HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Dr. Sal Arria is one of the Founders of Lionel University (formerly ISSA College of Exercise Science), and an educational leader in the fitness industry. He's been around literally since the inception of the personal trainer education space. He continues his life-long mission of creating highly educated fitness professionals to help people change their lives. Sal had a serious wake up call many ye...

Taylor Stull , a former product manager for preventative health solutions, is the Co-Founder of Flowell, a platform that provides team-based experiences and lifestyle games to help clubs and coaches build communities and keep people healthy for life – all while navigating the challenges of helping them make good decisions for long-term success. "At the end of the day, we're working to try to keep...

Doug Young , currently the COO of Easalytics , faces the daunting task of leveraging technology and machine learning to help struggling fitness businesses maximize value from their existing members, and increase revenue retention - all while avoiding unintended consequences. Doug is a Connecticut-based software and AI expert who has been in the tech industry since the late 90's. He has a backgroun...

Growson Edwards is a software entrepreneur and founder of CIPIO.ai , a Community Commerce marketing platform that helps brands mobilize & monetize their brand communities. He has extensive experience in the SaaS space, having grown his last company to $100 million in revenue and sold it. After meeting his two partners, they took on the challenge of building a Community Commerce Marketing Platform....

"No matter what industry you're in, you need to find someone with the trait of being passionate about what they're selling, teachable, and who has naturally high energy - those are more important than anything else," states Jeff Sanders.  Jeff was 17 and, and at one point had to sleep in his truck. He literally had no place to go when he decided to take control of his life and "become teachable."...

Len Fridman was laid off from his corporate job in 2009 after nearly a decade, and upon doing a bit of soul searching, he decided to pursue his passion for fitness instead of continuing on in "corporate life." He started a small boot camp business in a local park which quickly went on to become the most successful outdoor program in Canada in multiple cities. Eventually, a need/business frustratio...

J.Dennis Jean-Jacques is an experienced investor with over 20 years in finance. He is currently the CIO at Ocean Park Investments . His work is based on lessons from renowned figured such as Jeff Ubben, Peter Lynch, and Warren Buffett, and specializes in deep dive, fundamental investing and long-short equity investing. Dennis and HALO Talks host Pete Moore make this a master class! This episode is...

John Merris is the CEO of Solo Brands , a public company that's making huge inroads in the outdoor space. With strong, in-the-trenches experience in sales and growth (he started as a door to door salesman!) Merris joined the company as its 7th employee and has since helped them acquire 3 other brands that now fall under the Solo Brands umbrella: Solo stove, Oru kayak, Chubbies apparel, and ISLE pa...

Helaine Knapp , a self-professed "tech junkie" with a Big Ten education and a penchant for healthy living, risks it all to launch a boutique fitness empire, only to discover the water is colder and the monsters more fierce than she ever imagined. City Row is over 10 years old and they were one of the first to "make rowing sexy" and bring it to the forefront.  She is now an expert in connected fitn...

Hassan Shah is an avid gamer and entrepreneur from Pakistan who is passionate about the intersection between connected fitness, sports, and gaming. He's set out to transform the fitness market with an innovative open world game, mixing Peloton and Zwift, which (among many other things) creates an all-encompassing experience with a unique monetization system. His company is called X-Originz and bas...

Jim Donnelly is the CEO and founder of Restore Hyper Wellness , a company focused on " making hyper wellness affordable and accessible for more people." He is a serial entrepreneur and a highly experienced leader with a passion for helping others. Six or seven years ago he found himself training for a triathlon and, after a friend suggested cryotherapy, he decided to try it out, but was unhappy wi...

When Donald Kelly , Founder of the Sales Evangelist , attempts to teach a group of businesses how to infuse sales back into their culture, he discovered that the key to success is building genuine relationships with clients (especially during discovery) and establishing a bridge between the value of your solution and their problem. He states, "The most effective organizations . . . they all have t...

When Jason Moore , an entrepreneur with a background in data, software, and fitness decided to apply his expertise to the body, he quickly discovers a powerful, but ironic truth: The most valuable piece of equipment in the world is his own. He has developed a technology platform called Spren which uses device agnostic and camera sensing technology to deliver science-backed insights about the body....

In his second appearance on HALO Talks and as the now newly installed President of Stronger U (part of the Self Esteem umbrella), Adam Zeitsiff discusses their Mission of helping people achieve their nutrition goals and build meaningful human relationships with RD's and certified nutrition coaches, challenging the 95% diet failure rate and revolutionizing the way we think about nutrition. Stronger...

Join Randi Eisenshtat , a long-time industry veteran as she shares her story of initially starting out teaching everything from cardio funk and hip hop to getting involved with the fundraising world helping secure hundreds of thousands of dollars for non-profits like St. Jude, Cycle for Survival, the Sunrise Assocation , and others. She has over 17 years of experience having worked for Lifetime an...

With the noble goal of creating a calisthenics online brand to help others--especially those just starting out-- Hampton Liu remains determined to maintain his freedom and authenticity while attempting to balance the challenges of growing his brand month over month. He is a certified personal trainer, passionate fitness enthusiast, and the founder of Hybrid Calisthenics , an online brand and commu...

Adam Molda is a former college tennis player-turned-fitness entrepreneur from York, Main. He's the founder of Spark Fitness & Tennis Club and has a passion for creating communities and fostering relationships through the sport of tennis. Since COVID, America has seen 5 million new players come to the game and the opportunity to promote the sport is bigger than ever. He talks about transforming a b...

Arnab Raychaudhuri is an engineer, tech entrepreneur, and former field organizer for the Obama campaign. He is passionate about fitness and is currently working to revolutionize the virtual fitness industry with his company, ZOMO Fit . Arnab was an engineer living in New York City when the pandemic hit. He noticed local gyms quickly took to running live Zoom classes to help keep things alive while...

When Sam Miller , an industry outsider, took up the "minor" challenge of attempting to revolutionize strength testing and training, he ended up manufacturing a device unlike anything else currently available--something which helps unlocks previously inaccessible insights into physical strength--and launching him into a head-to-head battle for content against existing equipment makers. Sam is the C...

Joseph C. Maroon , M.D., is a Neurosurgeon and Vice Chairman and Professor of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He's regarded as a premiere specialist in the surgical treatment of injuries and diseases of the brain and spine and considered an authority in sports medicine and concussion management. He's been the team Neurosurgeon for the Pittsbur...

Nearly 30 years ago, Fit Bodies came up with the unique idea of meeting high end resort's staffing needs by matching them with highly experienced and credentialed fitness professionals who were willing to teach a few classes while they were on vacation. It's a business model that has served the Founder, Suzelle Snoden , quite well over the years. She has over 30 years of experience in the fitness...

In this episode, Derek Flanzraich discusses his journey as an entrepreneur and how he is using his new company, Ness , to democratize access to health, in part by using credit cards to incentivize healthy behaviors.  Derek Flanzraich initially started as the CEO and Founder of Greatist , a company that later became the the leading health and wellness media company for Millennials. He is currently...

"People are more likely to trust a business that has been recommended by a friend or family member, or that has positive reviews online. Nielsen did a survey with 30,000 people and found that approximately 92% of decisions regarding which businesses to patronize are based on other people's opinions, recommendations, and reviews," states Andre Cvijovic - Founder and CEO of Referrizer , an extremely...

When John Klein, a HALO sector veteran with 20+ years of experience, launches a unique workout recovery franchise, he finds himself confronting the challenges of balancing "art and science" to ensure success while bringing a luxurious, experiential offering to market in highly competitive geographic areas. John's held positions at Town Sports International and Equinox, and is currently the Co-Foun...

Sue Hitzmann is an exercise physiologist and neurofascial science and research educator with 25 years of experience in the fitness industry. She is a founding member of the Fascia Research Society and the creator of the MELT Method , a system of self-massage and movement to help alleviate chronic pain. She started in the industry in 1988 as a fitness professional and an exercise physiologist. When...