We’ll Take it From Here with Joe

This week I sat down with my boy and Rapper, Kieran Stewart. Kieran was born in Barnegat, New Jersey and since his youth, has aspired to be a rapper. Eleven years later, he has produced and is producing songs, while also performing live (usually at the Love Lounge in Plainfield, NJ). What is truly admirable is Kieran's discipline, passion, and resilience. He is determined to improve with each...

We are back with another JitZone episode for all you Jiu Jitsu fanatics! Today, I piggyback off of the theme of last week's episode about letting go because I believe it has a profound impact toward one's progress in the sport. I talk about my personal experiences of having more fun, working on my weaknesses, and focusing less on the outcome of each round. The result? My game has improved....

This week, we start a new chapter of the show of having one host! As mentioned on the previous episode, Jon had to leave due to personal circumstances, however we are grateful for his hard work and contribution to the show! That being said, I give my opinion about two specific areas that I am currently working on in my life: 1) Knowing Your Worth and 2) Letting Go. I hope you get something out of...

This week we say goodbye to cameraman/co-host Jon. Jon was with the show for 23 weeks and did a phenomenal job in increasing the video quality and brought some interesting viewpoints to each conversation. Jon's decision to leave stemmed from personal priorities which we respect in the fullest. We are grateful for his hard work and dedication to the show and wish him the best in his future ende...

This week we were joined by another member of the Pure MMA family, Trevor Patterson. The one thing we have learned from the start of the show is that the Pure Community is filled with amazing people whose stories are truly inspirational and today is no different. Trevor recounted his journey of forty years in Martial Arts and how it's shaped him to be the man he is today. Trevor is a true stud...

This week we speak about the importance of getting out of your comfort zone, which stemmed from an encounter Joe had earlier in the day. We share our view on why growth comes from discomfort and also share some examples from our lives. Getting uncomfortable is never easy but is essential and there are different levels to it. Essentially, we are always striving to be better. The conversation flowed...

This week we had an intriguing conversation with David Zwoboda, who is hosting the first ever holistic wellness and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) summit in Tulum Mexico. The name of the camp? Flowstate Jiu Jitsu. Its goal? A wellness summit to integrate the mind, body, and soul through the use of psychedelics and BJJ. If you don't know much about psychedelics, you must listen to this episode becau...

Today we sat down with JD "Skutch", husband, father, and owner/founder of JD Core Training, a gym in Fairfield, New Jersey. From the start, we could feel JD's authenticity and strong presence. JD is not only mentally/physically strong, but he is also centered and ambitious. Having played collegiate football, JD knows what it takes to be the best version of yourself on a consistent ba...

This week we are joined by Nikki Stouffer, Mom of two and resident of South Jersey. Nikki founded the New Jersey Project, a nonprofit organization, with the goal of restoring the morals and values of the state of New Jersey. By occupation, Nikki is a Medical Bio Statistician who does statistical analysis for clinical trials and population health data. The story begins in early 2020 during the pand...

This week we were joined by Heather Russell, a member of the Pure MMA family, and had a great time talking about her ambitious approach to life. Heather's ambition to be incredible started at a young age and stayed with her throughout her life.  Heather's growth as an individual came when she was introduced to Martial Arts. By occupation, Heather is a corrections officer in a max security...

This week we have another duo episode with Joe and Jon. We discuss some important updates to the show regarding its future and then chat about some recent events. First, we speak about the apocalyptic scenery outside due to the Canadian Wildfires (this show was recorded one day after the fires started). We then discuss Joe becoming an Uncle and meeting the President at a wedding. We have some cool...

This week we sat down and spoke with the founders of Dad and Ryan's Birch Beer LLC, Ryan and Mike Kovach. Mike and Ryan are father and son, who set out on an adventure when they opened their own birch beer company out of their home-kitchen in 2018. The story began when Ryan, who is now fifteen years old, would help his father at the firehouse by washing the fire trucks; as "payment"...

This week we spoke with our friend Pat Meyer. Pat is a friend from the Pure MMA community, who recently opened up about events that occurred in his childhood and adolescent years. This episode opens up with a banger as Pat dives right into the story, revealing that he was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his head. If this isn't tragic enough, doctors believed this was what caused hi...

This week we recorded another duo episode straight off the cuff, which is always a unique circumstance. Sometimes having no plan is better because the conversation flows naturally. We share some funny stories from our lives which includes sleep walking escapades (you'll want to hear these), buying houses, living with your significant other, reincarnation and much more. Having a blast recording...

This week we welcome back for a third time, Dr. Gus Mouhtis, who is a clinical and forensic psychologist. Gus was a guest on episodes ten and eighteen, so if you have not listened to those already, we strongly suggest you do. Gus is one of our favorite guests to have on because he's always very positive but also frank, who never shies away from sharing his opinions. We spoke about a number of...

This week we had our friend Mike Amoresano "Amore" on the show. Mike is part of the Pure MMA community and has been since 2015, when he fell in love with mixed martial arts and Muay Thai. Mike shares a heart-felt story about his late father which he attributes to his love of and success in the sport. We chat predominantly about MMA / Muay Thai and about some of his fights both the good a...

This week we had an inspiring conversation with our cameraman Jon Brown, who has also been filling in for Don. To start off, Jon's passion for filming has improved the visual aspect of the show, so if you have not watched our YouTube yet, we highly recommend you do. This week, I decided that it would be a great idea for Jon to share his life story since you will be hearing from him more often....

Today, Joe drops the very first solo episode, discussing some disturbing news from Roxbury High School in which the school and board of education thought it was okay to have books depicting pornographic images to kids. Joe shares some of his thoughts and some actions that should be taken. The video to which Joe refers can be found on the Instagram page @New_Jersey_Project. Like we say, the show is...

This week we had an incredible conversation with a special guest, Kristen Magone. Kristen is Joe's Sister-in-law and came on to discuss the topic of life changing events of which she had experienced plenty. The show starts off with a bang as Kristen gets right into her story and to say we were left with our jaws dropped is an understatement. Kristen recounts her time in an abusive relationship...

This week we welcome back to the show Anthony Bongiovanni from episode 42. I strongly suggest listening to his story there if you have not already. In addition, we include our cameraman, and Anthony's childhood friend, Jonny Brown in the discussion. The theme of today's show was about making changes /sacrifices in your life for the better. Anthony shared his improvements to both his mental...

This week we had the pleasure of having a deep, incredible conversation about mental health with Cheyanna Dinkle in which she had the courage to reveal some past traumas about her life and family. Born in Passaic, New Jersey and moving to Rockaway Borough at a young age, Cheyanna's life looked grand and normal from the outside. Driving a Mercedes to school and wearing fur coats, it would be ea...

This week we had a rad conversation about the mindset of a high-level competitor with Steve Martell. Similar to other guests on the show, Steve has been involved in martial arts from a very young age, with Wrestling as his primary sport. Like every boy in the 80's and 90's, Steve dreamed of becoming a WWE wrestler, so his parents signed him up for wrestling, however upon arriving at his fi...

This week we had the honor of speaking with Geoff Deen Owner/Founder of Hardball Cider, a cidery located on a farm in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, which has been his family's farm since the late 1890's! Geoff takes us through the beginnings of Hardball Cider, which he founded in 2013 after spending twenty years in corporate America. We learned about Geoff's time helping his father press...

This week we spoke about an important topic of what it means to be a man as we believe there is a lot of progress to be made across the world.  The topic arose from a tiny encounter that occurred at Joe's work however, it was enough for us to address.  We found that you, the audience, are equally as intrigued in the topic since we had the most responses to date.  You gave some reall...

This week we had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with our friend Ashley Gauthier.  First and foremost, Ashley is a Mother and Wife who loves spending time with her family.  In addition, Ashley trains as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under the Main brothers at Pure MMA, while simultaneously managing its daily operations.  The one thing that stood out to us is Ashley's resiliency and...