Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning

Whether you are trying to lose weight or are seeking to better understand the human body on your own wellness journey, you have undoubtedly encountered that dirty little "F" word... FAT. We all have it, but why? What is its biological purpose? This episode dives deep into the science of this hormone and how it works for us and against us. "Dr. Sylvia Tara, holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from The University of California, San Diego and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.She was a healthcare management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and has worked for the world's largest biotechnology companies. After an extended battle with fat, Dr. Tara became fascinated with its resiliency and embarked on a mission to better understand it. This book is the culmination of years of research and interviews with physicians, patients and leading scientists. The Secret Life of Fat will forever change how you think about this misunderstood organ."

Function. Fashion. Very rarely do the two come hand-in-hand, especially in the athletic apparel industry. Nate Checketts sought to bridge this gap by creating a clothing line that went the extra mile again and again because he knew that was exactly the type of person who would wear it. His company, Rhone, is the product of a lifetime of entrepreneurial spirit, Nate shares with us his story of the lessons learned, mistakes made and what exactly it takes in order to successfully step out on your own and serve a need (and make it a thriving business at the same time.) Rhone is for every man. Like their website says, "Whether running errands, jumping on a flight, or pushing hard in the gym, Rhone feels good, looks good, performs better. Ultimately we want to capture that which inspires all of us. Our belief is we can push each other and our product forward each day." And they even have "#foreverforward" as their driving hashtag, how perfect is that?!

Have you ever tried a new diet in hopes that it would be THE ONE to shed the weight you have been wanting to lose for years? Have you joined a gym or hired a personal trainer to only turn into a monthly donation? Or what about taken a look inside yourself, a physical and emotional inventory of how you were truly showing up to reach those goals? Most of us, being brutally honest with ourselves, do not have experience in the later. Our emotions are just as an important muscle to train for our wellness as any other body part we may be trying to sculpt. This is usually why we are not as successful as we may like because we are putting someone else's diet in our body, someone else's workout in our training routine and not truly listening to what our own body is telling us it needs and wants. We are our own experiment, our lives are truly a "n=1" case study. Today's guest, Josh Trent of Wellness Force, is going to guide us down his path of personal enlightenment of how he used emotional intelligence to take inspired action to lose over eighty pounds, train and coach others and ultimately live a life ever forward. He will mention some amazing tools that helped him along his journey, such as in-depth metabolic lab testing from WellnessFX, physical activity trackers, apps such as Nudge Health Tracker and much more.

We are joined by The One Thing's Vice President, Geoff Woods today and learning all about how analyzing the five closest people in your life can really help set you on your true path. How asking 'What can I do for you?" will always come back to serve your goals more than you ever thought possible. Geoff is an outstanding example of walking-the-walk when it comes to taking his own advice. We learn how in just ten short months he went from employee to helping launch The One Thing's empire with the co-authors of the worldwide bestselling book. Geoff walks me through several role playing scenarios in which things get real, real fast! I encourage you all to listen with open ears and an honest heart, as you will undoubtedly walk away with clarity on how to go about structuring your day, your calendar, your relationships and your life - how finding your ONE thing so that by doing it everything else becomes easier or unnecessary. Make sure to check out Geoff's amazing podcast and free content here!

In honor of the six month anniversary of Ever Forward Radio, it is my honor to bring you all a very special interview that shines a light on another prominent meaning behind the two words that have molded my life. And not just my life, but the complete trajectory of my family's. A huge part of that has been Ever Forward Apparel founder, Instagram and YouTube fitness personality Maxx Chewning, my younger brother. In this episode we learn what drives this young man on a daily basis to never stop pursuing excellence, to never stop being more. How once he puts his mind to something he quickly becomes a subject matter expert, analyzing it from every possible angle to improve upon it and make it his own. This could not be more apparent than on his thriving fitness YouTube channel, quickly rising to the top in his industry in a short time period. Whether filming a 600 pound deadlift, a day of eating or whatever whacky antic he has decided to make the focus of his vlog there is no doubt that you will be engaged from start to finish. Maxx continues to be a source of motivation for those looking to pursue their passions, tackle any larger-than-life task or even conquer daily life obstacles. He is a walking, talking example of what it means to truly live a life ever forward. However quirky it may be!

Morning person? Night owl? Regardless of the label, there is one thing that is the common denominator and that is sleep is king. Hands down. Without proper sleep the rest of your day, your life and your tasks undoubtedly suffer. But how do you know how much your body really needs? With so much information (and misinformation) online and in the world, how do we truly know what best suits us an individual? This week's guest, Dr. Michael Breus, PhD a.k.a. The Sleep Doctor, shares with us his amazing findings on how to bulletproof your sleep health by helping you determine your chronotype in his book "The Power of When". In this amazing read, Dr. Breus explains how to best understand your chronotype with a simple quiz, also available online for free here at The Power of When Quiz. This proves beneficial for primarily improving your sleep health; when your body is best suited to go to sleep, when to wake, when to nap and everything in between. But it doesn't stop with sleep! Learning your body type and your chronotype helps you determine when you are best suited to eat lunch, ask for a raise, have sex, write a novel, take your medications and so much more.

A childhood fraught with daily violence, neighbors with gunshot wounds, street riots and so many other traumatic events, Rosie Acosta quickly became immune to her toxic environment. She knew nothing else, this was her norm. However, one day through the power of taking pause, taking a breath and instilling mindfulness into her present she was able to radically change the course of her existence. Rosie chose to set herself on a path to become a yoga practitioner to help others live a life full of health, wellness and overall adopting a "radically loved" paradigm. In this episode, Rosie shares with us exactly HOW and WHY we all should shift our focus to the power of NOW. How to bring a greater sense of awareness into our lives to better process everything from common daily stressors (work, relationships, fatigue, etc.) to working through significant traumatic events (as she does with Afghanistan war veterans suffering from PTSD). In one word - MINDFULNESS. Currently on the road all across America for Yoga Journal's "LIVE BE YOGA" tour, Rosie is bringing mindfulness to the masses. She hosts and incredible podcast called "Radically Loved" where you can actually hear her interview me, available the same time as this episode of EF Radio can be heard. Rosie's amazing accomplishments include being 500 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance, graduate of New York's IIN School, a Health Coach Training Program, and is Nutrition and Wellness Certified through AFPA (accredited by the American Naturopathic Medical Accreditation Board) She is able to guide her clients through a nutritive way to help with weight management and enhancing overall health through fitness performance and holistic foods.

This week we dive into important protocols that we all should be mindful of, whether we are trying for a new PR in the gym or playing with our kids. The goal in everything we do in this life is to do it well, do it repeatedly and do it pain-free. Myodetox, a Canada-based myofascial-release and rehabilitative specialty center, is focused on helping individuals live pain free and move at their full potential. A few months ago I stumbled across Dr. Jacob Harden's Instagram account while looking for posts on mobility. I quickly started following him and even scrolling through most of his previous posts, nearly everything he put out was applicable to me personally or I could use for clients of my own. The man knew his stuff! You can visit Dr. Harden in the current US-only location in Orlando, FL or catch his daily content creation on his Instagram account. A doctor of chiropractor by trade, USAPL powerlifter and all-around student of life this guy helps others live a life ever forward... literally.

Are you feeling hungry? Well you will be after taking one look at this week's guest's Instagram page or cookbook! Zach Rocheleau, a.k.a "theflexibledietinglifestyle" guru on social media, has a low-calorie recipe for just about every food group and "cheat meal" you can think of. But after spending just a few minutes talking with Zach I could tell that his WHY was burning through more than any tempting protein cinnamon roll he could whip up. His origin story of having to endure a basketball career-ending injury and how that helped reevaluate his approach to eating and fitness truly molded his intent, and I think that is something that shines through in all of his posts. He is doing this to not just make his own journey more enjoyable (and delicious) but to show others that they can have their cake and eat it too. He just probably has a higher protein, lower calorie version of it to share with you! And speaking of sharing - stay tuned until the very end! Zach has an amazing offer to listeners of EverForward Radio that you will definitely not want to miss out on! Zach can be found on mostly on his booming Instagram account The Flexible Dieting Lifestyle or learn more about what he has to offer on his website Flexible Dieting Lifestyle.

Are you working a job but not in the career you want? Do you have more passion in your side hustles than your 9-5? This week's guest, JB Glossinger, shares with us his journey of doing just that and gives us guidance on how and when to take the leap. More importantly, how and why to change our perspective so that we can change our life. JB has authored multiple books and is a well sought-after speaker as well as longtime podcaster on Morning Coach. All of his great content and resources can be found on his personal website.

If you already know how talented this guest is then please click on over and leave EverForward Radio a 5-star rating and review! It really doesn't get much better than this week's guest when it comes to applying a vision to filming. I am speaking of course of cinematographer (yes, he is a YouTuber but I feel to label him just as that would be to significantly diminish his craft) Zack Kravits. I have been following Zack online for a few months now and I honestly get hooked on every piece of content he creates. He. Is. Just. That. Good. In this interview I discuss just why he is so damn skilled (though he claims he doesn't know), what it takes to have an idea of something in your head and bring it to life on film. He creates short films, mini-series, vlogs, camera and equipment how-to's and so much more. When I say keep an eye on this guy for the future Best Picture, I mean it. Do yourself a favor after you finish this episode and check out his YouTube channel and see for yourself! He can also be found here on his recently revamped Instagram page.

This episode is especially insightful because come from my own experiences getting to know and grow with my wife, May (a.k.a. Boo Thang). May continues to be a cornerstone in my life for a myriad of reasons, outside of finally finding my Jasmine (I was obsessed with Aladdin as a kid). This Persian Princess and I have been through the grinder when it comes to the ups and downs of dating and romance, but we always come back to our commitment to each other, our friendship and our relationship now as husband and wife. We answer several questions from a Q&A post I did on my Instagram as well as spin off into specific areas of work that have best served our relationship. We highly value our individualism while at the same time make damn sure we are each other's biggest advocates. I think this episode will not only give you all more insight into our lives and what makes us tick but also some ways to help improve any relationship you may currently be in our for future reference. May is currently growing her social media presence and can be found on Instagram and Twitter.

Are you one of the millions affected by hypothyroidism? Have you ever been diagnosed or misdiagnosed? Do you experience the myriad of symptoms related such as fatigue, brain fog, excess and uncontrollable weight-gain, cracking skin, etc.? In this week's episode, we talk with Elle Russ from The Primal Blueprint and Mark's Daily Apple (Mark Sisson, the founder of the paleo Primal Blueprint diet, lifestyle and other products and services). After suffering for years under the above symptoms and diagnoses, Elle took control of her own life by becoming the health expert she needed. In her book, The Paleo Thyroid Solution, she dives deep into not only what the symptoms look and feel like, but what she did and demanded of her health care professionals to ensure she stayed empowered over her own body. If you or anyone you know has suffered from or is potentially hypothyroid, YOU NEED THIS BOOK! Everything is explained in ways that are very easy to understand so that you can find the foods you need, take the labs your doctor needs to see, and other dietary and lifestyle habits to better suit your wellness. Elle is also the host of Mark Sisson's The Primal Blueprint Podcast and more of her information can be found on her website here - Elle Russ And if you have not done so already, please be sure to leave the podcast some love via a five star rating and/or review!

Rich homies unite! Travis S is one of the hungriest (literally) guys in the game when it comes to YouTube personalities. An accountant by day and avid weight lifter by night... and food challenger extraordinaire everywhere in between. But Travis' story unfolded more as how he was able to take his fear of public speaking and being a natural introvert to a natural in front of the camera and putting himself out there to the world. On top of that, Travis lost his mother to cancer during college. Losing this foundational person in his life was hands-down his most trying time, but he came out even stronger on the other side and shows us how he lives a life ever forward in her honor. We learn here how to best apply new platforms to our lives that not only help us grow professionally but also show us ways we in which we can get over our own shortcomings. You can watch Travis S on his YouTube channel lifting weights, eating insane amounts of food and conquering his fears of public speaking on a regular basis.

Drug addict. Alcoholic. Powerlifter. Entrepreneur. And doughnut connoisseur! Krissy Mae Cagney has overcome nearly a decade of alcohol and substance abuse by diving head first into her own form of recovery that involves more barbells than a twelve step program. She has accomplished so much in such a short period of time all the while battling her own addiction demons. Living clean, sober and strong is her forte these days with her husband and dogs either in the gym or the great outdoors. "I do not know wha the future will hold, but I am passionate about all my endeavors" is a quote from Krissy's bio on her website, Krissy Mae Cagney. This is such a powerful connection to the ever forward life, in that while we may not know what certainties we have in life we do know the power in our application of our passion. Please follow Krissy on all social media platforms @krissymaecagney or if you find yourself in Reno, NV be sure to stop by her Black Iron Gym and join the "misfits"!

How do we account for success in life? In the gym we measure it by adding weights to the barbell or increasing our speed on the treadmill, but life doesn't always make it that easy elsewhere. Pushing past our perceived limitations and pursuing our dreams, our true passions to stand confidently on the other side is what so many of us strive for. Or at least want to. Accountant by day, bodybuilder by night - enter Brian DeCosta! He is someone who has taken a passion of pushing past physical limitations in the gym and put himself on one of the world's largest fitness platforms. This excelled him further than he ever imagined. This week we learn how Brian took his training, mentality and entire life to the next level through the 2017 BodyBuilding.com spokesmodel search. Taking second place has helped push Brian's online fitness personna to new levels and is continuing to do BIG things alongside his female fitness counterpart and girlfriend Amanda Bucci.

Joining me this week are two of the co-founders of Nudge Health Tracker and Nudge Coach, the smartphone app and online health coaching platform changing the way healthcare professionals interact with their clients. By having users track, actively or passively, their activity, diet, sleep, etc. their coaches are able to monitor the data and better guide them along their wellness journey. "Our mobile app empowers clients to stay mindful of their health, accountable to their plan, and connected to your brand", as stated on their website. The Nudge Health Tracker app is a great tool for those looking to learn more about their daily habits, with or without it connected to a coach. The Nudge Coach platform allows coaches to pool one or one hundred of their clients' data points to help them make more or less of certain behaviors. Integrating with other great tools such as Jawbone, Fitbit and basic smartphone health trackers (steps, distance) Nudge really is a streamlined process, a one-stop shop for data collection and analysis for healthcare professionals, coaches and trainers alike. Find Nudge Health Tracker in the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Nudge Coach online at www.nudgecoach.com. Also, Phil and Mac's "Scale Well" podcast is in iTunes and Google Play Music.

NWB IN THE HOUSE!!! I had the pleasure of reconnecting with my old friend, Nick Wright. Nick has lived, eaten and breathed YouTube fitness over the past five plus years. His story is one that always comes to my mind when I think of someone truly applying passion to purpose. A native Rhode Islander, I had the privilege of getting to know Nick for his year in Richmond, VA. We crushed countless workouts and even more Chipotle meals together with my younger brother (Maxx Chewning, whom Nick references in the interview) and our other gym rat friends. Being one of the firsts in the industry, he has had the unique perspective of watching his profession grow exponentially while helping usher in a new era of content creators. He always stays true to himself and has an admirable "no bullshit" policy when it comes to conveying his story through his videos, whether in the gym, smoking his favorite cigar or spending quality time with his longtime girlfriend Arianna. Nick's YouTube channel can be found here (no, we won't kidding about Scondore) at www.youtube.com/scondore and on Instagram and Twitter @nickwrightnwb.

Have you, or someone you know, ever struggled with finding the right diet? Has it evolved into disordered eating or even an eating disorder (yes, there is a difference)? This week's guest, Josie Mai, has experienced this same struggle and is here to tell you her story and that there is hope. In today's world, we cannot scroll through our Instagram feed without seeing some sort of "#fitspo" or "#iifym", or watch a workout video on YouTube without their My Fitness Pal account popping up showing us exactly how much they have eaten in each macronutrient category. The problem is that this information is relative to THAT person only, and any people fall victim to applying the same or similar approaches to diet and exercise without first doing our due diligence on our own bodies. Every BODY is different, literally. For those of you with whom this episode resonates or if you have any questions I encourage you to reach out to Josie. Her story can be seen on YouTube at Josie V Mai and on Instagram at Josie V Mai.

Being a health coach, I cross paths with some amazing and incredibly smart professionals who also help others live their best life. In this case with AIRROSTI rehab provider Dr. Justin Bryant, I share walls! He is a doctor of chiropractic by trade but has spent the last several years working exclusively on weekend warriors, Crossfit junkies, stay-at-home moms and even professional athletes. His technique now? Myofascial release. Here, AIRROSTI explains what exactly they do: "The reason we're able to get the remarkable and consistent results we do is because of our emphasis on finding all the components of your injury and delivering a very specific treatment to the soft tissues. These are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissue throughout the body and around the joints. When our bodies experience repetitive stress or trauma, this tissue is often injured. This leads to pain, numbness, weakness, and restricted range of motion. Our focus at Airrosti is fixing the connective tissue and manually repairing it to its normal state. By doing so, we are able to very effectively increase strength, function and range of motion, while dramatically decreasing pain and allowing our patients to return to normal activity — whether that means running a marathon, doing CrossFit, gardening, playing with the kids, or simply being more productive and pain free at work." AIRROSTI providers near you can be found online at www.airrosti.com, or please contact Dr. Bryant directly if you are in the DC/Northern Virginia area by phone at 1-800-404-6050.

This is, to date, my longest and perhaps most hard-hitting interview on improving the SELF. In this episode, we discuss how our own limiting beliefs are usually the root of our limitations. How the ego masks itself in various ways that form unwanted habits, how to bring awareness into your life to allow these to surface and the action required to improve upon them so we can truly step into our own greatness. I had the privilege of sitting down with one of my fellow VCU alum and colleague Yedda (yes, it's just YEDDA). Her wealth of experience in entrepreneurship, wellness, coaching and self-help have always left a lasting impression with me. Yedda currently resides in Richmond, VA and serves her community in a variety of ways; health coaching, personal training, executive coaching and all things wellness. She can be found at www.yeddas.com.

Jake Ducey is a guy following his heart's calling by living the life he makes for himself. He has traveled the world, faced near-death, acted upon (seemingly) outlandish goals that have set him for success and life of true happiness - all by the age of 25! Drawing on some of his most recent works, we discuss his book The Purpose Principles and how we can learn to draw more meaning into our life. Early in this book I was hit hard with hid words of "The first place to focus our attention is vision: knowing what you want." We may not always know what we want, but knowing what we DO NOT want can be just as important. In this interview, Jake walks us through what it was that set him on his path of enlightenment, success and healthy habits and how we can do the same.

Aika is many things; an entrepreneur, a designer, a mentor and a phenomenal hostess to an out-of-towner like myself! I had the privilege of being escorted around the VIP tents and watching shows backstage all thanks to Aika and her amazing team of empowered women during Austin City Limits in 2016. After getting to know her and learn of her start from a battered women's shelter to self-made woman, designer and operator of her own company knew I had to get more of her story on record! Aika's story shows us that sometimes beautiful things can come out of tragic events or surroundings. And if they don't, simply design them yourself! Learn how to design the life you love from her impacting story.

I had the privilege if attending Shawn's live recording of his podcast "The Model Health Show" here in DC last month. He opened up the floor to questions from the audience and I jumped at the opportunity to connect with this wellness and entrepreneurship mastermind! I encourage you all to first listen to episode three, "The Power of Taking Action", and then revisiting this episode. Just as important as it is to pursue your dreams it is equally vital to know how and when to do so. Shawn and his co-host Jade provided me with some excellent insight from their journey. I go back and listen to his words of wisdom multiple times a week! I hope you all get some sort of takeaway from his advice for your own endeavors and daily living.

Amanda shares with us how sometimes the best laid plans do not wind up being the end result. I spent the majority of the day with her training at Venice Beach Gold's Gym, grabbing some lunch and a beer and of course she took me to her favorite local donut shop. I have had the pleasure of training and hanging out with Ms. Bucci several times since this interview and am proud to call her a friend. She is taking the world on with a tour de force! Be sure to follow her on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram and don't miss HER interview of ME on her podcast, Bucci Radio.

After spending a long weekend with these guys I can honestly say I have made some friends for life. I connected with Nick nearly a year ago through his YouTube channel. He served as an active duty officer in the United States Army and I was an active duty noncommissioned officer so we immediately connected over our time in the service. These guys are changing the supplement game for sure, on top of opening up a top-notch warehouse gym in the outskirts of Austin, TX.

If you are like me, you sometimes table ideas and projects out of uncertainty or even fear of failing. But why? Why are we so afraid to put ourselves out there and not give ourselves the opportunity to succeed? The opportunity to fail and learn from it? In this episode I talk about my own hesitations to take action and why and how I am no longer letting the fear of the unknown or failure stopping me from putting myself out there. I hope you can do the same and TAKE ACTION!

If you follow YouTube fitness channels at all then you are most likely no stranger to this young man, Christian Guzman. Founder of Alphalete athletic apparel and gym in Houston, TX, Christian has grown to become one of the biggest names in the social media fitness industry. After spending the weekend with Christian here in DC, I had the chance to sit down and learn about his origin story and all of the hard work it took him to reach such an incredible level of success at such an early age.

This is EverForward Radio! Welcome everyone to episode one of my podcast venture. I am your host Chase Chewning, and I am a certified health coach with my BS in Exercise Science and MS in Health Promotion Management. I am an Army veteran currently living in our nation's capital of Washington, DC with my wife, May, and our dog, Nella. My goal is to be a platform to hear first-hand stories from health and wellness professionals, social media personalities, philanthropists, entrepreneurs or any mover and shaker in their industry. The weeks will alternate between an interview and a solo podcast from myself. Thank you for tuning in and I hope that each episode is a lesson you can apply to your own life that propels it forward, ever forward.