Emily Abbate is a connector on a mission to empower women to live healthier, happier, and more motivated lives. Now an eleven-time marathoner and triathlete, the veteran wellness journalist (bylines include GQ, Well+Good, Glamour, and more) and former Fitness Editor at SELF Magazine wasn’t always kickstarting her days with runs around Central Park or leading workouts on Good Morning America. Emily went through a dramatic transformation in college, combatting negative self talk by integrating regular movement and healthier eating practices into her regular routine — ultimately losing 70 pounds and gaining a fresh perspective that catapulted her into a career in the health and fitness space. The wellness coach shares these experiences with her audience on Hurdle, acclaimed by The New York Times as “addictive,” with more than 7 million downloads to date. Featured in Health, Shape, andRunner’s World, Emily aims to empower her audience to feel less alone on their own wellness journeys, and does so through important conversations with everyone from elite athletes to top CEOs and founders. At the core of her mission is authenticity, which she brings not only to the show but also to her on-air commentary and keynote speeches. In this episode, Michael and Emily discuss the importance of implementing positive self-talk, why you learn the most from listening, and the benefits of movement every single day.

A nine year veteran of VaynerX, Tyler Schmitt is the General Manager of ONE37pm. Tyler oversees the organization across all content output & operations, including recruiting & hiring of talent and growth of the team from 10 to 45 in the past 12 months. Previously, Tyler served in the Office of the CEO for Gary Vaynerchuk and has been responsible for managing Gary's countless relationships, leading some of his efforts across web3, gaming & esports. With the growth of VaynerX over the years and its portfolio companies, Tyler serves as a conduit between the many internal organizations and Gary’s world. Prior to his time in Gary's office, Tyler served as Executive Assistant to former COO and Co-Founder of VaynerMedia, AJ Vaynerchuk. A graduate of Penn State University, Tyler resides in New York City. You can find him on instagram @Tyler. In this episode, Michael and Tyler discuss when it’s okay to “quit,” why you should make your bed every single morning, and how your habits dictate your identity.

With over 12 years of experience, Kenny Santucci has made himself known as one of New York City’s top trainers and a thought leader in the health and wellness industry. Brand ambassador for Michelob ULTRA and Fitaid, Technogym Master Trainer, host of the Fitaid Morning Show, Michelob ULTRA MOVEMENT Fitness Festival, Model Beach Volleyball, and more, Santucci has established himself as a force within the fitness space. He has collaborated with industry titans across the health, wellness, and lifestyle space such as Reebok, Under Armour, Adidas, ASICS, Rhone, Melin, Nocco, Cellucor, Bodybulding.com, CrossFit, the National Academy of Sports Medicine, Precision Nutrition, Nautica, TimeOut, Gregory’s Coffee, Get Joy and more. Kenny has also shared his training approach and wellness philosophy with features in top health and wellness publications such as Shape Magazine, Men’s Health Magazine, Men’s Journal, Runner's World, Well+Good, Askmen.com, Reebok.com, and Women’s Health Magazine to name a few. Kenny lives his mantra of helping others well beyond the walls of the gym. He is the creator of Strong New York, NYC's biggest fitness and wellness festival, an event that brings together the community to learn, workout, experience, and connect on all things wellness. You can find Kenny at The Strength Club, his private training facility in the heart of Manhattan located on 28th and 5th Ave in New York City. In this episode, Michael and Kenny discuss how to take control of your own life, why your past does not dictate your future, and the difference between being an asshole and being direct.

Michael Chernow is a Serial Entrepreneur, Restauranteur, Podcast Host and expert in the world of wellness, fitness and nutrition. Most recently, Michael founded and launched Kreatures of Habit, an in-your-face lifestyle and wellness brand, reimagining how you establish healthy habits in your life. After years in the restaurant business in NYC, he realized that his calling was to be of service in a more personal way, with the ability to impact more lives. Honoring his 17 years of sobriety by launching his newest venture, Michael’s goal with KOH was to create easily-accessible nutritional products that are rooted in adopting the positive habits that transformed his life, and allowed him to replace alcohol with the nutrition and fitness he needed. Michael launched KOH because he wanted to share his belief in habits through his personal story of change, how our habits determine whether we are going to be successful in our personal and professional lives, just get by, or worse, be miserable. He’s a firm believer that every time we replace a bad habit with a good one, big or small, the greater a chance we have to live our best lives. In this episode, Michael discusses his detailed morning routine — the foundation of his success.

Richie has been in the fitness industry for over 15 years, owning and operating his own gym in Hoboken, NJ. He is a former Professional MMA fighter who trains professional fighters, athletes and celebrities, including Justin Bieber, and recently cornering UFC Champ and #1 female fighter in the world Valentina Shevchenko for her last 5 title defenses. Richie was a former Division 1 wrestler who also holds a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under legendary Marcelo Garcia. Richie also owns his own Real Estate Brokerage, Prestige Property Group in Montclair, NJ, helping over 40 agents grow their brand and business. With everything that Richie does, he knows the importance of routine and healthy, daily habits. He believes that the only way to grow his brand and businesses is through daily consistent habits. In this episode, Michael and Richie discuss what the discipline of martial arts will teach you, the importance of attacking your fears, and why you will never quit if you have this one thing.

Josh Bridges is a 6 time elite CrossFit games athlete, former navy seal, father of two boys and Founder of Good Dudes Coffee. In this episode, we discuss how to hold yourself accountable, the key to starting your day with something you don’t want to do, the importance of getting enough sleep, and the habits that have changed Josh’s life. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Evan Haines, MA, is a co-founder of Oro House Recovery Centers, voted by Newsweek and Statista, Inc. as one of the very best dual-diagnosis addiction treatment centers in America.  Evan has a Master’s Degree in Community Development Planning from the University of British Columbia, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Clinical Psychology Program, specializing in depth psychology. Along with his fellow Oro House co-founder and longtime friend, Bob Forrest, Evan is the author of the book, Can America Recover? Reimagining the Drug Problem. In this episode, Michael and Evan discuss how to balance chaos with habits, why you should question the things that make you feel bad, and how to create a better world for yourself.

Sal Di Stefano is a personal trainer, co-founder of Mind Pump Media, and co-host of Mind Pump, an online radio show/podcast that is dedicated to providing truthful fitness and health information. Sal picked up his first weight at the age of 14. A painfully skinny teenager, he felt insecure about his physique and his lack of muscle and strength. Fitness was a way for him to apply hard work and effort towards changing and re-inventing himself. A natural intellect, Sal devoured every fitness, physiology and nutrition publication he could get his hands on. His appetite for knowledge is voracious and he used his passion for learning to maximize his own body’s potential. Four years later, Sal walked into his local 24 Hour Fitness gym and applied to be a personal trainer. He quickly became a top performer and, at the age of 19 was promoted to the position of general manager with as many as 40 employees working under him. During this period of time, Sal learned to master skills of sales, marketing and communication and his gyms broke records in sales and production. At the age of 22, Sal became an entrepreneur. He opened a wellness and personal trainer facility that offered one on one training, massage therapy, nutritional counseling, hormone testing and acupuncture. At the age of 28 Sals health took a bad turn. The years of training his own personal body with excessive amounts of intensity in the pursuit of more muscle combined with the abuse of supplements caused his body to rebel. He lost 15lbs of muscle and at one point believed he may have an autoimmune disorder. This forced Sal to change his personal approach to fitness. He made health a priority and he visited his insecurities that caused him to abuse his body. It took him a full year of study and learning to transform yet again. Sal learned about gut health, hormone health and how to prioritize health over appearance. He healed his body and changed how he communicates fitness and health and was re-invigorated with a new sense of purpose. Although this was a challenging time for him, it is literally what formed his view on health and how he communicates it to this day. At 33 years old Sal met Doug Egge who became his client. They formed a close friendship and together they created the first Muscular Adaptation Programming System (MAPS) program. Sal was the designer of the workout plan and Doug created the marketing material behind it. Their goal was to shatter the failed muscle building workout ideas that Sal had personally witnessed as entirely ineffective. They knew that MAPS programming would be vastly superior. Their challenge was how to bring this to the masses. 2 years later Sal met Adam and Justin and together with Doug they started Mind Pump. The goal with Mind Pump was simple...bring quality fitness and health information to the masses with integrity and honesty. Sal wanted to shift the direction of the fitness industry from an aesthetic insecurity based industry to a self love and self care health industry. He knew this could be accomplished with education through entertainment. In this episode, Michael and Sal discuss the percentage that nutrition matters in sculpting your ideal body, how to develop a faster metabolism, and why there’s no such thing as motivation (plus, the solution for that). Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Shizu Okusa is the Founder & CEO of Apothékary, a plant-based farmacy that couples traditional medicine with modern day ailments, offering natural alternatives to over-the-counter drugs and beauty products.  The company was established in 2019 and has since expanded their business beyond the US and now in 22+ countries worldwide.  Shizu started her entrepreneurial journey in the health & wellness industry eight years ago with her first company, JRINK. She launched and bootstrapped the cold-pressed juice brand in 2013 and since scaled and ultimately sold the company to a strategic buyer in 2019.  On “the side”, she also angel invests in (mostly) female led companies. Pre entrepreneurship, she was a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and The World Bank Group's private equity division, IFC Asset Management Company. Shizu graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2010 as a Leslie Wong Fellow with a Bachelors of Commerce in Finance.  In this episode, Michael and Shizu discuss why guilt and shame are useless feelings, the benefits of removing conversational texting during the day, and why you should write down your fears. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Jason McCarthy is the Founder & CEO of GORUCK. He served in Special Forces after 9/11, and founded GORUCK in West Africa with a napkin sketch for a rucksack that could thrive in Baghdad and NYC. He has overseen its growth from living out of a truck driving to all 48 contiguous states with his dog to running 1,000 events a year and managing 350 GORUCK Clubs all over the world. He proudly serves on the Board of Directors of the Green Beret Foundation. In this episode, Michael and Jason discuss the importance of having a real world community, how to develop more specific goals, and the steps to take to reverse engineer the life you want to live. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.