The IMPROVEMENTORS: Recent Episodes
Rik Bhattacharja
Rik Bhattacharja hosts a podcast focused on self-improvement, where mentors from all walks of life talk about about self-care, self-love, growth, and finding purpose to live a life true to your core. Get inspired by their stories and personal struggles, and apply their hard-earned knowledge and experience into your own self-improvement journey.
How does an Olympian train? What kind of mindset pushes an ordinary human being strive for extraordinary greatness? What sort of mental grit pushes you beyond injury and motivation, and puts you in a competition where the best of the best of the entire planet compete? You'll learn it all in this episode with Hank Palmer, a world class athlete who represented Canada and competed in Beijing Olympics of 2008, alongside the legendary Usain Bolt.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Hank Palmer
Recording date: 3 August 2022
Airing date: 26 October 2022
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Like many people, Kevin got thrown off by life with obstacles and adversity. But what makes him different is that he pushed through consistently and was kind to himself when he couldn't, so he could fight another day. In this episode he talks about gaining weight, sustaining injuries, taking the time to heal, and tirelessly and patiently works towards bettering himself. He stresses how a realistic, human and consistent routine and the power of consistency can help you overcome any obstacles.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Kevin Tamzid Sohel
Recording date: 28 March 2021
Airing date: 5 February 2022
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja
Mike Fostinis was my trainer, is my mentor and friend who forever changed my views on fitness. He taught me about the foundation of strength building, the theories behind how to compose your workout plan, the importance of believing in yourself and how to get out of limiting beliefs about your capabilities. I am forever grateful for everything he taught me. I did this interview to share with my audience all the valuable things Mike taught me.
To whoever is listening to my podcast and is reading this, I hope you have a great life, a great journey, and may you succeed in becoming the very best version of yourself. Excelsior!
Note: I actually recorded this interview on the 28th of March 2021. Why did it take me so long to upload it? Well, I got COVID, took a hell lot of time to recover, then one event after another life happened. I took a year long hiatus from my content creation, but now I am grateful to be back!
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Mike Fostinis
Recording date: 28 March 2021
Airing date: 4 February 2022
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja
On this special occasion, I invited Anna Spivak, who is a personal trainer/corporate wellness coach, to talk about a multitude of different topics, including the challenges of coaching virtually, the common misconception surrounding weightlifting for women, body shaming from family members, and more.
Click here to follow Anna on Instagram.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Anna Spivak
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many events to take place virtually, and marathon running was no exception. In this episode of Let's Talk About It, Adonis Choundalas is back to talk about his recent VIRTUAL run for the Athens Marathon 2020.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Adonis Choundalas
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja
Adonis Choundalas is a professional marathon coach who ran in the Boston Marathon several times. His unique point of view on coaching comes from his injuries and setbacks in the past. He knows how to overcome obstacle and he is teaching me to overcome mine. He introduced me to running and made me open up to the possibility to one day run a 5k (which I considered impossible for me in the past, due to my bad cardio). In this video, we catch up digitally, since Montreal is still under quarantine, albeit with loosened rules.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Adonis Choundalas
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja
Cassandra Veilleux is a nurse in the surgical ward of Montreal General Hospital, who is currently at the frontline of our battle against this invisible enemy COVID-19. She eventually had to quarantine herself for a month when she contracted corona virus while working. She went back to the COVID ward again right after recovery. In the second episode of Let's Talk About It, Cassandra shares not only a glimpse of what it's like to be a nurse in the frontline of our healthcare crisis, but also her perspective as a COVID survivor.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Cassandra Veilleux
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja
In the very first episode of Chilling With Rik, I invited Ashley Murtagh to share her wisdom on yoga, but I ended up learning way more than that. In this interview Ashley talks about her profession, her travels, her life in the outdoors and life in general.
Host: Rik Bhattacharja
Guest: Ashley Murtagh
Ⓒ Intellectual property of It's a Rik Life, Rik Bhattacharja