Above & Beyond: Where Excellence Meets Elevation

Send us Fan Mail Jän Simon interviews Liz Ponce, a twin mom and co-owner of Arizona-based LZR Marketing, about building a marketing agency without choosing a niche and balancing creativity, leadership, and family. Liz shares growing up in Jackson, Michigan and Chicago before moving to Buckeye Arizona, her competitive background in basketball and drumline, and how she moved through multiple schools...

Send us Fan Mail Boaz Gilad on Unmasking Success: From Actor to Billion-Dollar Real Estate—and Losing It All Host Jän Simon welcomes Boaz Gilad—entrepreneur, performance strategist, founder of Zenith Clubhouse, and author of The Zenith Code—to discuss why success isn’t linear but a rollercoaster. Boaz shares his origin story from growing up in Israel, serving in the Israeli army, moving to New Yor...

Send us Fan Mail On Above & Beyond: Where Excellence Meets Elevation, host Jän Simon sits down with John Weiss—owner of ProBlast LLC and co-owner of Minuteman Press in Mesa—whose path from Anchorage, Alaska to Arizona is shaped by constant reinvention. John shares a childhood rooted in old Alaska history and hard lessons, early work from shoveling driveways to gold mining, and a career spannin...

Send us Fan Mail She Built the Gilbert Chamber’s Business Resource Center Used by 800+ Businesses in 18 Months | Sarah Watts Jän Simon interviews Sarah Watts, president and CEO of the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce and newly appointed chair of Arizona Chamber Executives, about leading the community where she grew up. Sarah shares her East Valley upbringing in Chandler, her long relationship with her...

Send us Fan Mail What if the path to freedom isn't found in following the traditional playbook, but in learning how to own your decisions, your time, and your future?  In this episode of Above & Beyond, host Jän Simon sits down with Steve Rolle—entrepreneur, investor, US Army veteran, and author. Steve grew up in a low-income environment in Washington, DC, and went on to build, scale, and...

Send us Fan Mail In a roundtable on business and life pivots, host Jan Simon talks with LJ Richardson, Bob Flecken, and Ted Bliefnick about leaving corporate paths for entrepreneurship and the motivations behind those decisions. LJ describes abruptly quitting a 16-year career at Discount Tire to launch ventures including golf apparel and later a mobile tire business funded by a HELOC, driven by cu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of "Above & Beyond: Where Excellence Meets Elevation," host Jän Simon sits down with Brett Johnson, a licensed real estate professional serving the Phoenix and Denver metro areas. Brett shares her journey from a competitive sports background in Colorado to becoming a leader in real estate and a champion for foster youth.    We dive deep into:  • The o...

Send us Fan Mail Eric Lopez shares his journey from growing up in small-town Illinois with an absent father to being raised by his mother, stepfather, and influential older brother, including a turbulent period living with his dad in California that led to drugs, quitting other sports for bowling, and eventually college bowling. After graduating from the University of Illinois, he was kicked out o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dallas Sloan shares her journey from growing up on acreage in southern Alberta to moving to Arizona at just 23 years old to pursue her dream of building a multi-modality beauty business. She opens up about launching Colair Beauty Lounge & Medspa in 2017, growing from hair and spa services into cosmetic injectables, and building a team culture rooted in charact...

Send us Fan Mail Recorded remotely from Brian Riley’s garage pub hangout, this episode follows Brian’s path from growing up in Enfield, Connecticut and playing football and baseball to a life shaped by “saying yes,” including a chance retail interview that launched a 20-year career with Structure/Express, where he met his wife Cheryl and focused on developing teams. Brian contrasts today’s club “s...

Send us Fan Mail Elisha Kameyama, CEO and co-founder of Red Crane Digital in Phoenix, shares how embracing discomfort fuels growth, then traces his journey from growing up in California and Colorado as a pastor’s kid through joining the Navy two weeks after high school, serving eight years with deployments tied to 9/11-era operations and later humanitarian work in South America. He explains how a...

Send us Fan Mail Tank Giles, a Daytona Beach native, shares how sports helped him navigate a challenging childhood, including family violence that led to being taken from his parents twice and periods living with a football coach and later with his sister. He explains earning the nickname “Tank,” excelling in football, missing a Division I opportunity due to credits, taking a gap year, then moving...

Send us Fan Mail Alia Gauthier, co-founder of Tinted Salt in Chandler, Arizona, shares her journey from leaving Iran at age 11 during the revolution and war era, living in Turkey for 18 months, and arriving in Toronto as a refugee without speaking English. She discusses building resilience, dropping out of university, becoming a licensed aesthetician, buying and turning around a struggling salon,...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Baugh, partner and co-owner at Withey Morris Baugh, shares how lessons from his LDS mission in Atlanta—speaking Spanish, living on a budget, learning empathy, and developing door-to-door communication skills—became the foundation for his career helping developers and business owners navigate City Hall, zoning, and land use approvals in Arizona. He recounts a childhood moving...

Send us Fan Mail Phil Passante shares why he prefers “excellence” over “expert,” framing it as a continual pursuit, then traces his journey from an idyllic childhood outside Milwaukee to moving to Arizona in 1986 seeking better weather and opportunity. After early work selling high-end men’s clothing, he learned the auto glass business from the ground up—sales, installation, leadership—and in 2001...

Send us Fan Mail Matt Dallas, a Gilbert resident, shares his journey from growing up in upstate New York and playing baseball through college to selling Cutco, experiencing a serious illness (double pneumonia and Stevens-Johnson syndrome) that led him to move to Arizona, and eventually leaving corporate B2B sales to start neighborhood publications with N2/Stroll in 2014. He discusses building Val...

Send us Fan Mail From Indian Wells during the 6th annual APN Golf weekend, Frank Stirpe Jr. reflects on how Above Par Network began in January 2019 as his personal “Rolodex” for solving inevitable life and business problems, then evolved into a service-first, relationship-driven community of about 400 members with chapters in Phoenix and Myrtle Beach. He contrasts APN’s culture of “builders over b...

Send us Fan Mail Lawrence Naranjo, a renovation and construction entrepreneur, discusses why honesty and transparency with clients matter in life, business, and construction. He shares his Arizona upbringing, family background, and experiences in sports, golf, and college, including leaving ASU’s business program a few classes short due to work demands. Lawrence recounts pursuing firefighting and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ted Bliefnick opens up about growing up in Decatur, Illinois—where faith, sports, community, and hard work laid the foundation for his life. He shares candidly about battling ADD and depression, the heartbreak of losing close friends to suicide, and the lessons learned from regret, failure, and rebuilding. From scaling a recruiting firm to tens of millions in reve...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features Sally Harrison, president and CEO of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce since 2013, who moved from Washington state to Arizona in 2004 and joined the Mesa Chamber in 2008 after a 20-year career helping grow a physical therapy practice into 20 clinics and launching a community-focused foundation. She discusses how her upbringing in a small Washington community, her...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for an insightful conversation with Brock Mather, a former Division 1 linebacker whose life has been profoundly shaped by discipline, family, and competition. Raised in Ridgecrest, California, Brock spent nearly two decades on the football field, fulfilling his dream at Sacramento State University where he helped secure a Big Sky Championship. After college, Brock pivoted...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Larry Schendelman, the founder of A&J Graphics and Promotions, who shares his unique journey from working in the printing industry as a teenager in New York City to moving across the country and establishing his successful business in Arizona. Larry delves into his core philosophy of providing unparalleled service regardless of the client&apos...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with LJ Richardson, a family-first entrepreneur known for his dedication, hard work, and strong relationships. LJ shares his incredible journey from struggling with the possibility of alcoholism to finding stability through his faith in Jesus. He opens up about his early career in the tire industry, his ventures into golf apparel, and the founding of M...

Send us Fan Mail In this compelling episode, we dive deep into the life of Frank Bellavia, founder of Fido Cigar Company. Born in New York and raised in California, Frank moved to Arizona with his wife to bring a long-held dream to life after spending over 20 years in the cigar industry. We explore Frank's journey through personal and professional highs and lows, including his experience with...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dive deep with Steve Alexander, a man known for his engaging presence and authentic leadership. Steve shares his journey growing up in East Texas, his diverse career path spanning 20 years in operations and talent leadership across various industries, and his current role as a talent acquisition relationship manager for TE Connectivity. He also discusses his en...