The Johnjay Van Es Podcast

Winning a World Series is one thing. Winning the battle in your own head is another.

Former MLB pitcher and World Series champion Todd Stottlemyre joins us for a powerful conversation about mental toughness, grief, forgiveness, and the mindset shifts that can change how you live and lead. He opens up about losing his younger brother, carrying years of guilt, and how unresolved pain turned into anger during his baseball career.

In this episode, we get into:

• How Todd learned to stop focusing on things he couldn’t control
• The sports psychology lessons that helped him break destructive patterns
• Simple breathing techniques to interrupt worry and emotional spirals
• Why focusing on the process builds confidence under pressure
• How mental toughness translates from professional sports to business leadership
• What grief, accountability, and forgiveness can teach us about personal growth
• How Todd applied these lessons while building Koibito Poké

If you’re working on your mindset, leadership, or personal growth, Todd shares practical tools for handling pressure, letting go of the past, and moving forward with purpose.

Your cup of tea might come with an unexpected extra ingredient: microplastics. And it doesn’t stop at teabags.

Josephine Musco, founder of Olyxir, joins us to explore how everyday products like tea, plastic bottles, food packaging, and even laundry pods can contribute to our exposure to microplastics and chemical additives. After losing her dad to cancer, Josephine became passionate about prevention, epigenetics, and finding practical ways to reduce everyday exposure.

In this episode, we cover:

• How teabags can release microplastics and nanoplastics into hot water
• Everyday sources of plastic exposure you might be overlooking
• What BPA, phthalates, and other plastic additives are
• Why reducing exposure matters before jumping into detox trends
• How fiber and filtration fit into a practical approach to wellness
• Josephine’s journey into olive leaf research and antioxidant preservation
• The dissolvable tea strips designed to replace traditional teabags
• How wellness brands can develop products with prevention in mind

If you care about microplastics, clean tea, non-toxic living, and realistic ways to support your health, this conversation will make you look at your everyday habits a little differently.

Could a full-body MRI reveal health risks you don't even know you have? 

Dr. John Simon, founder of SimonMed Imaging, shares how advanced medical imaging is changing the way we approach cancer screening, early detection, and preventive healthcare.

With more than 30 years of experience in radiology, Dr. Simon has helped expand access to advanced diagnostic imaging, including MRI and CT scans. He explains what full-body MRI can reveal, how cardiac imaging can uncover potential heart risks, and why looking beyond symptoms could change how people think about their long-term health. But how much can imaging actually tell us, and where are its limits?

In this episode:

• What full-body MRI can reveal about potential health concerns, including suspicious abnormalities
• How advanced imaging can support early cancer detection
• Why cardiac CT and cardiac MRI matter for understanding heart health
• What brain imaging can tell us about brain health and aging
• Why muscle quality, strength, and power are important markers of healthy aging
• How Dr. Simon explores emerging technologies and longevity clinics to find new approaches to preventive health

Listen to Dr. Simon discuss the science behind preventive imaging, what these technologies can and cannot reveal, and how advanced diagnostics may help people make more informed decisions about their health.

Subscribe for more conversations about fascinating people, bold questions, celebrity stories, and the topics everyone’s talking about with Johnjay Van Es.

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Discover what advanced imaging can reveal about your health with SimonMed Longevity.

Visit https://simonmed.com/Johnjay/ and explore the exclusive offer for Johnjay’s audience!

One minute you’re making random videos for fun. Next thing you know, people are watching, brands are calling, and somehow this is your job now.

Matt Peterson joins us to talk about how he turned short-form videos into a full-time creator career, and what actually happens after you get that first big hit.

In this episode, we get into:

• How Matt went from messing around with videos to building a real audience
• What makes people actually stop scrolling and watch
• How he knows when a content idea is running out of gas
• The reality of brand deals, talent agencies, and getting paid to create
• Why he still films and edits most of his content on his phone
• What creators really deal with when their income depends on views
• How he uses his platform to help family-owned restaurants
• The less glamorous side of creator life, including health insurance and colonoscopies

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s actually like to make content your full-time job, this conversation goes way beyond “just go viral.”

How do you know if a stem cell clinic is legitimate or just really good at marketing?

We bring back Rafael Gonzalez for a deep dive into what actually matters when evaluating stem cell therapy, from cell sourcing and quality control to viability, contamination risks, and what happens after an IV infusion.

In this episode, we cover:

• How to spot red flags when choosing a stem cell clinic
• What stem cell viability really means after thawing
• Why dead cells can trigger reactions that may be mistaken for results
• What happens to stem cells after an IV infusion
• How sauna, cold plunges, red light, hyperbaric oxygen, and plasma exchange fit into recovery
• Peptides, GLP-1 compounds, sourcing, and dosing concerns
• Why wearable sleep trackers can give conflicting information
• NK cell therapy and the role of immune cells in targeting viruses and abnormal cells
• The difference between activated and off-the-shelf NK cell products
• What to consider before spending money on regenerative medicine or longevity treatments

If you’re researching stem cell therapy, NK cell therapy, regenerative medicine, or biohacking, this conversation focuses on the questions worth asking before you trust a clinic with your health.

What does it actually take to grow a podcast into a top-performing show? According to Tyler, it starts with one thing most podcasters get wrong: understanding who is actually listening.

Tyler runs a podcast production operation with around 40 shows, and he shares the strategies behind podcast growth, audience engagement, content repurposing, and turning a podcast into a real business. We break down podcast rankings, seven-day downloads, release timing, analytics, and why small changes can make a big difference.

In this episode, we cover:

• How podcast rankings and seven-day downloads really work
• Why knowing your target audience can change your entire strategy
• How to build a consistent podcast clip and content repurposing system
• When to publish episodes based on listener data and time zones
• How podcast studios make money through sponsorships, YouTube, production, and co-owned shows
• Why audio quality matters more than flashy production
• How to grow a podcast without an existing audience
• The role of passion, consistency, niche, and target persona in podcast success

If you’re starting a podcast, trying to grow your audience, or looking for better podcast marketing strategies, this conversation is full of practical ideas you can put to work right away.

At 14, Ayad Agha was dropped at JFK with no English, no passport, and $600 hidden in a guitar. What followed was a story of survival, immigration battles, and an unexpected path into medicine.

Now an interventional radiologist, Ayad shares how his career took him from pharmacy and nuclear medicine to treating patients with minimally invasive procedures. He also opens up about being investigated by the Secret Service during the Gulf War simply because he was Iraqi and worked in “nuclear” medicine.

We also get into stem cells, regenerative medicine, longevity, and how to separate real medical options from hype.

It’s a fascinating conversation about immigration, medicine, resilience, and what can happen when your life takes a completely unexpected turn.

What happens when a brand says “do whatever you want” and then changes everything you made?

Nathan Yaps, better known as Mr. AZ Sports, joins us for a fun look at the reality of being a creator. We talk influencer contracts, brand deals, TikTok and Facebook income, the hidden costs of creating content, and why keeping your own voice matters.

Nathan also shares how a late-night World Series tweet helped spark a stadium-wide moment for Christian Walker, how he ended up attending 150 Arizona sporting events, and the simple question he uses to get great stories from athletes and celebrities.

We also get into Arizona sports, restaurants, creator ethics, and what’s next as Nathan takes his content beyond Arizona.

If you love sports, food, and the creator world, hit play, subscribe, and share this episode with a fellow creator.

A “career-ending” injury can change everything, but the comeback is where the real work begins.

We sit down with a strength and conditioning coach and PhD researcher to break down what elite rehab actually looks like, using NHL captain Gabe Landeskog’s return as a powerful example. We talk recovery, strength, testing, and why getting cleared to play is only the beginning.

We also get into peptides, PRP, stem cells, VO2 max, muscle power, creatine, sauna, cold plunges, and the basics that matter most for long-term performance.

If you care about sports, recovery, or staying strong as you age, this episode is worth a listen.

Subscribe, share it with someone who trains, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

One random TikTok about a bodysuit sat there for months. Then it blew up and made thousands of dollars.

Jasmine, a Phoenix mom of four, joins us to share what really happened when one viral TikTok Shop video changed the game for her family. We get into how TikTok Shop commissions work, how she turns comments into new content, why she uses a separate phone for filming, and what happens when brands start flooding your inbox.

But it’s not all viral videos and free products. Jasmine gets real about hate comments, staying consistent through pregnancy and a newborn, and adjusting to a completely different financial reality after growing up without much money.

If you’ve ever wondered how creators actually make money on TikTok without millions of followers, this episode gives you the behind-the-scenes story.