The Zack Arnold Podcast

Moni Salazar is a Mexican assistant editor (and now editor) for feature films who has been KILLING IT since she moved to Los Angeles. In fact her first feature film as an editor, Honey Boy , is about to screen at Sundance! As an assistant editor she has also worked on such films as Netflix’s All Day and a Night, The Beach Bum, and Zoe. In addition to the many hours she spends in dark rooms, she is...

Len Ciccotello is an editor literally at the top of his specific craft: Video content marketing. This includes documentary shorts, long-form behind-the-scenes making-of documentaries, and all of the many cool bonus features you’ll find on Blu-Ray discs or even now on iTunes. He’s worked on such films as Bohemian Rhapsody, Avatar, Ready Player One, The Post, Deadpool, Argo, and several films in the...

My guest today is Allon Khakshouri , a sports agent who managed three of the world’s #1 tennis players including Novak Djokovic. He is also a best-selling author who specializes in high performance habits and helping ambitious entrepreneurs (and creative professionals) to feel more energized, productive, and inspired. Having worked with some of the world’s top athletes, Allon is a master at unders...

My guest today is Westley Silvestri , a two-time American Ninja Warrior, a highly decorated and award-winning real estate professional, a Spartan Racer, a Tough Mudder, the creator of ‘Ninja Beach’ in Santa Monica, CA, and he’s also a former golfer and stand-up comedian. Using Westley’s own words, he has “Professional ADD” and wants to do everything...but also do it well! Westley also happens to b...

Joe Trapanese is a friend, colleague, and film composer who has worked on some of the coolest project and film scores of the last 5-10 years including The Greatest Showman , Jean Claude Van Johnson, Straight Outta Compton, Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Only the Brave, Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G ., and The Raid series (which is my #1 secret weapon as a film editor). Rarely is...

Kyle Long is a Hollywood feature film and television writer, producer, and the showrunner of the recent limited series 'Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac & the Notorious B.I.G.' He has also worked on the popular USA series 'Suits.' For those who may already know, I edited the pilot, the finale, and two more episodes of the series Unsolved, and Kyle and I spent A LOT of time togeth...

My guest today is Noah Arnold, a veterinarian and business owner who runs his own veterinary clinic in Shorewood, Wisconsin in a very unique way, to say the least. Before going any further, if you’re wondering why in the world I would interview a veterinarian on a podcast that’s all about reaching your full creative potential, trust me. This is one of the best and most inspiring stories you will e...

Whether you do intense creative work every single day, or intense athletic training, or if you happen to do both like me, the most overlooked aspect of life is often RECOVERY. If you don’t recover, you can’t focus or solve difficult creative problems (especially with tight deadlines). If you don’t recover, you can’t train harder. And if you don’t recover, you’ll eventually burnout. Thanks to the O...

Hello and welcome to a special episode of the Optimize Yourself podcast where I provide my written articles in audio form so you have the opportunity to listen instead of read if that’s your preference. My hope is that you’ll use this opportunity to get up and step away from your desk to build the habit of moving more throughout your workday. Today’s reading is for an article I wrote for Frame.io...

"You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems." - James Clear My guest today is James Clear , an author and speaker who specializes in habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning, just to name a few. In addition, his website receives millions of visitors ea...

(Author's Note: If you'd like to submit a question for an upcoming article, don't hesitate to reach out and send me a message . I read every single email I receive.) On a weekly basis I receive emails, Facebook messages, and tweets from people all over the world who work in creative fields. Some people send me pages worth of their life stories, others are looking for quick tips to opti...

Daniel Arnold, is a world-renowned NYC street photographer who has been hailed by Gawker as ‘The best photographer on Instagram,’ by Wired as ‘Instagram’s ultimate street photographer,’ the New Yorker turned over their Instagram feed to Daniel for a week to document activity on the NYC subways, and his work is regularly featured in Vogue as well as The New York Times, just to name a few of his acc...

Author’s note: This ‘Ultimate Guide’ is a collection of over a decade of research, experimentation, and many of my past articles on the topic of living a less sedentary lifestyle. This guide is also based on many conversations with the world’s foremost experts on proper ergonomics, the dangers of being sedentary, and the benefits of more consistent movement throughout the day. There’s A LOT of inf...

Natalie Asatryan is the youngest female in the country to be certified as a yoga instructor. If you’re not terribly familiar with the process of becoming a yoga instructor, trust me...it’s not easy for college-educated adults, much less a thirteen year old girl. But as we talk about in our interview, Natalie simply refuses to take NO for an answer. Which is why I wanted to share her inspirational...

Dr. Jason Wersland is a chiropractor, athlete, and the founder & inventor of the TheraGun , a revolutionary neuromuscular percussive therapy device...or in laymen’s terms, the most badass massage power tool you’ve ever seen. Whether you’re a professional athlete, a ‘Weekend Warrior’ running Spartan Races or training for American Ninja Warrior like me, or if you’re simply someone who lives behi...

Scott Bahneman is the creator of the SitTight  (use coupon code 'OPTIMIZE' for 10% OFF) , an active sitting chair which has become my new #1 recommendation for anyone looking for “the best ergonomic desk chair” (a question I get ALL THE TIME). While a bit difficult to describe if you haven’t seen one, the SitTight basically looks like the coolest bar stool you’ve ever seen attached to a Bo...

This bonus episode is a raw recording of my recent appearance at the wonderful event Editfest in Los Angeles where I was on a panel sponsored by Avid Technology titled, “The Extended Cut: How to Survive and Thrive in Editorial.” The panel was moderated by Matt Feury of Avid Technology, and in addition to me the panel also included Lillian Benson, ACE (ACE Officer and co-chair of the diversity comm...

Kevin Bull is an obstacle course racing athlete and an American Ninja Warrior superstar who has appeared on 5 seasons of the show, as well as other competition shows such as Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge. During the day when he’s not crushing ninja courses he’s the general manager of DojoBoom in Thousand Oaks, CA. And he is also a huge inspiration to the many people involved in CAP, or the Chil...

Two weeks ago I released the article Dear Hollywood: We Create Entertainment For a Living...We're Not Curing Cancer , and it was shared over 3000 times in the first 48 hours. Clearly the idea of inhaling a deep breath of perspective resonated with thousands of people working not just in Hollywood but worldwide who are sick and tired of sacrificing their health, time with family, and their sani...

The following is a reading of my article '5 Things Every Editor Can Do to Build Trust With Clients' available at Frame.io Insider. » Click here to read this article at Frame.io Insider Avid Media Composer. Adobe Premiere. Final Cut Pro X. DaVinci Resolve. I could debate until the end of time which piece of software is the most important to learn if you want to be a successful editor. Regar...

Summer is officially here which means the first season of the Optimize Yourself Podcast has come to a close (don't worry...I'll be back right after Labor Day). I cannot express enough how grateful I am to all of my listeners who inspire me to keep this program alive every single day. Please feel free to continue  reaching out and sharing your stories (and your challenges) with me. I read e...

Author’s Note: In the wake of the possible IATSE strike I wanted to share my two cents specifically regarding turnaround times and overall hours. I know the pension plan is the headline of negotiations (as it should be), but I want to ensure we're not overlooking the health, safety, and sanity of everyone working behind-the-scenes. A pension plan is meaningless if you don't live long enoug...

Click to Download Audio Summer is officially here which means the first season of the Optimize Yourself Podcast has come to a close (don't worry...I'll be back right after Labor Day). I cannot express enough how grateful I am to all of my listeners who inspire me to keep this program alive every single day. Please feel free to continue  reaching out and sharing your stories (and your chall...

“Why.” It’s an incredibly simple word that carries tremendous power when used correctly. But unfortunately ‘why’ is a question we are often afraid to ask of others because we don’t want it to look like we don’t know something. And more importantly, ‘why’ is a question we rarely ask ourselves because we either don’t know the answer...or we’re afraid of it. The chances are extremely high you can cle...

Click to Download Audio   “Who’s stupid idea was this anyway?” It definitely wasn’t the first time I had asked myself this in the last six months since declaring that my #1 goal for 2018 was transforming From ‘Dad Bod’ to American Ninja Warrior . I was asking myself this question this particular instance after having just woken up at 5am on a Saturday and driving 350 miles north to Monterey so I c...