The Upside Newsletter

Today we have the honor of interviewing Dhia Amara, the lead S&C coach of CF Montreal, an MLS team. Dhia Amara is a Tunisian-born strength and conditioning specialist who grew up in Montreal, where he developed an extensive academic and professional foundation in exercise physiology. After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he spent five years working with varsity teams and Team Canada b...

This week we had the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA. You can watch the video interview below or you can listen to the audio interview above: 📝Show Notes: Through this in...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Frederick Donnell, the Head Football Athletic Trainer at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), an NCAA team. Frederick Donnell is the Head Football Athletic Trainer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where he oversees all aspects of sports medicine, rehabilitation, and return-to-play decision-making for student-athletes. He began his career...

This week we have the honor to interview again a group of MLS sports performance executives to talk about the latest trends in the MLS, the world of sports performance and rehabilitation. * Michael Messer, the head of rehabilitation at Nashville SC (MLS). * Darcy Norman, the Director of Performance at Chicago Fire FC (MLS). * Karam Al-Hamdani, the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trai...

This week we had the honor to interview a group of NCAA sports performance experts. * Dr. John DeWitt, Director of applied sports science in the athletic department and a faculty member, Rice University (NCAA team). * Paul Silvestri, Sr director of sports health and performance, University of Florida football (NCAA team). * Drew Lukes, Senior PT at Duke University and the head of sports science, D...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Luis Justiniano, a Sales Director - elite sports at Qualisys , a leading provider of precision motion capture and 3D positioning tracking systems. Luis is also joined by Oskar Lindh, Product manager at Qualisys. Qualisys is the maker of OnTraq by Qualisys, which brings lab-quality, video-based biomechanical analysis to elite sports teams without complexity,...

Today we have the honor of interviewing again Brijesh Patel, Associate Athletic Director, Director of Athletic Performance at Quinnipiac University (NCAA). Brijesh Patel is the Associate Athletic Director and Director of Athletic Performance at Quinnipiac University, where he built and now leads the school’s comprehensive strength and conditioning program after becoming its first full-time strengt...

This week we had the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA. You can watch the video interview below or you can listen to the audio interview above: 📝Show Notes: Through this in...

Dear Colleagues, This week we are profiling Elevate Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm. Elevate Ventures has invested in over 600 startups , backing more than 402 active portfolio companies and deploying $184 million+ in capital since its founding to fuel early-stage innovation and growth across Indiana and beyond, with a robust ecosystem that has supported thousands of entrepren...

Today we have the honor of interviewing again Ciara Burgi, the director of health and performance at the Las Vegas Aces, a top WNBA team. You can watch the video interview below by clicking on the Youtube link. You can also listen to the audio interview by clicking on the link at the top of the page: 📝Show Notes: During this interview with Ciara, we discussed how true athlete-centered performance...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Kevin Wu, Co-founder & Chief Business Officer at Fitasy , a leading Personalized 3D Printed footwear company. Today, as illustrated in the graph below, the footwear industry is facing a number of challenges: * Footwear sizing has remained largely unchanged since the 1800s. We still rely on standardized measurements that overlook the true diversity of human f...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Mauricio Elizondo, the director of sports medicine, at Austin FC , an MLS team. Mauricio discussed his background, approach towards training, rehab and how he uses a cutting edge technology such as ThermoHuman . Mauricio Elizondo, DPT, ATC, CSCS, CPSS, is the Director of Sports Medicine for Austin FC, the Major League Soccer club based in Austin, Texas, wher...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Bram Swinnen , the founder of Integrated Performance Training and a renowned expert in sports science, performance training and rehabilitation. Bram discussed his background, approach towards training, rehab and how he uses a cutting edge technology such as Myocene . With over 25 years of experience working with elite athletes, Bram has collaborated with som...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Brian Windell, President of Falcon Pursuit , a leading company scanning elite athletes for use in digital analytics. Falcon Pursuit is a human performance optimization technology company that uses patented, advanced anthropometric infrared scanning and 3D avatar technology to capture highly detailed digital representations of the human body, enabling precise...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Barry Slotnick, owner of Varisport, a fitness equipment business, which manufactures and distributes the UltraSlide brand of products. UltraSlide is a performance and rehabilitation equipment company best known for its handcrafted slideboards—a versatile training tool designed to improve lateral movement, agility, balance, and core strength for athletes, fit...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Waldi Hoon, CEO & Co-Founder of Yōjō , a nervous system wellness ecosystem. Yōjō is a nervous system wellness company that has developed an integrated ecosystem designed to make daily autonomic rebalancing simple, measurable, and habit-forming. Its core offering combines a non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation wearable with real-time biofeedback, wearable dat...

This week we had the honor to interview a group of NCAA sports performance experts. * Dr. John DeWitt, Director of applied sports science in the athletic department and a faculty member, Rice University (NCAA team). * Paul Silvestri, Sr director of sports health and performance, University of Florida football (NCAA team). * Drew Lukes, Senior PT at Duke University and the head of sports science, D...

This week we had the honor to interview again Dr. Ron Dick, associate professor of sports marketing at Duquesne University in the school of business. Ron also worked for 20 years in sports, including 15 years in the NBA with the Sixers and the Nets, and then five years in the NCAA. You can watch the video interview below or you can listen to the audio interview above: 📝Show Notes: Through this in...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Manfredi San Germano, Founder of Beyond Blood Diagnostics , a spinout of Imperial College in the UK. Beyond Blood Diagnostics is a deep tech startup specialized in blood sensor diagnostics. Beyond Blood Diagnostics is a deep-tech company that has developed a portable, lab-grade blood analysis device designed to bring routine blood testing out of centralized...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Nick Hool, CEO of Hoolest , a leading Nervus system recovery technology company. Hoolest is a neurostimulation company focused on improving recovery, stress regulation, and overall performance by targeting the autonomic nervous system, with a particular emphasis on vagus nerve stimulation. Its flagship product, Hoolest Pro , is a wearable, non-invasive devic...

This week we had the honor to interview again Athanase Kollias, CEO of KINVENT , a company that helps sports and rehab professionals assess progress and build engagement and motivation. Athan is joined by Paul Silvestri, Sr director of sports health and performance at the University of Florida football (NCAA team). Paul, who has been using the Kinvent 3D Deltas force plates for some time, gave us...

Today we have the honor of interviewing David McHugh, the Director of mental performance at the Washington Spirit an NWSL team. David McHugh is the Director of Mental Performance for the Washington Spirit (NWSL), where he supports players and staff through applied sports psychology, mental skills development, and performance planning. Originally an academy soccer player in Ireland, McHugh’s career...

This week we have the honor to interview a group of NHL sports performance executives to talk about the latest trends in the world of sports performance. * Alexi Pianosi, Head S&C coach, Colorado avalanche (NHL Team). * Adam Douglas, Hockey Product Manager, Sportslogiq . Adam is also the former S&C coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL Team). * Chris Stackpole, VP Athlete Care, NJ Devils (NHL Tea...

Today we have the honor of interviewing Sayawni Lassiter , CEO of Complete Sports , a Boston-based sports technology company founded in 2024 that offers an all-in-one platform for athletic departments and professional teams. Sayawni Lassiter is a sports technology founder and entrepreneur whose career is defined by the resilience learned on the court and the operational precision honed in finance....

This week we have the honor to interview again a group of NBA sports performance executives to talk about the latest trends in the world of sports performance and rehabilitation. * Dr Marco Nunez, the former head athletic trainer for the LA Lakers (NBA ). * Derek Millender, the head S&C coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA). * Dr Bill Burgos, a former NBA S&C Coach for the Orlando Magic, NY Knic...