For most of you, Annie needs no introduction.  For the rest of you, keep reading.

One of the original "Nasty Girls", Annie Sakamoto is an icon of the CrossFit world, and easily one of the most humble.  She is currently the co-owner and founder of CrossFit Santa Cruz Central, located only a few steps from the world's first CrossFit gym. She's competed at the Games both individually and in team competition. And she packs a ridiculous amount of power in that 5'0" 120 lb. frame.

Trust us when we say that Annie Sakamoto is even more delightful in person than she appears on camera.  What an honor to meet an athlete and a coach who has inspired so many others!  Enjoy!

E46 | Annie Sakamoto

Hosted By Reilly Kilbride and Michael Gray. We pick guests and topics that challenge us with the hope that our conversations challenge you as well. Thanks for listening!

Health & Fitness

Interview with the late John McAfee, a British-American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time presidential candidate. In 1987, he wrote the first commercial anti-virus software that bears his name to this day.But McAfee was also a fugitive of the US for years.  In June, 2021, he was found dead in a jail cell in Spain soon after being scheduled for expedition to the US for charges of tax evasion.  Authorities ruled it a suicide.
Prior to his death, McAfee stated that he was not suicidal, and that he was concerned he might be murdered and that his death would be made to appear a suicide.
This was an episode that we thought had been lost to us.  We recorded this with him in January, 2020 but originally stalled in publishing this because of the incendiary nature of the topics and (truthfully) of the man himself.  Then, of course, COVID hit.
We somehow lost the video of this interview, but recently stumbled again on the audio.  Since we were a show that did not shy away from hard conversations, we figured there was no better send-off for our show than this episode.  
As we say in our intro, "We're here to set some shit on fire". Hit play and strike the match!
Thanks for listening. Love you, mean it!
Reilly & Michael

Encore Episode | The Late John McAfee

Great chat with Jacob Fasig - a man who has had a tremendous positive impact on the health and motivation of many people, most particularly your beloved host, Michael.
Jacob is the host of the Barbell Voodoo Podcast, co-owner of Crossfit Donelson in the Nashville area, and life coach to many others. Jacob's journey to become "Fit by 40" was a key inspiration in Michael walking in to CrossFit for the first time, and this interview has been a long time coming.
We get into all sorts of topics including the "best" workout music (SPOLIER: Reilly's favorite is "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga), how to stay motivated in your workouts and daily life, parenting, PORN, and much more.Thanks for listening!

S2E3 | Jacob Fasig

Great conversation with Athena Perez, someone we have been inspired by and following for quite some time. Athena is an L2 CrossFit coach, owner of Scaled Nation CrossFit, and author of "Lifting the Wait", a book that tells the story of how she lost over 200 lbs. in her journey to be where she is today.
We discussed her fierce advocacy for plus-size inclusion in CrossFit and how the wrong assumptions about a severely overweight newcomer can leave a lasting negative impact. We also tackled the challenging topic of whether providing specialty plus-size clothing in our sport/gyms is a good or bad thing for promoting health and wellness.
Definitely some challenging conversations here.

S2E2 | Athena Perez

After a long hiatus, The Forging Fury Podcast has returned as The Next Podcast on Your Playlist. Your hosts Reilly Kilbride and Michael Gray dust off their microphones to kick of a new season -- and a new direction for the show. The same crew you've come to love (hopefully) is back in the saddle again!

S2E1 | Return of the Macks

We are honored to be joined this week by our friend and newest Fury coach, Joe Mike Paul. Joe is a Wisconsin transplant who moved to Arizona to pursue his passion for helping people with dialing in their nutrition and nurturing in them a life of fitness. But Joe’s path to where he is now was anything but average. Inspired by a horible family tragedy, Joe has learned how to fight through adversity and come out of the hardship better and stronger.

E46 | Annie Sakamoto

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