Break The Chains, Find Your Flame

Episode 13 features someone I have been a long time fan of, and am in awe of... Mike Gillette.

Mike Gillette has a life story that reads like an action-adventure novel. A life which has proven to be his own best case-study for goal attainment.

He was a poor, scared and scrawny kid who  grew up amidst a backdrop of extreme violence and substance abuse. A kid who would ultimately become an Army Paratrooper, SWAT Commander, Government Counter-Terrorism Consultant, Bodyguard to Fortune 500 CEOs and a Record-Breaking Motivational Strongman whose feats have been documented by Guinness World Records and Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

As both practitioner and purveyor, Mike is a peak-performance pioneer. And at over 50 years of age, he continues to transcend his own personal limits while teaching others how to do the same.

www.mikegillette.com

Instagram: @mike.gillette

Facebook: Mike Gillette

Welcome back!!!

Today's episode is with Shaun Herr, a good friend of mine from the UK. Shaun and I met three years ago at Dragon Door's PCC. Since then Shaun has been busy with helping people break the slimming cycle. He has his own podcast, The Shaun Herr Show (yours truly was lucky enough to be on an episode), his own online training program "The Shaun Herr Academy", and his own book "Finding Balance".

We get into how he helps people break the slimming cycle and how important nutrition is to the game of health and wellness, and more importantly why fad diets are no good!!!

http://shaunherr.co.uk/

Welcome back guys!!!

Episode 11 starts off with a bang!! We don't even introduce our guest "officially" until towards the end of the episode. No worries though, I won't keep you waiting in these here show notes, our guest today is Martin Dubovic… Aka Barstruck Martin … Aka Kalisthenics Nomad … Aka E-Ratic Madman.

Martin and I first met at the PCC three years ago... as you'll hear, we started talking over our love for healthy snacks. We get into nutrition early in the episode, and Martin has some amazing thoughts on health, cleanliness, and spiritual well being of the food we eat. Martin left his job, two years ago, and now travels the world, exploring different cultures, lifestyles and food. His love for health, animals, and different cultures is awe inspiring, and is something that really shines through through out all of the episode.

I really enjoyed catching up with Martin, we could have easily did five more podcasts about all of the things we have in common. We will definitely have him back again to talk more.

Check him out on social media:

@kalisthenics_nomad - Instagram

@Martin Calisthenics - Facebook

And keep a look out for his new website coming soon- just search his name: Martin Dubovic

I was so honored to be able to sit down with Nikki Myers and talk about her experiences with addiction, recovery, Y12sr, somatic experiencing and much more. It truly was a breath of fresh air to speak with her and get to pick her brain on so many subjects. She shares with us some great gems of knowledge, I can't even pick my favorite one, I will leave it up to you to decide what her most pertinent thought in the podcast is!!!

An accomplished speaker, teacher and practitioner, Nikki Myers is an MBA, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Addictions Recovery Specialist, and Certified Health Coach. Born from her personal struggle with addiction, Nikki is the founder of Y12SR, The Yoga of 12-Step Recovery. Based in its theme ‘the issues live in the tissues’, Y12SR is a relapse prevention program that weaves the art & science of yoga with the practical tools of 12-step programs. Y12SR meetings are now available throughout the world and the curriculum is rapidly becoming a feature of addiction recovery treatment centers. Nikki’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Black Enterprise, The Huffington Post, Origin Magazine, and CBSnews.com. She is honored to be a co-founder of the annual Yoga, Meditation and Recovery Conferences at Esalen Institute and Kripalu Center. Nikki was named as a Yoga Journal Game Changer in 2015 and honored as a recipient of the esteemed NUVO Cultural Visionary Award in 2014.

Things we talk about in this episode:

www.y12sr.com

Y12sr

Somatic Experiencing

Polar Bear Video

Our guest for this episode, is the one, the only, Danny Kavadlo.

This was an amazing episode as we got to sit down with Danny and talk about everything and anything. From calisthenics, to therapy. From traveling the world, to balancing empathy. We had a blast catching up and talking about ways people can get outside of their comfort zone and really challenge themselves, and in the process grow stronger.

I do have to warn you, this episode is packed with some explicit language- we get passionate, and it brings out some colorful language. It's all in good fun, but maybe don't have this on blast if you are at work, or spending time with your kids!!!

Danny Kavadlo is one of the world’s leading authorities on calisthenics, nutrition and personal training. He is known globally for his minimalist philosophy, feats of strength, and over-the-top personality. 

Mr. Kavadlo is the author of numerous fitness titles including #1 Amazon best

When not working one-on-one with clients in his native New York City, Danny

Things mentioned in this episode:

https://dannythetrainer.com

Progressive Calisthenics Certification

Today we got to sit down with my fellow geek, Michele Heyward. And boy, let me tell you, she is a blast. I first met Michele in the VVM Start Up Accelerator- much like Episode 6 guest Oscar. Michele blew my mind early on. Her warmth, charisma, humor and caring are all evident from the minute she says hello to you. She can conversate with the best of them, and she holds your interest. But what you don't see until you get to know her, is her extreme want to help create a world of equal opportunity, equity, and respect. Oh you learn it within five minutes, but by then you already know Michele for who she is. She is one of the most genuine people you can ever meet, and she will have you in stitches for hours. We get to talk about her passions, her history, and how she is advocating for change in the STEM field, specifically for women of color. 

You may notice that Michele's company is actually name PositiveHire, and that the name of the episode is actually Positive Higher.... this wasn't a mistake- in the episode we talk about how Michele came up with the amazing pun for her company. I wanted to honor that in the title, because she literally is a person who is bringing the value of "Positive" to a higher level.

Michele Heyward is founder and CEO of PositiveHire, a tech company engineered to bridge the gap between enterprises and women of color in STEM. Michele is an experienced project manager in the energy sector armed with technical sales and technology transfer experience.

Michele’s vision is to not only help women of color in STEM find inclusive workplaces, but to prepare enterprises to receive them, and help those enterprises recruit them.This approach makes PositiveHire, the premiere recruiting platform for women of color professionals.

Michele has a B.S. degree in civil engineering and M.S. degree in industrial management, both from Clemson University.  A South Carolina native, Michele enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, Toastmasters, and making connections  personally and professionally. Michele has a passion for engaging with others on social media.

Check out the work she is doing here:

http://www.positivehire.co/

You can contact Michele here:

[email protected]

or on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram

We were very fortunate to sit down with an amazingly empowered and awesome lady for this episode. Jillian and I dive deep into theories of self care, happiness, and resilience.

Jillian Manus is an experienced entrepreneur, technology investor, and banking and media executive. She is currently a Managing Partner of Structure Capital VC, a seed and early-stage venture fund providing capital and marketing strategy to companies exploiting under-utilized assets and excess capacity. Jillian sits on numerous board including Stanford University Digital Health, Stanford University School of Medicine Board of Fellows, Advisory Board of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Board of Directors, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Communities in Schools. She also sits on the board of several of her portfolio companies, including Hyp3r, Workpath, Revelar, and Liquiglide. Prior to Structure Capital, Jillian was the Founder of Broad Strategy, Manus Media, and Global Goal Sports Management. 

Jillian is passionate about women’s empowerment and served seven years as Chair of The Woman’s Conference where she joined Maria Shriver to create the largest women’s conference in the world. She was also named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business 2016 by the San Francisco Business Times. As an active voice in the media, Jillian often provides business and political commentary on Bloomberg and Fox News, and is currently co-hosting the popular podcast “The Pitch”. She attended Oxford University and NYU where she also served as adjunct professor and Trustee. She is the mother of four children who are her breath, smile and inspiration.

Things we talk about in this episode:

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/the-pitch

https://structure.vc/

Special video for this episode!!!: https://youtu.be/H4SHYv3tkdo 

Today we got to sit down with my good friend, Oscar Pedroso. In this episode we dive deep into Oscar's passions to help youth gain access to hands on engineering kits and models. We deeply talk about his approach to life and positive thinking, and we hear about his early life, his struggles, and what it took to get him through the obstacles in his life that were put in his way. We also have some great shout outs to Oscar's Dad, and other friends of ours in the Valley Venture Mentor crew.

Oscar is founder / CEO of Thimble.io - an education technology business founded in 2015 and based in Buffalo, NY. He hails from New York City and was introduced to Western New York upon his enrollment at the University of Rochester where he graduated with degrees in Math and Economics. He is a first generation college graduate and entrepreneur.

After graduation, Oscar worked in higher-education as a college admission officer at his alma mater; his focus there was recruiting students of color from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue engineering as a possible major and career option. Oscar has since started multiple businesses in the education space - including a private tutoring business, an online project journal tool for student engineers, and now Thimble which helps children learn engineering and coding skills through hands-on kits. Oscars spends his spare time rowing for Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association, taking care of his pitbull (willow) and silver lab (cooper), and helping other entrepreneurs realize their potential. Here are 3 things most don't know about Oscar:

1) Do not tell him you're interested in starting your own business. He will make sure you eventually quit your full-time job to realize your dream.

2) He is inspired by various DJs and has created his own mixes. One day he hopes to play his music for large groups of people.

3) He speaks fluent Spanish and French, and is moderately proficient in Russian and Catalan.

Things mentioned in this episode:

https://www.thimble.io/

valleyventurementors.org/

You can contact Oscar at : [email protected]