The 1334 Podcast

In this powerful conversation, Steve—a dedicated pro wrestler, coach, trainer, and youth pastor—opens up about how professional wrestling became far more than entertainment for him. From his childhood obsession with action figures and backyard rings to running events in schools, juvenile justice centers, and prisons, Steve shares how the high-energy world of good vs. evil, heroes and villains, creates emotional connections that open doors for real-life transformation and the Gospel message.He discusses the work of Hope Wrestling Ministries (with hundreds of salvations reported in prisons and beyond), Guardians Legacy / Revolt Ministries in Panama City (feeding thousands and running massive community events like "Stuff the Bus"), AWARE Wrestling, and his own Wrestle South / Hope Wrestling Academy.Steve also draws powerful parallels between youth ministry and wrestling outreach—using excitement, storytelling, and personal connection to meet people where they are.You'll hear raw stories: kids handing over toys in schools, altar calls with 100+ responses in juvenile facilities, a young man laying down self-harm after a message at camp, and the joy (and challenges) of "WrestleChurch" events blending matches, worship, and the Word. Steve reflects on using talents for God's glory, overcoming discouragement, the authenticity of ministry in entertainment, and why wrestling's intimate, accessible nature makes it uniquely effective for outreach.Whether you're a wrestling fan, involved in ministry, or simply love stories of creative Gospel impact, this episode will encourage you to see how God can use unexpected platforms—like a wrestling ring—to bring hope, healing, and salvation.Subscribe for more conversations on faith, creativity, and mission-driven work. Share if this resonates!pro wrestling ministry, Hope Wrestling Ministries, Christian wrestling, pro wrestling outreach, prison ministry wrestling, school assembly wrestling, youth ministry and wrestling, WrestleChurch, Guardians Legacy, Revolt Ministries, Wrestle South, faith in entertainment, gospel through wrestling, salvation stories wrestling, anti-bullying wrestling events, community outreach wrestling, Jacob wrestling Bible, using talents for God, indie wrestling ministry, youth pastor wrestler

What happens when you choose hard things on purpose?

In this episode of the 1334 Podcast, I sit down with ultrarunner and race director Rob Sembiante to talk about endurance, leadership, discipline, and the mindset required to keep moving forward when things get difficult.

Rob has completed some of the toughest endurance efforts in the world—including multi-hundred-mile races, Antarctic ultrarunning, coast-to-coast crew leadership efforts, and extreme mountain races. But more importantly, he’s helping make endurance more accessible for everyday people.

In this conversation we talk about:

• how endurance reshapes identity
• lessons from military selection environments
• leading teams through uncertainty
• the “cookie jar” mental strategy for pushing past limits
• why voluntary hardship strengthens your life
• habit stacking and building a 5-year vision
• how endurance sports can impact 100,000 lives

Rob’s goal isn’t just to run farther.

It’s to help more people discover what they’re capable of.

If you're a nonprofit leader, runner, entrepreneur, or someone trying to build discipline in your life, this conversation will challenge you.

Subscribe for more nonprofit stories and leadership conversations like this

What does it actually take to stay consistent when motivation disappears?

In this episode, Vernon shares how endurance—not motivation—is what changes your life. From early-morning workouts at 4 a.m. to marathon training, fatherhood, leadership, and building habits that last over a decade, this conversation reveals what real discipline looks like behind the scenes.

We talk about:
• Why the beginning is the hardest season of fitness
• How marathon training teaches life strategy
• The truth about morning routines nobody talks about
• Why accountability partners matter more than apps
• What kids learn by watching their parents’ consistency
• How small wins compound into long-term transformation

If you’re trying to balance family, work, fitness, leadership, or a mission-driven life—this episode is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations on endurance, leadership, and purposeful living.

00:00 Intro
05:17 Why morning workouts changed everything
06:41 The truth about building a morning routine
08:07 Why habits take years—not weeks—to form
20:07 Training for a first marathon with an 11-month plan
21:12 Don’t start too fast: pacing lessons from marathon runners
22:26 Using data to measure growth in fitness and nonprofits
28:20 Accountability partners make consistency possible
29:32 Why endurance matters for family and leadership credibility
31:10 Progress builds motivation over time
37:19 The power of training partners
38:25 Running even when motivation disappears
42:21 Leading your kids by example through fitness
44:22 Balancing work, hobbies, nonprofit life, and health
54:50 Why early workouts create structure for the entire day
56:11 Realistic morning routines vs influencer routines
01:02:19 Start small instead of trying to do everything at once
01:09:37 Marathon training teaches life strategy
01:11:01 Why life is truly a marathon

Addiction rarely starts where people think it does.

In this episode of the 1334 Podcast, Amanda Hall shares her powerful story of addiction, loss, arrests, recovery, and the moment everything changed.

What began as drinking in high school turned into years of hiding pain, chasing acceptance, and eventually a devastating meth addiction that nearly cost her everything—including her relationship with her daughter, her home, and her life.

But her story didn’t end there.

Amanda shares:
• the trauma that shaped her early struggles
• how addiction slowly took control
• what people misunderstand about addiction
• the moment she realized change was possible
• how faith became the turning point
• and how she now helps families walking through recovery today

Today, Amanda serves others through recovery ministry at The Anchorage and continues helping people who feel like they’re too far gone to come back.

If you or someone you love is struggling, this conversation is for you.

You are not alone. And it is not too late.

📩 Share this episode with someone who needs hope today.

What happens when someone hits rock bottom—and finds God there?

In this episode, Stephen Young shares his story of addiction, jail, recovery, and the unexpected journey that led him to start Glory House Ministries, a house church serving people searching for hope and restoration.

Stephen opens up about losing everything, the turning point that came during incarceration, and how God began rebuilding his life one step at a time.

Today, Glory House exists as a place for broken people to encounter grace, community, and purpose.

This conversation is honest, hopeful, and powerful for anyone walking through addiction, supporting someone in recovery, or wondering whether change is still possible.

• Stephen’s early calling into ministry as a child
• How addiction slowly took control of his life
• The impact of divorce and isolation
• Cocaine, opiates, and heroin addiction
• Losing everything—and hitting rock bottom
• The moment he asked his parents not to bail him out of jail
• Encountering God during 23-hour lockdown
• Singing hymns alone in a jail cell
• Rediscovering his calling behind bars
• Starting ministry again from the inside out
• The vision behind Glory House Ministries
• Why house churches matter today

In this episode we discuss:

Leadership is demanding—and too many leaders neglect their health while trying to serve others.

In this episode, Corey Young joins the podcast to talk about practical ways leaders, nonprofit workers, parents, and busy professionals can begin improving their health starting today—without extreme diets or complicated routines.

We discuss why fitness is about function, not appearance, how small daily habits create long-term change, and why sleep may be the most powerful performance enhancer available.

Whether you're overwhelmed by diet culture, struggling to find time to exercise, or simply want more energy to lead well, this conversation will help you take the first step.

• Why leadership and physical health are deeply connected
• The biggest mistake people make when starting fitness
• Why you don’t need a gym membership to begin
• Calories in vs. calories out explained simply
• The mental health benefits of exercise
• How movement reduces isolation and anxiety
• A practical framework for short-, mid-, and long-term goals
• Supplements that actually help (and ones that don’t matter much)
• Why sleep is the most underrated performance enhancer
• A realistic definition of what it means to be “fit”
• Simple routines busy leaders can start today

Connect with Corey:

Instagram: @coreyy.lifts

In this episode of the 1334 Podcast, Blake sits down with Nick to talk about the unexpected journey of planting a church in Americus, Georgia.

What began as a quiet pull on their hearts eventually turned into a clear calling. After years of prayer, uncertainty, and preparation, Nick and his wife are launching a new church focused on something many churches forget—building people instead of building institutions.

Americus faces serious challenges: poverty, fatherlessness, addiction, and deep cultural divides. But Nick believes the local church can play a critical role in changing the trajectory of a community by strengthening families, discipling leaders, and stepping outside the four walls.

This conversation dives into:

• Why church planting was never their original plan
• The spiritual and social challenges facing Americus
• The difference between building a church and building people
• Why strong families create strong communities
• How faith communities can actually impact culture

It’s a conversation about faith, calling, and what it looks like to pursue transformation in a community.

What would you do if millions of dollars were on the line and the entire world was watching?

In this episode, Blake sits down with Cory Sims, competitor #191 and a finisher in MrBeast’s Beast Games, to talk about what it was really like competing in one of the largest competition shows ever created.

But this conversation goes far deeper than reality TV.

Cory shares how he approached the competition with faith, honesty, and integrity, even when the pressure and incentives to compromise were massive.

The two also dive into deeper topics like:

• Why corruption often starts with small compromises
• The difference between reputation and true character
• Why integrity becomes harder as success grows
• The role of faith in leadership
• The importance of fathers and strong families

This episode is about more than Beast Games. It’s about what it means to live with character when the stakes are high.

In this episode of the 1334 Podcast, Blake sits down with Corey Holman to unpack one of the biggest challenges nonprofits face: communicating their mission clearly and consistently.

Why do so many nonprofits struggle to explain what they actually do? Why do numbers and statistics often fail to move donors? And how can short-form video content transform the way organizations connect with their communities?

Using principles from the book Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Blake and Corey break down:

• Why owning your “why” matters more than listing services

• The difference between persuasion and manipulation

• Why most nonprofits suffer from inconsistency

• How to use short-form content strategically (not as vanity metrics)

• The power of testimonials and storytelling over statistics

• How to attach identity to giving

• Why collaboration is the future for small nonprofits

This episode is for nonprofit leaders, executive directors, marketing directors, board members, and anyone who wants their organization to stop being the best-kept secret in their community.

Ryan Lanier’s story is a powerful federal prison testimony about fatherlessness, faith, and redemption. After losing his father at 15, Ryan carried a silent weight that shaped his understanding of masculinity, control, and strength. That unresolved grief ultimately contributed to decisions that led to a 106-month federal prison sentence.

But prison became the place where everything changed.

Through brotherhood, Bible study, and the influence of Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship, Ryan encountered a new definition of biblical manhood and discovered how fatherlessness fuels incarceration, addiction, and recidivism.

This episode explores:

• The spiritual turning point inside prison

• Why most prison ministries fail after release

• The connection between fatherlessness and crime

• What nonprofits can do to reduce recidivism

• Why serving others is often found in “the interruption”

• The difference between cultural success and biblical success

If you're passionate about prison reform, Christian nonprofit work, addiction recovery, or restoring the family unit, this conversation is for you.

00:00 – Introduction: Rock Bottom & Federal Prison
01:12 – The Track Moment: Surrendering to God
04:10 – Transit Prisons & Survival Mode
07:14 – Losing His Father at 15
12:16 – Defining Manhood Without a Father
13:35 – The Prison Bible Study Invitation
16:14 – Preaching Inside Federal Prison
18:16 – The Fatherlessness Epidemic in Prison
21:38 – Biblical Success vs Worldly Success
25:49 – Serving 106 Months (And Lessons Learned)
27:23 – Discovering Prison Fellowship & Chuck Colson
30:45 – Why Prison Ministry Falls Short After Release
32:20 – The 85% Recidivism Problem
34:51 – Seeing People as Human Again
40:12 – “Your Real Work Is in the Interruption”
42:23 – Advice for Nonprofits & Faith-Based Organizations
44:14 – Faith, Vision & Provision
48:06 – The Power of Acting on Scripture
51:39 – How to Connect with Ryan