On Episode 100 I sit down with Brian Chontosh aka Tosh. Brian is a retired USMC Infantry Officer who now works on the CrossFit HQ staff, competes in ultramarathon races, is an avid outdoor adventurer and now, Podcaster. Brian was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 

I truly hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! 

Everyday People. Life-changing Stories. This Up Before You. 

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Thank you for listening!!

Brian Chontosh

A collection of conversations with people that I have had the pleasure of crossing paths with throughout my life to date surrounding CrossFit, fitness, endurance challenges, and life.

An evolution of my own mind, thought processes, and my personal journey of continuing to become who I am as a person.

On Episode 247 I sit down with Meredith Rickel. Meredith is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone who I really enjoyed talking to. I had a fascinating conversation with Meredith today that ranged from talking about SEC Football to what happiness means to her, all the way to the climate and what's going wrong, what she thinks we can do about it, and a whole lot more!

#247: Meredith Rickel on Happiness, Climate, and The Oceans

On Episode 246 I sit down with Mike Tadros. Mike is a newer member at CrossFit Roots and someone who I have had the pleasure of getting to know better over the past year or so.



With this episode, I continue to dig in a little deeper with Mike in an attempt to discover more about who he is as a person versus him giving me a timeline of events of the things that he's done in his life. I have found this structure more enjoyable and interesting in comparison to the way that I have conducted these conversations in the past.



I hope that you all are enjoying these episodes and conversations as much as I am! Thank you for listening and I hope that you enjoy the show!!

#246: Mike Tadros on Architecture, The Game Between the Ears, and Are We Too Safe?

On Episode 245 I sit down with Lisa Prodanovich. Lisa is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone who I really enjoy getting to see on a daily basis at Roots. Lisa works as a paralegal in Boulder but that detail was the least of our topics for discussion today. 

On today's episode, we talk about a wide range of topics that include history, reading books, open discussion, being open to understanding the other side and their views, and the importance of critical thinking. 

This was an awesome episode and I really enjoyed my chat with Lisa today!

Thank you for listening and I hope that you enjoy the show!!

#245: Lisa Prodanovich on History, Open Discussion, and Critical Thinking

On Episode 244 I sit down with Mark Wilbourne. Mark is currently at CU for a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Applied Math and a certificate in Engineering Leadership. He really enjoys engineering and analytical thinking and also working with people so he is looking into careers that combine the two. Mark would love to be a systems engineer/project manager or anything that takes more of a global approach to tough problems working in the field of engineering. At school, he is a Student Ambassador which is where he found his passion for people.

Mark got into CrossFit through the influence of his parents and being connected to Kevin Ogar while he was in spinal cord rehab in Denver. His Dad started CrossFit in Afghanistan when Mark was in middle school and both of his parents have been doing it since. Mark always made fun of CrossFit and was more into endurance sports but Kevin showed him early CrossFit and all that it has to offer early on in his injury and he enjoyed how he didn’t have to think and just show up each day and know the coaches would make him better. Athletically, Mark would like to return to endurance sports later on once he gets enough strength and settles into more of a home.

I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed this conversation today. Mark is someone who I have gotten to know better during his time at CrossFit Roots. During this conversation, we talked about a wide range of topics including The tunnels underneath Vegas, Elon Musk and aerospace engineering, Mark’s dive into Cross Country, Track and Field, and Endurance sports, His accident, and getting into CrossFit. 

I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I did!

#244: Mark Wilbourne on The Tunnels Underneath Vegas, Endurance Sports, and Adaptive CrossFit

On Episode 243 I sit down with Sara Sisenwein. Sara is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone who comes to my Monday evening Strength class, arguably the best class we offer at CrossFit Roots, quite religiously. 

Sara ran track in high school and then went off to school at the University of Maryland. From there she got into Advertising. More specifically, helping companies negotiate deals through various mediums.

Today, we talk about her time running track and the valuable lessons she learned there, when she knew that advertising was her passion and something that she wanted to pursue as a career, how she found CrossFit, and how much she values it in her day to day life, what she’s currently doing for work, what she sees herself doing in the future, and a whole lot more. 

I had a really fun time talking to Sara and I hope that you all enjoy this conversation as much as I did! 

And now, without further ado, let’s get on with the show….

Brian Chontosh

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