The BrainStoke Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Melisa Rollins joins BrainStoke just off her Leadville 100 win! Melisa talks about her roots with swimming, soccer and how biking wasn’t her “thing” as a teen but part of her family’s DNA as they revered the famed, Leadville 100 mountain bike race. Melisa has the “all-in” gene. An obsessive mindset. An attitude of “go-BIG” in whatever is important to her. That was school, studying...

Send us Fan Mail We are so grateful to Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafane talking with Kevin and Tom about their discipline centered lives and what it takes mentally to perform on their level. They talk about the environment they have curated to be the best versions of themselves and the importance of self-care as well as trust in their professional and personal relationships. This is a must...

Send us Fan Mail Relationships and marriage fall into the category of BrainStoke’s mantra, “struggle and stoke”. Doing hard things that result in elevated satisfaction from working through challenges.  Tom and Preston recently hosted guest author, Meg Campbell to talk about her memoir, “With Grace and Gratitude” that describes her personal experience navigating divorce and intentionally choosing t...

Send us Fan Mail BrainStokers (ambassadors) July roundtable: What do you do when you feel a “limiter” to peak performance? You’ve trained and put in the time, but the mind and body don’t respond?  Tom, Preston, Blair Perkes and Matthew Lefthand talk about the difference between fitness and energy and the implications of life stressors on being able to access the mental and physical capabilities of...

Send us Fan Mail Tom joins Saxton on the Pod to talk entrepreneurship and paying the toll of succes. He preaches happy chemicals and the importance of getting a daily D.O.S.E. for mind and physical health but also as the magic elixir for inspiration and problem solving in business and relationships. Tom closes with some candid thoughts on positive self-talk and protecting the mind as our greatest...

Send us Fan Mail Zach Chatelain is a bike-whisperer. He founded and owns Bikers Edge in Kaysville, Utah. This year Bikers Edge celebrates its 20th year anniversary in business and BrainStoke wanted to share how this shop has become one of Utah’s coolest places for cyclists to “invest” their discretionary income. 😎 If you are a loyal listener to BrainStoke you know how we feel about bikes, the spo...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Julie de Azevedo Hanks has a track record of leaning into the “hard” to find the “flow”.  She’s had a successful singer-songwriter career and continues to raise the bar in the mental health space with her clinical work through Wasatch Family Therapy and ‘Dr. Julie Hanks’ coaching and consulting business. Dr. Hanks passion and compassion for women and Mothers and the struggles...

Send us Fan Mail Clair Mellenthin LCSW & RPT - S is a world renowned therapist and social worker that knows a thing or two about parenting and child therapy. She has traveled the world teaching individuals and different populations about play therapy and its positive effect on children and parents. Tom and Clair talk about the importance of parents and guiding through example for older childre...

Send us Fan Mail World renowned photographer and high school cheerleader Adam Barker joins BrainStoke and talks about entrepreneurship, his love/hate relationship with perfectionism, and what it takes to be a man or woman on a mission to success. He talks about his background in the outdoor media space and his time as a successful photographer and his passion for media and for his new venture Bolt...

Send us Fan Mail Preston and Tom talk with Sara and Tyler Judkins about their Lancer roots and Preston's questionable power plays in high school. Tyler talks about his motorcycle accident that left him immobile for many months and his struggle to walk again. Sara talks about her faith, and experience leading up to the accident and the aftermath. They touch on their awesome sons and their supp...

Send us Fan Mail Chad Willardson is an accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist. He talks Preston and Tom through his early struggles with rejection and doors closed in his face, to giving talks on his business success and holistic approach to mental health in the business world. He touches on his unique parenting style in the modern age of social media and technology. This is a must listen fo...

Send us Fan Mail Tom and Preston sit down with Curtis Morley, a recovering "Nice Guy" and talk to him about his philosophy and revolutionary courses about Counterfeit Emotions. Curtis touches on his life experience with pain and misery and the joy that can come from reframing pain. Curtis is a Wall Street Journal best seller, successful entrepreneur and focuses his time on his family and...

Send us Fan Mail Stacey Davies sits down with Preston and Tom and talks about her upbringing, love for a good set of rules and her relationship with her late husband. She talks about her traumatic experience of abuse and domestic violence. She touches on the warning signs of abuse and grooming, as well as her unique care philosophy and ability to sit in the hard times with others struggling. Pleas...

Send us Fan Mail Through the struggles of ADHD and Anxiety to the stoke of success and leading businesses, Adam and Andrea Beckstrom know what it means to be resilient. They are owners in LÉVO a mind care company and are experts in their respective fields... it wasn't always that way though. Listen to them talk through their mental health journey as well as the setbacks, heartaches, and chall...

Send us Fan Mail Tom and Preston sit down with Blair Perkes, Joe Hansen and Hite Stromberg, the first three individuals on the BrainStoke Ambassador team. They talk motivation behind the program, their initial thoughts, and they share a little bit about what each of them are going to share in the future. They talk about the team camp experience, and the importance of having other teammates that de...

Send us Fan Mail Brandy Vega gets it done! From a young age Brandy embraced the mindset, “if it’s to be, it’s up to me”. Her entrepreneur roots began at age 6 when she learned the art of selling rocks. It’s been meteoric growth from there including joining the military and serving in high-consequence moments during 9/11, being a Fox newscaster in her early 20’s, starting Vega Media Studio and the...

Send us Fan Mail It's the 2023 review! With the whole BrainStoke team on the mics!  We go through our favorite moments of 2023 and what we are amped on for 2024!

Send us Fan Mail Davy Ratchford is the epitome of doggedness. As a young boy from Ireland whose family migrated to the U.S., Davy grew up in Logan, Utah. It was there that he begin to ask “why not me?” From an executive team role at Salt Lake Real, a few stops at some of the nations largest and most  prestigious ski resorts, including Vail Resorts, Davy is no stranger to leading people. He now hol...

Send us Fan Mail Trevor Farnes is on a mission. From the moment we arrived at Mtn Ops headquarters we could feel the conviction in who and what his purpose is. To humbly, conquer! As one of 7 children, Trevor raves about his parents and siblings. It’s through those tight connections he learned hard work, entrepreneurship, and the brilliance of the “joy-wand”. As a CEO of an active, outdoor brand w...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Alex Lawrence has endless “range”. From the classroom to CNN, and Wall Street Journal to EV Auto. Alex is charging ahead! As a tenured professor with a thirst for the latest in tech, Alex’s stance on the use of AI and the likes of ChatGPT in the classroom and professional world as a tool for productivity landed him in the public eye on some of the largest and mainstream media...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife is an LDS relationship and sexuality coach with a Ph. D. in Counseling Psychology. Her clinical expertise and verbal-brilliance is universally relevant and timely as she explains the “struggle and stoke” of relationships as a parent, partner, spouse and child.   Brainstoke collaborated with Dr. Jennifer with the objective to give our listeners ideas and...

Send us Fan Mail Truman Glasgow is the 2023 Park City Point2Point Pro Category Champion. Not only is he an elite mountain biker and gravel racer, he is also known for his amazing ski, sledding and motor-cross videos as seen on Instagram,  @trumanglasgow12  Truman credits being cut from a high school baseball team as a key-driver to his focus on cycling and the importance of sharing a bunkbed with...

Send us Fan Mail How do you eat an elephant? Just start…a bite at a time and it helps when a friend joins the feast.   Tom and Preston recount their tumultuous LOTOJA race report. From the man they call “Steak”, to the battle for the "fat dad" podium places. This episode has got it all. Preston speaks on his traumatic past experiences with LOTOJA and overcoming his demons. Tom and Presto...

Send us Fan Mail After individual episodes with these amazing athletes, Tom and Preston sit down with this hilarious trio for a roundtable about cycling, Maverik runs, and showing kindness. Continuing in our NICA athlete series, this episode is "Unstoppable" from beginning to end! 

Send us Fan Mail What would it be like to race yourself? The Gibbons twins, Gabe and Oliver were in studio to talk riding hard and kindness. Their genuine compassion and care for each other from a young age has become their competitive advantage in life and on the bike. Their mantra, “I will take my brother any day of the week” has created a connection as brothers that has driven them to new level...