Chris Harris was sleeping under bridges at 12 and eating out of dumpsters by choice - because the streets felt safer than the foster homes. Years later, he was dubbed "The Warrior Maker."

Chris spent 25 years training elite special forces. He's a keynote speaker, 14-time author, and creator of a close quarters combat system built from 6 martial arts styles he trained in across 6 different foster homes growing up in Dayton, Ohio.

In this episode, Chris walks through growing up as the son of a troubled mother to becoming the man he is today. We get into the three sparks that changed his life, how he created Roku Jutsu and went from turning wrenches at American Airlines to winning military contracts in the Middle East. Plus, we touch on the pivot in his 40s into keynote speaking, writing The Book of Mindset, and teaching the concept of "relative superiority.”

More from Chris: https://thewarriormaker.com/

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Listen to the full uncut versions of all our episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2FYwcQ6bj5IfrvRUP2m7AN

https://www.nosmokenofire.com

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Intro/outro music courtesy of Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

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Chapters: 00:00:00 Welcome to The Blueprint

00:03:09 Growing Up With a Heroin Dealer Mom

00:12:35 Why He Chose the Streets Over Foster Homes

00:17:18 How Martial Arts Changed Everything

00:24:59 Three Sparks That Shaped His Life

00:32:14 Enlisting in the Air Force

00:39:30 Creating Roku Jutsu and Going Private

00:44:39 How to Win a Military Contract in the Middle East

00:51:06 Knowing When to Walk Away

00:54:50 Attitude vs. Mindset vs. Relative Superiority

01:04:38 Maslow's Hierarchy and Self-Actualization

01:13:16 Metacognition: Thinking About What You're Thinking

01:21:17 Writing 14 Books and Keynote Speaking

01:26:53 Running an Orphanage in Central America

01:32:51 How to Actually Change Your Past

01:36:21 The Book of Mindset

Mark Jermaine Clayton grew up ducking family chaos in Oklahoma City - he ended up an All-American and a first-round NFL Draft pick. This is a pro athlete's post-career story that's less about what he lost and more about what he built next.

When we straight up asked him before the pod, Mark Clayton described himself to us as a “former baller turned entrepreneur” - he was a wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams, a two-time First-Team All-American at Oklahoma, and a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. After football, he spent the next decade designing and developing LIVV Audio - a performance over-ear headphone brand built from the ground up for athletes, starting with a sketch he made while trying to run on an underwater treadmill with the Rams.

In this episode, Mark walks through growing up in a volatile household in Oklahoma City and using sports as his way out, his recruiting process as a "little bitty guy", what it was actually like to be drafted and play for the Ravens organization, the injuries that shortened his NFL career, and how a frustrating headphone experience turned into a business idea - LIVV Audio.

LIVV Audio: livvaudio.com

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Listen to the full uncut versions of all our episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2FYwcQ6bj5IfrvRUP2m7AN

https://www.nosmokenofire.com

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Intro/outro music courtesy of Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

Scott Graham has been on our show 3 times - you’d think that would mean something, but the truth is he won’t stop showing up at our door.

Scott Graham is the founder of Pinpoint Merch - a DFW-based custom merchandise company he has been running for 19 years, with clients like Montana Knife Co, Black Rifle Coffee, Ghost Energy, the Grand Ole Opry and more. In between our off topic excursions, we cover how Pinpoint landed the Grand Ole Opry account despite missing the show, Scott's take on AI tools in the merch and design industry, and why he throws out the "always be closing" sales advice he was given early in his career.

Check out Pinpoint Merch at https://pinpointmerch.com/

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https://www.nosmokenofire.com

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Intro/outro music courtesy of Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

He lost his wife, lived on the street, and went to jail. A few years later, Rick Hopper was on a path that would take him to ABC’s Shark Tank and became a millionaire.

Rick Hopper is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and author based in DFW - best known as the creator of ReadeREST, the magnetic eyeglass holder that became Lori Greiner's very first deal on Shark Tank. His new book, The Bridge from Idea to Money, distills everything he's learned going from zero to millions - twice.

In this episode, Rick walks us through his drug addiction, launching his first company where he turned strips of plastic into $5 million a year in sales, and the ReadeREST origin story - including how he wore a bent paperclip for a year before anyone told him it was a real product.

https://www.rickhopper.com/

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Follow us:

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/nosmokenofire/

Listen to the full uncut versions of all our episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2FYwcQ6bj5IfrvRUP2m7AN

https://www.nosmokenofire.com

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Intro/outro music courtesy of Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

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Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to the Blueprint, Rick Hopper

00:04:17 Rick Hopper’s Origin Story

00:09:29 Dos and Dids - I Can Do Anything

00:14:26 Seasons of Life

00:20:13 Addiction

00:33:52 Kicking Addiction

00:42:41 The Big Pivot

00:49:17 The Path from Home Depot to Serial Entrepreneur

00:56:25 Rick Hopper becomes an Inventor

01:07:12 I’ve Got an Idea, but How Does it Become a Business?

01:13:37 I Hear a Million Dollar Idea Every Day

01:20:18 Partnerships 101 from Rick Hopper

01:25:39 The Invention of ReadeREST

01:30:57 What’s It Like Going on Shark Tank?

01:40:14 Buying and Selling Companies

01:46:15 What’s Next for Rick Hopper?

Guy Mezger was shot, stabbed three times, and run over on his motorcycle - all before turning pro as a fighter.

Guy Mezger is a former King of Pancrase World Champion and Lion's Den team member - one of the most dominant MMA fighters of the 1990s. Today he's a holistic health practitioner and co-founder of Dynamis, a telehealth clinic built around preventative medicine, peptide therapy, and hormone balancing. Boomer Cornwell, Dynamis's health director, joins us on the podcast for the second time as well!

We get into Guy's upbringing, blowing two full-ride wrestling scholarships, how professional fighting gave him the discipline that saved his life, beating Masakatsu Funaki for the King of Pancrase title, and how a shoulder surgery introduced him to BPC-157 peptide therapy - cutting a 10-month recovery to five months and changing his life's direction entirely.

A world champion who figured out that healing people was always the real mission.

Learn more about Dynamis at dynamisonline.com

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Intro/outro music courtesy of Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

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Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to the Blueprint, Sandman and Boomer

00:09:15 MMA and Athletic Beginnings

00:19:45 Student Teaching and Standing Up for Others

00:35:20 Professional Fighting

00:46:16 King of Pancrase

00:53:20 Moving On from Fighting

01:02:50 Finding Guy’s Way into Medicine

01:09:37 How Did Guy Meet Boomer?

01:16:58 What Really is Dynamis?

01:29:39 Education for Medical Patients

01:39:57 Peptides 101 from Guy Mezger

01:58:53 What’s Different about Dynamis?

At 21, Brayden Stewart is already signed to Warner Chappell in Nashville and playing rock and roll "greasier than a chicken bone on the floor of a Jiffy Lube." He’s one of those rare youngsters who talks about music the way someone twice his age wishes they could.

If you follow the show, you know we love our East Texas southern rock boys! Brayden grew up in Scurry, Texas and was raised on his dad's metal records and his grandma's Fleetwood Mac, grinding through Metallica riffs before he found Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson. That became his sound: alt-country, Americana, southern rock and grunge all at once. In this episode, Brayden walks through building his band from a bedroom looping pedal at 16, the TikTok moment that flooded him with show offers from the biggest booking agencies in the world, a just-completed 8-show run through Europe with Blacktop Mojo and Gorilla Riot, writing songs in Nashville for Warner Chappell, and a deep well of music knowledge.

Be sure to follow Brayden and watch out for Gypsy’s Corner, dropping May 8!

https://thebraydenstewart.com/

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Brayden Stewart’s socials:

https://www.instagram.com/braydenstewart.tx/

https://www.facebook.com/p/Brayden-Stewart-Music-100083476539366/

https://www.tiktok.com/@officialbraydenstewart

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Follow us:

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Listen to the full uncut versions of all our episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2FYwcQ6bj5IfrvRUP2m7AN

https://www.nosmokenofire.com

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Intro/outro music courtesy of Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

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Chapters:

00:00:00 Welcome to The Blueprint, Brayden Stewart

00:05:00 Growing Up on Metal and Grunge in East Texas

00:16:48 Vocal Surgery and How Country Music Found Brayden Stewart

00:28:48 Brayden’s Deep Music Knowledge

00:39:05 Brayden’s Start in the Music Industry

00:45:05 Brayden’s Rise in Popularity and Touring

00:53:34 Staying Grounded as a Self-Critic

01:01:53 Brayden Stewart's Songwriting Formula

01:18:22 Everyone Needs Something of Their Own

Brolin Mawejje is a pro snowboarder from Uganda. Let that sink in! That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though - Brolin’s also a medical student and, as we cover in this episode, a survivor of some pretty extreme circumstances. Brolin’s life journey is a can’t-miss story spanning major historical events, passion, true self belief, and ultimate willingness to find one’s own purpose.

Brolin Mawejje on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thabyron_ma/

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Intro/outro music by Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

This week’s guest is George DiGianni - he describes himself as a consultant, keynote speaker and entrepreneur, but DFW listeners also may know him from the radio station The Ticket! George dives into his Goal Compression program for success, tells us about his theory on “strategic discomfort,” shares insights for leaders and business owners, and more!

https://georgedigianni.com/

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Listen to the full uncut versions of all our episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2FYwcQ6bj5IfrvRUP2m7AN

https://www.nosmokenofire.com

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Intro/outro music by Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

Our guests this week are Cody Cresswell and Brandon Callies - if you’ve been paying attention to the East Texas music scene, then you already know their names, but if this is your first time hearing about them, it won’t be the last! Cody and Brandon are on to talk about their music endeavors, teach our host Brandon what the heck a guitar is, and more - plus, for the first time ever, we’re kicking this episode off with a live music performance!

Cody Cresswell: @codycresswell

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2oLJEOactiMOSqSYHF6tMk

Brandon Callies: @brandoncallies

brandoncalliesband.com

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Intro/outro music by Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)

This week’s guest is Jeremy Dicken - a real estate broker from Greenville, Texas who took an unconventional path to his career. It’s not actually that far fetched to say Jeremy could teach a cow to sell a house!i We’re talking life experiences, the value of personal connections, the value of work ethic and some unconventional use of Airpods. This one’s a great episode to learn if you’re looking to enter the real estate industry and full of Jeremy’s patented sense of humor too!

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Intro/outro music by Pierre DeJournette (https://www.instagram.com/beatsbypd)