This week we had the pleasure of interviewing our friend, Al Cuccinello.  Al is a father, husband, BJJ/Judo practitioner, salesman, and a lover of adventures.  In this episode, we learned about Al's past and how it had a tremendous impact on his current success.  Although Al is a BJJ brown-belt, Judo green-belt, and has a successful career and family, it was not always this way.  Al overcame many obstacles both self-inflicted and not, which taught him how to overcome adversity.  Whether it was having little money, walking to work every day in beat up shoes, getting a DWI, or experiencing other events from his past, Al's perseverance and ability to keep moving forward allowed him to create his current life.  Al's philosophy is the same whether it be on the mats or off and that is he will not quit when it gets tough.  We hope you will enjoy this episode as much as we did as you learn more about Al.

Today we bring you a new segment to the We'll Take It from Here podcast called JitZone.  As the name implies, JitZone covers all things Jiu-Jitsu related, which we feel will bring a neat dynamic to the show since many listeners are part of the community.  The goal of the segment is to bring light to the sport and martial arts in general.  In the first episode, we speak about our Jiu-Jitsu beginnings and what it has done for us.  We will definitely be having friends from the community on to share their stories.  Enjoy!

This week we had a conversation with our friend Phil McEntee of Rockaway, New Jersey.  Phil is a father, Jiu-Jitsu practitioner / coach, entrepreneur, and most importantly, a great human being.  Phil's story is an interesting one as at the age of thirty-five (he is now in his forties), he performed a self-assessment and, as Jordan Peterson would describe, decided to "burn the dead wood" in his life.  This meant becoming a better individual both physically and mentally.  One of the main ways Phil accomplished this was through the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts.  His philosophy is simple but so important, identify your weaknesses and turn them into your strengths.  This allowed Phil to excel in Jiu-Jitsu and in life.  For instance, we speak about his journey as a surveyor, and how he jumped from the secure, corporate world to starting his own company.  Finally, we have a very fun conversation about Phil's spirituality and meditation, which leads us into a tiny rabbit hole about life and its meaning.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Today we bring another duo episode in which we chop it up about a couple of topics.  First, we chat about Don's successful surgery to fix a hernia he had for a while.  Amazingly, you would have never known if he did not mention it because of his ability to stay disciplined in the gym and in Jiu-Jitsu.  Goes to show you that the mind is a powerful tool.  We then move on to provide a recap of our first in year in the podcast world.  We shout out all the amazing guests we had and talk a bit about some of the shows.  We also discuss about what we learned in the first year and how pumped we are for this next one.  We have full intentions of progressing each and every week.  Full steam ahead on the We'll Take It from Here train!

This week we are joined by Joe's good friend Remo D'Alessandro.  Remo grew up in Totowa, New Jersey to an Italian family and resided in Passaic County for the majority of his life.  Remo has served (and currently serves) his community in various roles within law enforcement.  He is extremely outgoing, nice, respectful, and has a reputation for being the fun guy.  This made the episode that much better and funnier.  We touch upon his time in law enforcement, his Jiu-Jitsu journey, and his transformation over the past few months.  You see, Remo used to be 300+ pounds due to an eating disorder which up until recently, he could not control; as he states on the show, "My deadly sin would be gluttony".  Remo details his entire transformation from the driving force to how he remains disciplined!  Currently, Remo has lost 70lbs and plans to continue.  Remo is a great example of how no matter your age (he is 48), you must always hold yourself accountable and strive to be better.  Sit back and enjoy the show!

We welcome back to the show our great friend, Matt Ciecwicz.  Matt was initially a guest on episode eight (which we highly recommend that you listen if not already) in which we spoke about leadership tactics, political events, and more.  This time we took a slightly different approach, and Matt was able to recount some awesome stories of his time as a Private Investigator, which he can do now seeing that he is no longer in the profession.  Matt does a great job painting the scene and putting us right there with him.  We finish off the show with some political discourse (as always) and dive down the rabbit hole a bit.  Enjoy!

This week, we are joined by Joe's extremely close friends, Paul Mouhtis and Mike Isley.  Paul and Mike grew up in Morris County and have been friends since high school where they formed their band "Days Break In", along with two other friends.  Since then, Mike has gone on to form two other bands such as: "Michael Isley Band" and "GLMR" (both on Spotify), and Paul fell in love with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is currently a Black Belt under the Main Brothers at Pure MMA.  We spoke about a plethora of topics including: music, Jiu-Jitsu, soccer, Mike's time in Argentina and Hong Kong, etc.  We also give you the origins of the "SIIIIIIII" which we created before Cristiano Ronaldo.  If you're confused, then you'll have to listen.  Amazing episode and had a blast recording.  Enjoy!

This week's episode was a banger as we were joined by our friends, Andy and Mikey Main, aka "The Main Brothers".  The Main Brothers were born and raised in Morris County New Jersey and are the founders/owners of Pure Mixed Martial Arts, the largest MMA gym in New Jersey, franchisees of Playa Bowl, and founders of their most recent entrepreneurial venture, Honest Supplements.  In addition, they have competed at the highest levels in fighting and grappling with Andy having fought in CFFC and Bellator and Mikey competing at ADCC.  Andy and Mikey love what they do and seek to live life to the fullest while providing memorable experiences for their customers.  Their business motto is simple: do the right thing.  This hasn't steered them wrong in their decade of entrepreneurial success.  We learn of The Main Brothers' story from how they started to present day.  We also hear some funny stories of Andy's time as a competitor in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 12.  Finally, you all crushed it with the question segment and Andy and Mikey provided some solid answers. Learn more about these two on the show today!

This week we are joined by Joe's great friend, Scott Cooper.  Scott is a resident of Morris County, a mechanical engineer, and a father and husband to a beautiful son and wife.  Scott believes that confidence is the fundamental key to a fulfilling life.  Scott loves to live life on the edge and challenge himself daily.  This is demonstrated by his ice climbing adventures; hearing Scott talk about summiting mountains in sub zero conditions was mind blowing.    Scott also trains and teaches Jiu-Jitsu at Pure MMA in Rockaway, NJ.  We chat about our Jiu-jitsu journey, its usefulness in real life, Gordon Ryan's impact on the sport, and much more.  Enjoy!