PAC Talk with Pieter Vodden

Have you ever left an appointment, seminar, or coaching session completely inspired… only to find yourself slipping back into old habits within days? This week, I share a simple story that completely changed how I think about behavior change. You’ll learn why motivation isn’t enough, how your environment quietly shapes your decisions, and one practical framework you can use today to stop setting y...

If you've ever thought: "I don't feel like myself." "I shouldn't be this tired." "Why am I working so hard for so little return?" this episode is for you. In this webinar replay, Emylee and Pieter from PAC BioPerformance explore the Core 4 systems that influence how you feel, recover, perform, and adapt to the demands of everyday life: Energy & Cellular Health Recovery & Tissue Repair Meta...

If the apocalypse happens tomorrow and Piet gets one phone call, it's going to Andy McKenzie. Ex-British military, parachute regiment veteran, rehabilitation specialist, strength coach, and one of the most quietly brilliant minds in the health and performance space. Andy joined the military at 16, passed P Company at 17 — one of the hardest physical courses in the British armed forces — and served...

your morning routine should start the night before” If your mornings feel rushed and stressful, this episode will show you how a few minutes of preparation the night before can completely change the way you start your day.  Don’t forget you have a chance to win a free $3000 90-day health and performance intensive where we help you integrate a simplified system a personalized plan and one on o...

From Overwhelm to Momentum: My Simple System for Getting More Done With Less Effort In this mini episode, Emylee shares the simple framework she uses to turn overwhelm into execution. After years of building Pharos and coaching high performers, she realized the most productive people aren’t doing more — they’re doing what matters most with more intention and less distraction. Inside this episode:...

In Part 2 of our peptide series, Piet sits down again with Vincent Ronquillo — biology researcher, CrossFit athlete and co-founder of Z-Peptides and Pharmazine — to break down the two most talked about recovery peptides in the game right now: BPC-157 and TB-500, otherwise known as the Wolverine Stack. BPC-157 was originally discovered in the stomach — the compound that protects your stomach lining...

🚨 We’re giving away a $3,000 90-Day 1on1 coaching program with Pieter and Emylee!  🚨 After decades in the fitness industry, we realized something: What used to get people results… isn’t always working the same anymore. Stress, recovery, hormones, sleep, longevity, and real life matter more than ever — and most people are stuck in an all-or-nothing cycle. That’s why we created Built to...

Pressure cuts diamonds—but only if you know what to do under pressure. In this episode, I break down the 3-step framework I use when stress, fear, and panic start to take over. From interrupting the fight-flight-freeze response… to planning for the worst… to using a simple military-inspired formula—Act. Adjust. Advance.—you’ll learn how to stop spiraling, start moving, and turn pressure into...

Peptides are everywhere right now — but most people have no idea what they actually are, where they come from, or whether they're safe. In this first episode of a four-part series, Piet sits down with Vincent, Pharos Palm Springs coach, biology researcher, and co-founder of Z-Peptides and Pharmazine, to break it all down from the ground up. No jargon. No hype. Just the science explained in plain E...

I woke up this morning to an email I didn't expect. A Pharos member named Shannon had sent out a newsletter to his entire list — unprompted, unasked — praising the Repair class and inviting his readers to come try it. I burst into tears. This mini episode is about that moment. The power of an unexpected kind word. The difference it makes when someone takes 30 seconds to tell you that what you're d...

T'ara has been part of the Pharos community for years — powerlifting meets, Limitless Challenges, stops and starts. But it wasn't until she did the Pharos Accelerator in November that everything clicked. One year later she's down 10 inches off her waist, 4% body fat, and maintained her muscle — and she's coming back for the April Accelerator to keep going. In this conversation with Emylee, T'ara b...

Max has been a Pharos member since 2018. He's done every program, won the Limitless Challenge, and spent years lifting heavy. He's also spent the better part of 15 years dealing with a recurring back injury that kept derailing his progress. In this episode, Piet and Emylee sits down with Max to talk about what changed when he stopped trying to push through the injury and started building around it...

What if the secret to sustainable fitness isn't doing more — it's doing less, better? Emylee shares a simple but powerful realization: she used to read 24 books a year. Last year she read six — and read three of them multiple times. The same principle applies to fitness. There's a season for going all in, absorbing everything, building capacity. And then there's a season for strategy — figuring ou...

Winning a fitness challenge is one thing. Staying consistent when life gets in the way is another entirely. In this episode, Piet and Emylee sit down with Josh — Pharos Palm Springs member, Limitless Challenge winner, and someone who travels constantly for a high-demand social career. Josh came into the mentorship not because he was lost, but because he needed a new set point. A new barometer for...

What does it actually take to go from starting over — twice — to never missing a week? In this episode, Piet and Emylee sit down with Carlos, a member of the Pharos mentorship program, to talk about the real journey behind building a fitness lifestyle that lasts. Carlos came to Pharos as a curious beginner. He went all in on his first six-week challenge, burned out, and didn't come back for six mo...

“Results are sooooo hard…’” That’s what one of our mentorship clients said on her check-in this week after gaining 2 pounds of muscle and losing 2% body fat in 6 weeks.  So I asked her— “What’s been the hardest part?” Her answer? “Dealing with neural scans even though I’m working hard.”  The hardest part is not actually following the program. It’s trusting the process.  Especially w...

If you are in the Pharosphere, then you will know that relationships and people are at the core of our business. We are noted for our bells and whistles, but the loyalty we have fostered is due mainly to the personalities that give life to our spaces. In this episode of Pac Talk, I had the opportunity to work out with our leadership team and then sit down for one-to-one conversations with each of...

Act Despite How You Feel: Why Action Comes Before Confidence | PAC Talk Podcast with Piet and Emylee Vodden In this episode, we close the gap between insight and execution. After a week of reflection, awareness, and intention-setting in the Accelerator program this episode is a reminder that transformation doesn’t happen when you feel ready — it happens when you act anyway. "Motivation is Unreliab...

In this episode, we explore the quiet internal battle that determines whether people follow through—or fade out—on the things that matter most: the voice that looks for a way out versus the voice that finds a way in. Using real conversations from a recent Accelerator group call, we break down how self-sabotage often shows up disguised as logic, comfort, or “being realistic.” From the idea of first...

High achievers—this one’s for you!  If you constantly feel: • Like nothing you do is ever “enough” • Guilty when you rest • Stuck because things aren’t perfect yet You might be caught in the curse of the high achiever. 🎙️ In today’s mini episode, I’m sharing: • Why dissatisfaction isn’t the enemy—but unmanaged, it will stall you • How perfection keeps high achievers stuck • Why “bare minimum...

Let’s talk about failing your goals. Because if I’m being honest, I’ve fallen short on almost every goal I’ve ever set. And for a long time, I let that mean something about me. That I was undisciplined. That I couldn’t finish what I started. That no matter how hard I tried, it was never good enough—so why even try? But here’s what I’ve learned: the problem was never the goals. It was the story I a...

The Goal Setting Framework For Work And Life That Keeps Us Moving Forward In 2026  In this reflective solo episode, Emylee shares the exact 3-pillar framework she uses to set goals at Pharos—and in her own life. Recorded during a quiet early-morning drive down the mountain after the annual leadership retreat, she reflects on the progress the team made in 2025, the lessons learned, and the cla...

Joe Riggio (Varsity House, Business of Strength) joins Pieter Vodden to talk about what really separates gyms that grow from gyms that fade out: business fundamentals, leadership, culture, and having the humility to get coached. They go back to the early Jim Jones days—why traveling for education builds confidence, camaraderie, and “earned” self-respect—and how that same mindset became a blueprint...

Brazilian Ju Jitsu Is coming to PHAROS Palm Springs !!!!! This week I sit down with one of the best in the business, 4x Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion Omar Salum, and his partner David Carrillo. We talk through the history, evolution, training, and importance of the sport, and explore why it is becoming the most popular martial art in America. The best news is: we’re bringing it to Palm Spring...

In this episode of PAC Talk, Emily and Pieter open the doors to the 7-Day Results Accelerator and share a behind-the-scenes look at how they guide members through fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle strategy — all through the lens of bare minimum habits that create momentum. You'll hear a live excerpt from one of the Accelerator’s Q&A sessions, where Emily coaches members through identifying the...