Elevation Nation

We walk by strangers every day, but how often do we think of greeting them, let alone spark up a conversation. We think think there is some value in stepping outside of the comfort zone and meeting strangers. Who knows where the conversation might lead…

Lily Montasser and Vic Van Ness are the co-founders of Ambyr, an exclusive social club of eligible singles that are serious about meeting up in real life. Ambyr is on a mission to make speed dating cool again.After feeling fatigue from the popular dating apps, Lily and Vic wanted a new alternative to meet single men. They came up with the idea to bring back the intrigue around meeting people through speed dating. With that, Amber was born. Now over a year into their journey Lily and Vic host monthly events for hundreds of their members, bringing back that energy of meeting people in person.Ambyr WebsiteLily Montasser - InstagramVic Van Ness - Instagran

Having difficult conversations is never easy. At the beginning of the month, we made some big goals that we would like to achieve for the nation this year. However, 19 days into the year, we feel as if we are a bit behind. The only way to get back on track: get honest with each other...

Josiah Mihok (Elevator no. 110) considers himself an integrator, helper, and doer. Based in Georgia, Josiah is a technology consultant who helps companies combine the strengths of their people with the possibilities of technology to drive progress. Shortly before his wedding, Josiah was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. A new battle began for him and his family at the beginning of the next chapter in his life. However, Josiah uses his experiences and attitude to inform, inspire and teach others. LinkedInInstagram

We are all about elevating. However, this year we decided against creating New Year's resolutions although we plan to elevate more than ever this year...

Balim Tezel is a marketing specialist and creative director of NUS a handmade clothing brand based in New York City. Per the Nus website, "At NUS, we want to give you minimalist, everyday staples with a point of view. We’re here to build your happy place through superior quality apparel and playful digital content."A graduate of Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Balim is paving her way in young adulthood as an entrepreneur. Nus has been featured in popsugar and brides, while collaborating with brands like Seeing Other People, a top dating podcast and soon Elevation Nation...Nus WebsiteInstagramLinkedin

The 200th episode of Elevation Nation. Nothing more needs to be said than thank you to everyone who has supported the nation over the past (almost) 4 years. We wouldn’t be here without you. To the next 200 episodes…..

Michael Raymond is the President and Founder of Raymond Representation, a sport and talent agency specializing in business, marketing and lifestyle management based in Miami, FL. A graduate of University of Miami School of Law, Michael represents professional basketball players, golfers, influencers, student-athletes and E-sports teams.As a young adult, Michael is chasing his dream while helping others live theirs. He is using the power of social media and brand building to negotiate deals with companies like Ticketmaster, Sony, Gatorade and others for his clients. WebsiteInstagramLinkedIn

As we round out 2022 on our last episode of the year, we talk through all the amazing things that have happened over the past year. We are so grateful for the opportunity to support Elevation Nation as they conquer the real world. 2023 is going to be special. So much more elevation to come.....

Ebenezer Johnson (Elevator no. 107) is an actor, producer, and rapper based in New York City. His work is inspired by a wide range of cultures from all over the world including Africa, UK and the US. Through his music and film projects, Ebenezer focuses on storytelling through his own trials, tribulations, successes and failures. In his latest film, What They Don’t See, Ebenezer sheds light on the challenges of mental health in youth and young adults. Outside of his work as an artist, Ebenezer works as a assistant dean of a high school working each and every day to inspire the next generation. Both as an artist and dean, Ebenezer is elevating himself and others to make the world a better place.InstagramSpotifyYouTube

Recently, we both watched Stutz on Netflix. Stutz is a movie about the relationship between Jonah Hill and his therapist Phil Stutz. The movie currently sits on a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and we had to discuss our thoughts on it for this week’s Fortitude in 15.

Brendan Kaminsky (Elevator no. 106) is the founder of bknown agency, a branding and social media agency within the world of sports and entertainment. After working at ESPN for six and half years gaining some incredible experiences in media and marketing, Brendan took the big leap to go on his own. Now, him and his team at bknown work with some of the biggest names in sports media including Adam Schefter, Steven A. Smith, and Jay Bilas among others. LinkedInbknown agency - WebsiteInstagram

We are always up for a deep conversation. This one was fun talking about space, life and motivations.

Kayla Morán (Elevator no. 105) is an attorney based in Miami, Florida focused on developing her own Trademark and Intellectual Property practice. She also works as an Associate in a civil litigation and personal injury practice. In addition to her work described above, she is the founder of Konecta Social, an influencer management and consulting agency to assist creators in partnering with brands. Kayla is also a creator herself. She is the host of Let’s Get Candid, a podcast all about relationships, wellness and mental health.LinkedInInstagramThe Let’s Get Candid Podcast - Apple

It is December…..which is crazy to think about. As 2022 is coming to a close, we reflect on the things that are important to us now compared to what used to be important to us. Those priorities have definitely shifted over time as we have gotten older. We are sure that the same has happened for you.

Tyler Steinhardt (Elevator no. 104) is the Vice President of Business Development & Partnership at Pique Action, a company with a mission to fight climate change through storytelling. Tyler is also involved in many philanthropic projects centered around community, climate action and veteran mental health.Prior to Pique, Tyler was one of the first hires at the Premier Lacrosse League where he was the Director of Marketing. He also is the founder of Shootout for Soldiers, a 24-hour lacrosse event benefitting American veterans raising more than $4M since its inception in 2012.LinkedInTwitterPique - Website

The World Cup is in full swing in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. As the international tournament only comes around once every four years, we talk through some of our observations about this year’s controversial tournament.

Max Linkoff (Elevator no. 103) is a performance coach and technology consultant based in Brooklyn, NY. As a coach, Max "works with Millennials to help them break through their clutter, stories, and self-doubts to maximize their talent and ability". Max is focused on helping young adults navigate and feel empowered in the workplace.Max has a pretty cool side gig outside of being a coach and consultant. He owns a coffee shop in Lima, Peru, and is starting a direct-to-consumer coffee brand in the United States.LinkedInWebsite

Who doesn’t love this time of year? Although it is getting a bit cold in the Northeast where we live, the holiday season is upon us. We talk through our favorite and not-so-favorite holidays as Thanksgiving approaches fast!

Elgin Ford Jr. (Elevator no. 102) is a musician in Seattle, Washington. Growing up in Georgia, Elgin always had a love and affinity for music. Through school, he always used music as an outlet and when he graduated college he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time artist.Elgin also goes by "LGN" and says he is a singer who can rap. Since releasing his first album "What Am I Doing" in 2021, Elgin has picked up momentum. Now, he is working day in and day out to make his dream a reality, all while continuing to navigate the real world as a young adult.Instagram"What Am I Doing" - Spotify

We have spoken with over 100+ elevators over the past two years. One theme remained consistent from all our conversations: Pushing out of your comfort zone and doing hard things leads to elevation.Given the completion of the New York Marathon, we talk about why humans like to do hard things.

Madeline Weinfeld and Marissa Robinson (Elevators no. 101 & 61) are licensed psychotherapists based in New York City who specialize in working with young adults to navigate the stresses and challenges of the real world.At their practice Be You Psychotherapy, their approach to therapy is "humanistic, interpersonal, and evidence-based, with an emphasis on the importance of a safe and open therapeutic relationship." Madeline and Marissa's areas of expertise include self-esteem and identity, love, dating and relationships, anxiety and depression and life transitions. WebsiteInstagramMadeline Weinfeld - LinkedinMarissa Robinson - LinkedinMarissa's previous appearance on Elevation Nation

The amount of recorded antisemitic incidents in America is at an all time high right now. With the recent events in the news, we have to speak about this topic as two young adult American Jews.

Kyle Gulau (Elevator no. 100) is an entrepreneur who runs a digital creative agency and a real estate company with his wife and father. Kyle was awarded Western Michigan Universities (his alma mater) 30 Under 30 and Southwest Michigan’s Small Business Founder award for his work related to incremental real estate development.As a young adult, Kyle is committed to elevating the lives of those around him particularly in his local community of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Through his blog and podcasts Patterns of Development, he shares his ideas and perspectives on strategy, learning and real estate. WebsitePodcast - Patterns of DevelopmentBlog

Happy Birthday Elevation Nation! It has been two years and over 180 episodes later since we launched the podcast. There has been so many lessons learned and people to thank along this journey. We are so excited to share some of our takeaways and what is next for the Nation because the elevating is not going to stop...

James Dvorak, Tyler Kozub, and Pat Murtagh (Elevator nos. 97, 98, 99) are the co-founders of Handshake Bets, a brand all about "betting on anything, anywhere with anyone". Recent graduates of Indiana University, James, Tyler, and Pat were committed to figuring out a way to create a company around the idea of helping anyone bet on anything. After betting the future of their company on the coin flip of the Super Bowl, they doubled down on their content strategy of creating videos of themselves betting on literally anything. Their videos caught steam on TikTok and soon after they received a phone call that would change their life. James, Tyler, and Pat have been on a wild journey since that phone call. Their company Handshake Bets was acquired by Betr, a Jake Paul backed sports gambling business...James DvorakTyler KozubPat MurtaghHandshake BetsHandshake Bets - IGHandshake Bets - TikTok

Sleep is a luxury, especially as we get older. We all struggle with finding the time to get a good night sleep, but there are some tricks we all can use to help us feel better and more refreshed when we wake up. We will give you a hint, put your damn phone down!

Jimmy Sotos (Elevator no. 97) is a professional basketball player, content creator, fashion designer and actor from the greater Chicago area. After playing D1 college basketball at Bucknell and The Ohio State University, Jimmy continues to elevate himself beyond college in the real world.Amassing more than 1.4 million followers on TikTok, many opportunities have opened up for Jimmy. Even with his fame, Jimmy is trying to balance the pursuit of various passions including basketball, fashion, acting and modeling. And as he become even more busy with the craziness of the real world, he continuously reminds himself of two words that are tatted on his body to help guide him each day: Passion x Purpose.TikTokInstagram

Coffee is awesome. Doesn't matter if you are a young adult or old adult, a frequent drinker or not, we all have some sort of relationship with coffee. This week, we talk through what role coffee plays in our lives and if it is for better or worse...This week's shoutout goes to Elevator no. 63 Brad Kraut and Elevators no. 70/71 Taylor Borenstein and Millie Blumka for their recent successes.

Jackson Dreyer (Elevator #95) is a Nashville based singer and songwriter. Self described as an “easy listening soul artist that just wants to make everyone dance,” Jackson is a man of many talents. He loves to write songs, sing, and play multiple instruments including the saxophone and guitar.As an elevator, Jackson is dialed in on “making” it as a musician but also giving back to the local Nashville community. As a member of People Loving Nashville, Jackson and others in the community “bring relief, community, connection, & restoration to the most vulnerable & unhorsed of Nashville.”WebsiteInstagramSpotifyPeople Loving Nashville

After a six week break, we are happy to be back! We have taken some time to reflect on Elevation Nation and we are so excited about what is coming next. Episode releases will go back to normal as a new episode will come out each Tuesday and Thursday with the goal of helping you conquer the real world!

We are launching a new part of Elevation Nation that we are very excited about. With that, we will be taking a pause on the podcast for the next month to work on it. Cannot wait to share it with the Nation. Stay tuned and see you soon!

Sam and Parker were back together in NYC for an evening. But something came up when same was getting ready to fly back home. Most would say it was a very stressful situation. Sam thinks he handled it the right way. But what about the others he was with….

Ryan Kenny is a young adult continuously pushing himself beyond his comfort zone. Outside of his full-time job as the Director of Partnerships at Crossover Media Group, Ryan focuses his energy on stand-up comedy. Yes, you heard that right. He’s a comedian. Ryan can be found in New York City trying to make a crowd laugh at various comedy clubs and events. However, life as a young stand-up comedian is not for the faint of heart. Ryan continuously has to exercise mental fortitude to get on stage and deliver, with hopes that the audience will react, either laughing at him or with him! Elevation Nation is happy to welcome a young adult who continues to push himself to the center stage just to put smiles on people's faces. YouTube

It’s August and we are taking time to be with our families. Time off is always special when spent with loved ones. This year, family business seems a little different. We reflect on why spending time with family is so special to us.

John Camardella is a World Religion Teacher at Prospect High School in the Chicago Area and Education fellow of the Harvard Divinity School. John has been on a life long journey to educate others about religion while understanding human behavior and beliefs at its deepest level. After a year-long sabbatical to study with some of the most brilliant minds at Harvard, John is ready to bring back new perspectives and knowledge to his students. But first, he joins Elevation Nation (again) to share new perspectives and ideas that young adults need to think about. LinkedInLink to Episode 31 w/ John Camardella

Every day the mind is all over the place. Oftentimes we find ourselves in interesting situations based on what our needs or what we think we want. That can be challenging at times as a young adult…

Nzingha Prescod is an American World Champion and Olympian who spent the first 27 years of her life committed to becoming the best fencer in the world. After retiring from competition in 2020, Nzingha has been focused on the next phase of her life combining her love for fencing and passion for philanthropy. Navigating life beyond competition has not been an easy task for Nzingha. Now the founder of an incredible foundation (The Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Education), she continues to strive to give back to the community while figuring out how to achieve her new life goals. WikipediaInstagramSports Illustrated: Two-Time Olympian Nzingha Prescod Hopes to Make Fencing More Accessible Through Fencing in the Park

Decisions decisions decisions. We make hundreds throughout a given day. In this episode, we get a bit philosophical as to how we make these decisions and if they are truly what make us happy.

Jonny Lazarus is a former Division 1 hockey player and now a content creator, podcast host, on-air NHL analyst and a multimedia planner. After coming to terms with the reality that his NHL dreams were unrealistic after college, Jonny didn’t shy away of his love for hockey. Even when faced with adversity over the past few years, Jonny has remained committed to his goal of staying close to the game of hockey forever through his everyday grind.Jonny is a perfect example of a young adult who never let challenging circumstances deter him away from his passion.LinkedIn TwitterInstagram

With half of 2022 in the books, Sam and Parker take some time off from work to hit the reset button and gear up for the second half of the year. Also, during the time off, some unfathomable events occurred near Sam’s hometown in Highland Park, IL. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the horrific events.Please consider a donation to the GoFundMe of Adan Aguilar, a victim of the 4th of July shooting and friend of Sam’s grandmother. https://www.gofundme.com/f/adan-aguilar-4th-of-july-shooting-victim?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B5806-thank-you-ask-share

Chase Damiano is a entrepreneur, strategist and consultant focused on helping early and mid-stage founders redesign their lives to put purpose and intention first. With his company HUMANS AT SCALE, Chase has worked with many successful entrepreneurs, including former guest Rahul Vinod (Founder of Rasa). Chase’s work has been featured in Forbes 30 under 30 and The Washington Post among others.We talk with Chase aboutWhy we are wired to think a certain wayWhat designing your life looks likeCalculated decisions vs spontaneous decisionsWebsiteLinkedIn

We discuss the Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade.

Danielle Dietzek and Julie Griggs are the co-founders of Fourplay Social, a social network for single friends. Danielle and Julie both worked in healthcare before coming up with an idea to make dating for single people more fun. They created Fourplay to allow people to recruit another single friend, create a "fourplay" team, and then match with other pairs, making for a much more fun dating experience. We talk with Danielle and Julie about:Modern dating cultureChallenge with first datesBalancing being best friends and co-foundersFourplay SocialDanielle DietzekJulie Griggs

The current state of the economy is leaving us a bit anxious this week. Although we will never be able to predict what is going to happen for sure in the economy, we can alter our mindset to prepare for both the good or the bad.

Amir Vardi is the founder of Lever, a company on a mission to help people optimize credit card rewards, track spending and improve credit scores. Amir found himself knowing all to well about the world of finances in the classroom and corporate setting. But as a young adult, he struggled with getting a full grasp of his own personal finances.An idea that he wrote on a napkin, soon became a reality when he quit his full time job and went all in figuring out how to start Lever. Now, through his company, Amir is helping people to be smarter with their money.We talk with Amir aboutPersonal finances strategiesThe hard thing to understand about credit cardsHow Lever can help you make the most out of credit cardsLinkedInLever - Website

Nature is healing especially when you live in a crowded city. Sam and Parker discuss their latest adventures outside of their respective cities and the lesson’s they took away from their time enjoying the great outdoors.

Jamauri Bogan is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former Division 1 football player who is on a mission to make the world a better place through real estate development in moderate to low-income communities and philanthropic programs.After playing college football at Western Michigan University as one of their greatest running backs of all time, Jamauri joined the real world with the vision that he would leave his mark. Although he works countless hours on his mission, he often reminds himself that enjoying the journey is what elevating is all about, even when things get a little tough.We talk with Jamauri about:Life as a D1 football playerHis real estate business and philanthropyHow he aligns his mindset with a mission bigger than himselfGiving back to othersLinkedInTwitter

Topics: TikTok has taken the world by storm so spend some time giving our perspective on the popular video app; One of Parker’s videos is getting some attention on TikTok; Is social media helping or hurting us?

Alex Neumann is a professional pickleball player based in New York City. Growing up as an avid tennis player, Alex found pickleball in college and fell in love with the up and coming sport. Now he spends his days working at his full-time job while training and competing to become one of pickleball’s best.Alex’s recent success has led him to travel to pickleball tournaments across the country, sponsorships, and new challenges as he tries to navigate the real world. We talk with Alex about:How he became a pickleball professionalThe balance of work and professional sportsHis mindset approach to being the best he can beCRBN PickleballInstagram