Executive Athletes

Marc is the CEO of bylr, Build Your Life Resume. A main focus of his role is being a challenge curator - creating endurance opportunities for like-minded individuals to invest in mind, body and spirit. The most recent creation, 29029, involved renting a private mountain whereby participants attempted to summit 17x until they reached the vertical height of Mt. Everest 29029.   Prior to Be Boundless, Marc founded multiple nationwide event series including BeerFit and The Wall Street Decathlon. His events have raised millions for charitable partners while garnering national press coverage from Sports Illustrated, The Wall St. Journal and ESPN to name a few.   Before a career as a financial analyst and management consultant he hustled payroll services at ADP door to door in NYC.    Marc has a degree in Finance from Auburn University where he was an All SEC Academic Member of the Track & Field team. A collegiate miler he is quite proud of his recent 6:17 beer mile (4 beers. 4 laps. No

Doug McConnell, with the help of his A Long Swim Team, became only the 48th person over age 50 to swim the English Channel, in 14 hours that were divided between heavy waves and pitch black darkness. The success of the English Channel swim has inspired the A Long Swim Team to continue with marathon swims, including the 24-mile length of Tampa Bay, the 21-mile distance of the Catalina Channel in California, and a 29-mile circumnavigation of Manhattan Island in New York City. The swims of the English Channel, the Catalina Channel and Manhattan Island make up the “Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming,” of which Doug was the 89th person to complete, and only the 15th person to complete all over the age of 50. His Day Job: Doug has been an investment banker for over twenty-five years, and has deep experience in all types of corporate financial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private placements of debt and equity, public new issues of debt and equity, and convertible securities. That experience i

In April 2019, Caroline Gleich and Rob Lea will climb Mt. Everest as a “Climb For Equality,” to highlight the role that men and people of all genders can play in supporting women’s leadership, in the mountains and beyond. Despite gains for women in other areas of society, only 10% of climbers on 8000m are women. As of June 2017, only 536 women have climbed Mt. Everest. It’s not enough to have women showing up. We need more women at the top. The Climb for Equality is a social awareness campaign where Rob and Caroline will aim to get 100 mountaineers of all genders to do a social media post about how they will support women’s leadership and combat bias. The campaign will provide a tool kit of ways to interrupt bias. 10% of funds raised will go towards organizations that support women’s leadership. Caroline Gleich  It’s been Caroline’s lifelong dream to take skis to the Himalayas. She never thought she would be drawn to Everest until she was on the drive to Cho Oyu in September 2018 and saw Everest for the

Upon graduating in ‘00 with a BS from the University of Vermont (Marketing), Dyksterhouse returned to international competition (alpine skiing) in hopes of earning a U.S. Ski Team nomination and a 2002 Olympic berth. After a successful 2001 campaign, Brandon's Olympic dreams came to an abrupt halt with a season-ending injury.  After his injury he jumped into coaching with both feet. At the University of New Mexico, GMVS (Green Mountain Valley School), BC Alpine, Ski Club Vail and the US Ski team where he was responsible for Coaching Mikaela Shiffrin and was consultant for Lindsey Vonn prior to the Olympics in 2018. For the past 17 years, Dyksterhouse has taken his competitive drive and life-long love of sport and given back to the ski racing/snow sports community through coaching, education, and venue development.   "Fall in love with the process of being great!" Follow him at  https://www.instagram.com/dykster/    https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-dyksterhouse-98568bb/   ---

  Brian's journey of helping people create transformational change in their lives began at the age of 14. As a result of experiencing significant emotional pain throughout childhood, a desire was kindled to understand the human psyche and uncover the keys to unlocking a person's inner power. It was, in reality, the genesis of Bergford Performance Systems and Brian's passion for developing strategies people could use to not only turn affliction into triumph, but also break through personal barriers, create superior relationships, and maximize their potential. He has always been inspired by people who represent the pinnacle of human performance. Whether it's a professional athlete, business person, an artist, or a parent, he believes that true masters in any field are rare and priceless — and that everyone has within themselves the keys to personal greatness. Brian works with those rare individuals who possess the requisite desire and willingness to bring it out. Brian earned his degree in Psychology from

 Marco is originally from Tirol, Austria where he grew up skiing competitively since the age of 6. Marco began skiing professionally at the age of 16 and has participated in four Junior World Championships, the World Championships in 2005 in Bormio, Italy, and upon deciding to represent his mother’s home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Marco joined the Bosnian Junior National Ski Team at the age of 16. Marco competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy as a member of the Bosnian Alpine Ski Team, racing both Giant Slalom and Slalom events. Marco qualified for the Slalom finals at the Olympic Games. After successfully competing in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, Marco decided to pursue his skiing career in the US while working towards his Bachelor’s degree in Colorado. During the 2007 season, Marco suffered a career-ending crash and after several knee surgeries, retired from ski racing in 2009. Upon retiring, he dedicated his time to his education and exploring full-time career interests. Marco

   Alex Stieda is a true pioneer in the world of Professional cycling in the US and abroad. Turning professional in 1986, Alex and the 7-Eleven team raced the Tour de France for the first time. Finishing the 4km prologue time trial as the best rider on the team, Alex broke away on the following stage to claim enough time bonuses to win the yellow jersey, becoming the first North American to do so.  In addition, he won five jerseys in total including the polka dot as best climber, white as best rookie, red for intermediate points, and the combination. After losing the yellow, Alex held the polka dot jersey for an additional five days over the hills of northern France. Three weeks later, Alex was a proud finisher of the on the Champs-Élysées. Alex continued to compete as a professional until 1992 winning many races throughout North America including Tour of Texas, Gastown Grand Prix, and stages of the Coors Classic.  Since retiring in 1992, Alex has continued his involvement in cycling, b

Fourteen years of working in wealth advisory and a life time of love for all things health and wellness has brought JP to where he is today: a business owner, a father and a desire to help others improve their health/wellness and career/financial success. JP brings about a passion to see people succeed professionally, financially and without sacrificing their health and well being. With this comes an understanding that to succeed in your career, in your family life, in your business, in your pursuit to becoming a better/healthier you, you need to play the ‘long game’. To play the long game you need support, education and encouragement which is what drives JP each day. Let’s face it, if you’re struggling in health or happiness it’s difficult to be financially successful. Check out his podcast at  https://www.strive168.com/   --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support

James Fell- Author of the Holy Sh*t Moment I was in debt, drunk, flunking out, tipping the scales toward obesity. A single moment changed my life. I was in a state of despair over my situation, and with a sudden awakening of massive insight, my path altered course. My passion to succeed awakened, I was driven to accomplish something meaningful with my life. It was the moment that split my life in two, dividing it into “before,” and “after.” After this transformative experience, I began to ace my courses, got out of debt, got in shape, married an amazing woman who graduated at the top of her class from med school, attained two master’s degrees, had a successful business career, raised a couple of athletic straight-A students, and accomplished a midlife career change to become one of the most popular health and fitness writers in North America. I’ve been writing articles for the Los Angeles Times since 2010, the Chicago Tribune since 2012, had columns with Chatelaine and AskMen, and been published in TIME Ma

   Kimberly Caccavo and Kate Nowlan founded GRACEDBYGRIT, the first community-driven, direct-to-consumer premium athletic apparel brand for women. They made clothes that women look and feel fantastic. Their combination of skills and passion made them an unstoppable team. Kimberly Caccavo brought technology and business experience to GRACEDBYGRIT. She received her BS in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UCLA. She has had a rich and varied career during which she designed metals used in the space shuttle; did research on ceramic heat engines; ran a telephone directory business; helped privatize a Latin American phone company; started a cable company; worked in Hollywood and had her own consultancy helping to launch businesses.  Kate brought coaching experience and product knowledge specific to female athletes to GRACEDBYGRIT. She received her BA in Sociology and Psychology from UMass Amherst. As an entrepreneur, she owned her own company organizing small businesses and homes

Angelo Poli is an internationally recognized expert in the field of body transformations. Poli pioneered the evaluation-based approach to weight management that has been hailed as “… a foolproof diet plan.” He is the Author of MetPro: The Science to Transform, which outlines his philosophy and workout system. Poli is also a serial entrepreneur. He is the Founder of MetPro, the world’s first algorithm based weight loss engine, which is fueled by the data you feed into it every day. In addition, Poli is the Founder of Whole Body Fitness, which provides weight loss, health and fitness training programs for all ages and fitness levels. By using a combination of the latest nutrition, conditioning sciences and evaluation based methods; Poli and his team are able to create complete short and long-term fitness strategies that maximize people’s weight loss process. Poli’s clientele, from all over the world, ranges in scope from NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, among other elite athletes, celebrities, to physique models, entrep

   The American catalyst that shook the nordic world in Vancouver, Billy Demong has not slowed down since his historic Olympic win on the large hill. Since then he got married, started raising a son and returned to competitive form after a brief break from the sport—just in time for another run at gold. The upstate New York native has been on seven World Championships teams and has won eight U.S. titles. His four medals with teammate at the 2009 Worlds were an historic accomplishment, a feat only outshone by the following year’s four-medal effort at Vancouver, where Demong became the first U.S. Nordic athlete to win a gold medal. OFF THE SNOW Billy Demong is known as the guy who never rests. “I think I’m kind of known as somebody who lives every day to the fullest and maybe tries to accomplish more than he should. That’s my MO and that’s what I love doing.” Growing up in Lake Placid, Demong developed a love for the outdoors. In the winter, that means clicking into the backcountry gear, climbing m

   Jason Romero Is just another person with a unique and interesting story. His story includes losing his eyesight and gaining a Vision of making Relentless Forward Progress in all areas of his life. His pursuit of that Vision enabled him to become the first & only blind person to Run Across America, and has taken him around the world including earning a Juris Doctorate degree, practicing law, running a $400 Million company for General Electric, saving and running a non-profit that helps children with Autism and nurturing a deep Faith. He uses his "Triple-A" strategy as the basis for making Relentless Forward Progress. Jason's ability to motivate audiences with his captivating tale of growing up with a visual impairment, becoming a successful business executive and ultimately running across America has made him one of the most sought after speakers today. Jason speaks on several business topics including his "Success Cycle", Mental Toughness, Team Success, Leadership Essentials, Peak Performanc

Born in St. George, Utah, Dixie Madsen endured and overcame a traumatic childhood filled with heartache and tragedy. Leaving home at age 13 and then living in two foster homes and many temporary situations, Dixie managed to turn her life around after moving to San Diego, California in 1970. A single parent working as a nurse, she developed a passion for running. Competing in just her second marathon, she qualified for the famed Boston Marathon and began running in marathons and ultramarathons around the world. Supported by her adoring husband, Dixie became the oldest woman (at 63) to complete the world's most grueling distance race - the Badwater 135 in Death Valley, California - in less than 48 hours. She also earned the Miss San Diego Bodybuilding title at the age of 51. For Dixie, a proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, life certainly began at 40.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support

 Jenna is a 50-time marathoner and ultra-marathoner since 2014, and has completed races of up to 206.5 miles. She believes strongly in the intersection between endurance sport and career success, and works passionately to help others seeking to improve themselves in both areas. When she’s not running, Jenna leads a global team of over 200 people, as the Director of Recruiting Operations for Amazon.com, where she has been employed for 7.5 years in a variety of capacities, including labor and employee relations, training, leadership development, and M&A. She holds a JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, and a BA in Communications from the College of New Rochelle.  Running & Race Experience: Jenna completed her first marathon, the Great Wall of China Marathon, in 2014 and “found the meaning of life.” To date, Jenna has completed 30 road and trail marathons, and 20 ultras, up to 206.5 miles. She has completed marathons or ultras in 19 states, and on three continents. In

Jason ‘s actions and accomplishments speak for themselves: devoted father, world champion, global businessman. After years of rigorous training, Jason earned the title of Fittest Man on Earth and finished first in the 2008 CrossFit Games. Hard work and insatiable drive paid off, and his company, NCFIT, grew to success. Jason thought he had overcome insurmountable obstacles throughout his career, but nothing prepared him for the moment when his daughter, Ava, was diagnosed with leukemia. Tasked with facing what no parent should have to confront, he had two choices: succumb to overwhelming anger, or jump headfirst into the fight. He chose the latter. http://www.jasonkhalipa.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support

Laura Gassner Otting helps people get “unstuck” — and achieve extraordinary results. Through Limitless Possibility, Laura collaborates with change agents, entrepreneurs, investors, leaders, and donors to push past the doubt and indecision that consign great ideas to limbo. She delivers strategic thinking, well-honed wisdom, and catalytic perspective informed by decades of navigating change across the start-up, nonprofit, political, and philanthropic landscapes. Laura’s 25-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge. She served as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, helping shape AmeriCorps; left a leadership role at respected nonprofit search firm, Isaacson, Miller, to expand the startup ExecSearches.com; and founded and ran the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, which partnered with the full gamut of mission driven nonprofit executives, from start-up dreamers to scaling social entrepreneurs to global philanthropists. She is the author of Mission-Driven, a book for those movi

   Pete Leibman is a consultant, speaker, and bestselling author who has been featured on Fox News, CBS Radio, and CNNMoney.com. His latest book, Work Stronger; Habits for More Energy, Less Stress, and Higher Performance at Work, was just released. It debuted as an Amazon.com bestseller and the #1 new release in its category. Before writing Work Stronger, Pete worked as an executive recruiter at Heidrick & Struggles, a leadership advisory firm that serves the majority of the Fortune 500. In this role, he interviewed and assessed hundreds of leaders, and he helped complete high-profile executive searches for top employers, such as Ernst & Young, American Airlines, and MIT. In his free time, Pete teaches one of the largest group exercise classes in the Washington, D.C. area, and he competes in endurance races, including the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships.    Check out Pete's book at WorkStronger.com, or check out his corporate programs at WorkStrongerConsulting.com. ---

Josh Sprague grew up with the crazy adventure that an outdoorsy life in a small town brings.  His passion for design and "taking what sucks about a product and making it better" combined with his passion for endurance sports to create Orange Mud.  From humble beginnings and hand-stitched prototypes in 2012, Orange Mud has become known worldwide as the purveyor of premium hydration products for serious endurance athletes. They've branched off into other products as well, such as their transition wrap which provides convenience,  privacy and may save you an indecent exposure charge on your record    Through the craziness of working in medical device sales, founding Orange Mud, and having young kids at home, Josh has continued to train for crazy events (100 and 200 mile gravel bike rides and 100 mile trail runs are all on the docket for this year).  Check out his company here: www.orangemud.com  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support

Doug Spreen is one of the official trainers for the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and has worked with the world's top tennis players, including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. He is responsible for the health of the players, deals with their injuries before and after competition, and tends to them while they are competing. Spreen often has to run onto the court and check on athletes who are injured during play. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support