#258: Tony Schell is the co-founder and general partner at Escalate Capital Partners, a leading private credit and growth equity firm based in Austin, Texas. Since co-founding the firm in 2005, he has helped build Escalate into a prominent provider of flexible, non-dilutive capital solutions for growth-stage companies across technology, software, services, and healthcare sectors. With decades of experience in venture lending, structured finance, and growth investing, Schell has played a central ...
Apr 27, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 258
#258: Frank Weisser is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot best known for flying with the elite Blue Angels and for his role as a pilot and aviation coordinator on the blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Weisser logged thousands of flight hours in high-performance aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet, earning recognition for both his precision in the cockpit and his leadership in high-pressure environments. After his military service, he brought his real-world exper...
Apr 20, 2026•54 min•Ep. 257
#257: Michaella Gallina built the career most people spend their entire lives chasing. She is a former Wall Street investor, VP of H&R Block and Chief Financial Officer who walked away from the pinnacle of her career to pursue a greater mission—helping others achieve true financial freedom and design a life on their own terms. Raised in a small rural town of just 4,000 people, Michaella learned early that money wasn’t about status—it was about access, opportunity, and freedom. By 18, she was...
Apr 13, 2026•55 min•Ep. 257
#256: Luke Frizzell is a former Navy Seal & real estate entrepreneur with the RAL Room, but he is also one of my best friends and I am excited to share’s story today. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his upbringing was deeply rooted in faith, family, and sports. Influenced by his family's athletic background and his grandfather's wisdom, Luke developed a strong work ethic and a passion for serving others. His journey led him to the Virginia Military Institute, where he thrived academical...
Apr 06, 2026•54 min•Ep. 256
#255: Chris Kreider is the Rice Men's Basketball Associate Head Coach. He is a dedicated basketball coach with a rich background shaped by unique life experiences. Growing up as the son of missionaries, Chris spent his formative years in Colombia, South America, where he developed a deep appreciation for diverse cultures and a passion for basketball. His journey in coaching began with a strong foundation in teaching and mentoring, influenced by his parents' sense of purpose and calling. Chris ha...
Mar 30, 2026•48 min•Ep. 255
#254: Tanner Gardner is the Director of Athletics at Pepperdine University and a former three-time All-American wrestler at Stanford, where he built a legacy of excellence both academically and athletically. After earning advanced degrees from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard, Gardner began his career in consulting before rising through leadership roles in college athletics, including serving as Deputy Athletic Director and COO at Rice University. Known for his mission-driven leadership, he focu...
Mar 23, 2026•46 min•Ep. 254
#253: Jake Boss Jr. is the head baseball coach of the Michigan State Spartans and one of the most respected leaders in college baseball. Since taking over the program in 2009, Boss has guided the Spartans to more than 400 victories and led Michigan State to a Big Ten regular-season championship in 2011 and the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. He has coached multiple All-Big Ten performers and numerous players who have gone on to professional baseball. Before arriving at Michigan State, Boss ...
Mar 16, 2026•48 min•Ep. 253
#252: Brett Ledbetter is an industry leading thinking partner for high performers in sport, eduction, and business. He is the founder of What Drives Winning, where he studies the mindsets and cultures behind sustained excellence. Brett works with elite athletes, championship coaches, executives, and high-performing teams to help them understand the deeper drivers of performance, leadership, and purpose. He has worked with coaches like Billy Donovan, Urban Meyer, Brad Stevens, Bob Stoops, Mark Fe...
Mar 09, 2026•29 min•Ep. 252
#251: Manish Vora is the Founder and the CEO of the Museum of Ice Cream, an immersive “experium” built to bring people together through play, joy and creativity. In 2016 he launched the first pop-up in New York City, which quickly grew into a global phenomenon with multiple permanent locations across the United States and Singapore, known for its colorful interactive exhibits and multi-sensory experiences that blend art and ice cream culture. Before this venture, he transitioned from a successfu...
Mar 02, 2026•54 min•Ep. 251
#250: Tod Brown is the head baseball coach at the University of New Mexico, bringing more than two decades of Division I coaching experience and a reputation for steady program building. A former left-handed pitcher at the University of Arizona, Brown first made his mark as the longtime head coach at North Dakota State, where he transformed the Bison into a Summit League contender and led them to NCAA Tournament appearances. Since taking over the Lobos program in 2021, he has emphasized player d...
Feb 23, 2026•57 min•Ep. 250
#249: Jared Mosley is the Vice President and Director of Athletics at the University of North Texas, where he oversees the Mean Green athletic department and leads more than 300 student-athletes competing at the Division I level. A former college basketball standout turned administrator, Mosley previously served as Athletic Director at Abilene Christian University and as CEO of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame before returning to North Texas, where he has helped guide the department through its rec...
Feb 16, 2026•50 min•Ep. 249
#248: Kyle Stark is a baseball executive and leadership consultant best known for his long tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he served as Director of Player Development before being promoted to Assistant General Manager and later Vice President/Assistant GM, playing a key role in rebuilding the organization’s farm system and supporting the club’s return to postseason contention in the mid-2010s. A Pennsylvania native, Stark holds degrees from Ball State University, the University of Tole...
Feb 09, 2026•48 min•Ep. 248
#247: Paul Mainieri is the South Carolina Head Baseball Coach. He was also the head coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he led the Tigers from 2007 to 2021 and won the 2009 College World Series national championship. Over a coaching career spanning four decades, Mainieri also led successful programs at St. Thomas University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the University of Notre Dame, earning a reputation for building disciplined, competitive teams and developing players both on an...
Feb 01, 2026•51 min•Ep. 247
#246: John Cohen is the Athletic Director at Auburn University, a position he assumed in October 2022 after a long career in the Southeastern Conference. Before coming to Auburn, Cohen was athletic director at Mississippi State University from 2016–2022 and previously spent 25 years as a college baseball coach, including head coaching stints at Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Northwestern State, earning two SEC Coach of the Year honors. A former Mississippi State baseball player, he combines ex...
Jan 26, 2026•45 min•Ep. 246
#245: Mac Lake is a trusted voice in Christian leadership and church multiplication. With over 30 years of experience equipping leaders, Mac is passionate about helping individuals and organizations develop the character and competency needed to lead themselves—and others—with purpose. In 1997, Mac planted Carolina Forest Community Church in Myrtle Beach, SC. He later served as Leadership Development Pastor at Seacoast Church in Charleston, where he helped create scalable systems to identify and...
Jan 19, 2026•53 min•Ep. 245
#244: Tim Walton is the head coach of the University of Florida Gators softball program where he has led the team since 2006 and amassed well over 1,000 career victories, numerous SEC titles and Women’s College World Series appearances, including back-to-back national championships in 2014 and 2015. He has been selected 5 times as the SEC Coach of Year and was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame. Walton has also made significant contributions on the international stage, serving as an assistant c...
Jan 12, 2026•52 min•Ep. 244
#243: Dave Berke is a retired US Marine Corps Officer, TOPGUN Instructor, and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Development Officer . As a F/A-18 pilot, he deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN, where he served as the Training Officer and the senior staff pilot responsible for the conduct of the TOPGUN course. He then served as an ...
Jan 05, 2026•1 hr•Ep. 243
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
Dec 29, 2025•1 min
#242: Steve Largent is a NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver who spent 14 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. When he retired he held all of the major NFL receiving records. Steve played at the University of Tulsa where he was an All American. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. After the preseason with the Oilers Steve was cut, but signed with Seattle and the rest is history. During his time in Seattle he was a 7x Pro Bowl selection, 2x NFL Receiving Yards lea...
Dec 22, 2025•55 min•Ep. 242
#241: Dr. John Delony is a bestselling author, mental health and wellness expert, and host of The Dr. John Delony Show . John holds two PhDs — one in counselor education and supervision and another in higher education administration. He is the author of the bestselling books Own Your Past, Change Your Future and Redefining Anxiety . His newest book, Building a Non-Anxious Life , released this past fall. John has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business and Today and has been featured in the Real Simpl...
Dec 15, 2025•56 min•Ep. 241
#240: Jerry Colangelo is the founder and former owner of the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as Managing Director of USA Basketball. He is a 4x NBA Executive of the Year, former NBA GM & Head Coach, Chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame, founder of multiple sports franchises, and also started with Dick Klein to found the Chicago Bulls. The accolades are endless, but he additionally won a world championship with the Diamondbacks and returned the once-tarnished U.S. Olympic me...
Dec 08, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 240
Dec 01, 2025•4 min
#239: Brent Beshore is the founder and CEO of Permanent Equity , a private-equity firm he launched in 2007 that takes a mission-driven, long-term approach: investing in family-owned and founder-led companies and rarely exiting them. Raised in Joplin, Missouri, Brent studied politics (with a focus on poverty) at Washington & Lee University. Before starting Permanent Equity, he was an entrepreneur and operator across service and marketing ventures. He’s well-known for his patient, “slow-growth...
Nov 24, 2025•59 min•Ep. 239
#238: Wren Baker is the Director of Athletics at West Virginia University, taking over the role in December 2022 as the school’s 13th athletic director. A native of Valliant, Oklahoma, Baker built his career through a blend of coaching, educational leadership, and administrative success. Before arriving in Morgantown, he served as the athletic director at the University of North Texas, where he led the Mean Green to unprecedented competitive success, record-breaking fundraising, major increases ...
Nov 17, 2025•47 min•Ep. 238
Hans Helmerich is the Chairman of the Board of Helmerich & Payne, Inc., a Tulsa-based energy company and the largest provider of land drilling services in the United States. He previously served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer for 25 years, leading its growth and innovation in the oil and gas industry. Under his leadership, H&P developed its innovative FlexRig platform which played a major role in advancing land-based drilling technology. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harv...
Nov 10, 2025•56 min•Ep. 237
#236: Ritchie McKay is the head men’s basketball coach at Liberty University, having first served in that role in 2007-09 and then returning in April 2015. Under his leadership, the Flames have achieved multiple 20-win seasons, won several conference championships, and secured the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 2019. Prior to his return to Liberty, McKay was associate head coach at University of Virginia under Tony Bennett, where he helped guide the program to back-to-back 30-win seasons...
Nov 03, 2025•38 min•Ep. 236
#235: Kelli Masters is an attorney, a sports agent, business owner, author and speaker. Kelli fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming a National and World Champion in baton twirling, and Feature Twirler for the "Pride of Oklahoma" Marching Band in the early 1990's. In 1997 she was crowned Miss Oklahoma, winning awards for talent and community service at the Miss America pageant that year. Kelli used her scholarship money from Miss America to obtain her Juris Doctorate with Honors from the Univer...
Oct 27, 2025•57 min•Ep. 235
Mike Matheny is the author of the New York Times Bestseller-The Matheny Manifesto. He played thirteen years as a catcher in the Major Leagues, won four Gold Gloves, and holds the MLB record for most consecutive chances at the position without an error. He was the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals for six seasons, leading the Cardinals to the postseason in each of his first four campaigns and winning the National League pennant in 2013 taking the Cardinals to the World Series. Matheny went on to...
Oct 20, 2025•55 min•Ep. 234
#233: Mitch Matthews is a keynote speaker, success coach, and host of the top-ranked Dream Think Do podcast — a show dedicated to helping people dream bigger, think better, and do more of what they were created to do. As the founder of Dream Think Do Coaching and creator of The Authority Bridge™ , Mitch has helped thousands of leaders, entrepreneurs, and coaches clarify their purpose, build thriving businesses, and make a meaningful impact. His messages have inspired organizations like NASA, Dis...
Oct 12, 2025•57 min•Ep. 233
#232: Mike Noonan is a National Champion Coach and distinguished figure in U.S. collegiate soccer, currently serving as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at Clemson University. Before Clemson, Noonan built his coaching reputation over long tenures at Brown University (1995-2009) where he led the Bears to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, eight Ivy League championships, and the school’s highest national ranking ever in 1995. Earlier stops included New Hampshire, Wheaton College, and assistant positions a...
Oct 06, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 232
