:02:43 His daily routine
01:05:09 Gratitude keeps him grounded
01:08:42 Advice for people stuck in a rut/burnt out at work
NEW EPISODE INTRO FORMAT WITH MUSIC! Please let me know what you think of the new intro format and music choice.
Today’s guest, David Bernstein, is someone who definitely took a huge step back (albeit with the help of a substantial global event) and shifted into a much more fulfilling career. After graduating college, David initially found his way into a sales role at a food distribution company which is where he first recognized his knack for connecting with people at a professional level. Then, like many others around the year 2004, he became intrigued by real estate which at the time was on fire. Through networking like crazy, David landed a job at a real estate investment firm and thrived there until the hammer came down in 2008 with the Great Recession. As David mentions, it was the hammer he needed to get out of a marriage that wasn’t working and an overall way of life that wasn’t healthy. So, fast forward a bit, David moves to Panama, and begins to become connected to the earth’s life force and energy which helps provides the spark for what is now Life Force Project – a company founded by David that combines captivating global destinations with a team of the world's most beloved and innovative holistic experts, spiritual leaders, eco-adventure specialists, yoga teachers, cultural guides, and business game-changers to transform your experience of wellness, travel and life. In one of the deeper interviews I’ve had so far, we discuss the Coronavirus pandemic and thoughts on how to best cope and thrive in this new environment, his path through sales and real estate investing, the impact of the Great Recession on his life, and of course Life Force Project.
Timestamps
00:03:54 How David is dealing with the current global situation
00:12:57 Advice for people in big cities on how to best cope in the current situation
00:19:15 Applying the Taoist perspective
00:29:53 Was he always someone who practiced mindfulness and meditation?
00:32:00 When did his passion for connecting with people start?
00:35:45 What drew him to sales and real estate after college
00:40:00 Value of college for him
00:43:00 First job after college
00:46:16 Moving to real estate investing
00:50:22 The impact of the Great Recession on his life
00:56:52 How to break through the tunnel vision without a painful or traumatic event
01:01:58 Moving to Panama
01:13:29 Value of authenticity in your actions
01:14:10 Inspiration to start Life Force Project
01:18:14 Life Force Project
01:27:25 Transformational quality of travel
01:35:55 What would he say to his 20-something year old self
01:37:26 What's been his driving force
01:39:00 Some good first steps for someone to take to begin practicing mindfulness
Today’s guest is my friend and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor, Kevin Landry. Kevin has over 25 years’ experience in jiu-jitsu, is a 3rd degree black belt, and is the highest ranked jiu-jitsu black belt in the state of New Hampshire. He first started training jiu-jitsu back in 1995 (when the art was still relatively unknown in the U.S.) and his love for the art led him to travel to New York in order to train under Master Renzo Gracie of the famous Gracie family. Fast forward to today, Kevin runs and teaches at two successful jiu-jitsu academies in New Hampshire, has compiled 15 International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Gold Medals, and has coached numerous successful MMA and jiu-jitsu competitors. Not to mention jiu-jitsu literally saved his life from a severe case of flesh eating bacteria 12 years ago. In this interview, I discuss with Kevin the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, how it’s different from other martial arts, how he got involved in it, his journey to becoming a teacher and school owner, and his thoughts on how to best develop good jiu-jitsu.
Timestamps
00:02:55 Overview and history of brazilian jiu-jitsu
00:08:20 When did he start jiu-jitsu
00:13:30 Why he decided to teach jiu-jitsu to make a living
00:16:23 Biggest challenges in opening first academy
00:22:18 Does the business side take away from his passion?
00:23:26 Jiu-jitsu teaching philosophy
00:27:45 How to maximize jiu-jitsu progress
00:36:33 How much do physical attributes matter in being good at jiu-jitsu
00:40:37 Jiu-jitsu in the gi vs no gi
00:43:22 How long does it take to get a black belt
00:48:40 Why is jiu-jitsu addictive
00:52:39 His daily routine
00:53:52 What's kept him driven to keep competing and teaching
00:55:30 Why should people give jiu-jitsu a try?
00:56:26 Jiu-jitsu saved his life
Today’s guest, Karen Smyers, is a triathlon legend. With a pro career that lasted from 1985-2011, Karen has achieved many of the highest accolades the sport has to offer. Some of these achievements include being a 3x winner of the ITU World Championships, a Pan American Games Gold Medalist, and a dramatic come-from-behind victory at the 1995 Ironman World Championships. In order to have as long of a pro career as she did, she also had to battle through a freak storm window accident, being struck by an 18-wheeler, and thyroid cancer. In my interview with Karen, we discuss how she got into triathlon and endurance sports, her training routine and thoughts around nutrition (including an interesting pre-race beer taper), and of course some of her major achievements and how she persevered through so much hardship.
Timestamps
00:02:42 Athletic background and becoming a pro
00:15:28 First triathlon experience, strengths in triathlon
00:27:17 Pre-race warm-up routine, stretching and foam rolling
00:36:50 Over-training
00:40:13 3,2,1 beer taper
00:45:27 Fitness wearables/devices
00:54:16 Diet and nutrition
01:06:19 Nerves before racing
01:12:36 Most challenging race in her career
01:20:50 1995 Ironman World Championships
01:34:13 Storm window accident and starting a family
01:37:37 Getting hit by an 18-wheeler and thyroid cancer
01:55:50 Advice for aspiring pro triathletes
02:00:52 Daily routine
02:06:50 What's kept her driven as an athlete
02:10:33 Advice for a first-time endurance athlete
Today’s guest, Ralph Fatello, is a true renaissance man. He’s a Marine and Vietnam war veteran. A singer and songwriter that’s performed in front of crowds as large as 25,000 and opened for bands such as The Police and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. A writer, who’s blog called Ralph’s pic of the week, has around 300,000 readers every week from around the world. An avid surfer, filmmaker, and consummate volunteer. And of course, a husband and father. One of my favorite interviews so far, Ralph shares some crazy life stories, including an absolutely wild run in with Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, when his band was touring in South America. Ralph's someone who I would say, has lived life to the fullest.
Timestamps
00:02:27 Growing up with music and art
00:06:39 "We were going to be stuntmen in Hollywood"
00:08:35 The Beatles' influence on him
00:13:15 Starting out in rock bands
00:16:47 Opening for Emerson, Lake, and Palmer at the Meadowlands
00:21:15 "The stage becomes your dog crate"
00:23:42 Opening for The Police
00:27:57 What's kept him driven to keep writing and performing music
00:30:25 Run in with Pablo Escobar
00:37:35 Surfing as an addiction
00:44:37 Love of documenting surfing
00:55:30 Ralph's Pic of the Week Blog
01:00:30 Carbon Monoxide Scare
01:02:51 "Surfing heals all wounds"
01:05:45 Service and volunteer work around surfing
01:11:35 Enlisting in the Marine Corps during Vietnam
01:14:15 Starting out in Paris Island
01:22:40 "If you shoot Expert Jimmy, this meatball sub is yours"
01:27:15 The Marine Corps brotherhood
01:31:45 Finding purpose after Vietnam
01:36:53 Being a husband, father, and grandfather comes most naturally
01:39:11 An avid outdoorsman
Today’s guest is Sue Sotir. Sue is currently a coach at Breakthrough Performance Coaching, where she coaches athletes from complete endurance/triathlon beginners to those that cross the finish line at the Ironman World Championships. Before Breakthrough, Sue was a D3 swimmer at Tufts University and raced her first triathlon in 1989. Since then, she has raced triathlons from sprint to Ironman distances. In this episode, I discuss with Sue the training and coaching aspects of swimming, the art and science of coaching an athlete for an endurance event, as well as performance nutrition and post-race recovery. As someone new to endurance sports, some of her thoughts around stretching, nutrition, and recovery were eye-opening for me and may also be for a lot of you listening. Hope this episode provides some new and valuable insight for all you athletes out there!
Timestamps
00:01:40 Her expertise as a coach, swimming background
00:09:35 Swimming's impact on the body vs. running and cycling
00:13:15 Importance of technique in swimming
00:19:15 When did she start coaching
00:24:21 Her coaching philosophy
00:26:04 Why do people want to do Ironman triathlons?
00:29:33 The art of coaching
00:33:23 Journaling/tracking training, good-better-how
00:38:10 Yoga for endurance training, is stretching beneficial?
00:44:35 Importance of body self awareness during training
00:48:35 How long should you train before doing your first Ironman?
00:51:00 How did she get into competing in triathlons
00:53:58 Effects of stress on training*
00:59:22 Nutrition pre-race and during the race
01:14:45 Recovery and rest after and Ironman
01:20:00 What's kept her driven as a competitor and coach
01:23:14 Words of motivation for someone looking to compete in their first endurance event
*Stress is the best predictor of injury, but past injury is also another good predictor of future injury
Today’s episode will be a bit different in that the focus of the discussion will be on leaders and leadership. Here to discuss this topic with me is Bottomline Technologies CEO, Rob Eberle. Rob has been CEO of Bottomline for almost 15 years now, and under his leadership the company has become a leading provider of business payment solutions delivered across multiple geographies and markets. The growth is reflected in the financial results as well. Since 2011, Bottomline has gone from $55M in subscription revenues to just under $300M in 2019, and from $42M in adjusted EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to $100M during that same period. Thousands of corporations around the world rely on Bottomline for domestic and international payments, efficient cash management, automated workflows for payment processing and bill review, and state of the art fraud detection, behavioral analytics and regulatory compliance solutions. Some of the leadership topics I touch on with Rob include the importance of setting the right tone early on, the biggest challenges of being CEO, the connection between leadership and mentorship, and his thoughts on the most important qualities in a good leader.
Timestamps
00:01:38 Working yourself out of a task as a leader
00:04:57 Mentorship and role models
00:07:42 Leaders vs. managers
00:09:57 Complete alignment with employees, "did you knows" emails from employees
00:12:06 3 components of good decision making
00:15:00 Hardest thing a leader has to do, handling cutting an employee
00:20:40 The leader is responsible, setting the right tone early on
00:22:40 How often do you fail as a leader
00:24:47 Every company over time gets the people it deserves
00:27:19 We all have leadership experiences
00:30:42 Changes in leadership when moving up the chain of command
00:32:41 Hardest types of decisions he has to make at Bottomline
00:33:58 Challenges when leading a public company
00:37:15 Leadership heroes?
00:40:10 Most important qualities in a good leader
00:41:15 His advice to the next CEO of Bottomline
00:43:25 The day he was appointed CEO of Bottomline
00:45:50 What's kept him driven as a leader
00:47:13 Advice for a first time company team leader
If you’re an avid Obstacle Course Race (OCR) competitor, someone new to the sport, or are thinking about doing your first Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, this is the episode for you. My guest today is Tyler Movsessian. Tyler is an accomplished Spartan Race Age Group and Ninja Warrior competitor. He’s completed all of the distances Spartan Race has to offer, from the 5k Sprint all the way up to the 50k Ultra, including conquering arguably the hardest Spartan Ultra of them all on Mount Killington Vermont. Last year he also finished second in his age group in the Spartan Race Stadium Series. On the Ninja Warrior side he recently qualified for and competed in the National Ninja League Finals in Greensboro, NC and is working his way towards being a competitor on American Ninja Warrior. He’s also recently been spotted running a sub-freezing trail race in the bathing-suit category (which we’ll touch on).
Timestamps:
00:01:10 Sub-freezing bathing suit race
00:04:50 What sparked his interest in OCR
00:11:30 Overview of Spartan Race - Distances, Categories, Terrain, Obstacles etc.
00:18:40 Can you make a lot of money doing Spartan Races?
00:20:00 Difference between Spartan Race and Tough Mudder
00:21:30 Optimum first-timer Spartan Race?
00:24:20 Training for an OCR, technique vs. strength
00:28:24 The Mount Killington Ultra
00:38:33 Wearing a Camelbak for a Spartan Race
00:40:28 What to eat before a Spartan Race
00:41:40 Ninja Warrior Competitions
00:48:50 His daily routine
00:51:00 Sacrificing social time for training
00:57:35 What's kept him driven, advice for people thinking about doing their first Spartan Race
From a Taoist last week to a hard-charging entrepreneur this week. This week's guest is a former tennis opponent of mine who is now running his own healthcare technology company out of Boston. Jared Taylor was the first person from his family to graduate college and did so in a remarkable 2.5 years. Always an intensely driven and hard-working person, he held 3 jobs at once (1 full time, 2 part time) before taking the leap into full on entrepreneurship. Today, he’s the Founder and CEO of Blochealth, a cutting edge healthcare technology company looking to positively change the industry by unlocking healthcare professional data and making it shareable.
Timestamps:
00:03:00 Our tennis match in Florida, Intensity & work ethic
00:06:20 Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
00:08:32 Money as a driver, grit, and sleeping in the office
00:13:11 Graduating college in 2.5 years, cognitive migraines
00:20:29 Not going to an "elite", ultra-selective college
00:23:32 3 jobs at once post-college
00:29:27 Blochealth - Inspiration, overview, future etc.
00:39:00 Lessons learned about entrepreneurship
00:41:10 Not going back to the business development rep world
00:43:40 What would he do for fun if he had more time
00:45:30 How tennis helped him mentally deal with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship
00:47:36 Was going to quit tennis to play football in 7th grade
00:48:39 Conclusion
A Taoist who teaches a new form of Yoga in the Bible Belt, Glenn Brown is widely regarded as one of the best yoga practitioners in the world. In this episode, I talk with Glenn on the genesis of Lionflow Yoga, yoga competitions, and the Taoist philosophy. We also get deeper into the benefits of yoga and meditation, and why balancing a consistent home practice with new experiences is key to achieving major progress. Hope you enjoy this one and Namaste!
Timestamps:
00:00:50 Poetry & Writing
00:02:10 Getting introduced to yoga, parents diagnosed with terminal illness
00:11:20 "Looking at yourself in the mirror with lots of intensity"
00:12:30 "Thank you for philosophizing"
00:13:12 Developing Lionflow yoga
00:20:59 Difference between Lionflow and other yoga styles
00:32:19 Deciding on the name "Lionflow"
00:34:39 Thoughts on the Bikram Netflix Documentary
00:41:16 Yoga as a competition
00:48:30 Getting ready to compete, coaching someone for competition
00:52:40 Judging a yoga competitor
00:59:10 "Yoga and martial arts share the same 3 traits"
00:59:56 Daoism
01:09:50 Walking 12 miles towards the lightning, finding his Sifu
01:21:17 Recognition for home practice
01:25:10 "Never turn down an unexpected invitation to travel"
01:26:40 Conclusion
We've got another Rosa on the show! In this episode, we have my cousin and UFC fighter Charles Rosa. After losing two of his brothers to drug overdoses, Charles struggled to find exactly what he wanted to do with his life. The one thing he always knew was that he never wanted to work a normal 9-5 job. He first tried out becoming a chef after going to culinary school at Johnson & Wales. Although he enjoyed it, it wasn't something he could see himself doing for the rest of his life. Then, he found fighting and the rest is history.
Timestamps:
00:01:30 Next UFC Fight
00:05:29 Working as a chef, Becoming #1 Amateur in the Country
00:09:00 Fighting Amateur vs. Pro, First fight at a Rodeo in the rain
00:14:45 "I don't want to work a normal job everyday", Stumbling across American Top Team
00:19:37 Losing two of his brothers to drug overdoses, Uncle Tom Rosa
00:22:58 Chucky's Fight Charity, Celtics Game Honor
00:27:10 Short notice first UFC fight, Losing 33 lbs in 4 days
00:32:33 Post-fight respect
00:35:47 Devastating neck injury, 1% chance to fight again
00:50:07 Staying Driven, Playing the Long Game
We covered a lot in this one! Sensei Ron Fagan has lived and breathed Karate for pretty much his whole life and was gracious enough to come on the show and share his story. One of the leading exponents in the world of traditional Karate, Ron shares his thoughts on everything from effective teaching, self-defense, and serving the community to "no touch" martial arts, dealing with PTSD, and working in the bar business. A lot of great stories in this one and hope you all enjoy! (Apologies in advance for the audio quality on Ron's end. We had to resort to Skype to record the interview so the quality isn't perfect).
Timestamps:
00:01:06 McGregor vs. Cowboy Reactions
00:07:21 Son's Irish Dance Stretching Routine
00:10:47 Starting Karate
00:17:38 "Karate by Design, not Rote"
00:20:58 "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants"
00:33:29 Ron's take on "No Touch" Martial Arts
00:39:23 Rush of teaching Karate
00:42:06 "Oh my God you're still alive!"
00:45:45 "Daddy don't sell cars"
00:50:29 Evaluating Karate Schools
00:56:00 Philosophy on Self-Defense
00:58:44 Karate guy in a Biker Bar
01:10:30 Personnel Security Work
01:15:55 Dealing with PTSD, CTE and MMA
01:34:19 Professionalizing Refereeing in Karate
01:48:14 Community Based Work
Welcome to the first episode of the Driving Force Podcast! In this episode I'll be interviewing my Dad, Michael Rosa. My Dad's the former President & CEO of Pacer Electronics, a wire and cable distribution company he sold to Anixter International in 1998 (Anixter is now nearly a $3.5B market cap company). He's also probably the most competitive person I know. My Dad's finished 2nd in Kumite in the Karate World Championships, finished 5 Boston Marathons, 1 Ironman, and is currently preparing for the World Yoga Championships after finishing 2nd in the national championships last year.
Timestamps:
0:01:24 - Growing Up/Childhood Nightmare
0:08:24 - College, Australia, "Brown Rice Diet"
0:19:25 - Pacer Electronics, Running a Family Business, Exercise while working
0:38:20 - Karate, World Championships
0:48:00 - Yoga, World Championships
0:52:09 - Conclusion, Staying Driven