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A Champion's Journey

Matt Davidson

28 episodes

1 month ago

Send us a text Few comeback stories are as awe-inspiring as Mike Brewer's journey from a hospital bed to the elite Red Bull Air Force team. After a devastating accident that left him weighing just 120 pounds on his 6'1" frame with a traumatic brain injury, Mike transformed his recovery into a relentless pursuit of excellence that ultimately caught the attention of one of the most prestigious extreme sports teams in the world. The mysterious Red Bull selection process culminated in a surprise...

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Send us a text Few comeback stories are as awe-inspiring as Mike Brewer's journey from a hospital bed to the elite Red Bull Air Force team. After a devastating accident that left him weighing just 120 pounds on his 6'1" frame with a traumatic brain injury, Mike transformed his recovery into a relentless pursuit of excellence that ultimately caught the attention of one of the most prestigious extreme sports teams in the world. The mysterious Red Bull selection process culminated in a surprise...

Show more...

Episodes (20/28)

A Champion's Journey

From Trauma to Triumph: A Red Bull Athlete's Journey

Send us a text Few comeback stories are as awe-inspiring as Mike Brewer's journey from a hospital bed to the elite Red Bull Air Force team. After a devastating accident that left him weighing just 120 pounds on his 6'1" frame with a traumatic brain injury, Mike transformed his recovery into a relentless pursuit of excellence that ultimately caught the attention of one of the most prestigious extreme sports teams in the world. The mysterious Red Bull selection process culminated in a surprise...

1 month ago

49 minutes

A Champion's Journey

From Last Place to Silver Medal: The Comeback Kids of Next Gen Dynamics

Send us a text Ever wonder what it takes to become a world-class athlete before you can even drive? Emma Johnson and Gabriel Heller, the silver medalists at the Fifth FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships in Belgium, reveal exactly how they pulled it off at just 14 and 12 years old. These extraordinary young competitors take us into the exhilarating world of dynamic two-way indoor skydiving, where they race through wind tunnels at breathtaking speeds while executing precisely choreographe...

3 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 26: Kurt Isenbarger. Skydiving Stories: From Golf Balls to Golden Knights. Former U.S. Army Golden Knight, National and World Champion Skydiver.

Send us a text Join us for an inspiring journey with Kurt Isenbarger, a renowned skydiver and former member of the Golden Knights, who takes us through his life filled with daring adventures and significant lessons. In this episode, Kurt shares his incredible experiences, from entrepreneurial beginnings as a young guy fishing for golf balls to rising through the ranks of elite skydivers. His engaging storytelling captures the essence of teamwork, resilience, and the bonds formed on and off th...

5 months ago

2 hours 49 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 25: Christopher "Ace" Acevedo. U.S. Army Parachute Team Veteran, National Skydiving Champion, Musician and Actor

Send us a textChristopher "Ace" Acevedo. U.S. Army Parachute Team Veteran, National Skydiving Champion, Musician and ActorThis was a wonderful conversation with my great friend and former teammate where we cover a lot of ground including his deployment to Iraq during the Global War on Terror, how he dealt with the transition of coming back to the U.S., his time on the Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and much more.

7 months ago

2 hours 49 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 24: Ken Breeden. U.S. Army Parachute Team Aviator

Send us a textKen Breeden, CW5 (Retired), is one of the most highly experienced aviators on the U.S. Army Parachute Team, "The Golden Knights." With over 40 years of experience as an Army aviator, Ken has logged over 12,000 hours of flight time in various rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and currently serves as a pilot and Chief Maintenance Officer for the Golden Knights. It was an incredible honor to share a conversation with Ken on the podcast. I hope you enjoy his stories as m...

1 year ago

2 hours 4 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 23: Mike Brewer. Extreme Sports Athlete

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1 year ago

2 hours 21 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 22: Shaun Gardner. Former Green Beret, Real Estate Developer and Avid Endurance Athlete

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1 year ago

2 hours 17 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 21: Steve Lefkowitz. National Champion and team Rhythm Cofounder

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1 year ago

2 hours 35 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 20 Featuring Jason Brigmon and Jake Carlton of team XP Ascend

Send us a textMy next guests are nothing short of awe-inspiring. I was finally able to sit down and have a conversation with the incredibly talented Freestyle Skydiving team, XP Ascend. Using the term, “talented” however, would actually be somewhat misleading because Jason Brigmon and Jake Carlton, the dynamic duo who’ve turned XP Ascend into the international powerhouse it has become, have worked dilligently to forge their vision of excellence into a reality. Not only have they dominated the...

1 year ago

1 hour 38 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 19 Featuring Scott Festa

Send us a textMy next guest is Scott Festa. Scott is a former U.S. Army Green Beret Colonel, current business owner, Physician’s Assistant and adventure-philanthropist who creates intensive physical and mental endurance challenges to raise money and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In this episode you’ll learn how Scott prepares physically and psychologically to take on these incredible challenges while being driven by the mantra, “No child deserves cancer.”&nbs...

1 year ago

1 hour 43 minutes

A Champion's Journey

Episode 18: Multiple World Champion and Original Arizona Airspeed Team Member, Kirk Verner

Send us a textKirk Verner is a current member of the US 8-way Formation Skydiving Team and is one of the original and founding members of one of the most successful 4-way teams in history - Arizona Airspeed. With a skydiving career spanning just over 4 decades, Kirk has amassed an impressive list of achievements. He’s a 2x 4-way Formation Skydiving World Champion, 4x 8-way World Champion and 1x Indoor 8-way World Champion. At almost 57 years of age, Kirk is one of the most relentles...

2 years ago

1 hour 43 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 17 Featuring Mike Elliott

Send us a textWhen I think of tandem skydiving, the first person who comes to mind is none other than Mike Elliott.Mike was the tandem skydiving instructor who escorted former President George H.W. Bush on not just one but three separate occasions.In this podcast, Mike tells us all about those jumps, his military service starting as an Airborne Infantryman, Air Assault Instructor, Airborne School Instructor, and Army, "Golden Knights" demonstration Team Leader.Finally, we'll hear what motivat...

4 years ago

1 hour 19 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Podcast Father's Day Edition featuring Mike Davidson

Send us a textI hope you enjoy this special Father's Day Edition of A Champion's Journey Podcast featuring my biggest hero, my dad, Mike Davidson. He served 26 years in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Airborne Ranger and Physician's Assistant. Still practicing medicine as a full-time P.A., he spends his spare time serving as coach, mentor, and pilot for members of the U.S. Naval Academy Parachute Team.

4 years ago

1 hour 31 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 15 Featuring Drew Starr

Send us a textDrew Starr is a four time World 8-way Formation Skydiving Champion and is the Team Captain for the U.S. Army Parachute Team’s Competition Section. In addition to his four World Championship victories, he is also seven time National Champion, current World Record holder for the highest single scoring skydive, highest scoring freefall average, and highest wind tunnel average in the 8-way Formation Skydiving event. Drew’s prior military experience includes serving a...

5 years ago

2 hours 8 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 14 Featuring Lauren Modica

Send us a textDriven. Focused. Dedicated. Disciplined. Relentless. Inspiring. These are some of the words which come to mind when describing Lauren Modica. About to begin her senior year at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Lauren is setting herself up for a bright future with unlimited possibilities. Interested in aviation from a young age, Lauren attended trade school for aviation maintenance during her last two years of high school. During that time, she also attended nig...

5 years ago

47 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 13 Featuring Justin Blewitt

Send us a textJustin Blewitt is a four time World 8-way Formation Skydiving Champion currently serving as head Parachute Rigger on the U.S. Army Parachute Team. The conversation in this episode was a special one for me as Justin, also known as, “Bizz,” is one of my closest friends and is the teammate I worked closest with for the better part of ten years.Justin’s journey has been anything but linear up until he attended Golden Knights Assessment and Selection in 2005. After college he se...

5 years ago

1 hour 44 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 12 featuring Mikhail Markine

Send us a textMikhail Markine is a three time U.S. National 4-way Formation Skydiving Champion, World Cup Champion, and is a current member of both Arizona Airspeed and the U.S. National 8-way Formation Skydiving team. Several years ago, Mikhail made the difficult decision to leave a secure career with Google to relentlessly pursue his passion as a full-time Formation Skydiving Competitor, fully committing himself to accomplishing his goals of becoming National and World Champion. T...

5 years ago

1 hour 30 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 11: Tom Baker

Send us a textTom Baker is an energetic and forward thinking skydiver, BASE jumper, professional aerial consultant and Hollywood stuntman. Tom has an infectious charisma and a positive energy which shines through in his personal interactions, in his passion for project innovation, and in his appetite for pushing the boundaries of body flight and sport parachuting. Tom is to skydiving what Sean White is to snowboarding. Not only does he look a lot like Sean, but he also performs like him....

5 years ago

1 hour 25 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 10: Jeana Billings, U.S. National Skydiving Champion

Send us a textJeana Billings made her first skydive in 2013 and has been on a mission ever since. In the relatively short time she’s been in the sport, she’s taken the Formation Skydiving competition world by storm. In 2018, she won the U.S. National Championships in the 8-way event with her team, Paraclete XP8. In 2019, she and XP8 became World Indoor Skydiving Champions and later that year, she became U.S. National Champion, earning the right to represent the United States in the 8-wa...

5 years ago

1 hour 30 minutes

A Champion's Journey

A Champion's Journey Episode 9: 2019 U.S. National 4-way Champion, Doug Barron

Send us a textFor the last ten years, the 4-way Formation Skydiving team, SDC Rhythm XP, has struggled to achieve victory at the U.S. National Skydiving Championships. A year and a half prior to competition at the 2019 U.S. Nationals, it seemed as though Rhythm’s chances for victory had slipped through their fingers once again after team member Doug Barron was involved in a catastrophic skydiving accident. In this episode, Doug shares the incredible story of how he overcame crippling and pote...

5 years ago

1 hour 8 minutes