The Grit Files

After a divorce left her with no income, no career, and nowhere to turn, Brooke had to rebuild her life and career from the ground up. Starting over later in life wasn't easy, but the experience gave her a deep understanding of what it takes to navigate change, rediscover your strengths, and create new opportunities, turning her career into a six figure one! Today, Brooke is the founder of Her...

Some of you may know him as the voice of the Baltimore Ravens. Some of you may know him as the ports broadcaster for WBAL11. Some of you may know him as an Executive Coach. Gerry Sandusky is the guest on this week's episode. We are talking adversity, not quitting when times get tough, and lessons that shaped him throughout the years. This is a can't miss episode.

Greg Vetter is a trailblazing entrepreneur who turned a family recipe into Tessemae’s, the #1 organic salad dressing brand in the U.S., and pioneered clean food manufacturing, creating the “fresh condiment” category and Whole30’s first approved bottled dressings. Today on Grit, we are talking building a business, watching it fall, and the rebuild that come after. Entrepreneurship isn't always...

his week on  The Grit Files , we sit down with Aaron Lutze, a content creator, sports marketer, and storyteller whose career has been built around understanding what drives elite performers. As the founder of Super Rider and co-founder of Second Nature Media, Aaron has dedicated his work to helping athletes, brands, and audiences connect through authentic stories.  Before launching his own media v...

Hillary Livingston Giddings is a community builder, writer, and event strategist passionate about creating connection through storytelling and conversation. She is the co-founder of  Sincerely, Divorced , a global support community dedicated to breaking the stigma of divorce and reducing the isolation that often follows the end of a long-term relationship. With more than 10 years of experience in...

Today on  The Grit Files , we sit down with David Callahan, Co-CEO of UltraSignup and one of the people helping shape the future of trail and ultrarunning. But David's story starts long before UltraSignup. A former attorney and endurance athlete, David spent years chasing achievement—including completing 52 triathlons in 52 weeks—before realizing that sometimes the things we're good at are...

Today's guest is someone who has spent her life building at the intersection of innovation, creativity, and human connection. She was an early employee at Facebook, helped shape the way billions of people interact online, and has continued redefining herself through entrepreneurship, investing, media, and the arts. She's a Tony Award-winning producer, founder of HUG, an advocate for creators and e...

Morgan Knox is a former collegiate athlete and Grit Files producer. When she isn't helping businesses brand and market themselves, she can be found coaching on the youth lacrosse fields. She is a full time employee at RedDog Agency and is the creative director working on everything from content creation, graphic design, photography, and videography. Being involved in youth sports herself, she has...

Dan Green is one of the fastest-rising names in ultrarunning today. A Pennsylvania native now based in Huntington, West Virginia, Dan first discovered endurance sports through cross country and swimming before becoming captivated by the world of ultramarathons at a young age. He steadily built a reputation for his unconventional approach to endurance racing — embracing massive 200+ mile events lon...

Nicole Hackett is a breaking the stigma associated with mom brain. With the release of her new book, she is teaching women that their mom brain is their superpower. With the release of her new book, she is an Amazon Best Seller and was recently placed number 4 on People's Top Ten Must-Read Spring Books. Nicole is a Harford County Native and on top of being a mom and an author, she is a biochemical...

Lisa Foxwell, founder of StavePoint HR, and a firm believer that sustainable business success starts with people practices that are intentional, strategic, and aligned to your goal.  After 15+ years in HR and recruiting, she launched Stave Point to help small and mid-sized companies grow through their people, not around them. Whether it's navigating a tough employee conversation or building ou...

Liv Chapman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Inner Glow Circle (IGC), an online training company designed to accelerate women coaches and entrepreneurs — and one of the fastest-growing businesses in the coaching space. Liv joined IGC in 2015, after a chance meeting with founder Katie DePaola a few years prior. As a Washington, DC public school teacher overwhelmed with her students’ needs, her own stud...

Dr. Queale, a board-certified MD, is a strong advocate for integrating lifestyle medicine into primary care practices and has developed an integrated approach to the delivery of primary care services in healthcare systems. He is the author of  Dying to Save You , where he stresses the importance of lifestyle intervention medicine, confronts the issues of our current health care system and offers a...

Stephen Speck is the Founder&CEO of MantiSpeck, LLC, a personal andprofessionalenhancement firm. His company provides a wide array of services,spanning from keynote speaking to leadership development, educational coaching tofitness & wellness training. Prior toMantiSpeck, Stephen was an educator forroughly a quarter century, occupying the rolesof a classroom teacher, interscholastic athlet...

Carolyn has been a personal trainer for over a decade. Starting out in a large gym, to now owning her own fitness space and training clients on her own. She has her undergraduate degree in Speech and Hearing disorders and her Masters in Deaf Studies. She is a certified ASL interpreter, teaching and interpreting with the deaf for over 10 years. She pivoted to personal training by completing the NAS...

Andrew Hartnett, the Founder and CEO of Formula4Success, has a rich background in corporate America, having spent over 10 years in consulting, program management, and digital transformation for leading companies like Google, Waymo, Disney, NBC Universal, and The Home Depot. His approach blends traditional business frameworks with executive coaching and research in psychology and neuroscience, help...

Join us as we sit with Chris Sherry, Vice President of Enterprise Sales. She discusses what coya's mission is and how you can benefit from becoming a member today! Visit us at  https://coya. life/. For general info or to discuss groups, email Chris at  chris@coya.life .Grit Files listeners receive $1,000 off our March cohorts - see below for dates and more info.****** Women’s Vitality Cohort  ...

EmKay is a former Division I coach for the University of Nevada cross country teams and is also a USTFCCCA certified strength coach. While at Nevada, she coached the American women’s junior record holder in the marathon and helped develop the newly founded men’s team. EmKay runs for CRAFT, trains in Reno, Nevada and competes both domestically and internationally.  Originally from Arkansas, EmKay b...

Teresa is a cancer survivor, current lung transplant candidate, and most importantly, a mother, a wife, and a daughter. She has never identified as an athlete but her grit and endurance is that of one. Listen to her story about defeat, resilience, and motherhood as she fought for her life and continues to do so with her new diagnosis.

Rachel is a UESCA Certified Ultra Running Coach and NASM Certified Personal Trainer with over seven years of experience across the collegiate, high school, and private sectors. Holding a Master’s in Public Health, she specializes in "whole-person" development—blending data-driven performance with psychological strength. From leading championship teams to serving on the board of the Women...

Meet Brandon! Brandon is the owner of Iron Force Fitness, a strength and endurance-based gym built on discipline, consistency, and long-term growth. Alongside his work in fitness, Brandon has established himself as a renowned fitness and nature photographer, collaborating with top brands including GOWOD, NoBull, HYROX, TYR, Fanatics, and National Geographic. His work captures the intersection of m...

This is your introduction to The Grit Files! Get to know host Laura Reynolds and find out what is to come on the podcast.