Dr. John Holcomb is one of the most legendary trauma surgeons alive. He shares untold details from Black Hawk Down , where he operated for over 30 hours straight during the infamous battle in Somalia in 1993. He opens up about the chaos, grit, and brutal realities of combat medicine — and how that moment shifted his mission for life. Now, he's focused on saving lives before patients even reach the hospital. From pioneering blood delivery systems to taking five trips to the frontlines of Ukraine,...
Jul 23, 2025•1 hr 1 min
The power of a great network can’t be overstated—and Noah Berkson is an expert community builder. He's a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits, founder and host of the Dose of Greatness podcast, Co-Founder of Outcove Valley a series of events for high caliber leaders, and a member of YPO. He’s made 1,000+ introductions in the last year (3 per day!). We discuss: ✅ Make introductions the right way – Always provide context so both people see the value. ✅ Say yes to everything in your 20s – Opport...
Mar 19, 2025•45 min
What happens when you leave a thriving business to chase your true calling? Garrett Adair co-founded VitaFive , a successful gummy vitamin company, but deep down, he knew his real dream was music . Encouraged by Luke Bryan , he took a leap of faith, moved to Nashville, and is now on tour playing to packed crowds. In this episode, Garrett shares: 🎸 Why he walked away from a booming business to pursue music full-time 🎸 The challenges of switching from entrepreneurship to the music industry 🎸 Ho...
Mar 04, 2025•54 min
What happens when you flatline for over 20 minutes and wake up weeks later, completely paralyzed? Brad Cunningham knows firsthand. He's the author of Resilience Unbroken: My Story of True Survivals. In this powerful episode, Brad shares his unbelievable survival story —first battling cancer at 25 , spending six months in the hospital , and then suffering cardiac arrest in 2023 , where his heart stopped for over 20 minutes . Doctors weren’t sure he’d wake up. He did. But he went from marathon run...
Feb 18, 2025•37 min
In this episode of Permission to Shine , I sit down with Tracy Tutor , powerhouse real estate broker, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles star, and one of the most confident negotiators in the game. We dive deep into: 🔥 The LA fires and how they’re reshaping the insurance market 🏡 Whether LA real estate is set for a boom or bust 💰 Her biggest deal ever ($56M!) and her goal to hit $1B in sales 🎥 How she became the first female main cast member on Million Dollar Listing 🤝 Her secret to buildin...
Feb 04, 2025•53 min
Wan Kim is the owner and CEO of Smoothie King, overseeing 1,202 stores and $850M annually. Originally an immigrant from South Korea, Wan and I discuss: How his first store almost failed and why he pushed forward for 4 years with little results How to create momentum: spark a series of small wins. Even if you aren’t getting sales, get 100 people to sign up for your marketing list or wake up at 5:30am every day. The expectation to work for his father's manufacturing business and walking away from ...
Jan 21, 2025•47 min
Hey, hey, hey it's Andrew Namanny -- welcome back! GPS, the INTERNET, Siri, Night Vision, Autonomous Vehicles -- they all started in DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency). It's the powerful government agency you've never heard of. Taryn Rose works for DARPA. She's a former orthopedic surgeon and successful founder of a $40M shoe company. We talk about: -Why DARPA was started to defend us against German attacks -The genetic make up of successful entrepreneurs -Appearing on Oprah and wh...
Jan 07, 2025•34 min
Hey it’s Andrew, welcome to episode #51. We’ve got a very special entrepreneur today so thanks for joining me. Daina Trout is Co-Founder and former CEO of Health-Ade Kombucha. She went on to sell the company after growing it to 65,000 stores and nearly $200M in annual revenue. She is raw, open, and honest like you wouldn’t expect a CEO to be. It’s one of my biggest takeaways from our convo — ALWAYS BE YOU! Daina started the company alongside her husband and best friend. Originally starting at th...
Nov 27, 2024•42 min
Hi It’s Andrew, welcome to episode #50. We’ve got a special guest today and I know you’re going to love it. Eric Byrnes spent 11 electric years in the MLB. He’s in the UCLA baseball hall of fame. Following his professional athlete career, he dove into endurance sports and has completed a triathlon across America, the Western States 100, several Ironman races, and more. He’s a media personality including roles as an ESPN analyst and founder of the No Filter Network, a media sports hub. He holds a...
Nov 12, 2024•38 min
I went on an 8 country tour this year (Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Nepal, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan). When I was in Thailand, I was brought face to face with the severity of the civil war in Myanmar. There are between 2-3 million people displaced as a result. Many of them, fled to Thailand where I was fortunate to meet them. One day as I was exploring the island, I had an incredibly kind waiter. He was 19. He opened up about losing many of his friends, having to leave his family, and how ...
Nov 07, 2024•16 min
Andres Levin is a Grammy-winning musician and the co-owner of Tribe Caribe, an eclectic hotel located in central Havana, Cuba. We sat down to discuss his musical journey—from learning at home to working with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon Batiste, Tina Turner, Childish Gambino, and more. He's been nominated for a Grammy 19 times and has won once. Andres and his business partner Chris Cornell opened Tribe Caribe, a premier hotel for creatives, travelers, and locals alike. It hosts a bustlin...
Oct 22, 2024•33 min
Join me as I sit down with Dan Ni, the founder and CEO of TLDR (too long didn't read). TLDR is a tech newsletter with over 5M active subscribers producing $10+ million in annual revenue. He's built it with an extremely lean team, 20 employees strong. He previously founded and sold Scraper API, which allowed him to bootstrap TLDR and maintain 100% ownership. We discuss: -the future of media -his journey from Yale to culinary school -why he spent 6 years living at home in his 20's after working at...
Oct 08, 2024•39 min
Jonny Imerman is the Co-Founder of Imerman Angels , a global network of 15,000 cancer survivors. After battling testicular cancer in his 20s, Jonny felt compelled to create a platform where individuals battling cancer can connect 1:1 with a mentor who has faced the same diagnosis. Additionally, he co-founded CLOZTALK (pronounced "Clothes Talk"), where they are building brand awareness for over 500 nonprofits. In this episode, we discuss: Living a life of purpose and fulfillment How cancer turned...
Sep 26, 2024•44 min
The average person spends 2.5 hours a day feeling bad for themselves. Whether it's at work or in their personal life, we ruminate on stories that we tell ourselves. The problem? Oftentimes these stories aren't even true. A complete waste of time! Cy Wakeman gives us tangible advice on how to eliminate our ego when it goes unchecked and remove this 2.5-hour daily burden. Cy Wakeman is a drama researcher, NY Times Bestselling Author, Hall of Fame Speaker, and recipient of the #1 Global Leadership ...
Sep 17, 2024•34 min
Garrett Madison is one of the most accomplished mountain climbers in the world. He's summited Mt. Everest 14 times. Summited K2, known as the SAVAGE mountain, 4 times. The most of any westerner. He runs Madison Mountaineering where he has an unparalleled track record of guiding his clients to the highest points on earth. His calm nature, kind heart, strong spirit, and track record of success make him a really special individual. I was stoked to sit down for a chat with someone who has seen so mu...
Sep 10, 2024•36 min
Hi thanks for joining, it's Andrew Namanny and we've got another incredible episode you do not want to miss. Daniel Dart is the founder of Solo GP fund Rock Yard Ventures. His journey from homelessness and incarceration to where he is today shows how powerful second chances can be. A leader and advocate for underserved and underprivileged communities, he has worked on the ground, helping build equity and social movements on both a local and global scale. A rare talent, he matriculated to the Lon...
Sep 03, 2024•52 min
Jeffrey Deskovic is a lawyer dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted inmates. At 17, Jeffrey was wrongly convicted of murder and rape. He spent 16 years in maximum security prison before DNA evidence proved his innocence. After prison, Jeffrey started the Deskovic Foundation, where they have freed 14 wrongly convicted people and counting. Jeffrey is 1 of 3,200 exonerations since 1989. He discusses: -Why we was wrongly convicted -How he got out -The state of life in prison and what he missed most ...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Jimmy Yeager owned and operated Aspen, CO local restaurant Jimmy's for 25 years, resulting in a successful sell out. We sat down for a conversation during Aspen Food & Wine Festival. Jimmy's was a place for billionaires and scrap workers alike to bond. It was an institution built through hard work and intention. Jimmy discusses: -How he built a strong culture resulting in very low turnover. -His upbringing as a New Jersey/NYC chef. -What he's learned to be the core tenants of a good party. -...
Aug 13, 2024•44 min
Aliia Roza joins the show this week to share what she learned during her time as a Russian Spy, specifically trained on seduction. She was recruited by the Russian government and turned into an agent as her father and grandfather were top generals in the KGB. The government trained her to be a weapon -- Aliia would use seduction tactics to get inside information from top criminals for the Russian government. This is a raw look inside one of the most mysterious and dangerous jobs in the world. Al...
Aug 06, 2024•45 min
Victor Vescovo is one of the most accomplished humans alive. He is a former naval intelligence officer where he retired as Commander. He co-founded Insight Equity Holdings, a prominent investment fund. He is a Seven Summits Climber by climbing the tallest peak on all seven continents, deep sea diver (went to the bottom of all 5 oceans), outer space visitor, and pilot. In 2019, Victor Vescovo was recognized by Guinness World Records as the person who has covered the greatest vertical distance wit...
Jul 30, 2024•52 min
Joey is the global CEO of Barry's Bootcamp, which has 88 high end fitness studios across 14 countries. Barry's was started in 1998 when the founder needed a place to go and have fun without drinking. So how did Joey Gonzalez go from Barry's client to CEO? We unpack it all. We discuss: -How to balance a demanding professional and personal life -Building and maintaining a top tier brand -Organizing meetings to optimize output -The biggest risks he's taken "I always say, there's no such thing as ba...
Jul 23, 2024•40 min
Karenna Gore is Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Earth Ethics, an organization started in 2015 to focus on the intersection of ecology, ethics, and faith. It's no easy task! Karenna started this organization after convening 200 of the top religious leaders in 2014 to discuss climate change during the Religions for the Earth conference. She realized a centralized system was needed. During our conversation we discuss: -How we can all play our part in combatting climate change -What...
Jul 16, 2024•34 min
Erik Weihenmayer is an extreme athlete, author, and founder of the No Barriers movement. Going blind at a young age only further propelled his motivation to leave an extraordinary impact. Eric has climbed the seven summits, kayaked 277 miles through the Grand Canyon, written several books including Touch The Top of The World and No Barriers. He was the first blind person to summit Mt. Everest in 2001 earning him a front cover story on TIME. You will leave this conversation inspired and motivated...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Ken Hersh has served as CEO and President of the George W. Bush Presidential Center since 2016, where he oversees the Bush Institute, Library, and Museum. In 1988 Ken co-founded and became CEO of the legendary private equity fund Natural Gas Partners, an energy focused fund, who went on to earn a 27 year annualized 30% rate of return, making it one of the nation's leading private equity firms. He is co-owner of the Texas Rangers and served on Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Adv...
Jul 02, 2024•49 min
Jose Pereira was serving as CEO of CITGO (energy company) in 2017 when he was on his way to complete one last business trip before retiring after a 35 year career. During his trip to Venezuela, local officials captured and arrested Jose and his 5 colleagues falsely accusing them of being American spies. Jose was held hostage in brutal conditions for 5 years as a political pawn, while Venezuela angled to get America to remove sanctions. During his 5 year captivity, Jose snuck out 1,000 letters to...
Jun 25, 2024•49 min
Victor Boutros is Founding Director & CEO of the Human Trafficking Institute, where they are strategically decimating human trafficking around the globe. Victor previously served as a federal prosecutor on human trafficking cases of national significance on behalf of the United States Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. He is co-author of The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence , a book published by Oxford University Press in 2014. He ha...
Jun 18, 2024•52 min
Episode 32 is live with retail and fashion executive, Paul Price! Paul is Chief Merchandising Officer at Burberry and former CEO of TopShop and James Perse. He’s worked with the biggest retail legends — Chairman of Bloomingdales, Mastermind behind Gap, Head of Retail at Apple. He was kind to share the lessons he’s learned. We discuss: -His light bulb moment on the most effective way to deliver feedback -The question he asks everyone — especially on a first date -How he caused the largest search ...
Jun 04, 2024•44 min
Robin Thurston has done it all. When he was 12 years old, he was training in Colorado to become a professional cyclist. He made that dream come true. Robin went on to Co-Found MapMyFitness which was sold to Under Armour, where he became Chief Digital Officer for 3 years. He served as CEO at Helix, a genomics company. Robin is Founder and CEO of Outside Interactive Inc. - the 38 brand conglomerate designed to inspire and activate us into the outdoors. You've likely seen their magazine which has a...
May 21, 2024•53 min
Episode 30 takes us to Sao Paulo, Brazil for a deep dive into the mind of yoga master, Francisco Kaiut. After being shot at a young age, Francisco went around the globe looking for remedies to cure his pain. He couldn't find 1 specific practice that helped, so he decided to branch out and start his own series of poses that helped his body get back to normal. Fast forward 30 years, The Kaiut Method (yoga) is treating bodies and minds across the world in a big way. 50,000 students deep and incredi...
May 06, 2024•54 min
Wally Green is Co-Founder @ SPiN New York and a professional ping pong player. Wally's professional athlete journey took him as far as North Korea, where 5,000 North Koreans cheered strongly against him at the arena -- a moment we dive deep into. We discuss overcoming adversity, the power of being yourself, how the concept for SPiN started as house parties with ping pong, having Susan Sarandon as a business partner, traveling to North Korea, tips for getting better at ping pong, and much more. P...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 13 min
