On this episode of the Strong New York Podcast, host Kenny Santucci sits down with Giovanni Vaccaro — co-founder of Glamsquad, an on-demand beauty service platform and founder of Peak Mode Coaching, his high-performance coaching business for executives, founders, and entrepreneurs.

Strength isn't just something you build in the gym — it's a mindset. Giovanni breaks down his journey from shampooing hair 25-30 times a day at a top Manhattan salon to building a beauty-tech company from the ground up, and the mental toughness, discipline, and "radical responsibility" that took him from stylist to CEO to executive coach. This one is packed with lessons on staying strong through setbacks, building unshakable habits, and why nobody is coming to save you.

In this episode:
- Growing up in an immigrant Italian family and the blue-collar work ethic that shaped him
- Paying his dues: 2.5 years shampooing hair before ever touching scissors
- The "light bulb" moment that led to founding Glamsquad
- Building the mental strength to shift his identity from "hairstylist" to "entrepreneur"
- Why imposter syndrome is actually a sign of strength, not weakness
- Hiring for your weaknesses and killing the "self-made" myth
- Glamsquad's near-collapse during COVID — and the strength it took to rebuild
- His non-negotiable 5am routine: meditation, prayer, gratitude, training
- Training for his first marathon and the obsession behind elite performance
- The 3 things every strong, high performer has in common
- "No one's coming to save you" — radical responsibility and ditching the victim mindset
- Why he started Peak Mode Coaching and how identity-first coaching builds mental strength

Chapters:
0:00 – Intro: Radical responsibility & don't play the victim
2:10 – Welcome Giovanni Vaccaro + Strong New York 10th Anniversary
4:00 – Growing up Italian, working for his father, discovering the salon world
8:15 – Telling his dad he wanted to be a hairdresser
10:00 – Starting at the bottom: 2.5 years to become a stylist
14:30 – Building a client book & why every person is an opportunity
18:00 – The Glamsquad "light bulb" moment
22:00 – Shifting identity from stylist to entrepreneur
25:30 – Imposter syndrome as a sign you're playing a bigger game
28:00 – The power of a great business partner
32:00 – Hiring for your weaknesses, not your ego
36:00 – Launching Glamsquad & the slow build to viral growth
41:00 – What makes a great Glamsquad pro (and the hiring process)
45:00 – Money vs. purpose: what really drives high performers
50:00 – His 5am routine: meditation, prayer, gratitude, cold plunge
55:00 – Training for his first marathon & building mental strength
59:00 – The 3 non-negotiables of every strong, high performer
1:03:00 – "No one's coming to save you" — radical ownership
1:08:00 – Losing weight at 13 and the discipline that followed
1:14:00 – Glamsquads' worst year (COVID) and the rebuild
1:18:00 – Why he started Peak Mode Coaching
1:23:00 – Identity-first coaching & closing thoughts

CONNECT:  
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow the Strong New York Podcast: @strongnewyorkpod
Follow Giovanni Vaccaro:  @giovannivaccaro

#GlamSquad #EntrepreneurMindset #Selfimprovement 

This episode is sponsored by:
🔥 Celsius — the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Follow @celsiusofficial on Instagram for all the new flavors.
🩸 Marek Health — optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance at marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY for 10% off Diagnostics, Supplements, and Guided Optimization.
🤝 Founders Club — a trusted circle of 2,500+ builders across North America who share resources, open doors, and raise the bar for entrepreneurship. Learn more at FoundersClubOfficial.com.

This week on Strong New York Podcast, Kenny sits down with Sam Bakhshandehpour, President of Merchants at Bilt, the platform that turned paying rent — historically "the worst day of the month" — into a rewards-earning, community-building experience.

Sam's story starts long before Bilt: fleeing Iran with his mother at age 6 during the revolution, believing his father had been executed, then rebuilding a life from nothing in America. That immigrant grit carried him through decades in hospitality — running 80+ hotels and 50+ restaurants, including time at the Ritz-Carlton — before he came in-house at Bilt to help build what he calls a "B2B2C" neighborhood commerce network connecting your home, your merchants, and your travel into one loyalty ecosystem.

In this episode, Kenny and Sam get into:

• What Bilt actually is (hint: it's not just a credit card) and how it evolved from a rent-rewards program to a full lifestyle platform
• Why one in four apartment buildings in the U.S. — and over 100,000 mortgages a week — are now on the Bilt network
• How Bilt's AI concierge orchestrates everything from dinner reservations to Lyft rides to gym check-ins
• The hospitality lessons Sam learned running nightlife, restaurants, and hotels — and what "the gold standard" of hospitality really means
• Why merchants are racing to connect with new tenants the moment they move in
• Bilt's next frontier: health and wellness, HSA/FSA integration, and Sam's vision for AI-personalized nutrition and recovery
• Building real community in a hyper-connected, increasingly isolated world

If you've ever wondered how your rent, your credit card, and your neighborhood favorite restaurant are all quietly becoming part of the same ecosystem — this one's for you.

CONNECT:  
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow the Strong New York Podcast: @strongnewyorkpod
Follow Sam Bakhshandehpour:  @sambakhshandepour
Follow Bilt:  @bilt

#StrongNewYork #Bilt #KennySantucci #RentRewards #Hospitality #Fintech #NYCPodcast #Wellness #ImmigrantStory #LoyaltyProgram

This episode is sponsored by:
🔥 Celsius — the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Follow @celsiusofficial on Instagram for all the new flavors.

🩸 Marek Health — optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance at marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY for 10% off Diagnostics, Supplements, and Guided Optimization.

🤝 Founders Club — a trusted circle of 2,500+ builders across North America who share resources, open doors, and raise the bar for entrepreneurship. Learn more at FoundersClubOfficial.com.

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Dave Rabin (co-founder of Apollo Neuroscience) joins Kenny Santucci to break down why modern life feels so complicated — and why it doesn't have to be. From his new book "A Simple Guide to Being Alive," Dr. Rabin explains the neuroscience of bottom-up learning, why Gen Z is the first generation to score lower on cognitive tests than the one before it, how screens hijack your nervous system, and why feeling safe is the foundation of learning, healing, and manifestation. They also get into caffeine, nicotine, and nootropics from a neuroscientist's perspective — and why we should treat plant medicines with respect instead of abuse.
If you've ever felt like you don't know how to sleep, calm down, or focus — this episode is your reset button.

#Neuroscience #StrongNewYork #ApolloNeuro #MentalHealth #podcast 

CONNECT:  
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork
Follow Dr.David Rabin: @drdavidrabin

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

Most people have been told caffeine and nicotine are bad for you — but what does the science actually say? This week, host Kenny Santucci sits down with Dr. David Putrino, neuroscientist and Director of Rehab Innovation at Mount Sinai, to break down the truth behind nootropics, brain optimization, and the substances that could sharpen your focus and performance.

Dr. Putrino shares what it's really like to work at the intersection of elite athletic performance and clinical rehabilitation — and why the strategies used to train special forces operators and professional athletes aren't that different from what helps stroke patients recover. Plus, they dive deep into one of the most important and undertalked health crises happening right now: long COVID and its devastating effects on cognition and energy.

In this episode:

• Why caffeine and nicotine have been unfairly demonized — and what the research actually shows
• The truth about nootropics and how to build your own cognitive "stack"
• How elite athlete training and stroke rehab are more similar than you think
• Long COVID and the brain: why millions of Americans are still struggling with brain fog and fatigue
• The supplements and treatments Dr. Petrino uses with his 4,000+ long COVID patients
• Creatine, lion's mane, L-theanine, nicotine patches, and more — what works and for whom
• The future of personalized nootropics based on your DNA

CONNECT:  
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork
Follow David: @putrino_lab

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

What does it take to run across the Sahara Desert, survive federal prison, maintain 33 years of sobriety — and come home to be a full-time caretaker for the person you love? Charlie Engle has lived all of it.

In this episode, Kenny sits down with ultramarathon legend, New York Times bestselling author, and charity: water ambassador Charlie Engle for one of the most raw, real, and inspiring conversations we've ever had on the show.

In this episode:

• Why being a caretaker for his wife for 10+ years has been harder than any race or prison sentence
• How running 4,600 miles across the Sahara Desert changed his relationship with suffering
• The truth about what federal prison is actually like — and why the system isn't built to rehabilitate anyone
• How 33 years of sobriety shaped his identity, discipline, and drive
• His upcoming charity: water expedition and why he keeps chasing the next impossible goal
• The mindset shift that took him from always asking "what's next?" to learning to live in the present moment
• Why owning your narrative is everything — and what happens when you let others tell your story

Charlie's story isn't just about physical endurance. It's about what it means to keep moving forward when life strips everything away — and why the only compass that matters is the one inside you.

CONNECT:
Follow Charlie:  @charlieengle
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for  10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

What if you could get all the energy of a pre-workout or energy drink — without the bloat, the bubbles, or the $6 price tag? Richard Mumby, CEO of Wip Energy, is betting the answer fits in the palm of your hand.

In this episode of the Strong New York Podcast, host Kenny Santucci sits down with Richard to break down why Wip's clean caffeine pouches are disrupting a multi-billion dollar industry — and why 85% of Americans who already consume caffeine daily are ready for something smarter.

In this episode, we cover:
- Why energy drinks are losing ground to caffeine pouches — and what makes the pouch delivery system so effective
- The truth about caffeine: how much is too much, and why it's one of the most studied and beneficial ingredients in the world
- How Wip went from a 2-year stealth formulation phase to hitting 10,000+ retail doors (Wawa, Murphy's, Quick Trip, and more)
- The CEO's journey from Wall Street finance to leading a next-gen consumer brand
- Why your mindset matters as much as your macros — and the powerful lesson Richard learned watching his 83-year-old father give himself a pep talk
- The untapped consumer: why Wip isn't just for gym-goers, but for everyone hustling through a demanding day

Plus: Richard and Kenny talk about the upcoming Strong New York event (September 26th at The Glass House), influencer marketing strategy, festival season, and what's next for Wip.

CONNECT:
Follow Richard:  @rpmumby
Follow Wip Energy:  @wipenergy
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for  10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

This week, Kenny sits down with Jake Steinfeld — the man who literally invented the personal training industry.

Jake opens up about losing his home in the LA Palisades fire, why he still trains at 4:15am every single day, turning down Nike before they created "Just Do It," and the anonymous poem that shaped his entire life philosophy from age 14.

From posing with the Village People to doing stunt work as The Incredible Hulk, from Cold Calls in Hollywood to building a fitness empire seen in 90+ countries — this episode is a masterclass in betting on yourself when nobody else will.

In This Episode:

• How Jake created personal training as a profession (there was no blueprint)
• The steroid decision at 19 that changed everything
• Losing his home in the Palisades fire & what he grabbed on the way out
• Why he turned down Nike's offer to buy "Don't Quit"
• GLP-1s, fitness culture, and what the industry gets wrong
• The mindset behind never missing a workout — ever
• Body by Jake Radio & what's coming next

CONNECT:
Follow Jake: @bodybyjake
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for  10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

This week Kenny Santucci sits down with Jake Heyen — the fitness industry analyst and founder of Wellworthy who blew up on Instagram by delivering no-BS, news-style breakdowns of the brands, events, and trends shaping health and fitness culture.

Jake shares the full story: from studying finance and statistics in college, to building a workout subscription platform during COVID, to joining Playbook as Director of Operations — and ultimately growing one of the most trusted voices in the fitness media space.

In this episode, we get into:

• How Jake built his audience from zero with a completely different content style
• Why he almost quit before realizing it was actually working
• The brands he thinks are absolutely crushing it right now 
• His take on the biggest fitness trends: community gyms, HYROX-style events, home health tech, and the rise of strength culture for women
• Why he turned down every podcast — until this one

Whether you're a fitness entrepreneur, creator, or just obsessed with the industry, this episode is packed with real insight from someone who's been behind the curtain.

CONNECT:
Follow Jake: @jakeheyen
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for  10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

On this special bonus episode of the Strong New York Podcast, Kenny sits down with Christian Angermayer, founder of the Enhanced Games — a new global sports competition that recently made its debut in Las Vegas, where elite athletes pushed the limits of human performance and are openly encouraged to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision.

Christian is a billionaire biotech investor and one of the loudest voices advocating for the future of human performance and psychedelic medicine. In this episode, we get into ALL of it:
- How one dinner conversation in 2014 completely changed his life — and may have changed the world — after his first psychedelic experience
- The truth about performance-enhancing drugs, medical supervision, and why athletes deserve the right to compete enhanced
- Why the Enhanced Games is paying athletes MORE than they've ever made — and what that says about the broken Olympic model
- The real science behind peptides, hormone therapy, and what "enhancement" actually means
- The truth about money, purpose, and why the narrative that rich people are evil is destroying society
- The double standard that NOBODY in the media is talking about in the wake of the Enhanced Games

Christian doesn't hold back. This is one of the most thought-provoking conversations we've had on the podcast.

The Rock played this man in a major motion picture — and after watching this episode, you'll understand why.

Mark Kerr is a Division I National Champion, 2x ADCC Champion, and 2x UFC Heavyweight Champion who helped define what it meant to be a professional mixed martial artist before anyone even knew what that looked like. But behind the accolades was a story most people never saw coming.

In this raw and unforgettable episode, Mark sits down with us to talk about:

• What it felt like when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was cast to play him
• How he helped create the standard for what a professional MMA fighter looks and acts like
• The training methods he pioneered 25 years ago — heart rate-based conditioning, functional training — that the sport has only recently caught up to
• The injuries, pain management, and how it all spiraled into addiction
• The night the cameras went down, and he was found unresponsive — lips blue, barely breathing — and brought back with Narcan
• Why vulnerability is the most alpha thing a man can do
• His mission to prepare and mentor the next generation

This one hits different. Whether you're a fight fan, someone in recovery, or just somebody who needs to hear that one thing doesn't define you — this episode is for you.

This episode is sponsored by Celsius.  Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!
This episode is sponsored by Marek Health.  Visit marekhealth.com and use code KENNY at checkout for  10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.