Operator Podcast

In 2007 Steve Liberati created a healthy on-the-go clean eating option called the PaleoKit. Today there are countless paleo and clean eating options, but in 2007, when CrossFit was in its infancy and the paleo lifestyle was not common, there were very little options. Steve was the first to market, he was passionate, and was on a mission. His company, Steve's PaleoGoods, was birthed from the need to find an easy, healthy and portable food solution for the at risk kid's he was training at a local park. He wanted something that they could take to school, so he packaged beef jerky, nuts and berries to stay fresh in their backpack - also know as the Paleokit. Even though the company has grown to 60 products represented across the nation, Steve is still passionate about helping at-risk youth through fitness, nutrition, and leadership. In this episode you'll hear Steve share his story of how Steve's PaleoGoods and Steve's Club became an internationally known brand and mission.

Jefe Greenheart is a talented and passionate filmmaker. He has developed, created, and collaborated on many incredible projects and worked with giants in the industry including SXSW, ACL Music Festival, Wanderlust Festival, Lollapalooza, and so many more. Years ago Jefe decided to follow his heart and spend his time on Earth to create a positive media movement, and he is doing exactly that. Jefe and his wife are actively creating community through the things they love — being active, being outdoors, traveling, inspiring play, and inspiring creativity.

Jady Griffin's story strikes us as one that is constantly forging forward. Jady and his wife had moved to Seattle to build a church community. At first, it was hard to break through certain barriers, but through relationship building, intention, and persistence they were able to create a solid and supportive community. It would have been easy to stay in that place and continue building upon their powerful community. But Jady and his wife, almost simultaneously and unbeknownst to them, both had a strong feeling that they needed to move, and build a new church community. So they did. They started again from scratch, building relationships and bringing people together. Jady has faced many challenges through his work, and personal life, but he continues to move forward. 

Carey Kepler is back. The first time we had Carey on the Amplify podcast we heard a lot about her background and her achievements (CrossFit Games competitor, Ultra Marathon Runner, Iron Man, business owner...). This time we wanted to know how Carey has managed this achievements and what it took to stand on the podium time and time again. Carey discuses the difference between setting a goal and setting a goal with a declaration of intention. She shares what happens when she hasn't been consistent, and event things that have to pass in her life that were placed on a vision board years prior.

Paul Carrozza has been an integral part of making Austin a fit city. In 1988 Paul opened his first shoe store, RunTex, in Austin, Texas. This shop would grow to become the nation's largest exclusive running store. At a time when marathons weren't appealing to the general population, Paul and his wife Sheila created the marathon and half marathon scene in Austin. Paul was the shoe editor for Runner's World, he served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and ran with the Governor of Texas. In this episode Paul shares stories of his success and challenges in business, and what he believes is the future for fitness and retail.

Jeremy Thiel talks habits, rituals and setting up a mantra for 2017. Our mantra for the new year is Win The Day. We are focusing on three areas each day to help us win the day. Ready to create your mantra? This episode will help you choose a mantra that will inspire you to carry out a powerful year.

Eddy has been an entrepreneur since he was a kid. His Mom would say he was "knocking on neighbor's doors selling rotten tomatoes." He has also always been a hard worker, working from age 13. These traits would serve him well in his career as the co-founder of Stubb's Legendary Bar-B-Q. In this podcast you will hear about Eddy's roots, his story, and how Stubb's became the beloved BBQ sauce, BBQ joint, and music venue we all know today. You'll also hear about Eddy's newest entrepreneurial adventure, Eberly — Austin's hottest new restaurant. 

​Mike played in the NFL for over eight years and included a trip to the Super Bowl with the New York Giants. Lindsay was a standout volleyball player at Notre Dame. They met their sophomore year and connected over shared values. Today, these incredible and talented individuals are busy working and raising their four kids in Austin, Texas. Their most recent project is one that will make a powerful impact in the Austin community. In 2018 they will open the doors to an athletic complex in Southwest Austin that will include football fields, basketball courts, volleyball courts, an Olympic-sized pool and so much more. In this episode they share the important lessons they are passing on to their children, what sports mean to their family, and what we can expect from their new athletic complex.

In this episode Jeremy Thiel asks you to examine how you spend time through the holiday season. Perhaps you eat a little more and drink a little more on Thanksgiving Day, maybe it's your treat meal for the week. But what if you approach the day and the weekend a little differently this year. What if you fill the weekend with intention and set the table for goal setting? What if you use Thanksgiving weekend as a catalyst to launch a powerful 2017? Jeremy offers insight and helpful tools to make this the best holiday season and year yet.

There is power in sticking and staying, there is power in pursuing opportunity in life. You are one person away, one opportunity away, one situation away from a breakthrough.

The first 25 years of Jason's life were golden. Success and accomplishment seemed to follow his every move. Jason was a star football player, he was a leader in school, he was musically talented, he played football at Stephen F. Austin, he qualified for Mensa, and traveled the world. Naturally, Jason expected greatness to follow his continued hard work. However, when Jason turned thirty the life he knew changed entirely, the next ten years would prove to be incredibly challenging. Jason's Mom developed breast cancer. His wife went into preterm labor at 24 weeks with their twin sons. The boys were born weighing 1.5 lbs. each, their lives hung in the balance between life and death. The years that followed were physically and emotionally difficult, and the care of their sons consumed them. Over the next few years Jason took on several entrepreneurial start up ventures that didn't make it. Due to medical bills and being out of work, Jason had to declare bankruptcy. In this episode Jason shares his journey from l

Jake Thompson is the Founder & Chief Encouragement Officer at the global lifestyle brand, Compete Every Day. After college Jake wanted a career path that would help him create a legacy that he was proud of. He wanted to find a way to create a business, a message, for someone that wanted to pursue greatness in their faith, health, work, dreams, and relationships. The idea of Compete Every Day, being better than yesterday, came to Jake. The idea was founded on optimism and backed by pure hustle. In 2011 Jake made his first online sale. In this episode Jake shares the origins of Compete Every Day, their message of competing, and the formation of the Compete community.

Service, leadership, love — these are words we need to hear often, but how often are they backed with authenticity? We can't say enough great things about Mac Richard. He is genuine, insightful, and a strong leader. In 1997 he set our to redefine church for the city of Austin with his congregation, Lake Hills Church. In this episode you will hear Mac share how he became a pastor, how he started Lake Hills Church, and how he is spreading a message of service, leadership, and love. Mac also discusses Spur Leadership, an organization founded in 2009 that has impacted thousands of leaders from all corners of the country through conferences, professional development luncheons, and networking events.

Geoff knew that he wanted to wake up one day owning a business that delivered massive impact and provided a seven figure earning for his family. When he examined the five closest people in his life that he went to for guidance, he realized that none of them were there. It was that moment that Geoff realized that he needed to seek out relationships of intention rather than relationships of circumstances. He needed to surround himself with people that were already where he wanted to be. Within months Geoff was surround by very high level people. Shortly after he started a podcast, The Mentee, documenting his journey from employee to entrepreneur. On this episode Geoff shares his biggest lessons learned and his current role growing and scaling The One Thing, the bestselling book by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, into a productivity empire.  

Joah grew up in a small town. His mom worked two to three jobs to make ends meet. A key experience in his youth fueled a desire to create his own path. He began mowing lawns and selling candy to his classmates so he could afford school clothes and field trips. By middle school Joah knew he wanted to attend the University of Texas, he wanted to be a business man. Once accepted to the university, Joah had to find a way to pay for it. He applied for over 100 scholarships and won over 24 of them. Joah has had an incredible career path/ He was a speech writer for the director of FEMA,c o-founded an experiential marketing agency, created and ran a sneaker boutique in Austin, worked for a top tech company, and in 2013 Joah and his friend Chase struck out on their own to build a platform to help travelers to experience cities like locals. Joah has been named one of the Top 10 Black Innovators of 2014, named Emerging Business Leader of the Year in 2013 along, and has been a four-time finalist for Austin’s Under 40 Aw

In 2004 Jay Papasan and his wife desired financial freedom. At a time when their combined income didn't add up to $100,000, they set a goal to become millionaires in ten years. They created a plan to reach their goal and worked toward it. In that time Jay became an entrepreneur, an investor, a cofounder, and a bestselling author with Gary Keller, the founder of Keller Williams Realty International — the world’s largest real estate franchise. Jay has written several bestselling books with Gary Keller including "The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results," a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and USA Today Bestseller. In this episode you will hear Jay describe how he creates vision, sets standards, and seeks out the right people for his team. You'll also learn his advice on investing, and so much more!

Daniel Crouch was a personal trainer who had struggled with strong negative reactions to grains and sugar for years. His wife, Lindsey Crouch who was a personal chef at the time, was determined to find a way to help him. They eliminated many things from their diet and saw great results. But after a few years they missed some of their favorite comfort foods. And even their favorite gluten free "cheat meal" was still full of yeast and grains that left them feeling less than great. They wanted to create something that didn't simply replace grains with another starch - they wanted to create something that was nutrient-dense and full of high quality protein, fiber, and fat. After trying many different things, Lindsey had a divine epiphany - "use seeds" as the base. Lindsey got in the kitchen and worked to create a flour made of non-gmo chia, golden flax, pumpkin, poppy, sesame, hemp and sunflower seeds — Guiltless Superfoods was born. Their journey is one that is full of hard work, consistency, and faith. On this

Daron K. Roberts attended high school in East Texas, graduated from the University of Texas, went on to Harvard Law School, and in his third year at Harvard Law School he decided to become an NFL coach. Daron wrote letters to college and NFL teams seeking a position. After 31 rejection letters from the NFL, an opportunity came through. The Kansas City Chiefs offered him an internship. Daron graduated from Harvard and then headed to training camp to blaze his new trail. His work ethic is incredible. Daron has been featured in ESPN the Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek and Sports Illustrated. He is a contributor to Forbes.com, and his articles have appeared in The Dallas Morning News, Fortune, Houston Chronicle, Texas CEO Magazine and Time. After spending seven years working as an NFL and college football coach he transitioned to becoming a lecturer at the University of Texas, and founded the Center for Sports Leadership & Innovation (CSLi). He has successfully navigated major pivot points in his life, and n

In 2004 Veronica Garza was diagnosed with multiple debilitating autoimmune conditions. She decided to adopt a low-inflammation, grain-free diet to help alleviate her symptoms. Veronica began seeing results, but she found herself missing tortillas, a staple in her Mexican-American family's food culture. She decided to solve her own problem, Veronica got in the kitchen and began testing recipes. After trial and error, she created a delicious grain-free tortilla. Veronica began sharing them with friends and family, and upon hearing the positive feedback (and consistent reorders), her little brother and the youngest of the Garza siblings, Miguel Garza, knew they had a pliable business on their hands. He convinced his sister to take the full leap into entrepreneurship. Miguel took Veronica's tortillas, put them into ziplock baggies and set out to acquire customers. Within three years Veronica, Miguel, and the Garza family have gone from peddling their products around Austin in zip lock baggies, to developing and s

Alex Earle and the Austin Fit Magazine team have served the Austin fitness and wellness community for more than 15 years. What began as a simple newsletter has turned into a widely known print and digital publication that reaches thousands of people every month. On this episode Alex shares stories from some of his most memorable moments over the last decade including working with Willie Nelson, John Paul DeJoria, and Trevor Ross. You will also learn about his greatest challenge to date, and how he overcame it, and his thoughts on the future of fitness in Austin.