Choose the Hard Way

Creator/host of the Cleared Hot podcast Andy Stumpf discusses mindset, mindfulness, violence, patience and more. Andy spent 17 years as a Navy SEAL before being medically retired. He is a recipient of the Purple Heart and five Bronze Stars. During his time in the SEAL Teams, he screened for and joined SEAL Team Six, the most elite counterterrorism unit in the military and served as an instructor at BUD/S. Andy is a former CrossFit box owner, B.A.S.E. jumper, archer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, father, husband and in 2015 set the world record for the farthest wingsuit flight with an 18+ mile flight.

I found Andy via Cleared Hot, which quickly became and remains one of my favorite podcasts. If you don’t already, I highly recommend subscribing. I’m grateful I had the chance to connect with Andy to talk about mindset, mindfulness, violence, dad life, McNuggets and much more.

You can follow Andy on Instagram @andystumpf212, on Twitter @andystumpf77, at andystumpf.com and on his podcast website, clearedhotpodcast.com. Get his show on iTunes here and on YouTube here.

Jack and two buddies skateboarded across America in 1976 using a '69 Firebird with a .22 rifle in the trunk as their sag vehicle and luxurious camper. It was a time before Instagram models roamed the earth and invented the sacrament of Van Life. Jack and his pals saw America in a way few characters besides those in fiction ever experienced it. Jack went on to complete four more trans-continental skates, including one on an Inboard electric skateboard in 2018 at the age of 61. Jack is a legend. And this is his story.

He has lived a life rich in experiences and adventure, and has suffered great losses too. His first son died of complications from Lowe Syndrome in 2003 and he lost his father to Alzheimer's disease. He dedicated three of his cross-country skates to raising funds and awareness for these and other causes.

Jack spent his career as a professional skater at the dawn of the sport and then made his living on the business side of the skateboard industry. Today he also runs the Morro Bay Skate museum. You can follow Jack on Instagram @jack_smith_morro_bay and check out the museum at www.mbskate.com.

Jeremy shares insights about: being a pioneer, drawing your own map, failing and getting up over and over again to forge a career, start a media company, chase a dream and inspire + enable others to do the same, at scale.

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Jeremy Powers is a professional cyclist who has won over 90 UCI races, four U.S. National Championships and the 2015 Pan American Championship. He has also been a relentless champion of the discipline of cyclocross and has put huge chunks of his time and money into building the sport in the United States where it is rising in popularity, but still underground for the most part. In this episode, Jeremy takes us inside the mentality it takes to win, to face failure and to get up over and over again in the face of daunting financial, professional, interpersonal and health challenges. We touch on what he did to create a career path where there wasn't one, become a champion and start-up a media company. Jeremy has mentored and developed some of the best talent competing in the sport through teams and organizations he created including Aspire Racing and the JAM fund. In 2010, Jeremy and Sam Smith created the groundbreaking online video series 'Behind THE Barriers.' The series followed Jeremy as he traveled to races across the U.S. and around the world and continues today as Behind the Barriers TV. This interview took place in 2017 just before Jeremy finished second at the national championships and it's a deep dive into the toughest moments of his career. On YouTube, you can find him at Behind the Barriers TV and you can follow Jeremy on Insta @jpows, on Twitter @jeremypowers and on his website, www.jpows.com. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe now, share with your friends and give us a 5-star review! Get The Hard Way newsletter and never miss a new episode. Find more at www.choosethehardway.com and reach out @vontz and @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

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On Christmas Eve 2007, Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod was on patrol in the Helmand province of Afghanistan when he triggered an IED and lost both legs and one arm. Today, Mark is an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, a peak performance coach, an entrepreneur and the author of the award-winning autobiography, Man Down. He is grit. He is resilience. He is the model of what it means to overcome. I first met Mark when I wrote a feature about him in 2015. His story is one that has stuck with me and transformed how I think about life. If you've ever come up against an obstacle in your life that felt too big to overcome or felt so low you never thought you'd get up again, Mark's story might change your mind. His story moved me in a way few things ever have, and I think it will move you, too. You can follow Mark on Twitter @markormrod, on Instagram @markormrod, on his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkOrmrodMotivation and through his website, https://www.markormrod.com. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe now, share with your friends and give us a 5-star review! Get The Hard Way newsletter and never miss a new episode. Find more at www.choosethehardway.com and reach out @vontz and @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected]. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

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The content & marketing mastermind shares lessons learned from a career that has included working as a journalist at the Wall Street Journal & Venture Beat; in PR at Tesla; and in content + marketing at Kiva and First Round Capital where she created the esteemed First Round Review. Camille is a powerhouse storyteller and authority on actionable insights for technology entrepreneurs. This episode is a deep dive into success, failure and overcoming obstacles to achieve escape velocity in Silicon Valley. And how to handle being asked, "What is your Mt. Everest?" while you're in the middle of a bouldering problem at Dogpatch Boulders and thinking about where to get a burrito. This interview took place while Camille was working as the head of content and marketing at First Round Capital, a seed-stage venture firm renowned for its deep & incisive content--thanks in no small part to Camille's work. She helped launch the First Round Review where she wrote and edited dozens and dozens of articles & long-form interviews with top founders, execs & other hitters in tech about how they build, grow, innovate, lead, learn, fail, transform and more.

Previously, Camille applied her content strategy prowess at microfinance nonprofit Kiva and managed PR at Tesla Motors. Prior to that she was a reporter for VentureBeat & the Wall Street Journal. Camille has spent the last several months traveling and testing the water on new opportunities to tell great stories.

We dig in on the lessons Camille learned from her work interviewing entrepreneurs, founders and execs at length and at scale during her time at First Round. Follow Camille on Twitter @camillericketts.

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe now, share with your friends and give us a 5-star review!

Get The Hard Way newsletter and never miss a new episode. Find more at www.choosethehardway.com and holler @vontz or @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Marty Skovlund, Jr. is a veteran Army Ranger who served in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Currently the executive editor of Black Rifle Coffee Company's Coffee or Die magazine, he's an entrepreneur, journalist, photographer, award-winning filmmaker and the author of Ranger Knowledge: The Complete Study Guide. His book Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror, is a gripping, remarkable history of the GWoT told through first person accounts from Marty, other Rangers and their families and spouses. Marty is a guy who has done hard things and keeps pushing himself into new and challenging terrain, whether that's going back to Afghanistan as a journalist to do in-depth reporting on the state of the ongoing war on terror or producing and directing documentaries. He's currently working on his third book, a memoir. Follow Marty on twitter and Instagram @martyskovlundjr and on his website.

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Former professional cyclist Phil Gaimon once almost died in a bike wreck, but he never rode the Tour de France. Today, he's one of the biggest creative forces and personalities in the sport as the author of three books, creator of The Worst Retirement Ever YouTube series and host of The Peloton Brief Podcast. Phil has started multiple businesses and overcome huge odds to succeed. A self-described fat kid growing up, during his pro career he transformed himself into one of the best cyclists in America and clawed his way onto a World Tour team, the designation for teams at the highest level of the sport. In this episode he gives insight into how he has done it, how he has survived the worst moments of his life and where he is headed next. For even more Phil, follow him on Strava here or on Twitter, @philgaimon.

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

The North Face athlete on El Cap, Everest, anger, rock climbing, expeditions, origins and her evolution from one of the greatest competitive climbers ever to big mountain alpinist, skier and explorer.

Emily Harrington has summited Everest, free climbed El Capitan in Yosemite and completed numerous first ascents of 5.14 sport routes. She has been on expeditions around the world seeking out big mountains to ski, big wall free climbs and high altitude peaks in Nepal, China, Myanmar, Crimea and Morocco. At a young age, she was one of the best sport climbers in the world. As a member of the USA Climbing Team, she competed on the national and world competitive circuit winning 5 US National Sport Climbing Championships and 2 North American Championships. But her path has not been easy. In this episode, Emily shares the doubts and fears she has felt on her journey and how she turns her frustration to her advantage as she continually pushes herself in new directions. You can follow Emily on Instagram @emilyaharrington and on her website.

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

Jason McCarthy is a combat veteran, former U.S. Army Green Beret and entrepreneur. In 2008, Jason founded GoRuck, the gear, apparel and events company that created the GoRuck Challenge--events modeled after Special Forces selection led by SOF cadre that last between a few hours and several days during which participants ruck with packs loaded with 20-40 pounds and get a small taste of what Jason calls 'Good living.'

GoRuck gear is bomber, they have a unique, transparent approach to doing business and their community-led approach to marketing has helped propel the brand and the sport of rucking to rapid growth. But not without a few painful bumps along the way. In this episode we talk about Jason's experience in Special Forces including selection, the hard decisions and sacrifices he has had to make to do great things and much more. Find @GoRuck on Instagram and on the web and check out the GoRuck Show podcast.

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

7x summiter, 1x without supplemental oxygen, on the sacrifices made to fulfill a lifelong dream. Adrian Ballinger has summited Mt. Everest seven times. He attempted Everest without supplemental oxygen in 2016 as part of the Everest No Filter expedition with national geographic photographer Cory Richards. Cory made the summit. Adrian didn't. They went back in 2017, and Adrian achieved his goal of summiting without oxygen. It wasn't easy. In 2011 Adrian and two Sherpa partners became the first people to summit three 8,000 meter peaks in only 3 weeks (Everest twice and Lhotse once). He's the first person to ski Manaslu, the 8th tallest mountain in the world, from its summit, and the first American to successfully ski two 8,000-meter peaks.

You can follow Adrian on Instagram @adrianballinger, through his website and if you'd like to climb with him, check out Alpenglow Expeditions.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, share with your friends and give us a positive rating. You can find more at www.choosethehardway.com and you can get in touch @hardwaypod on Twitter or send an email to [email protected].

MORE ABOUT ADRIAN: He is also the founder and CEO of Alpenglow expeditions and has led expeditions where more than 100 clients have successfully summited Everest, Lhotse (the 4th tallest mountain in world), Cho Oyu (6th tallest) and Manaslu (the 8th tallest mountain in the world). He climbs, guides and skis all over the world including North and South America, the Himalayas and Africa.

Adrian has been a sponsored climber since he was a teen. His current sponsors include Eddie Bauer, La Sportiva, Petzl, Kaenon, Goal Zero, Hypoxico, Alpenglow Sports and High Altitude Fitness.

One of my favorite musicians is Bob Mould. And one of my favorite Bob Mould songs is Wishing Well. I'm not great at is remembering song lyrics. But a Bob Mould lyric that I do remember, is this--There's a price you pay for a wish to come true--trade a small piece of your life. In this episode you'll hear about what Adrian Ballinger has had to trade to be who he is and achieve what he has achieved.