Cole Younger is a Los Angeles based photographer that shares stunning photos with his audience of over 280k Instagram followers. From a young age optimism wasn’t a part of his world view. Cole struggled with using & selling drugs, being locked behind bars & coping with depression. Picking up a camera was his way out. This is the story of how one man rewrote his future, got off the streets & found his calling. Watch this episode:  mattdavella.com/042 Exclusive content:  groundupshow.com Thanks for listening! If you've got a minute I'd really appreciate a rating on iTunes.

Jordan Taylor Wright is a filmmaker, photographer & founder of the production company Taylor Cut Films. He creates beautiful & moving commercial films for his clients & audience of more than 575k Instagram followers. Jordan unpacks how he broke into filmmaking & got his first big breaks, the power of positive thinking & how to transform your life from within. He also details his spiritual practice and how he develops his best work when he gets out of his head & stops thinking. groundupshow.com

Brian Bowen Smith is a legendary photographer known for his celebrity portraits. He’s shot key art for movies, television & magazines & his portfolio is prolific. He’s photographed Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Martin Scorsese, Kevin Hart and… Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. We talk about Brian’s past & his humble upbringing, how starting out with nothing gave him an outlook on life that carry’s through to this day. He also uncovers how one becomes a celebrity photographer and the ten year struggle he had to break into the industry. groundupshow.com

Luke Broadlick is a dancer & choreographer that’s toured with Britney Spears, Jason Derulo, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato & Justin Bieber. He’s choreographed for both Magic Mike films & the Magic Mike Live Las Vegas show. He started out in martial arts and was a quick study. Learning how to move & adapt his body was the key to his success early on. But as his career took off in his teenage years it presented unexpected challenges. Luke challenges us to think deeper about the role social media plays in our lives. How might your life change if you stop trying to get more likes, retweets & followers? You might be able to reclaim your identity & find your voice. groundupshow.com

Becca Shern is a registered dietitian & founder of Minimal Wellness. She teaches people how to live healthy & fulfilled lives by adopting a simple lifestyle. The health and wellness industry is confusing as hell. It’s filled with soundbites & half-truths that pass through culture like a virus. Becca helps us figure out how to navigate these claims & breaks down the essential ingredients for a healthy life. We also dive deep into her business, discussing the foundation of her messaging & how she communicates with her audience to filter only the clients she wants to work with. groundupshow.com

Asher Roth is a rapper by trade. He first plugged into the music industry in 2009 with his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle & his platinum single “I Love College”. But this podcast episode isn’t as much about those days as it is about his decision to unplug & start over. We discuss the process of taking ownership of your content & creating music for yourself, the difference between making an album in your closet vs the big industry studios (and where his best tracks have come from). We also talk simplicity, making change on the local level, social media, & how to get started. groundupshow.com

Alexis Wilkinson has written for HBO’s VEEP & FOX’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She initially pursued a degree as a biomedical engineer, but made a 180 to become a comedy writer. And the transition paid off pretty quickly. In her Junior year of college she was elected as the president of the Harvard Lampoon, a historic magazine with a 140 year history. We talk about PC culture, dick jokes, having a fallback plan & the art of bullshitting. groundupshow.com

Chris Temple & Zach Ingrasci are the filmmakers behind the Netflix documentaries Living On One Dollar & Salam Neighbor. They’ve made their name by immersing themselves fully into their films to learn as much as they can about their subjects. Whether it’s living on one dollar a day for 2 months in Guatemala or spending 30 days with Syrian Refugees. These guys are the real deal. In our conversation we talk about the mindset you need to have heading into big projects, can you be happy while living in poverty, and where the line between your creative field & entrepreneurship blur. groundupshow.com

Do you believe in the impossible? Ever since I started my podcast I knew there was one story I wanted to tell. There’s one person that has the ultimate ground up story. One person that has come from nothing and yet created so much. He’s a man that continues to give back and shows what’s possible with the right attitude. His name? Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But there’s a problem:  The Rock is an international super-star & probably the busiest person on the planet. Me? I’m just a guy with a podcast that no one listens to. How the hell am I going to achieve this oddly specific dream? That’s where you come in. I’ve created a website with a huge tweet button that auto-generates new messages for The Rock. I believe with the right energy, the right message, we can inspire The Rock to come on my podcast. And if we can do that… we I think we can inspire the world. gettherockonmattspodcast.com #gettherockonmattspodcast Oh yeah and in this episode I answer questions from the audience.

The Minimalists help over 20 million people live meaningful lives with less through their website, books, podcast, and most recently the documentary we created together. How did they become The Minimalists? What were some of their early mistakes as entrepreneurs? What are the inner workings of their business? We also reminisces about our documentary and why being uncomfortable is one of the only ways to grow. http://www.groundupshow.com