If the apocalypse happens tomorrow and Piet gets one phone call, it's going to Andy McKenzie. Ex-British military, parachute regiment veteran, rehabilitation specialist, strength coach, and one of the most quietly brilliant minds in the health and performance space.

Andy joined the military at 16, passed P Company at 17 — one of the hardest physical courses in the British armed forces — and served across Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Iraq before a three-story fall fractured his neck and three parts of his spine. Instead of ending his career, that injury sent him down the path of rehabilitation, and he never looked back.

In this conversation Andy and Piet cover what real coaching actually looks like — why the job of a great coach is subtraction not addition, how to train an injured athlete without treating them like they're broken, and why smashing people into exhaustion is the laziest and most counterproductive thing a coach can do. Andy shares the philosophy he built over 30 years working with special forces soldiers, professional rugby players, polar explorers, world class ultra marathon runners and everyday people who've been bounced around between doctors, physios and coaches and never got better — until they found him.

They also get into fatherhood, the business of coaching, AI, community, and why the biggest predictor of longevity isn't your VO2 max — it's the quality of your relationships.

This one is a masterclass. 🎙️💪

Don’t forget you have a chance to win a free $3000 90-day health and performance intensive where we help you integrate a simplified system a personalized plan and one on one support to guarantee results . Register here to win before the June 14 webinar.

Sign up here!

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

your morning routine should start the night before”

If your mornings feel rushed and stressful, this episode will show you how a few minutes of preparation the night before can completely change the way you start your day. 

Don’t forget you have a chance to win a free $3000 90-day health and performance intensive where we help you integrate a simplified system a personalized plan and one on one support to guarantee results . Register here to win before the June 14 webinar.

Sign up here!

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Overwhelm to Momentum: My Simple System for Getting More Done With Less Effort

In this mini episode, Emylee shares the simple framework she uses to turn overwhelm into execution.

After years of building Pharos and coaching high performers, she realized the most productive people aren’t doing more — they’re doing what matters most with more intention and less distraction.

Inside this episode:

- The “Big 3” method

- Sprint prep + morning kickstarts

- Why deep work blocks matter

- How to stop spinning your wheels

- Turning good intentions into action

Simple systems scale. And this is the exact framework used inside the Built to Last 90 Day coaching program to help people create momentum in fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, and life.

🎁 Plus: details on how to win a $3,000 90-Day Intensive with Pieter + Emylee during the June 14th live webinar.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part 2 of our peptide series, Piet sits down again with Vincent Ronquillo — biology researcher, CrossFit athlete and co-founder of Z-Peptides and Pharmazine — to break down the two most talked about recovery peptides in the game right now: BPC-157 and TB-500, otherwise known as the Wolverine Stack.

BPC-157 was originally discovered in the stomach — the compound that protects your stomach lining from its own acid. Researchers found that when applied to injured tissue, it triggers angiogenesis — new blood vessel growth — directly at the injury site, accelerating the repair process. TB-500, a fragment of Thymosin Beta-4, works systemically, guiding cells to the injury location and driving them to repair. Together they form one of the most studied peptide combinations in preclinical tissue repair science — and one of the most popular in the athletic and recovery community.

They also break down the Reboot Stack — the Wolverine Stack plus GHK-Cu, the copper peptide. Originally studied for skin, GHK-Cu stimulates collagen and elastin production, making it the third piece of the puzzle for more serious injuries. Think of it this way: BPC-157 starts the healing, TB-500 directs it, and GHK-Cu provides the quality collagen to rebuild it stronger.

Piet shares his own experience using the Wolverine Stack to recover from a badly rolled ankle — running a desert trail half marathon just six weeks later. Vincent shares how it brought him back from a knee injury that had him questioning whether he'd ever compete again.

This is not medical advice. Always consult a doctor before starting any peptide protocol — which is exactly what we set up for you through Pharos and Z-Peptides.

Part 3 coming soon. Drop your questions in the comments.

Interested in getting started with peptides through Pharos? We're launching in Palm Springs first with full medical guidance, doctor consultation and 503A compliant sourcing.

Click the link for our bio-performance survey.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🚨 We’re giving away a $3,000 90-Day 1on1 coaching program with Pieter and Emylee! 🚨

After decades in the fitness industry, we realized something:

What used to get people results… isn’t always working the same anymore.

Stress, recovery, hormones, sleep, longevity, and real life matter more than ever — and most people are stuck in an all-or-nothing cycle.

That’s why we created Built to Last.

A system designed to help people get results without restriction, burnout, or starting over every Monday.

On June 14th, we’re hosting a FREE webinar to show you exactly how it works — and one person attending live will win the full 90-day intensive.

TO ENTER:

✔️ Like + comment on the giveaway post

✔️ Register for the webinar here

✔️ Attend live to win

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pressure cuts diamonds—but only if you know what to do under pressure.

In this episode, I break down the 3-step framework I use when stress, fear, and panic start to take over. From interrupting the fight-flight-freeze response… to planning for the worst… to using a simple military-inspired formula—Act. Adjust. Advance.—you’ll learn how to stop spiraling, start moving, and turn pressure into progress.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or paralyzed by the unknown… this one’s for you.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peptides are everywhere right now — but most people have no idea what they actually are, where they come from, or whether they're safe. In this first episode of a four-part series, Piet sits down with Vincent, Pharos Palm Springs coach, biology researcher, and co-founder of Z-Peptides and Pharmazine, to break it all down from the ground up.

No jargon. No hype. Just the science explained in plain English.

They cover what a peptide actually is — and why it's nothing like a steroid. How peptides are made, what 503A compliance means and why it matters, and why the purity of your source is everything. They also share their own personal experiences using the Wolverine Stack (BPC-157 and TB-500) for injury recovery — including Piet running a desert half marathon just weeks after severely twisting his ankle.

This is Part 1 of 4. Next episode: a deep dive into the Wolverine Stack — the go-to peptide protocol for injury recovery, tendon repair and getting back to training faster.

Have questions about peptides? DM us or drop them in the comments — we want to answer yours in an upcoming episode.

Interested in getting started with peptides through Pharos? We're launching in Palm Springs first with full medical guidance, doctor consultation and 503A compliant sourcing.

Click the link for our bio-performance survey.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I woke up this morning to an email I didn't expect. A Pharos member named Shannon had sent out a newsletter to his entire list — unprompted, unasked — praising the Repair class and inviting his readers to come try it. I burst into tears.

This mini episode is about that moment. The power of an unexpected kind word. The difference it makes when someone takes 30 seconds to tell you that what you're doing matters. Shannon didn't have to do it. He just did it because he meant it.

My message is simple — if you have someone in your life who deserves to hear something good today, tell them. Praise their effort over their results. Let them know you see them. You have no idea what that moment could mean to someone.

At Pharos our mission is to be a light in your day. But I'll tell you — the light shines both ways.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

T'ara has been part of the Pharos community for years — powerlifting meets, Limitless Challenges, stops and starts. But it wasn't until she did the Pharos Accelerator in November that everything clicked. One year later she's down 10 inches off her waist, 4% body fat, and maintained her muscle — and she's coming back for the April Accelerator to keep going.

In this conversation with Emylee, T'ara breaks down what made the difference. Not the hardest program she's ever done. Not training like a bodybuilder. Just a personalized roadmap, a community checking on each other, and one week at a time.

She talks about updating her roadmap in real time as her life changes, why having someone evaluate your goals makes all the difference, and why sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to see how far you've actually come.

This one is for anyone who has been on a long health journey and just needs to know they're still on the right track.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max has been a Pharos member since 2018. He's done every program, won the Limitless Challenge, and spent years lifting heavy. He's also spent the better part of 15 years dealing with a recurring back injury that kept derailing his progress.

In this episode, Piet and Emylee sits down with Max to talk about what changed when he stopped trying to push through the injury and started building around it. The result? More muscle, less body fat, zero back pain — and the strongest his lower half has ever felt, without a single heavy deadlift or back squat.

They cover the Bulletproof Your Back program, pendulum squats, why tall guys with long femurs probably shouldn't be back squatting, the identity crisis that comes when you can no longer do the thing you've always done, and why 10 grams of creatine might be doing more for your brain than your body.

They also get into nutrition — why eating in a deficit without hitting protein is the worst thing you can do, how Max went months without feeling bloated for the first time in years, and why tracking macros isn't meant to be forever.

This one is for the OG gym goer who's been at it for years, is dealing with injury, and needs a smarter way forward — not a harder one.

💪 Join the 7-Day Results Accelerator to build clarity, momentum, and sustainable joy in your routine. pharosathleticclub.com

If you are in Southern California come train with us 

Echo Park

Redondo Beach

Idyllwild

Palm Springs

Follow Pharos, Piet and Emylee on Instagram for more fitness related content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.