Bits of Gold

On today's episode of Bits of Gold, I interview Joseph William Foster (Joe Foster). Joe was born in 1935 in Bolton England, sharing a birthday with his grandfather, also Joseph William Foster. Joe’s grandfather was the founder of J W Foster & Sons (Athletic Shoes), and the inventor of the Spiked  Running Shoe and the Trainer (Sneaker).  

Joe and his late brother Jeff were born into the J W Foster & family business, but on their return after 2 years away from home on National Service, they asked questions... The year was 1955 and the brothers saw a business still rooted in the 1930’s.  

Their Father and Uncle were now operating the business and very much like another Sports Shoe company, spent more time fighting than collaborating. The result was that in 1958 Joe and Jeff left the Foster business to set up a new Sports Shoe company.  

The brothers founded Mercury Sports Footwear, which after 18 months they changed its name to REEBOK.

Joe had been advised to protect their company’s name by registering it.  

By 1965, Joe was on his way to the NSGA (National Sporting Goods of  America) Show in Chicago, which was the start of many Global  adventures and experiences that after 15 years brought him together with  Paul Fireman and later many Stars of film and television. As the surviving Founder of Reebok, Joe still welcomes the opportunity to  travel and recount those early stories from start-up to taking the company to a $4 billion business, overtaking Adidas & Nike to become the Worlds  No. 1 sports brand.

I feel lucky to share Joe's story today in how he built a global brand and a life he loves!

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Erin Weed is an expert helping people align their WHY with their WORDS. As an author, speaker and message strategist she helps individuals and organizations to clarify their purpose, simplify their message and amplify their truth. 

Formerly Erin was Founder & CEO of Girls Fight Back - a company that conducts women’s safety seminars across the world. It was founded in 2001 in response to the murder of Erin’s college friend and sorority sister, Shannon McNamara. 

She has spoken to over 1 million people at live events worldwide and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and was named CosmoGirl of the Year. 

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Erin helps people understand the unique power of our stories, the lessons we learn from them and the universal truths that tie humanity together. She is here today to help us seek our purpose, and speak our truth. 

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In February 1996, Jeff Romig's father died by suicide. Until that moment, there was no sign that his father had been contemplating suicide. Steve Romig was always so driven. Hard-working. Successful. No sign of the inner turmoil of anxiety and depression Jeff was also feeling at 18 years old. 

In this episode, I sit down with Jeff Romig who recently launched his memoir, "Don't F*cking Kill Yourself."

We discuss Jeff's story of loss, grief, and moving forward to ultimately build a life he loves.

We dive deep into his own anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations and discuss how he has navigated really tough times.

In Jeff’s own words, this is not a self-help book. It is a memoir in service of two potentially life-saving ideas: that we can reduce the stigma around suicidal ideation by sharing our stories and that we can push through our darkest moments of suicidal thoughts by connecting our minds with the passions, people, and experiences that define the best parts of our lives. 

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In this episode, I sit down with Andrew "Bernie" Bernstein.

Andrew has lived through a few traumas. His mom suffered with ALS for about 7 years before dying when he was in my early 30s. 

A couple years later he got hit by someone driving a van, causing severe injuries and permanent paralysis. You can read more about that here.

Besides being a trauma survivor, Andrew is also an avid cyclist (he formerly raced at an elite level that included olympic-qualifying events), and outdoor enthusiast. He still hikes a lot, and used to ski. He works in PR/marketing in the outdoor industry, and has been a journalist in the past. 

His story and resilience are beyond inspiring.

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In this episode, I sit down with Shawn Hitchins, author of The Light Streamed Beneath It (ECW ’21) and A Brief History of Oversharing (ECW ’17). His one-man show Ginger Nation toured extensively before being filmed in concert. Hitchins is an award-winning entertainer, writer, personality, and creator of live performance. 

Shawn has lived through significant loss… Shawns soulmate and ex-husband, Matt died unexpectedly and 5 months later a tumultuous but passionate relationship ended abruptly when his partner died to suicide. The Light Streamed Beneath It (coming out 10/12) explores grief, love, sex, community and the beautiful absurdity of being alive from a queer perspective.

Shawn shows incredible vulnerability as he chooses to open up instead of shut down.

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Today my guest is Dave Scatchard. 

Ever since Dave was a little kid he dreamed of playing in the NHL as a professional hockey player. After years of discipline, hard work, sacrifice, his dreams came true at the young age of 21 when he was drafted in the NHL…

Years later, his life would turn rock bottom, after being hit in a game and being carried off the ice in a stretcher after getting a fifth concussion. When he was down on the ice, he had an out of body experience... A spiritual encounter which ultimately led him off the ice to pursue his real dreams and passions in his pursuit to help others live a life of purpose.

The years following that fifth concussion were extremely difficult… he was confronted with emotional, mental, and physical trauma post his NHL career. He suffered from debilitating migraines, destructive behaviors, and more. 

I’m so excited to share his inspiring journey of healing, finding his purpose, and details around his new book, The Comeback (Which just launched). Today, he is a peak performance coach, helping thousands of people and he carries his past experiences to help others live and build an incredible life. 

For a discounted live event that Dave is putting on details below:

https://go.allstarcoaching.com/dec-21-all-star-weekend - 70% off live event link 

https://geni.us/TheComeback Amazon book link 

https://comeback.davescatchard.com/book-offer-page - Free + Shipping book offer!

allstarcoaching.com  For his Coaching Business

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Today my guest is Andy Stern, AKA the Mayor of UppercutCity. Andy is a part of the founding team and Vice President of Talent & Programming at the fast growing Rumble Boxing Gym. Rumble is a BOXING-INSPIRED GROUP FITNESS CLASSES taking the world by storm. They recently went public and you are going to see tons of Rumble Gyms opening up all over the world.

Andy has an incredible story and I’m so excited and honored to share it with you today.

In this episode, we dive into Andys professional journey of pursuing his dreams, navigating life in his early 20’s and how he moved forward after losing his dad and then his mom at a young age.

Today Andy is living his dream life in growing Rumble and building a life he loves with his wife Julia and his son Presley 

Shout out to a motto I've heard him say in class!

" If You Want It... TAKE IT

If You Need It... FIND IT

If You Got It... BRING IT."

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Today, my guest is Olivia Young, founder of Box and Flow, the first fitness studio focusing on the integration of fight and flow. 

Olivia started her career in the hospitality space, but ultimately decided to pursue her dreams and passions of fitness with opening Box and Flow.

(I’ve been to Box and Flow many times and I can personally say that studio was a special place and more than just an amazing workout.)

Only 3 weeks after opening her flagship studio, she had to close the doors due to COVID. 

In this episode we dive into both Olivia’s personal and professional journey and explore how she’s navigated really tough times, how she’s developed a life of resilience, and how she is living her dream life.

Key Topics we discuss:

• Opening Box and Flow and the importance of pursuing your dreams
• Navigating closing due to Covid
• Her writings on her past trauma and being assaulted 
• How plant medicine has helped her 
• Celebrating life no matter what 

You can read her blog post on her story of being assaulted here: http://www.livyoung.co/blog/myuntoldstory

You can follow Olivia here: https://www.instagram.com/livyoung/

You can connect with her here:http://www.livyoung.co/

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Today, my guest is friend and brother, Aron Weingard – a leader who strives to leave every organization in a better position than when he joined it. 

Aron has helped build Experience Camps for Grieving Children since its inception in 2009. He has served as a volunteer counselor for 13 years, developed the camper leadership program with Wiley Cerilli, and helped found the Georgia Program in 2017. Today, he is the Fundraising Chair of the Board of Directors and responsible for helping to raise nearly $3.5 million annually.

Aron began his career in Atlanta as a management consultant at KPMG where he focused on helping clients with matters of employee retention, merger integration and customer strategy. He left KPMG to be in a career where he can better impact the lives of people – and joined his mother, brother and their broader team at Weingard Wealth Management of Raymond James.  He focuses on wealth planning for individuals and families and specializes in guiding business owners with succession planning and exit strategies all across the United States.

Most recently, he was recognized by Invest in Others for his Experience Camps leadership as one of 72 Wealth Advisors out of over 300,000 who are making the biggest impact in the nonprofit industry.

In this episode, we dive into:

• The founding story of Experience Camps
• His first Summer in building the organization
• Magical moments at camp
• The impact he has had as a volunteer
• The camper leadership program and how it is helping kids beyond camp
• And much more… 

To learn more about Experience Camps: https://experiencecamps.org/

To connect with Aron: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aron-weingard-cfp%C2%AE-cepa-aams%C2%AE-3460354/

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In this episode, I sit down with author, public speaker, philanthropist, and endurance athlete, David Richman, whose mission is to form more meaningful human connections through storytelling. His first book, Winning in the Middle of the Pack, discussed how to get more out of ourselves than ever imagined. With Cycle of Lives, David shares the interconnected stories of people overcoming trauma and delves deeply into their emotional journeys with cancer. 

We also dive into David's own grief story and how he has navigated life as a result.

For David's book: https://www.amazon.com/Cycle-Lives-Peoples-Stories-Emotional/dp/163299299X

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