Elevation Nation

Parker and Sam get together for their first in-person podcast in over a year! In this conversation, they talk through a fear that Sam brought to Parker’s attention while they were talking on the roof about life. 

Based in Los Angeles, Ryan Modnyy is a 21-year-old entrepreneur on a mission to bring together influencers and brands with a focus on wellbeing and mental health. Ryan is a partner at S1 Group and Founder of Modnyy Entertainment.  After seeing the power and influence that TikTok had on the world early on during the pandemic, Ryan took a leap of faith and doubled down on himself. He dropped out of...

We all know the phrase “work life balance”. Whether we see it in articles, in the news or hear our employer talk about it, it’s a common term. However, do we always have a work life balance? Is there a reason why work comes before life in the phrase? We talk about some of our work life imbalances and how we go about leveling the scale. 

Rahul Vinod is the co-founder of Rasa, a fast-casual Indian restaurant based in Washington D.C. While growing up, Rahul and his co-founder, Sahil Rahman, saw their parents bring Indian cuisine to America through their restaurants. Inspired by their cultural roots, their parents' entrepreneurial drive, and a lack of fulfillment in corporate America, Rahul and Sahil set out to create their own take...

Parker recently came back from a week long trip in Punta Cana. While he spent time to unwind and relax, he also disconnected completely from the outside world by turning off his phone for the week. We talk through his six day experience and what he realized about how digitally connected we actually are. 

AJ Eckstein is an entrepreneur and product marketing consultant. As the Founder of The Final Round, the go-to career platform to knock out the competition and advance past the final round interview, AJ and his team are on a mission to democratize fun, tailored, and high-quality career advice.  In this episode, we talk with AJ about: College to Career Delivering an effective elevator pitch Balancin...

Former guest John Camardella posed a question to us the other day: Are young adults in your generation generally happy and content with their lives. In this episode, we discuss our thoughts on the thought provoking question and try to come with terms with what might be a harsh reality. 

Sarah Figueroa is the Founder and CEO of GeoJam, the ultimate social media platform for music that’s trusted by world top artists including Mariah Carey, Machine Gun Kelly, 24kGoldn, and more. At 27 years old, Sarah is a four time entrepreneur who has been featured in The New York Times, Cheddar and Grit Daily. GeoJam's mission is to build the creator economy of the future that redirects the flow...

The best critics are ones who tell it to us straight but also provide positive reinforcement with the things we are doing well. Sam and Parker discuss some of their experiences with criticism and how it can be both a blessing and a curse. 

Joey Lane, the first guest ever on Elevation Nation rejoins the guys to catch up. Joey is a sales consultant a NetJets, former Ohio State basketball player, and current TV personality. It's been 516 days since our first recording with Joey and in this episode we talk about what he has been up to, his hobbies and lessons learned from both work and basketball. Dream Collections March Madness Predict...

With the sweet sixteen of March Madness around the corner, we discuss the awesomeness of an underdog story and how sometimes the David’s of the world overcome a Goliath. 

Jordan Gross is reimagining personal development. He is a published author and therapist guiding people to think differently and make daring changes in their lives. Jordan is trailblazing in the personal development field by using creative storytelling to allow people to gather their own insights from the characters he creates and the stories he shares. We talk with Jordan about: Young Adulthood H...

Sam was scrolling on TikTok earlier this week and heard a story about a celebrity who is stepping outside of his comfort zone and going to work in a Walmart for an extended period of time. We talk about his decision and how "breaking the norm" can only lead to elevation in the real world.

Yahiya Shalgheen is a Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) practitioner based in Las Vegas, NV. Growing up as a gay man in Syria, Yahiya never felt accepted by the culture or the community. Looking for acceptance and a fresh start, he sought refuge in the United States. However, after his move, he continued to struggle, until one transformational moment... In this episode, we talk with Yahiya abou...

We recently had a guest on the podcast (his episode will be released in a couple of weeks) who explained how everything has some sort of a contradiction. We couldn’t get enough of this thought and wanted to discuss on this week’s Fortitude in 15.  Does everything really have a contradiction? If so, what can we do about it?

Zach Novoselksy is the founder and CEO of BuzzU, a software company which uses artificial intelligence to determine college athlete's marketability. Zach, a former Division 1 football player is on a mission to give teams and individual athletes the tools they need to monetize and brand themselves backed by data. Entrepreneurship is not new to Zach. BuzzU is the third company that he has started si...

Sam and Parker discuss their thoughts on the on-going conflict in Ukraine.

Yuval Teren is a human analyst, mentalist & executive coach that performs and lectures about  the secrets of how to get inside the human mind and influence it. He has shared his knowledge with audiences around the world. Native to Israel, Yuval has even used his skills in the Army where he is known to be the Israeli Defense Force's only "mind reader". In this episode, we talk with Yuval about:...

This week, Parker had an interesting thought on idea of silence and how we often avoid it because it feels "awkward" in social settings. However, silence can make any conversation more meaningful and effective. We debate on this Fortitude in 15.

Taylor Borenstein and Millie Blumka are the co-founders of Stakt, a versatile exercise mat that provides extra support for yoga and fitness regimens. They developed the product out of necessity as Taylor and Millie couldn’t find the exercise mat that met their needs. Now, after selling out of their product in their initial launch, they are on a mission to share their invention with the world, whil...

The Los Angeles Rams just won the Super Bowl! On paper, many think that they had the best roster in the NFL all season. While their coach Sean McVay knew that he had a talented team, he emphasized a focus on an intangible to help them reach glory: Positive Psychology This week we talk about positive psychology and how we can apply it to our lives. Reference: https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/super...

Carter Russ is the Co-Founder and CEO of Champions Round, a simplified micro-sports fantasy game. Champions Round breaks fantasy sports into 4-6 week rounds, creating more engagement among all players. Recently, Carter and his team raised $3M in seed funding.  Carter has been an entrepreneur for some time now. However, as Champions Round continues to grow and make an impact in the fantasy sports w...

With the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in full swing, we discuss an article titled The Odd Anguish of the Silver Medalist by Dr. Laurie Santos.  First place is always happy. Third place is just glad to be on the podium. But what about second place. Dr. Santos explains why the silver medalist is usually the most dissatisfied with their standing. We discuss on this week’s Fortitude in 15. 

Christian Van Camp is the founder of CVC Wellness, a company focused on helping people who seek inspiration, self-help or science-backed holistic health and wellness advice. As stated on his website, Christian believes " balanc e is having a grasp on all the elements in your life. You don’t feel like your heart or mind are being excessively tugged in any one direction. You feel nourished, grounded...

With social media, phones attached to our hip and the media in our face everywhere we go (as it seems), there are so many pieces of information that we absorb on a given day. We talk through through how the overwhelming amount of information that we take in on a given day can be very overwhelming and our thoughts on how this might create polarizing perspectives on important topics.