Wake Up The Sun

Over the years, I had heard of Bijan in the sport of Crossfit and his sports agency Ripple sports. I was fortunate enough to be the MC of the kickoff event called Rising Tides at Peak360 where I was able to introduce Bijan as one of the panelists and got to learn more. A soft spoken and thoughtful person explained his connection to the Crossfit world and his passion for getting into sports managem...

I met Nick on the mean streets of Delray Beach in early 2011. We both were working in the fitness world, training clients, group training and enjoying South Florida. Our paths crossed pretty regularly but as time passes people move on or evolve into other areas of life.  Now, right around the time of Covid, Nick was training clients and began starting to go online as the gyms were closing. He alwa...

I met Justin many years ago through my wife and brother in law.  A long time resident of South Florida and man of the people, Justin has transitioned from bartender to real estate professional and social media guru.  I had the pleasure of being on Justin's podcast where we spoke about business, life and effort and was so pumped to have him on the Wake up the sun show to speak about what chang...

I met Derek years ago through mutual friends and he always was super kind and had great energy. What I didn't know is that he was building an amazing business and culture behind Razorback Electric. Over there years I would run into him randomly at a workout or community event and it seemed that every time there was a new family member. Derek is a father first, husband and local business owner...

I was connected to Caleb through a mutual friend this year. I reached out to ask him to come on the show and took some time as he was and is in the midst of building his clothing brand, LIFTID. We finally got some time to sit down and get to know each other and what I heard was the confidence, compassion and overall desire to be the best he can be with the time he has on the planet. He dropped &qu...

I met Caitlin back in 2016 when she would come train with her volleyball team at Impact Sports Performance. As the years progressed I watched her transition from playing sports at a collegiate level to training and then beginning her own coaching/training and brand. In a short amount of time she has come a long way. She sat down with me over lunch to tell me about the tremendous amount of charity...

Back in 2016 Michael and I connected via social media as I was preparing to run the NYC Marathon and competing for a spot in a national television spot for Foot locker second chances initiative. Michael is a substance abuse coach, counselor and speaker from Australia.  He experienced some serious bouts of depression, anxiety and drinking excessively as a young lad growing up and decided to change...

I was introduced to Josh by his lovely wife Jenna many years ago after a chance encounter at a local juice spot. My wife Chelsea and I were invited to their home and spent some time getting to know each other over delicious food and conversation. Josh by trade is a business man who has worn many hats from teacher, tech genius, salesperson and the list goes on ad infinitum. Josh and I randomly run...

One of my favorite couples and stories straight out of Delray Beach. Fit Food Express is nestled in Delray Beach and run by a stellar couple Andrew Arnold and Syd Breiding. They are an incredible couple that met while both working as employees at Fit Foods and became even closer as they lasted through the challenges. The challenges of changing locations, the sale from original owner, multiple peop...

I met Dylan several years ago through a mutual friend. We both were seeking a better lifestyle and design for living and got to know each other. Dylan is one of the hardest workers, most honest and upfront people I have ever met. He tells it like it is which is so rare in todays society. There is no bullshit or facade, only real and honest communication and I hold that dear. I've wanted to ha...

I met Alex at his old family restaurant Mellow Mushroom in Delray and then reconnected with him through my brother in law. Alex hosted a small friendly poker game at his house in Delray. One of my favorite things about living in such a great community in South Florida is you get to see people grow and expand their network and follow their dreams. Alex has a passion for helping people and believes...

I met Sean years ago when I was getting my life together. He was a mutual friend of my wife and brother in law. I kind of knew what he did but wasn't entirely sure. We reconnected when Chelsea and I were looking to buy our first home and he lived in the neighborhood. He made the experience pretty easy and was always available for questions or concerns. After we moved in and were neighbors did...

I met Eric on the plan ride home from California after EXPO WEST, which is one of the largest food shows in the planet. Chelsea and I were returning home and Eric was stowing his bags when we struck up a conversation and knew some similar people and talked about the show. Eric is the CEO and founder of Pillars drinkable greek yogurt. A brand that has rapidly grown over the lat couple of years and...

There are many restaurant establishments in the South Florida area and one that recently opened as a result of the covid pandemic was How Ya Doughn. A pizza establishment created in the house of family man Garrett Goodman in central boca. While most of the world shut down, Garretts former business and team went to working remotely.  With being at home so much and a true foodie, Garrett began makin...

Earlier this year I had the privilege of visiting El Portal Miami and the BREATHTRIBE crew headed up by Javier and his wife. The location was their home, studio and breath work workshop. They were incredibly hospitable and we clicked instantly over fitness, health/wellness/cold exposure and more. I was really off my breath work routine since the COVID shut down as life got busy again. I spent the...

I met Sarah several years ago down in Florida through some mutual friends. Little did I know she was a hometown hero from Weschester County New York and that we grew up right near each other. If you know Sarah she was easy to talk to and engaging in conversation which made me feel like I had known her for years. Over the years we stayed in touch and what transpired was one of inspiration. She work...

I met Doc years ago at a lululemon event. We had crossed paths thanks to mutual friends and fro the jump was immediately inspired by his warmth and kindness. I attended his charity event and watched him interact with professional athletes, families   and make sure to say hello to everyone that came out to support what he was doing. I couldn't believe his energy and made it a point to get to k...

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly at a speaking event earlier this year that our Mutual friend and podcast guest Adam Jablin created. Kelly and I connected at the Hero Project and got to chatting about sobriety, business, life, relationships, success/failure and many other topics. We stayed in touch since and have had some amazing conversations that we upbeat, positive and very helpful to me. He...

I met Melanie years ago at the grand opening of Raw Juce where she was the Head Nutrionist and Manager of the Boca location. She's a Canadian Soccer superstar and came to Boca through Lynn university and ended up staying here to proceed with health and wellness. I had heard of her through friends in the yoga community. We stayed in touch and connected over the years through her support of the...

I met Sam back in 2020 at the HPLT summit in Austin Texas. A group of entrepreneurs together for a weekend of fitness, collaboration and time with several successful people in the health and wellness space. I immediately hit it off with her because of her amazing energy and approachability. We stayed in touch after the fact and even spent some time working out at FROPRO HQ when she was in town cre...

I met Hannah in early 2022 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center while learning how to play Pickelball.  Considering its one of the fastest growing methods of working out in the world you get to see some familiar faces if you keep showing up.  Like any other sport you can always tell when someone is exceptional and performs at a higher level than most.  I had the chance of watching Hannah plat some ga...

Abbey and I met at the opening of Slash Fitness in Delray beach back in 2011. We were the new trainers and joining a team that proved to be one of the most awesomely assembled fitness professionals in my opinion. After years of working together we both went out separate ways and continued our journeys in the health and wellness space. During that time we didn't speak as much as relationships...

I met Dan several years ago at a workout and probably one of the nicest guys around. I knew he was involved in the opening of a local West Boca gym and that was about it. One of the best parts about being local is having people drop by and Dan would periodically drop in to pick up his order and just shoot the shit. Dan has 24 years of experience in the financial world and it led him down to south...

I met Willy when I was getting sober. He was in a solid crew of guys that had been down the same road as I was on. They had blown up their lives and were in the process of putting everything back together. Will was a tremendous support for me and easy to talk to about what I was going through. As the years progressed he had the idea of going back to school and getting involved in the beauty and ha...

I met Justin when he was 13 years old. I was his off season baseball coach and trainer and became very close with his family. My wife Chelsea babysat his younger brother, his dad was a mentor to me as I was getting my life together and his mom brought me to one of my first Crossfit classes.  Justin and I both lost our fathers at an extremely young age, mine due to a relatively long battle with can...