Choose the Hard Way

Matt DeCoursey is a serial entrepreneur, podcaster, author and Forbes Next 1000 recipient. He's the CEO and founder at Full Scale and the Startup Hustle podcast and the author of three books including Million Dollar Bedroom, Balance Me and The Realist's Guide to a Successful Music Career which he wrote with Umphrey's McGee member Joel Cummins. Full Scale enables companies to quickly and affordably build their development teams. Find them at fullscale.io. Startup Hustle tells the real stories of startups and entrepreneurs and you can find it at startuphustle.xyz and everywhere you listen to podcasts. To learn more about Matt, his books and his other businesses go to mattdec.com. Matt and I went to high school together in Kansas City, Missouri and I hadn't seen him in a few decades before I ran into him at an event while I was back home in Kansas City where the heart of rock and roll is still beating. The story of Matt's rise from piano sales to tech kingpin blew me away, and when I heard it, I knew I had to have him on the show. Please leave us an iTunes review (even one word is great) and subscribe and give the show a five-star rating on Spotify or iTunes. I love bringing you the stories of my guests and I really appreciate you taking a second to support the show which helps more people find it. Go to www.choosethehardway.com to sign up for the newsletter and if you have feedback or would like to suggest a guest DM @hardwaypod on Instagram or reach out at [email protected].

Dr. Gil Blander is the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Inside Tracker. Inside Tracker brings together blood biometric data, DNA insights and fitness tracker data to create science-backed action plans for people to manage their health and performance. Dr. Blander has a PhD in biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at MIT. He's an expert in nutrition, performance, biochemistry and aging research. You can learn more at www.insidetracker.com and find Dr. Blander on Twitter @gblander1.This episode is part of Life Cycles, a new series I've launched within Choose the Hard Way. Conversations in this series cover the territory you've come to expect from Choose the Hard Way--lessons learned at the limits of human experience and the obstacles people overcome to do great things--with guests whose lives and careers have been shaped by cycling or whose lives and careers have shaped the world of cycling. Since I launched this podcast in 2018, there have been many episodes that fit into this loose framework and I've gotten great feedback from you about them, so it felt like it was time to go deeper in this direction. Cycling has always been an important part of my life as a method of exploration, expression and connection and I'm excited to share these conversations with you. I'll still have regular episodes that have nothing to do with cycling at all and whether you like bikes or not, I think you'll find something to love in every episode. Please leave us an iTunes review (even one word is great) and subscribe and give the show a five-star rating on Spotify or iTunes. I love bringing you the stories of my guests and I really appreciate you taking a second to support the show which helps more people find it. Go to www.choosethehardway.com to sign up for the newsletter and if you have feedback or would like to suggest a guest DM @hardwaypod on Instagram or reach out at [email protected], all of those links are in the show notes.

In a land before YouTube and TikTok, a producer I knew introduced me to award-winning filmmaker Eric Matthies who shared my passion for cycling. Together, we created a TV pilot about cycling subcultures in Los Angeles. The show didn't get picked up, but the experience paid dividends we couldn't have imagined at the time. You can view the full pilot episode here. To see The Warriors alleycat film from the Bicycle Film Festival mentioned in this episode, go here. The Beastie Boys, Spike Jonze, Doug Aitken, Public Enemy, Soundgarden, a Tribe Called Quest, the Matrix, Man of Steel, 300, Nike, Converse & Vans are but a few of the artists, films & companies who have leveraged Eric's creative talents. He has made numerous award-winning documentary films with his partner, Tricia Todd including End of Truth, Killing The Messenger: The Deadly Cost of News, and Agile Mobile Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams. Eric is also the creator of Defy Apathy, a 'zine and creative movement. You can learn more about Eric at www.ericmatthies.me and access the creative output of Defy Apathy at www.defyapathy.net. Cycling has transformative power for people and the world. Life Cycles is a new series within Choose the Hard Way that explores peak performance and the obstacles people overcome to do great things with guests related to cycling. Please leave us an iTunes review (even one word is great) and give the show a five-star rating on Spotify or iTunes. I do this show because I love bringing you the stories of my guests and I really appreciate you taking a second to support us. Subscribe to this show wherever you listen and go to https://www.choosethehardway.com/newsletter to sign up for the Choose the Hard Way newsletter.

In the early 2000s one of the freelance journalism gigs I enjoyed the most was writing Tour de France commentary for Fox Sports during the Lance and Floyd Landis eras. I love cycling and cycling journalism, and today my guest is Spencer Martin who is one of the hottest creative and business talents in cycling journalism today. Spencer is the founder of Beyond the Peloton, a freemium substack and podcast that analyzes pro road racing at an unprecedented level of depth. I had a blast appearing on Spencer's podcast a while back and always enjoy hearing his take on what's happening in pro cycling. If you love bike racing, too, I highly recommend you buck up and treat yourself to a subscription to his exclusive content at https://beyondthepeloton.substack.com/. You can find that link in the show notes. Whether you're a pro cycling fan or not, you're going to dig this conversation. Spencer and I go deep on the business of sports, the future of content, the Tour de France, rim brakes, growing up in the midwest, his journey from elite junior runner to entrepreneur, things that motorists have thrown at us while we're out riding our bikes and much more. Thank you to everyone who has left us an iTunes review. If you haven't left us an iTunes review, please go here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/choose-the-hard-way/id1441900901 and leave a one-word review and hit five stars. I do this show because I love bringing you the stories of my guests and I really appreciate you taking a second to support us. Hit subscribe on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you listen and go to https://www.choosethehardway.com/newsletter to sign up for the Choose the Hard Way newsletter. High performance is for everyone. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Neil Tolaney is a General Partner at TCV, the storied Silicon Valley investment firm that focuses on private and public high-growth technology companies. Notably, Neil balances his career with being the dad of four young children. With over $24 billion of assets under management, some of TCV's investments have included NetFlix, Spotify, Zillow, LegalZoom, and Strava. In this conversation, we discuss leadership, building high-performing teams and Neil's learnings from his vast experience supporting companies through their journeys to become category leaders. You can follow TCV @TCVTech on Twitter. Please hit subscribe / follow wherever you listen and if you listen on Apple podcasts, please take a moment to give this show a 5-star rating. It helps the show rank higher in search so more people can find the powerful lessons my guests share. Thanks to everyone who has taken a moment to subscribe, follow and hit the stars. If you have feedback or want to recommend a guest, email me at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Hector Guadalupe is a serial entrepreneur who builds businesses at the intersection of wellness and social justice. Hector is the founder of Unibody Fitness NYC, a fitness and training company that uses wellness to achieve physical transformation, provide second chances and bridge communities. Hector is also the founder of A Second U Foundation, a nonprofit that educates and trains formerly incarcerated people to help them start careers in the fitness industry as certified personal trainers. Hector spent 10 years in federal prison for drug trafficking charges, including 31 months in solitary confinement. While incarcerated, Hector got hooked on working out, lost 120 pounds, became certified as a personal trainer and got passionate about helping other people transform their minds, bodies and lives through fitness and the fitness industry. What he has done since then is nothing short of incredible and has caught the attention of outlets including the New York Times and CNN. In this interview, Hector and I talk about leadership, entrepreneurship, mindset, opportunity, the importance of second chances and much more. A Second U Foundation has trained over 200 formerly incarcerated people with a 0% reoffending rate and Hector has even bigger plans for the future. Also, a heads up that at the time of this recording, Hector had recently welcomed a newborn baby to the family. Congratulations, Hector! Towards the end of the episode you'll hear some contributions in the background from his new arrival. To support the powerful work Hector and his team are doing, go to https://asecondufoundation.org and find them on Instagram @asecondunfoundation. You can find Unibody at unibodyfitnessnyc.com or @unibodyfitness on Instagram. Please hit subscribe and if you're on Apple, take a moment to give this show a 5-star rating in Apple podcasts. It helps the show rank higher in search so more people can find the powerful lessons my guests share. Thanks to everyone who has taken a moment to listen and hit the stars. If you've got feedback or want to recommend a guest, email me at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Neil D'Souza is an entrepreneur at the intersection of tech, education and human potential. Neil has lived, traveled and worked in 40 countries and is an Ironman Triathlete. Originally from Mumbai, India, at an early age Neil set an unbelievable swimming record that involved spending 79 hours in a pool and landed him on MTV. Neil started his career in tech at Cisco where he was part of a team that spearheaded the 4G/LTE protocol. During his time at Cisco, Neil developed a strong passion for helping underprivileged communities and sought to bridge the education gap for children in remote regions of the world. Later, Neil was the Founder and CEO of Zaya Learning Labs, a disruptive educational startup that brings affordable education solutions to low-income communities around the world. Most recently, he's the founder of GetSetUp, a place for active older adults to learn, connect and share with peers in small intimate classes. We recorded this interview during the early days of GetSetUp when everything, including the company's name, was evolving. You can learn more about GetSetUp at https://www.getsetup.io. We recorded this episode in a WeWork way back in the pre-pandemic times, and you might hear a few footsteps on the creaky boards in the hallway outside our room. One day I'll have a hermetically-sealed, soundproof room for recording, until then, enjoy the amazing lessons that Neil was gracious enough to share. Please hit subscribe and take a moment to give this show a 5-star rating in Apple podcasts. It helps the show rank higher in search so more people can find the powerful lessons my guests share. Thanks to everyone who has taken a moment to listen and hit the stars. If you've got feedback or want to recommend a guest, email me at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

As a journalist, Tom Taylor has covered the intersection of science, technology and sports at Sports Illustrated and SportTechie. He has a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. Growing up, he dreamed of being an astronaut before discovering a passion for storytelling that took his life and career in a different direction. Through journalism, Tom has learned and written about topics as varied as disability and data privacy, nutrition and degenerative brain disease, the future of the NFL combine, equality and entrepreneurship, genetics and the Vietnam War. To learn more about Tom, read some of his favorite stories or contact him, go to www.dailytomtaylor.com. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and give us a five-star rating in the iTunes store. If you'd like to suggest a guest or send feedback about something new or different you'd like to hear on the show, please email me at [email protected] and you can also catch me on Instagram @hardwaypod. See previous episodes and sign up for our newsletter at www.choosethehardway.com. There aren't shortcuts or hacks on the road to becoming the best. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Michele Wucker founded Gray Rhino & Company to help leaders, organizations, and communities to identify and strategize responses to "gray rhino" risks: the term she coined to urge people to face up to challenges that are obvious and probable yet which we are all too likely –but not condemned– to neglect despite, and often because of, their size. The gray rhino metaphor has moved markets, shaped financial policies, inspired lyrics of a global K-pop hit song, made headlines around the world in more than 50 countries and over 30 languages, and shaped high-level debates from Davos to NATO to the Munich Security Conference to the Drucker Forum. What does risk mean to you? How do you manage it? Is your relationship to risk something you can transform? On this episode we discuss those questions and more with Michele Wucker, the author of four books including The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore. Her new book is You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World. Michele is a Guggenheim Fellow and former President of the World Policy Institute. Our conversation covers risk anticipation, management and mitigation strategies for individuals and organizations and much more. You can follow Michele on Twitter @wucker and learn more about her books and business at https://www.wucker.com and thegrayrhino.com.

Breath, Sleep, Stress, Recovery and High Performance. Does mouth taping during sleep improve recovery? How can you use breath to down-regulate stress throughout the day? What is HRV and why does it matter? Kristen Holmes is the Vice President of Performance Science at WHOOP. She works with top researchers and hundreds of the best tactical, pro and collegiate athletes and teams in the world to optimize training, recovery and sleep. Kristen was a 3x All American and 2x Big 10 Athlete of the year at the University of Iowa competing in both Field Hockey and Basketball. She was a 7-year member of the U.S. National Field Hockey Team and one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history, having won 12 league titles in 13 seasons and a National Championship at Princeton University.Kristen is a leading mind in the fields of high performance and recovery. I've learned a great deal from her work and the conversations we've had, so I'm excited to finally have her on the show and to share this interview with you. The best place to follow Kristen is on LinkedIn.

Dr. Samir Puri is a defense policy and counterterrorism expert. He has worked in government and in academia, including as assistant head of research at the British Ministry of Defense's think tank. Samir was raised in 1980s London in a family that had traversed three continents in three generations, from Asia to Africa to Europe. He later completed a PhD at Cambridge University in International Relations, worked at RAND, and then the Foreign Office, where his assignments covered counter terrorism, and a year in east Ukraine monitoring the onset of war in 2014. After government service, Dr. Puri became a lecturer in War Studies at King's College London, and also taught at Cambridge and Johns Hopkins. He has since left academia and in 2020 was appointed Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore. His previous books include: Pakistan's War on Terrorism and Fighting and Negotiating with Armed Groups. His latest book is Shadows of Empire: How Imperial History Shapes Our World. In this interview we cover a wide variety of topics including hybrid warfare, theories of conflict, violence, human nature, creativity, sport and Metallica. Go to www.samirpuri.com to learn more and follow him on Twitter @purisamir1. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and give us a five-star rating in the iTunes store. If you'd like to suggest a guest or send feedback about something new or different you'd like to hear on the show, please email me at [email protected] and you can also catch me on Instagram @hardwaypod. There aren't shortcuts or hacks on the road to becoming the best. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

National Geographic Explorer Grace C. Young is an aquanaut, sailor, diver and ocean engineer. Currently, she's a lead scientist at X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory where her team is creating radical new technologies to protect the ocean while feeding humanity sustainably. Grace is a former ballerina and studied Mechanical & Ocean Engineering at MIT and did her PhD at Oxford as a Marshal Scholar. In 2014, she lived underwater for 15 days as part of Fabian Cousteau's Mission 31. You can learn more about Grace at www.graceunderthesea.com and follow her on Instagram @gracecalvertyoung and twitter @grace_h20. A special thank you to my friend Brian Ferguson from Arena Labs and the Liminal Collective for first introducing me to Grace. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and give us a five-star rating in the iTunes store. If you'd like to suggest a guest or send feedback about something new or different you'd like to hear on the show, please email me at [email protected] and you can also catch me on Instagram @hardwaypod. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

How do you cultivate stress inoculation, resilience and an internal locus of control? Are they learnable skills? Are they situationally dependent? I explore these questions and more on this episode with Craig Weller. Craig made many mistakes on a bumpy path into the special operations community, but he made it and worked as a SWCC and in high-threat protection and diplomatic security. Since then, Craig spent the past decade studying and teaching peak performance. With Jonathan Pope, he's the co-author of Building the Elite: The Complete Guide to Building Resilient Special Operators. Their students have gone on to become Navy SEALs, Green Berets, SWCCs and members of the SAS and numerous other elite special operations units around the globe. If you dig this episode, please share it with a friend, hit subscribe and rate the show. Go to www.choosethehardway.com to sign up for The Hard Way newsletter and get cool stuff worth knowing + updates on new episodes.

David Brinton is an Olympian, World Champion, Hollywood stuntman, black belt, former pro cyclist, cycling coach and expert witness. The bicycle has taken David to some amazing and unlikely places as a human and professional. He has stunt doubled Mario Lopez, won national and world championships as a masters cyclist and could probably break an oak tree in half with a roundhouse kick. We talk about gut instincts, coming up from nothing and the power of why not. You are what you overcome. Choose the hard way.

You may have caught Randy on How I Built This with Guy Raz. In this interview, we take a different direction and dig into the early experiences that laid the foundation for Randy's future success. Randy is the founder and CEO of TRX, the human performance and training company. After rowing at USC where he studied history and martial arts, he had a 14-year career in the Navy as an officer, SEAL Operator and Squadron Commander of the SEALs Special Missions Unit. Following that, he got his MBA at Stanford's Graduate School of Business where he invented the TRX Suspension Trainer. I met Randy in the mid 2000s and wrote about him and the TRX suspension trainer for Outside magazine. It struck me as a revolutionary way to train and a hell of a good idea. I ended up leaving journalism to go work for Randy and had a front-row seat as the company skyrocketed from a startup to a global business with over $50 million in annual revenue. TRX gear and training programs are widely used in the military, in gyms, and by pretty much every pro sports team on the planet. If you dig this episode, please share it with a friend, hit subscribe and rate the show. Go to www.choosethehardway.com to sign up for The Hard Way newsletter and get cool stuff worth knowing + updates on new episodes.

Dean Kuipers' latest book is Deer Camp: a Memoir of a Father, a Family and the Land that Healed Them. It's the story of how he and his brothers reconnected with their estranged father through a plot of land in rural Michigan where Dean grew up. Dean is a journalist, author and editor who has had a long and interesting career writing about three big areas: ecology, politics and the arts. As a former editor at Spin and Raygun magazines, Dean wrote extensively on radical movements and rock'n'roll, with cover stories on artists including David Bowie, Neil Young, Iggy Pop, Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, the Rolling Stones, Marilyn Manson and many others. At the LA Times he was the editor of the Nightlife section and Greenspace blog and his journalism has also appeared in Outside, Playboy, Rolling Stone, the LA Weekly and many other publications.Dean is also the author of three nonfiction books and co-wrote a fourth with the artist Doug Aitken. I first met Dean when he was the Nightlife editor at the LA Times and he asked me to profile Mekhi Pfifer during his turn as Future in 8 Mile. Dean and I have crossed paths a few times since then and I really enjoyed reconnecting this conversation. It made me look at the world differently, and I think you'll really enjoy it, too. You can learn more about Dean at deankuipersonline.com. If you dig this episode, please pass it on to a friend, hit subscribe and rate the show. Go to www.choosethehardway.com to sign up for The Hard Way newsletter and get cool stuff worth knowing + updates on new episodes.

Tony Blauer is an entrepreneur and world-renowned personal defense and combatives expert. He's started hugely successful businesses--but he's also had the unfortunate experience of trusting the wrong people and having one of his businesses implode at its peak. He has created truly world-changing technologies and ideas, but his inventions have had challenging births and the world didn't always understand what he was doing. Tony is the founder and CEO of Blauer Tactical Systems, the host of the Know Fear podcast and the creator of the SPEAR system, a personal defense system rooted in evolutionary biology and neuroscience that leverages our innate, instinctive response to being surprised. For the past 40 years, Tony has taught his system to everyone from youth and soccer moms and dads to law enforcement officers and tier-one operators in the world's most elite special operations units. He also taught his system to me in 2009 as part of a story I wrote based on my experiences living in an area with a gang problem in Los Angeles. What I learned from Tony during a short period of time a decade ago transformed how I thought about violence, personal safety and situational awareness. One of the reasons I started this podcast was because of the experience I often had as a journalist where the best, most interesting I learned while researching stories often didn't belong in the stories I was writing. So I'm happy to share this in-depth interview with Tony about some of those things including the harsh and unexpected bumps he has hit along the way during his career as an innovator and entrepreneur. You can follow Tony on Instagram and Twitter @tonyblauer. Find his company at https://blauerspear.com/start and check out his Know Fear podcast. If you dig this episode, please pass it on to a friend, hit subscribe and rate the show. This show is about more than me, my guests and an idea. It's about the community that you all have created around it, and I love to hear from you. Drop me a line at [email protected] or @hardwaypod on Twitter or Insta. Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter and get cool stuff worth knowing + updates on new episodes.

What is the link between heavy metal and heavy innovation? How far-out is too far? How do you go from idea to market at scale? Let's find out. You read the CV's of some people and you think, is this a human being? Could one person really do this much in one life? My guest today is Krisztina Z Holly. She is one of those people and I can confirm that while she has done an inhuman amount of cool things, she is indeed a human being. Z is a legendary innovator, entrepreneur, advisor and talent amplifier. She launched and curated the first-ever TEDx event, founded innovation centers at MIT and USC and started up multiple companies. She was the entrepreneur in residence for the city of Los Angeles under Mayor Garcetti and she's been an advisor to the World Economic Forum and the Obama administration. Z says her superpower is identifying and amplifying hidden talent and has advised and nurtured dozens of entrepreneurs. When she isn't innovating, advising and changing the world through technology, Z is shredding on her mountain bike, skydiving, scuba diving, backcountry skiing and generally living life like a Mountain Dew commercial. If all you know about tech in LA is Silicon Beach, this episode is going to blow your mind. Find Z on Twitter and Instagram @krisztinaholly and at http://www.krisztinaholly.com. If you dig this episode, please pass it on to a friend, hit subscribe and rate the show. This show is about more than me, my guests and an idea. It's about the community that you all have created around it, and I love to hear from you. Drop me a line at [email protected] or @hardwaypod on Twitter or Insta. Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter and get cool stuff worth knowing + updates on new episodes.More about Z:Z was Vice Provost for Innovation at USC and Founding Executive Director of MIT's Deshpande Center and USC's Stevens Institute of Innovation, investing >$5M in early stage ideas, launching 39 venture-backed startups from university research, expanding Boston and LA startup ecosystems and raising $7M for 3 pre-seed funds. Z has deep technical roots and operating experience as co-founder or key member of Stylus Innovation (acq by Artisoft), Direct Hit (acq by Ask Jeeves) and Jeeves Solutions (acq by Kanisa). She worked for the Space Shuttle Main Engine advanced manufacturing team and MIT Media Lab. She helps Fortune 500 CTOs identify tech trends as a TTI/Vanguard advisor. Z's unique network spans industries and continents. Several pioneering programs she sparked continue to scale, 40,000+ events and two decades later. As EIR for LA Mayor Garcetti, Z launched a non-profit supporting local manufacturing. She's been advisor and board member to two dozen organizations globally, including the Obama Administration and World Economic Forum. Storytelling is core to Z's impact. She's host of The Art of Manufacturing podcast and a Forbes contributor. She's coached hundreds of speakers (>14M views) and helped produce documentary series for NSF, HBR, Smithsonian. Her work appears in BusinessWeek, Economist, CNN.com, strategy+business, HuffPo, Big Think, Science Progress, NASA Ask. Z has a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from MIT. A member of YPO and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society, licensed skydiver and SCUBA instructor, backcountry skier, adventure traveler, former quartermaster of the Black Rock City airport, Z lives in her hometown of Los Angeles.

Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter for updates on new episodes + a curated selection of things worth watching, listening to and reading, all with a Hard Way twist. What is a hazy IPA? How does a hops volcano happen? And what makes it so hard to start a small business outside of tech in the Bay Area? In this episode, I put my almost total lack of beer knowledge on full display in a conversation with my good friend, Regan Long. Regan is the co-founder, CEO and brewmaster of Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. They've brewed award winning beers, built a thriving business and have made videos of remote controlled monster trucks driving through beer can obstacles courses. The Bay Area is known as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. And it is. But a little known fact is that San Francisco can also be one of the most challenging places in America to start up a small business. During this interview, I reference a 2012 New York Times story about the two years of red tape, hurdles, NIMBYism and obstacles the founders of the Cole Valley Ice Cream Bar faced to open their business. When you're ready to have bureaucracy totally melt your brain, go read it here. Since that story dropped in 2012, with tech booming and with rising rents making it more and more difficult to staff service industry jobs, it has only gotten harder to start and operate a small business in San Francisco. In 2015, Regan and her partner Sarah Fenson opened Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. If you guessed it wasn't easy, you would be correct. It takes more than passion and a good idea to build a business that lasts. In this episode, we explore Regan's experience of walking away from an awesome job working for Mercedes Benz R&D as an intrapreneuer to start-up Local Brewing Co. and much more. Regan holds degrees in physics and oceanography and a brewing certificate through Seibel Institute of Technology World Brewing Academy. Learn more about Local at localbrewingco.com, follow them on instagram @localbrewingco and if you get a chance, stop by to grab a beer at 69 Bluxome Street in the heart of SOMA. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a pal and take a second to subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line and you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter for updates on new episodes + a curated selection of things worth watching, listening to and reading, all with a Hard Way twist. What is a hazy IPA? How does a hops volcano happen? And what makes it so hard to start a small business outside of tech in the Bay Area? In this episode, I put my almost total lack of beer knowledge on full display in a conversation with my good friend, Regan Long. Regan is the co-founder, CEO and brewmaster of Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. They've brewed award winning beers, built a thriving business and have made videos of remote controlled monster trucks driving through beer can obstacles courses. The Bay Area is known as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. And it is. But a little known fact is that San Francisco can also be one of the most challenging places in America to start up a small business. During this interview, I reference a 2012 New York Times story about the two years of red tape, hurdles, NIMBYism and obstacles the founders of the Cole Valley Ice Cream Bar faced to open their business. When you're ready to have bureaucracy totally melt your brain, go read it here. Since that story dropped in 2012, with tech booming and with rising rents making it more and more difficult to staff service industry jobs, it has only gotten harder to start and operate a small business in San Francisco. In 2015, Regan and her partner Sarah Fenson opened Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. If you guessed it wasn't easy, you would be correct. It takes more than passion and a good idea to build a business that lasts. In this episode, we explore Regan's experience of walking away from an awesome job working for Mercedes Benz R&D as an intrapreneuer to start-up Local Brewing Co. and much more. Regan holds degrees in physics and oceanography and a brewing certificate through Seibel Institute of Technology World Brewing Academy. Learn more about Local at localbrewingco.com, follow them on instagram @localbrewingco and if you get a chance, stop by to grab a beer at 69 Bluxome Street in the heart of SOMA. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a pal and take a second to subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line and you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter for updates on new episodes + a curated selection of things worth watching, listening to and reading, all with a Hard Way twist. What is a hazy IPA? How does a hops volcano happen? And what makes it so hard to start a small business outside of tech in the Bay Area? In this episode, I put my almost total lack of beer knowledge on full display in a conversation with my good friend, Regan Long. Regan is the co-founder, CEO and brewmaster of Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. They've brewed award winning beers, built a thriving business and have made videos of remote controlled monster trucks driving through beer can obstacles courses. The Bay Area is known as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. And it is. But a little known fact is that San Francisco can also be one of the most challenging places in America to start up a small business. During this interview, I reference a 2012 New York Times story about the two years of red tape, hurdles, NIMBYism and obstacles the founders of the Cole Valley Ice Cream Bar faced to open their business. When you're ready to have bureaucracy totally melt your brain, go read it here. Since that story dropped in 2012, with tech booming and with rising rents making it more and more difficult to staff service industry jobs, it has only gotten harder to start and operate a small business in San Francisco. In 2015, Regan and her partner Sarah Fenson opened Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. If you guessed it wasn't easy, you would be correct. It takes more than passion and a good idea to build a business that lasts. In this episode, we explore Regan's experience of walking away from an awesome job working for Mercedes Benz R&D as an intrapreneuer to start-up Local Brewing Co. and much more. Regan holds degrees in physics and oceanography and a brewing certificate through Seibel Institute of Technology World Brewing Academy. Learn more about Local at localbrewingco.com, follow them on instagram @localbrewingco and if you get a chance, stop by to grab a beer at 69 Bluxome Street in the heart of SOMA. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a pal and take a second to subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line and you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter for updates on new episodes + a curated selection of things worth watching, listening to and reading, all with a Hard Way twist. What is a hazy IPA? How does a hops volcano happen? And what makes it so hard to start a small business outside of tech in the Bay Area? In this episode, I put my almost total lack of beer knowledge on full display in a conversation with my good friend, Regan Long. Regan is the co-founder, CEO and brewmaster of Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. They've brewed award winning beers, built a thriving business and have made videos of remote controlled monster trucks driving through beer can obstacles courses. The Bay Area is known as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. And it is. But a little known fact is that San Francisco can also be one of the most challenging places in America to start up a small business. During this interview, I reference a 2012 New York Times story about the two years of red tape, hurdles, NIMBYism and obstacles the founders of the Cole Valley Ice Cream Bar faced to open their business. When you're ready to have bureaucracy totally melt your brain, go read it here. Since that story dropped in 2012, with tech booming and with rising rents making it more and more difficult to staff service industry jobs, it has only gotten harder to start and operate a small business in San Francisco. In 2015, Regan and her partner Sarah Fenson opened Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. If you guessed it wasn't easy, you would be correct. It takes more than passion and a good idea to build a business that lasts. In this episode, we explore Regan's experience of walking away from an awesome job working for Mercedes Benz R&D as an intrapreneuer to start-up Local Brewing Co. and much more. Regan holds degrees in physics and oceanography and a brewing certificate through Seibel Institute of Technology World Brewing Academy. Learn more about Local at localbrewingco.com, follow them on instagram @localbrewingco and if you get a chance, stop by to grab a beer at 69 Bluxome Street in the heart of SOMA. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a pal and take a second to subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line and you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Ethan Gold is a prolific songwriter, producer, composer and performer. Pitbull's tagline is "Don't stop the party." Ethan Gold's tagline is "Making sensitivity cool again." His dad is the Beat-adjunct writer and novelist Herbert Gold. his mother Melissa was killed in a helicopter crash along with legendary rock promoter Bill Graham. As he tells it, he grew up in San Francisco during the harsh period that followed the summer of love and his experience growing up during those dystopian times informs much of his work. I met Ethan in the early 2000's through mutual friends. I was working as a journalist in LA and he was living in an apartment across the street from my girlfriend at the time and working on music. Turns out he was working on what would later become the critically-acclaimed art-rock album Songs From a Toxic Apartment. He played everything on the album and produced it himself. Since those days, I've mainly stayed in touch with Ethan through his awesome newsletter, which you can sign up for here. He has kept woodshedding and putting out music and soundtracks for films that I love. I've always admired his persistence, his dedication to his craft and his steadfast commitment to pursuing his creative vision. What I didn't know was that a few years ago, Ethan had a very serious head injury that took away almost everything that was normal about his life. He had to relearn how to do things we all take for granted and that experience ultimately taught him a new way of being. Catch Ethan everywhere @ethangold and at www.ethangold.com. Like Tool, he has recently released his digital catalogue on Spotify, so be sure to go give his work a listen and hit subscribe. It's awesome. And if you're lucky, catch him playing somewhere in person. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a pal and take a second to subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line and you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. Be the first to hear about new episodes and things worth knowing when you sign up for The Hard Way newsletter here.

Known as the Queen of Pain, Rebecca Rusch is a 7x World Champion in sports ranging from adventure racing to whitewater rafting to 24-hour solo mountain biking. She has won the biggest monuments in off-road bike racing including four Leadville 100 mountain bike titles and five total wins at the Dirty Kanza in the 100-mile, 200-mile and 350-mile XL races. She holds the fastest known time for mountain biking the Kokopelli trail from Moab to Fruita, was on the first team to summit and descend Mt. Kilimanjaro on mountain bikes and she was a member of the Raid Gauloises Adventure Racing World Champion Team. She's also an entrepreneur, author and has her own world-class gravel race, Rebecca's Private Idaho. In 2016 she was the first person to ride the entire length of the Ho Chi Minh trail. That trip was captured in the feature-length documentary Blood Road. It tells the story of Rebecca's journey to try to reach the crash site and final resting place of her father, a U.S. Air Force pilot shot down over Laos during the Vietnam war, 40 years later on the anniversary of his death. I've written about Rebecca before as a journalist and have had the chance to hang out with her a few times at gravel events and at SXSW where we both spoke a few years back. She's not just one of the most accomplished endurance athletes in all of sport--she's an incredibly humble and thoughtful person. My dad also served in Vietnam. He came back alive. Watching Blood Road truly moved me on many levels, and after I saw it, I knew I wanted to explore the film and the impact that the process had on Rebecca. In this interview, we talk about the many ways that experience has transformed her as an athlete and human. You can learn more about the film at www.bloodroadfilm.com. Catch Rebecca on Insta @rebeccarusch and at www.rebeccarusch.com. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a buddy and take a second to rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line--you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. Be the first to hear about new episodes and things worth knowing when you sign up for The Hard Way newsletter here.

Dan Doty is co-founder of Evryman, a company that brings men together to exercise their emotions so they can lead more successful, fulfilling lives. Early in Dan's career, he spent over 600 days in the backcountry working as a wilderness therapy guide for disadvantaged and at risk young men and taught public high school in the Bronx. Later he worked as a producer and director on outdoor-based films and TV shows including the Meat Eater series (hosted by Steve Rinella). You might have caught Dan on the Joe Rogan podcast or the Today Show or read about Evryman in Men's Health. It's a movement that's growing fast. You can connect with Dan @danieldoty on Twitter, find him at dan-doty.com, catch his TEDx talk, "What the World Needs from Men," here and go to Evryman to learn more about their retreats, leadership training, men's groups and wilderness adventures. Evryman's trajectory has been up and to the right, but it has taken Dan a lifetime of learning for Dan to get to this point, and it's not smooth sailing just yet. He shares the wild story about the path that brought him to this point and the unseen, but acutely felt, sacrifices he has had to make to live his dream. If you dig this episode, please tell a friend about it and take a second to rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Shoutout to everyone out there who has dropped me a line, you can be in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected]. Be the first to hear about new episodes and things worth knowing when you sign up for The Hard Way newsletter here.

Jeff Provenzano, aka Jeffro, makes his living skydiving, BASE jumping and wingsuit flying as a member of the Red Bull Air Force. Jeff is a stuntman who has appeared in films including Ironman 3 and Godzilla and he is a champion competitor with over 20,000 jumps under his belt. He has trained elite military units in canopy flying and has been part of multiple world record-setting group jumps. He has insane energy and if you follow him on Instagram @jeffprovenzano, you'll see that he trains as hard as any pro athlete in the NFL, NBA or other pro sport. In this interview, we talk about how he forged his own path from art school and skateboarding to becoming one of the foremost human flyers on the planet and what he had to give up to make it happen. I originally connected with Jeff because of something he posted on Instagram that is the embodiment of what it means to choose the hard way (you can see the original post on Instagram here): "I want to share something with all of you. In case you were wondering, or maybe this just gives you insight on how my world works on a professional level. I receive many messages from you, my followers, showing positive support and encouragement and I appreciate that and love you. On the flip side I also receive messages like, "must be nice to get everything for free" or "how do I become a Red Bull athlete and just travel around like you?" Some people have never made a single Skydive and they want to do what I do. Seriously. I get messages like this all the time and I am blown away (also somewhat entertained) by how blind and lazy people are. It's good to be a dreamer and I am one too, but if you want to know how I got to where I am today it is simple. The answer is so simple, but no one wants to hear it. First of all, if anyone knows anything about sponsorships and working relationships with companies you will know that nothing is free. It's a real job. Second, if you are looking for the magic wand, well, there is no such thing as magic. The simple answer is you gotta do the work. You have to be the hardest worker. You have to want to work and be driven to work. By no means am I sitting around playing video games waiting for the phone to ring because I am a world class champion skydiver and I think I deserve this or that. No one wants to work with that person. Instead put the controller down and start doing something that will get you one step closer to your dreams (unless you want to be a pro gamer then that's cool) So instead of waiting for the genie to pop out and turn your lazy ass into a successful whatever it is you dream of becoming, try clearly defining your goals, create a realistic plan on how to get there and start grinding, today. There is no other way. Be relentless and work your ass off to get there. Life is what you make of it. So dream big, make a plan and work on that plan every damn day! If that seems overwhelming, take it one step at a time like a marathon runner. Start with a clear understanding of what needs to happen to cross that finish line. It's not an uber. There are no short cuts. Determination will get you there." -Jeff Provenzano Thanks so much to all of you who have given me a shout to let me know you're digging the show. Very much appreciated ! If you enjoy this episode, please get a friend to listen to it, too, and take a second to rate the show and leave a review. You can find more about the show at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch with feedback, questions or what have you on Twitter or Insta @hardwaypod, or send an email to [email protected].

Phil Gaimon is an ex-pro cyclist and the creator of the wildly popular YouTube cycling series, The Worst Retirement Ever. He previously joined me for episode 5 where he talked about his transformation from an overweight kid into one of the best pro cyclists in America and his evolution as a creator and entrepreneur. Phil is the author of two memoirs, a creative force and had planned to spend this summer on a cross-country tour to use his YouTube series to raise money for the No Kid Hungry charity. Then he had the opportunity to qualify for the 2020 USA Cycling Olympic track team and decided to pursue that goal, too. A month into his van tour, a track race at the velodrome in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania went sideways and Phil had a horrible wreck that put him in the hospital for a week with broken bones and a collapsed lung. Only a month out from the wreck, Phil joined me for this conversation to discuss what happened, how he is physically and emotionally processing the injury and how he used it as a chance to amplify his efforts to help No Kid Hungry. You can donate to his No Kid Hungry drive here. Check out the new business Phil launched during his recovery at www.icelegs.com. You can find him on Twitter & Insta @philgaimon, at www.philthethrill.net, and on Strava.com/athletes/philgaimon. During this episode, we talk about several bicycle track racing events. You can see a video of a points race here and a team pursuit race here. And check out Phil's video about his attempt to qualify for the Olympic team here. If you enjoy this episode, please get a friend to listen to it, too, and take a second to rate the show and leave a review. You can find more about the show at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch with feedback, questions or what have you on Twitter or Insta @hardwaypod, or send an email to [email protected].

Kyle Wong is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Pixlee, a visual marketing platform that helps brands market and sell with customer photos and videos. He launched Pixlee out of his Stanford dorm room and got his start as an entrepreneur in high school at Brooklyn Tech. He has been on a roll ever since. Kyle has been featured in Forbes' 30 Under 30 List and is a regular speaker and domain expert on influencer marketing and driving consumer engagement through social media. He is also an active contributor for Forbes and Fortune Magazine where he writes on digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and various leadership and career topics. I met Kyle a few years back when we were both doing keynotes at a tech conference at Colorado. He's an extremely humble guy who is always moving up and to the right, but he's not afraid to share about the tough spots along the way--or to provide a sharp point of view on what's actually tough in life to put some perspective on Peak Tech problems. You can follow him on Twitter @kwong47 and learn more about Pixlee @pixlee. If you enjoy this episode, tell a friend about it and please take a moment to rate it in the Itunes store or wherever you listen. It makes a huge difference and I truly appreciate it. If you'd like to be a guest or want to be in touch, you can find me on social @hardwaypod or drop a line to [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

Why did police destroy over 400 rape kits in cases where the statute of limitations hadn't expired or when there was no time limit to prosecute? That's the question that drove CNN reporter Ashley Fantz and her colleagues Sergio Hernandez and Sonam Vashi to spend more than a year to create Destroyed, a multi-media investigative report that has already led to changes to how police handle rape kits, calls for legislation and more changes on the way. On this episode, Ashley shares the challenges she had to overcome to report this story and takes you inside the mind of a journalist who has tackled some of the toughest problems in society and the world. She gives an inside look at how editorial teams tackle highly-complex, data-driven reporting, her process and how she navigates the emotional geography that comes with writing investigative reports about hard hitting topics including child abuse, the high suicide rate among military family members, the war in Syria and the deadliest tornado in U.S. history in Joplin, Missouri. I've known Ashley for more than two decades since we met as students at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I deeply admire the direct impact she has made in the world with her tenacious reporting and I'm thankful for what she shared on this episode. Follow her on Twitter @afantz. You are what you overcome. #choosethehardway.-Thanks for listening. If you have questions, comments or want to suggest a guest please reach out to @hardwaypod on social or email me at [email protected]. I've had times in my life when I've been in hot pursuit of my dreams and gave up when I hit obstacles I didn't think I could overcome. After more than two decades working with the world's top performers, I've learned that to be the best in the world, or just find your personal best, you have to choose the hard way. There aren't shortcuts or hacks that will get you there. And you're going to fail over and over along the way. By sharing these stories, I hope to empower more people to reach beyond who they think they are and just keep going, no matter what they encounter in life. You can help me make it happen when you take a moment to subscribe to Choose the Hard Way, leave a review and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. It only takes 30 seconds, I truly appreciate it, and so will the people who you help find the show. You can also sign up for the Choose the Hard Way newsletter to get more information about episodes, guests and awesome things when you go to www.choosethehardway.com/newsletter.

In the first 18 episodes of Choose the Hard Way, I've had the chance to share interviews with some of the world's top performers. Ep. 19 is different. Recently, I met an astronaut who challenged me to share more about my own failures through this podcast. No problem. I have lived through an abundance of painful experiences in business, relationships and life when I have doubted myself, fallen short, given up too soon or done everything I could and still failed. I've been racing bicycles off and on for 30 years, almost always losing. On this episode, I discuss the years of training that went into trying to win the Dirty Kanza Half Pint, a 105-mile bike race held on gravel roads in the Flint Hills near Emporia, Kansas. The Dirty Kanza 200 gravel race has become one of the most iconic bike races in the world. The Dirty Kanza Half Pint is the shorter version of that race. The 2019 edition of the race will happen on June 1st. The 2,500 entry slots to the races sell out in less than a minute when they become available half a year in advance and people travel from all over America and the world to compete in these races. I've completed the race three times, finishing near DFL in 2013 and taking second place--but not winning--in 2014 and 2015. Joining me is Blake Kasemeier, a.k.a. @blakeoftoday, co-founder of the content marketing agency Slide 32 and host of the Good Grief podcast. We raced as teammates at the Half Pint in 2014 and 2015 and tied for second in 2015. In this episode we discuss the 2013 and 2014 races. We go deep on what it's like to take a trip through the ass kicking machine, going back for more and what you learn on that journey. And laugh at ourselves quite a bit. We'll tackle the 2015 race in a future episode. Because it was such a truly horrific experience that it merits at least another 90 minutes of analysis. Want more? Read the stories I published about my races in 2013 and 2014 here. Connect with Blake @blakeoftoday on insta and twitter. Connect with Slide 32 at www.slide32.com and @slide_32 on insta and twitter and catch the Good Grief podcast at https://anchor.fm/good-grief. Thanks for listening. If you have questions, comments or want to suggest a guest please reach out to @hardwaypod on social or email me at [email protected]. I've had times in my life when I've been in hot pursuit of my dreams and gave up when I hit obstacles I didn't think I could overcome. After more than two decades working with the world's top performers, I've learned that to be the best in the world, or just find your personal best, you have to choose the hard way. There aren't shortcuts or hacks that will get you there. And you're going to fail over and over along the way. By sharing these stories, I hope to empower more people to reach beyond who they think they are and just keep going, no matter what they encounter in life. You can help me make it happen when you take a moment to subscribe to Choose the Hard Way, leave a review and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. It only takes 30 seconds, I truly appreciate it, and so will the people who you help find the show. You can also sign up for the Choose the Hard Way newsletter to get more information about episodes, guests and awesome things when you go to www.choosethehardway.com/newsletter. You are what you overcome. Choose the hard way. https://www.instagram.com/blakeoftoday/ https://www.instagram.com/slide_32/ https://twitter.com/slide_32 https://www.slide32.com anchor.fm/good-grief

Is the future of venture capital in Ohio? And what does being a wrestler have to do with building a high-performance career in tech? The answer to those questions and more on this episode. Today my guest is Robert Hatta, the Talent Partner at Drive Capital, where he helps portfolio companies build amazing teams. Drive Capital is a venture firm based in Columbus, Ohio that's focused on helping entrepreneurs who want to build world class technology companies. Drive was started in 2013 by two former Sequoia Partners who believed the next billion dollar companies would be created outside of Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Drive, Robert was the VP of Talent for JumpStart Ventures, helping to place hundreds of hires into early-stage startups at all levels. He also held senior leadership roles within technology companies at all stages of growth, including Apple, Netflix, Virgin Mobile and Tackk. But this interview is as much about wrestling as it is about tech. Robert comes from a long line of world-class wrestlers. His father and uncle both won NCCA championships at Oklahoma State and his father coached numerous Olympic teams. Robert's experiences on the mat as a child and later at Stanford helped forge his work ethic and created the foundation for his career. You can follow him on twitter @robert_hatta and you can find Drive at www.drivecapital.com. Thanks for all of the support, emails, and shoutouts @hardwaypod on social. Much appreciated! If you dig what you hear, please tag a friend in the comments and pass it on. A huge thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to hop over to iTunes and rate the show. Don't know how to rate a show? No prob--just watch this video or read this blog post to find out how, fast. Non-Apple people, I love you, too, and would appreciate it if you rate the show on Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you dig this episode, please do me a huge favor and rate the show + subscribe. If you're already onboard, please share this episode with a few friends. I really appreciate the support. I'll be back with another great guest soon. Want to be in touch? Reach out on Insta @hardwaypod or Twitter, also @hardwaypod or just drop an email to [email protected]. You are what you overcome. #choosethehardway

Miles Daisher is a legendary canopy pilot and wingsuit flyer with more than 7,200 skydives and 4,500 BASE jumps. That's more known BASE jumps than anyone on the planet. He may also well embody more stoke than any human on earth. He's a member of the Red Bull Air Force, a specialized human flight team of expert pilots and has worked as a stuntman flying in films including Ironman 3. In 2005, Miles set a BASE jumping record by launching 57-times in a single day, climbing a total of nearly 29,000 vertical feet and performed a record setting 737 BASE jumps in one year. In June 2017 he reclaimed this record by completing 63 BASE jumps in 24 hours. He lives in Twin Falls Idaho which conveniently has a bridge where he can BASE jump whenever he wants and the conditions permit. Miles is also a dad, husband and motivational speaker. In this conversation we discuss filling sandbags, how Miles came up in the sport with his close friend Shane McConkey, when you should be your own biggest critic and why he likes to take walks. Catch Miles on Instagram @miles_daisher and at www.milesdaisher.com. If you dig this episode, please do me a huge favor and rate the show + subscribe on iTunes or go to www.choosethehardway.com to get it on all platforms. If you're already onboard, please share this episode with a few friends or on Insta @hardwaypod or Twitter, also @hardwaypod.I find the stories of my guests to be moving and transformative and I want to share them with as many people as possible. Thanks for helping me make it happen! I'll be back with another great guest soon. Want to be in touch? Hit me up on social or just drop an email to [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the hard way.

Before he became a Special Forces Engineer and Weapons Sergeant and served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, Doug Kiesewetter was a college dropout whose primary motivation was drinking as much beer as possible and working on his Jeep. A tour of duty as a roughneck in the oil fields of Texas pointed him in a new direction. Still a Green Beret today, Doug is also the content director of SOFLETE, one of the most innovative and reality-based companies in the tactical fitness and human performance space with some of the most interesting content. I enjoy getting to talk to Doug, because he has lived a colorful life, to put it mildly, and knows how to tell a story. In this episode we talk about failure, both self-induced and otherwise, perseverance and pro tips for how to order food when your boss offers to buy you breakfast. You're not going to want to miss that last anecdote. You can find Doug on Instagram @dougtheelephantslayer and follow SOFLETE @sofletehq and https://soflete.com.

The Beastie Boys, Spike Jonze, Doug Aitken, Public Enemy, Soundgarden, a Tribe Called Quest, the Matrix, Man of Steel, 300, Nike & Converse are but a few of the artists, films & companies who have leveraged the creative talents of Eric Matthies. In this conversation, we discuss his path from a Chicago skate punk with a camera who shot videos for bands like Nine Inch Nails to the exceptional documentary film work he has created with his wife and collaborator, Tricia Todd, including The End of Truth, a doc about ISIS kidnappings in Syria and Killing the Messenger, a film about the global epidemic of journalist murders. Eric is a polymath with formidable talent as a director, producer, writer, poet and photographer. In addition to film, Eric has worked as a director and producer across a number of genres including site-based VR, world-building R&D and live events. You can learn more about Eric on his website, www.ericmatthies.me and on his Tumblr and connect with him (maybe) on Vero. Check out his doc work with Tricia Todd including End of Truth, Killing The Messenger:The Deadly Cost of News, and Agile Mobile Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams. Eric and I first met through our passion for cycling and journalism that saw us mashed up in the birth of urban cycling culture in Los Angeles long before MASH was a brand or Red Hook was a crit. We were out rolling with Midnight Ridazz from the first few rides and saw it grow from a dozen people to thousands hitting the streets of LA on a Friday night. Simultaneously, I was involved in the cutthroat world of Cat. 4 crit racing in LA rolling on a stacked VeloWorx squad stacked with talent like Mark-Paul Gosselaar of Saved by the Bell and later NYPD Blue fame--one of the fiercest and most focused competitors I've ever ridden with--and a heavy-hitting entertainment attorney who would go onto rep both George Hincapie and Michael Jackson's estate. These were wild times and the world didn't know it, but a bike revolution was kicking off on the streets and office parks of LA. That led us to create a TV pilot about cycling culture in Los Angeles in the early 2000's that encompassed everything from fixed gear culture to criterium racing and bike activism. We were onto something big, but about a decade too soon. The show didn't get picked up, but a friendship and creative partnership was born that keeps on trucking. I have deep respect for Eric and what he and his partner, Tricia Todd, have done as artists and people. I am honored to be able to count him among my closest friends and most trusted advisors and I'm excited to share this interview with you. Thanks so much for taking time to listen to Choose the Hard Way. If you enjoy the show, PLEASE hit the subscribe button and rate the show. Then share this episode with a friend who you think might dig it. It makes a huge difference, it only takes 30 seconds, and it really means a lot to me. I'll be back with another great guest soon. In the meantime, you can reach out @hardwaypod on Twitter or Instagram or just drop an email to [email protected].

Diane Luby Lane is an award-winning literary activist, educator, actress, poet, author and the founder and executive director of Get Lit–Words Ignite, an LA-based arts education nonprofit that brings classic poetry to the street and street poetry into the classrooms to empower new generations in literature, self-expression and performing arts. By engaging teens in great works of literature, in-school and beyond, teens engage in their own futures and unearth their potential. In 2012 Lane created the now annual Classic Slam, the largest youth classic poetry festival in the nation. Lane's Lit Kit, a standards based, in-school curriculum, has been adopted by schools throughout the U.S. and internationally. But that's just part of her story. She is an actress with numerous commercial, TV and film credits and the author of the award-winning Get Lit Rising, published by Simon & Schuster and Words of Women, published by Samuel French. She is also the co-writer and co-producer of DANTE, an original adaptation of Dante's Inferno, which stars Get Lit Poets. She was the playwright and star of the one-woman show Deep Sea Diving which she toured with Chicano poet and author Jimmy Santiago Baca. Diane is a TedX speaker, a graduate of the Annenberg Foundation's Alchemy + Leadership Program, a Southern California Leadership Network Fellow and served on L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti's Poet Laureate Committee and she is a recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Volunteer Service Award. Diane has changed the lives of hundreds of thousand of kids and reached hundreds of millions more through the power of poetry and storytelling. The biggest things that jumped out to me in our conversation were Diane's total lack of fear of failure, her refusal to be complacent when things have been going well in her life and her willingness to follow her gut and keep trying things that seemed impossible. Progress is not a linear path and success is rarely what it seems. As you'll hear, sometimes it even involves being a modeling talent scout in a Florida shopping mall. What Diane has done with Get Lit is hugely impressive. But as I learned from her, its success was anything but a foregone conclusion and it has its origins in thousands of hours of hard work and knocking on doors until she overcame the skepticism she encountered and someone gave her a chance to get the program started. Learn more about Diane at www.dianelubylane.com and find her on Instagram and Twitter @dianelubylane. For more info on Get Lit, visit www.getlit.org and follow them on Instagram and Twitter @getlitpoet.

Pete Holman is a physical therapist, strength & conditioning expert, entrepreneur, inventor, author, and renaissance man based in Aspen, Colorado. Pete is a former TaeKwon-Do US national team captain and TaeKwon-Do National Champion. As a physical therapist, educator and strength & conditioning expert, Pete has worked with tens of thousands of coaches, trainers and athletes around the world ranging from everyday people to professional athletes and special operators. Pete is the inventor of two widely used pieces of fitness equipment, the TRX Rip Trainer and Nautilus Glute Drive. Pete and I have known each other for a decade and first met at the fitness company TRX where I was the head of content and Pete was often in front of the camera or leading training seminars around the world. Writing is hard. Writing a novel is really hard. Without any previous writing experience, Pete started writing fiction for fun a few years ago while bored on a long haul flight. In a discipline most people never start and many stop, Pete just kept going and he recently completed his first novel, Cruz, about an illegal immigrant working as a professional cyclist. In this interview, we talk about how Pete went from a lost metalhead hanging out with the wrong crowd in high school to a world-class martial artist, his propensity to continually take risks, focus, preparation for high level competition, motivation, mindset, parenting, loss, the entrepreneurial mindset and overcoming inertia to take big risks and keep going. Follow him @peteholman1 on Twitter and Instagram.

Growing up in Sacramento, CA, Marcus 'Big Herc' Timmons was a straight-A student and talented athlete before he took a wrong turn into gang life, drug dealing and violence. He spent most of his teens incarcerated the California Youth Authority juvenile detention system and before he went to prison for bank robbery, he worked as a performer in the adult industry. Today, Big Herc, is one of the fastest rising stars on YouTube. He spent nine years in the federal penitentiary for bank robbery, underwent a deep transformation during his time inside and came out the other side to thrive and empower others to choose a different path. He's best known as the co-creator and host of the wildly popular YouTube series Fresh Out: Life After the Penitentiary and a number of spinoff shows including Prison Talk. He's also a motivational speaker, author, executive coach and an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses. If you haven't checked out Fresh Out or Prison Talk, let me just tell you that it's some of the rawest, deepest and most compelling content you're ever going to watch with insights into human nature and life lessons that people from all walks of life can learn from. Big Herc's mission is to help educate the world about the horrors of prison life and educate those headed inside so they can survive and get out alive. But most importantly, he wants to strip away the glamor associated with the criminal life on the street to help people on that path stop before they end up making the mistakes that he did. His content is amazing, his persona is magnetic and with his partners he's expanding his empire into multiple YouTube series, the supplement business, coaching and much more. Catch Big Herc at www.freshoutseries.com, follow him on social @bigherc916 and @freshoutseries. On YouTube, search for Fresh Out Series. Thanks so much for taking time to listen to Choose the Hard Way. If you enjoy the show, PLEASE hit the subscribe button and rate the show. Then share this episode with a friend who you think might dig it. It makes a huge difference, it only takes 30 seconds, and it really means a lot to me. Thanks for listening and I'll be back with another great guest soon. In the meantime, you can reach out @hardwaypod on Twitter or Instagram or just drop an email to [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Jack and two buddies skateboarded across America in 1976 using a '69 Firebird with a .22 rifle in the trunk as their sag vehicle and luxurious camper. It was a time before Instagram models roamed the earth and invented the sacrament of Van Life. Jack and his pals saw America in a way few characters besides those in fiction ever experienced it. Jack went on to complete four more trans-continental skates, including one on an Inboard electric skateboard in 2018 at the age of 61. Jack is a legend. And this is his story. He has lived a life rich in experiences and adventure, and has suffered great losses too. His first son died of complications from Lowe Syndrome in 2003 and he lost his father to Alzheimer's disease. He dedicated three of his cross-country skates to raising funds and awareness for these and other causes. Jack spent his career as a professional skater at the dawn of the sport and then made his living on the business side of the skateboard industry. Today he also runs the Morro Bay Skate museum. You can follow Jack on Instagram @jack_smith_morro_bay and check out the museum at www.mbskate.com.

Jeremy shares insights about: being a pioneer, drawing your own map, failing and getting up over and over again to forge a career, start a media company, chase a dream and inspire + enable others to do the same, at scale. ---- Jeremy Powers is a professional cyclist who has won over 90 UCI races, four U.S. National Championships and the 2015 Pan American Championship. He has also been a relentless champion of the discipline of cyclocross and has put huge chunks of his time and money into building the sport in the United States where it is rising in popularity, but still underground for the most part. In this episode, Jeremy takes us inside the mentality it takes to win, to face failure and to get up over and over again in the face of daunting financial, professional, interpersonal and health challenges. We touch on what he did to create a career path where there wasn't one, become a champion and start-up a media company. Jeremy has mentored and developed some of the best talent competing in the sport through teams and organizations he created including Aspire Racing and the JAM fund. In 2010, Jeremy and Sam Smith created the groundbreaking online video series 'Behind THE Barriers.' The series followed Jeremy as he traveled to races across the U.S. and around the world and continues today as Behind the Barriers TV. This interview took place in 2017 just before Jeremy finished second at the national championships and it's a deep dive into the toughest moments of his career. On YouTube, you can find him at Behind the Barriers TV and you can follow Jeremy on Insta @jpows, on Twitter @jeremypowers and on his website, www.jpows.com. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe now, share with your friends and give us a 5-star review! Get The Hard Way newsletter and never miss a new episode. Find more at www.choosethehardway.com and reach out @vontz and @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Get this episode now on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, & Google Play. On Christmas Eve 2007, Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod was on patrol in the Helmand province of Afghanistan when he triggered an IED and lost both legs and one arm. Today, Mark is an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, a peak performance coach, an entrepreneur and the author of the award-winning autobiography, Man Down. He is grit. He is resilience. He is the model of what it means to overcome. I first met Mark when I wrote a feature about him in 2015. His story is one that has stuck with me and transformed how I think about life. If you've ever come up against an obstacle in your life that felt too big to overcome or felt so low you never thought you'd get up again, Mark's story might change your mind. His story moved me in a way few things ever have, and I think it will move you, too. You can follow Mark on Twitter @markormrod, on Instagram @markormrod, on his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkOrmrodMotivation and through his website, https://www.markormrod.com. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe now, share with your friends and give us a 5-star review! Get The Hard Way newsletter and never miss a new episode. Find more at www.choosethehardway.com and reach out @vontz and @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Get this episode now on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, & Google Play. The content & marketing mastermind shares lessons learned from a career that has included working as a journalist at the Wall Street Journal & Venture Beat; in PR at Tesla; and in content + marketing at Kiva and First Round Capital where she created the esteemed First Round Review. Camille is a powerhouse storyteller and authority on actionable insights for technology entrepreneurs. This episode is a deep dive into success, failure and overcoming obstacles to achieve escape velocity in Silicon Valley. And how to handle being asked, "What is your Mt. Everest?" while you're in the middle of a bouldering problem at Dogpatch Boulders and thinking about where to get a burrito. This interview took place while Camille was working as the head of content and marketing at First Round Capital, a seed-stage venture firm renowned for its deep & incisive content--thanks in no small part to Camille's work. She helped launch the First Round Review where she wrote and edited dozens and dozens of articles & long-form interviews with top founders, execs & other hitters in tech about how they build, grow, innovate, lead, learn, fail, transform and more. Previously, Camille applied her content strategy prowess at microfinance nonprofit Kiva and managed PR at Tesla Motors. Prior to that she was a reporter for VentureBeat & the Wall Street Journal. Camille has spent the last several months traveling and testing the water on new opportunities to tell great stories. We dig in on the lessons Camille learned from her work interviewing entrepreneurs, founders and execs at length and at scale during her time at First Round. Follow Camille on Twitter @camillericketts. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe now, share with your friends and give us a 5-star review! Get The Hard Way newsletter and never miss a new episode. Find more at www.choosethehardway.com and holler @vontz or @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Marty Skovlund, Jr. is a veteran Army Ranger who served in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Currently the executive editor of Black Rifle Coffee Company's Coffee or Die magazine, he's an entrepreneur, journalist, photographer, award-winning filmmaker and the author of Ranger Knowledge: The Complete Study Guide. His book Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror, is a gripping, remarkable history of the GWoT told through first person accounts from Marty, other Rangers and their families and spouses. Marty is a guy who has done hard things and keeps pushing himself into new and challenging terrain, whether that's going back to Afghanistan as a journalist to do in-depth reporting on the state of the ongoing war on terror or producing and directing documentaries. He's currently working on his third book, a memoir. Follow Marty on twitter and Instagram @martyskovlundjr and on his website. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Former professional cyclist Phil Gaimon once almost died in a bike wreck, but he never rode the Tour de France. Today, he's one of the biggest creative forces and personalities in the sport as the author of three books, creator of The Worst Retirement Ever YouTube series and host of The Peloton Brief Podcast. Phil has started multiple businesses and overcome huge odds to succeed. A self-described fat kid growing up, during his pro career he transformed himself into one of the best cyclists in America and clawed his way onto a World Tour team, the designation for teams at the highest level of the sport. In this episode he gives insight into how he has done it, how he has survived the worst moments of his life and where he is headed next. For even more Phil, follow him on Strava here or on Twitter, @philgaimon. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

The North Face athlete on El Cap, Everest, anger, rock climbing, expeditions, origins and her evolution from one of the greatest competitive climbers ever to big mountain alpinist, skier and explorer. Emily Harrington has summited Everest, free climbed El Capitan in Yosemite and completed numerous first ascents of 5.14 sport routes. She has been on expeditions around the world seeking out big mountains to ski, big wall free climbs and high altitude peaks in Nepal, China, Myanmar, Crimea and Morocco. At a young age, she was one of the best sport climbers in the world. As a member of the USA Climbing Team, she competed on the national and world competitive circuit winning 5 US National Sport Climbing Championships and 2 North American Championships. But her path has not been easy. In this episode, Emily shares the doubts and fears she has felt on her journey and how she turns her frustration to her advantage as she continually pushes herself in new directions. You can follow Emily on Instagram @emilyaharrington and on her website. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Jason McCarthy is a combat veteran, former U.S. Army Green Beret and entrepreneur. In 2008, Jason founded GoRuck, the gear, apparel and events company that created the GoRuck Challenge--events modeled after Special Forces selection led by SOF cadre that last between a few hours and several days during which participants ruck with packs loaded with 20-40 pounds and get a small taste of what Jason calls 'Good living.' GoRuck gear is bomber, they have a unique, transparent approach to doing business and their community-led approach to marketing has helped propel the brand and the sport of rucking to rapid growth. But not without a few painful bumps along the way. In this episode we talk about Jason's experience in Special Forces including selection, the hard decisions and sacrifices he has had to make to do great things and much more. Find @GoRuck on Instagram and on the web and check out the GoRuck Show podcast. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

7x summiter, 1x without supplemental oxygen, on the sacrifices made to fulfill a lifelong dream. Adrian Ballinger has summited Mt. Everest seven times. He attempted Everest without supplemental oxygen in 2016 as part of the Everest No Filter expedition with national geographic photographer Cory Richards. Cory made the summit. Adrian didn't. They went back in 2017, and Adrian achieved his goal of summiting without oxygen. It wasn't easy. In 2011 Adrian and two Sherpa partners became the first people to summit three 8,000 meter peaks in only 3 weeks (Everest twice and Lhotse once). He's the first person to ski Manaslu, the 8th tallest mountain in the world, from its summit, and the first American to successfully ski two 8,000-meter peaks. You can follow Adrian on Instagram @adrianballinger, through his website and if you'd like to climb with him, check out Alpenglow Expeditions. If you like this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected]. MORE ABOUT ADRIAN: He is also the founder and CEO of Alpenglow expeditions and has led expeditions where more than 100 clients have successfully summited Everest, Lhotse (the 4th tallest mountain in world), Cho Oyu (6th tallest) and Manaslu (the 8th tallest mountain in the world). He climbs, guides and skis all over the world including North and South America, the Himalayas and Africa. Adrian has been a sponsored climber since he was a teen. His current sponsors include Eddie Bauer, La Sportiva, Petzl, Kaenon, Goal Zero, Hypoxico, Alpenglow Sports and High Altitude Fitness. One of my favorite musicians is Bob Mould. And one of my favorite Bob Mould songs is Wishing Well. I'm not great at is remembering song lyrics. But a Bob Mould lyric that I do remember, is this--There's a price you pay for a wish to come true--trade a small piece of your life. In this episode you'll hear about what Adrian Ballinger has had to trade to be who he is and achieve what he has achieved.

Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign head of comms/Booker+Bloomberg administration comms veteran on managing a media crisis & redemption. Barbara Morgan is a VP at the strategic communications firm Greenbrier and the founder of Apex Strategies. She served as a former senior aide to the NJ State Department of Education and the former administrations of Mayors Bloomberg and Booker. Barbara also headed communications for the mayoral campaign of Anthony Weiner. She plays a gripping roll in the documentary Weiner about that campaign where both he and Barbara go through their own very public crises. During the Weiner campaign, Barbara became the news when a reporter wrote a story about comments she thought she had made off the record about a former campaign intern who had published a tell-all about working on the campaign. On this episode we'll hear about what happened, what she learned, how she grew from it and much more. As VP at SKDKnickerbocker, Barbara oversaw and managed strategic communication planning and execution for high-profile clients in finance, government, philanthropy and education such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, The Rockefeller Foundation, 100 Resilient Cities, AT&T, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Columbia University, the State University of New York (SUNY), and others. You can find Barbara on Twitter @barbarakmorgan. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

This is Andrew Vontz, and on Choose the Hard Way, I explore peak performance and lessons learned at the limits of human experience with a broad variety of guests from tech, business, politics, sports, special ops, and many other disciplines. There aren't shortcuts on the path to becoming the best and my guests are people who choose the hard way. If you like this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].