Badass

Coach Dan interviews the most elite minds of the business world,

revealing their secrets for creating massive success.

The Ultimate BADASS Podcast!

For Badass Entrepreneurs ONLY! is the only podcast that gives YOU unfiltered access to the world’s most elite business minds. Discover the blueprint these hard-hitting entrepreneurs used to achieve massive success in truly badass ways.

From Phil Q, the man who launched Virgin Records with Richard Branson, to Glenn Stearns, the Undercover Billionaire, to Stormy Simon, the welfare mom who went from secretary to CEO of the world’s first online retailer; all of Coach Dan’s guests are absolute visionaries in their fields!

For Badass Entrepreneurs ONLY! is the number one podcast for entrepreneurs seeking the ultimate success in business and life!

Jeff Apploff

Went from high school dropout to high-powered Hollywood player.

Jeff Apploff has produced dozens of hit tv shows featuring Hollywood’s biggest stars. Learn how this high school dropout, with zero TV experience, became a major player. ❮Read More❯

Jeff Apploff, President and CEO of Apploff Entertainment, doesn’t just make television. He makes cutting-edge, groundbreaking television that’s changing the nature of how people consume entertainment around the world.

His company is well known for producing top content for top networks, streaming services, mobile apps for celebrities, and big-name brands in multiple countries.

In 2007 Jeff launched his first show, Don’t Forget the Lyrics with Wayne Brady. Today, there are over 25 different versions of this show in over 25 countries, with over 500 episodes in France alone. It’s been hosted by Sugar Ray, Mark McGrath, and the newest version with Niecy Nash. But he didn’t stop there.

Jeff also created this extremely innovative Beat Shazam where contestants race the app Shazam to identify songs. It’s been running for over 5th seasons and is hosted by Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx.

Jeff is also the executive producer of Mental Samurai, hosted by Rob Lowe, which is now a global phenomenon. This show is like Jeopardy on a roller coaster. Jeff’s newest show is called The Wheel, which was brought over from the UK and is hosted by the hilarious Michael McIntyre.

Barry Katz

Launched the career of Dave Chappelle and many others.

GBarry Katz is an entertainment juggernaut! He helped many well-known comedians become icons. Barry spills on what it takes to crack any hard-to-crack industry. ❮Read More❯

Katz is universally known for representing iconic artists like Louie Anderson, Andy Dick, and Mike Epps. His super-human ability to spot talent is why he is well known for helping to launch the careers of talents like Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman, Denis Leary, Dave Chappelle, Louie CK, Whitney Cummings, Wanda Sykes, Jim Gaffigan, Tracy Morgan, and so many others. Throughout his career, he has produced 40 stand-up comedy specials, brokered 100 TV development deals, created 3 original television shows, and executive produced over 50 different specials, including 7 seasons of the Emmy-nominated series Last Comic Standing. Barry’s first success was in helping Dave Chappelle sell the cult classic movie Half Baked to Universal Studios. He went on to produce films with Kate Hudson, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Amy Schumer, Judd Apatow, and Larry David.

Katz invented the idea of using social media to accelerate the comedy career of Dane Cook. Where, at one point, at the press of a button, he could sell out 2 shows at Madison Square Garden for a total of 75,000 tickets sold in less than a week. This kind of thing had never been witnessed before or since on Planet Earth.

When it comes to the recording world, Barry has produced Grammy-nominated, multiple gold and platinum albums. He is the only producer to debut a comedy album in Billboard’s top 5 national charts –twice!

He is one of the driving forces behind Comedy Dynamics, the largest independent comedy production company in the world, as well as being involved in the sale of the Comedy Central Roasts, which have become one of the longest-running, most profitable franchises in the history of television.

Larry Steinhouse

Teaching regular people the success secrets of wealthy people.

Larry Steinhouse was a poor kid who was determined to be wealthy. He did it by discovering the tools of the rich. Now he teaches it to other people at InvestorSchooling.com. ❮Read More❯

Larry Steinhouse is a long-term investor who has helped thousands of people learn new ways of creating income. He specializes in buying properties with little, or none, of his own money. He’s even bought houses using credit cards.

As the lead instructor of Investor Schooling, Larry guides students through the process of searching for, buying, rehabbing, and then renting or selling real estate. But he doesn’t stop there.

He also teaches Stock Options Trading! Larry created a set of rules for trading options and following these rules has earned him close to 2 million dollars in trading options. And he earned $750,000 of that in just three years.

Larry is the co-host of a syndicated radio show, “Investor Schooling Live,” broadcast every Sunday in Philadelphia. He is also the full-time host of “Money Chat Now,” airing on WWDB radio every day at 7:30 am. He is also the author of the book “Money Hacks because everything you think you know about money is wrong!”

Audra Gold

Launched a platform to monetize your podcast or any audio content!

Audra Gold made a fortune in discovering how to make videos go viral. Now, she has launched a revolution in audio content with, Vurbl.com, which allows anyone to monetize audio. ❮Read More❯

Audra Gold is the CEO and founder of Vurbl dot com. Vurbl is a new audio-sharing platform that’s unlike anything we’ve seen on Planet Earth ever before.

For over 20 years, Audra has worked with startups building cutting-edge technologies and bringing game-changing ideas to the world. Through a lot of success and a lot of failures, Audra has gained a unique perspective on how to build digital products that use web-based technologies. In other words, Audra has figured out how to build all the cool shit we love using online.

Before creating Vurbl, Audra was the Founder and Managing Director of Product N, a consulting firm for start-ups. She was the VP of Rubicon Project. The VP of The Mighty. The VP of NantMobile. The VP of Fourth Wall Studios and VP of Pluto TV, a landmark digital video streaming platform.

I think Audra started Vurbl just because she was tired of being the VP of everything. Audra created Vurbl to provide free audio content over the internet. Free! You can upload and monetize your audio in a way that no platform has ever offered. We’re talking about your podcast, audio from your webinar, your keynotes, you brilliant brain dumps you record into your phone while making coffee. Vurbl provides audio content from all over the world, all in one place. How cool is that?

Audra has put herself at the forefront of the digital audio renaissance that is taking place in the world right now. She may not have started this revolution, but she saw it and was the first person to put her name on it. In the same way that YouTube didn’t create streaming video but they figured out how to own it. That’s what Audra has done with Vurbl. In this eposide, she’s going to tell us how she did it.

Jim Katzaroff

The CEO working to cure muscular sclerosis (MS) and other diseases.

Jim Katzaroff, a multi-millionaire CEO, decided to put his business skills to work in building a team to cure MS and other diseases that have plagued humanity since the dawn of time. ❮Read More❯

Jim is working on solutions for some of the most debilitating neuromuscular diseases on the planet. Jim is in the business of eradicating disease and freeing millions and millions of people from the kind of suffering that most of us can’t even imagine.

Jim began his entrepreneurial life by starting an import business while he was still in high school, bringing in minerals and pewter from Brazil. Most high schoolers can’t even point to Brazil on a map.

Today, Jim is highly regarded internationally for his proven expertise in corporate engineering. He has created a worldwide reputation for being one of the most trustworthy executives in business because of his passion, commitment, and proven ability to be a solution provider to the most complex issues that challenge all growth companies.

It was his love for solving complex problems which ultimately led him to the field of biotechnology and GlobeStar Therapeutics Corp.

On today’s show, Jim shares his knowledge and expertise on how to build a solution-oriented business, how to create a worldwide reputation for excellence, and just why he chose to tackle some of the most problematic diseases that have been plaguing mankind for hundreds of years.

Brehnen Knight

Transform your social media followers into crazy, rabid fans!

Brehnen Knight launched Engage Youth to help clients reach the Gen-Z market and Fan-Spiration to connect clients with their social media followers in a more profound way. ❮Read More❯

Brehnen Knight, with his company, Engage Youth, is an expert at reaching the challenging but infinitely lucrative youth market. Brehnen is the OB1-Kenobi of connecting brands to this market and ever-knowing which droids the kids are looking for.

But that’s not all. Because what I’m really pumped about is Brehnen’s newest venture called Fan-spiration. Fan-spiration identifies the interests and passions of your social media following s you can talk about those things and connect with your fans in a deeper way. Brehnen has cracked that code by peering into the minds of your markets, and he’s going to tell us how Fanspiration works. This is a game changer.

Brehnen has dual MBA degrees in International Marketing and Operational Management. He worked for a decade at Sprint Telecom, where he was in charge of a $25 million dollar sales and marketing budget.

Then in 2011, he launched Knight Management, a phenomenally successful business consulting firm in San Diego. But success wasn’t enough, and Brehnen said, “Let’s do something really difficult and crack the youth market.” And in 2018, Engage Youth was born. Now, with Fanspiration, Brehen finds success in surrounding himself with talented people and joyfully disrupting markets in exciting ways that attract large brands. This guy is the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.

Jim Poole

Created a biotech weapon against the devastating effects of stress.

Jim Poole had a vision for a world where humans no longer had to suffer from stress. It took over 13 years and nearly a billion dollars, but today his vision is now a reality. ❮Read More❯

Jim is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Solace Lifesciences, Inc., maker of NuCalm, which is the world's first and only patented technology clinically proven to reduce stress without drugs.

Jim is an amazingly accomplished business executive and entrepreneur with degrees in psychology and an MBA in business and marketing from the prestigious Babson Graduate School of Business. Talk about a guy who knows his stuff!

In 2005 Jim co-founded Focused Evolution, a premier global management consulting firm. Under his leadership, they grew into a multi-million dollar business, serving clients from 49 companies and a broad range of industries.

In 2009 having gained extensive experience in healthcare, biotechnology, life sciences, market research, and IT, Jim went to work for Solace Lifesciences, Inc. As director of strategic operation, this eventually led to the development of NuCalm.

If that weren't enough, Jim also serves on the board of several medical device firms. He is a business leader, accomplished author, and public speaker giving lectures all over the world on topics including stress, recovery, performance, and business strategy.

Glenn Stearns

What if you had just 90 days to build a million-dollar business?

Glenn Stearns shares his rags-to-riches secrets that put him at the top of the mortgage industry. He also talks about his experience on the reality show, The Undercover Billionaire. ❮Read More❯

Glenn has not only had a lot of money success in his life but has had a lot of other types of success as well. Glenn was featured on the show "Undercover Billionaire" on the Discovery Channel, where he was given the task of building a million-dollar business from scratch in just 90 days. But more than that, he only allowed himself to do it starting with one hundred dollars. Not using his contacts, not using his name. He was just a guy with a hundred bucks, a truck, and 90 days. Did he do it? How did he do it? Glenn’s going to talk about that. He’s also going to share with us his newest venture, Kind Lending. Glenn made his fortune in the lending business, and now he has launched Kind Lending, a new identity in the wholesale lending and mortgage business.

Ernie Singleton

He transformed Motown and put hip-hop on the cultural map.

Ernie Singleton shares his war-stories of getting MTV to abandon their anti-rap policy, put his artist on their music awards show, and thereby introduced hip-hop to the masses! ❮Read More❯

Ernie Singleton is one of the most important people who built the foundation of black music in America. Every entrepreneur is faced with barriers. But Mr. Singleton had to push through racism, greed, and hate to fulfill his vision of giving black artists the success they were due. If you want to learn how to stay committed to a vision, Mr. Singleton is going to have the answers.

From very modest beginnings, he was born to a construction worker and housekeeper in New Orleans and raised alongside- ready? 10 brothers and 2 sisters. Wow. Ernie studied accounting at Southern University while working as a DJ on New Orleans WBOK. Upon graduating, he couldn’t get a job in accounting & decided to return to his first love of music.

Ernie then moved from being a DJ to a record promoter for Fantasy Records, where he had record-breaking success in promoting their artists. Mercury Records got wind of Ernie, hired him on the spot, and gave him an extensive roster of Gold and Platinum R&B artists to promote.

His reputation for success then landed him a job with Casablanca Records in 1977 at the height of the disco era, representing artists like Donna Summer, Cher, and the Village People. Love it.

1984, he was hired at MCA/Universal, where Ernie helped artists such as Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Mary J. Blige gain their foothold in fame. He also helped a young intern named Shawn Combs evolve into Puff Daddy and guided his career to become CEO of Bad Boy Records.

Ernie was then lured away to Warner Brothers Records in 1987, where he worked with artists such as Prince and Madonna. There he singlehandedly reactivated their Reprise Records label and made it so successful Warner went from number seven in the industry to number one.

In 1990 MCA/Universal offered Ernie the coveted position of Head of their Urban Music Division. There he helped bring Hip-Hop to a mainstream consumer audience. Over the course of his career, Ernie Singleton helped cultivate heavy-hitting acts such as Patti LaBelle, Prince, Gladys Knight, Quincy Jones, and many, MANY others. With over 150 Gold and Platinum records to his credit, it is no surprise that he is widely referred to as “The man with the platinum touch!”

Today he is the president and CEO of Singleton Entertainment, an entertainment consulting company, and has launched a podcast called "My Business Is Pleasure"

Mark Cronin

A frustrated engineer becomes Hollywood’s hottest reality producer.

Mark Cronin reveals how he left his engineering job and became reality tv’s hottest producer. He launched over 40 shows including The Surreal Life and Below Decks. ❮Read More❯

Have you ever said to yourself, Hey, I have a great idea for a TV show? A lot of people have. Mark Cronin not only said that, but he actually created a TV show. And more than that, he created a kind of show no one had ever seen before. And more than that, he went on to create a total of 44 TV shows. Not 44 episodes of a show. We’re talking 44 different TV shows.

Mark Cronin is one of Hollywood’s most successful television producers. He is widely credited with co-creating a new version of reality TV called celeb-reality when he created the show "The Surreal Life” in 2003.

Mark’s circuitous path to Hollywood began with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. From there, he went into marketing. Then he chose to take the bold step of pursuing his dream career and started writing for television for Nick-at-Nite.

Mark then became a writer and producer for “The Howard Stern Show.” (Babba-booey). Then moved to MTV and became head writer for the dating show “Singled Out.” Mark then created his own game show for Comedy Central called “Beat the Geeks.”

From there, Mark started cranking out successful reality show after successful reality show. His work is credited for single-handedly saving the cable channel VH1 as well as setting ratings records across the board for both network and cable TV.

Most recently, Mark developed Bravo’s highest-rated series, “Below Deck,” a sort of Downton Abbey on the high seas, now in its eighth season.

Today Mark Cronin runs his company Little Wooden Boat Productions, where he’s still at it, making groundbreaking television. Mark shares how he made it big in Hollywood, what it takes to be a creative innovator, and so much more.

Phil Quartararo

Started Virgin Records with Richard Branson and revolutionized music!

Phil Quartararo left a high-paying career to start Virgin Records with Richard Branson. He brought U2, The Spice Girls, and others to America and transformed music’s marketing. ❮Read More❯

Phil Quartararo is known as Phil Q in the music industry. He has been one of the most influential people in the music business for the last 40+ years. Unless you’re in the music business, you may have never heard of him.

Phil launched Virgin Records in 1986 with Sir Richard Branson, where Phil served as CEO. He was then CEO of Warner Records, EMI, and Rhythm Nation. He has personally worked with artists including Linkin Park, Josh Groban, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith Hill, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, The Spice Girls, Janet Jackson, the list goes on forever.

Phil was named Billboard's Music Executive of the Year and is regarded as THE thought leader on branding music artists. Phil Q is also widely known as a defender of artist rights. He worked tirelessly to protect them, where many tried to take advantage of them.

Today Phil is President and Chairman of The Hello Group. An agency committed to pioneering a new age of talent management. And if that weren’t enough, Phil gives generously of his time sitting on the boards of the Grammy Foundation, Syracuse University, Cedar Sinai Hospital, City of Hope, and the T J Martell Foundation which is the music industry's largest funding for cancer research. Phil shares his insight and wisdom on success in business and in life.

Lucy Hall & RiKarlo Handy

A journey from crack addict to savior for hundreds of women and kids!

Lucy Hall – Sobriety’s Savior & RiKarlo Handy – Documentary Filmmaker, share their secrets of success on triumphing over adversity and coming back from devastation. ❮Read More❯

Lucy is the Founder and CEO of Mary Hall Freedom House. Since 1996 Lucy has helped over 10,000 women and children break their addiction, to poverty, to homelessness, to drugs but even more so, break the addiction from the internal story that says, “I can’t.”

Lucy Hall shares her harrowing story of how she found salvation at the edge of addiction and death. Hear the story of how she came back from being "tore-up from the floor-up" to create the Mary Hall Freedom House, where she has become sobriety’s savior for hundreds of addicted women, saving hundreds of addicts from a horrific fate.

Lucy is the subject of a new documentary called Hope Village, which was produced by my other guest, Rikarlo Handy. You’re going to want to listen to what Lucy has to say because

she is going to tell you how she has helped all these people break their addictions and get past their stories.

So if she can help those people, Lucy’s going to have some really unique insight into helping you too.

My other guest is Rikarlo Handy. Rikarlo is a superstar in the entertainment world here in LA. He started working in the film industry at just 14 years old. By 18, he was directing music videos, commercials, and films.

Rikarlo found a higher calling than just cranking out entertainment. With his company Sunwise Media, Rikarlo makes films that inspire social change with stories about people doing amazing things in the world. Rikarlo made a documentary called Hope Village about Lucy Hall going from addict to creating the Mary Hall Freedom House and serving all those people.

John Shin

A successful insurance tycoon makes the “Think & Grow Rich” movie

John Shin, a first- generation Korean-American went from poverty to phenomenal wealth using the principles from the book, Think & Grow Rich. Then he made it into a movie! ❮Read More❯

John Shin’s parents came to America with a dream of wealth that was never fully realized. Yet, as a young man, John discovered Napoleon Hill’s classic book, Think & Grow Rich. Using what he learned from that book, John went on to start over 26 different companies from scratch, with every one of them becoming multi-million-dollar enterprises.

Sir John, as he is known today, is the ultimate rags-to-riches success story. He knows the secret for transforming thinking from a mindset of sacristy to a mindset of wealthy abundance.

He has not only built exponential wealth for himself, but he has also taught literally thousands of people how to follow in his footsteps as part of his financial services company called Axianta, where he has opened over 128 offices in 42 different states. John is an

amazing speaker. You have never seen someone hold an audience like John. He is an amazing author, having written the book “How Rich Asians Think,” which is his own interpretation of Think & Grow Rich.

Sir John is such a believer in Think & Grow Rich that he created and produced the movie “Think and Grow Rich: The Legacy.” Because he wanted to share these important business concepts with the world, in fact, a lot of people wanted to make this movie, but John is the only person the Napoleon Hill Foundation trusted to turn this great book into a film.

Now when he’s not creating wealth, he’s giving back. Sir John is also the co-founder of the All For One Foundation, which is an international charity helping to change children's lives through health and education. Further, he sits on over 6 different boards of other charities.

Stormy Simon

A single mom on food stamps turns CEO of the first online retail store!

Stormy Simon, a broke single-mom went from secretary to CEO of Overstock.com, transforming them into the world’s first $2 billion online store! Today she’s the cannabis queen. ❮Read More❯

At 21, Stormy was a destitute single mother with no hope for the future. Yet, less than a decade later, she was President of a $2 billion online retailer and setting standards still used today.

Stormy is the former president of the $2B company Overstock.com. There she completely revolutionized their Branding, their Marketing, and their Customer Service. So much so that her results were copied by just about every other online retailer on the planet.

Under her guidance, Overstock was named to Forbes’ list of “America’s 100 Most Trustworthy Companies.” Stormy is also responsible for growing the ranks of female executives at Overstock from 7% to 33%.

Stormy is the archetype of an unconventional leader. She never went to college. Never went to business school. And yet Story has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC, and Fox Business. All this- without ever having to take out a student loan. Take that university education!

Stormy followed her passion into the business world of Cannabis, where she has been revolutionizing that industry as well. In 2017 Stormy joined the board of High Times Magazine, one of the leading global brands in cannabis culture.

Today, Stormy serves on the board of Mission Green, a nonprofit working to free non-violent cannabis offenders from prison. She volunteers her time at Columbus Community Center, which provides jobs to adults with mental disabilities. She also serves on the boards of YWCA, Boys & Girls Club and is a longtime supporter of the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit supporting wounded active duty service members and veterans.

Stormy has a new podcast called “Lunch with Stormy: Liberty Lunch Edition.”

Deena Katz

Overcame male-dominated TV execs and produced Dancing with the Stars.

Deena Katz produced the mega-hit Dancing with the Stars, and went on to bring the Woman’s March to LA. Deena shares how to push past the barriers in any competitive world. ❮Read More❯

Deen is Co-Executive Producer of the mega-hit, The Masked Singer. She’s Co-Executive Producer of another mega-hit, Dancing with the Stars. In fact, Deena has produced over 15 television shows in over 15 years in television. She has been continually successful in the hard-to-crack, stress-filled, and, let’s face it, male-dominated world of television entertainment.

When most people come up against huge walls, they tend to take their toys and go home. But Deena Katz not only got past those walls, she obliterated them. Today, we’re going to find out exactly what it takes to stay focused, stay determined and stand in your truth when others want to take you down.

Not surprisingly, Deena is using her position to empower the voices of women all across Los Angeles. As co-chair of the Women's March LA, she mirrors its mission to support women’s rights, health care, and income equality. They work to deliver, loud and clear, the message. “We will not go back.” I love it.

Franz Harary

Multimillionaire illusionist shares his magical secrets to success.

Franz Harary created live stage illusions for Madonna and other mega-stars. He packs in crowds of 60k a show and, at $7M, built the most expensive illusion ever performed.❮Read More❯

Calling Franz Harary a magician is like calling Michael Jordan a guy who likes to dribble a basketball!

CNN refers to Franz as a mega-magician. A grand illusionist. And indeed, Franz has singlehandedly redefined the audience experience of a magic show. As a visionary illusion designer, Franz has created spectacles that not only defy logic but challenge our sense of reality.

In every show, Franz seems to bend the laws of science. His work has won him multiple international awards for astounding achievements in magic.

In 2014 he designed the largest and most costly illusion ever performed in the entire history of magic called The Orb. A huge three-story crystal ball, pulsing with light with a 360º view that seems to defy gravity and all know physical laws. It cost Franz seven million dollars to bring to life. And has left every person who has witnessed it completely spellbound. This was no card trick!

In Taipei, he shut down eight city blocks to perform an illusion for 45,000 people. In Peru, New Delhi, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Thailand, he performs for 60 thousand people in sold-out shows.

This all began when he was just 20 years old and figured out how to get a videotape of him performing magic to Michael Jackson’s people. This resulted in him designing illusions for Jackson’s Victory Tour. He’s gone on to work with Justin Bieber, Missy Elliot, Madonna, and NSYNC, designing magic for theme parks, Broadway productions, movies, and his own live shows.

Garry Meier

A visionary radio DJ made Chicago his playground in the 1970s.

Garry Meier transformed the dull 70’s Chicago radio market and became the wildest celebrity in town. He even blew up a stack of disco albums during a White Sox baseball game. ❮Read More❯

Radio Revolutionary Garry Meier rolled into Chicago in 1973, where the radio scene was like a morgue. But Garry knew that a huge city like Chicago should have a huge radio presence- and he was going to be the guy to make that happen.

Just 4 years later, along with his radio partner in crime, Steve Dahl, Garry, went to work breaking down the boring walls of broadcast and bringing a mountain of innovation and creativity to the airwaves. The Chicago audience had never heard or experienced anything like this.

Garry quickly shot up to number one in the ratings, which gave him a remarkable amount of fan-driven power. Perhaps their most well-known event was 1979’s now infamous Disco Demolition Night at Chicago’s White Socks Baseball Stadium. Riding the wave of anti-disco

fever, they got the go-ahead to pile up hundreds of disco albums in the outfield between games of a double-header. They literally blew up the albums, and their fans went crazy. They stormed the field, refused to leave, and the White Sox had to forfeit their second game.

How did Garry build this much dedication in his fans, and how can we do the same in our businesses? That’s what we discover in this episode.

Ian LeWinter

Disrupting the Hollywood studio system using blockchain tech.

Ian LeWinter, with his company Ingredient X is working to put Hollywood back into the hands of the creatives using software specializing in blockchain NFT technologies.❮Read More❯

With over thirty years of experience in the creative industry, Ian has managed communications and strategy in both tech and entertainment. His unique strategies have been used to promote heavyweight brands such as Toshiba, Intuit, and Tenet Healthcare.

His TV and executive producer credits include Alicia Keys and Brad Paisley. Ian’s most recent feature film is called ‘5-25-77’, which is the date the original Star Wars movie was released, and it’s about how that movie changed the life of a young filmmaker.

Ian is also a co-creator of a superhero named Blank, who was created in real-time on Twitter in 2007.

Now, with his company, Ingredient X, he is working to decentralize the Hollywood filmmaking process with the creation of Film.io, the film, and software studio specializing in blockchain NFT technologies. Ian wants to put filmmaking in the purview of the creators and fans rather than the suits and bean counters.

Ian is determined to make the world a more inclusive and fairer place. And thank God for Ian because we need this revolution in the cinema right now!

Steve Saleen

Brought race car-style performance to consumer-level street vehicles.

Steve Saleen created the most successful independent sports car companies on the planet by transforming average street vehicles into high-performance hot rods.❮Read More❯

Stephen Saleen is a vehicle visionary. He is the founder and CEO of Saleen Automotive.

In 1983 Steve had a vision of bringing racecar-style performance to street-style vehicles. His one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial plan changed the entire industry of design, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing of high-performance cars. Elon Musk credits Mr. Saleen for creating the blueprint for launching an independent car company which has allowed Tesla to be the success it is today.

Steve’s humble beginnings in the car business started in 1969 when he repainted his Ford Mustang to resemble a race car. Then he added high performance and safety features to it.

He tested his own abilities by entering and winning local races all around southern California. Over the next decade, he was setting new records at race car tracks all over the country.

In 1983 he birthed Saleen Autosport, launching his own Saleen Mustang. A revamped high-performance version of the stock Ford vehicle. People fell in love with it!

Steve became, not only a master mechanic but also a master of marketing. He rented himself out for national ads like Monroe Shocks and General Tire. In other words, he got paid to go viral. These ads made Saleen a brand name in the high-performance world.

In 1995 Steve bumped his star up again by launching a racing team with actor Tim Allen. He was then inducted into the Mustang Hall of Fame and caught the eye of McDonald’s, who made one of his cars the grand prize in their new Monopoly game. All of this free advertising made Saleen a household name.

Saleen cars can be seen in Hollywood blockbuster movies like Bruce Almighty, Transformers, Bumblebee, Ironman, and of course, Fast & Furious.

He has even recently debuted his version of the Tesla, which he calls the 4-16.

From his humble beginnings, repainting is Mustang to look like a racecar to this very day, Saleen has transformed the way high-performance cars are built, marketed, and introduced to the public. He has certainly earned his reputation as an automotive business legend.

Glenn Stearns

What if you had just 90 days to build a million-dollar business?

Glenn Stearns shares his rags-to-riches secrets that put him at the top of the mortgage industry. He also talks about his experience on the reality show, The Undercover Billionaire.

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In his early twenties, Glenn found himself sitting on a bench in Los Angeles wondering what to do with his life. Spying a beautiful mansion, he boldly approached the man in the front yard and asked him how he made his millions.
“Señor,” the man said, “I’m just the gardener but I think the owner is in real estate.”
Inspired by this one encounter, Glenn went on to create one of the most successful mortgage companies in America, Stearns Lending. In his most recent adventure, Glenn was the star of the Discovery Channel’s reality show, “Undercover Billionaire.” Here, he was dropped into a small town under an assumed identity and tasked with building a million-dollar business from scratch in just 90 days, starting with nothing but a hundred dollars and a beat-up truck. Glenn discusses the entire experience, his struggles, triumphs and secret stories that never made it on the show. Glenn also discussed his latest venture, Kind Lending, a new identity in the wholesale lending and mortgage business.

Ernie Singleton
The Platinum Touch

Ernie Singleton | The Platinum Touch

He quit his accounting job to revolutionize Motown and put Hip Hop on the map!
In this episode of Shock to the System Coach Dan Gordon probes the mind of Ernie Singleton. A man who revolutionized Motown and put Hip Hop on the map! Ernie studied accounting at Southern University while working as a DJ at New Orleans’ <READ MORE>

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WBOK. Upon graduating he couldn’t get a job in accounting & decided to return to his first love of music.
Ernie then moved from being a DJ to a record promoter for Fantasy Records where he had record-breaking success in promoting their artists. Mercury Records got wind of Ernie, hired him on the spot, and gave him an extensive roster of Gold and Platinum R&B artists to promote.
His reputation for success then landed him a job with Casablanca Records in 1977 at the height of the disco era, representing artists like Donna Summer, Cher, and the Village People.
1984, he was hired at MCA/Universal where Ernie helped artists such as Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Mary J. Blige gain their foothold in fame. He also helped a young intern named Shawn Combs evolve into Puff Daddy and guided his career to become CEO of Bad Boy Records.
Ernie was then lured away to Warner Brothers Records in 1987 where he worked with artists such as Prince and Madonna. There he single-handedly reactivated their Reprise Records label and made it so successful Warner went from number seven in the industry to number one.
In 1990 MCA/Universal offered Ernie the coveted position of Head of their Urban Music Division. There he helped bring Hip-Hop to a mainstream consumer audience.
Over the course of his career, Ernie Singleton helped cultivate heavy-hitting acts such as Patti LaBelle, Prince, Gladys Knight, Quincy Jones, and many, MANY others. Ernie also persuaded MTV to feature a hip-hop artist on their awards show for the first time. With over 150 Gold and Platinum records to his credit, it is no surprise that he widely referred to as “The man with the platinum touch!”
Today he is the president and CEO of Singleton Entertainment, an entertainment consulting company, and has launched a podcast called “My Business Is Pleasure”

Phil Quartararo
Music’s Marketing Guru

Phil Quartararo | Music’s Marketing Guru

Started Virgin Records and went on to change an industry that didn’t want to be changed! In this episode of Shock to the System Coach Dan Gordon probes the mind of Phil Quartararo, the music industry’s marketing genius. Phil Q left a high-paying career to join a young Richard Branson in starting Virgin Records. <READ MORE>

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Phil shares how he went on to make household names of U2 and The Spice Girls and how he completely revamped how the music industry markets its artists to the world.
Phil Q has been one of the most influential people in the music business for the last 40+ years. Unless you’re in the music business you may have never heard of him. Phil launched Virgin Records in 1986 with Sir Richard Branson where Phil served as CEO. He was then CEO of Warner Records, EMI, Rhythm Nation. He has personally worked with artists including Linkin Park, Josh Groban, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith Hill, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, The Spice Girls, Janet Jackson, and many, MANY others!
Phil was named Billboard’s Music Executive of the Year and is regarded as THE thought leader on branding music artists. Phil Q is also widely known as a defender of artist rights. He worked tirelessly to protect them where many tried to take advantage of them.
Today Phil is President and Chairman of The Hello Group. An agency committed to pioneering a new age of talent management. And if that weren’t enough, Phil gives generously of his time sitting on the boards of the Grammy Foundation, Syracuse University, Cedar Sinai Hospital, City of Hope, and the T J Martell Foundation which is the music industry’s largest funding for cancer research.

Mark Cronin
Reality TV’s Surreal Star

Mark Cronin | Reality TV’s Surreal Star

How did a frustrated engineer transform his life to become Hollywood’s hottest producer?
In this episode of Shock to the System, Coach Dan Gordon probes the mind of Mark Cronin, Reality TV’s superstar producer. How did a frustrated engineer transform his life to become Hollywood’s hottest producer? <READ MORE>

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When you hate your life bad enough, you’ll do anything to follow a dream. Mark Cronin engineered his way out of a dead-end job and into one of Hollywood’s most lucrative power-positions. Hear his story of success and how he created over 44 different TV shows including The Surreal Life.
Have you ever said to yourself, “Hey, I have a great idea for a TV show?” A lot of people have. My guest today not only said that but he actually created a TV show. And more than that, but he created a kind of show no one had ever seen before. And more than that, he went on to create a total of 44 TV shows. Not 44 episodes of a show. We’re talking 44 different TV shows.
Mark Cronin is one of Hollywood’s most successful and television producers. He is widely credited with co-creating a new version of reality TV called celeb-reality when he created the show “The Surreal Life” in 2003.
Mark’s path to Hollywood began with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. From there he went into marketing. Then he chose to take the bold step of pursuing his dream career and started writing for television for Nick-at-Nite. I
Mark then became a writer and producer for “The Howard Stern Show.” Then moved to MTV and became head writer for the dating show “Singled Out.” Mark then created his own game show for Comedy Central called “Beat the Geeks.”
From there, Mark started cranking out successful reality show after successful reality show. His work is credited for single-handedly saving the cable channel VH1 as well as setting ratings records across the board for both network and cable TV. Most recently, Mark developed Bravo’s highest-rated series, “Below Deck,” a sort of Downton Abbey on the high seas, now in its eighth season.
Today Mark Cronin runs his company Little Wooden Boat Productions where he’s still at it, making groundbreaking television. So we’re going to find out all about Mark, how he made it big in Hollywood, what it takes to be a creative innovator and so much more.

Lucy Hall & RiKarlo Handy
Tore-up from the floor-up

Lucy Hall & RiKarlo Handy

A harrowing journey from crack addict to sobriety’s savior for hundreds of women.
In this episode of Shock to the System, Coach Dan Gordon probes the minds of Lucy Hall, Sobriety’s Savior & RiKarlo Handy, Documentary Filmmaker, learning their secrets of success and triumph over adversity and devastation. <READ MORE>

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Lucy is the Founder and CEO of Mary Hall Freedom House. Since 1996 Lucy has helped over 10,000 women and children break their addiction, to poverty, to homelessness to drugs but even more so, break the addiction from the internal story that says, “I can’t.”
Lucy Hall shares her harrowing story of how she found salvation at the edge of addiction and death. Hear the story of how she came back from being “tore-up from the floor-up” to create the Mary Hall Freedom House, where she has become sobriety’s savior for hundreds of addicted women, saving hundreds of addicts from a horrific fate.
Lucy is the subject of a new documentary called Hope Village which was produced by my other guest, Rikarlo Handy. You’re going to want to listen to what Lucy has to say because she is going to tell you how she has helped all these people break their addiction and get past their story.
So if she can help those people, Lucy’s going to have some really unique insight into helping you too.
My other guest is Rikarlo Handy. Rikarlo is a superstar in the entertainment world here in LA. He started working in the film industry at just 14 years old. By 18 he was directing music videos, commercials, films.
Rikarlo found a higher calling than just cranking out entertainment. With his company Sunwise Media, Rikarlo makes films that inspire social change with stories about people doing amazing things in the world. Rikarlo made a documentary called Hope Village about Lucy Hall going from addict to creating the Mary Hall Freedom House and serving all those people.

Stormy Simon
From Secretary to CEO

Stormy Simon | From Secretary to CEO

How did a single mom on food stamps become CEO of the first $2 billion online retail sensation?
In this episode of Shock to the System, Coach Dan Gordon probes the mind of Stormy Simon, a woman who went from a single mom on food stamps to become CEO of the first $2 billion online retail sensation!
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At 21, Stormy was a destitute single mother with no hope for the future. Yet, less than a decade later, she was President of a $2 billion online retailer and setting standards still used today.
Stormy is the former president of the $2B company Overstock.com. There she completely revolutionized their Branding, their Marketing, their Customer Service. So much so that her results were copied by just about every other online retailer on the planet. Under her guidance, Overstock was named to Forbes’ list of “America’s 100 Most Trustworthy Companies.” Stormy is also responsible for growing the ranks of female executives at Overstock from 7% to 33%.
Stormy is the arch-a-type of an unconventional leader. She never went to college. Never went to business school. And yet Story has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC, Fox Business and did I mention she was also president of a $2 billion company? All this- without ever having to take out a student loan. Take that university education.
Stormy followed her passion into the business world of Cannabis where she has been revolutionizing that industry as well. In 2017 Stormy joined the board of High Times Magazine, one of the leading global brands in cannabis culture and a personal favorite of mine when I was in high school.
Today, Stormy serves on the board of Mission Green, a nonprofit working to free non-violent cannabis offenders from prison. She volunteers her time at Columbus Community Center, which provides jobs to adults with mental disabilities. She also serves on the boards of YWCA, Boys & Girls Club, and is a longtime supporter of the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit supporting wounded active duty service members, and veterans.
In addition, Stormy has a new podcast called, “Lunch with Stormy: Liberty Lunch Edition.”

John Shin
A Mindset of Success!

John Shin | A Mindset of Success!

One of America’s most successful insurance tycoons creates the movie “Think & Grow Rich – The Legacy.”
In this episode of Shock to the System, Coach Dan Gordon probes the mind of John Shin, a first- generation Korean-American who went from poverty to phenomenal wealth using the principles from the book, Think & Grow Rich. <READ MORE>

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John Shin’s parents came to America with a dream of wealth that was never fully realized. Yet, as a young man, John discovered Napoleon Hill’s classic book, Think & Grow Rich. Using what he learned from that book, John went on to start over 26 different companies from scratch, with every one of them becoming multi-million-dollar enterprises.
Sir John, as he is known today, is the ultimate rags-to-riches success story. He knows the secret for transforming thinking from a mindset of sacristy to a mindset of wealthy abundance.
He has not only built exponential wealth for himself but he has also taught literally thousands of people how to follow in his footsteps as part of his financial services company called Axianta where he has opened over 128 offices in 42 different states. John is an amazing speaker. You have never seen someone hold an audience like John. He is an amazing author, having written the book “How Rich Asians Think” which is his own interpretation of Think & Grow Rich.
Sir John is such a believer in Think & Grow Rich that he created and produced the movie “Think and Grow Rich: The Legacy.” Because he wanted to share these important business concepts with the world. In fact, a lot of people wanted to make this movie but John is the only person the Napoleon Hill Foundation trusted to turn this great book into a film.
Now when he’s not creating wealth he’s giving back. Sir John is also the co-founder of the All For One Foundation which is an international charity helping to change children’s lives through health and education. Further, he sits on over 6 different boards of other charities.