The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner

Chef Weii’s story is one of rebellion, discipline, reinvention and an uncompromising pursuit of excellence. After falling in with the wrong crowd growing up in Queens, New York, he was arrested at 13 and spent 18 months in juvenile detention. The experience introduced him to structure and consistency, but, more importantly, convinced him that he would never return to that life. The gym became his...

Kevin, the creator behind Snack Eating Snacks and founder of Mood Up, joins Manning Sumner on The Big Dawgs Podcast to talk about leaving ESPN, building a loyal online community, launching a better-for-you chocolate milk brand, and why true influence is about more than views. In this episode, Kevin shares how one food review video changed his path, how he built Mood Up from his own love for chocol...

A family dream turned into one of Miami’s most talked-about new brands. In this episode of THE BIG DAWGS, Manning sits down with the team behind Honey Veil to talk about tennis, family, matcha, sourdough, business, losing a scholarship, building without ads, and turning a personal dream into a real brand. What started as farmers markets, homemade recipes, and a matcha truck became something much b...

Everyone sees the success. Nobody sees the years of pressure, doubt, debt, setbacks, betrayal, and sacrifice behind it. This episode goes deep into the REAL side of entrepreneurship:- Business partners turning against each other- Building companies from nothing- Why your first million dollars probably ISN’T profit- The compound effect of consistency- Leadership, discipline, purpose, and never givi...

He Built Four Loko, Got Fired From His Own Company, Then Built Koia | Chris Hunter This episode isn’t just a story about Four Loko… Chris Hunter built one of the most recognizable beverage brands in the world, lived through controversy, got fired from the company he helped create, and still came back to build again. In this episode, Chris sits down with Manning Sumner to talk about the real side o...

What do you get when you mix a former investment banker, fifteen years of Miami nightlife, a beverage consulting empire, a Virgin Voyages contract, and a marriage proposal happening the very next day? You get one of the best episodes we've ever recorded. Ben Potts //Co-founder of Beaker & Gray, owner of The Sylvester, and founder of Unfiltered, Miami's premier beverage program developm...

No Days Off, No Shortcuts | How Chef Ivan Barros Bet on Himself and Won Everything | EP 89 What happens when you bet everything on yourself and refuse to quit? Chef Ivan Barros has one of the most inspiring stories you'll hear this year. Born in New York, raised in Miami, he went from having hoop dreams and no culinary experience… to becoming an executive chef, a TV champion, and a restaurant...

Gaston Becherano knew that he was built to do his own thing from a young age. Having owned and operated his own NYC brick and mortar restaurant by the age of 24, it’s no surprise that Gaston has continued to scale his influence across the hospitality industry. Now the head of Smorgasburg, a marketplace company building unrivaled dining showcases across 4 states, Gaston is helping facilitate positi...

Edward Hertzman started his first business in the 5th grade. Today, he continues to build successful businesses using his wide range of experience in supply chain, event production, media, apparel, fitness and more! Edward has become a trusted voice across industry verticals, and continues finding new problems to solve each day. We’ll touch on the importance of having a solid team at your side, ho...

Kyle Matthews' single greatest motivator is his last name. His entire life he has been surrounded by a family of NFL stars, only to come up short after his college football career at USC. Many would accept defeat, but Kyle went on to fulfill his legacy as a successful Matthews in the real estate industry. Now the CEO and Founder of the highly successful Matthews Real Estate Investment Services...

With multiple 8 and 9 figure exits, David Guttman has amassed a wealth of experience growing, rescuing, and optimizing businesses. He was heavily impacted by his wrestling career in his early life, and has developed a mindset of extreme resilience and composure that helps him see through the most difficult business problems. With a new high end wellness company on the way, David is now setting his...

Paul Dillett has lived a life many people couldn’t even dream of. The world of professional bodybuilding exploded through the late 80s and 90s, and Paul’s physique was at the forefront of a new era for the sport. After a successful career, he transitioned his life and knowledge into his own successful entertainment company, WBFF Entertainment, where he evolved the world of fitness modeling into th...

Jake “Brutal” Bostwick is the embodiment of athleticism in fighting sports. However, just because he is a true terror inside the ring doesn’t mean he’s the same outside of it. In this episode, Manning and Jake explore issues of instant judgement based on appearance or the old saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover”. They also dive deep into Jake’s life as a professional fighter, and how they bot...

Influence comes in all forms, and for Dana Rozansky, that form is food porn. Tune in to hear how Dana broke free from the mold with her @miami_foodporn Instagram account, leaving a corporate PR to become her own boss with a boutique agency.  As a woman commanding her own life, Dana has found comfort in maintaining just the right amount of clients, and is careful to maintain a work life balance tha...

Manning sits with Abraham Chehebar (AB), Principal and CEO of Carrot Express to discuss how he helped expand a small gas station lunch spot into a 30+ location powerhouse across South Florida and New York.  AB shares the critical role of company culture in maintaining Carrot consistency and quality at Carrot Express. Hear how a successful New York market expansion was fueled by embracing change ju...

What if you could skip surgery and heal naturally? Meet the experts unlocking the power of stem cells, PRP, IVs, and peptides to transform your health and longevity. On this roundtable podcast episode of The Big Dawgs with Manning Sumner, leading stem cell specialists, Dr. Sean Goddard, DO, founder of The Osteopathic Center, and Duncan Ross PhD, CEO and Founder of Kimera Labs Inc, The Original Exo...

Dream big, take risks, and give back! In this episode of The Big Dawgs with Manning Sumner, Rachael Russell Saiger, a mother of four, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of Style Saves, the biggest back-to-school clothing drive, shares her story of making a real impact in the community. Together, they discuss their come-up stories, lessons learned along the way, and how they handle it all. W...

Sick and tired of being sick and tired? On this roundtable podcast episode of The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner, health experts Justin Roethlingshoefer and Ben Azadi come together to expose the root causes of why so many people feel lost, stuck, unhealthy, and disconnected from their purpose. They break down how your mindset, habits, and environment are either supporting or sabotaging your abilit...

Your struggles and mistakes aren’t setbacks. They’re the lessons and roadmap guiding you to become your strongest, most authentic best self. In this roundtable podcast episode of The Big Dawgs with Manning Sumner, Ana Capozzoli, Regine Santa Maria, and Dawn Bianca Feinberg come together to get vulnerable about their individual journeys of healing through adversity and turning personal pain into po...

When it comes to building real success, it takes more than just dreaming. It requires hard work, vision, perseverance, clarity, strong partnerships—but most importantly, it starts with accepting who you are and where you are. Without that foundation, all you're doing is building for the sake of building. And one day, you'll look around and think, “Damn. Now what?”. On this episode of The Big Dawgs...

Are you stuck in the cycle of short-term gratification, external validation, and constant distractions? The answer might be in listening to your inner voice, living with purpose, and making better choices. On this episode of The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner, former Navy SEAL Taylor Cavanaugh shares how he went from a troubled past and repeated failures to transforming his life through extreme di...

What does it take to become the FIRST Miami chef to win Chopped, operate multiple successful kitchens, run full marathons, and lead and inspire others in the restaurant industry—one of the toughest industries in the world? In this podcast episode of The Big Dawgs, host Manning Sumner sits down with, chef, Chopped winner, and multiple restaurant owner, Giorgio Rapicavoli, who transformed his life b...

“Rolling Loud is more than a festival—it’s a lifestyle brand. My core mission is to bring happiness to millions of people worldwide while promoting hip-hop culture.” – Tariq Cherif, Co-Founder of Rolling Loud On this episode of The Big Dawgs with Manning Sumner, Tariq Cherif, co-founder of Rolling Loud, the world’s biggest hip-hop festival, shares how it all started: throwing house parties at his...

“It’s as if someone turns off the light. Like you’re no longer a light—you’re just dark. And you don’t understand why…” Has this ever happened to you, coming to realize you might actually be depressed? On this podcast episode of The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner, guest Diane Younes—CrossFit competitor and coach, nutritionist, Growth2Mindset founder, and host of The Di-scussions Podcast—shares her...

What if everything your family built was taken from you at gunpoint by the very country you called home? In this podcast episode of The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner, guest Manny Portuondo, the great-great-grandson of Federico Kohly whose family founded Cuba’s oldest brewery Cervecería La Tropical, shares his remarkable entrepreneurial story. This Cuban cultural icon was seized by the Castro regi...