Max Sapuppo is a former client of mine as well as a very good friend.  Within the last four years he has received his bachelors degree in kinesiology, has become involved with USAPL as a competitive powerlifter and has recently pursued a career as a powerlifting coach. He came in to share his thoughts, experience and perspective on strength training, what it means, what it can do and what it has ultimately taught him.  

I sat down with Cole Harriet and Chase Morley, two student athletes from Adelphi University, that have been training at Stronghold for the last two years. Unlike most Athletes they both have a background in coaching which has had a significant impact on their training and experience with Lacrosse at the college level as well as the stigma that comes along with it within the classroom.  We also make an important distinction between being a coach and being a guide and how much more there is to training someone than just physical exercise.  

Stelios and Dave sit down with Nick Montoni, a Crisis Consoler who has a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Philosophy.  While we all strongly disagree with each other over virtually everything we were still able to have a valuable conversation ( an almost forgotten art) but not without occasionally traveling to the gutter.  Regardless, the words just kept flowing...like dysentery

Stelios and Dave discuss the practice of following, why we do it and the affect that it has on the human condition.  

It was very refreshing to hear from a familiar voice recently, despite the continued chaos afflicting the current landscape.  A call from Edward Wang a classmate of mine from college brought back some memories and lessons that quite frankly needed to be revisited, especially now.    Our last year was spent studying in China together while fucking up and learning along the way.  Yet we have ironically ended up in a very similar place while reconnecting under very similar circumstances.   While discussing the gym as well as his current venture at Urbancred we also explored what it means to be a business owner and how emphasizing the experience instead of the product allows the actual business to be an extension of your own expression.  

We all have to ask ourselves eventually; what does it really mean to be free? Is it exclusively the opportunity to have the right to speak, act or think without any restrictions? Definitions will tell you something similar to this, but a crucial component is frequently overlooked. In essence, freedom fails without responsibility. Dave and Stelios discuss the mixed messages and contractions, surrounding the pandemic as well as the effect it has had on our freedoms.

What have you actually been doing this whole time? The current situation has forced everything around us to change, but have you been able to change along with it? Change itself is a journey, failure is merely a detour, while arriving is truly nothing more than a dead end. The outlet for all three lies within our capacity to ask ourselves more difficult questions. This is the opportunity to do so...

Dave Jess and Stelios discuss the 1000 burpees they recently completed and what they learned from their experience but not without side commentary on fat acceptance, keyboard warriors and provocative emails. 

Keep it simple, get rid of the distractions, shed the fat and do more with less.

With mass panic and hysteria settling in, it’s to no surprise to see how disconnected we have all become from each other, the world we live in and even ourselves. While the imminent threat of the virus is obvious, what has become even more dangerous is our reaction to it. The acceleration of the fear is something that has escalated quicker than the virus itself as speculation quickly transitioned to overkill with nothing in-between. Our dependencies have been comprised, our health remains uncertain and our routines have been interrupted. The question we must all ask ourselves now is; what remains?  Dependency itself is a prison, its predictability pacifies the underlying fear of losing the supposed control that we think we have. We presume that we need the familiarity so the fetish for our fix can be satisfied.  An attachment, once taken away creates confusion which is immediately followed by fear with panic not far behind. We begin to take what we don’t need in excess at the expense of others who are suffering from a deficit. It only makes sense during grim times of black and white that you truly see people’s true colors; the contrast is unmistakable. One must consider especially in times like these how much is my independence restricted from my current dependencies?  Dave and Stelios sit down to discuss what it means to become independently fit at the expense of letting go what we think we need.

Endurance can be a reflective process as it can shed away everything until the real you is left. A slow extraction process that entails the acceptance of what lies ahead as adversity patiently awaits your arrival. Patience, self-care and persistence are some of the many lessons that Dave, Jessica and Tom discuss after doing a marathon of 42,195 meters on the rower. 

A decision was made to not make our space open to the public because in the end, if we made this for everyone then it would be for no one.  We are selective with who we consider and also very honest about what this will entail. There is an application process, a probation period and a final evaluation known as The Crucible. The criteria for passing is emphasized more around the development of ones mindset rather than their skill set. While this may seem like an ends, it’s actually the beginning of something much more valuable. Failure however, has been the outcome for many but we don’t mind as we are adamant about using only what we need and shedding away what is useless. How the crucible began, what it means and why it's implemented is now available on The Unearthed Podcast.

The initial trajectory of my coaching career began with children where I spent over a decade teaching martial arts and coaching sports. I learned a great deal within that time, but in the end it took more from me than it gave. I retired that part of my career but have since then revisited it after 6 years. Recently, preferable circumstance coupled with a remarkable clientele has shifted my perspective causing me to return to where I originally began.

On this episode of the unearthed podcast, Dave and I discuss what it means to coach younger athletes and the impact it can have on the psychology and perception of their sport.  

Are you dependent or independent?

I wasn’t interested in working on someone’s else’s timeline, priorities and limitations.  I had an objective with a specific trajectory and while the buy in was more than I could afford, I was willing to see it through until the end. Along the way I learned valuable lessons that I continue to reflect upon and I haven’t looked back. Discovery was an everyday occurrence I had no choice but do embrace an unknown experience with inexperience.  

Regardless, I feel as though that most are more willing to invest in their “things” instead of their independence.  I couldn’t help but contemplate; why would I allow the final outcome of what I want to become contingent upon someone else’s priorities?  I had to give myself more trust than I was comfortable with and walk through the unforgiving fog knowing that there may have been a ledge waiting for me.  I had to accept that frustration and failure were patiently awaiting my arrival for every task that I decided to undertake.  Through it all I learned everyday while the DIY mentality reared its head screaming for permission to precede with every moment of uncertainty.

The dependency I once had for third parties vanished and I no longer had to over wait and over pay. My self reliance allowed me to maintain my high standards and negate the social compliance of the mainstream sub-standards.

Dave and I discuss the benefits of the DIY attitude and how it has influenced the gym, our clients, and how we have both have been reshaped because of it.