The BRINK OF MIDNIGHT PODCAST with John Brenkus

Former NFL kicker and two-time Super Bowl champion, Matt Stover, joins The Brink of Midnight Podcast with John Brenkus.    A professional football kicker in the NFL for an amazing 19 years, Matt played for the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts. One of his Super Bowl victories also happened to be on the same Raves team as former podcast guests Ray Lewis and Trent Dilfer! Matt’s remarkable career garnered him some amazing stats — he’s a two-time All Pro player, he scored the sixth most points in NFL history, and he is the third most accurate kicker in the history of the league.    As a kicker, Matt is no stranger to handling big moments under intense pressure and scrutiny. In this conversation, we go deep on failure and how to handle when things don’t go your way. We also talk about finding bigger purpose in being a teammate and serving others. We can all learn from Matt’s playbook on and off the field!   For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

Welcome to Friday Findings, our short-form episode full of takeaways, tips, and great ideas to help you cultivate positive change in your life and in your community.   In today's short episode, John and Lizzie break down how all the little, daily choices in life really do add up, especially as we get older. Make it all count!   For full show notes and other episodes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

Gary Brackett, Super Bowl-winning NFL linebacker, founder, and entrepreneur joins The Brink of Midnight Podcast with John Brenkus.   Most people know Gary Brackett as being an absolute force on the football field. As one of the smaller, lighter linebackers in NFL history, Gary's game was different. He rose to every occasion by being elusive, forcing mistakes, getting to the football...and it helped him become second in the ACC in tackles as well as help the Indianapolis Colts win a Super Bowl.    There is much of Gary's story and the challenges he faced, however, that people don't know, and that is where we really dive in during this conversation. Gary walked on to the Rutgers University football team, and only after not being able to afford tuition anymore did they offer him a scholarship. Never to take an opportunity for granted, he rose to become captain and MVP of the defensive team. The next hurdle came when he went un-drafted. The Colts eventually gave him shot. The next series of crushing news came in the span of 18 months when he lost his father, mother, and brother. Circumstances that could have destroyed anyone helped Gary turn extreme loss at the young age of 23 into the foundation of his strength and resilience. He developed the idea that "how you honor the dead is how you live your life." Football became his sanctuary. Playing the game helped him express how he intended to live and honor his family.    Gary asks us all to consider what bargain we want to make with life and powerfully suggests we all write our obituaries so we are in touch with the legacy we want to leave behind. Everything Gary does is about legacy, from football to how he currently gives back to his community through mentoring, jobs, and professional development.  Get ready to think big and learn from the living legend that is Gary Brackett!   For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

Welcome to Friday Findings, our short-form episode full of takeaways, tips, and great ideas to help you cultivate positive change in your life and in your community. This week John announces his new property with Trent Dilfer - "Soul and Science", where they explore the intangible (soul) and tangible (science) aspects of elite human performance and beyond! The premiere of "Soul and Science" is on the NFL Network with the NFL Draft and all the top quarterback pics! Ford has come on as the title sponsor and you can watch episodes at: on NFL Network! Happy Friday, change makers! For full snow notes and more episodes, visit: Contact: Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

Pro Bowl and Super Bowl-winning NFL running back, CJ Anderson, joins The Brink of Midnight Podcast.   From being named to a Pro Bowl team to winning a Super Bowl, CJ Anderson has had so much success as a professional football player in the NFL, but he's never had it easy and went un-drafted before being signed to the Denver Broncos. CJ grew up in a tough part of Northern California where he witnessed first-hand how drugs and violence could tear apart families, and where the life expectancy of his peers was less than 30 years old. Football was his outlet, but despite having a phenomenal high school career, he had to go to Junior College before transferring to University of California Berkeley on a football scholarship. It was at this turning point, and with some help from his high school coach, when CJ formed the mindset he uses today and when he decided to live a clean and sober life.   In this conversation, CJ graciously shares how he chose a clean path, despite growing up around drugs, alcohol, and violence. He shares how he developed his mindset and the most important questions to ask yourself when you need perspective. CJ also pulls back the curtain on his darkest lows and highest highs, illustrating how we ALL have greatness and potential in us no matter what we've been through.   For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

Jay Chandrasekhar, comedian, actor, and director ("Super Troopers 1 & 2") joins The Brink of Midnight Podcast with John Brenkus.   There isn't much in Hollywood that Jay Chandrasekhar hasn't done. Director. Actor. Writer. Touring stand up comedian. He's also broken barriers as one of the first Indians in comedy. From his early days forming the comedy group "Broken Lizard" at Colgate University in the 90s to creating comedy film hits and cult classics like "Super Troopers", "Beerfest", "Club Dread" among many others, he's played as many hats as possible. It all comes full circle with this week's "Super Troopers 2" premiere, whose prequel originally sold at Sundance Film Festival in 2001, and returns to over 2000 movie theaters after a massive $4.4 million crowd-funding campaign.   In this conversation, Jay gets "dead honest" with the peaks and valleys of his life and career in entertainment. He shares his struggles with alcohol and drugs at a young age, how his sister's suggestion to try theater changed his life, and, rejected from all the top film schools, how he literally paved his own road in show business, or what he calls the "no" business.   For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook)

Comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster, Kevin Heffernan, joins The Brink of Midnight Podcast with John Brenkus.   Kevin is part of the comedy group Broken Lizard, which has put out highly successful comedy films like "Super Troopers", "Beerfest", "Club Dread", and "The Slammin' Salmon", and originally formed at Colgate University over 25 years ago. You may also know Kevin from hit TV shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm" "How I Met Your Mother" "Veep", and "Arrested Development".   In this conversation, we pull back the curtain in Hollywood and Kevin shares the highs, lows, pitfalls, and roller coaster ride of what it means to "make it". Kevin's story is one of perseverance, resilience, and always being ready to seize the day even if that means figuring it out along the way.   For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

Welcome to Friday Findings, our short-form episode full of takeaways, tips, and great ideas to help you cultivate positive change in your life and in your community.   Coming to you from Boston and three days before Lizzie runs the Boston Marathon!   In this episode, John and Lizzie explore the power of trying something new and how it can create incredible shift in your life and your community. Whether big or small, trying something new is usually a stepping stone to profound self-discovery. We share tips to just start, how to tap into passion, and stories of transformation…and geek out a little on running.   For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook)

Record Paralympic medalist, multi-world record holder, Nike athlete, and Team USA wheelchair racer, Tatyana "The Beast" McFadden, joins The Brink of Midnight Podcast with John Brenkus. Born in Russia with a hole in her spine caused by spina bifida, Tatyana spent the first six years of her life in an orphanage. Six years without going to school, never using a wheelchair, and walking on her hands until Deborah McFadden, then Commissioner of Disabilities for the United States Department of Health, adopted her. Tatyana got her first wheelchair, and with her remarkable drive and determination, the rest is literally history. She made her first Paralympic Games in 2004 at the age of 15 and, in 2013, went on to become the first human being to win the grand slam of marathons - Chicago, London, Boson, and New York City. Tatyana repeated that same grand slam victory tour in 2014, 2015, and 2016! In 2016, she broke the world records in 100, 400, 800, 1500, and 500 meters. The very next year in 2017, Tatyana survived a series of dangerous blood clots that nearly killed her and she believes that marathoning saved her life. At the root of Tatyana's fierce competitive nature is her desire to live big, push limits, and grow. We all can learn a lot from Tatyana! For full show notes, visit: www.brinkofmidnight.com | Contact: [email protected] | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook) and @johnbrenkus_ (twitter)

We continue our special "Masters Week" at The Brink of Midnight Podcast with PGA Tour legend, Fred Funk. With eight wins on the PGA Tour and nine wins on the PGA Champions Tour, he's one of the greatest golfers of all time. Fred and I caught up while both playing in the 10th Ave North Classic Golf Tournament. He was kind enough to share his one-of-a-kind golf journey and some never shared publicly stories from the tour. He got his start as a Division 1 golf coach at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, and at the time was the youngest NCAA D1 golf coach ever. With some rough years of ups and downs while playing, and finding it hard to make a living as a golfer, he found himself at a crossroads with three choices: quite the PGA Tour, enter law enforcement school to become a police officer, or give it one more go at a single tournament. He got his first win, and the rest is history. It's always been about the work for Fred and he's a self-proclaimed "blue collar golfer" because he out-worked everyone around him. He's one of the shorter players on the tour and he started out not hitting the ball as far as his peers. He had to create his own style and ability to compete out of necessity if he was going to make it. To this day, Fred's main ingredients for success and fulfillment are: Passion, Mindset, and Work Ethic. Listening to Fred both shoot the breeze and get philosophical makes it immediately clear why he's one of the most well-liked golfers around…and you won't believe the story of how he played a role in shaping the course of sports history! For full show notes, visit: | Contact: | Connect on Socials: @brinkofmidnight (twitter, instagram, Facebook)