Kill Cliff Podcast

Coronavirus got you anxious? Take a few tips from WWE Superstar Sarah Logan (@sarahloganwwe) - she's been preparing for living without grocery stores or creature comforts her whole life. The Nerds and Sarah sit down (at an appropriate social distance, of course) to talk and share a few laughs about Sarah's humble roots, a wild idea to head to Japan to be the whipping...girl for her wrestling mentors, and the twists and turns of her rise to be a WWE superstar in the ring. You will either be inspired or terrified of Sarah's expertise with a variety of weaponry, but you'll definitely be entertained!

This week's guest is Navy SEAL veteran Mike Day. You may not know Mike's name, but you'll want to hear his story. Mike was shot 27 times by Al Qaeda and has lived to tell the story. You get to hear that story in this podcast. Guys like Mike are a rare breed in this world. We don't often find guys who have come out of the fire with the kind of humility, grace, and humor that Mike does. We promise you'll enjoy this podcast.

The Nerds sit down with the hilarious and multi-faceted Gary Quesenberry, fan-favorite from The History Channel's Top Shot and Top Shot All-Stars, retired Federal Air Marshal, and author of the upcoming "Spotting Danger Before It Spots You: Build Situational Awareness to Stay Safe". Gary talks about his time in the Army, as a Federal prison guard, and as an entrepreneur making holsters in his Easy-Bake oven. Shamelessly, Gary admits that he stole Jon's SEAL Trident during a Wild West-style duel. Or something like that. You'll have to watch for the full details.

In this episode of the Kill Cliff podcast, the guys from Entreprenerds Comedy sit down with Jake McLaughlin, former star of NBC’s hit drama Quantico, co-star of the upcoming movie “Home” with Kathy Bates, and a real-life war hero. We step back from the drama and talk about the hilarious shit from Jake’s time in Iraq, his missteps and his successes in his pursuit of getting to Hollywood, and his secret efforts to squeeze in shout-outs to the boys from his old platoon. This candid and self-deprecating take with one of Hollywood’s biggest up-and-comers will ruin your image of the pretentiousness of Hollywood!

On this episode of the Kill Cliff Podcast, the guys from Entreprenerds Comedy sit down with Amelia Boone. Amelia is one of the most accomplished Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) athletes in the history of the sport. She has won both the Spartan Race World Championship (2013) and World's Toughest Mudder (WTM) three times (2012, 2014 and 2015). In 2014, she won the WTM title eight weeks after major knee surgery. Amelia and The Nerds discuss her quick rise through the ranks of obstacle course racing all while balancing her career as a successful attorney. We talk about the pressures that come along with being the face of a rapidly growing sport, and what it’s like when injuries sideline you from maintaining that title. Amelia gets candid about some personal struggles, internet trolls, WWE finishing moves, and how she’s found strength from sharing her personal story with the world.

In this episode of the Kill Cliff Podcast, the boys from Entreprenerds Comedy sit down with the OG’s of the Kill Cliff brand, Todd Ehrlich and GW Garrison. Todd is the founder of the company, and GW joined the team shortly thereafter. The Nerds talk to Todd and GW about the challenges of creating and growing a small company, and some of the insane risks they took along the way that helped make Kill Cliff what it is today. Todd and GW were also candid about mistakes made early on at Kill Cliff but how supporting a larger cause (Navy SEAL Foundation) helped them persevere during challenging times.  

On this episode of the Kill Cliff Podcast, the guys from Entreprenerds Comedy sit down with Robbie McCall, the brains behind the social media favorite, McDojoLife. Over his 22 years in martial arts and combat sports, Robbie has earned black belts in multiple martial arts and has competed as an amateur boxer and kickboxer. Robbie owns his own karate school but is most well known for running the highly successful Instagram and YouTube accounts, McDojoLife, where he exposes fraudsters and fakes in the world of martial arts. Robbie and the Nerds take a light-hearted look at the concept of McDojolife and how Robbie has used his extensive knowledge in combat sports to expose the scam artists plaguing the industry. During the podcast, we break down some of McDojolife’s greatest hits videos, diving deep into how these fraudsters brainwash and swindle their followers.

On this episode of the Kill Cliff Podcast, the guys from Entreprenerds Comedy chat it up with Mike Rodriguez, one of MMA’s fast-rising stars. Mike is well known for his flying knee and long, but he didn’t “burst onto the scene”…he’s literally fought his way through the ranks to become a force to be reckoned with inside the octagon. From his first fight in high school (where he logged the first-ever use of a carton of strawberry milk as a weapon) to his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series to being a dad who’s job is to fight people, Mike, and The Nerds talk about the challenge and the hilarity of coming up in the UFC.

After a long break, we are back! The KILL CLIFF podcast has gone through a bit of a makeover. Here's a quick look into what you can expect from the KILL CLIFF podcast 2.0: The podcast will be hosted by Jon Cleck and Josh Frank. Both are military veterans that have decided to join forces to create the Entreprenerds Comedy group.  In the previous iteration of our podcast, our show consisted of interviews with badass/interesting people. That has not changed. Josh and Jon will simply be adding their own humor and flair to each episode.  Be on the lookout for multiple episodes coming out every month!  

Episode 44 is unlike any episode we've had before. Our guest this week is professional skateboarder Bradon Biebel. Biebel has been skating professionally for about 20 years. His sponsors include Girl, Diamond Supply Co, Spit Fire Wheels, Kill Cliff, Glassy Eye Wear, Grizzly Grip, and Ryot. Host Mark Zinno and Biebel talk about Tony Hawk's impact on the sport, how Biebel making skating videos put him on the map, dealing with security guards, Biebel's private skate park, his multiple sponsorships, skating injuries, and more. 

Episode 43 might make you jump off the top rope and put someone in a headlock. Our guest this week is WWE star, Sarah Logan. Sarah makes up one-third of the Riott Squad and is a force to be reckoned with in between the ropes.  Host Mark Zinno and Sarah talk about Sarah's early athletic ambitions, wrestling against boys, a concert that led her to the start of her wrestling career, her training experience in Japan, how she got her nickname Crazy Mary Dobson, getting into the WWE, and more. 

For the 42nd episode of the Kill Cliff podcast, we have Jim Miller joining the show. Miller is one of the more accomplished fighters in UFC history as he holds the record for most UFC bouts, most wins in the Lightweight division, fourth-most wins in UFC history, and most Lightweight submission wins in UFC history.  Host Mark Zinno and Jim talk about his love/hate relationship with wrestling, his relationship with his UFC fighting brother Dan, getting into the ring for the first time, the current state of the UFC, his memory of his fighting history, Dana White's impact to UFC's success, and more. 

Our 41st episode is here and it's a good one! Our guest this week is the creator/co-founder of The Tactical Games, an athletic event that combines functional fitness and military training. Tim spent just shy of 24 years in the US Army. Starting off in the 82ndAirborne Division, Tim quickly made the transition to Special Forces. After serving a number of years in 7th Special Forces Group, Tim spent time as an instructor at the USAJFKSWCS teaching Green Berets. Host Mark Zinno and Tim chat about the creation of The Tactical Games, Tim's gymnastics background, how joining his friend for a meeting with a recruiter changed his life, how mowing his church's grass gave him a new perspective, details of his incredibly difficult Green Beret training, multiple stories from his 24-year military career, and more. 

We've reached 40 episodes on the Kill Cliff podcast! To celebrate, we brought on Kill Cliff athlete Blaine McConnell as our guest all the way from Iceland. Blaine is an all-around athlete with experience in baseball, football, and CrossFit. His athletic background led him to join Team USA Bobsled.  Host Mark Zinno and Blaine go through Blaine's impressive athletic background, the struggles of playing defensive back in arena league football, his introduction to CrossFit, how CrossFit could help football players train, his GRID league experiences, his girlfriend (now wife) proposing to him, working with CrossFit Invictus in San Diego, an Olympic watch part led him to becoming interested in bobsled, and his journey in making Team USA Bobsled. 

After a few weeks off, we're back with a strong episode. Our guest this week is Chris Henderson. Chris is the guitarist for 3 Doors Down, a U.S. Navy veteran, and an Army veteran. Chris also battled addictions to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. His addictions led to weight gain that topped him out at 287 lbs. Chris got sober and found a new addiction in CrossFit, which has helped him lose 130 lbs. Host Mark Zinno and Chris squeezed a lot into an hour, including his childhood aspirations of the NFL, military service, and music, his decision to join the Navy, a jam session with a high school friend that led him to joining 3 Doors Down, playing music while serving in the Army National Guard and Navy Reserves, hearing their hit song Superman on national radio for the first time, the rise of 3 Doors Down, the details of his drug and alcohol abuse, the weight gain that led to his CrossFit career, and more.   

The 38th episode of the Kill Cliff Podcast is here! We are joined by Jenn Dancer for this episode. Jenn is a former professional soccer player and CrossFit Games athlete. She played collegiately at the University of Missouri and professionally in the U.S. and Sweden. She has competed both as an individual and on a team at the CrossFit Games, including a second place finish in 2018 with her Invictus team.  Zinno and Dancer talk about Jenn's early life which was filled with multiple sports, her eventual focus on soccer, her collegiate career at Mizzou, getting her chance to play professionally for the Boston Breakers, training for the U.S. National team, the influence that coach Tony DiCicco had on her career, playing overseas in Sweden, meeting her husband Sam Dancer through CrossFit, transitioning to CrossFit, and more.   

On episode thirty-seven of the Kill Cliff Podcast, we are joined by Calvin Ridley and Riley Ridley. Calvin is a former All-American at the University of Alabama and is now lining up opposite of Julio Jones in Atlanta. The younger brother, Riley, just finished up his career at the University of Georgia and has spent the last few months preparing for the draft.  Host Mark Zinno talks with the brothers about their childhood, growing up playing on the same team, the recruiting process, playing against each other in the 2018 National Championship game, hearing their name on draft day, and more. 

Ben Askren is our guest on the 36th edition of the Kill Cliff Podcast. Ben was a 2x state championship high school wrestler, 4x All-American at the University of Missouri where he won 87 matches in a row over his junior and senior year, wrestled for the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing, made his way up the MMA ranks, and is now fighting in UFC.  Ben and host Mark Zinno go over Ben's childhood, his early memories as a wrestler, his dominance in high school wrestling, being disappointed early in his college recruiting process, winning 87 matches in a row at Missouri, making the 2008 Olympic team, his transition to MMA, his debut in the UFC against former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 235, and more. 

Lyle Thompson is our guest for the 35th edition of the Kill Cliff Podcast. Lyle is currently the star of National League Lacrosse's Georgia Swarm. In his short time in the league, Lyle has won the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and led the Swarm to win a championship in 2017. Before his professional career started, Lyle dominated college lacrosse at the University at Albany where he set the NCAA D-1 record for most career points and assists. He has three brothers that also play professional lacrosse, two of which are teammates of his on the Swarm.  Host Mark Zinno and Lyle chat about the life of Lyle, including growing up on a Native American reservation, having lacrosse in his bloodline, enjoying the simple things such as hot water, playing high school varsity lacrosse as an 8th grader, why he chose Albany over Syracuse, getting to play with his brothers in the pros, his time with the Swarm, and more.  

We are joined by Andy Stumpf for episode thirty-four of the Kill Cliff Podcast. Andy is a Navy SEAL veteran and a world record holder. Although no longer wearing a uniform, Andy continues to fight for the SEAL community and their families. In 2015 he set two World Records after jumping from 36,500 feet and flying over 18 miles in a wingsuit in an effort to raise 1 Million Dollars for the Navy SEAL Foundation. Andy is a sponsored skydiver and BASE jumper, constantly traveling the world creating content for his sponsors. Host Mark Zinno and Andy talk about Andy's family history with the Navy, why he enlisted before his senior year of high school, his BUD/S experience, fearing the bell, the start of his base jumping career, his time in the SEALs, getting shot in his leg, becoming an instructor, his base-jumping records, and more. 

On the 33rd episode of the Kill Cliff podcast, we are joined by John Allen. John is not only a Navy SEAL veteran, but he is also the CEO/Founder of Elite Meet, an organization dedicated to helping recently retired special operators gain high-quality employment. John and host Mark Zinno chat about everything from John's insanely talented family, how his mom finagled his way into college, his participation in a riot, becoming a world-ranked gamer, his introduction to a couple of SEALs that changed his life, his BUD/S experience, coming face-to-face with death and a grenade, his transition out of the SEALs, how Elite Meet got its start, and more. 

Episode 32 of the Kill The Quit podcast features possibly our most unique guest yet, Kyle Maynard. Maynard is a quadruple congenital amputee, best-selling author, motivational speaker, Mt. Kilimanjaro conqueror, 2x ESPY award winner, competitive MMA/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter, world record-setting weightlifter, and more.  Maynard and Kill The Quit host Mark Zinno dive into the life of Kyle, including the realization that he's different than everyone, getting started in youth sports, losing 35 wrestling matches in a row to start his wrestling career to winning 36 matches his senior year, his transition from wrestling to writing a best-selling book and starting his motivational speaking career, how and why he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Aconcagua, winning multiple ESPYS, and more. 

For episode 31 of the Kill the Quit podcast, we are joined by Omar "Crispy" Avila, a retired Army sergeant, Purple Heart recipient, Combat Infantry Badge Recipient, and Paralympic record holder.  Crispy and Zinno chat about Omar's childhood aspirations for joining the military, having to choose between college football and military service, his initial deployment thoughts, the incredible story of how he was nearly killed in action by multiple IEDs, his recovery from the multitude of injuries he suffered as a result of the IEDs, his post-accident weightlifting career, and more. 

John Dudley is our guest for the 30th edition of the Kill The Quit podcast! Dudley is a Kill Cliff athlete, professional archery athlete, former Team USA athlete, and an elite level coach. Dudley's trophy case includes:  APA Rookie of the Year, IBO National Champion (2X), NABH National Champion, AZ International Gold Medallist, European Grand Prix Gold medallist, World Field Championship Bronze Medallist, World Field Championship Silver Medallist, Arnold Classic Champion (2X), US Open Silver Medallist, US Open Gold Medal Team, British National Indoor Champion, and Australian Field Championship Gold Medallist, just to name a few.  Host Mark Zinno and Dudley cover a lot in this episode, including Dudley hunting with his father, his disappointing end to his college football career, how he got into archery, his successful archery career, his relationship with Joe Rogan, and more. 

Our guest on the 29th episode of the Kill the Quit podcast is Megan Henry! Currently a member of Team USA Skeleton, Megan is in the process of making the 2020 USA Winter Olympic team. Not only is Megan an elite Skeleton athlete, but she is also an Army soldier.  Mark Zinno and Megan discuss her recruitment into the Army, her time in the Army and the World Class Athlete Program, balancing a life of Army and athletics, how she originally got into the unique sport of Skeleton, explains the sport in detail, her Olympic goals, and more. 

The 28th episode of the Kill The Quit podcast should be covered in BBQ sauce and listened to low and slow because we're talking BBQ. This week's guest is Chad Ward, Traeger Grills Director of BBQ Marketing and Whiskey Bent BBQ Pit Master.  Host Mark Zinno chats with Chad about how Chad got his start in BBQ, everything about competition BBQ, sizing up his competition, teaching others how to throw down like him, his experiences with Traeger, and more. 

This week's episode of Kill the Quit features Todd Connor. Todd is the CEO and Founder of Bunker Labs and U.S. Navy veteran. Bunker Labs is a 501(c)(3) non-profit national network of veteran entrepreneurs dedicated to helping new veteran entrepreneurs start their own business.  Todd joined Mark Zinno to discuss how his military service came about, his reaction to 9/11, his military career, transitioning out of the military, the creation of Bunker Labs, and more. 

The first Kill The Quit episode of 2019 features one of our most creative guests yet. On this episode, we are joined by Donny O'Malley. Donny is not only a U.S. Marine veteran, but he is the creator/founder of VET TV. VET Tv is the first veteran television network full of dark, perverted, inappropriate, controversial, and irreverent military humor- created by and for veterans, without civilian influence.  Host Mark Zinno and Donny talk about what led Donny to join the Marines, his father's plea to graduate college, what Donny wanted to change about the Marines, the dark comedy and creativity that fueled his book "Embarrassing Confessions of Marine Lieutenant: Operation Branding Iron 2.1A", the creation of VET TV, and more. 

Episode 25 of the Kill The Quit podcast is here and it's a good one. Our guest this week is Jesse Iwuji. Jesse is not only a professional NASCAR driver, but he also played football and graduated from the United States Naval Academy. Iwuji also served in the Navy and is currently in the US Navy Reserve.  Iwuji and host Mark Zinno talk about Jesse's high school football recruitment, the balancing act of college athletics and academics, his time serving in the Navy, how he wound up on a race track, and more. 

Team USA wrestler David Taylor is the 24th guest on the Kill The Quit podcast. David is a four-time Ohio state champion, won two NCAA national championships at Penn State, and has continued his success in world competition as he has three US Open championships and was the 2018 World Cup champion. David and host Mark Zinno discuss David's youth in wrestling, David's determination for wrestling dominance at the age of 8, moving across the country for better wrestling competition, the coaching and mentorship of wrestling legend Cael Sanderson, his Penn State days, and his Olympic dreams. 

2x CrossFit Games athlete and former college football player Sam Dancer joins host Mark Zinno for the twenty-second episode of the Kill The Quit podcast. Sam discusses his early love for art, getting bullied in high school, his college football days at Western Illinois, developing keratoconus making him legally blind, his transformation into a CrossFit athlete, his lovely wife Jennifer, and more. 

On episode twenty-three of the Kill The Quit podcast, host Mark Zinno is joined by Taylor Canfield. Not only is Canfield a former Navy SEAL, but he's also the first Navy SEAL to drive NASCAR.  Canfield chats with Zinno about how he decided to join the SEALS, how lying got him wet and sandy, fear of "the bell", what led him to NASCAR, and more. 

For the 21st episode of the Kill The Quit podcast, Mitch "Smashin' Frog" Aguiar joined host Mark Zinno in-studio.  Mitch discussed his hatred of bullies, his naive approach to joining the Navy SEALS, his memories of BUD/S, balancing life as a SEAL while trying to make a name in the MMA world, and more.  Be sure to subscribe to the Kill The Quit podcast so you don't miss out on any of these inspiring stories from these awesome athletes. 

Retired Special Forces Green Beret Michael "Rod" Rodriguez is this week's guest on the 20th episode of the Kill The Quit podcast. Not only is Rod a Green Beret, but he is currently the President and CEO for the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation and was hand selected for President George W. Bush’s Military Service Initiative Advisory Council with the role of advising and supporting the President and leadership of the Bush Institute on key Strategic and Programming priorities in support of Veterans and their families. He is also on the Veteran Advisory Council for the VA in North Carolina. Rod and host Mark Zinno discuss everything involving Rod's time in the military, his family's military history, the multitude of injuries he had in combat, his life after the military, and more. 

Former Navy SEAL sniper and published author Kevin Lacz joins Mark Zinno for episode 19 of the Kill The Quit podcast.  The guys chat about the impact that 9/11 had on them and how it lead Kevin to serve our country, his BUD/S experiences, his involvement in Clint Eastwood's movie "American Sniper", the differences between the book and move, his reason for leaving the Navy, writing "The Last Punisher", and more. 

Former Navy SEAL medic/instructor and best selling author David Rutherford joins host Mark Zinno for another killer episode of the Kill The Quit podcast.  David chats it up with Mark about his childhood dreams of becoming an NFL quarterback, his short-lived experience as a Penn State football player, the reason he became a Navy SEAL, how he battled through BUD/S, his transition out of the SEALs and into Team Frog Logic, how he inspires teams, and much more. 

Former Navy SEAL, collegiate wrestler, and CrossFit stud Josh Bridges joined Mark Zinno for the seventeenth episode of the Kill The Quit podcast. This week, Josh talks about miserable sales job that led him to join the Navy SEALs, how he discovered CrossFit, how his athletic background prepped him for BUD/S, his rise in the CrossFit community, battling back from a horrible knee injury, and much more. 

On episode sixteen of the Kill The Quit podcast, host Mark Zinno is joined by Paralympics gold medalist Lex Gillette. Not only is Lex a gold medalist at the Paralympics, but he is the world-record holder for the long jump, all while being completely blind.  Lex talks about the frightening moments where he realized he was losing his sight, how he rediscovered his athletic ability, his Paralympics experiences, and much more. 

On the 15th episode of the Kill The Quit podcast, host Mark Zinno is joined by MLB beat reporter and collegiate swimmer Britt Ghiroli. Britt discusses how having a black-belt in taekwondo helped shape her athletic future, how she pushed through adversity at Michigan State, how she worked and grinded her way into MLB media, how she handles being one of the few girls in the world of sports, and a strong relationship with her sister that led to the creation of the website Athlete Daily. 

Former Navy SEAL and Virginia House of Delegates Representative John McGuire joins host Mark Zinno for the 14th installment of the Kill The Quit podcast.  John talks about being in foster homes as a child, his journey to and through the Navy SEALs, his Navy SEAL Physical Training business, and how he found himself in his new career as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. 

Former NFL offensive lineman, Kill Cliff employee, and motivational speaker Cory Procter joins host Mark Zinno for another episode of the Kill the Quit podcast.  Cory talks about his early years of wrestling and football, how the NCAA was pestering him about hot dogs, and his journeyman career in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and the Miami Dolphins.

On episode twelve of the Kill The Quit podcast, host Mark Zinno is joined by Jacqueline Carrizosa, aka BroJaq. BroJaq has a long list of titles that make her a complete badass, including Navy veteran, motocross athlete, firearms instructor, actress, and model.  Zinno and BroJaq discuss her service as a Navy rescue swimmer, her recovery from a horrible bike accident, and how director Peter Berg got her into acting. 

3x reigning CrossFit Master's champion (60+ division) Dave Hippensteel is our guest for this week's podcast. Dave and host Mark Zinno discuss Dave's "quest for fitness" as he describes it. His quest has included being a football player, decathlon athlete, springboard diver, motocross rider, and dominating the CrossFit world. During his quest, he maintained a successful career as a dentist. 

Former Navy SEAL and aspiring astronaut Mario Romero joins host Mark Zinno for the tenth installment of the Kill The Quit podcast. Mario explains his childhood dreams of becoming a SEAL, his intense studying and preparation for BUD/S, and how he went from a 1.7 high school GPA to applying to work at NASA. 

Former Navy SEAL and record-setting ultra-endurance athlete Wayne Dowd joins host Mark Zinno for the ninth installment of the Kill The Quit podcast. Listen to their conversation as they dive into Wayne's time as a SEAL, how a bet led to his first Iron Man, and much more. 

CEO/Founder of the Kill Cliff Granite Games and former professional hockey player John Swanson chats with host Mark Zinno about how a rough family life led him to grow up at the hockey rink, how CrossFit saved his life after an injury ended his hockey career, and the inception and growth of the Granite Games. 

John Doolittle is a United States Air Force Academy graduate, NCAA Swimmer, and former Navy SEAL. Doolittle's experiences with swimming and service as a SEAL led him to swim across the English Channel to raise money for the Navy SEAL Foundation and fallen SEAL Neil Roberts. Doolittle and host Mark Zinno discuss all of the experiences and more on this episode of the Kill The Quit podcast. 

Erin LaVoie is a Lumberjill champion, world record holder, and CrossFit gym owner, coach and competitor. Host Mark Zinno.

Shawn Ramirez is a former NCAA Wrestler and 4x CrossFit Games Champion at the Master's level

Michael Cohen is a Team USA Weightlifting Competitor, Olympic Competitor and 2x Olympic Weightlifting Team Head Coach. He is a leading authority in USA Weightlifting and owner of the Cohen Weightlifting Center.

Episode 3 of the Kill the Quit podcast is here! This week our host Mark Zinno calls up two-time Olympic gold medalist Meghan Musnicki. They discuss how Meghan got into rowing, her struggles in making the Olympic team, and her training process for staying in Olympic shape.