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Be Authentic or GTFO Podcast
Season 7 Episodes
How to Stop Negotiating With Yourself and Just Show Up
You do not need a perfect plan. You need to stop bullshitting yourself.
Trevor Baxter, owner of CrossFit Elkhorn, sits down with Eric to talk about what actually gets people healthy again. Not hype. Not hacks. Just the truth. Starting is the hardest part, and most people never start because they keep hiding behind “I don’t have time.”
They get into why community matters, why coaching matters, and why some gyms feel like a family while others kick you out the second class ends. Trevor also opens up about losing his mom to ALS, the workout they do every year in her honor, and why showing up is the whole point even when life is heavy.
If you want results, stop trying to do it alone. Find people who will hold you to what you said you wanted
Trevor Baxter, owner of CrossFit Elkhorn, sits down with Eric to talk about what actually gets people healthy again. Not hype. Not hacks. Just the truth. Starting is the hardest part, and most people never start because they keep hiding behind “I don’t have time.”
They get into why community matters, why coaching matters, and why some gyms feel like a family while others kick you out the second class ends. Trevor also opens up about losing his mom to ALS, the workout they do every year in her honor, and why showing up is the whole point even when life is heavy.
If you want results, stop trying to do it alone. Find people who will hold you to what you said you wanted
Calm in the Chaos with Adam Patterson
This episode wasn’t recorded in a studio, it was recorded in the mountains of the Philippines after a sketchy journey, no sleep, and zero room for panic.
Eric sits down with Adam Patterson from SMA Support Services during a live, in-person crossover with F&S Words to talk about stress. Not the motivational poster kind, but the kind that leaks into your team, poisons culture, and quietly wrecks performance.
They break down why stress is contagious, how leaders unknowingly spread it, and why calm, stoic leadership is the real competitive advantage.
If you lead people and think your stress doesn’t affect them. This episode will prove you wrong.
Eric sits down with Adam Patterson from SMA Support Services during a live, in-person crossover with F&S Words to talk about stress. Not the motivational poster kind, but the kind that leaks into your team, poisons culture, and quietly wrecks performance.
They break down why stress is contagious, how leaders unknowingly spread it, and why calm, stoic leadership is the real competitive advantage.
If you lead people and think your stress doesn’t affect them. This episode will prove you wrong.
Sushi in the Middle of Nowhere with Tony Gentile
Tony Gentile went from a Houston Gulf Coast kid who loved cooking and fishing to the chef behind Blue Sushi and Flagship Restaurant Group’s 48‑restaurant machine. He and I break down how he engineered stupid‑level consistency across the country, why prime cost and supply chain are life or death, and how systems can either free your team or choke the soul out of your business. We get into culture, vulnerability, owning your screw‑ups, the Tony Gentile System for Success, and how marriage and kids forced him to stop working himself into the ground and start leading like a grown man. If you’re trying to scale anything — not just restaurants — this is the kind of truth you can’t un-hear.
Stop Holding Your Business Back with Chris Diroll
This episode is a gut-punch for every contractor who swears they’re “too busy” but still burns half their week on bullshit tasks that should’ve been offloaded years ago. Chris Diroll breaks down how he sold $4M in roofs without paid ads, why Facebook/Nextdoor groups are a goldmine, and how owners sabotage their own businesses by making sales reps do everything except sell. We dig into efficiency, leadership, VA leverage, five-star review systems, and the ugly truth about why most roofers stay small. Real talk, real systems, and the kind of perspective that makes you uncomfortable in all the right ways.
When Failure Became the Fuel with Chuck Thokey
Chuck Thokey’s story doesn’t start in success — it starts in a freezer at $10 an hour, lying just to get the job.
He went from “learning disabled” classes to aerospace engineering, lost everything after 9/11, and rebuilt his life one sale at a time.
This episode isn’t about scripts or systems — it’s about hunger, humility, and the kind of pain that makes you dangerous.
He went from “learning disabled” classes to aerospace engineering, lost everything after 9/11, and rebuilt his life one sale at a time.
This episode isn’t about scripts or systems — it’s about hunger, humility, and the kind of pain that makes you dangerous.
Life Pulled the Trigger with Travis Harvego
Some people talk about struggle. Travis lived it. From being shot by his own father at 15… to rebuilding his life, losing his wife to another woman, and still rising to lead one of roofing’s fastest-growing tech companies — this episode cuts deep. Eric and Travis go all in on pain, forgiveness, and the brutal truth that success doesn’t mean shit if you haven’t faced your demons. This is one of those conversations that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about resilience.
Drama, Truth, and Consequences: Inside the Mind of Dmitry Lipinskiy
He’s one of the most polarizing voices in the roofing industry — depending on who you ask, he’s either the watchdog this business desperately needs or a drama magnet who won’t shut up. But love him or hate him, Dmitry Lipinskiy has made damn sure nobody ignores him.
From building and selling his own roofing company to launching Roofing Insights and Directorii, Dmitry’s mission has been clear: expose the fakes, hold people accountable, and clean up an industry that’s gotten too comfortable looking the other way.
In this conversation, Eric and Dmitry get raw about calling out corruption, dealing with haters, what really drives him, and why doing the right thing sometimes looks like starting a fight. They also hit on ego, coaches, CrossFit, and what it means to be truly authentic when the whole world’s watching.
From building and selling his own roofing company to launching Roofing Insights and Directorii, Dmitry’s mission has been clear: expose the fakes, hold people accountable, and clean up an industry that’s gotten too comfortable looking the other way.
In this conversation, Eric and Dmitry get raw about calling out corruption, dealing with haters, what really drives him, and why doing the right thing sometimes looks like starting a fight. They also hit on ego, coaches, CrossFit, and what it means to be truly authentic when the whole world’s watching.
From Death to Laughter: Colleen Quinn and the Legacy of the Omaha Funny Bone
What happens when a woman who once counseled the dying decides to spend her life making people laugh? Colleen Quinn’s story is raw, wild, and unforgettable. From losing her fiancé just weeks before their wedding, to building the Omaha Funny Bone into one of the Midwest’s most iconic comedy clubs, Colleen has lived at the intersection of grief and joy for over 30 years.
In this conversation, Eric and Colleen dive into death, reinvention, addiction in comedy, raising kids in the club world, and what it really takes to survive in an industry built on laughter. You’ll hear the untold stories of legends, the comics who never made it, and the one star she swears will never set foot in her club again.
This is comedy history with a backbone and Colleen Quinn proves that sometimes the funniest people are forged in fire.
In this conversation, Eric and Colleen dive into death, reinvention, addiction in comedy, raising kids in the club world, and what it really takes to survive in an industry built on laughter. You’ll hear the untold stories of legends, the comics who never made it, and the one star she swears will never set foot in her club again.
This is comedy history with a backbone and Colleen Quinn proves that sometimes the funniest people are forged in fire.
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