The Extra Mile - The Official Charity Miles Podcast

This is a time for leaders to step up. Which is why I'm thrilled to share this conversation with my friend, Gerard Adams. Gerard is a serial entrepreneur and host of the internet-television series, Leaders Create Leaders. Most importantly, he's from New Jersey, which is where all great minds come from. Gerard always knew how to hustle. After nearly getting busted for selling marijuana as a teen, Gerard decided that he preferred more legitimate business ventures. He has since founded two eight figure businesses, one of which (Elite Daily) was sold for $50 million. Since then, Gerard has become passionate about teaching what he has learned about entrepreneurship to cultivate other leaders. And boy, do we need some leaders right now. Big thanks to Gerard for sharing so much with us, supporting Charity Miles, and for helping me get my bearings on the new Zoom-styled podcast. #EveryMileMatters

This may be the perfect interview for the times we find ourselves in. Jimmy Choi was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease when he was 27 years old.  He spent the next eight years in denial, ignoring the Parkinson's, gaining weight, walking with a cane... until, one day, he fell down the stairs while holding his infant son. That was the wake up call Jimmy needed to turn his life around. First he got educated about Parkinson's. Then he started walking with his cane. Then he started walking without his cane. Then running. Then running a 5K. Then running a half marathon. Then running a marathon. Then running many marathons. Then competing in "ninja" competitions with his daughter. Then competing on American Ninja Warrior... Three times! In other words, Jimmy knows something about overcoming obstacles. One of those things, he says, is that you have to give yourself a license to fail. Failure is not a problem if you learn from it. When confronted with a new obstacle, you'll almost inevitably fail as you try to figure

I was recently introduced to Danny Grossman by a mutual friend. As soon as I heard a bit of his story, I wanted to interview him on the podcast. Originally from the USA, Danny Grossman served for six years as an F-4 navigator flying fighter aircraft for the US Air Force, earning honors as 9th Air Force “Top Gun”. After making aliyah to Israel in 1979, Danny served in the IAF for over 20 years, including nearly 200 combat missions, and earned a medal for a strategic reconnaissance mission to Iraq. After the Air Force, Danny served as Israel Director for the American Jewish Congress. For the past several years, Danny has been an independent consultant for strategic, diplomatic, security and public affairs.  His clients are some of the most influential players in Israel and the U.S., including my former law professor, Alan Dershowitz. Danny has incredible wisdom to share under any circumstances.  But I was particularly interested in hearing his perspective on the coronavirus.   Danny did not disappoint, sharing

George Weiner is one of the smartest people I know, particularly when it comes to charity. As the founder of Whole Whale, he helps charities every day make the most of the digital tools available to them. Whenever I need HONEST feedback, I call George. I'm always glad whenever I heed his advice. I always regret when I don't. Which makes this interview particularly sobering-- and steeling. While I'm trying to maintain a positive outlook, and while many of us are eager for things to "return to normal", George reminds us that we're gonna be in for a long haul. We may have been caught off guard on February and March, but we cannot be caught off guard for what's to come.  We need to prepare now, mentally and otherwise. There are some very key takeaways in this interview: 1.  We're not yet feeling the full effects of COVID-19. Get ready for a long haul. 2.  Our charities are REALLY hurting now too-- even as they're needed more than ever.  If you're going to make a donation this year, make it NOW! 3.  Do the Census!

Nate Checketts is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rhone, a premium men's performance lifestyle company.  They make awesome gear for running, working out and more. Like all businesses CEOs, COVID-19 threw Nate a major curveball.  He responded not only on behalf of Rhone, but also by creating BrandsxBetter, a coalition of 128 (and growing) like-minded brands who are committed to providing aid in a time of crisis. All coalition members have pledged to donate 10% of their proceeds to charities focused on fighting and alleviating the social and economic impact of COVID-19 on our communities.  Additionally, they have all committed to providing customers with additional value, like discounts or gifts with purchase. At a time when all these brands are extraordinarily challenged, it's amazing to see them rise to the occasion and go the extra mile for their employees, customers and communities. To learn more and support the amazing brands in BrandsXBetter, go to: https://BrandsXBetter.com. Big thanks to Nate for walking wi

Ethan Zohn is a former professional soccer player who was selected to compete in the third season of Survivor... which he won.  He used his winnings to start a fantastic non-profit, Grassroots Soccer, which uses soccer to help kids around the world. Then he developed a rare form of cancer-- which he beat, twice. Along the way, he played Survivor again (but lost), ran a few marathons, raised a lot of money for charity, and moved up to a beautiful cabin in the New Hampshire woods with his wife. He recently competed in his third season of Survivor, in which all the contestants are past winners.  Kinda like an All-Star game. The season is airing now, so no spoilers. I've known Ethan for many years now, and have always admired him.  I've wanted to interview him on the podcast, but it was always hard to coordinate travel to NH to make it happen. Well, we were planning to do the interview in Boston this week before he ran the Boston Marathon. But that was obviously canceled due to the coronavirus. But since the viru

COVID-19 is impacting every facet of our lives, including our charities. All of our charity partners have had to cancel their major spring fundraisers and are hustling to adapt. Who better to speak to about this than @DavidHessekiel, the founder of the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and Cause Marketing Forums? Just weeks before contracting COVID-19 himself, David led his annual Peer-to-Peer Professional Conference in Austin, Texas. Hundreds of charity professionals from around the world came together to discuss the latest trends on how to empower people like us to make an impact. Of course nobody predicted what would happen with the coronavirus. In this interview, David shares his insights on how the charity landscape has been changing already, how COVID is both a major challenge and catalyst for more needed change, and how some things-- the fundamentals-- never change. This is also the FIRST interview I have recorded that was not in person on a walk or a run. Naturally, COVID has given us opportunities to try new

On this episode of The Extra Mile, I'm joined by my buddy Lars Rasmussen as we take a noisy run through the very cool Brooklyn Navy Yard. Lars is the co-founder and CTO of Weav Run, an app of adaptive music who’s unique technology seamlessly adapts a song's tempo between 100-240 BPM's — all without lessening the quality of the song. This new music format allows artists endless possibilities in designing how a song should sound, feel, and respond to a listener's movements.  It’s perfect for running.  Simply put, the faster you run, the faster the music plays to match your steps. It holds a library of 400 songs from artists like The Backstreet Boys, Chainsmokers, Mariah Carey, Camilla Cabello, and hundreds more. Weav also works with artists and their labels to make sure the music works at different speeds and always sounds good.  The app started in the bedroom (don’t worry, we keep it PG) when Lars and his wife brought in a metronome to enhance the...activities. A bit bored by the monotonous tick-tock, Lars - a

On this episode of The Extra Mile Podcast, I finish up the last of our 2019 New York City Marathon series on a walk with my new friend Bishoy Tadros. Bishoy ran the marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with a goal of raising 100K for the organization. He has run multiple marathons, triathlons, and even written a book. But his greatest feat is beating Leukemia as a child, including needing brain surgery at 13 years old. Bishoy was born in Egypt and diagnosed with Leukemia at 3 years old. Upon receiving his diagnosis his parents quickly packed up their home and emigrated to the US with the hopes of finding the best possible treatment for Bishoy.  Growing up as a sick child in a foreign country was really hard for young Bishoy. He never felt like he fit in in any capacity. As a result, he developed a mindset and mantra that would carry him through his loneliest times, through graduating from college in the midst of the 2009 financial crisis and wanting to work in banking, and through completing his f

Today on the Extra Mile, we’re back at the Javits Center in New York City where I spent some time with my buddy Brian Kendrick as he stepped into his first Marathon Expo for his first-ever marathon run. As I’ve mentioned previously, this year I trained for the marathon with an awesome group called The Brooklyn Track Club, which was where Brian and I met. If you don’t know The Brooklyn Track Club and you’re a runner in New York City, I highly recommend you check them out. Training with them was so fun and kept me focused, motivated, and making awesome new running friends like Brian.  I knew that I wanted to interview someone for the podcast who was running their first marathon. I’ve been wanting to capture that buzzing feeling of stepping into the Expo, getting your first number, and experiencing the energy of the space for the first time. So when I asked if this was anyone in our group’s first marathon and Brian raised his hand, I thought, “Great! Mission accomplished.” Turns out Brian has a really interestin

This past weekend was one of my favorite events of the year, the New York City Marathon. As usual, the spirit and energy of the weekend were amazing. Today’s episode of The Extra Mile Podcast takes place at the Marathon Expo where I got to hang out with some old friends, some new friends, and a lot of Charity Milers. It’s always incredibly inspiring to meet with Charity Milers from all over the globe who have logged thousands of miles with us. While at the Expo, I decided to turn on the recorder and catch some of my conversations with a medley of marathon all-stars that I think you’ll really enjoy hearing from. Some I knew well- like the Izzo Brothers who were on the show back in January and who ran 150 miles each over the weekend! These guys are amazing and if you didn’t hear their last episode I recommend you go back and listen to it so that you can get the full scope of how awesome they are. Others, I was thrilled to finally meet in person despite feeling like I’ve gotten to know them well through Charity

To celebrate the NYC Marathon this week, today's interview is with the legendary Bill Rodgers, 4X winner of the NYC Marathon, 4X winner of the Boston Marathon, former American record holder, and so much more. It’s hard to imagine what the sport of running would be like without Bill Rodgers. Bill started running as a kid, the way most of us do-- naturally, and just for fun. He ran cross country in high school and was "recruited" to Wesleyan University by none other than Amby Burfoot.  While at Wesleyan, Bill's roommate was Jeff Galloway who, as Bill notes was not the Jeff Galloway, at the time.  He was just Jeff Galloway. He also roomed with Burfoot the year that Burfoot won the Boston Marathon. To me this is like the Beatles, Stones and Dylan all living together in college, not realizing what they were creating. Even Bill did not realize it at the time. He didn't foresee that he would someday run in the Boston Marathon, let alone win it 4 times... and win the NYC marathon 4 times... and win an American record

This is a very unique and special interview. Bobbi Gibb is the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon. A literal trailblazer.  But also so much more than that. Bobbi is a true Renaissance Woman. She is an author, artist and lawyer. She is very spiritual, and passionately interested in a wide range of subjects including economics, politics, natural systems, science and the phenomenon recursive consciousness.  All of which we get to talk about! I met Bobbi in Rockport, Massachusetts where she lives. It's a small seaside town outside of Boston. Just what you'd picture a small seaside town outside of Boston to look like. Very Americana. We walked through the town and along the beach. You'll be able to hear the ocean and seagulls, which perfectly complement so much of what Bobbi has to say.  It's simply perfect.     At the end, we also get a special treat by visiting her art studio where she paints and sculpts.  Bobbi has been commissioned by the BAA to create a sculpture of herself running the Boston Maratho

On this episode of The Extra Mile Podcast, I flew down to Dallas, Texas to visit the headquarters of a new addition to the Charity Miles family, the Susan G. Komen Foundation. While there, I had the pleasure of speaking with an amazing woman, breast cancer survivor and employee and advocate for Susan G. Komen, the incredible Nikia Hammonds-Blakely.  First of all, the energy at Susan G. Komen is amazing. But visiting the office, and more importantly, speaking with Nikia, was incredibly enlightening. Hearing Nikia’s story added a new dimension to my idea of disease-focused organizations. When I think of organizations like Susan G. Koman I usually just think of research. But they do SO MUCH MORE.  Nikia’s story is extraordinary. At 16 years old she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. After a botched surgery, the resulting disfiguration was difficult on young Nikia at the time. Though it was a difficult thing to talk about and process, the experience of facing her mortality gave her a

Today on the Extra Mile I’m thrilled to bring on a good friend of mine and an expert in the charity and tech space, George Weiner. George is the first person I talked to about Charity Miles and he’s been an integral part of our success. For this episode, we took a beautiful walk along the water in Brooklyn, New York, where we dug into how tech can most effectively be used to help nonprofits succeed. George is the Founder and CEO of Whole Whale, a digital agency that leverages data and tech to increase the impact of nonprofits and for-benefit companies. He is also the co-founder of Power Poetry, the largest teen poetry platform in the U.S. For 7 years George was the CTO for DoSomething.org where under his leadership the organization became an innovator in social media, mobile technology, and social causes.  I first came to George with my postcard idea and every day that I worked on that project I was reminded that I should have listened to him. So when I started Charity Miles I knew that I needed to get his in

On today’s episode of The Extra Mile, I’m thrilled to bring back a past guest, and my friend, Nir Eyal. Nir is a behavioral designer, author of two books, has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design School and sold two technology companies since 2003. As a behavioral designer, Nir helps design products that build healthy life habits. Nir’s first book, Hooked, was about how to create a habit forming product. His recently released second book, Indistractable, is helping us regain control of our lives and become less distracted by diving deep into the psychology and root causes behind the things that chip away at our time and procrastinate our goals.  Nir and I have become good friends and I have gone to him often for guidance on improving Charity Miles. Many of you know that we have been making lots of changes to the app and a big reason behind those changes is to make it easier for users to form the habit of using Charity Miles. The process has been enlightening, to say the least, but we’

This episode of the Extra Mile Podcast is possibly the most unreasonable one I’ve ever recorded. Today my guest and I take a walk in Central Park through rolling thunder and a torrential downpour. But who better to do it with than the Founder and CEO of The Unreasonable Group, Daniel Epstein. The Unreasonable Group is a multi-media company, a private global network, and an investment firm that was created out of the desire to have the greatest impact possible on the world’s toughest challenges. From the onset, they have believed that entrepreneurs building rapidly scalable businesses are the best bet for solving these challenges. To this end, the mission has always been to partner with and support world-class entrepreneurs positioned to bend history in the right direction. Daniel himself has achieved many of his own “unreasonable” dreams including being named one of Forbes’ Top Impact Entrepreneurs (of any age) and The White House Impact Award’s Top 100 Entrepreneurs in the US under age 30. But his passion fo

On this episode of The Extra Mile Podcast, I went on a walk with my buddy, Kenneth Chabert, in beautiful and bustling Central Park. Kenneth and I met about 6 years ago and we instantly clicked. So, I was incredibly happy to bump into him recently at a conference and hear about all of the amazing things he’s been up to.  Kenneth is the founder and “choice architect” of The Gentlemen’s Retreat. The Gentlemen's Retreat takes young men from the inner city and puts them in novel environments and situations while stepping back and allowing them to go through cognitive dissonance, so they can truly figure out what being a “G” means to them. The exposure of being in different spaces, learning how to adapt, how to connect with people from different backgrounds allows them to develop new skill sets and teaches them the art of being a gentleman. Kenneth’s story is powerful. Having grown up in the Bronx, he faced the duality of valuing education and wanting to build a successful life for himself while also navigating mai

On this episode of The Extra Mile podcast, I take a walk on a beautiful New York City day with the founder of Project Purple, Dino Verrelli. Founded in honor of his father who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, Project Purple was created to raise awareness, support patients and families affected by the disease, and fund research efforts to defeat pancreatic cancer. Through their fitness events, Project Purple has made a massive impact on patients and their families and has funded over $1 million in pancreatic cancer research. I love how Dino is honest about absolutely hating running at first. But when he got the idea to make Project Purple’s first major event series- 13 half marathons in 13 months- he just knew he had to commit to it. Flash forward to his current passion for running (and more importantly running for a cause) and his story is even more inspiring. It was an honor to walk with Dino and I am thrilled to welcome Project Purple into the Charity Miles family. Thank you for your amazing wo

Today’s interview is with a guest I’ve previously had on the Extra Mile, Julia Vitarello. If you haven’t heard that episode, I urge you to. It is one of the most moving episodes I have ever recorded. In that episode, which was around two years ago, Julia told us the story of her daughter Mila, who at age 6 was diagnosed with an extremely rare and currently incurable neurodegenerative disease called Batten Disease. At the time, Julia was embarking on funding a very expensive clinical trial to try to slow the progression of the disease. Until then, there was little-to-no research or any resources for Batten Disease. And even less about the unique type that Mila has.  Julia went on to start Mila’s Miracle Foundation to Stop Batten and set off a series of fast-moving and ground-breaking innovations in research and medicine which have begun to pave a path for treatment for hundreds of similar neurodegenerative diseases.  You won’t believe this story. When I first heard it, it hit me very hard. And it has hit me ju