Kreatures Of Habit Podcast

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.

CEO & Founder Erik Huberman launched Hawke Media in 2014. Now valued at over $150 million, Hawke Media is the fastest growing marketing consultancy agency in the United States. Prior to its launch, Erik successfully founded, grew, and sold two e-commerce companies by the age of 26. Erik has since continued to strategically expand his business portfolio inclusive of a handful of company acquisitions, the 2018 launch of Hawke Ventures which reached a closed single fund of $5.6 million, the 2020 launch of his own podcast, HawkeTalk, the 2021 launch of HawkeZ, an agency offering brands the tools needed to tap into GenZ and most recently authored his own book, The Hawke Method, becoming a national bestseller. As a serial entrepreneur and marketing expert, Erik has been recognized by his industry peers through honors and awards including, Forbes Magazine’s 30Under30, CSQ’s 40Under40, and Inc. Magazine’s Top 25 Marketing Influencers just to name a few. In this episode, Michael and Erik discuss how to overcome anxiety as an entrepreneur, the importance of separating yourself from your business, and why great CEOs are always on the offensive. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Mr. Lil One, aka Uno aka Tha Boogieman Himself, is one of the Latin rap industry's premier players. He is truly a prolific and accomplished artist. With over 20 years in the industry and over twenty albums and projects, he has established himself as a leader and frontrunner in the game. From his first album, Once in a Decade in 1996, through Wasted Days and Wasted Nights and the trend-setting 13th Scorn, Uno has built a tremendous and loyal fan base that is consistent and supportive. Uno has continued his journey being outspoken on his growth and sobriety through his social media platform including his podcast The Telescope Room, which is based on being victorious from despair.  In this episode, Michael and Uno chop it up about the difference between being conscious and alert, how to not take things personally, and one book that will change your life. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Greg Scheinman helps men maximize middle age, through one-on-one performance & mindset coaching and a weekly kickass podcast and newsletter, he challenges men in their 30s through 50s to live better, happier, healthier, wealthier and stronger.   He is the author of The Midlife Male; A No BS Guide to maximizing middle age, a keynote speaker and most importantly, a husband and father.     In this episode, Greg and Michael talk about the right time to change shit in your life, how to reverse engineer what you want in five years, and why you can come home at 5pm and still be successful. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order. 

Ray “Cash” Care is a Navy SEAL veteran with multiple combat zone tours which provided both high and low profile security protection for various government agencies. At age 11 Ray’s father was murdered, leaving Ray angry and without direction until he learned about the elite Navy SEALs.  Upon leaving the SEAL Teams and CIA, Ray turned his passion and SEAL Team experience to the world of self-improvement and team building. He has become an accomplished team building expert and speaker on topics ranging from fitness and building high functioning teams to organizational transformation.  Ray has teamed up with Bedros Keuilian, entrepreneur and New York Times Best Selling Author, and created The Squire Program, a father and son experience designed to restore healthy masculinity in young men. Ray is also the Lead Instructor for “The Project,” a 75hr fully immersive life changing course. This course pushes men to their physical, mental, emotional limits to help them realize their highest self. However Ray’s true passion is working with young men in The Squire Program and helping them develop into capable and confident leaders of the future.  In this powerful episode, Michael and Ray talk about the role men have in society, one thing you should NOT do every night, and the mindset shift all successful people go through. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Steve Eckert is a Personal Discipline and Development Accountability Coach. He is a United States Marine, Entrepreneur, Husband, and Father. His unique style of blending Military Leadership, strategies and tactics, with the mindset and methods of an entrepreneur, combined with running at home businesses with his wife full time, have helped over 20,000 clients achieve Results and Life Transformations, over the past 22 years. He has built several successful companies and brands from scratch in the Coaching and Fitness industries.  Steve is an Instructor and Co-Founder of the Men's Personal Development program called the Project as well as the Father and Son rite of passage experience called The Squire Program. Steve's way of Life is to have a No Excuses, Role Model Mindset.  Operate to Dominate in your Discipline, Energy, Confidence, Action, and being your Freak self always remembering, You Are F@cking Awesome! In this episode, Michael and Steve chop it up about the power of morning affirmations, why what you do in the morning dictates how the rest of your day will unfold, and why you should always have something fearful to look forward to. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Everything Michael Brandt does is fast and intense. Aside from being the CEO and co-founder of Health Via Modern Nutrition (H.V.M.N.), he cruises through marathons at a cool 6-minute mile pace. With the launch of Ketone-IQ, Michael and his team created an entirely new category of ketone shots, which have taken over elite sports and high-end workplaces. Michael has quickly scaled the business to multi-million dollars in revenue, including a $6MM contract with the US Department of Defense. As CEO, Michael is focused on cultivating a world-class team and increasing education and access to metabolic health & performance. Michael majored in computer science and product design at Stanford. He scored 99th percentile on his GMAT but decided to skip business school and go straight into entrepreneurship. Prior to starting H.V.M.N. he was a professor of brand strategy at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Michael and his cofounder were awarded Forbes 30 Under 30. Outside of work, Michael is an avid triathlete and holds a 2:42 personal record for the marathon. He lives with his wife and daughter in LA. In this episode, Chernow and Brandt discuss the value of a living an 80/20 lifestyle, what to NOT do during the first hour of every morning, and how to combat work-life burnout. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.

Erin Alejandrino is a men’s lifestyle and transformation coach. He takes PAM (the Passive Aggressive Man) and turns him into a High Value Man. He is a man of faith and student of fitness, instructor, and Co-founder of The Modern Day Knight Project, a men's 75-hour personal development experience. He’s also a co-founder for The Squire Program, a father and son rite of passage. In this episode, Michael and Erin talk about the easiest life hack everyone can do, how to break the habit of avoidance, and the steps you must take in order to transform your life. Head over to kreaturesofhabit.com and enter the promo code KOHPOD20 to receive 20% off your first order.