The Forging Iron Podcast with Griffin Jaworski

I’m really honored to bring you this episode with Emily Perrin. Emily is a nervous system and performance coach, as well as a licensed clinical social worker specializing in trauma. On top of that, she was also a Division I soccer player at the University of Virginia and Division I soccer coach at the University of Pennsylvania. Emily has seen sport through many lenses, and in this episode we unpa...

I’m honored to welcome Gordo Byrn back to the podcast! If you haven’t already, I highly recommend listening to his episode on returning to a lifestyle of elite performance after taking a decade away, it’s one of the most popular episodes thus far. In this conversation we shift gears a little and dive deep into long-term athletic development, parenting philosophy, and sustainable high performance t...

I’m really excited to bring you this conversation with Dr. Braden Brown, LMFT, PhD. In this episode, Braden talks about his role working with elite athletes as the Director of Mental Health for BYU Athletics. We dig into many of my favorite topics in the mental performance, but some of the highlights are: The difference between high standards and perfectionism A practical framework and tools for m...

I’m excited to share my conversation with today’s guest Ryan Ford. Ryan is a CMPC, Certified Mental Performance Consultant, and co-founder of Fortitude with his business partner, Brian Sullivan who was a previous guest on the show. Their mission at Fortitude is to support leaders and teams to elevate performance, strengthen belonging, and create lasting legacies, and in this episode we cover a var...

Forging Iron Podcast — Year One Reflections: The 3 Themes That Shape Performance In this special anniversary episode, we're celebrating year one of the podcast! We've had some amazing guests, from: sports nutritionist mediation expert doctors of all types: a pediatrician PhDs in sport psychology and an orthopedic surgeon mental performance coaches and current and former collegiate and pr...

I’m really excited to share this episode with Dr. Howard Luks. Dr. Luks is an orthopedic surgeon by trade, but his writing, whether it’s his book Longevity Simplified or Substack called Built to Move: Born to Heal, encompasses so much more than fixing broken bones. This episode takes special meaning for me now, as just this week I lost a grandparent. He’s undoubtedly in a better place now, but a f...

My guest today is Jacob Hunter. As a high school athlete, Jacob won multiple state championships in Virginia and was on the 2x Nike Cross Country National Championship winning team for Loudoun Valley. Jacob went on to compete for the University of Virginia, notching PR’s of 4:03 in the mile and 14:05 in the 5k. All of this is extremely impressive in it’s own right, but what makes it even greater i...

Today we’re exploring the power of loving-kindness meditation. I know, I know… some people hear “ loving-kindness meditation ” and immediately tune out; it’s too woo-woo or mushy-gushy. For those unfamiliar, loving-kindness meditation is a lot like having “thoughts and prayers” for others and for self. It’s also called Metta, which translates to positive energy and kindness. People say things like...

Today’s episode is jam packed with insights into the mindset of elite performance, both from an athlete’s and coach’s perspective. My guest is Justin Daerr, a former professional triathlete and current coach and mental performance consultant. As an athlete, Justin has an extremely impressive resume, but one of the things that I love that he highlights on his website all-ofit.com is that he complet...

I’m super excited to share this episode with Suzu Cornella. Like many of us, she has multiple different dimensions and experiences, including being an elite and professional rock climber, representing Team USA on the Sport Climbing National Team in three world championships all over the world. Suzu was the first female route setter in the history of Movement Climbing and Fitness, coaches climbers...

Powered by Forgingirontraining.fit : explore endurance coaching and mental performance coaching  I’m pumped to kick of 2026 with today’s guest, Jonathan Levitt.  He’s the host of the podcast For The Long Run , a show I’ve listened to for a long time, and recently the creator of Long Run Labs , a collective working to empower other awesome running and endurance podcasts. He’s also someone who likes...

Question of the episode: What did or do you admire about your favorite coach that you’ve ever worked with? ( comment with your answer here on substack ! ) My guest today is Brian Sullivan, a coach and consultant for Fortitude Mental Performance, who helps individuals, teams, and coaches improve their mindset, leadership, and culture. Part of what I enjoyed about this conversation was the multiple...

The best place to leave a comment for us is here on Substack! Reed Fischer is a 2:10 marathoner and professional runner for Adidas and Tinman Elite. He’s also an Eagle Scout and one of the kindest people I’ve had the privilege to run with.  When I think about people who have really nailed the sustainable part of sustainable excellence , I think of Reed. As a high school athlete, he wasn’t highly r...

Leave a comment for us on Substack here ! Jud Heugel MD is a pediatrician, father, endurance athlete, health tech startup leader, and mental health advocate blending clinical expertise with lived experience. He’s based in Seattle—though feels most alive on the trails around Bend, Oregon.  Currently pursuing a Master’s in Applied Sports Psychology and writing on Substack, Jud brings a unique focus...

Neal Palles is a Psychotherapist (LCSW), Certified Mental Performance Coach (CPMC), and an endurance coach and athlete himself. In this episode, Neal and I get into some of the myths or misunderstandings surrounding mental health and mental strength in sport. In particular, we talk about: letting curiosity guide you when you have uncomfortable thoughts and emotions aligning your goals with your va...

Welcome back to the Forging Iron Podcast, where we connect with people like endurance athletes, authors, sports nutritionists and mental performance coaches to share the science and stories of sport and performance. As iron sharpens iron, people sharpen people! My guests today are the co-founders of Liberty Track Club, an inspiring post-collegiate women’s running club that’s currently sponsored by...

My guest today is Anderson Bobo, the creative director for Oregon Track and Field. In this episode, Anderson shares the thoughts and insights he has from behind the lens of high performance programs and athletes that are competing for NCAA and Olympic titles.  Anderson views his role as one of a story teller, which lines up really well with sport psychology: as we train and compete in races, we in...

What do 3rd graders, the FBI, and the university of Wisconsin athletic department have in common? They’ve all been taught mediation from my guest today, Chad McGehee. Chad is the Director of Meditation Training at the University of Wisconsin athletic department, which is a first of it’s kind position in major sports. Throughout this conversation, I think you’ll see why Chad is able to be at the fo...

What do you wish you could tell your coach, but for whatever reason never did? That is the fundamental question Dr. Sara Erdner and I explore, as well as the theme for her book: Dear Coach, What I Wish I Could Have Told You .  If there’s one thing that’s clear about sport (especially at the collegiate and youth levels) it’s that coaches don’t just impact an athletes current physical skills, they a...

Max Stoneking is an accomplished triathlete, former collegiate swimmer, as well as a triathlon coach and physical therapist (DPT). This episode is all about navigating the physical and mental challenges of sport and how to integrate it into your schedule alongside the demands and stresses of our work and social calendar. We talk about relative energy deficiency syndrome and the red flags to look o...

Gordo Byrn is the former Ultraman World Champion, which is a 3 day stage race covering 320 miles with a 6.2 mile swim followed by a 90 mile bike ride on day one, a 171 mile ride on day 2, and after all that, just your standard, run of the mill double marathon, 52.4 miles of running on the islands of Hawaii. At the time of this recording, Gordo was dealing with an injury, but a few months later he’...

In this episode, Jackson Heidesch joins us to talk about the highs and lows of running and the mental skills, or toolbox as he calls it, he's working on to help navigate that journey.  Jackson was the 20th high schooler to break 4 minutes in the mile, running a 3:59.08. He also ran 8:42 in the 2 mile indoors his senior year, which at the time was #4 on the all time indoor list, and was 5th at...

Dr. Zuleger is a Certified Mental Performance Coach, P.H.D. in Sport Psychology, and the Coordinator of the Applied Sport Psychology master's program that I'm in at Adams State University . Dr. Zuleger has worked with a wide range of athletes and teams, including NCAA champions and olympians but he's also passionate about educating coaches, both in how to they can help their athlete...

This is a continuation of my conversation from Part 1 with Dr. Zuleger, but we focus more on the coaching aspect of things. The thing is, most coaches aren't taught leadership skills, they're simply picked because they were a good athlete or have been around the sport for a long time. But experience doesn't necessarily mean you know how to lead and create positive team cultures... W...

Ellen Davis is a CSSD (Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics), entrepreneur, former division one athlete for the University of Missouri, and a proud boy mom. One of the things I really appreciate about Ellen is her practical advice, being able to distill the science of nutrition and fueling into something we can actually use in our daily lives. In this episode, Ellen and I talk a lot about: Rel...