Swole Friends: Recent Episodes
Swolverine
Join us as we speak with professional athletes, trainers, fitufluencers, and celebrities about their nutrition, training, and ways to optimize health and wellness.
Join us for an exclusive interview with CrossFit Games athlete and 1st place West Semifinal Finalist, Abigail Domit! In this episode, we delve into the life and mindset of one of the sport's top competitors. Abigail shares her journey, challenges, and the dedication it takes to compete at the highest level as she heads to compete at the 2024 CF Games.
Join us for an insightful interview with Swolverine athlete Phillip Muscarella, who recently punched his first ticket to the 2024 CrossFit Games with his teammates at Invictus in San Diego. After competing as an individual in the Semifinals for two years, Phillip made the strategic decision to join a team, finding it to be a more enjoyable, fulfilling, and rewarding path. Learn more about his 2024 season as an indy athlete turned team, an expecting father, and a full-time personal trainer.
Join us as we explore the incredible journey of Alex Gazan, who at just 23 years old, is heading to her third CrossFit Games. In this episode, we dive deep into Alex's 2024 season, discussing the triumphs and challenges she's faced along the way. Alex shares her thoughts and strategies as she prepares to compete on the sport's grandest stage once again.
Alyssa McClellan is a former crossfitter turned professional trail AND Ultra marathon runner. She's no stranger to crushing 30, 50, and over 100 miles in a single race running through the day and the night to pursue her ultimate athletic potential. She joins us on EP 45 to share how she balances her health, happiness, her family, kiddos, and her relationship, all while being a professional athlete. We'll talk all about training, supplements, food, fueling for races, balancing home life, heartbreak, and so much more. If you're looking for advice and inspiration on how to live as big and bright as possible, this episode is for you!
EP44 is all about Miss Lauren Farhat, also known by her nicknames "Lolo" or "Lo”. She is a dynamic and powerhouse adaptive athlete, dog AND cat mom, CrossFit Games athlete, and adaptive advocate based in Colorado. Born with a hip deformity and limb deficiency known as Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD), Lauren wears a prosthetic leg but has never let that limit her. She grew up playing volleyball, basketball on able-bodied teams. LoLo consistently pushes the boundaries of her physical and mental capabilities. Faced with many adversities throughout her life, she’s persevered through disabilities, heartbreak, an eating disorder, college sports and stepping into becoming an athlete while also working full time. No stranger to adversity, this episode is not only going to inspire you to push the bounds or your own limitations, but to really see what is possible when you apply your full effort and heart to your life.
You've already decided that creatine is a great addition to your daily supplement regimen. But now the question is, when should you take it? Studies show that creatine can help you build strength, more muscle mass, and get you to your training goals faster by improving peak performance and power. Although creatine is proven effective for performance, there is confusion about the best time to take creatine for optimal results. Let's clear that up to help you achieve the most optimal results from your supplement regimen.
Lauren Stallwood is our guest on EP 42 - she is a well known, respected, and recognized fitness and health professional. She is a CrossFit Games athlete, and former professional International Women’s Rugby League player who played in the Women’s Rugby League World Cup in 2013. She bachelor’s in physical education and science and a has a master's in Education, and so much more. She not only is buff and has a smile that could brighten up any room, but she aims to inspire women of all ages to pursue their ultimate life and fitness potential. We’re going to learn more about her unique and high-octane life in this episode - prepare your ears to be inspired and motivated to chase your wildest dreams.
Miss Lauren Stallwood is our guest on EP 42 - she is a well known, respected, and recognized fitness and health professional. She is a CrossFit Games athlete, former professional International Women’s Rugby League player who played in the Women’s Rugby League World Cup in 2013. She bachelor’s in physical education and science and a has a masters in Education, and so much more. She not only is buff and has a smile that could brighten up any room, but she aims to inspire women of all ages to pursue their ultimate life and fitness potentials. We’re going to learn more about her unique and high octane life in this episode - prepare your ears to be inspired and motivated to chase your wildest dreams.
Bobby Baum, LMT, is the owner of Baum Therapy based in Northern Nevada. Self-improvement is the topic for the day and you don't want to miss this one. With a specialty in sports massage and mobility training, his approach to the human body is unrivaled. In this episode, we dive deep into how to create space in the body to move well and live better.
Matthew Bryant (LMT FDNP LCC PNP) is the owner and head coach at Golden Line Training. He is a 9x Crossfit Games Coach leading individuals at all levels to compete at their highest potential. We're going to talk about what it takes to get an athlete from the CrossFit Quarterfinals level, to the Semifinals, and to the Games. Tune in for tips, tricks, and advice on how to get to the next level in your functional fitness taking advice directly from an accomplished professional.
On average women do carry 6-11% more body fat than men, due to the biological differences. Women are more efficient at storing body fat yet burn more body fat when exercising. Estrogen and testosterone both have a large impact on the ability to burn and redistribute body fat. Thus, in addition to a healthy nutrition plan and training program, optimizing hormonal levels especially as you age, is important for overall body composition.
You may be wondering, what is a non-stim pre-workout? Aren’t pre-workout supplements supposed to give you more energy and the get-up-and-go to get into the gym and work out harder? That is true, for some pre-workout supplements, but not at all. Non-stim pre-workout supplements are made to improve performance indicators, such as strength, endurance, and overall athletic performance. They're not meant to jack you up and give you loads of energy, like traditional pre-workout products. We’re going to talk about the pros and cons of non-stim pre-workout supplements and more information so you can know exactly what you’re getting and why.
John is a supplement industry professional ensuring that brands meet FDA and FTC rules and industry standards. We’re going to talk about food and law regulations in the US for dietary supplements, vital regulatory challenges for companies (including labeling, claims, and substantiation requirements), address misconceptions and myths about dietary supplements from an evidence-based informational standpoint, as well as talk about the future of the dietary supplement market. We’ll get deep into how consumers can navigate the supplement industry to choose a brand and products that are right for their health and performance goals while also providing listeners tools to have critical thinking and reliance on reputable sources for supplement information.
Justin Ahrens talks about his experience as a CrossFit Games Athlete and how his new role at HWPO is helping bridge the gap between Golf and Functional Fitness Training
Christopher “PA” Piñedo has taken a unique, one-of-a-kind approach to life. When he started traveling the world at the age of 16 as a professional break dancer, living in the streets of LA with nothing but a skateboard and $40 in his pocket, he quickly found that he didn’t just have to survive in life, but that he could thrive in life, by creating the opportunities for himself that he wasn’t given from the start. Chris is now extremely jacked, tattooed, and an absolute powerhouse around the weights. He is a competitive crossfitter, owns a gym in Arizona, girl-dad, writer, and is an old soul with better dance moves than you. Episode 29 of the Swole Friend’s podcast to learn more about Chris’s own self-discovery and how he’s transcended his adversity into providing equal opportunities to others in pursuit of their own human potential.
Episode 30 is all about breaking beauty and fitness standards, facing your fears, empowering yourself, and having the body confidence to accomplish any task, both in and out of the gym. As the leader of the “Badass Lady Gang”, head coach Kelly Roberts is at the forefront of a running community for women to “find joy in the struggle” making fitness fun and inclusive for all shapes, sizes, and levels of experience. When she ditched the idea of the ‘perfect body’ using running as a catalyst to break free of diet culture, body comparisons, fear, and failure, she found her own personal freedom and has helped thousands of other women along the way.
Get ready to meet the man behind the Smashwerks Empire, the spartan army leader himself, Dr. Trevor Bachmeyer. In EP26 we’re going to get inspired AF to stop giving into your excuses, self-doubt, and self-deprecating beliefs to unlock yourself to pursue your ultimate potential in all that you do. His personal story includes building resilience through being given less than 9 months to live after being diagnosed with Stage 3B Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, losing a lung, becoming an absolute beast 12 months later, and defying the odds. He's a father, business owner (x4), motivational speaker, and willing to share all the knowledge he has just for you, despite whatever adversity you’re facing.
Scott Tetlow is a former service member in the US military, CrossFit Games athlete, father, business owner (x2), and avid tattoo enthusiast. With a zest and a passion for living a high-octane lifestyle, in Episode 26 of Swole Friends, we sit down 1:1 with Scott to chat about how he faces adversity with resilience and passion. We also get into how he creates a life balance between fitness, business, and family. Why does he own a tattoo shop? What did his service in the military teach him about life, fitness, and service to himself and to others? We’ll dive deep in this episode - it’s not one you’ll want to miss.
We’re honored to host Wes Piatt, a US Military Veteran, father, husband, former firefighter, owner of Coast Range CrossFit, and a CF Games athlete. He’s not only made a successful run at being a competitive athlete, but he also runs one of the most successful CrossFit gyms on the entire West Coast. Learn how to be a better gym owner, a more competitive athlete, and how to pursue excellence in your own life using Wes's secrets to success.
On EP24 of the SWOLE FRIENDS podcast, we're honored to welcome Dr. Sean Pastuch (founder + CEO of Active Life + Active Life Professional) to the show. The theme of the show is focused on pursuing our ultimate purpose and identity to live in our most true, healthy, and vibrant form. He is a husband, father, doctor of chiropractic, former brute strength coach, gym owner, trainer, and more. In his professional endeavors, his mission has been based strongly on the desire to enable individuals to have a life well-lived, through empowered thought, physical freedom, and emotional well-being.
EP23 is all about resilience, pursuing the extremes of mental and physical fitness, psychedelics, military service, mental health, and living life every day as the greatest adventure of all. Our guest, Nick Ige, joined the military at 18 and served in the 82nd Airborne Division and 2nd Ranger Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment for 10 years. During that time, he was deployed 6x to Afghanistan. He now is a full-time student at Harvard University studying Neuroscience and striving to summit the tallest mountain on each of the 7 continents.
Episode 22 of the Swole Friends Podcast is with podcast guest Karmen Gregg, a Ph.D. candidate, clinical nutritionist, the co-founder of Selkirk Women’s Health which is an integrative women’s medical clinic in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (@selkirkwomenshealth on IG), and adjunct professor at Great Northern University. We’ll be talking all about optimizing training with your menstrual cycle, fueling for hormonal balance with exercise, birth control, optimizing muscle growth, and how to take your performance as a female athlete to the next level.
What do the military, breast cancer, and fitness have to do with one another? The common denominator is Lindsey Marcelli, founder of Girls Gone RX and the 'Compete For A Cure' foundation. In this episode, we learn more about the emotional story of being deployed during the War In Iraq as a woman, owning a gym, starting Girls Gone RX, trying to conceive, as well as the waves of change Compete For A Cure is making for breast cancer survivors.
Dean Saddoris is the mastermind behind the badass brand Caffeine and Kilos. With a shoe game that could make you faint, a desire to provide for the competitive athlete, and a willingness to create a brand that you could wear both in and out of the gym, we get into all the details of creating this brand that was birthed in Fall of 2013. We also chat about how Saddoris has taken his love for caffeine, coffee, and fitness, to create a medley that is bold, unique, and that packs a solid punch while skating through his roots in California. Tune in and turn it up - this is a good one.
Today I have the honor of welcoming Webb Travis, the owner and co-founder of the popular TURF Newport Beach, is a very sought-after and respected personal trainer and nutrition coach. Originally hailing from New York, Webb was in the top 1% of all coaches who have ever worked at Equinox, has quite the story about losing over 100 lbs, and who is extremely intelligent with two masters and a wide array of training certifications.
On this episode of the Swole Friends podcast I want you to get to know Webb, the business owner, father, fitness professional and husband to Kacey, in a personal way. To really connect to his story and to learn how he optimizes his life and health so that you can do the same. We’ll also dig deep into business, what’s made TURF successful and unique, as well as how to trust the process and believe in yourself along the way.
Matt Torres is an esteemed and accomplished Brute Strength 1:1 remote head coach who’s coached 8 individual athletes to the CrossFit Games including Danielle Brandon, Fee Saghafi, Dallin Pepper and Emma Cary. On this episode we dive deep into what it takes to become one of the best coaches in the CF industry, the personal struggles it took to get there, and how Matt takes an individual approach to athletes to help them pursue their ultimate potential.
Miranda Alcaraz is a fitness professional, female entrepreneur, wife, mother, and overall genuine and integrity-based woman. She was not only a competitive CrossFitter and Games Athlete, but she spent over 8 years contributing to the vision and future of the sport as an integral member of CrossFit HQ as a Seminar Staff. In 2016 she founded @streetparking with her husband, Julian Alcaraz, where they make fitness accessible to everyone, regardless of budget, space, or equipment.
Brandan Fokken is an IFBB pro physique athlete, sponsored athlete, published writer, speaker, international cover and fitness model, actor (MTV), coach, and anti-bullying advocate gym owner.
He has been published on 31 fitness magazine covers and featured in over 300 different fitness magazines‼️
You may know Adam Neiffer as a 10x CrossFit Games Athlete himself and the current coach of the 2x Fittest Man On Earth, and CrossFit games champ, Justin Medeiros. He's also the sole owner of CrossFit Fort Vancouver, one of the OG affiliates in the sport, a husband, and a #girldad. In this episode, we're going to get into what you may not know, which is what lies beneath the surface of the tip of the 'iceberg illusion'; the story, the adversities, the challenges, and the triumphs that have led to his success in the CrossFit space over the last 14 years.
This episode is all about character in action. James Newbury is a 4x CrossFit Games Athlete, 3x business owner, and hybrid athlete who paints his nails, who wears a bathing suit every time he can, and rocks dreads, brings his whole vibe to this episode. We talk about how to implement a holistic approach to health, training, and life in general while still striving to be present, have a good time, and how to balance discipline with an unrelenting desire to live his life to the fullest.
From supermodel to Semi-Finals CrossFit Athlete Swolverine athlete and up amnd coming badass Abigail Domit talks about how she went from strutting the runway as a high fashion super model to throwing heavy weight around as a competitive Crossfit athlete!
IFBB Pro and world-renowned fitfluencer Jessie Hilgenberg joins us to talk about her journey into bodybuilding, her training, nutrition, and how her fitness journey has changed as she transitions into a new chapter of life.
Christian Harris is a household name in the CrossFit community and for good reason. Christian is a husband, father to two amazing little boys, professional athlete, entrepreneur (Move Fast Lift Heavy), content guru, and coach. He is also a 2x CrossFit Games Athlete, 5x Regionals Athlete, and a 1x CrossFit Demo Team athlete.
On this episode #10 of the Swole Friends podcast, we’re going to give you a 1:1 take on what makes Christian who he is - what adversities has he faced, what triumphs has he celebrated, and who’s the man behind the 183,000 followers on Instagram.
Kyrie Fontana a calisthenics phenom will be joining us to talk about her favorite color, why she loves the zoo, and how she eats onions like apples
Swolverine and elite CrossFit athlete Chelsea Nicholas talks about how she balances life as an elite athlete and structural aerospace engineer
5x CrossFit Games athlete Jamie Simmonds (Formerly Greene) and talks about her life, training, growing up in New Zealand, and what she has in store for the 2023 season!
2x CrossFit Games Teen Athlete and CrossFit Games rookie Paige Powers talks to us about her training at Mayhem with Froning and friends, her nutrition, and how to optimize your CrossFit performance.
CrossFit Games & Swolverine Athlete Alex Gazan talks to us about her journey to the CrossFit Games, her rookie season and training as an Underdogs athlete with Justn Cotler.
From 5x Regionals athlete in 2014, to finally making the CrossFit Games two years in a row, we're talk about what changed in Arielle Loewen to get her over the edge.
Leonel Franco CrossFit and Swolverine athlete, joins us and talks about where he started his journey, his mentality in the sport, training, nutrition, supplements, and how he plans on going from 9th at the 2022 Granite Games to the top 3 and punching his ticket to the CrossFit Games.
CrossFit and Swolverine athlete talks about overcoming adversity, as she was denied the chance to compete at the CrossFit games, not just once but twice, after qualifying. Danielle also covers topics about being a hard gainer and what she does to stack on more muscle and maintain.
Swolverine and CrossFit Games Athlete Colten Mertens joins us and shares about the 2022 CrossFit Games, training, his nutrition, and how he got started in CrossFit as a farmer in Iowa.