Do It For Yourself Podcast

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Marc Andre.  Marc has been blogging and running a website since 2008.  He was an early adopter of this business and he has certainly benefitted from it.  Marc went on to see his websites for well over six figures.     Vital Dollar Website Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.   This week my guest is Aamir Madadali otherwise known as Captainaamirica on Instagram.  Aamir has an amazing weight loss story to share with us and I am really pleased to share that with everyone here this week.   Aamir started to struggle with his weight around high school and post high school because he was working in the phone industry and found himself eating at mall food courts often and drinking tons and tons of soda.  As things progressed Aamir was definitely pushing his weight higher and higher even though playing sports and staying somewhat active.     One particular situation that Aamir can remember was when he was at a summer camp and he didn't feel well.  He went to see the nurse and she took one look at him and immediately said "You definitely have diabetes".  These conversations became the norm when Aamir had conversations with health professionals.  One particular situation that Aamir can remember that hit him was when his doctor told him that he was going to eat himself to death if he didn't make any changes.     Although Aamir was having tons of conversations with people and they were telling him he NEEDED to change, it was falling on deaf ears.  He wasn't ready to make a change and so he didn't hear things clearly that people were trying to tell him.  The first time when Aamir really knew he needed to make a change was when he saw pictures from a wedding.  He was very excited because of the nice clothes and professional pictures but when the pictures came back he was horrified.  Aamir began to realize he needed to make a change and so he did.  He went on a journey and lost forty pounds and was on a great track.     Still Working for AT&T Aamir applied to work in a store in Chicago that was a very top-level store.  He didn't think it would work out but it did and when he moved to Chicago Aamir went right back into his old eating habits.  Not only did Aamir put the forty pounds back on, but he ended up putting on sixty pounds while he was living in Chicago. Aamire believes that because he was so restrictive with his diet the first time around, this made him go off the rails even harder while living in Chicago.  After living in Chicago for a few months Aamir got promoted again and returned home heavier than when he left.     December came and during a gag gift exchange with his friends, Aamir was given a weight scale.  He knew that it was a joke but at the time he didn't take it that way.  He felt so uncomfortable knowing that these guys were laughing and talking about him.  One of his friends confronted him after this exchange and said to him, "If this is making you this upset, you need to DO SOMETHING".  This conversation was what ultimately lit the fire under Aamir's ass.  Aamir locked himself up for two weeks and began learning and watching every single piece of content that he could find about a weight loss journey.   At the same time Aamir decided that if he was going to go through this journey, he was going to take all of these people who were talking about him through this journey.  He started to document the entire thing on Instagram.  Instagram and YouTube became the place where Aamir found both his information to continue on this journey but also his motivation.  He continued to watch videos all along his journey to keep himself motivated and pushing forward.     The biggest step that pushed Aamir forward was downloading the MyFitnessPal app and he began tracking his calories according to what the app told him today.  On top of this, setting up a routine in his calendar and setting up his day.  Aamir knew if he has this structure, he was going to be successful and he absolutely was.     Through many of the challenges Aamir has faced, building a routine has been the one common theme that has helped him stay on track through anything that has come up.  Even through job changes and the pandemic, Aamir has remained on track because of the routines he has had in place.     Aamir has an amazing story and I was so honored to share it on the podcast.  I hope you enjoy!   Aamir's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is George Bryant.  George is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, father, and much more.  I am really excited to bring you this week's episode as I have been a follower of George's for a long time now. When George was a child, he struggled with abuse.  George was bullied as a child in school and this followed him throughout his life.  By the time George got to high school, he could see the writing on the wall.  He knew he needed to make a change, he knew if he stayed where he was, he wasn't going to go anywhere.  The thought of running away popped into his head, but he realized quickly that he would need money to do that.  Option two would be the military.  He could "run away" but get paid while doing it. George made up his mind to enlist in the military, went to the recruiter's office ready to join but was turned away.  The reason....he was told he was "too fat" and would never make it.  George left the office that day, returned six months later, no longer "too fat" and he enlisted in the military.  Just days after graduating from high school George was on a plane to begin his new journey.  George didn't join the military because it was something he was really passionate about, it was more that he could get out of the situation that he was in, AND get paid for it. George lost the weight to get into the military but this was not the first instance he had an issue with eating.  George had an experience when he was 15 when he went to rent a suit for a dance.  Due to George's size, he needed a different size jacket and pants and he was ok with that, but what George couldn't handle was the comments from his mother.  This made him so upset, that he got sick to his stomach and in some way this made him feel better.  George began to realize that when he was upset, mad, didn't matter if he made himself sick, he felt better.  This began a VERY long journey with bulimia.  George went on to struggle with these habits through the military and it compounded with the working out. While George was in the military he realized that he didn't have the privacy to purge that he had before enlisting in the military and it put him into a cold-turkey stop.  That was up until he began to find himself in extremely stressful situations.  George had a situation that forced him into emergency surgery and put him into a wheelchair for 12 months.  This brought back all of his bad habits with eating a purging.  While going through his recovery, George attempted suicide one night and he realized that he needed to make a change, if he didn't get things together he wasn't going to be able to go back into the military, he didn't save any money and he had no skills.  George made a full recovery and returned to the military from 2006 until 2013. In 2013 George had suffered from over seven concussions and had brain injuries.  It was going to take six months for recovery but George had used all of his allotted time already.  George was so worried to leave the military because he didn't know what he was going to transition to but the doctor who he was seeing had to recommend he be medically discharged.   Prior to being discharged, George discovered Tim Ferris's book the 4 Hour Body, and also found the paleo diet.  In the original book, Tim Ferris says to eat clean for one week, and then you were allowed to binge.  As hard as he tried, George couldn't binge and this helped him control something that was controlling him for so long.  Through this process, George began to cook and post these things on Facebook.  George had no idea what he was doing but he knew that people were looking and so he just kept going.  Because George was gaining some traction on Facebook someone suggests that he start posting things on a blog instead of a website.  After months of posting on his blog, someone suggested he take these recipes and put them in an ebook.  George had no idea what he was doing  Even though he was so clueless about what he was doing, George just kept moving forward, posting, selling ebooks and it was working.  There were some hard lessons that George had to learn, such as paying taxes, but it all worked out.  George began building relationships, his website, and his business.  He was all consumed in this and he was loving it.  Given George’s personality, as you maybe can imagine, this relationship with Civilized Caveman and the internet became very unhealthy.  George was living his life for other people and he was now addicted to social media and this company.  It became too much and he knew that it was time to move on.  George felt wrong selling this because he felt like he would be selling an addiction.  George found a friend and told him that he was giving him to the company and that was it.  After deleting his social media for over a year George went through a long period of healing.  George listened to the people around him in order to improve who he was.  He really took a lot of time to work on himself which has in turn helped him build a successful business of helping others.  George has an amazing story and I am so happy to have the opportunity to share it here on the podcast.   George on Facebook George's Website George's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram  

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I have the chance to sit down with Nick Keller.  Nick is from Texas, where football is everything and it was just that for him.  From a young age, everything that Nick did had to do with football.  He ate, slept, and breathed football day in and day out.  Nick discovered from a young age also that if you put in the work, you can get the results that you want.  One particular instance of this was when Nick wanted to be the quarterback for his team but he was not selected.  He began working every day to achieve this dream, hitting the weights, throwing, and constantly working to become that quarterback. As you can imagine, not playing football was not an option for Nick, that is until it was his only option.  Nick had taken some hits, some pretty hard ones at that.  He had multiple concussions and after speaking with doctors and his parents, Nick made the extremely difficult decision to walk away from football.  This was a very hard decision for Nick but one that he knew he needed to make. In an effort to stay connected to the game, Nick began training younger athletes to help them reach their goals.  Nick was no longer able to play but this helped him stay in the game in some way and also provided him with a little extra money.  When you are Doing It For Yourself though, it isn't about the money and Nick has said that time and time again.  Nick could very easily take this opportunity and transform it into a very successful business, but he has decided to keep it as a side hustle and pursue his degree in engineering.   Nick has the opportunity to taste different things and try different jobs to see what he likes right now.  He is Doing It For Himself by staying connected to the game of football but exploring other options as well.  This was a great conversation and I am looking forward to sharing it with you.   Nick's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Nick Mattia, the founder of Ready Strong Meals.  Nick started his journey when he was working in a job that was not fulfilling him.  He decided to start working in the restaurant industry for FREE after he had spent some time prepping his meals for the week.  This began a journey for Nick of starting from the bottom and having to work his way through the ranks.  Nick went into this humble and that is something that served him very well in the long run.  Nick now owns Ready Strong Meals which is a meal prep company that serves the New York and New Jersey area. I hope you enjoy this episode.   Ready Strong Meals Instagram Ready Strong Meals Website Nick's Personal Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is TJ The Quad City Magician.  TJ is a magician performing his tricks throughout the Quad Cities for many different groups of people.  He got his start with magic a bit later in life after he needed to find a creative way to keep the residents in a group home entertained.  TJ learned a few tricks from his brother and when he performed them for his residents they absolutely loved them and thus his passion for magic was born.  TJ is a student of his craft and always learning as we hear in his story.  Join us as we take a journey through how this passion transformed into his now full-time career.   TJ Instagram TJ Website TJ YouTube   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. Listen, we all know times are crazy right now.  This is something that most of us have never been through before and it can be really hard on all of us.  A few weeks back I listened to Adam Jaber's show on The Out Of Bounds Podcast recapping the ski season and I loved the vibe and all of the positivity so I decided to do my own. This week I sat down with a bunch of previous podcast guests to jam about what they are excited about, how they are keeping the stoke going and I wanted to share some laughs.  This is just a fun episode to hopefully lighten the mood and talk about things that are keeping people going.  My goal is to share positive stories that motivate people and I thought what better time to bring a bunch of people together to share that. I hope you enjoy, next week we are back to our regular program.   Do It For Yourself  Brandon Krout Ginny Cataldi Kristen Smith Amanda Piccirilli-Hall Justin Mendoza Justin Lippert Conor Bollinger Jeff Fairbanks

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest on the show is professional skier Chris Benchetler.  Chris is much more than a professional skier though, he is an artist, a director, filmmaker, dad, surfer, and the list goes on.  Through all of this though, Chris is ALWAYS doing it for himself.  This started from one of the first deals that Chris made with Atomic skis.  Christ wanted to create a new ski for Atomic that would highlight features necessary for backcountry skiing.  Along with being part of the design of the construction, Chris wanted to have design control for the ski graphics because of his passion for art.   This was the start of 10 years worth of ski graphics and design coming from Chris and Atomic.  Along the way, Chris was able to convince his sponsors to come on board for a Sprinter van conversion used in his film project Chasing AdVANture.  Chris took the shell of a Sprinter can and completely outfitted it to travel up and down the west coast, surfing, skiing, and climbing at some VERY iconic spots. Following this project, Chris was connected with the Grateful Dead because they were interested in doing a ski graphic.  Along with convincing Atomic to allow Chris to create this graphic he convinced both sponsors and friends to create his latest project call Fire On The Mountain.  This is a ski and surf film with the entire soundtrack being Grateful Dead music.  This project was completely passion-based and a lot of the initial funding came out of Chris's personal pocket.   Chris has never faltered from doing things purely out of passion.   It was such an honor to sit down with Chris and I am very happy to share his story of how he is doing it for himself. I hope you enjoy this weeks episode!   Chris's Website Chris's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I have a chance to sit down with Brian Smuda, the man behind Season Pass Sales and The Haircut Book.  Brian was a sufferer of Tourette's Syndrome.  When Brian was getting ready to graduate college and head into the real world he realized that he did not want to be in the workforce and have these ticks anymore so he began medication that would hopefully help with them.  Unfortunately, these medications did not help and they only made matters worse for him.  This sent Brian on a dark path which eventually led to him being admitted to a psych ward.  Brian tried just about everything he could to get back to normal and he eventually found a medication that worked wonders for him.  Until that medication was pulled off of the market and he was not allowed to use it anymore.   Brian was always a fighter though and determined to figure out a solution to his situation.  Brian learned of a surgery that would potentially help him.  This included having a battery pack implanted in his chest that would be connected to electrodes implanted in his brain.  Brian knew, even given the risk, that this was his only choice.   Brian went through with the surgery and has now regained his life.  He is back on the mountain ski and enjoying the freedom that he was once longing for. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Brian!   Season Pass Sales Season Pass Sales Insta The Haircut Book Insta Brian's Website Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Tommy Breedlove.  Tommy is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author for his book Legendary.  Tommy's story started when he found himself in a very tough situation at a young age.  He always had a dream to do to college but instead he spent his 19th birthday in prision.  After getting out he began his career working for one of the largest financial firms in the world.  This wasn't Tommy's calling though and he began to see this after a 20-year long career.   Sit down with us as we get a chance to dive deep into his story and find out how inspirational this story is.   Tommy's book Tommy's Instagram Tommy's Website   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My Guest this week is Conor Bollinger.  Conor is a competitive triathlete racing at a very high level.  Conor has competed in the world championships for the Half Ironman distance and also as part of Team USA in the Olympic Distance.  Conor was playing sports as a kid but it wasn't until young adulthood after making some decisions as a college student that he really began to take a step back and become selfish.  Conor became selfish in a way to take care of himself, making changes that he knew he needed to make to get better.  Through these changes, Conor found triathlon and a love was born. This is a great insight into the guy we see on Instagram, giving tips of the day, buying massive tubs of almond butter and block updates.  I really enjoyed this conversation with Conor and I hope you do too.     Conor's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week we are doing things a little different.  My guest is Ryan Gibson, otherwise known as Bayern Ryan.  Ryan is THE biggest Bayern Munich FC fan on the planet.  In the second half of this episode, we go into detail about Ryan's car accident and what happened after this accident. Ryan sustained significant injuries from this accident that have left paralyzed. Ryan and I talked for a bit longer because there were two pieces to his story that I wanted to share and I wanted to give him the opportunity to put it all out there.  That's why we are splitting this episode into two parts.  Here is part two, I hope you enjoy.   Ryan's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week we are doing things a little different.  My guest is Ryan Gibson, otherwise known as Bayern Ryan.  Ryan is THE biggest Bayern Munich FC fan on the planet.  In the first half of this episode, we go into detail about how his passion for the Bayern Munich FC was born and how a very rare eye cancer led Ryan to have a Bayern eyeball made.  Ryan and I talked for a bit longer because there were two pieces to his story that I wanted to share and I wanted to give him the opportunity to put it all out there.  That's why we are splitting this episode into two parts.  Here is part one, I hope you enjoy.   Ryan's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week's guests needs little to no introduction but for those of you outside the triathlon world, I bring you Justin Lippert aka Mr. Full Send.  Justin is a multi-time national champion, creator of Full Send Triathlon and newly appointed professional triathlete. I get the chance to dive into Justin's story about his early days in running, going on to run for Clemson University and his start in triathlon.  This is a great conversation and one that I am really looking forward to sharing.   Justin's Instagram Full Send Triathlon Instagram Full Send Website Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is JP Dinnell former Navy Seal and member at Echelon Front with Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. JP has an awesome story to share with us about his journey into the military and his transition into life after the military.   Notable mentions in this show: Extreme Ownership Book The Dichotomy of Leadership Book     JP's Instagram JP's Facebook  Echelon Front Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guests this week are Trent and Allie.  Trent and Allie decided to take their lives on the road and live full time out of their converted Ram Promaster van.  After lots of long hours converting the van on their own, they were ready to take to living full time out of it.  There was one little hiccup though....Trent thought his company would be totally cool with him working remotely and Allie figured her company would not allow it.  When the time came though, Allie's company said it was no problem to work remotely and Trent's company said no chance.  After coming up with a sort of plan, they began their journies.   Since going full-time Trent and Allie have grown their social media and YouTube following enabling them to work on YouTube and make videos about their travels full-time.  You can follow along as they continue their journey through South America on their YouTube channel below.   Please enjoy the story of Trent and Allie!   Trent and Allie YouTube Trent and Allie Instagram Trent and Allie Website   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Joe Corcione.  Joe is a podcast host and he also helps millennials who feel stuck with where they are in life right now.  Joe's journey started young when he began to abuse the medication that he was prescribed and he realized that he was being an asshole to those around him.   Joe went on a journey to better himself and we weave our way through his story on this podcast.     Check out my interview on Joe's podcast, The Art of Fulfillment HERE.   The Art of Fulfillment Podcast Joe's Instagram Page   Do It For Yourself Instagram      

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.   This week my guest is Amanda Piccirilli-Hall.  Amanda is an amazing woman with a personality to match.  She is a part of I Run For, and Ainsley's Angels.  At the time of this recording, she had just finished the Philly Half Marathon pushing for Ainsley's Angels.  Amanda was introduced to running after trying to find her path and purpose after ending her soccer career in college.     Amanda Instagram Amanda Website   Do It For Yourself Instagram    

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.     No fancy long notes for this episode, this is it, this is my story.  I sat down with one of my best friends Jimmy Dollinger and we went through my entire story.  I hope you enjoy this episode and I look forward to getting back to the normal show next week.

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.   No fancy long notes for this episode, this is it, this is my story.  I sat down with one of my best friends Jimmy Dollinger and we went through my entire story.  I hope you enjoy this episode and I look forward to getting back to the normal show next week.  

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Marisa Sergi, the owner of Redhead Wines.  

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week on the show is Kristen Smith.  Kristen has an amazing weight loss story and I am so happy she came on the podcast to share it with everyone.  I got connected with Kristen via Instagram where I immediately fell in love with her personality and delivery on her stories and videos.   Kristen has overcome a lot of diversity and hardship to get to where she is both in her weight loss journey and her personal life.  It was a pleasure to sit down with Kristen to tell her story this week on the podcast and I hope you enjoy.   Kristen's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is podcaster Rich Butler.  Rich has been in the podcast game since 2006, which was well before you could easily download a podcast to your phone.  Rich took a complete deep-dive right from the start and never looked back.  He has had multiple different podcasts and has gone on to start his own podcast network called Rage Works.   I really enjoyed this conversation with Rich and I am looking forward to sharing it with you!   RAGE Works Instagram RAGE Works Facebook   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Manolo who is a musician, songwriter, and producer.  Manolo was introduced to music at a very young age because of the musicians on his dad's side of the family.  Manolo's interest was immediately peaked by music, he loved all parts of it, he loves listening to music, playing music and anything to do with music. At a young age, Manolo found himself nervous performing music in front of people. For this reason, he wasn't part of his highschool band or anything, he enjoyed playing solo and not necessarily performing in front of people.  Even to this day, Manolo would prefer to send music to people he knows so that they can listen to it, rather than play it for them while sitting there. He enjoys receiving feedback from people on line both good and bad, but he doesn't like this feedback face to face and he isn't sure why. What is interesting though is that Manolo always wanted to be a super big rockstar in front of a huge crowd.  His brother took him to see a show and he immediately felt this high that he knew this was what he wanted to do, but he still felt scared. It was tough for Manolo as a kid because he felt this nervousness about performing but he wanted it so bad. Coming up Manolo was raised by his mom and his grandparents.  They were always in full support of things that he was interested in.  They really fostered his passion for music.  Specifically, in 5th grade, Manolo can remember his grandfather going against the school's advice to get him a science tutor and he put him in a music program.  This support really fostered Manolo's growth in his music career.  Manolo knew that even though the music was his passion, he needed to go to school to continue to grow this passion.  Manolo went to school for music but what he was learning, wasn't doing it for him, it wasn't piquing his interest.  Luckily Manolo discovered technical school where he could go to learn how to record and produce his own music. Something that Manolo has found that really helps with his creative process is his fitness.  He really enjoys martial arts and fitness and he feels like it really helps with everything in his life.  Manolo also feels like his fitness really helps with his travel and his touring.  It helps him feel good, it helps him get ready for his shows both mentally and physically. Manolo feels like both with his fitness and his music he is a hands-on person.  He learned what he needed to while in school and had very good grades, but he felt like he learned so much more when he was out doing it on his own.  Manolo thinks that for certain things and for certain people, you can learn what you need to on the job or on your own.  He felt like he learned so much more when trying to do it on his own. Manolo really began to make a transition because he couldn't find a producer that he could work with.  He realized that it wasn't the producers, it was him, he didn't know what he wanted.  He went on a journey for about 18 months to discover what he wanted to do, what kind of music he wanted to put out for people.  Manolo put his nose to the ground, was working a job, producing music, he was always on the go, building his dream. This all started with a motorcycle trade.  Manolo traded his motorcycle to a friend in order to produce his song and this is when things began to take off.  Manolo was constantly hustling on his music and going to places to get in front of people who were in the industry. Although Manolo was constantly grinding and hustling on his music he had an amazing support system through his family.  He was getting kickback from some people around him, asking him what he was going to do because he couldn't be a bartender forever.  His family threw him a rope and offered to help him a bit to get some more studio time and record music.  Manolo was given an opportunity after all of his hustle to perform in Russia to a crowd bigger than he ever had before.  This was bittersweet for him because when he returned from his trip to Russia he knew that bartending wasn't what he was supposed to be doing, it didn't make it happen. While Manolo was working at this bar, a guy came in who was playing the guitar and they started talking.  Chris offered to show Manolo his studio and initially, Manolo was a bit skeptical because he knew what some previous home studios looked like.  When he went to see Chris's studio though Manolo was super impressed and they started working together in this studio until he moved to Georgia.  Once he moved, Manolo had to rent a studio here and there to record when needed.  Ultimately Chris reached out because he was moving to Manolo's area and they built a new studio again to record in. One thing that Manolo found when he was coming up versus now is that information is readily available today.  For the most part, you can find anything that you need online.  The one thing Manolo discovered was that a lot of this content was not available in other languages.  He decided to start translating for people who pays his bills and any money that he makes from music he is able to reinvest in his music.  Manolo is so passionate about making information available to people that he now works for Gary Vaynerchuk on his translation team.  This is all out of a passion to give back to people and make information available to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to get the content. I have no doubt that Manolo is going to live out his dream to play in front of a huge crowd because of his passion and empathy to impact people through music.   I hope that you enjoy this interview! Manolo's Instagram Manolo's facebook   Do It For Yourself Instagram  

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Livi Ron who is a meat scientist and registered dietician.  Livin is a senior meat scientist full time and she travels around the country to different meat processing plants to help them develop better products.  This is her full-time job and on the "side" Livi is a registered dietician coaching clients and she is also studying her Ph.D. in meat science. Livi's story starts back when she was riding a friend's horse.  Something happened that spooked the horse and the horse took off back to the barn because it was scared.  Unfortunately, when the horse hit the pavement the horse fell over and landed on Livin and she ended up in a coma for 9 days.  Livi got to the point where doctors were asking her parents if they wanted to keep her alive.  The whole situation was very hard on her family but miraculously one day she woke up.  After waking up Livi had a long road to recovery because her brain did a complete reset on her. When Livi returned to school people were very mean to her.  She was in a neck brace and couldn't be in the hall between classes with everyone else and so she began to stick out like a sore thumb.  Livin found at this point that the only people she fit in with were the people who were outcasts that did drugs.  Livi began using drugs to fit in with this new collection of friends and it quickly spiraled out of control to the point where she was selling her body just to get money to pay for her drugs.  One day after work her parents came to pick her up, which Livi thought was strange because she had her car there and could have driven home.  Her parents disguised it as a birthday surprise but in reality, they were taking her to a rehab center. Once Livi turned 18 she had almost graduated the program but she left not on good terms.  Towards the end of the program, she had a job at a gas station and she met a boy and they got into trouble.  The program gave her an ultimatum to either start over or just leave and so she just left.  Livi was living in section 8 housing illegally watching someone's kids and went right back to selling drugs.  Livi figured out that she could use her body and good looks to manipulate some of the officers patrolling the area.  Somehow Livi got herself into community college and met another boy there.  This guy was different from any of the previous guys that she had interactions with.  This guy didn't drink, didn't do drugs and was completely sober.  Livi wanted to move in with him and start to get back on track but the only way she could do this was to become sober.  Simultaneously Livi had a check-up with her OB/GYN provider that was very alarming.  She found out that at a very young age that she had ovarian cancer and that was it, she knew she needed to get her life together. Kyle played a very pivotal roll in helping Livi get back on her feet.  He created a great environment for Livi at the time, he motivated her and kept her on a straightened path.  Livi fed off of this environment and made the decision to go to veterinary school.  While she was going through her program she took a class that sparked the interest for meat science and so she completely changed her path but she definitely wouldn't have been able to do this without the help of Kyle.  Livi became so passionate about this career because she wanted to help people see that what they think and sometimes what they are told about their food is not true.  This is also why Livi wanted to be a registered dietician because she really wants to help people understand that there is more than just the marketing on the packaging for the food that we see in stores.  Livi had a professor that answered all of her questions, showed her the data that backed it up and took her to food lots.  This just poured gas on Livi's fire and really built her passion.   Livi has used this passion to completely rebuild the life of her dreams.  She is helping athletes and women understand food better, she lives in an amazing condo in downtown Chicago and drives a fancy car.  This is nothing that she could have seen back when she was living in section 8 housing, but she is completely confident that those things helped shape where she is today.  Moving forward Livi could see her nutrition company bigger and bigger but she loves her job so much that it would be hard to walk away from it.   Livi's journey is just so amazing and inspiring and I am honored that she came on the podcast to share her story.  I love the way that Livi conveys her point and information on Instagram so please make sure to check it out.     Livi's Instagram Revival Wellness Facebook Revival Wellness Instagram Revival Wellness Website   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest if Dr. Drew Timmermans.  Dr. Drew is a naturopathic doctor who specializes in pain management.  Dr. Drew has a DEA number and reports to the FDA and a board he reports to the same way that a normal DO or MD would.  There are only 7 schools across the US and Canada that offer this as a program. Dr. Drew knew from high school he wanted to be a physician.  He was always interested in the body and sports and he knew he wanted to be a physician.  Initially, Dr. Drew wanted to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.  While he was going through school and witness an open-heart surgery first hand.  Unfortunately during this surgery, Dr. Drew didn't get the rush he thought he was going to.  He left this surgery feeling like this didn't really pique his interest, it wasn't something he felt a pull towards.   At this point Dr. Drew took a step back to figure out what path he wanted to go down.  He was in his third year of university and got really passionate about muscular-skeletal medicine through following Kelly Starrett and Mobility WOD.  Dr. Drew was still focused on traditional medicine and had not yet learned of the Naturopathic field.  He applied to some different med schools in the US and Canada for this program but unfortunately, he was not accepted to any of the programs. Yet AGAIN Dr. Drew had to take a step back and change his path.  He began working as a personal trainer during this time and this was when Dr. Drew really began to develop his internal compass on where he wanted to go with medicine.  He had countless clients coming to him after working together saying they were being taken off their medications thanks to the work they were doing together.  Dr. Drew really started to look into supplements and alternative forms of medicine.  One of his clients began to talk with him about naturopathic medicine and suggested that he look into it.  Dr. Drew discovered this was exactly what he wanted to do, he wanted to focus on treating the whole issue from the root and not just the acute problem.  Dr. Drew did his research and found a school that offered the program he was interested in and he began his application process.  When deciding on a school it was hard to argue with going to school somewhere as beautiful as Arizona so it seemed to make the decision pretty easy.   Although Dr. Drew didn't get accepted into a med school through his first round of applications, he was so passionate about going into medicine that he did not let this get in his way.  Dr. Drew knew that he needed to get back up to bat and keep swinging to make this dream a reality.   Although Dr. Drew has gone through an extensive program there is some flack from "regular" doctors because they are unaware of the training they go through.  Naturopathic medicine laws differ from state to state and it is not as regulated as traditional med school.  Ultimately Dr. Drew would love to work together with DO's and MD's to help patients treat their issues.  Although this is not something that happens right now, Dr. Drew would love to work towards this in the future. After finishing med school and residency, Dr. Drew decided to add one more layer of complexity to his story by going right into launching his own private practice.  He graduated with typical med school debt but he had his blinders on after graduation and was laser-focused on his clinic.  Dr. Drew knew leaving school that he wanted to launch a major clinic with brand recognition, he didn't want to just be his own boss, he wants to create something much more.  All of this provides challenges because he is launching a clinic but they are also not accepting insurance and patients have to pay out of pocket for services.  Even with all of this being said Dr. Drew is still Doing It For Himself and building his business! I really enjoyed learning about this entire field and I hope you enjoy as well.   Dr. Drew Instagram Dr. Drew Website Dr. Drew Facebook Dr. Drew Youtube   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Jono Hooper.  Jono was born in Australia and went through school there.  When it was time to think about college Jono was considering coming to the United States to attend college or university.  Through a school fair, Jono got connected with a guy named Chris Bates who acted as an agent to help students get scholarships to schools in the states for athletics.  Jono was always athletic but running was something that he really stuck with and so this is what he decided to pursue in order to get into a school in the United States.   Chris went through this process of going to the school in the United State so he uses his knowledge of the process to help athletes do exactly what he did.  Chris is not allowed to be reimbursed by the colleges or universities for his services so this is all paid for by the student-athletes.  After going through the process Jono decided on a school in a very small town in Iowa.  He knew going in that he was going to a very small school but he picked this school because of the location and price.  Jono had one other school that accepted him but the location just wasn't going to work for him.   Jono and his mom set up their trip and got ready to come to the United States for his schooling.  The trip to get to Iowa alone was a lot of travel.  They had to travel from Brisbane to Los Angeles and then from Los Angeles to Chicago and from Chicago to Iowa.  Even after all of this travel, Jono knew almost immediately he wanted to transfer out of his school in Iowa.  He knew that eventually, he was going to have to transfer to finish his degree because Indian Wells was a community college but he wanted to speed up the process.  Jono felt as though he had a debt to pay to his coach because the coach took a chance on him so he committed to running for the two seasons that he said he would. As a college student who is paying their way through school Jono had expenses that he needed to cover just like most college students.  The tricky part for Jono was though, as a student on a visa you are limited on how much you can work while you are here depending on what you want to do after graduation.  Jono had about 10 months in Brisbane before he was coming over to the states so he worked two jobs to sock away as much money as he possibly could.  Once Jono arrived he knew that he needed to live VERY frugal.  After the first year in the states, Jono went through most of the money he had saved and was still only able to work 20 hours per week. After Jono completed his two seasons of cross country he knew he needed to make a decision about where he was going to go next.  Luckily as part of the program and process with Chris, Jono was still able to use him as a resource to help with this process.  So Chris and Jono began to look into different schools over the country.  Jono met someone who was transferring to Goldey Beacom in Wilmington Delaware.  They have a cross country team and he could complete his degree there so he applied to this school as well.  After having a long conversation with the cross country coach from Goldey Beacom Jono was committed to going to this school to help the coach rebuild the cross country program.   After finishing his four-year degree Jono went right into a masters program.  Jono is currently working on finishing his law degree.  ono definitely how to overcome many challenges in this journey and I am honored he came on the podcast to share them.   I hope you enjoy this episode.   Jono's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I had the pleasure to sit down with San Diego's Best Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh! We get a chance to dive deep into Jodi's story about chasing her dream to be a weather person, how that dream was crushed and how she rebounded from a blindside.  This was such a fun conversation and I am really looking forward to sharing it with you.     Jodi's Instagram Jodi's Facebook Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is the amazing John McLucas who is an independent music producer working in the pop genre.  John started off by bootstrapping his way up and living in his studio to keep his costs low.  He has since moved out of that studio, but he has not forgotten his roots or what got him to where he is.   I had a really great time chatting with John and I hope you enjoy it as well.   John Instagram John Facebook John Website   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.   This week my guest is Jimmy Lee from Inner Fire Podcast.  We get a chance to dive deep into Jimmy's story about childhood obesity, losing weight in high school and they regaining weight from a job he worked in the military.  The chemicals Jimmy was using in a very small and not well-ventilated room impacted his health more than he realized and he began to gain weight with no explanation whatsoever.  Once Jimmy discovered what these chemicals did to his body he began a new journey to find his health, peace, and happiness.   This is an awesome interview with Jimmy and I hope you enjoy.   Inner Fire Podcast Inner Fire Instagram Inner Fire Twitter   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Kaan Erel.  Kaan is the host and creator of a podcast and Instagram page talking about the NBA in Turkish.  Kaan started this out of his passion for the NBA, but it has led to much more.  This is a very relatable story of someone who left their day job and decided to chase their passion.     Kaan's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I have a chance to sit down with Tom Antion who has been Doing It For Himself for the last 50 plus years.  Tom has never had a job and has been an entrepreneur since he was a child.   We get a chance to dive into Tom's first ventures through college and owning a hotel, all the way up to what he is doing currently.  It was interesting to see how Tom's businesses changed as his interests changed over the years.   I really enjoyed sharing Tom's story and I hope you enjoy it as well.     Tom's Facebook Tom's Website Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Ryan McCoy.  He is a writer and independent filmmaker living in Los Angeles.  Ryan is primarily a writer and that is what he enjoys most but he always has a few pots boiling at once.  Ryan has another passion and that is to pull back the curtain on Hollywood and show some of the things going on that are impacting workers in this industry.  This was a very passionate conversation about many of the things that mean a lot to Ryan and I thank him for being so open about this industry.  I hope that you enjoy this interview and it opens your eyes to some of the things going on in this industry.   Ryan's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I am sitting down with Shane Nicolich.  Shane is an avid runner living with MS.  Shane has a goal to run every day, from a few miles to a marathon, it's not about the distance he just wants to enjoy running because it keeps him grounded.  Shane suffered from a traumatic brain injury and he thought he was never going to get his life back, the life he had.  Shane began running with the wrong crew, drinking and doing drugs.   After getting clean, Shane now has a new outlook on life, one that he wants to share with everyone!   Shane's Instagram Shane's Website Shane's Book   Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here!

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest on the podcast this week is Laura Briggs.  Laura is a freelance writer who helps clients with their copy on their websites.  Laura was a teacher but found it difficult to maintain a job because of her husband's career in the military.  She felt even though it was a full-time position when she had a job, it would never last because they always had the chance of being relocated.  Laura needed to come up with an alternative, something she could do no matter where they were living.  This is when Laura began to build her writing career.  We get a chance to dive deep into the early days of Laura's freelance work, to building a client base that she wants to work with after getting burnt out.   This was such a fun conversation and I really look forward to sharing it with you today.     Laura's Facebook Laura's Linkedin Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week on the podcast I am doing something a bit different.  This week my guest is Ben Trela.  When Ben and I got connected he wasn't sure if his story would really fit with the theme here on the podcast because he was just getting started on his journey.  After getting to know Ben a bit more I decided this would be a great fit if we framed it just a bit different.  My goal with this podcast is to tell a story but that doesn't necessarily have to happen over the course of one episode.  I have done this in the past with guests like Ginny Cataldi, Justin Mendoza, and some others.   So my goal for this weeks episode is for Ben to give us some insight on where he is right now in the beginning stages of his journey and how he plans to move forward with Doing It For Himself.   I hope you enjoy this story and I look forward to sharing an update with you down the road.   Ben Trela on Instagram Do It For Yourself on Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. If you are a triathlete who surfs through pictures on Instagram I am sure you have come across the page, Humans Of Triathlon.  100's upon 100's of inspirational stories of people participating in triathlon and sharing their love of the sport.  On this weeks episode, I got the chance to sit down with the creator of this movement, Swapneel.  We discuss the story behind Humans Of Triathlon and his inspiration to start this page.  We also take a long walk down the path of Swapneel's "why" for starting this page and some of the things he was and still is battling related to his health and fitness.   I was honored that Swapneel sat down with me for his first ever interview and it is my pleasure to share it with you.     Humans Of Triathlon Instagram Humans Of Triathlon Podcast Humans Of Triathlon Website   Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest on this weeks episode is Joel Hawbaker.  Joel is an award-winning teacher, speaker, and author who is Doing It For Himself.  Joel after being an athlete all his life made some very poor decisions which ultimately led to him to divorce.  Post-divorce Joel continued to make decisions that were not in his best interest.  He found himself sitting in front of the TV, eating take out and unhealthy snacks.  One day while Joel was shopping in Wal-Mart he thought he would step on a scale.  When he saw the number that the scale read, he thought man this thing must be broken so he stepped on an additional two scales before realizing it was not broken, he had gained that much weight since the divorce.   Under the direction and support of a friend, Joel began working out before work during the summer time.  At the time he didn't realize that this friend was possibly interested in him on more than just a friend level.  They continued to work out together and Joel began to see the weight start to come off.   Once Joel finally caught on, his workout partner and he became more than just friends and ultimately they got married.  Joel's wife has been his biggest supporter throughout his journey and he still thinks that she is way out of his league and he is not sure how he got so lucky.   Joel has gone on to do some truly amazing things and I really look forward to sharing them with you in this episode.     Support the show here    

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I get a chance to catch up with Elle Goodall who is more commonly known as elles_journey_to_good_health on Instagram.  Elle started her journey in triathlon about 3 years ago.  Elle was very overweight before she started, weighing 406lbs.  Elle remembers everything being a struggle weighing this much.  She couldn't walk 100 meters without having to stop and take a break, she couldn't get up off of the floor without help and she was throwing her life away.  Elle's biggest struggle during this time was her addiction to food.   When Elle was in school she remembers eating balanced meals while she was at home.  They hardly ever had take out and she remembers her mom cooking quite a bit.  Once Elle moved out though, she realized she could have McDonald's any time she wanted and so she did.  She would have McDonald's for every meal.  The weight gain and food addiction really started when Elle began her desk job.  She remembers her if her partner would tell her that they shouldn't eat McDonald's she would get really mad and turn into an evil person.   One fateful day Elle had to step on a scale while at the doctor.  Elle usually tries to avoid going to the doctor because she would just prefer to take some cold and flu tablets and handle the cold on her own.  One day though she had to go to the doctor for a physical exam for work and they asked her to step on the scale.  When she stepped on the scale and it gave an error message.  Elle didn't understand why this was happening.  She had estimated her weight to be around 120kg but she didn't know for sure because she stopped getting on the scale.  Her doctor explained that she too heavy for the scale and that they went up to 150kg.  Elle couldn't believe it, she just didn't understand.  They moved into the nurse's room where they had a larger scale and when she stepped on she saw 184kg which is 406lbs.  The doctor told Elle that she immediately needed to go get more tests done.  She needed blood work, sleep tests and a whole list of other tests.  Elle got the news that she was basically killing herself every night in her sleep.  Her oxygen levels would drop so low that she was almost dying in her sleep.  On top of everything else, they wanted to take away her driver's license because they were afraid that due to her sleep issues she could fall asleep at the wheel.   After about 2 weeks of going through testing and back and forth with the doctors Elle got all of her results.  During this time Elle joined a local gym because she knew that she needed to do something.  Elle went to the gym one time over the two weeks and she walked on the treadmill for about 30 minutes.  She saw that she burned 300 calories and so she rewarded herself with McDonald's.  Elle was hiding her food at this point.  She would go and get the food, eat it in private and then throw the trash away where no one could find it.   Elle had to work really really hard to change her relationship with food.  She had weight loss surgery which changes how much you can eat but it didn't change how she felt about food.  It didn't change how much food she WANTED to eat.  After surgery, Elle had a switch that flipped in her head.  Surgery was so painful that Elle didn't want to go through that ever again.  Elle worked to eat something healthy each time she wanted McDonald's.  She would have celery or cucumbers and this would take away her craving.  Elle realized that even though she wanted to eat bad food if she ate something good, it would satisfy her hunger.  Even though this was extremely hard Elle worked at it and kept doing what she knew was a good choice.   One of the hardest parts of this journey, one of the things that kept Elle going through this journey was her family.  Elle remembers her father saying to her that he should not have to bury her.  Elle is very close with her family and her parents keep pushing her forward and chasing her dreams.   After surgery, Elle started to do everything on her own.  She went online and began to do research and try things as she went along.  Elle gained all of her knowledge from the internet and different videos.  One of the activities Elle began doing after surgery was standup paddle boarding.  Elle would go to a local lake to get on her stand-up paddleboard.  While Elle was at the lake one day she saw a local group doing a training swim.  This immediately sparked Elle's interest because she used to be a swimmer herself.  Elle went over to talk with the group.  She expressed her interest in doing a triathlon and a woman said you could absolutely do a triathlon and so Elle left with a plan and began doing the workouts on her own.   Elle signed up and completed her first race while she still weighed about 160kgs.  Immediately after this race, Elle stepped up to a sprint and then an Olympic and then a 70.3.  After the 70.3 Elle knew that she wanted to do a full Ironman.  Over the course of all of this training for her first full Ironman Elle has lost about 265lbs.   Elle learned about Kona through people who were talking about it and so, of course, she jumped online to learn more.  Elle realized how much of a big deal Kona was and she knew she wanted to get there one day.  As Elle continued to train she also continued to post online and document her journey.  This gained international attention and the attention of Ironman.  Ironman reached out to Elle about following her story and sharing it with their followers.   Ironman followed Elle to Cains Ironman where she completed her race even after being hit by a car.  After the race, Ironman reached out and asked her to come down for an interview.  It started off as a typical interview for Elle, but then the interviewer asked Elle about Kona and what it means to her.  She thought it was a little odd but didn't think anything of it and she explained that one day she would get there.  The interviewer then looked at the camera guys and told them to keep the cameras rolling and then he disappeared.  He returned with a plaque and he begins to explain that each year Ironman selects an ambassador to go to Kona.  When the interviewer turned the plaque around it was for Elle and it was her invitation to race Kona.  Her dream had come true.   While in Kona Elle had some struggles with people and their comments about how she got to Kona.  There were some doubts that went through her head while Elle was there.  Elle felt in a way that maybe she didn't deserve to be there.  This was a difficult time for Elle but she handled it with flying colors and she went on to finish her dream races and has memories from this trip that are going to last a lifetime.   Elle's major goal right now is to go back to Kona again, but this time through a qualification.  Elle is aware of how much of a commitment this is.  She has given herself 4 years and she will be back in Kona again through a qualification.  Elle is working with a coach now and this is her long term goal.   I really enjoyed this interview with Elle and I hope you do as well.   Elle's Instagram Elle's Facebook Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Nick Barba.  I have known Nick for years now and when I first launched the podcast I knew that I wanted to sit down with him to go through his story but I thought it was too soon.  I made excuses as to why I couldn't reach out and I also wanted to give him so time.  Recently Nick posted his video part which you can watch here and I knew after that I needed to get connected with him. We went back and forth to get something scheduled and sometimes things just work out.  We ended up meeting one night and got a chance to sit outside, enjoy the weather and hash out his journey.   Nick's introduction to drinking goes back as far as he can remember.  He details memories of being a young kid and his family members giving him beer because they thought it was funny.  By the time Nick was in 8th grade, he can remember already having a tolerance for alcohol.   As Nick got older he can remember drinking and having a good time while skating with his older friends.  One instance he remembers well is going to skate at Bam Margera's barn.  Nick nailed a trick while Bam was watching and Bam asked him afterward how he did it.  Nick was dumbfounded...A skateboarding LEGEND was asking him for tips!  Nick told him what he did and Bam ended up nailing a trick he had been working on himself.  After that, he went to hang with Bam and drink.   This became a trend, but Nick didn't think anything of it.  He would go hang at the barn, skate, drink and everything was cool.  Nick ended up getting an ankle injury and he received muscle relaxers and pain killers for this injury but he never took them.  He knew he didn't need them so he never went and filled the scripts. Shortly after his injury, Nick went to film again and did the same exact thing to his other ankle.  This time was different though, Nick did get the scripts filled.  He couldn't go skate so all he had was these pills and this alcohol.   This is when things began to really go downhill for Nick.  He started with one pill and then that wasn't enough so he started taking more.  Soon that wasn't enough so he began snorting them and doing anything he could to increase his high.   People started to notice a change in Nick.  He would be nodding off at parties and people were asking questions and putting pressure on him to chill out.  It actually got to the point where Nick traded his pills for cocaine.  Nick figured that people would see he wasn't nodding out at parties so they would get off his back.  For Nick during this time, he was strictly focused on keeping people off his back for the things that he was doing.   The toughest part of Nick's story is that he has a tough time remembering specifics from his story.  When it comes to the night of Nick making the decision to go to rehab Nick doesn't remember a whole lot.  Nick remembers that he was up for multiple days straight.  He convinced someone to pay for his Uber to get to Chester to get drugs.  Nick remembers walking around the streets of Chester PA early in the morning.  He left Chester and went to Philly to continue partying.  The last bar that Nick went to in Philly was called 12 steps down ironically.  He convinced someone to pay for his Uber to get him back to West Chester to drink more.  He leaves the bars in West Chester to go home and this is when he realized he had nothing left.  He had no money, he had been up for days and he was SUPER ANGRY.  He tried to fight his brother, he was breaking things in the house and he remembers having a conversation with his mom.   The next thing Nick remembers is pulling into a rehab facility in New York but he doesn't even remember agreeing to go.  Once there Nick realized where he was and he was prepared to take off into the woods and figure it out.  Nick figured it would be easier to just bite his lip and go through this to get back to where he was.  Nick ended up being in detox for 7 days straight because of what he was coming off of.   Going through the program Nick started to realize that maybe this was something he needed to take seriously.  Towards the end, Nick started to hustle the counselor a little bit to get a script for Adderall.   The person who he talked to ACTUALLY wrote him a script to get it.  When Nick returned home he tried to get it filled but nothing worked.  He couldn't get it filled, he couldn't get an appointment, nothing.  Nick took this as a sign, maybe this was done.   Once Nick was out, he started to realize how good he actually felt.  This has been the biggest motivator for him.  Nick doesn't want to go through what he went through again and he feels so amazing he doesn't want to ruin that.  Nick has gone through so such an amazing change that he doesn't want to ruin it.  He has truly gotten his life back.   This was truly such an amazing conversation and I hope that you all enjoy.  Please make sure to check out Nick's video part here!   Nick's Instagram Nick's Facebook Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Marc Guberti.  Marc is an entrepreneur, author and content marketer who started with blogging when blogging was very young.  Marc was also very young himself, starting his first blog at the age of 11 thanks to the push from his mom.  Marc went on to start 100's of more blog over the course of his years based on his interests and this is where he began to find success.   Marc transitioned from blogging to building his business of showing people how to take advantage of the internet to market their business or personal brand.   Marc has faced many challenges specifically his age when it comes to being an entrepreneur but he has had the support of his family the whole way.  This was a great interview and I am looking forward ot sharing it with you on the Do It For Yourself Podcast.    Marc's Website Marc's Twitter Marc's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram   Support the show here

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn't neglect.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.   This week My guest is Triathlon Taren.  Taren is a YouTuber, Athlete, Entrepreneur, and social media influencer.  Taren creates online content centered around helping fellow triathletes take that first step into registering for a race, stepping up in distance or avoiding mistakes that he has already made and learned from.   Taren started as an investment advisor but was feeling unfulfilled in what he was doing.  On the side, Taren was exploring social media and that was when he decided it was time to make a change.  He began working for a social media company who was responsible for managing social media accounts for various businesses.  Taren actually went on to purchase the section of the company he was working for an launched it into its own business.  From there Taren began testing new ways to create content on his own, to test theories for his clients and so was born Triathlon Taren.   Taren has since closed the PO5T office and is now taking on Triathlon Taren as a full-time business.  His goal is to grow this into a self-sustaining company that is a major player in the triathlon world.   Please enjoy my interview with Triathlon Taren.   Taren: Triathlon Taren YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1AKDrz2GvLxD29W9tow66g Triathlon Taren Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/triathlontaren/ Triathlon Taren Twitter: https://twitter.com/triathlontaren Triathlon Taren Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/triathlontaren Triathlon Taren Podcast: http://triathlontaren.com/topics/triathlontarenpodcast/ Triathlon Taren Website: http://triathlontaren.com/   Do it for Yourself: https://www.instagram.com/doing_it_for_yourself/

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I had the privilege to sit down with Kristen Harper who is specializing in Hair Mineral Analysis to help people fight adrenal exhaustion.  Kristen herself suffered from adrenal exhaustion up until she was the age of 22 years old.  Kristen tried countless different options to help combat what she was going through but nothing seemed to work.   Kristen was determined to figure out what was going on with her health and even though it seemed like doctors did not have any answers she continued to research things on her own.  One day when she was researching she discovered an article written by Dr. Wilson.  She felt like this article was written about her and it resonated with her so much that she reached out to Dr. Wilson to talk to him.  Within 5-10 seconds on the phone call, Dr. Wilson told Kristen that she had adrenal exhaustion.  Kristen went through a hair mineral analysis with Dr. Wilson and went through his program.   Thanks to the results from this test and Dr. Wilson's program, Kristen has gained her life back.  Her life's mission is to now share this with her clients to help them get the same results.  She helps her clients with diets, exercise and the supplementation to help fight adrenal exhaustion.   This is a very powerful conversation surrounding adrenal exhaustion and I am very pleased to bring it to you on the podcast.   Kristen's Facebook Kristen's Website Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here.

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Roman Prokopchuk.  Roman is a business owner, entrepreneur, and fitness enthusiast.   I got connected with Roman through a group that we are both in thanks to the Podcast Movement.  As soon as Roman responded to my inquiry I knew that I needed to get him on the show and we did just that.   Roman immigrated to the United States at a very young age from a communist country.  When they left, they could only take with them what they could carry.  They brought some cash and whatever clothing they could carry but that was it.  Originally Roman was scheduled to arrive on the West Coast but things changed and they ended up in New Jersey and that is where he has been ever since.  When Roman arrived at the age of 5 there was certainly some stress stemming from the fact that he could not speak English.  The town that his family landed in though had a lot of Ukrainian immigrants that made it a little bit easier for him.  As soon as Roman went to school he began to learn English as his second language.  When Roman was moving into high school he was very athletic and he was focusing on playing sports.  Soccer was were he really excelled and he ended up getting recruited by some division 2 schools.  Roman knew he needed to go to college because he would be the first in his family to attend college and this was very important to him.   When Roman entered college he was actually an undeclared major because he did not know what he wanted to do.  Criminal Justice was an interest to him at the time and the appeal of being able to put in 25 years and then retire with a pension sounded great.  Going through college Roman was surrounded by people who were working very hard.  His grandfather had to completely start over from retirement when he came to the United States and so hard work was something that was instilled in him at a very young age.   When Roman was coming to the end of his college career he applied for a relationship with the Secret Service.  This entire application process was a total of 6 months and they went through EVERYTHING.  Once Roman passed everything, he went into the branch that was investigating counterfeit currency.  Roman enjoyed his time working here but he started to see the writing on the wall.  He saw that even if you went above and beyond, you were not necessarily rewarded for it.   Once Roman graduated things took a bit of a turn because it was 2008 and EVERYONE was on a hiring freeze so he could not find a job.  Roman continued to go to the gym and keep up with his fitness and this helped him not only stay positive but stay in contact with a friend who was just starting his business.  This friend ended up needed help with his business so he gave Roman a packet to study and offered him a job.  Roman read this packet and took what he learned and ran with it.   Roman ended up working for his friend for two months before another company ended up hiring him.  He pivoted once again and put his resume out there and he found a job.  Roman began in a role where he was focused on marketing and social media market within this company.  There were a lot of younger people working within this company who were going on to starting their own business and Roman thought to himself, they are not smarter than me, I know just as much as them, why can't I? Roman began to branch off and start his own company from scratch.  He was using his personal days, nights and weekends to build this business.  He was really focused on networking and meeting people who were just as focused to help him grow.  Roman ended up leaving his full-time job and picked up another job just for a few months to make sure he was comfortable until he was ready to go into his business full time.   Roman is now focused on building his social media market agency full time.  He works fully remote and is enjoying everything that he is doing.  I really appreciate Roman taking the time to come on the show and I hope that you enjoy this interview! Roman's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is Seth Rose who is a Mental Performace Consultant to many teams and athletes along with having his own company.  He is also a triathlon coach based out of Long Beach California working with triathletes.  Seth works with athletes of all levels and ages as well.  Seth is even going back to school for his Ph.D.  Are you tired just reading that?   Seth has been into sport since he was a youngster.  His sport of choice was soccer and his dream was to go on and play soccer in college and possibly beyond.  Seth loved soccer and when it came time for college he needed to select a college based on how much money he could get because he did not come from a super wealthy family who could foot the bill for him.   Seth ultimately found a school that accepted him and he went for his first college soccer try out.  He ended up getting his ass kicked and did not make the team but the coach told him to come back in the spring to train and practice with the team so the following fall he could essentially just walk on to the team.  Obviously, wanting to play soccer at the next level Seth jumped at this chance and continued to play club and intermural soccer to stay in shape and keep his skills sharp. One night Seth was studying and his girlfriend talked him into going to an intermural game that he was going to skip.  That night ultimately changed Seth's path forever.  Seth sustained a knee injury that caused him to give up his dream of ever playing soccer in college.  This was a dark time for Seth.  He was on crutches, he was told he could not play soccer and that he may never be able to run again.  During this time, Seth felt like he didn't have the resources that he ultimately provides to athletes today.   Seth began his rehab process while still staying in school and trying to figure out what path he wanted to go down.  He took online quiz after online quiz to try and figure out what he was going to do with his degree.  Seth came to terms with the fact that soccer was not going to be an option but he knew that he didn't necessarily want to be just a sports phycologist.   While Seth was doing his rehab and going through classes he met a guy by the name of Ed and he was taking a class just before graduation.  Ed was living off campus but would come and hang with Seth and his roommates between classes.  It just so happened that Ed was very into cycling and after he graduated he went on to purchase a bike shop.  Ed had mentioned to Seth multiple times that cycling could really help him even after his rehab was complete.  Seth ended up getting a Schwing Varsity that was way too big for him but he started riding his bike EVERYWHERE.  He fell in love with it and continued cycling with local groups and became fully immersed in the cycling world.  One day Seth was in class and he mentioned to his friend that he needed to prove to himself that he could still function as an athlete after everything he had been through.  Seth and his friend decided to sign up for a triathlon in California and their goal was simply to finish the race.  He had a base of swimming, he was into cycling through Ed and obviously, he knew running well from his soccer days.  Seth went into this race as a complete newbie but ended up getting a podium in his first race.  As many triathletes can relate, Seth was hooked from his first race and he went on to continue racing.  At this point, Seth's interest was really peaked in the sports phycology background for athletes.  Seth's goal is to help people optimize their performance because he is still an athlete at heart and that is what he is trying to do.  I really enjoyed this episode with Seth and if you are interested in learning more about his services please check out the links below.   Seth's Website  Seth's Instagram  Seth's email   Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I had the pleasure to sit down with Levi Schenk who is someone I have known since high school.  Levi and I went through the same struggles all through high school because we were both the bigger kids who were made fun of all through high school.  Thanks to the beauty of Facebook I was able to keep up with Levi post-high school and I could see what he was up to.  I noticed that Levi had lost an incredible amount of weight but this was well before the podcast had started.  I looked at Levi as some motivation for when I was starting my journey because he was someone I knew, someone who I saw go through his journey.   Levi had a similar story to mine in that he tried to lose weight but did not have the resources in order to do so at first.  He was playing sports and knew he needed to make a change but did not have the options at home or at school to help with this.  The wake-up call came for Levi when he was forced to take a gap year during college and he also had broken up with his girlfriend.  He knew that if he wanted to attract someone that lived up to his standards, he needed to make sure he did whatever he could to live up to their standards as well.   Levi took this as an opportunity to say fuck you to all of the people who said he wouldn't go back to school after his gap year and show them.  He knew that he needed to do something with this year rather than just work and save money to go back to school and that he did.  He treated the gym as if it were school to keep him accountable.  When he was in school he could only miss a certain number of days each semester and he treated the gym the same way.   This really helped Levi stay on track with his weight loss.  As many of us experience with weight loss though, we become determined and more interested in how we can do things better.  He began researching and finding ways to "hack" his weight loss.   Levi has completely changed his lifestyle and now he enjoys so many new activities that he never thought of before.  He enjoys cycling to work, he picked up skiing and he is loving life.  I love hearing and sharing stories like this on the podcast, it is definitely one of my favorite things to share.  I really hope you enjoy this interview with Levi!     Levi's facebook Do It For Yourself Facebook Do It For Yourself Instagram Support the show here!  

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is the amazing Wil Visser, otherwise known as icantweightnomore on Instagram.  I discovered Will's journey through a transformation page called Weight Loss Stories and I knew immediately I needed to sit down and chat with him.  I sent Wil a message and we got connected, little did I know that he was located in Australia.  This always makes scheduling a little difficult but luckily Wil was very flexible and we could make it work out nicely for both of our schedules.   Wil's struggles with food really started at an early age because of an unhealthy relationship with food.  He learned growing up that you were to eat what was put in front of you.  Not only were you to eat what was put in front of you but you were to finish all of it if you wanted to have your treat after the meal.  These really began to create an unhealthy relationship with food.   Moving through college or university Wil carried these habits with him and they began to get worse.  Food gave him a reason to socialize with people.  Gatherings were usually surrounded by food and this only fueled the unhealthy relationship with food through Wil's thirties.  Wil also learned that he had a tumor on his pituitary gland that actually made him put on weight and made it even harder to lose weight.   Even when things began to spiral out of control and Wil had to have the chair that had an extra high weight rating, Wil did not shy away from food because it brought him together with others.  Even though he was so different than everyone at work, they could all come together for a meal.  No one ever looked at these things as a problem, they enabled it by getting a chair with a higher weight rating rather than helping him with things like diet or exercise.   There was one day where Wil woke up and he was actually sad that he woke up that day.  Wil admits that he would never act on these thoughts, but he was still sad that he woke up that morning.  Wil knew that things needed to change and it wasn't simply that he was eating too much.  He started to have some symptoms that he knew something wasn't right but all of the doctors he talked to blamed it all on the weight instead of looking into it further. Wil had an off chance to meet with a doctor who came in from overseas and they discovered the tumor and began treatment.  They actually got the tumor to shrink and he began to get on the right track.  Wil started to look into some options for weight loss surgery.  After a few years of bouncing back and forth between different procedures.  He woke up one day and he knew he needed to make a change and so he began to look into this very seriously.   Wil found the best of the best, the most top-level surgeon that he could find and he went and spoke with this doctor.  The doctor told him that the risks associated with surgery were far outweighed by the risk of him staying obese.  Even after Wil made the decision to go through with something he was nervous about the person he would become if it worked, he was worried about being able to make the change and he delayed even further because he was so nervous.   Ultimately Wil decided before he was going to go through with the surgery, he was going to work on his mental health and his relationship with food.  He began to work with specialists on his mental health to make sure he was ready to go through with such a big change.  Wil was so determined to not wake up sad anymore that he continually pushed himself to be better every single day, even before going through with his surgery.  Wil followed the diet his surgeon gave him to the script to ensure he would be successful.   Once through the surgery, Wil learned that his stomach was so stretched they actually removed 90 percent of his stomach which was one of the highest amounts in the history of this surgery.  Coming out of the surgery things were definitely different but Wil was determined to make sure he was successful.   Wil's journey is absolutely amazing and I am so honored that he came on to share his journey with us.     Do It For Yourself Instagram Wil's Instagram Support the show here!

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.   This week my guest is Julian Hayes who is a high performance and sleep consultant and young entrepreneur.  

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I had the privilege to sit down with the CEO and co-founder of Green Relief Warren Bravo.  Green Relief is a medical cannabis company based in Canada that is shaking up the industry with their growing techniques.  The story began with Warren working in the concrete industry.  He was the third generation in the family business and his interested was peaked by his good friend.  He was approached by Steve because his son and son's friends were able to grow plants based on the old rules.  After getting his feet wet with the first investment Warren knew that he wanted to pursue this a bit further.   When Warren was going through this next process he knew that it was going to be a challenge because he and his partner Steve did not have any political ties to move this process along.  They needed to go through the process and answer all the questions once twice, sometimes even three times.  Warren is so thankful for his wife who took care of a lot of this because at times Warren admits he does not have the patience for this.   Once everything was clear, Warren and his crew began building their facility to start growing aquaponically. Warren and his partner Steve were lucky enough to have the contacts and resources from the construction industry.  They were able to cut the cost significantly when it came to the constructor of their state of the art building.  Once the building was constructed they were ready to put in their fish tanks, yes you read that correctly, fish tanks.  The growing technique that Green Relief uses is called aquaponics and it is the first time it has ever been used to grow cannabis.   The plant's life on a closed loop system where it feeds off of fertilizer that is pulled from the fish waste in the fish tanks.  This technique uses 90% less water than traditional growing techniques because they recycle the water and push it back into the system.  There is a lot that goes into getting this system set up but Warren and his team feel that this is the best way to grow and give back.   Even after they are done with the fish they take the fish that they will no longer use for their growing process and they donate them to a local food bank for meals.     I really enjoyed my conversation with Warren and learning more about his company and the technique they use for growing.  Please enjoy.   Green Relief Green Relief Instagram Warren Bravo Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. For many of you, this week's guest needs no introduction.  If you have been following anything triathlon on social media, especially YouTube you have most certainly seen something shot by Talabot Cox.  Talbot seemingly exploded on to the scene overnight but I promise you that was not the case at all.   Talbot was using photography just as a passion while competing in triathlons himself.  When the spark was first lit Talbot was still working his full-time job and knew very little about the world he was going to jump into but he knew he loved triathlon and was finding his passion for photography.   We get a chance to dive into full detail here for Talbots story and how it all started.  I really hope you enjoy this conversation!   Talbot Cox Talbot's Instagram Talbot's YouTube Channel  Do It For Yourself Instagram

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. Samantha Riley is an entrepreneur who helps others set up a "freedom business" that helps people live a lifestyle that they would like to live.  She has been an entrepreneur for quite some time now and she really enjoys helping people build a business that helps them do what they love while also living out the life that they love.   Sam started her entrepreneurial journey with a side hustle as so many entrepreneurs do.  She started a dance studio on the side because she loved to dance and had done it for all of her life.  Soon after starting up her studio Sam realized there was a need in the area where her studio was.  Many of her students and other dancers needed to travel into the city to get their dance uniforms.  Sam decided to also open a shop that sold the products that these people needed much closer to where they lived.  Sam ended up running and growing these businesses over the next 18 years.   By the time Sam turned 26 she had grown the business to 7 figures and beyond.  By the time she was 37 years old, Sam had the ability to retire, but she decided not to retire and still stay with it.  While growing the business and taking care of her family, things started to change for Sam.  Although things weren't going well for a little while Sam and her husband had decided to end their marriage overnight.   After a few weeks of the separation Sam's then husband came to her with some paperwork and explained to her what it was but she did not have anyone review the paperwork before signing it.  Unfortunately, what Sam had just signed was the paperwork to turn the businesses over to her husband and she was left with nothing.  In the blink of an eye, Sam didn't have any money coming in anymore.  After the paperwork was signed Sam began her rebuilding process.  She had some personal training clients that she was working with and she continued to work with them for a year.  After that year, Sam knew that she could not remain where she was.  Again, overnight Sam made the decision to move over 1,200 miles away and start completely fresh.  There was a pivotal moment when someone as Sam "If you were a fly on the wall at your own funeral, what would people say?" and this was when she began to completely rebuild.  Sam began by taking things one step at a time.  She was ready to rewrite her life in whatever way she wanted.   Sam loves people and she loves to travel so she began to brainstorm ways to use her experiences and her passions to create the life she wanted.  Sam began to work with coaches, mentors and took classes to get herself out of this fog and really get laser-focused on what it was she wanted to do.  Sam wanted to experiment and build an audience that she could then turn them into her customers.  She would share content online and then listen to what people had to say and what they liked.  Sam just kept building and kept sharing to find her niche that she wanted to work in.   During this whole process, Sam had the awareness to know when it was time to pivot or change lanes to find what it was that she wanted to do.  She was consistent and showing up every day to get stuff done, but she didn't stick to one thing at first, she was able to pivot and change as this went along to fins exactly what she was looking for.   Sam knows this wasn't something that was built overnight but she kept showing up and has now built something that she loves doing and has such a passion for.   I really enjoyed this conversation with Sam and I hope you do as well.     Sam's Instagram Sam's Website Do It For Yourself Instagram