Chasing Common Ground: Lifestyle Conversations with Chris Liddle

I first found Bryan Baia because we follow some of the same New York based fitness industry people. It makes sense as that is where he is based out of, but the reason that I follow New York people is primarily because of Dr. Pat Davidson's crew at Hype, and having watched the Hype Power hour for the better part of a year. 

Essentially, as a trainer, you end up following people that tag other people that look like they're up to cool strong things (Bryan), then as long as they stay cool (he did) you keep following them and then this happens (Podcast). Now Bryan and I have a podcast episode together. Boom!

Bryan is a strong dude with a personality that stands out. In a sea of people doing the same thing, for a person to have a personality goes a long way. 

I was feeling overwhelmed amidst this whole COVID-19 phenomenon and just needing things to change the tone of my day to day when I came across Bryan squwatting some logs in the middle of a field. My dad and I had literally just talked on the phone about how if I needed a good workout, he could lay out some logs for me to squat out at the acreage and then I saw Bryan's video. 

I am also someone who likes to put humour into my training business and life so I could relate to his personality. Whether it be my "Savasana Yoga demonstration" or my "Peloton home workout skit". However, Bryan isn't just on the podcast because he's funny. We talked about the grit and determination he has had in his career. He was willing to sleep on a coach in a 1 bedroom apartment with his buddy just to make a move to the big city happen. We talked about the continuing education, the passion for knowledge and the moments he'll never forget with clients. He's a determined individual both in how he leads his life and in the results he strives for with the people under his wing. Go check him out. @bryanbaia 

Thanks for listening, please support The Lifestyle Chase by looking through past episodes for someone else you know and listening to that one too. If you're feeling spicy, look up one of the many people that you don't know, and learn about them. Help me grow this project in these trying times by sharing a screenshot on social media, rating on your favourite podcast platform and leaving a review. 

Lee Boyce is the source of a lot of high quality fitness content. He's one of the most prolific writers in the fitness industry today. If you go to the magazine rack at the grocery store there is extremely good odds you will find one of his articles. The thing is, he's not going to waste too much time telling that to people. 

Here's his bio: "I’m a strength coach who works with clients and athletes for muscle, strength, and sport performance, and I’m based in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an internationally published fitness writer who’s regularly featured in many of the world’s largest publications, like Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Oxygen, Esquire, The Huffington Post, Men’s Journal, and T-Nation. You can find plenty of my published web work on this site, and get the heads up when my print work hits newsstands. I’ve done plenty of fitness segments for various TV and radio stations, including Global, CBC, ABC News Radio, Sun News Network, and CP24. I also ran track at the National level in university as a sprinter and long jumper."

At the end of the episode, his advice for people in living a fulfilling life was to stay off social media. Take into account that he's had Instagram for maybe 2 years. He doesn't really engage with trolls because most of them have never directly asked him a question when he's presented or in an email or dm. He truly only goes on to post valuable content that he believes in and already has amassed 22.7 thousand followers and he's not concerned about likes. He knows what he's talking about with this approach. Worry less about likes and validation and focus more on working on your craft and learning in the process.

I've seen Lee present in Kansas City and here in Edmonton and he is definitely one of my favourite presenters for his ability to captivate and educate. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed our conversation. Please share with a friend. 

Robert Raposo, Kayla Maynard and their three kids are getting a lot more quality time this week with the whole world in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic. This power couple are the brains and talent behind Brave Fox Coffee, a Beaumont, Alberta based coffee roaster. You can find their products on their website or locally in Beaumont. Rob's main job is a Fire Captain/Primary Care Paramedic working in the Fort McMurray area. 

This episode wasn't just about coffee though. We talked about how they each found mediation in their own way and how really it wasn't as easy as go try it once and everything is all better. You have to a routine in order to keep structure. Their routine also incorporates fitness, eating well, and drinking coffee. The need for routine also applies to being intuitive to the needs of each of their three kids. Every kid is different, whether that be in their life at home or their life at school, just like all kids.

We talked about how important it is to ask for help in times of need, we talked about pregnancy and parenting and the pivotal role that teachers play and what it can feel like when they're not there. We talked about life in high school and how some people can change you forever, and some people can be around for years. We talked about loss and struggles that young people can have where all they need is someone to be there to just listen.

It's a pretty jam packed episode. Give it a listen and share with a friend. Hope you enjoy.

To see all of the episodes ever released of The Lifestyle Chase, go to thelifestylechase.podbean.com. Thanks for listening!

The easiest way to intro James is that he is a highly educated meathead who loves lifting but would always put his family first. He's the founder and co owner of Rebel Performance which is essentially a happy fun place in the internet where smart strong people go to get smarter and stronger. Keep in mind we are recording this in the middle of a worldwide pandemic so some of the perspective you get is likely to be helpful if you are also finding yourself in the middle of a worldwide pandemic (that's all of you). We talked about sustaining your fitness with home workouts, how to keep on keeping on when you have to lean out your finances, and we even talked about core values. 

There is a segment in which James lists off a whole bunch of people he admires, which says a lot about who he is. He's always looking to learn from the people around him and his attitude has provided him many opportunities to do just that. 

It's like the smarter you get the dumber you realize you really are. We talked about goals, structuring how to achieve them, and how sometimes it's best to just work at something and be good at it. We can let other people speak highly of us, as it will go much further than standing around puffing out our chest saying how awesome we are. 

Rebel Performance Radio, which is part of what James does, is a podcast that I've listened to frequently amongst many others. But it's one where I get to learn more about a lot of the people that influence how or why I do things. So if that intrigues you, check it out.