WildFitLife805 is a family-run business owned by Justin and Jenny Mahaffey. They have five kids and are passionate about challenging themselves to grow. As the driving force behind this Southern California company, Justin has been a wildland firefighter for 15 years. WildFitLife805 was born out of his commitment to growing stronger and building a community. Anyone is welcome — firefighters, athletes, wellness enthusiasts, and fitness beginners. There is a place for every journey in this incredible group of people!

As a firefighter, Justin understands the importance of taking risks the right way. He also understands that risks look different for everyone. To tackle any challenge successfully, you have to be smart about it. You have to have community to back you up. WildFitLife805 is the community you need. It’s a place full of people who are not strangers to facing challenges — people who have won/lost and learned enough to understand that both are worthwhile experiences.

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Thomas Newman is a coach, Sports Scientist and the Chief Innovation Officer at Hawkin Dynamics. We discuss his journey into sports, the power of Sports Science data analysis, tactical athlete selection, fostering longevity, sleep and recovery, his own physical and mental recovery journey following a brain tumor, his non-profit and so much more.

Spanning nearly two decades, Thomas Newman's career in sports performance is a testament to his unparalleled ability to not only optimize athlete development but also provide a truly customized service for each client. Newman's approach is visionary, blending the precision of sports science with unwavering leadership and an innovative spirit. His hallmark is the adept integration of data science, athlete development, and program design.

Newman’s role as a dynamic thought leader is evidenced by his profound contributions to the understanding of athlete biomechanics, talent identification, and investment strategies. He stands as a beacon of inspiration, with his presentations resonating with audiences globally—from specialized tactical teams to international sports science gatherings. This ability to inspire extends beyond the podium; it reflects his passion for educating and advocating for his clients, empowering them to focus on their strengths while he and his team manage the complexities of their careers in both physical development and performance optimization.

Newman’s innovative research, particularly his application of economic models to recruitment strategies, demonstrates a unique capacity to navigate and solve the most complex challenges in sports with practical, impactful solutions.

Thomas Newman is more than an expert; he is a pioneer whose forward-thinking and dedication to athlete development are profound. His commitment to his clients is unwavering, characterized by a deep dedication to ensuring their success and well-being. It is this commitment that has made Newman not only a trusted advisor but also a passionate advocate for athletes at every stage of their careers on and off the field.

In every facet of his career, Thomas Newman exemplifies a commitment to excellence, passion for innovation, and a genuine desire to advocate for and educate his clients. This blend of qualities not only defines his professional identity but also establishes the Newman HP team as an essential pillar in the careers of athletes aiming for the pinnacle of performance.

Dr. Dave Rabin MD, PhD is a board-certified psychiatrist, translational neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and inventor who has studied resilience and the impact of chronic stress on our lives for over 15 years. Dr. Rabin and his team collaborate with clients at the Apollo Clinic, empowering clients to take control of their mental and physical health by tapping into our abilities to adapt and heal ourselves.

In addition to focusing on integration therapy, plant and natural medicines, couples therapy, and medicine-assisted psychotherapy, and technology-based therapeutics, Dr. Rabin specializes in treatment-resistant mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosomatic disorders, personality disorders, chronic pain disorders, insomnia, and substance use disorders using minimal and non-invasive treatment strategies.

Unlike other wearables, this is not a biometric tracking device. Apollo is a therapeutic wearable, designed to be worn discreetly on the wrist, ankle, or anywhere by clipping it to your clothing, that works by sending gentle vibrations to the body that signal safety to the brain. It's a safe, non-invasive way to relax, get the sleep you need, focus your attention, and find your flow. Using the Apollo wearable consistently over time helps to retrain your nervous system, helping you recover from stress and feel better overall.

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Marcy Levy Shankman, Ph.D. is a Leadership Development Professional and the founder of MLS Counsulting. We discuss philanthropy in leadership, the cost savings of investing in your people, moral courage, revolutionising American education, learning from the Amish, non- profits, reigniting the fire service and so much more.

Marcy is a leadership development professional with over 20 years of experience working with individuals, groups, teams, and organizations. Marcy’s commitment to her work comes from a passion for helping individuals and organizations leverage their strengths and increase their impact. Working on initiatives that drive individual, team, or organizational change is a top priority. Marcy does this through designing and delivering powerful learning experiences for her clients through consulting, coaching, training, and facilitation services.

Most recently, Marcy served as the inaugural Chief Organizational Learning Officer for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. In that role, Marcy had primary responsibility for designing and leading an organization-wide learning strategy for a diverse workforce of over 6500 individuals. Marcy facilitated organizational development strategies, coached senior and executive leaders, and created/co-created 3 distinct District-wide professional learning series. Prior to this position, Marcy served as the executive leadership coach and organizational development strategist for the District for 5 years (2016-2021).

From 2012-2016, Marcy was the Vice President of Strategy and Director of Leadership Cleveland for the Cleveland Leadership Center. This is when Marcy deeply connected with the community of Cleveland and discovered that collaborative leadership is a practice that many organizational leaders from diverse sectors had not spent intentional time learning much about.

MLS Consulting, LLC was Marcy’s full-time focus from its launch in 2001. Prior to that time, she served in professional roles at Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, The Hillel Foundation, and the University of Iowa.

Marcy is also an instructor in higher education and an author. She co-authored Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: A Guide for Students and its corresponding suite of companion resources, published in 2015 (2nd ed.) and 2008 (1st ed.). She continues to write articles and book chapters on the topic, including two chapters in leadership textbooks due out in late 2024/early 2025. In 2022 she co-edited a monograph on the effective and ethical use of leadership assessments for the New Directions in Student Leadership series.

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Datwain "DJ" Shipp is a 13 year fire service veteran and former collegiate athlete. We discuss his journey into football, TBIs in youth athletics, prioritising the firefighter family, CBD and Cannabis, Psychedelics and much more.

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Pat Byrne is a leader in sleep and fatigue management and the author of Inconvenient Sleep. We discuss his early work in Occupational Health and Safety, the tragedy that led him into sleep research, working with NHL athletes, the pros and cons of wearables, first responder sleep deprivation, AI in medicine and so much more.

Pat has changed the way professional sports teams and 24/7 workplaces manage their sleep and fatigue to optimize performance and mitigate risk. Pat's fatigue management systems, using state of the art knowledge and technology, have proven to be successful. Clients have included the US Department of Defense, Harvard Medical School, major mining and transportation companies and leading sports teams in the National Hockey League, National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, Australian Football League, national soccer programs, and National Olympic Committees.

With a wealth of knowledge and over 30 years of experience in risk management, performance optimization and health and safety, Pat is the expert to connect with whether you are seeking information on improving worker safety or are interested in boosting athletic performance.

Ash Alexander-Cooper is a former specialist military unit commander, combat helicopter pilot, wounded veteran, international athlete, musician, leadership and resilience expert. In this second conversation, we discuss the potential healing and damaging potential of drone technology, his new book Mindful Soldier, forging human performance, growing from childhood trauma, the healing power of altruism and so much more.

Ash became one of the most operationally experienced officers of his generation, spending almost seven years deployed, leading some of the world’s most skilled forces in predominant challenging, complex and hostile environments, such as the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Following retirement from active duty, Ash turned his attention to business, focussing on addressing issues of leadership, resilience, team-building, leader development, talent management and more, after recognising how many companies today experience very similar difficulties to what he and his colleagues faced in combat.

Ash draws on lessons learned from more than 25 years of experience in managing and leading diverse multinational military, civilian, government, sports, and other elite teams, using those insights and experience gained from working in some of the world’s most challenging, hostile and complex environments.

With powerful examples of resilience, leadership, teamwork and trust, Ash assists businesses and leaders develop the skills, mindset, and behaviours necessary in order to adapt and win. Leveraging empowering and motivational stories from his personal and professional life, Ash now supports companies, organisations and teams of all sizes to fulfil their potential.

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Lisa Mason is a Canadian CPA who works as a Chief Financial Officer for a healthcare technology company. In 2021, her life was changed forever when her brother Sgt. John R Little, CD died by suicide after serving two tours in Afghanistan. Through her grief journey she co-founded Operation: Talk 2 Me Johnny, a family run non-profit that aims to encourage loud conversations about mental wellness for veterans & first responders. Using their lived experience, Lisa and family share their story with everyone who will listen and organize community family friendly events to bring the mental health conversation to all individuals in a fun way with an aim of normalizing the topics and breaking the stigma.

Jason Kubiak is a serving Leading fire fighter with over 27 years in the UK Fire and Rescue Service, having worked across multiple brigades including Buckinghamshire and London Fire Brigade. We discuss his journey into firefighting, mixed martial arts, career calls, the Grenfell fire, his powerful mental health journey, prioritising family, the UK knife crime epidemic and much more.

Jason is open about his experiences with mental health and PTSD, shaped by years on the frontline, and now focuses on maintaining wellbeing through honesty, structure, and support. Jason is married and a proud father of two daughters.

Dr Rangan Chatterjee is a British physician, author, podcaster and television personality. We discuss his powerful journey into progressive medicine, vitamin D, the importance of sleep, gut health, the four pillars of health, creating healthy habits through small victories and much more.

Dr Chatterjee's mission is to empower 100 million people to become the architect of their own health and to help them feel fantastic with simple, practical and digestible information. Dr. Chatterjee is regarded as one of the most influential doctors in the UK and wants to change how medicine will be practiced for years to come. He hosts the biggest health podcast in Europe, ‘Feel Better, Live More’, #1 on Apple podcasts and announced as one of the most downloaded new podcasts of the past year. He is known for finding the root cause of people's health problems and he highlighted his methods in the ground-breaking BBC television show, Doctor in the House, which has been shown in over 70 countries around the world.

Dr Chatterjee is the author of the international best-seller, The Four Pillar Plan which has already become one of the top 10 selling Health titles of the past 5 years. His second book, the Amazon #1 bestseller, The Stress Solution, tackles what the WHO call the health epidemic of our time – STRESS and has been featured in 2 recent New York Times articles. Feel Better in 5 launched in the UK in January 2020, quickly hit the #1 spot in all non-fiction books and is Dr Chatterjee's most accessible health plan showing how small achievable habit-changes can help everyone improve their health.

Dr Chatterjee co-created the successful RCGP accredited Prescribing Lifestyle Medicine course which has been delivered to 1200 GPs and specialists since January 2018, providing doctors and primary healthcare professionals with a framework to apply Lifestyle Medicine principles in clinical practice. He regularly features on BBC news channels and has given an inspirational TED talk on making diseases disappear with over 2 million views.

Byron Branch is a veteran law enforcement officer, amputee and fencing paralympian. In this second conversation, we discuss the unlearned lessons from the pandemic, marksmanship in law enforcement, the opioid crisis, homelessness, fitness in policing, wheelchair fencing and so much more.

Byron first began fencing in high school. As an indoor sport, fencing worked well for the frigid winters in Ohio where Byron grew up. As an extra bonus, Byron could still play baseball in the spring after the fencing season ended.

Byron excelled at fencing. Prior to becoming a Parafencer, he competed in the able-bodied divisions of the sport. In 2011 he was top in the sport for able-bodied fencing in the Great Lakes Region, and in 2014 he was 17th in the USA for DIV1A Men’s Foil. He also volunteer coached at the local fencing club, helping numerous fencers gain scholarships and earn titles in the sport.

Outside of fencing, Byron dedicates himself to his family and his community. As a police officer, Byron is committed to strengthening his community. In addition to serving on a panel to improve community and police relations, Byron has visited local schools to engage students and help build a better understanding between police and the citizenry.

In 2016, Byron was injured during a traffic accident while on duty. After his injury, he continued training students at the local fencing academy, and in 2018 Byron decided to try wheelchair fencing. Shortly thereafter, he won Gold at the 2018 PanAm Games in Saskatoon, Canada. Within one year Byron quickly moved up to ranking 17th in the world.

He has since won 3 Pan Am games and was a 2024 Paralympian.

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