The Any Given Day Podcast

Hunter Schurrer spent over a decade coaching Green Berets at 1st Special Forces Group before helping build UHP — Unlock Human Potential — in Northwest Arkansas. He never wore a uniform, but the unit ripped a weightlifting platform out of the ground to send him off when he left.

This episode covers identity after service, empowering people to be the subject matter experts on themselves, why coaches need to send it too, and what happens when you finally find the thing that shuts your brain off.

Hunter Schurrer brings over 20 years of coaching and leadership experience across special operations, collegiate athletics, and the private sector.

As Senior Vice President of Performance at UHP, he oversees the development of both students and staff through a human-first approach rooted in movement, mindset, and mission.

Before UHP, Hunter spent more than a decade as a human performance specialist with 1st Special Forces Group. Though never in uniform, his time with Special Operations shaped his purpose: to serve those who serve. He played a key role in building the Army’s Special Forces human performance program, where the SOF Truth of “humans are more important than hardware” guided the work.

Hunter began his career in collegiate athletics at the University of Wyoming and the University of Virginia, where he earned his master’s in exercise physiology. A former national champion and All-American in track and field, he brings both competitive experience and a coach’s eye for long-term development.

Hunter is a proud husband, father, and believer in building strong people for life, not just sport.

• Take your work seriously and not yourself — the cliche that is actually a practice, and one of the hardest things to do consistently
• Trust yourself and send it — you've been through harder. The room you're walking into is not as intimidating as you think. Just go.
• You are the subject matter expert on yourself — coaches, programs, and certifications are tools. Nobody knows you better than you.
• Without the why they won't try — if you don't understand the why of the person in front of you, you'll miss the mark no matter how good the program is
• Find the thing that shuts your brain off — snowboarding did it for Hunter. Cave diving did it for Brad. Mountain biking does it for Nate.
• It takes what it takes — stop setting a ceiling before you start. Figure out what it takes as you go.
• Coaches have coaches — Hunter had a call with his coach the day before this episode. Model what you prescribe.
• You are either an energy add or an energy suck — there is no neutral. Even neutral energy spread across one more body is a net negative per person.
• Don't go gently into that good night — veterans have more in them than they probably know.
• Hire for character, train for skill — emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills are the hardest things to develop. Select for them first.

Unlock Human Potential (University of Health & Performance and Ignite America) — uhp.com
Soldiers to Sidelines — www.soldierstosidelines.org
Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl
Building the Elite — Craig Weller and Jonathan Pope

Lt. Col. Joe "Coach" Cruz has spent 32 years in uniform and every year of it trying to make the people around him better. This episode covers building meaningful connection and military peer training pipelines that actually work, running a 50-mile ultramarathon at 50 years old, and the three mantras that have guided everything Joe Cruz does.

Lt. Col. Joe "Coach" Cruz is an Army officer and human performance leader with more than 32 years of military service, and a concurrent career dedicated to optimizing human performance. He currently serves as the Transformation and Innovation Officer to The Adjutant General for the New Mexico Army National Guard, where he leads initiatives focused on readiness, innovation, and organizational transformation.

Coach Cruz has commanded at both the company and battalion levels and deployed twice to the CENTCOM area of operations, serving on Embedded Transition and Military Engagement Teams that advised and assisted Afghan National Army and Jordanian Armed Forces personnel in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Spartan Shield.

Before transitioning to the Army's Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program in 2020, he spent a decade as a Human Performance Program Manager supporting U.S. Special Operations Forces. He later served as H2F Program Director for the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the 165th Infantry Training Brigade at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Coach Cruz is passionate about building systems that improve readiness through leadership, physical preparation, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. His mission is to help individuals and organizations live ready and win.

• Live ready and win — not a slogan, a standard. The commitment to being physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared for whatever comes next
• Never out of the fight — keep moving forward regardless of pace, conditions, or how far you have left to go
• Don't be defined by what you do — be defined by who you are. You don't need a uniform or a title to contribute goodness to the world
• Always improve your fighting position — constant forward motion, constant refinement, constant contribution
• Hire for character and train for skill — emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills are harder to develop than technical competency
• The challenge became the gift — at mile 38 of a 50-mile ultra, Joe wasn't suffering. He was grateful.
• Reciprocal energy — the best rooms are the ones where energy flows both ways. Build those rooms intentionally.
• Show up for people — when Coach Uch needed someone, Joe canceled his trips and drove to Arizona. That's the standard.
• Meaningful connection requires intentionality — the circle gets smaller as life gets busier. Protect it and maximize every overlap.
• We are contagious — when you live your best life and stay ready, you don't infect people. You inspire them.

The Talent War — by Mike Sarraille and George Randle
Armed Forces Series Challenge
North Fork 50-miler

John Mackersie called in from a hotel room in Crete — which tells you everything you need to know about him. A former collegiate athlete turned strength coach, John spent nearly seven years living in Europe before heading back stateside with his wife, three boys, and a coaching philosophy built on simplicity, creativity, and showing up consistently regardless of what life looks like that day. This one covers training through busy seasons, why exercise is just play, and the two-word piece of advice that might change everything.

Former collegiate athlete turned strength coach, dedicated family man, and outdoor adventurer. Alongside his amazing wife, he manages a chaotic, fun-filled house of three boys and two dogs. He’s a lover of big adventures, hard workouts, and the great outdoors.

• Always ask — everybody has thoughts, everybody is curious. Ask the question. You never know where it's going to lead you.
• Exercise is just play — it doesn't need to be a ninety minute structured session. Find where people are comfortable and play with them.
• Make a deal with yourself — if you hit your primary lifts, you've earned the right to walk. Accessories drive primaries, and primaries drive everything.
• You can never make up for lack of intensity with volume — hit the intensity, and the volume will follow
• You can never make up for lack of frequency with intensity or volume — consistent touchpoints open the door to ten, twenty, thirty minute sessions that actually move the needle
• Less is more — quality over quantity, especially as life gets busier
• The best lifts often happen with no plan — a buddy's garage, a hotel gym, one kettlebell, twenty minutes. Creativity fills the gap that equipment can't.
• Consistency over perfection — especially for parents and people in busy seasons. You don't need five hours a week. You need consistent exposure to something that challenges you

Viviana Morales Kolb is a 12-year Army veteran, mom of four boys, and self-described semi-professional manager of chaos who has made a second career out of dragging people back to life. This episode covers community, purpose, endurance challenges nobody asked for, range games, and the one question every veteran needs to answer — not who they used to be, but who they are now.

Viviana Morales Kolb is an old crusty U.S. Army veteran, mom of four boys, community builder with a slightly unhinged relationship with endurance challenges, and believes that every person has value and a reason to keep showing up.

After serving 12 years in the military, she found a new mission in helping veterans and others reconnect with purpose, community, and themselves. Through fitness, mentorship, and authentic conversations, she works to remind people that they are stronger than they realize and that their story is far from over.

Known for her mix of grit, compassion, humor (her love language is making people laugh); Viviana has a passion for bringing people together and helping them see the value in their existence — especially during seasons when they may struggle to see it themselves. If you have a bad idea that involves miles, minimal sleep, or "just one more rep," she is probably signing up with you.

As a semi-professional manager of chaos, who enjoys volunteering in her community, supporting fellow veterans, and raising energetic boys, she believes the greatest measure of success is the impact we have on others while we're still here. When she's not chasing endurance goals or organizing the next community fitness challenge, she's usually running on large doses of caffeine, embracing motherhood, answering approximately 47 questions from her children before 8 a.m., and doing her best to make the most of the time she's been given earthside while helping others do the same.

• Find the community that speaks to you — there's a VSO, a run club, a range day, or a fly fishing crew for everyone. Find yours and stick to it.
• Start small and rev up slow — the veteran who's been on the couch for three months doesn't sign up for a marathon on day one. One walk around the block. That's it.
• Stop asking who you used to be — "I used to be a 14-minute two-miler" is not a plan. What are you now? What's going to make you proud now?
• Your story is not over — the best chapter doesn't have to be the one in uniform
• The greatest measure of success is the impact you have on others while you're still here
• Training to say yes — Viv's whole approach to fitness is staying capable enough to say yes to the next stupid idea someone invites her to
• Community is the prescription — not a supplement, not a nice-to-have. The antidote to isolation is finding people who get it and showing up consistently
• Running the Marine Corps Marathon with Stop Soldier Suicide — because keeping people alive is the mission that doesn't end at ETS

Team RWB - teamrwb.org

Wounded Warrior Project - woundedwarriorproject.org

Marine Corps Marathon — marinemarathon.com

Atomic Habits - jamesclear.com

Brad Hollingsworth spent four and a half years as a Marine Corps infantryman, including time in a sniper platoon he wasn't supposed to be in, before an abrupt exit forced him to rebuild from scratch. What followed was a decade-plus career in human performance built entirely on the same principle that kept him in that sniper platoon: make yourself impossible to cut. This episode covers service, identity, the cost of burning your passion into your profession, and why the best thing a veteran can do after getting out is find something that has nothing to do with work.

Brad Hollingsworth is a business owner, fitness industry professional, and United States Marine Corps veteran with more than 16 years of experience in human performance, fitness operations, tactical strength and conditioning, and wellness program management. Throughout his career, he has combined technical expertise in performance training with hands-on leadership, business development, and operational management experience.

Brad is the co-founder of PEAK Athletics, a successful training facility in North Carolina that specialized in athletic development, tactical performance, and strength and conditioning. As a founder and operator, he played a leading role in the planning, financing, development, and day-to-day management of the business, helping grow the organization before ultimately selling his ownership interest when relocating out of state.

His experience also includes serving as a Manager and Personal Trainer at O2 Fitness, Tactical Strength & Conditioning Coach at TOPS Athletics, Assistant Contract Manager for the North Carolina National Guard's Fit 2 Serve Program, and Police Wellness Coordinator for the Tempe Police Department in Arizona, where he developed and managed a comprehensive wellness program supporting the physical and mental health of law enforcement personnel.

A former Marine Corps infantryman with multiple overseas deployments, Brad brings a disciplined, mission-focused approach to leadership and problem solving. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a Master of Science in Population Health Science from Duke University. He also maintains several professional certifications, including Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F).

Outside of his professional career, Brad is an avid outdoorsman and lifelong athlete. His interests include hunting, cave diving, strength training, and exploring remote environments that require physical preparedness, technical skill, and disciplined execution. These pursuits reflect the same values that have guided his professional career: resilience, continuous improvement, calculated risk management, and a commitment to excellence.

• Be indispensable
• Find work — not a career, not a calling, just the next useful thing you can do better than anyone around you
• Don't turn your passion into your profession
• Find something that is not your job — a hobby, an adventure, anything that gives you full presence and zero career pressure
• Beware the case of the "I used to" — pick up something you dropped and start doing it again.
• Keep playing — veterans who go all-in on the next mission often forget to keep something in their life that's just theirs
• A lower ASVAB score than Brad is still a perfectly valid life choice — some of us just wanted infantry
• Cave diving will give you a lower heart rate a hundred feet underwater than standing on land

Two Bravo Training Solutions

This one is dedicated to Rob Wadleigh — Senior Enlisted Leader within 1st Special Forces Group, AGD Master of None team member, and by all accounts the Green Beret everyone else was trying to be. Nate reflects on Rob's life, his approach to training, and the philosophy that defined both..

• Attack your weakness — find something you're genuinely bad at and throw yourself at it with humility and aggression
• Discipline over motivation gets you started. Curiosity and trust keep you going.
• Rob hated a program, stuck with it, and ended up loving it.
• Mastery is a pursuit, not a state of being — the moment you think you've arrived, you've stopped becoming
• True masters don't think of themselves as masters — they have enough humility to keep advancing their craft
• Genetic weakness is not an excuse — it's a starting point.
• Get from shit to sucks — progress doesn't require perfection as a destination, just honest effort as a practice
• You can't take anything with you. Play your cards now.
• Touching the flame is relative — what makes you feel alive doesn't have to look like anyone else's version of it
• Keep the fire going where it's already lit — but don't be afraid to rub two sticks together until your hands turn to hamburger meat

Episode 13 - Build Something w/ JD Mata

Andy Holmes is a Marine veteran turned collegiate soccer strength and conditioning coach who brings a rare blend of military leadership, athletic performance, and self-aware humor to everything he does. This episode covers coaching philosophy, vulnerability, the role of sport in combating apathy, the value of the near-miss, and why it's okay to not be okay.

A wellspring of curiosity, Andy has studied international politics, worked as a communications officer in the United States Marine Corps, and has spent the last seven years as a strength and conditioning coach across a wide range of sports, schools and professions.

With stops at Georgetown University, The University of Texas at Austin, and 58th Special Operations Wing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as Andy has worked to help develop athletes physically, he's worked just as hard on his own professional, mental, and emotional development.

Currently, Andy works as an assistant sports performance coach at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado where he directly leads physical development for the Women's and Men's soccer programs.

Outside of a job that he thoroughly enjoys, Andy is incredibly lucky to have a brilliant and beautiful partner in adventure and relaxation, Arielle. Together they live in South Denver with their two dogs River and Bowie.

• Embrace the near-miss — almost making the lift, just missing the cutoff is nine times out of ten more valuable than the make. The world didn't end. You get to do it again.
• Create problems for your athletes to solve — coaching isn't about giving answers, it's about building the conditions for aha moments
• Find something you care enough about to be disappointed by — apathy is the real enemy, and sport is one of the best antidotes we have
• Be willing to fail if that's what it takes to win — two different things that are actually the same thing
• Make it undeniable and inevitable — keep attacking, stay relentless, and trust that it's coming
• Give people permission to not be okay — especially those who are always expected to be strong, capable, and fine
• It's okay to not be okay — and saying so out loud is often the first step
• The fear of putting people out keeps veterans silent — communicate anyway, because the people around you want to know and they want to help

University of Denver Sports Performance

Joshua Tree Coffee

Veterans Crisis Line — 988, Press 1

Mark Christiani has coached at every level — D1 collegiate, Army H2F at Fort Bragg, Army Reserve, and now human performance management with O2X. This episode is a wide-ranging coaching conversation covering training variation, programming philosophy, the tactical human performance landscape, and what it actually takes to build culture inside large organizations.

Mark Christiani is the East Coast Human Performance Integration Manager for O2X Human Performance. He previously served as an On-Site Human Performance Specialist with the U.S. Army Reserve 81st Readiness Division and as Brigade Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Army's H2F Program at Fort Bragg. Mark's background also includes collegiate strength and conditioning experience and time as a competitive powerlifter.

• Embrace training variation across full cycles — the body craves movement diversity and narrow training eventually produces overuse injuries and mental staleness
• A training framework with choices beats a rigid program — give yourself a list of things to hit and create variation through order, fatigue state, and exercise selection
• Getting better at variations improves the primary lift — the conjugate principle applied broadly across athleticism, not just powerlifting
• Know when you've met your goals and be willing to pivot — chasing numbers past the point of diminishing returns turns training into your whole personality
• The best tactical coaches are creative because they had to be — D2 and D3 coaches and early-career tactical coaches often outperform high D1 coaches in adaptive environments
• Culture change in large organizations takes decades — think of yourself as a plank holder and influence what you can, when you can
• Influence the junior leaders now — the E4s, E5s, and O2s you reach today are the battalion commanders of tomorrow
• Police and fire departments are ahead of the military in some human performance areas — less turnover, smaller scale, longer staff tenure
• Stay connected — to your veteran community, to a run club, to something. Community is a longevity variable. Isolation is the enemy.
• Don't wait for command to lead — coaches can build culture from the bottom up without permission

O2X Human Performance — o2x.com

Soldiers to Sidelines — soldierstosidelines.org

Team RWB — teamrwb.org

NSCA TSAC — nsca.com/tsac

Westside Barbell / Conjugate Method — westside-barbell.com

Nick Umble spent 20 years in Special Forces before walking off a military base and onto a college football field. Now he's competing at the national level in strongman — including top-ten finishes at Masters Nationals and the Arnold Masters Strongman World Championships — and building Sentinel Strength. This episode covers nutrition, identity, competition, coaching culture, and what happens when someone tells a Special Forces veteran he can't do something.

Nick Umble is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces veteran with a 20-year military career, including 14 years in 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). Throughout his service, he led teams and supported high-risk operations in complex and demanding environments.

After leaving the military, Nick pursued college football before transitioning into government contracting. Over the past five years, he has focused on competitive strongman, qualifying for national-level competitions multiple times and earning top-ten finishes at Masters Nationals and the Arnold Masters Strongman World Championships.

He is the founder of Sentinel Strength, where he applies lessons from Special Operations, athletics, and competition to performance, discipline, and resilience.

• Understand that "I eat pretty clean" is almost never true — if the results aren't there, the diet isn't what you think it is
• Hire professionals for what you don't know — a nutritionist found what Nick couldn't find on his own, and it changed everything
• Know your constraints and variables — influence the variables relentlessly, accept what you can't change
• Don't wait for command to be the difference — coaches and leaders at every level can build culture from the bottom up
• Play the long game — cultural change in large organizations takes decades, not months. Think of yourself as a plank holder.
• Compete at something — structured competition gives purpose, identity, and a reason to train that transcends the gym
• When someone tells you that you can't, let "watch me" be the answer — the human body and psyche are capable of far more than others project onto you
• Strongman is more accessible than it looks — if you can squat, deadlift, and carry heavy things, you have a starting point
• Community matters in training — the culture Nate and the Thor staff built left a mark that Nick still talks about years later

Sentinel Strength - https://www.youtube.com/@SentinelStrength

Spiceology Derek Wolf Maple Bourbon seasoning — spiceology.com

Arnold Masters Strongman World Championships - https://strength.events/2026-arnold-masters/

UHP (University of Human Performance) - https://uhp.com

Ben Seims brings two decades of health and human performance experience, 24 years of Army National Guard service, and a nursing career to a conversation that goes far deeper than his credentials. In the most honest episodes yet, Ben shares a story of homelessness, multiple suicide attempts, and the long road to finding peace.

Ben Seims currently works with the Consortium for Health and Military Performance. He has over 20 years of Health and Human Performance coaching, education, and executive experience with a focus on Tactical Performance and Resiliency.

He was career Army National Guard with over 24 years of service. He spent 10 years in the Infantry with a final position of Squad Leader, 14 years in the Nurse Corps, then served as Holistic Health and Fitness Director of Education at the National Guard Professional Education Center.

Ben completed one combat deployment during OIF II, and several training missions to Thailand for Cobra Gold and Hanuman Guardian medical exercise serving as an AMEDD representative for the Washington National Guard's State Partnership Program with the Kingdom of Thailand.

He was also a civilian nurse for over 17 years, with over 23 years of experience in long term care, acute care hospital, and home health settings.

• Recognize that dragging a second boat behind you as an escape plan prevents you from fully fixing the one you're on
• Understand that clarity — while powerful — is painful, because you can finally see everything you did and can't undo it
• Accept that there is no certificate of arrival — health, recovery, and growth are a relentless pursuit with no finish line
• Build your merry band — the right people around you will literally save your life
• Give yourself grace — veterans carry disproportionate guilt and shame, and grace is not weakness
• Feel what happens when you stop doing the work — Ben can feel it when he misses counseling, bike rides, meditation, breath work. The work is the thing.
• Share your story — you never know who you're going to impact or whose life you might save
• Find your spiritual core — without purpose and vitality at the center, even a physically healthy person is floating alone in space
• Engage to disengage — there's more power in choosing not to win an argument than there ever was in winning it
• Nature is non-negotiable — some of the best moments of your life have happened outside, and no photo does them justice

Mission Resilience San Antonio