Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes and from every background. Some of them are even ninjas! Fran Racioppi & Jessie Graff sit down with Christina Gambino, collegiate gymnast, turned ninja warrior, turned Founder and CEO of Jumptwist Ninja. 12x Ninja Warrior Flip Rodriguez and Jumptwist coach joins in too!

Christina shares the vision behind building an industry-leading ninja gym from the lessons in hard work, commitment, grind and willingness to get her hands dirty she learned as a ninja warrior. She started the gym by criss-crossing the country in a RV visiting the best ninja gyms to figure out her business model. In this conversation she tells Fran and Jessie (and the world) about her plan to franchise Jumptwist for the very first time. 

Christina lives her motto “Be Strong and Courageous”  every day. Listen to our conversation with Christina and Flip from the mats at Jumptwist Ninja in Boca Raton on your favorite podcast platforms. Watch the full video version with the newest obstacles in full effect on YouTube. 

Watch Fran make it up the ninja wall while Jessie and Christina show him the gymnast championship pose. 

Follow Christina on IG at christinagambino72 and learn more about her at christinagambino.com. Get involved with Jumptwist Ninja and train with the sport’s best at jumptwistninja.com and @jumptwistninja on IG. 

Follow Jessie on Instagram and FB @jessiegraffpwr. 

Click here or use code JED for $10 off your first order of Modballs.

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. 

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Jumptwist Ninja
• 4:47 Christina becomes a Ninja Warrior
• 13:19 Transitioning from elite athlete to entrepreneur
• 14:48 Building a culture at Jumptwist
• 18:08 Franchising Jumptwist Ninja
• 23:58 Launching the “Levels” program

Quotes: 

• “I bought an RV. I drove around the country. Went to every gym.” (6:46)
•  “Building this gym was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” (13:56)
• “What we’re really trying to do is create character, discipline, and where things get hard you push forward no matter what.” (15:27)
• “Being courageous is not having fear; but it’s having the fear and doing it anyway.” (16:20)
• “It’s been two years and I am going to be launching my franchise.” (18:22)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  Rhone, Modballs, 18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

Ninja Warrior Flip Rodriguez was The Man Behind the Mask, until he chose to face his past and flip the script on his life. Fran Racioppi and Jessie Graff sit down with Flip to talk all things American Ninja Warrior, how to compete on the sport’s biggest obstacles and what it takes to win when you know little about the course of your competition. 

They also share Flip’s story of childhood sexual abuse, the difficulty of accepting what’s happening, the dangers of normalization, and how he eventually took a stand and walked out. Flip shows us how to take charge of our own lives even when it seems we are all alone in our fight.

Listen to our conversation with Flip Rodriguez from Jumptwist Ninja in Boca Raton on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the full video version as Jessie trains Fran how to become a ninja on YouTube. 

Learn more about Flip on Instagram @youngflip7. Read his book The Man Behind The Mask and flip the script on your life. Get involved in the fight against child abuse at fightchildabuse.org and support Flip’s partnership with the Barbara Sinatra Children Center Foundation. 

Follow Jessie on Instagram and FB @jessiegraffpwr. 

Click here or use code JED for $10 off your first order of Modballs.

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. 

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Jumptwist Ninja
• 7:01 Preparing for a Ninja Warrior competition
• 11:53 Flip finds the mask
• 15:43 Flip takes off the mask 
• 23:41 Flip’s battle with child sexual abuse
• 31:48 How Flip took action to end his abuse
• 42:40 Flip describes why consistency is the key to performance
• 47:55 “Absolute Best” must be the standard
• 54:04 Educating for child protection
• 58:30 Flip’s three daily foundations to success

Quotes: 

• “Life doesn’t care what age you are. Life is going to teach you a lesson. A valuable lesson. It’s gonna knock you down on the ground. You have to learn to get back up.” (6:28)
• “Having a mask is like Peter Parker and Spiderman. Everyone loves Spiderman but nobody really cares about Peter Parker.” (13:02)
• “It made me feel powerful, confident and feel like I could literally take on the world.” (14:24)
• “I felt so alone the entire time growing up…I had to be a man, not say anything.” (22:52)
• “Once you make a decision on who you want to be, what you want to do and how you want to do, life just gets out of your way.” (29:33)
• “Every moment that I spend depressed is a moment that I’ll never get back.” (38:18)

Flip’s Three Daily Foundations to Success:

• Lead by example
• Be real with who I am in the mirror
• Lay down at night with a clear conscious

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  Rhone, Modballs, 18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

TYR Wodapalooza brings the best of the fitness world to downtown Miami for four days of competition, sun, and neon lights. Ninja Warrior & Stuntwoman Jessie Graff joins Fran Racioppi for eight episodes with some of the most elite athletes on the stage today. 

In this series launch, they cover US Army Recruiting with Brigade Commander Colonel Stephen Battle and Major Allison Brager, the chief science officer at US Army JFK Special Warfare Center.

Allison shares the importance of sleep in building elite performance and is the author of Meathead: Unraveling the Athletic Brain. Steve explains why fitness is a critical component of leadership and building high functioning teams, and how the Army is developing thought leaders; not just people who standby waiting to be told what to do. 

Take a listen to the conversation, then tune into our YouTube channel to watch as Jessie and Fran workout with the US Army Warrior Fitness Team.

Learn more about Allison Brager @docjockzzz.

Find out how you can become one of our nation’s most important assets and impact the world at goarmy.com/wza. 

Follow Jessie on Instagram and FB @jessiegraffpwr. 

Click here or use code JED for $10 off your first order of Modballs.

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. 

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to TYR Wodapalooza!
• 5:30 Why fitness is important to the US Army
• 10:27 The Army’s focus on developing thought leaders
• 15:39 What COL Battle and MAJ Brager look for in their leaders
• 18:38 Using sleep to chase excellence
• 22:12 The Peak Alert App
• 22:45 The difference between the athletic brain and the normal brain
• 25:18 Using our Circadian Rhythm to maximize performance
• 34:08 The effects of sleep deprivation & high operational tempo
• 40:00 Three Daily Foundations

Quotes: 

• “We have to engage with American youth at their level, at areas and places that they congregate.” (8:40)
• “You don’t have to be an elite fitness athlete to join the military.” (8:23)
• “We’re not here to break you down, or embarrass you, or scold you. We’re here to build you up.” (9:22) 
• “We’re looking for fit, resilient soldiers of character.” (16:19)
• “Sleep is the performance enhancing drug.” (18:54)
• “If the soldiers are getting about 30% less sleep, they’re only 50% combat effective. It’s an exponential relationship.” (19:32)
• “They don’t have to think about the complex movements that they have to do. They just act.” (24:05)
• “Shift Work takes anywhere from 10 to 15 years off your life.” (34:41)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  Rhone, Modballs, 18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

Tech seems to drive our lives these days. We can't do anything without some sort of device in our hand, at our fingertips, and even on our faces. But what does the tech industry actually do? 

Fran Racioppi asks Sultan Meghji for his opinion on all things tech. Sultan was the first Chief Innovation Officer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, he's a Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Fellow at the George Mason National Security Institute, a Member of the Bretton Woods Committee, and currently a Professor in the graduate programs at Duke University's Pratt Engineering School teaching AI, Web3 & Cybersecurity.

They cover how FINTECH changed the banking industry and why Sultan’s four innovation themes of Inclusion, Resilience, Amplification and Future are critical to implementing sustainable technology solutions in any business. Plus they cover how technology is being used in America’s peer-to-peer competition with China. 

Learn more about him on LinkedIn and Twitter @sultanmeghji.

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Washington, DC
• 5:00 What is tech and the technology revolution
• 10:19 Leading technology at FDIC
• 21:51 How FINTECH has advanced the banking industry
• 27:53 Sultan’s Four Innovation Themes: #1 Inclusion
• 30:38 #2 Resilience
• 35:13 #3 Amplification
• 37:32 #4 Future
• 40:27 How technology will enable competition with China 
• 56:11 The status of cybersecurity in America
• 1:01:07 Banking competition
• 1:04:53 The next big tech innovation
• 1:06:49 Three Foundations

Quotes: 

• “We use tech and technology as a placeholder relative to how the caveman first had tools.” (5:24) 
• “I fundamentally believe that humans plus technology are a different species than humans without technology.” (5:49)
• “We’ve started removing people from the processes of our civilization.” (5:32)
• “Starbucks would be a multi-hundred billion dollar bank if you just thought about the app as a bank.” (13:06)
• “Anybody who says they can predict the future has no idea what they’re doing.” (37:36)
• “I want the United States to continue to be the backbone of the global financial system.” (39:10)
• “By the time we get to 2040-2050, all the telecommunications infrastructure globally will be Chinese.” (45:08)
• “It’s always in cyber going to be easier to be an offensive actor than a defensive actor.” (58:11)

Sultan’s Three Daily Foundations to Success:

• Get really good sleep
• Learn something new and meaningful
• Do something to get tired

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

Call Your Mother! Probably one of the most common phrases many of us have heard or thought about sometime in our lives. It's also one of the fast-growing delis in America and one of Bon Appetit's 50 Best New Restaurants In America.

Fran Racioppi sits down with Founder Andrew Dana to discuss his journey from community banking and window sales to purchasing a pizza oven and a truck on Ebay. Today, Timber Pizza is Andrew's other Bon Appetit ranked restaurant. 

They cover the ups and downs of what it feels like to follow your dreams and forge your own path. They talk about the risks entrepreneurs take to develop their product, their team and their value. And they also share how that one event, the one customer, the one meeting can be the single point in time that launches our whole plan and puts us on the map. 

Visit Call Your Mother Deli and Timber Pizza the next time you're in DC. Find them both on Instagram at callyourmotherdeli and timberpizzaco. Learn more about their story at callyourmotherdeli.com and timberpizza.com. 

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to prep time at Timber Pizza 
• 5:50 Eating pizza for market research
• 7:15 What makes a great pizza?
• 8:17 From community banking to buying a pizza truck
• 16:23 Dani joins the team
• 19:30 Call Your Mother and marketing a bagel deli
• 26:44 Buying local
• 28:23 Taking the bank account to $0
• 32:07 Why split tips
• 33:22 Scaling to Denver and the Keys to Future Success
• 37:31 Andrew’s Three Daily Foundations to Success

Quotes: 

• “I at least had this moment where I was like, ok I don’t have to go to culinary school to figure out how to make pizza. It’s not rocket science.” (7:00)
• “Let’s just buy a pizza oven and we’ll figure it out.” (9:39) 
• “We were just relentless in showing up. I truly believe if you show up enough, good things start to happen. You make your own luck.”  (11:30)
• “Don’t have failure to launch. Start. And then just run through every fricken wall that there is.” (13:17)
• “Either the food and the service is good enough to come back, or it’s not.” (24:32)
• “We’re gonna pay you all as much as we can until the bank account goes to zero.” (29:34)
• “In 2022, when you can get anything delivered to your couch, people are coming to us because it’s an experience.” 
• “Never forget who your road dogs are. Who’s helped you get to this place.” (37:13)

Andrew’s Three Daily Foundations to Success:

• Meditate aggressively
• Exercise aggressively
• Eat healthy…but save room for pizza and bagels in moderation! 

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

The CIA, and any organization for that matter, needs dynamic and impactful leaders that drive results, take care of people and accomplish the mission, when failure is never an option.  

Fran Racioppi is joined by one of the CIA's most impactful leaders. Marc Polymeropoulos served 26 years in the CIA leading operations across Europe, Eurasia, Afghanistan, Iraq and many of the world's most dangerous places. Marc recently released his book Clarity In Crisis: Leadership Lessons From The CIA in which he lays out what it takes to inspire and get the best from others; even when asked to do the seemingly impossible.  

Fran challenges Marc to show us how to implement his nine strategies for leading when we don't always have all the answers but we have to take action. 

Today Marc also fights the biggest challenge of his life after he was attacked by Pulsed Electromagnetic Energy in a Russian hotel in 2017. Known as Havana Syndrome, these attacks have been reported all over the world against American diplomatic personnel, with years of investigation but no consensus as to the reason for the onset of victims' medical conditions.

Learn more aboutMarc Polymeropoulos at marcpolymeropoulos.com and on Twitter @mpolymer. 

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 The CIA, Jedburghs, Boston Red Sox and the mission of the CIA
• 10:58 Marc decides to join the CIA and defines leadership
• 15:50 Developing a values system is the start of leadership
• 18:10 The Glue Guys
• 21:45 The difference between failure, mistakes and quitting
• 26:24 The Process Monkey
• 31:37 Humility is best served warm
• 35:05 Why leaders have to win an Oscar
• 39:00 Leaders create a family within their teams
• 42:23 Leaders are teachers first
• 47:55 Employ the Dagger to recognize others
• 50:12 Bringing Clarity to Crisis
• 52:24 Havana Syndrome
• 1:00:24 Marc’s Three Daily Foundations to Success

Quotes: 

• “When we talk about the mission it’s providing information to policymakers, but you do it in such a way where honesty and integrity is the foundation.” (10:24)
• “There is a huge distinction between failing, that’s gonna happen; but failure is quitting.” (22:45)
• “People remember three things. They can’t remember nine.” (26:49)
• “If you think too highly of yourself, I think you’re gonna make mistakes.” (34:02)
•  “I was crapping my pants. I thought I was going to die that day. I was terrified.” (36:17)
• “I woke up in the middle of the night with the room spinning, splitting migraine, tinnitus, which is ringing in my ears, Vertigo…" (53:48)

Marc’s Three Daily Foundations to Success: The Combat Leadership Chassis-focus on what you can control

• Coffee
• Hydrate
• Nutrition
• Sleep
• Exercise

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

About 200 Americans are taken hostage or wrongfully detained each year across the globe. Fran Racioppi traveled to Old Town Alexandria for a conversation on keeping America's promise to its citizens with former hostage Jessica Buchanan and Hostage US Executive Director Liz Cathcart.

Jessica shares her story of being kidnapped by some of the very children she went to Somalia to educate. She explains how she coped with detention and complete loss of control over her life, including her last night in captivity that went from a surreal quiet, to gunfire, to rescue by Navy SEAL Team 6.

Liz shares the four pillars of support Hostage US provides. She describes the difficulty reintegration brings and how Hostage US supplies the necessary resources to help all involved cope with redefining their lives after captivity. 

Pick up a copy of Jessica's book, Impossible Odds and her new book Deserts to Mountaintops. Follow her on social media @jessicabuchanan and on the web at jessicabuchanan.com. 

Go to hostageus.org to support American hostages, detainees, and their families, as they cope with captivity and reintegration. 

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Old Town Alexandria
• 4:44 The mission of Hostage US
• 8:55 Africa Jess
• 13:20 The first hours of captivity
• 21:50 What gave captives and families strength
• 28:28 Rescued by SEAL Team 6
• 37:19 The challenges of reintegration
• 44:04 Hostage US 2023 goals
• 45:27 Deserts to Mountaintops
• 47:11 Liz and Jess share their three daily foundations

Quotes: 

• “Hostage US is a NGO. We support families of Americans taken hostage abroad or wrongfully detained by state actors.” (5:50)
• “The cases that are particularly impactful and challenging to manage are those terrorist and wrongful detention cases that last for a long time.” (8:08)
• “Our car was overtaken by armed men…and that moment, it changed the rest of my life.” (13:13) 
• “Somewhere I remembered that if I lived through the first 48 hours then they probably weren’t going to kill me. (15:06)
• “I knew I needed IV’s. I needed antibiotics. I needed a doctor.” (30:39)
•  “For many of us we feel like we have to come back and we have to start all over.” (39:44)
• “I’m really committed to supporting and empowering women to reclaim their voices.” (46:20)

Jessica’s Three Daily Foundations to Success

• Maintain a Sacred Start
• Prayer, journal and visualize
• Display gratitude

Liz’s Three Daily Foundations to Success

• Hydrate
• Know your limitations and bring in experts
• Over-communicate

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

Leadership requires the perfect balance of strength, compassion and unity. For this episode Fran Racioppi traveled to Capitol Hill to sit down with Congressman Mike Waltz; the first Green Beret ever elected to Congress. He represents Florida's 6th District and is the author of Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles From Washington To Afghanistan. 

The Congressman and Fran define the term Warrior Diplomat and what it means to balance raw power with statesmanship. They break down the division surrounding the 2022 election cycle and provide a first look into America's 188th Congress; a Congress which will contain over 90 Veterans - the most since the post-Vietnam era. 

Learn more about Congressman Mike Waltz at waltz.house.gov and on social media @repmichaelgwaltz. 

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Capitol Hill
• 5:27 Defining Warrior Diplomat and building coalitions
• 9:51 Building a long term national defense strategy to win
• 15:36 The strategic impact of Green Berets in business
• 22:32 Becoming the first Green Beret in Congress
• 25:56 How we reduce hostility in Congress and between parties
• 28:36 The top priorities of the new Congress and the threat of China
• 36:17 Lightning Round on domestic policy 

Quotes: 

• “It’s about building coalitions. It’s about having a high emotional IQ. It’s about influencing others. It's about aligning your interests.” (9:14)
• “In societies where women are accepted and thriving in businesses and politics, in civil society, you don’t tend to have an overwhelming extremism problem. (12:19)  
• “We like to find our friends who take care of our enemies for us.” (15:28)
• “In the 1970’s…3/4 of the Congress had all served. The number has gone from 75% to 15% today.” (23:05)
• “It is a record low number of Veterans in Congress and I think that explains a lot of the record amount of disfunction.” (23:21)
• “Being a politician isn’t the most important thing we’ve ever done. Taking men and women to combat, leading, is. And bringing them home.” (26:37)
• “If you were willing to sacrifice yourself at 18 years old I think you’d be able to sacrifice some grief for taking a vote that may be controversial or may move the country in the right direction.”  (28:25)
• "The thing with the CCP is they have the ability to defeat us economically way before it comes to any kind of military conflict.”  (35:45)
• “You cannot have a sovereign nation without borders.” (38:07)

Congressman Waltz’s Three Daily Foundations to Success

• Read to be proficient on the issues
• Display humility
• Be worthy of those who have sacrificed 
• And…always look cool!

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s,  18A Fitness & Compass Workforce Solutions

Here we are in a world without a recognized American conflict. And there we were, on the red carpet of the NYC Veterans Day Parade in the back of the Dodge WC-51, when Fran Racioppi and Sarah Apgar and were joined by two of our nation’s most important organizations in the transition of our Veterans to civilian life. 

In this third of three episodes covering the NYC Veterans Day Parade, Fran and Sarah talk to Wounded Warrior Project CEO LTG Mike Linnington and Commissioner James Hendon who is leading NYC Department of Veterans Services. 

They cover the resources their respective organizations are bringing to our Veterans through programs focused on recruitment, entrepreneurship, mental health, and medical care. Both Wounded Warrior Project and NYC Department of Veterans’ Services set the example for how non-profits and our communities are embracing our Veteran population and the skills they bring to our civilian workforce.

For more Veterans Day coverage find our two previous episodes  with CBS’s SEAL Team lead actor David Boreanaz, Grand Marshall of the parade Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Vince Patton, and NYC’s most famous entertainer the Naked Cowboy!

Highlights:

-0:00 Welcome to the WC-51 LTG(R) Mike Linnington

-4:00 Everyday is Veterans Day for Wounded Warrior Project

-5:22 What our nation needs in it’s military leaders

-7:44 Bringing Veterans together 

-8:55 Welcome Commissioner James Hendon

-10:27 The priorities of NYC Department of Veterans Services

-14:40 Creating opportunities for our Veterans

-17:36 Infantalizing our Veterans 

Quotes:

- “Everyday for us is Veterans Day.” (4:06)

- ‘We have incredible technology but leadership at the end of the day is the force multiplier that others don’t have.” (6:30)

- “Folks won’t show up for a mental health appointment but they will show up to regain that sense of cohesion and camaraderie they had in the military.” (7:49)

- “New York City is the only city in the country with its own Veterans Services agency.” (10:54)

- “Our women Veterans is the fastest growing demographic of Veterans.” (14:09)

- “It’s important that we not infantalize our Veterans.” (17:36)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, GORUCK, Retro Fitness, Just Ice Tea, Rhone, Compass Workforce Solutions, 18A Fitness, & Analytix Solutions

Here we are, or there we were, in the final few minutes of setting up the 1944 Dodge WC-51 before the start of the NYC Veterans Day Parade when the Naked Cowboy Jumped In for a quick chat with Fran Racioppi and Sarah Apgar. He’s been a staple of Times Square and NYC biggest events for decades. A true patriot at heart, he rocks his guitar playing your favorite tune to basically whatever comes to his mind. 

Naked Cowboy shared his story from modeling on the beach in LA to posing with tourists in Times Square rain, snow or shine; and always in nothing more than a clean set of tighty whities and a cowboy hat.

Take a listen to our conversation on your favorite podcast platform, and check out the video version of this conversation and all our episodes on YouTube. 

This is the second of three episodes recorded live from the red carpet at the NYC Veterans Day Parade, so make sure you check out our others episodes    with CBS’s SEAL Team lead actor David Boreanaz, Grand Marshall of the parade Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Vince Patton, Wounded Warrior Project CEO LTG Mike Linnington and Commissioner James Hendon who is leading NYC Department of Veterans Services. 

Highlights:

-0:00 Welcome to the parade Naked Cowboy

-3:55 The Naked Cowboy’s family history of military service

-4:53 Naked Cowboy’s advice to the kids

-6:01 How Robert Burck became the Naked Cowboy

-8:49 Arrested in 35 other cities before getting to NYC

-9:19 Naked Cowboy’s Three Foundations to Success

Quotes:

- “I want to do the right thing at all time.” (4:15)

- “Get a pair of underwear. Take the easy way out like me!.” (5:08) 

- “Two days ago was the 24th anniversary in Times Square. Every single day, winter, spring, summer, fall.” (5:37)

- “I literally go out all day searching for an opportunity to make a big splash.” (6:42)

-”My whole life is wrapped around being here every single day and it’s a 24-hour a day job.” (8:33)

-”I was arrested in 35 other cities before I got here.” (8:49)

Naked Cowboy’s Three Foundations to Success

-Stay focused

-Train

-Live the experience and execute well

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, GORUCK, Retro Fitness, Just Ice Tea, Rhone, Compass Workforce Solutions, 18A Fitness, & Analytix Solutions