The Courageous Podcast with Ryan Berman

Eason Yang was on top of his game in his career until cancer shattered his life at the age of 33.  But you know what they say about tough times—they reveal the toughest people. Instead of letting the cancer blues bring him down, Eason willed his way into social entrepreneurship and birthed NED (Not Entirely Dead) to take on the biased systems that put cancer survivors and career gaps in a bind. Wi...

Michael Marquis is the CEO at Raw Sugar, a national lifestyle brand that makes clean, premium, and healthy living products affordable.  Prior to Raw Sugar, Michael held several major executive roles at Johnson & Johnson where he oversaw the success of brands such as Clean & Clear®, Listerine®, and the OGX® hair care brand. In a candid conversation with Ryan, Michael shares invaluable insights emph...

Meticulously crafted plans. The essence of decisiveness. The inevitability of change. Nicole Ayers oversees a staggering billion-dollar enterprise comprised of household staples like Lucky Charms, Trix, Golden Grahams, and Coco Puffs. As a key force behind the cereal empire at General Mills, Nicole delves into the makeup and psychology of these beloved brands found in most pantries across America....

What if you could slow down Alzheimer’s or ALS? That’s exactly the deeply personal journey Dr. Howard Berman, Founder and CEO at Coya Therapeutics, finds himself on. To day, Howard runs a mission-driven company that is making remarkable breakthroughs in the world of T-Cells. Driven by his father's personal battle with Dementia, Howard has embarked on a relentless quest for a cure. Along his journe...

Spoiler alert: we’re all going to die some day. Yet, 67% of Americans are completely unprepared for that reality with no trust or will presently in place. Enter Entrepreneur Cody Barbo and his Trust & Will team. For the last 6 years, Cody and his partners have been working around the clock to disrupt a complicated estate planning industry.   In this conversation, Cody shares with Ryan how he might...

Marie Griffin doesn't tell clients what to say, she teaches them how to think.  From losing everything in her mid-30s to working with names like Gaga, Rhianna, and Beckham on the Media PR side of her firm GRIFFIN Media, Marie has defined her life by making bold moves.  Despite lacking prior experience in broadcast or PR, Marie established a successful broadcast PR firm that has now partnered with...

Fresh off a 6 city comedy tour, Ryan sits down with the multi-talented John Lehr.   You might recognize John as one of the original Geico Cavemen, or from his numerous TV show appearances, including the legendary "Friends." But John is more than an actor - he's a seasoned monologist and comedian who isn't afraid to talk openly about his over twenty years of sobriety on his "Cold. Sober. Comedy." t...

It hasn’t always been a smooth ride for the people at Uber. In 2019, with the arrival of new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the culture took a U-turn for the better. Four months into his tenure, our guest Danielle Hawley, was hired. Today, Danielle is Uber’s Global Executive Creative Director . A master at creating experiences that keep the promises brands make, Danielle will be the first to tell you that...

Comedian, Musician, Producer, Entertainer: The content cup has runneth over from the hilarious Kareem Rahma. If you’ve seen his “ Keep The Meter Running ” series then you know there are many layered notes to Kareem’s madness. From albums to deal-making to comedy, Rahma and his multifaceted endeavors all share one common thread: Fun . Fresh from his debut live concert performance, Kareem joins Ryan...

A Forbes 30 Under 30 nominee, Matt LeBris is a born and raised New Yorker whose current hustle is the pursuit of turning inward, with the goal of unlocking his core essence. Matt has previously worked for Shark Tank's Daymond John and now hosts the globally acclaimed podcast, Decoding Success. In their conversation, Ryan and Matt chop it up around their unique, and somewhat unconventional definiti...

After fighting and beating cancer for the third time, everyone told Taras Wayner he was the most courageous person they knew, but Taras didn't perceive himself that way. Intrigued by fear's impact on his life, he embarked on a journey to unravel its secrets. Thus, Fear Incorporated was born. In this enlightening episode of The Courageous Podcast, Ryan and Taras delve into the phenomenon of fear an...

It's almost as if Tim Bantle was destined for his current role as CEO of Eddie Bauer. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Live Your Adventure ® could easily double as Tim’s personal slogan, as he has hopped from skiing to rock climbing expeditions throughout his life.  Now, after time at both Patagonia and North Face, Tim's living his corporate adventure of driving forward a 100-year-old brand. In this ep...

Be clear on the ‘why’, flexible on the ‘how’.  Let’s walk in the shoes of Buddy Teaster. Buddy is using shoes and clothing to create opportunities for millions as he runs Soles4Souls, where they collect and distribute shoes and clothing around the world.  In his conversation with host Ryan Berman, Buddy gives listeners actionable advice to move towards a purposeful career, and also reminds us that...

When most British folks talk about football, they’re bantering over the one where players score goals vs field goals . But in this episode of The Courageous Podcast, Will Misselbrook shares his story of being front and center for the most talked about rebrand in NFL history. Will takes us behind-the-curtain for a look at his work with the recent rebrand of the Washington Commanders. This includes...

You can’t hate yourself into change. You must love yourself into greatness. Star Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell’s journey to success began with a simple realization: Change is inevitable, but growth is optional. As of this week, Emma isn’t just the founder of Live Learn Lovewell , an Under Armour athlete, or an all-around wellness expert — she’s also now an author. In this episode, Ryan and Emma...

Think the NFL runs a six month season? Think again. The NFL is now an around-the-clock machine deliberately churning out content and programs year round. At the center of those stories is the NFL's EVP and Chief Marketing Officer Tim Ellis. A true innovator, Tim has accumulated more prestigious awards than he can count over his three decades as a marketing professional. This includes winning Marke...

Forever Remembered: Robert Duran. A few months back, you may remember my podcast with Robert Duran who had been fighting Pancreatic Cancer. In late March, Robert entered hospice. Last week, Robert (as he would put it) left this world for “2.0”. Robert was an anomaly in more ways than one. He defied the odds and battled the king of cancers for just under a decade. Along the way, he raised heaps of...

If you could have dinner with any four people, dead or alive, who would it be? Now what if you could make dinner for those four people? What would you serve up? On this episode, culinary master and TV personality Chef David Burke  playfully shares his answers on what we he would create for a certain athlete, rock & roll star, family member (he never met) and love interest. While most know Chef Bur...

How do you bring five fiercely competitive NBA owners together off the court for the creation of a new joint venture? Through a shared passion for tequila, obviously.  On this episode of The Courageous Podcast , Co-Founder and CEO at Cincoro Tequila, Emilia Fazzalari, takes us on an exclusive journey into the birth of this iconic brand. Learn how Emilia, Jeanie Buss, Wes Edens, Wyc Grousbeck, and...

Celebrities are people too, you know. And not many people on the planet know exactly how true that statement is like Chris Detert — who from his first days on the job in Los Angeles had him interacting with some of the most influential (but real) celebrities on the planet. Formerly the CEO of American Rebel PR, a boutique agency Chris started from Los Angeles, Detert now teams up with his brother,...

Growing up in Indiana, Karena and her family weren’t equipped with the tools to navigate their moms chaotic paranoid schizophrenia. It took Karena on a tumultuous tailspin where she now confesses, " I spent my entire teenage years depressed". Despite a difficult childhood, the true dawning of Karena Dawn came after a long night (and morning) at a Los Angeles rave where Karena chose to have a neces...

The joys of being named a first time CEO just before the world shut down . This is the real, live work-in-progress story of Cedar Carter . Cedar, an experienced marketer who navigated her way through the fashion, wellness, and sports industries, took the reigns as the CEO of  The Good Patch just before the global pandemic. She joins Ryan on The Courageous Podcast and shares her incredible journey ...

Jean Batthany is a seasoned brand builder and marketer with over three decades of experience. She has been recognized as one of Business Insider’s 30 Most Creative Women in Advertising and awarded Advertising Working Mothers of the Year by AWNY. Despite being "in between successes" at the moment, Jean is focusing on the art of pausing and leveraging creativity to make the world a better place.  As...

“The hardest days are the most fun sometimes.” First at Buzzfeed, then helping to grow and sell Cheddar, Melissa Rosenthal recently made the leap to San Diego to take on a new challenge in her career.  As the Chief Creative Officer at ClickUp, Melissa is taking a bold approach to humanizing marketing in a space where it isn’t so common. Melissa has been named to Forbes' 30 Under 30, Business Insid...

At just 8 years old, Matt Gilhooly was struck with the abrupt and heartbreaking news that his mother had passed away in a motorcycle accident. This event marked the beginning of a long, soul-breaking journey of grief that lasted well over two decades. Today, however, Matt has found a healthy way to cope with his grief; using his experiences to help others do the same through his podcast, The Life...