Side Quest Podcast

By Side Quest

What's Side Quest Podcast about?

If Tim Ferriss and Nerdist had a love child that loved fitness and Star Wars, it would be this show. This is a fitness podcast that explores the stories of coaches, trainers, athletes and explores their struggles and triumphs. Life is like an RPG so I look to explore the tools they used to conquer their quests.

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Side Quest Podcast episodes:

12.15.2017
The Death of Side Quest
Three years ago, I had no idea how long this podcast would last. And I sure as hell had no idea what starting this show would actually accomplish. Over the last three years, I've made friendships and networked with people...
12.13.2017
Rog Law on The Importance of "Showing Up," & Why Krillin is the Hero of DBZ
In the 2nd to last episode ever, Rog Law comes on the show to dive into the deep shit of life. We talk DBZ, comics, video games, and the importance of showing up.
12.11.2017
Tom Mullen of Washed Up Emo on The History of Emo & Life in the Music Business
In one of the final episodes of Side Quest Podcast, I interview Tom Mullen of Washed Up Emo about all things emo. Tom has written a book about those first few years of emo and packed with tons of interviews...
11.01.2017
Brandon Ridner on Losing Over 20+ pounds of fat, Gaining 10+ Pounds of Lean Muscle, & How Lifting Improved His Quality of Life.
In January of 2017, Brandon reached out to me about coaching. He had just lost a ton of weight via a weight loss competition at work, but he was weak; he had lost his way around the weight room. His...
10.26.2017
Mike Doehla of Stronger U on Moments of Hypocrisy, Softcore vs Hardcore Eating Like an Asshole, & Star Wars
Mike Doehla founded Stronger U with the sole focus of helping people improve. Mike noticed the extremes people went to in order to reach their goals. But he found that most never saw what they wanted, and he knew there...
09.08.2017
Joel Cohen on How to Lose a Marathon & Writing for The Simpsons
Joel H. Cohen is a Canadian writer who has written for Saturday Night Live, Suddenly Susan and The Simpsons. He penned the famous season three episode of "Flaming Moe's." Joel received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1988 from the...
08.02.2017
Where Do We Go From Here?
A short episode, all about the one question I've been asking myself for months: where do we go from here?
07.24.2017
Jason Helmes on Quitting Teaching, Mindset Shifts, & Sex Education from his Mom
It's that time of year again. No, it's not the end of summer. Well, it kind of is. But that's not what I'm talking about. Nope, this is the time of the year where my good friend Jason Helmes returns...
07.20.2017
John Fawkes on What He Learned Traveling the World for 9 Months & Being a Science Geek
John Fawkes used to be shy, scrawny, and scared. Now he's a fitness coach who turns science geeks into ripped, sexy beasts. When he's not pumping iron or answering emails, he's usually singing karaoke, playing Dungeons & Dragons (as a...
07.18.2017
Anagnorisis: The Hero's Discovery
This is from Wikipedia: [Anagnorisis] is a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery. Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its Greek context, not only of a person but also of what that...
06.26.2017
Jay Ashman on Playing Rugby, Failed Relationships, & Improving Sex with Your Partner
Jay Ashman, a former multi-sport athlete—baseball, football, basketball, tennis, soccer, swimming, and more—became a rugby player after a failed NFL tryout. During his time playing rugby, Jay played for Reading Rugby, Long Island RFC, and Old Blue Superleague. In 2009,...
06.08.2017
61 Life Lessons I Would Deliver to Younger Versions of Me (And Wisdom You'll Find Useful as Well)
hey say it’s important to reflect on your birthday; to ponder what you’ve learned during your latest orbit around the sun and to contemplate how you can make the future better. Well, I don’t know who the hell “they” are,...
05.30.2017
Nick Sorrell on Spinning His Wheels, Being a Dreamer by Nature, & Why Where You are in Life is Your Fault
Nick Sorrell is a Strength and Nutrition Coach based out of Louisville, KY. Nick spends his time getting people lean, writing nonsensical content on his website, and occasionally intercepting a pass or two. Nick has been a guest on the...
05.25.2017
Four Fitness Myths That Need to Die
This is the audio version of a Facebook Live I did on May 23, 2017.
05.22.2017
Aadam Ali on His Growth as a Writer, His Short Temper, & The Virtue Found in Suffering
There are very few people in the fitness industry who get my dick hard every time they write something new. Aadam Ali, is one of those guys. He also happens to be a very close friend and a brother I'd lay...
05.15.2017
Peter Baker on Harry Potter, Training for Strength vs Hypertrophy, & Butt Stuff
Peter Baker is a Tampa personal trainer, thinker, and uber geek. But he's also a competitive powerlifter and submission grappler. Oh, and a writer. Peter trains and writes about the totality of training both himself and others. He's written on...
05.11.2017
5 Ways to Sneak Extra Protein into Your Diet
Over the last year or two, the next big buzzword that everyone has started using is protein. Hundreds of bright colored items in your local grocery store will have phrases or words like this emblazoned on their packaging: "Protein Packed"...
05.11.2017
Client Transformation: Draper Harlow
In this episode of the podcast, you'll meet my client Draper Harlow. Who answered an email I sent and signed up for online coaching. Then, he crushed his workouts and nutrition and slashed 6% body fat while building over 6...
05.08.2017
Mitch Calvert on Being a Better Man, Losing 50 Pounds, & His Days as a Security Guard at Sears
Mitch Calvert has a degree in communications, is a certified trainer and fat loss coach, and his blog was ranked as one of the top ten fitness blogs by Breaking Muscle in 2013. Once a 240lb line cook in university,...
05.04.2017
Pain Killers: Should You Take Them If You Work Out?
Who hasn't had an intense workout where they popped some ibuprofen or some other pain pill to ease the DOMS. But is it good for you? Are you hurting your gains? Or is it totally okay to pop pills after...
04.27.2017
How To Make Rest Days More Effective and Less Boring
For those that love working out, rest days suck. You love to hit the gym, and the thought of not doing what you enjoy is a pain. But rest is crucial. I'd argue it's almost more important than the actual working...
04.24.2017
Mason Woodruff on Trusting in the Process, Eating on a Budget, & The Power of Self-Acceptance
Mason Woodruff, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) based in Arkansas. He also works as a sports nutritionist and freelance writer. You can find Mason's writing on sites like Muscle & Performance Magazine, Breaking Muscle, STACK, Anytime Fitness, and...
04.24.2017
Mason Woodruff DLC
Let's talk books.
04.17.2017
Petravita on Conquering Fear as an Artist, Why He Makes Music, & The Soundtrack of Summer
Petravita, real name Brandon Landis, is a Stockholm-based hip-hop artist, poet, and adventurer. After growing up in Seattle on a steady stream of video games and local hip-hop shows, he found his footing in the music world for the first...
04.13.2017
Escaping the Dead Marshes: How to Get Your Motivation Back
Tolkien describes the dead marshes like this in The Two Towers: "Dreary and wearisome. Cold, clammy winter still held sway in this forsaken country. The only green was the scum of livid weed on the dark greasy surfaces of...
04.10.2017
Alex Mullan on Building a Beach One Grain of Sand at a Time & Not Appreciating What We Have
Born and raised on the West Coast of Canada, Alex is a short shorts enthusiast, espresso fiend, and an unapologetic meathead. Alex is a self-proclaimed anti-meathead and casual nerd. When he’s not working towards Herculean status or learning how to...
04.06.2017
The Why of Motivation
Get ready for some fire. Because I'm talking about the why of motivation. PS: Listen for a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card
04.03.2017
Ben Johnson on Asking Better Questions on a Date & How He Turned a Disaster into an Opportunity
Ben is an author, entrepreneur, and food-loving fitness professional. By simplifying the world of strength and conditioning, Ben helps people everywhere beat "bad" genetics, melt away fat, make lean muscle, and finally start getting the results they crave. Oh, and...
03.30.2017
The Biggest Fat Loss Mistakes I Made; And YOU Make
When I first started working out, I thought had a foolproof blueprint for success: Lift weights Run on the treadmill Eat salad Drink protein shakes Make gains Except, I didn’t have a blueprint at all. I had “ideas”...
03.27.2017
DLC: Mike Sweetman of The Force Within and I Geek Out on Star Wars
Jedi vs Sith. Who will win in this Star Wars nerd out with Mike Sweetman and I.
03.27.2017
Mike Sweetman of The Force Within on Using Meditation To Relieve Stress, Box Breathing, & Reframing Negative Thoughts
The Force Within Us All We all grew up watching star wars, and for most those childhood memories are fondly remembered. Whether you wanted to be the smooth talking Han Solo, or the Lightsaber wielding Luke Skywalker, it was...
03.23.2017
How YOUR Favorite Superhero Can Help You Achieve Your Goals
The first question that I ask any of my clients is: “Who is your favorite Hero?” Whether from a movie, comic book, novel, or video game we've all had a fictional, or historical, Hero that we admire. These mythic Heroes...
03.20.2017
Jordan Grahm on The Car Accident That Saved His Life & The Importance of Persistence
Jordan Grahm, once topped out at over 400-pounds. After the sudden death of his mother as a teen, Jordan gave up on life. He stopped caring about his health, used food as an emotional coping mechanism, and, until a car...
03.16.2017
Practice Where You Want to Be
03.13.2017
Coaches Corner: Using Your Nerd Power to Overcome Obstacles, Lessons Learned Skydiving, & Social Media Pet Peeves
After a month away from Coaches Corner, the segment returns to the podcast. And this time, I bring back some of my fellow nerds to talk about how comics, video games, and all the nerdy stuff we love, has helped...
03.09.2017
How to Level Up (Your) Sleep
Fallout 3 was my favorite game released on the Xbox 360. I put in damn near 100 hours of gameplay, including all of the DLC. As I think back to all the hours I put into the game, I realize...
03.06.2017
Carter Good on The Fear of Success, Tipping Points, & Communing with Your Inner Kanye
Carter is an online fitness and weight loss coach who helps others achieve their goals of getting lean—and more importantly—staying healthy for life. What makes Carter unique is his personal experience of overcoming obesity and losing 140+ pounds. What's more,...
03.02.2017
Community Questions: March 2017 Edition
There is nothing I love more than answering questions from readers or social media followers. And every 1st Thursday of the month, I do just that. Community Questions is a chance for me to answer YOUR questions. They don't have...
02.27.2017
Martijn Koevoets of Powerlifting University on The Online Powerlifting Summit
Martijn Koevoets was bitten by the iron bug after an embarrassing moment in high school where he couldn't bench the 45lbs bar. Since then Martijn has been building strength and gaining muscle and can now deadlift 3x his bodyweight....
02.23.2017
What Ancient Texas Can Teach You About Your Goals
Texas. It's a state rich with history, Diverse in its landscape, and filled with a sense of pride that only those from Texas truly understand. Texas was once at the bottom of the ocean. An ancient ocean that...
02.20.2017
Adam Fisher on Half-Assing vs Whole-Assing, video games, & learning Danish
Adam Fisher has been lifting for over ten years, and working as a trainer and powerlifting coach for the last five. Making clients stronger is his passion, and he's worked with clients in over ten countries and counting....
02.16.2017
Should YOU Go Hardcore on a Cut, Or Be More Moderate?
Fat loss. Let's be honest. It sucks. But if you have a goal that you want to accomplish, should you go hardcore and live in a cave like Obi-Wan, shut off from society, to finish your cut? Or...
02.13.2017
Mitch Heaslip on Finding His Mission, Why Hip-Hop is the Best, & The Power of Meditation
Mitch Heaslip aka The Jacked Hipster has been coaching clients online and in-person for a few years. Before he became a trainer, Mitch was a firefighter in rural Canada. And it was while he spent time fighting fires that he...
02.09.2017
How to Determine Your Caloric Intake For Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, or Maintenance
You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand how to determine your calories. With one simple rule, you can calculate a baseline of calories to consume for fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance. Men and women...
02.06.2017
Scott Herman on YouTube Success, Superheroes He Admires, & Why Positivity is Key
Scott Herman has been working in the fitness industry since he was 14. And it's his love of helping people change their bodies and lives that led Scott to start a YouTube channel that now has over 1.3 million subscribers....
02.02.2017
Community Questions February 2017 (Using the Scale, Protein in the Morning, & Fitspiration)
There is nothing I love more than answering questions from readers or social media followers. And every 1st Thursday of the month, I do just that. Community Questions is a chance for me to answer YOUR questions. They...
01.30.2017
Jorden Pagel on Focusing on Your Why, His Creative Process, & Ron Swanson
Jorden Pagel returns to the podcast after damn near two years. Jorden and I catch up on everything he's been up to with his business, his personal development, and what side hustle he has now. You can check out episode...
01.26.2017
6 (seemingly small but HUGE) Fat Loss Trip-Ups
They say it's the little things that matter. And as cliche as that sounds, it's pretty true when it comes to fat loss. The big things you need to handle are maintaining a calorie deficit and exercise. But...
01.23.2017
Don Brown: The Inventor of The Ab Roller on Gaming Your Core with The Stealth Core Trainer
Don Brown has been inventing fitness equipment since the 1990s. He fell in love with fitness in no small part thanks to fitness icon, Jack LaLanne. His first chain of fitness centers was called XERCISE,Inc in Northern NJ. And it...
01.19.2017
Do You NEED Supplements? Or Are They a Waste of Money?
This is a subject we've covered before on Coaches Corner. But that was almost 18 months ago and it's still one of the most asked questions I receive. So I decided to cover the supplements I take, why...

What's Side Quest Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Side Quest Podcast episodes:

The Death of Side Quest

Rog Law on The Importance of "Showing Up," & Why Krillin is the Hero of DBZ

Tom Mullen of Washed Up Emo on The History of Emo & Life in the Music Business

Brandon Ridner on Losing Over 20+ pounds of fat, Gaining 10+ Pounds of Lean Muscle, & How Lifting Improved His Quality of Life.

Mike Doehla of Stronger U on Moments of Hypocrisy, Softcore vs Hardcore Eating Like an Asshole, & Star Wars

Joel Cohen on How to Lose a Marathon & Writing for The Simpsons

Where Do We Go From Here?

Jason Helmes on Quitting Teaching, Mindset Shifts, & Sex Education from his Mom

John Fawkes on What He Learned Traveling the World for 9 Months & Being a Science Geek

Anagnorisis: The Hero's Discovery

Jay Ashman on Playing Rugby, Failed Relationships, & Improving Sex with Your Partner

61 Life Lessons I Would Deliver to Younger Versions of Me (And Wisdom You'll Find Useful as Well)

Nick Sorrell on Spinning His Wheels, Being a Dreamer by Nature, & Why Where You are in Life is Your Fault

Four Fitness Myths That Need to Die

Aadam Ali on His Growth as a Writer, His Short Temper, & The Virtue Found in Suffering

Peter Baker on Harry Potter, Training for Strength vs Hypertrophy, & Butt Stuff

5 Ways to Sneak Extra Protein into Your Diet

Client Transformation: Draper Harlow

Mitch Calvert on Being a Better Man, Losing 50 Pounds, & His Days as a Security Guard at Sears

Pain Killers: Should You Take Them If You Work Out?

How To Make Rest Days More Effective and Less Boring

Mason Woodruff on Trusting in the Process, Eating on a Budget, & The Power of Self-Acceptance

Mason Woodruff DLC

Petravita on Conquering Fear as an Artist, Why He Makes Music, & The Soundtrack of Summer

Escaping the Dead Marshes: How to Get Your Motivation Back

Alex Mullan on Building a Beach One Grain of Sand at a Time & Not Appreciating What We Have

The Why of Motivation

Ben Johnson on Asking Better Questions on a Date & How He Turned a Disaster into an Opportunity

The Biggest Fat Loss Mistakes I Made; And YOU Make

DLC: Mike Sweetman of The Force Within and I Geek Out on Star Wars

Mike Sweetman of The Force Within on Using Meditation To Relieve Stress, Box Breathing, & Reframing Negative Thoughts

How YOUR Favorite Superhero Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

Jordan Grahm on The Car Accident That Saved His Life & The Importance of Persistence

Practice Where You Want to Be

Coaches Corner: Using Your Nerd Power to Overcome Obstacles, Lessons Learned Skydiving, & Social Media Pet Peeves

How to Level Up (Your) Sleep

Carter Good on The Fear of Success, Tipping Points, & Communing with Your Inner Kanye

Community Questions: March 2017 Edition

Martijn Koevoets of Powerlifting University on The Online Powerlifting Summit

What Ancient Texas Can Teach You About Your Goals

Adam Fisher on Half-Assing vs Whole-Assing, video games, & learning Danish

Should YOU Go Hardcore on a Cut, Or Be More Moderate?

Mitch Heaslip on Finding His Mission, Why Hip-Hop is the Best, & The Power of Meditation

How to Determine Your Caloric Intake For Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, or Maintenance

Scott Herman on YouTube Success, Superheroes He Admires, & Why Positivity is Key

Community Questions February 2017 (Using the Scale, Protein in the Morning, & Fitspiration)

Jorden Pagel on Focusing on Your Why, His Creative Process, & Ron Swanson

6 (seemingly small but HUGE) Fat Loss Trip-Ups

Don Brown: The Inventor of The Ab Roller on Gaming Your Core with The Stealth Core Trainer

Do You NEED Supplements? Or Are They a Waste of Money?