Unfiltered Extra

As the old adage goes, from little acorns grow mighty oaks.DeFranco’s Training Systems began life in a 500 square foot storage closet, and has grown into one of the most successful and highly regarded brands in the fitness and sports performance industry.Spear-headed by Joe DeFranco, a world-renowned personal trainer and educator with more than a quarter of a century’s experience in the fitness and sports performance arena, with a client list a who’s who of household names, including players from all 32NFL teams, WWE wrestlers and UFC fighters.In our full and frank conversation with Unfiltered’s contributing editor Dr Jonny Rees, PhD, DeFranco, a refreshingly straight-talking New Jersey native, explains how what seemed like a disaster at the time - his own career-ending injury - helped make him the world-renowned coach he is today.Fully loaded with advice applicable both inside and outside the gym, gain insight directly from the man behind some of the world’s most impressive athletes. We hear how there are no mandatory exercises, what it takes to be a successful coach, and what you do with your shopping cart says about your approach to life.Many of the lessons and insights you’ll gain from this one transcend the fitness industry, and will benefit anyone who wants to squeeze every single drop of joy, satisfaction and pride from their time on this planet.To watch our full Unfiltered video interview with Joe DeFranco visit: https://unfilteredonline.com/joe-defranco-exclusive-how-to-live-stronger-for-longer/For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

Inspired - and frustrated - by seeing the same creatine question get asked time and again on Reddit, serial entrepreneur Sol Orwell co-founded sports nutrition research service Examine.com in 2011, growing from a two-man-band in Toronto, Canada, to the world’s most trusted authority on critiquing the claims made by the $380-billion-a-year global supplement industry.But, as he reveals in a wide-ranging interview with Unfiltered's editor-in-chief Joe Warner, internal mistakes and worldwide pandemics have pushed the business to the brink. Yet an uncompromising stance on employee welfare and remaining true to his “North Star” means Orwell has refused eight-figure offers for the company to maintain complete control and keep Examine.com focused on what it does best. And, as he explains, he's only just getting started.Watch our full video interview with Orwell at https://unfilteredonline.com/sol-orwell-examine-business-lessons-advice/For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

It would be difficult to overstate Stan Efferding’s impact on the world of health, fitness and performance.Having reached the pinnacle of both bodybuilding and powerlifting - he is both a world record holding powerlifter and an IFBB professional bodybuilder - he is now one of the most highly sought after consultants to many of the world’s most popular and successful athletes across an incredibly wide range of sports. Clients include four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw, Icelandic strongman and Game of Thrones “The Mountain” Hafþór Björnsson, and WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin.As hard as it is to imagine now, Efferding was once considered too small for soccer, with a physique “like a number 2 pencil”. He began training at his coach’s request to bulk up while on a soccer scholarship to the University of Oregon.The rest is history. From weighing just 98lbs (44kg or 7st) in high school, to 135lbs in college, to a peak of over 300lbs (140kg or 22st), and a strength or physique accolade to match every pound gained, Efferding translates his unique blend of 30 years of research and application into practical actionable tips, hard-won insights, and unforgettable phrases.In a wide-ranging conversation with Unfiltered’s contributing editor Dr Jonny Rees, PhD, Efferding reveals his take on optimal training and nutrition for both muscle gain and fat loss. He also details the tried-and-tested principles that form the foundation of The Vertical Diet, his performance-based nutritional framework, how he successfully competed in both powerlifting and bodybuilding, and much more.In a health and fitness industry struggling from a plague of Instagram "experts' with few credentials and limited experience, Efferding is the cure we need.For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

Artificial intelligence and wearable technology have already had a huge impact on improving elite athletic performance, and many of these technological breakthroughs are beginning to trickle down into the amateur athletic space.But if the relationship between AI, smart tech and physical performance is still in its nascency, just how big an impact can and will it have on pushing the limits of human potential to a previously unimaginable level?Unfiltered's editor-in-chief Joe Warner sat down with Dr Mikael Mattsson, PhD, co-founder and CEO of human performance intelligence company svexa in the heart of Silicon Valley to discover how both existing and evolving AI technology will steer and shape professional sport over the coming decade, and what it will mean for both athletes and armchair viewers.Svexa works with a number of top-flight teams across a number of sports, both in Europe and North America, and a key part of any conversation around AI and elite performance is the evolving role human managers and coaches will have in professional sport.Because if AI can monitor and analyse hundreds, or thousands, of biometric and other performance data points in real time, which it can, and then make performance or tactical recommendations based on that data, which it does, where do the humans fit in?Will the English Premier League become a multi billion-dollar version of the Football Manager computer simulation game, in which player recruitment, management and deployment is essentially based on marks out of 20 for a range of tangible and intangible skills, with an AI “coach” responsible for all tactical changes, decisions and substitutions?Will this relegate the role of a coach to little more than a friendly face who puts an arm round the shoulder after a bad day at the office?And, for you, what impact will AI and automated coaching have on your 5k time, or your five-a-side team’s results? Even if you reach new personal highs, can you ever love an algorithm as much as a human who’s fully invested in making you better?Watch our full video interview here: https://unfilteredonline.com/mikael-mattsson-svexa-ai-elite-sport/For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

British army soldier. Physique athlete. Cover model. Personal trainer. Online coach. Gym owner. Author. Broadcaster. Social media superstar.If Jay Alderton had a business card that listed his career roles it wouldn’t fit in his wallet. In a remarkable and varied professional journey, completed with unfathomable highs and heart-breaking lows, Alderton has developed a unique online voice to distill the lessons he’s learnt – many of which the hard way – into affirmative and actionable advice for his legion of followers.In an exclusive interview with Unfiltered editor-in-chief Joe Warner, Alderton reveals the light-bulb moment that illuminated his path towards becoming one of the UK’s most successful social media influencers and how he uses his platform to help millions of people become the best versions of themselves possible.Alderton also gives his expert advice on how you can increase your online audience and reach to further your personal and professional goals, and details his mental-health-sparring strategy for dealing with the social media charlatans, fraudsters and grifters who want to separate you from your hard-earned cash. Watch the full video interview, and access bonus content, at https://unfilteredonline.com/jay-alderton-the-secret-to-my-social-media-success/ For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/ Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

“How do I introduce myself? It depends who I’m talking to and what I want to get out the conversation!”When you wear as many hats as Shaun Stafford it can be tricky to succinctly summarise exactly what it is you do.Of course, there’s the body. A two-time WBFF Physique world champion, Stafford will always be known for a muscular and lean body that’s graced multiple magazine covers and advertisements for sports nutrition supplement brands (he represented Reflex Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition and currently Ghost). But there’s the brain as well as the brawn. As founder and managing director of London-based personal training gym City Athletic, Stafford has proved he can build a successful business as well as a show-stopping body. In an exclusive interview with editor-in-chief Joe Warner, Stafford reveals how he maintains his cover model body despite the rigorous demands of running a growing business as well as raising two growing boys, and details how he bounced back from losing almost all of his social media reach – and significant monthly revenue – when Instragram updated its algorithm.He also explains why so many fitness models and competitors with world-class physiques struggle with mental health issues related to unhappiness with their bodies, and details the huge sacrifices required to build an incredible physique that make bodybuilding the most selfish sport on the planet.For the full interview with bonus footage visit https://unfilteredonline.com/shaun-stafford-you-cant-build-a-body-or-a-business-without-huge-sacrificeFor exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/ Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

That the world is gripped by a mental health crisis is not in question.What remains unanswered is how we begin to solve the suffering that's affecting millions of people all around the world.Matias Serebrinsky, co-founder and general partner at psychedelic treatment investment fund PsyMed Ventures, believes unequivocally that the answer lies in psychedelic medicine, and that the imminent next generation of psychedelic therapies that will provide greater efficacy without any side-effects.If so, it will redraw the battle lines in the war against mental illness and finally give us the solution to a previously unsolvable problem.But is he right?Unfiltered's editor-in-chief Joe Warner met Serebrinsky in San Francisco to find out why he is so convinced we are close to winning the war against mental illness.For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/ Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

Rick Collins, the world-renowned legal authority on testosterone and other performance-enhancing drugs, explains to Unfiltered's Dr Jonny Rees, PhD, where the law’s got it wrong in demonising steroids, and why the guy who wants to get jacked for his holiday should never be penalised harder than the professional sport drug cheat. “I was an apple in an orange parade.”When Rick Collins went to law school not many people there looked like him.As a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder he wasn’t buying suits off the peg like his classmates. It’s this start to his legal profession that has seen him became a world-renowned legal authority on testosterone and other performance and image-enhancing drugs.In his extensive career he has served as lead defense attorney on countless criminal cases and doping allegations involving anabolic steroids and related drugs nationwide and internationally, including the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operartive (BALCO) scandal that shocked professional sport in the early 2000s. (BALCO, founded by Victor Conte, supplied performance-enhancing drugs to a number of household name athletes, including Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Marion Jones.)He also serves as General Counsel to the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), is a legal advisor to the Pro League of the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB), and his New York-based law firm, Collins Gann McCloskey & Barry PLLC, represents numerous companies in the sports nutrition industry.It’s this experience and insight that makes him the perfect expert to explain where he thinks we are going right and, critically, when we have gone wrong in legitimising and demonising different drugs based on their impact on performance, health and public perception.Watch the full video with bonus footage at https://unfilteredonline.com/rick-collins-we-must-stop-treating-steroids-the-same-as-other-drugs/ For exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/ Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

Dave Wright, as you can soon tell from the first five seconds of our Unfiltered conversation, is a straight-talking and passionate Australian who has been a vocal and impactful supporter of the fitness industry for more than three decades.A serial entrepreneur – he is the founder and CEO of Myzone; the owner and CEO of Creative Fitness Marketing; and the co-owner of the Voyage Fitness brand in Australia – and board director of ukactive, the not-for-profit fitness industry association, he has a unique ability of understanding the industry from all angles and a unique voice to lobby our elected officials when he believes they’re neglecting their duties.And it’s fair to say he’s not been best pleased with the response he’s had from politicians in both Westminster and Washington to his demands for government to act now to tackle the obesity epidemic that threatens to cripple national healthcare systems.But just because he doesn’t like what he’s hearing, he has no intention of shutting up until he gets what he wants.Watch the full video interview: https://youtu.be/nxE163vgwUgFor exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/ Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra

Human enhancement technologies are already changing the nature of military recruitment, training and war-zone deployment.And, as with everything that is invented with the primary aim of increasing the odds of military victory, it is only a matter of time before these nascent technologies trickle down to civilian life. For Andrew Herr, founder of performance concierge service Fount, his former professional role as a Pentagon advisor makes it clear which side of the fence he’s on in exploring the fullest potential of these technologies, both for military and civilian purposes.But while what happens on the front line is quite literally a matter of life and death, the stakes are high in a different way on a professional sports field or a corporate HQ board room.Given the inevitable rise of military-grade human enhancement hardware and software solutions into civilian populations, how concerned is he by the short-, medium- and long-term implications of significant increases in human cognitive and physiological performance?And how do we ensure these technologies are available to all, and not just a super-rich minority who could exploit their newfound skills and capabilities to consolidate even greater power, wealth and influence? Watch the full video interview here: https://youtu.be/lhX7NO2t_HYFor exclusive access to all Unfiltered's video interviews, features and documentaries visit https://unfilteredonline.com/ Get in touch in the comments below or talk to us on:Email: editorial@unfilteredonline.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSV7XVaBYUYq5YidLI12owInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfiltered.extraTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/UnfilteredExtra