The Bryant Ferate Podcast

#16 - Mike Vaccaro - Obsessions, Vision Boards, & Taking Action.

Mike Vaccaro, (aka Wey!), has taught me so much in life about coaching, pursuing what you want, and being driven to create your path. He most of all helped me believe in myself early in my coaching career. He highlighted qualities that I had that made me unique and challenged me to embrace them. I am forever grateful for that.
We crossed paths at Washington State University where I was an undergraduate intern within the Strength & Conditioning Department and Mike was interning while finishing his master's degree at the University of Idaho.
In this episode we get into his obsessions and what is currently on his vision board. We discuss getting obsessed and going all in. Mike shares how Mini’s, a future podcast, and real estate fit into his vision board. 
Mike previously competed in lacrosse at Hofstra University, nationally in Olympic Weightlifting, and coached an Olympic Weightlifting team out of his training facility in Hawaii. Most of all an amazing friend I can’t wait to see what he does with his podcast and how his car club evolves! 
Mike’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gold_tooth_kray/
Ferate’s Newsletter - bryantferate.substack.com
Ferate’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bryantferate/
Ferate’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BryantFerate
TIMESTAMPS
(2:06) Live Round 2
(3:50) Classic Mini Podcast In The Works
(12:55) His Original Podcast (Evolutionary Health)
(16:20) Creative Pursuit of Podcasting
(23:00) Vision Board
(25:40) Writing Down What You Want 20 Times
(29:30) “Winners & losers have the same goals…”
(34:15) National Level Olympic Weightlifter & Coaching
(40:00) Decisive Action
(45:55) Standards & Principles
(49:40) Competitive With Self or Others
(55:05) Collegiate Lacrosse Lessons
(1:04:40) Learning From Injuries
(1:08:15) Car Club & Community
(1:12:55) Rental Properties

#15 - Ryan Metzger - Competition, Feedback, & Developing A Personal Brand.

Today’s guest is my great friend from the coaching world, Ryan Metzger. Our paths crossed at the University of Kentucky back in 2013 and have been friends ever since. Metzger is a frequent flyer on podcasts and I am excited to dive into some different topics today outside the typical college strength & conditioning conversations.
We discuss coaches having coaches, the best ways to give & receive feedback, developing leaders depending on their role, and some areas that we struggled with early in our coaching careers.
We also recorded this episode in mid-November prior to the American Open. We discussed Metzger’s approach to competing at the beginning of the episode, but she ended up not competing this year due to personal reasons. I am fired up for you to check out this episode and grateful for Metzger to share some time with all of us. Let’s make today the best day of the year, until tomorrow.
Metzger’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coach_metz/?hl=en
Metzger’s Bio - https://utsports.com/staff-directory/ryan-metzger/5184
Ferate’s Newsletter - bryantferate.substack.com
Ferate’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bryantferate/
Ferate’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BryantFerate
TIMESTAMPS
(2:05) We’re Live
(4:50) American Open Olympic Weightlifting
(13:15) Your Career Complimenting Your Competitive Hobby
(18:45) Doing Something For 10 Years
(21:00) Competitive With Self & Others
(23:00) Coaches Being Coached
(26:00) Communication
(40:35) Giving Feedback
(44:37) Differences in Receiving Feedback & Delivering It
(48:25) Great Podcasting Experience
(56:30) Developing Leaders (Interns vs. Athletes)
(1:04:10) Personal Brand
(1:17:20) Verbs Over Nouns
(1:19:28) If Money Wasn’t A Thing What Would You Do?

#14 - Mark O’Donnell - Content, Visual Storytelling, & Showcasing Washington State.

Mark O’Donnell is joining us on the podcast. Mark is killing it in the game of digital storytelling & showing us all what Washington State & the rest of the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Mark expresses his creativity with his iconic yellow jacket and by delivering content on hiking, getting out in nature, and just being authentically himself through his art.
We dive into topics of how to develop a personal brand, diversifying your content across platforms, the art of storytelling, and more. We even give Jordan Johnson a shout-out about the book the Alchemist.
I love Mark’s consistency the most. He continues to produce and produce. I love his consistency just as much as I love his story of starting his creative journey, hiking solo, and now being the DOD (Director of Destination). Excited to see what Mark does with his content creation in 2023 and share this conversation with you.
Mark’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markobreezy/?hl=en
Mark’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/Markobreezy
Ferate Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bryantferate/
Ferate Weekly Newsletter - https://bryantferate.substack.com/
TIMESTAMPS.
(1:48) We Are Live
(4:40) Iconic Yellow North Face Jacket & Color Theory
(10:35) Why He Started Hiking
(16:35) Backpacking Sawtooth Range, Idaho
(24:00) Ferate Getting Into Hiking
(28:14) Nature, Eco-Therapy, & 3-Day Effect
(31:00) Director of Destination & Planning
(35:40) Who do you want to be?
(39:35) Good to Great For Planning
(42:10) Visual Storyteller: Back to the Beginning
(51:20) Diversify & Community
(59:20) Giving yourself credit & the content funnel
(1:07:00) Distribute To Masses
(1:11:40) Two Original Instagram Photos
(1:24:35) Don’t Should On Yourself
(1:28:40) What Motivates Ferate
(1:43:20) Being A Different Person & Mark’s Podcast
(1:51:07) The Alchemist
(1:56:00) What’s Next

#13 - Cat Wade - Values, Boundaries, & What Are You World Class At?

Writing this introduction for my amazing friend and mentor is a tough one. I wanted to be concise but there is so much to say.
This episode is special to me because Cat and I connect so often on life and coaching over the phone these past few years since she moved from Portland to the East Coast. Cat was the original one who gave me my first opportunity to coach after grad school. She hired me and opened the door of opportunity at the University of Portland in 2016. She is now the owner and director of Blue Chip Performance in Baltimore, Maryland.
In this episode, we discuss Cat’s growth from competing at Oklahoma University in soccer as a keeper all the way through her coaching career (Syracuse, Houston, Portland) to now at Blue Chip Performance and coaching high school soccer. She is obsessed with the growth and improvement of herself to impact others. We get into knowing your values, sharing your values with your student-athletes, and sitting with the questions “what are you world-class at?”
If you want to check out more about the podcast make sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter at bryantferate.substack.com and follow my Instagram page to see clips from the episode (bryantferate)
Blue Chip Performance - https://www.instagram.com/bluechipperformance/
Ferate’s Newsletter - bryant.ferate.substack.com
Ferate’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bryantferate
 
Timestamp
(2:33) Live with Cat Wade
(6:18) Coaching
(10:40) Creating Space
(14:28) Do People Know What We Value
(30:50) Knowing What Path You Are On
(37:00) Starting BlueChip Performance
(40:00) Transitioning to Virtual Coaching
(42:10) Imposter Syndrome
(45:15) Curiosity
(53:25) Ability To Be World Class
(59:20) Meditation
(1:02:27) Process of Identifying What You Are World Class At?
(1:13:00) End-of-Year Review
(1:19:30) Keep The Main The Main Thing
(1:23:20) Boundaries & Conviction
(1:32:00) Be Where Your Feet Are

#12 - Christopher Villanella - Creating The Space, Breath Work, & Heart Coherence.

We have an incredible human being on the pod today and I am excited to share this conversation with you. Especially the first 10 minutes Christopher creates the space for this conversation using breath work.
I hope that the first 10 minutes makes your day.
Christopher Villanella and I met at Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Portland Oregon. Christopher is my breathing coach and has also coached me through Wim Hof breathing and getting into a freezing river in the Vancouver Area of Washington State.
In this conversation we discuss his current love for understanding more about heart coherence, breath-work (Wim Hof & Kasper van der Meulen), what influenced him growing up, his world travels (train hopping, life experiences), and his most recent travels to Australia to support his friend who is running over 50 km a day across the country for veterans mental health.
Thank you for checking out this episode and if you are interested in learning more about checkout my weekly newsletter bryantferate.substack.com & follow my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bryantferate/
Best Day of The Year… Until Tomorrow. 
Ferate
Timestamps
(2:18) Creating Space (Breath Work)
(8:00) When You Are Ready, Let’s Get This Thing Going.
(11:40) Curiosity
(14:00) We Can Be Friends Challenge
(18:15) The Heart
(27:00) No Blind Faith, No Blind Doubt
(31:30) Raghunath, Krishna, & Nepal
(52:00) Always Seeking, trains, & travel
(58:20) Travel Experiences
(1:01:15) Jiujitsu in Spain Granada
(1:12:00) Interest In Wim Hof
(1:24:30) Poland Experience
(1:35:20) MindStrong Project & Harvey Martin
(1:39:00) Surrender
(1:47:50) Poor Breather & Kasper
(1:55:40) Kasper’s Community
(2:03:15) “Time, Space, & Attention.”
(2:11:40) William Burnett & Australia
(2:25:55) Doing The Impossible Book Section
(2:32:10) Creating The Space
Chris’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mission.breathwork/
William Burnett (Running Across Australia) - https://www.instagram.com/themind.mechanic/?hl=en
Ferate’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bryantferate/
Ferate’s Newsletter - bryantferate.substack.com 

#11 - Matthieu Galizia - Cathedral Coffee, Connection, & Open To Opportunities.

Matthieu Galizia is the director of operations for the BEST coffee shop in Portland, Oregon. Cathedral Coffee is my frequent neighborhood stop to grab a cold brew and be productive. Cathedral is a special place to me as it is where I have spent a lot of time working on myself, my writing, and the podcast.
In this episode, we get into the history of Cathedral Coffee, what is such a special place, and most all get to have a long conversation with the legend! Outside of coffee, Matthieu shares his experience of creating. Content creation, music, writing, building out creative projects within the hospitality industry.
We also discuss why connection means so much to both of us, who he looks up to, his world travels, learning languages, and building a homestead outside of the city with his family.
I have always connected with Matthieu during my time spent at Cathedral Coffee. He always finds a way to fill my cup. In life even more than the cold brew I always order. He is an amazing human. I am excited to share his story just as much as I was to sit down with him for Cathedral after hours.
If you are enjoying these podcast conversations make sure you sign up for my weekly newsletter which is bryantferate.substack.com and at @BryantFerate on instagram and share this someone you may think would be impacted by this episode or an article from the newsletter!
Grateful For This Process, the people who have reached out to gas me up, and for this conversation.
Best Day of The Year Until Tomorrow…
Matthieu’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mat.chioo/?hl=en
Cathedral Coffee Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cathedralcoffee/?hl=en
Cathedral Coffee Website - https://www.cathedralcoffee.com/
Ferate’s Instagram - @bryantferate
Ferate’s Weekly Newsletter - https://bryantferate.substack.com/
Chris Baca Newsletter - https://chrisbaca.com/newsletter
TIMESTAMPS:
(2:38) Getting Right Into It
(7:10) Cathedral Coffee After Hours
(13:10) Creating Content
(18:20) Chris Baca Coffee Newsletter
(26:00) Art of Storytelling
(29:40) Classical Piano
(35:30) Connection & Transition To What’s Next
(50:00) Homestead With His Family
(1:01:00) Cathedral Coffee
(1:26:40) Who Do You Look Up To?
(1:42:45) Running Away, Together, or Towards Something
(1:49:42) Clarity In Partnerships
(1:55:45) Traveling & Walking With Each Other
(2:08:30) Connection In Other Countries
(2:11:10) Roastery Project
(2:16:00) Jumping Into The Unknown
(2:23:18) Peace & Random Opportunities

#10 - Dirk Van der Velde - All In, Momentasize, & Living The Life You Want To Live.

Dirk Van der Velde is the owner of Momentasize Construction. Entrepreneur, former student-athlete I had the opportunity to coach at the University of Portland Men’s Soccer team, and amazing friend. Get into an awesome conversation today!
Dirk shares insight into living life on his terms and working towards the goal of 10,000 properties. We discuss how he applies lessons from his playing career, his competitive ultramarathon training, and habits he has picked up along his journey.
Grant Cardone, Learning from others, journaling, what gives you energy, thinking big & crazy, the questions we come back to often. Challenges (journal daily for his children, running an ultra, and 0 to 1k to 10k properties)
Lots of energy, ideas, and action from a great friend who is going 100% ALL IN on living the life he wants. 
Dirk's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dirkamericandream/?hl=en 
TIMESTAMPS
(2:14) We’re Live
(3:20) Momentasize
(8:50) Dirk’s Vision Evolving
(14:00) Unpacking Begin With The End In Mind
(21:30) The Steps (Going From Step 1 to Step 2)
(24:25) Steal Like An Artist
(28:05) Meeting Grant Cardone
(32:20) How do you absorb the knowledge & learn?
(35:50) Marathons & Ultra Marathons
(45:35) Underestimating Altitude & His Wife Being His Pacer
(59:25) Men’s Soccer 2016 WCC Championship Season
(1:04:20) Manifest, Russ, & Andrew Schulz
(1:09:25) Guidance For Your Younger Self
(1:15:13) Journal Process & Voice Memos
(1:27:15) Commitment To Journaling Everyday To His Kids
(1:31:10) dirkamericandream on Instagram
(1:35:00) Questions We Come Back To Daily

#9 - Michael Richardson - Let’s Get This Bread 2, MikeRich Misrepresenting Himself, & Living The Full Human Experience.

Michael Richardson (Mike Rich) is back on the pod for Let’s Get This Bread Episode 2. In this conversation, we first hash things out from our previous episode where Mike felt misrepresented by himself. After we got Mike’s life story squared away we discussed living the full human experience, using the Lululemon packet to plan out our lives, and being a soon-to-be father.
Interested in things we mentioned during the episode?
Your Plant Daddy Newsletter - https://yourplantdaddy.substack.com/
Ferate’s Substack - https://bryantferate.substack.com/
Lululemon Packet -  https://info.lululemon.com/content/dam/lululemon/features/holiday/2015/VG_worksheet_2015.pdf
Danny Miranda Podcast Episode with Zach Pogrob -  https://open.spotify.com/episode/1uXkL89IPIhcKtpG9B85m9?si=Uiuur2ewSR-WtaAx0izZ-A
Integrity by Martha Beck - https://www.amazon.com/Way-Integrity-Finding-Random-House/dp/0593395794
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant -  https://www.amazon.com/Love-Yourself-Like-Your-Depends/dp/0062968726
Timestamps
(2:40) Mike Misrepresenting Himself & Almost Dying Twice
(16:50) CWU to WSU & Getting Into Coaching
(28:00) Grinding In Your 20s & You Can Always Come Home
(40:00) Lululemon Intro Packet
(46:00) Quantifying Goals
(51:26) Living A Fulfilling Life & Full Human Experience
(57:35) Having A Daughter & Being A Father.
(1:07:20) 4000 Weeks To Live
(1:18:20) How do you start the Lululemon Packet?
(1:28:10) Are You The Pilot or The Passenger?
(1:33:55) Be First 

#8 - Evan Luecke - Curiosity is the Key to Progress, Storytelling, & Photo of the Day

Evan is a creator, sharing content from the life he is living. He joins us on the podcast today to dive into his experiences as a professional in social media content creation. He is behind the scenes & behind the camera of the University of Portland Athletics department’s social media and many other freelance projects in the Portland, Oregon community. 
Was excited to learn from him about how he tells stories through his work, “photo of the day”, and how he makes the most of his time with so many projects going on. Make sure you check out his work in the links below.
Evan’s Website - https://www.evanlueckephoto.com/work
Evan’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/evanluecke
Evan’s Instagram - @evanlueckephoto
Ferate’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BryantFerate
Ferate’s Instagram - @bryantferate
 
Timestamps
(5:00) How do you know you’re improving in social media creation?
(6:22) Curiosity is the key to progress & Evan’s Blog 2019
(10:50) Standing out is you being you.
(15:40) Developing Skills & Verbs > Nouns
(25:50) Best Version of You
(27:48) Evan’s Photo of the Day
(38:25) Consistently Cultivate Curiosity
(41:20) Storytelling
(57:45) Advice & Guidance
(1:06:10) Article Evan Wrote “Happening For You”
(1:18:30) “Harnessing Your Creativity” Robert Greene
(1:25:08) Making The Most of Your Time
(1:32:40) Do What You Want
(1:36:00) Evan’s Challenge Writing His Core Values Down

#7 - Jack Mullaney - Consistency, Curiosity, & Coaches Investing In Themselves

Today’s episode is with my great friend, fellow coach, and roommate. The one and only Jack Mullaney. Jack is currently the Assistant Cross Country and Track Coach for the men and women at the University of Portland. Jack is always developing himself through reading, podcasts, education, and application. Leveraging all of those tools to better understand and be his best self. This conversation shines a light on that work, as Jack and I discuss different topics such as the 5 Cs and how they apply to our lives. There have been many times in the apartment where our conversations go deep and looking back I wish we would have recorded the conversation.
This is the first of many episodes with Jack as one episode is not enough to crack the surface of all the topics I have learned from him over the past few years.
Jack’s blog - https://www.beyondthestopwatch.com/about
Jack’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/JackMullaney29
Jack’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jackmullaney29/?hl=en
Ferate Newsletter - https://bryantferate.substack.com/
Ferate Twitter - https://twitter.com/bryantferate?lang=en
Ferate Instagram - @bryantferate
 
Timestamps
(7:30) What does consistency mean to Jack?
(9:31) “It’s not all or nothing, it is always something.” John Berardi
(12:00) Attitude, Behavior, and Practice
(12:56) Non Negotiable Practices
(23:20) “You are always choosing.” Buzz Williams
(24:10) Other Non-Negotiable
(26:08) Ferate’s Consistent Practices
(30:20) Connection
(36:20) Adam Grant
(37:40) How do we cultivate curiosity?
(55:35) Competition
(1:10:02) Cross Country National Championships
(1:23:20) Coaching Life Lessons
(1:29:40) Amy Cuddy, Present, & Being Seen
(1:32:55) Compassionate Teammates
(1:34:20) Compassion over empathy LinkedIn CEO
(1:39:50) 5 Cs & What didn’t make the cut
(1:43:15) Coaches Investing In Their Health
(1:53:00) Understanding the Ask
(2:03:25) “The richness of our experience.” - Danny Miranda
(2:06:30) Am I asking the right questions of myself?