Danny attended the University of Florida as a second generation Gator and received his Bachelor’s of science in Journalism. While there, he was the Captain of the UF Club Lacrosse Team and the Cadet R.O.T.C. Battalion Commander. During his tenure in Gainesville, Danny served in the Florida National Guard with the 124th Infantry Regiment in Leesburg, Florida.Upon graduation, Danny was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army. During his time in the military, Danny was deployed to South Korea as a line platoon leader and later assigned to various leadership positions within the US Army Airborne School. While there, he was a jumping member of the historic Fort Benning Command Exhibition Parachute Team, “The Silver Wings.” Before he separated from the service, he earned a Masters of Science degree in Education from Troy State University in Alabama.Danny attended Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. After passing the Florida Bar exam, he attended University of Miami School of Law LL.M program in Estate Planning.Wanting to practice and help clients on a day-to-day basis, Danny later joined the Sanchez Law Offices in South Tampa. Danny lead the Firm’s Litigation and Estate Planning Group.In May of 2011, Danny formed The Alvarez Legal Group to help individuals whose voices are often drowned out in the legal system. While the Firm specializes in Personal Injury and General Civil/Commercial Litigation a strong focus remains on Estate Planning and Entertainment Law.Danny is a Business Law Professor at the University of Tampa. He is a member of the Florida Bar and is a member of the Hillsborough Bar Association Leadership Institute. In 2010, Danny was appointed by the Hillsborough County Commission to a four-year term on the Hillsborough Children’s Services Advisory Board. He is admitted to practice in all Florida State Courts and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielalvarezsr/

Dick Hoyt is a military veteran and one half of Team Hoyt. His son, Rick, was born with cerebral palsy and at age 15, asked his father if they could run a race together. This began a journey of over a thousand races, marathons, triathalons and Ironmans. We discuss Dick's early life, Rick's diagnosis, his parenting philosophy, Rick's alturism, adaptive athletes, removing barriers and so much more.The Early YearsRick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick’s brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a “normal” life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy’s quest for Rick’s inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the workplace.Dick and Judy soon realized that though Rick couldn’t walk or speak; he was quite astute and his eyes would follow them around the room. They fought to integrate Rick into the public school system, pushing administrators to see beyond Rick’s physical limitations. Dick and Judy would take Rick sledding and swimming, and even taught him the alphabet and basic words, like any other child. After providing concrete evidence of Rick’s intellect and ability to learn like everyone else, Dick and Judy needed to find a way to help Rick communicate for himself.With $5,000 in 1972 and a skilled group of engineers at Tufts University, an interactive computer was built for Rick. This computer consisted of a cursor being used to highlight every letter of the alphabet. Once the letter Rick wanted was highlighted, he was able to select it by just a simple tap with his head against a head piece attached to his wheelchair. When the computer was originally first brought home, Rick surprised everyone with his first words. Instead of saying, “Hi, Mom,” or “Hi, Dad,” Rick’s first “spoken” words were: “Go, Bruins!” The Boston Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals that season. It was clear from that moment on, that Rick loved sports and followed the game just like anyone else.In 1975, at the age of 13, Rick was finally admitted into public school. After high school, Rick attended Boston University, and he graduated with a degree in Special Education in 1993. Dick retired in 1995 as a Lt. Colonel from the Air National Guard, after serving his country for 37 years.The Beginning of Team HoytIn the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”This realization was just the beginning of what would become over 1,000 races completed, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat for the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made running chair (for the running stage).Rick was once asked, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? Rick responded, “The thing I’d most like is for my dad to sit in the chair and I would push him for once.”The 2009 Boston Marathon was officially Team Hoyt’s 1000th race. Rick always says if it comes down to doing one race a year he would like it to be the Boston Marathon: his favorite race.

Ian has 23 years of international professional experience in health, safety and business improvement within military, mining, rail, oil and gas, utilities and elite athletes. Combining scientific research and operational leadership, he supports organisations in reducing risk, lowering cost, and optimising productivity and performance. Ian applies Lean/Six Sigma and other scientific methodologies in significant projects to drive step-change improvement in performance while ensuring sustainability through associated culture change.In the mining, oil, and gas sectors, he has worked internationally as an advisor to major companies including Rio Tinto, Woodside, BHP, Anglo Gold Ashanti, South 32, Karara Mining, Peabody and Goldcorp. Other sectors include agriculture with CBH group and rail with Metro Trains Melbourne. He has been responsible for the development of global practices, integration, and project management across multiple product groups. This has entailed the quantification, analysis, and interpretation of multiple data streams to support health, safety, financial strength, and productivity. Within elite athletic groups, he has worked with the Australian Institute of Sport, West Australian Institute of Sport, Super Rugby, Australian Rules Football and Formula 1 to optimise human performance in preparation for international competition and the Olympics.Ian is a regular speaker/chair at universities and international conferences in mining, transport, sports performance and physiology. He regularly contributes articles to media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, Men’s Fitness, Blitz Martial Arts, BJJ Scout and Huffington Post. He has spoken on the Health Report on ABC radio in Australia, ABC radio national and numerous podcasts. In addition, he has appeared on ABC television, Channel 7, 9 and 10 in Australia, and was a TEDx Perth speaker in 2017. He is author and co-author of numerous technical reports, scientific articles, and industry guidelines, and a regular reviewer for scientific peer-reviewed journals.An active athlete, I have completed over 20 ultramarathons to date, including the Ultra-Trail Australia 100km (7 times), Leadville 100 miler, numerous marathons and trail running events. My current focus is on improving my swimming to undertake long-distance open water swimming events (10-20km).

LT Kegan "SMURF" Gill miraculously survived the fastest ejection in Naval Aviation history. Despite severe injuries, he overcame the impossible to return to the cockpit of the F/A-18E Super Hornet, and that was just the beginning of his journey. Despite years of struggle with physical and mental health challenges, Kegan has unlocked the key to overcoming the impossible.In this second conversation, we discuss the tolls he's amassed to continue healing after a pyschedelic retreat, writing his autobiography "Phoenix Revival", hormone therapy, sleep and so much more.

Keith Hanks is a retired Firefighter and EMT that dedicated 21 years of his life to the service of others. He serviced his community as a firefighter, EMT, certified educator and training officer along with fire prevention and code enforcement. Keith worked both inner-city EMS as well as municipal fire. Like many in the first responder community the job has its cost. From childhood trauma and sexual abuse, traumatic calls, the tragic passing of his first wife, Keith has faced many trials and tragedies that resulted in self-harm, substance abuse, lies and multiple suicide attempts. After decades of damage Keith began to put the pieces of his life back together. Keith was diagnosed with Complex PTSD in 2015. The job, the service, his dedication caused this injury, and consequently his retirement. What PTS didn’t change was the love and devotion to his community and to his fellow first responders. Keith has since dedicated his life to advocating for mental illness, substance and alcohol abuse recovery, and suicide awareness. Since starting this mission Keith built an international support group through Facebook for First Responders and Veterans for PTSI and other job-related mental health issues. Keith was asked to be a part of the Deconstructing Stigma Project and has a Billboard that hangs in the International Terminal at Logan Airport in Boston MA, along with the Manchester Regional Airport. In March 2022 he completed the filming of his 1st feature length documentary focusing on PTSD in the first responder community titled First Responders in Crisis and has since been featured in two other related documentaries. Keith is an international speaker/podcast personality, and published author. He is a contributing author at Fire Engineering, Firefighter Nation, The Volunteer Firefighter, Crackyl, and Smoke Showin’ magazines/forums. He also wrote a featured chapter in the ongoing Amazon best-selling series Scars to Stars Volume 3. He is known for saying that his life goal is to reduce suicide in the first responder community through education, support resources and to make it OK to reach out for help. In 2023, he launched his own LLC, Traumatic Strength, with its mission to bring proactive education, training, and action to combat the stigma on mental health. In June 2024, Keith released his first book, Allen, which tells the tragedies and triumphs throughout his life and how resilience was what led him to ultimate victory. He resides in New Hampshire with his wife and is the proud father to three incredible children.

Chuck Liddell is an MMA legend, author and actor. We discuss his early life, overcoming physical challenges, his grandfather's mentorship, altruism, his journey into the martial arts, intrinsic motivation, transitioning out of professional fighting and so much more.Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell burst onto the MMA scene in 1998 during his UFC debut fight win against Noe Hernandez in UFC 17. His rise to UFC champion includes most notable TKO wins against Randy Couture (UFC 52 & 57), Tito Ortiz (UFC 47 & 66), Wanderlei Silva (UFC 79) and the KO win that catapulted him into UFC stardom at UFC 31 against Kevin Randleman. Chuck reigned as UFC World Light Heavyweight Champion for two years, defending his title five times.

Doug White is a veteran law enforcement officer whose career spans from working with the Specal Operations community to bomb disposal in Florida. We discuss his journey into the military, force protection, civilian policing, terrorism, his powerful mental health story and so much more.Doug's journey of service began in 1993 when he enlisted as a Security Forces specialist in the U.S. Air Force. His dedication led him to the 919th Special Operations Wing and later to the U.S. Special Operations Command. On 9/11, Doug volunteered for active duty, becoming a founding member of the command’s Protective Services Detachment, supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.Following his military service, Doug dedicated 25 years to a major law enforcement agency in west-central Florida. He served as a patrolman, field training officer, instructor, and certified bomb technician, ultimately rising to the rank of lieutenant. Along the way, he developed a deep understanding of leadership under pressure and the complexities of serving in high-stress environments.Doug’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Years of selfless service took a toll, leading to a moment of crisis in 2019 when he faced the invisible costs of trauma and overidentification with his professional roles. That moment became a turning point, not an ending. Through resilience, grace, and grit, Doug transformed his experience into a mission of growth and empowerment.Today, Doug uses his story to inspire and guide veterans, first responders, and their families. Through authentic storytelling and actionable insights, he shares lessons on resilience, mental fitness, and finding purpose after transitions. Doug’s journey isn’t just about overcoming challenges—it’s about thriving beyond them and helping others do the same.

Kiran Pital and Peter Holme Jensen are the founders of Cambiotics and are developing a probiotic that will remove PFAS from the human body. We discuss their early lives in India and Denmark, Parkinson's Disease, the healing power of the microbiome, the dangers of PFAS in firefighting clothing and foam, and so much more.Kiran studied Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai, India). He moved to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) to work with Prof. Jens Nielsen and obtained his PhD in Systems Biology. Kiran was then appointed as Assistant Professor at DTU where he worked on transcriptional regulation and metabolic engineering.In 2010, Kiran joined the Structural and Computational Biology Unit at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL-Heidelberg, Germany). He was appointed Director of Research at the MRC Toxicology Unit in 2019 and appointed as Professor of Molecular Systems Biology in October 2022.Peter Holme Jensen is the Founder & CEO of Cambiotics. He is a serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years' experience from the biosolutions industry, having raised EUR ~80 mill in equity financing & lead Initial Public Offering at Nasdaq Copenhagen in 2021.He is active in various board positions, including Innovation Fund Denmark & Aquaporin, driven by purpose of creating a more sustainable world by using nature & biotechnology as a starting point for creation of future technologies. Peter is a passionate freeride skier and ready to break a leg if the situation requires. He holds a PhD in Structural Biochemistry from University of Copenhagen.

Lee Burton has a Doctorate Degree with an emphasis in health and wellness, is a certified athletic trainer and is the co-creator of the Functional Movement Screen. He presents on numerous sports medicine topics nationally and internationally, has produced instructional videos and consults with a wide variety of organizations including NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, military/government entities, as well as the Cooper and Mayo Clinics on injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Richard Rice spent three decades in the US armed forces and was one of the founding members of what would become the revered Delta Force. We discuss his journey into the military, being hunted in Vietnam, compassion in combat, Mogadishu, transitioning into education, innovating veterans' education, GORUCK and so much more.Richard retired from the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in 1994 after 30 years of service. The last 25 years of which were spent in various Special Operations Forces (SOF) assignments. He was a Program Coordinator, Director and Vice President at Fayetteville Technical Community College from 1994 to 2015.He began his career in the 82nd Airborne Division before joining Special Forces and then MACV-SOG, the most elite and decorated unit to fight in the Vietnam War, where he did two combat tours to begin a long and storied career. Colonel Charlie Beckwith, a fellow Special Forces soldier who he met in Vietnam, became both friend and mentor and personally recruited Rich for a “new unit” that later became known as Delta Force. Beckwith sent Rich to a couple of specialty courses in the U.S. Army and to the British Special Air Service (SAS) Selection course in England.Upon his return to the United States he helped organize, establish and serve in the unit during Operation Eagle Claw (he still has the keys to the garage where all the getaway vehicles were stored in Tehran), Grenada, Panama, Nicaragua, Cuba, Pakistan and Afghanistan where he, his teammates and his favorite animals (donkeys) aided the mujahideen resistance to the Soviet occupation (the story recounted in Charlie Wilson’s War). He also served in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 (Black Hawk Down) before retiring from the Army and then working in higher education at Fayetteville Technical Community College where he was nationally recognized for developing a competency-based program for awarding college credits for military education and training.Retiring after completion of 20 years in the North Carolina Community College System as the Vice President of Military Programs, Richard continues to participate in developing leaders by mentoring, speaking at leadership conferences, and addressing post graduate audiences. He holds a Masters in Business Administration with Honors and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (with a concentration in management) Summa Cum Laude, both from Campbell University.Rich has lost many friends in service to America and by any rational account he should not still be alive, either. Service and mentorship are his great passions, the ideals of the American way of life remain his northern star, and he’s never been known to turn down a cold beer or a good conversation with anyone who has something important to say. Rich should have several Purple Hearts but he was always too old school to file the paperwork, claiming it to be a “waste of time.”