Underdog Podcast

In this episode, we interview CrossFit Athlete Jan Matiaska. We discuss his varied high school sports experience while he was in the U.S. during his senior year where he grew to love football. After heading back to Switzerland to go to University, he continued playing football, but had a few experiences that gravitated him towards the sport of CrossFit. We dive deeper on topics like recovery, trai...

In this episode, we interview current wrestler at Arizona State University, Tony Negron. We discuss his rollercoaster of a ride to end up on one of the best wrestling programs in the country. His love and desire for the sport of wrestling wasn't always there and it came and went every so often. After a loss that he knew he should have won, that sparked a fire and a chip on his shoulder to pur...

In this episode, we interview Invisible Force Founder and CEO, James DeMorrow. It's hard enough starting a company - 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more ( Investopedia ). Starting a company at the ripe age of 19 lowers those percentages by...

In this episode, we interview IFBB Pro bodybuilder, Javiohn Seymore. From Georgia, Javiohn started bodybuilding in high school and his primary adversity at the time was the insecurity of being one of the only kids bodybuilding at his school. Being scrawny and "built like a windshield wiper," he fell in love with lifting weights and a fire to prove people wrong. We talk about his journey...

In this episode we interview Daimond Dixon, former walk-on at the University of Miami (Fla) and part of the 1991 National Championship winning team. Daimond learned first hand what it takes to become a competitive athlete, and now he utilizes his knowledge and wisdom to coach the up and coming generations. After college he went on to play over a decade of minor league football for several mid west...

In this episode, we interview D1 lacrosse player, Mitchell Pehlke, who is currently at Ohio State University. He has also created a name for himself within the world of content creation. We talk about how he got into lacrosse, primarily because of his father's illustrious lacrosse career at the University of Virginia; however, Mitchell took his own route and paved a new path at Ohio State. Af...

In this episode, we interview IFBB pro bodybuilder Jay Yount. Jay grew up in a household of competition with a father and brother who loved sports. We talk about Jay's early life aspiring to play football at the next level. Considering he grew up in San Antonio, Texas, football seemed like a viable option, until he came across bodybuilding. He fell in love with the process of developing the b...

In this episode, we interview Ottawa Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker. We talk about his rise through the ranks starting in his short lived high school hockey career at the Edge School, his two-year stint in the AJHL, then his three years at the University of North Dakota before signing a contract in the NHL with the Senators in 2021. During his time in high school he suffered an injury wh...

On this episode, we interview Brandon Bussi who is currently on a 1 year deal with the Boston Bruins, playing for the Providence Bruins in the AHL. Brandon was on episode 4 with us back in 2020 during his freshman season playing division 1 college hockey for the Western Michigan Broncos. During this episode we discuss everything from his sophomore year up until now. He went through an injury his s...

In this episode, we interview coach Jess Racz who is a former basketball player and current basketball trainer working with NBA/WNBA, G-League, Pro, NCAA, and all the way down to the youth level. She suffered an eating disorder and severe depression in high school going into college which hindered her ability to fulfill her dream of playing division 1 college basketball. While searching for a new...

In this episode we interview current D1 wrestler at University of Michigan, Matt Finesilver. Matt grew up in a blue collar family out of Colorado with 3 other brothers where he wrestled with and against. He wasn’t very good in his youth but the constant competition allowed him to grow as a wrestler and all 4 brothers ended up wrestling for Duke University.  We also discuss his battle through his A...

In this episode we interview current D1 lacrosse player from UMass Amherst, Grant Breyo. Grant grew up playing various sports and really took to football and lacrosse. During his recruiting years, he was destined for playing at the highest level in either sport; however, a series of injuries, starting with a broken foot, put doubt in the eyes of coaches. After two major injuries and an obstacle ev...

In this episode, we interview current professional lacrosse player, Brett Dobson, where we walk through his entire career thus far. In his early life, he played multiple sports but decided to move forward with lacrosse, deciding to transition to goalie after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He racked up numerous accolades throughout his high school career at the Hill Academy which gave him th...

In this new season of Behind the Underdogs, we take a different approach. We now dissect and discuss growth and self-development books, starting with Relentless by Tim S. Grover. Each episode we cover roughly 50 pages, today we cover pgs 145-189. - In the first chapter that we cover in this episode, Grover discusses the thought process that goes into decision making and how external factors play a...

In this new season of Behind the Underdogs, we take a different approach. We now dissect and discuss growth and self-development books, starting with Relentless by Tim S. Grover. Each episode we cover 50 pages, today we cover pg 97-143. - The best part about Grover is that he has hundreds of stories to back up his claims. In the first chapter he writes about the "clutch" gene and how you...

In this new season of Behind the Underdogs, we take a different approach. We now dissect and discuss growth and self-development books, starting with Relentless by Tim S. Grover. Each episode we cover 50 pages, today we cover pg 50-97. Getting in the zone. It's something that every athlete, businessman or woman, and the like aspire to enter every chance they get. But what is the zone? How do...

In this new season of Behind the Underdogs, we take a different approach. We now dissect and discuss growth and self-development books, starting with Relentless by Tim S. Grover. Each episode we cover 50 pages, today we start with the foreword to page 50. Grover has an interesting take on what it takes to be elite, and he explains that with unique stories of people he has trained: Kobe Bryant, Dwa...

In this episode, we discuss decision making. It's something that we do every day, whether big or small, and it is amazing what goes into and what comes out of making a decision. We use our own experiences as a guide and we discuss what we've learned from the decisions we've made. Thank you for supporting our brand and podcast. Make sure to leave a review and share with a friend to g...

In this episode, we interview rising star powerlifter, Connor Borkert, who brings serious knowledge and passion to the sport of powerlifting. He credits the kickstart of his fitness career to crossfit, which he began doing during off-season training for track and field. He was also a wrestler in high school; however, he continued as a D1 javelin thrower at UPenn. Fast forward to his junior year in...

In this episode, we interview exceptional crossfit athlete, Bethany Shadburne, who brings an outgoing attitude and inspiring work ethic that every athlete strives for. We talk about her wild journey as an athlete, from a gymnast as a young kid, to a runner, bodybuilder, and finally, a crossfit athlete. After a serious back injury during her gymnastics days, the doctors told her she'd never be...

In this episode of Behind the Underdogs, we take a break from athlete talk and discuss the underdog story of the superstar sub-reddit, Wall Street Bets. Although it isn't sports, athletes can resonate with a story like this. This Reddit forum, hungry to take on the big guys on Wall Street, banded together to sky rocket Gamestop to $483 per share, up from Gamestop's one year low of $2.57....

This episode we discuss the underdog story of Dustin Poirier. Born and raised In Lafayette, Louisiana, Poirier was never expected to do much, considering his inappropriate behavior all throughout his childhood.  His parents even sent him to military style bootcamps and eventually, juvenile prison, to correct his behavior. He dropped out of high school in 9th grade, after years of expressing his ha...

In this episode of Behind the Underdogs, we discuss an underdog story, breaking down what we think made/makes this person so special. This particular story, Tom Brady, is one that we all have some sort of familiarity with. He's a living legend. Period. But some character traits really define him and make him the athlete that he is today. One, is his elite resiliency. Despite all of the times...

On this episode, Joey Stanizzi, Colin Cunningham, and Dylan Schuett interview Mario Beltran, head strength coach and aspiring national champion in Olympic weightlifting. He left a stable job to pursue his passions in the fitness industry and he hasn't looked back since. Beltran, from Tyler, Texas, has been competing in Olympic lifting since 2018. He was met with the decision not too long befo...

On this episode, Joey Stanizzi, Colin Cunningham, and Dylan Schuett Interview Austin Burge, an IFBB Pro Bodybuilder who has an unmatched drive and dedication to the sport of bodybuilding. Before the Interview, the guys catch up, discussing the chance that Colin's  college football season might happen this spring, Dylan's commitment to Long Island University after constant adversity throu...