From Broken to Unbreakable: How Mental Toughness Is Actually Built
Release Date: 03/15/2025
You’re Not Broken — You’re Avoiding This
The Next Level Guy Show
He looked fine on the outside — but was writing “I want to die” on his school papers. 🎙️ Meet Sam Eaton — once battling depression in silence, now helping thousands of men take their first step back into life. This episode will help you realise you’re not broken — you’ve just never been shown how to deal with what’s in your head. You’ll finally understand why you feel stuck, flat, or disconnected — even when life looks fine on paper. This will help you name what’s actually going on inside you — instead of just calling it “stress” or ignoring it. Level up with...
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Why Elite Performers Don’t Train Like You Think (And What Actually Works)
The Next Level Guy Show
“You don’t have a discipline problem — you’re just trying to follow someone else’s plan.” 🎙️ Meet Alex VanHouten — exercise scientist and coach helping high performers cut through the noise and actually make progress that sticks. Coach Alex's personal journey started with him wrestling with a painful genetic disorder called Ehlers Danlos yet still achieving his deams. This taught him the discipline of 1% BETTER Daily and gave him a passion to help others do the same. Coach Alex completed his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University in 2010 focused on chemistry and...
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What Changed After The Craig Harrison Conversation?
The Next Level Guy Show
What happens after the war ends? In this conversation with Craig Harrison, we get into the part most people never see — coming home, dealing with PTSD, and rebuilding life when the structure is gone. This isn’t theory. It’s lived experience. What you’ll take from this: Why ignoring what’s under the surface doesn’t work How elite performers actually deal with pressure and trauma What “strength” really looks like when no one’s watching If you’ve ever felt off, stuck, or carrying something you haven’t faced — this one lands. 🎧 Watch / listen here:...
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A hero on the battlefield; abandoned at home
The Next Level Guy Show
The Hardest Battle Was Coming Home | Craig Harrison on War, PTSD & Life After the British Army ““The world knows the shot. But the hardest battle was learning how to live after the war.”” The world knows Craig Harrison for the longest confirmed sniper shot in military history. But the real story begins after the war — when the mission ends and a man has to rebuild his identity from scratch. Soldiers train for war. Very few are trained for what happens when the war ends. And you don’t have to be a soldier to recognise that feeling — the moment when the mission that...
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How to Train BJJ for Decades Without Destroying Your Body or Your Confidence
The Next Level Guy Show
“You’re not in competition with anybody — you’re just trying to get better than the person that walked in on day one.” What if the reason you’re burning out, getting injured, or quietly losing confidence… isn’t your age — but the way you define success? Most men step on the mat trying to prove something. They leave years later either broken, bitter, or gone entirely. Most men don’t quit Jiu-Jitsu because they’re too old — they quit because their ego can’t handle not winning. This week with Rick Ellis, we break down why recovery is training, why intensity isn’t...
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Why You Can Be Surrounded by People and Still Feel Completely Alone
The Next Level Guy Show
I recorded an episode this week that stayed with me long after we stopped recording. I sat down with James K. Ellis, a clinical psychologist known as The Loneliness Doctor, and we talked about something a lot of men feel but rarely say out loud — that quiet, gnawing sense of not quite fitting, even when life looks fine from the outside. One of the biggest shifts from this conversation was realising that loneliness isn’t a personal failure. It’s not proof that you’re broken. It’s a signal — information your system is giving you about connection, meaning, and how your life is...
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Real Confidence Is Built When You’re Under Pressure
The Next Level Guy Show
How to build Real Confidence through Pressure | Discipline, Fatigue & Mastery with Owen Livesey “You don’t rise to the occasion — you default to whatever you’ve trained when you’re exhausted.” — Owen Livesey What if the reason most men fail isn’t talent, technique, or motivation — but their inability to stay consistent when nobody’s watching? 🎙️ Meet Owen Livesey — world-class pressure grappler, former elite judoka, and coach known for breaking opponents with simplicity, fatigue, and control rather than flashy techniques. In this conversation, Owen Livesey...
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Why Learning Butchery Builds Real Confidence (Skill, Control & Self-Reliance)
The Next Level Guy Show
Primal Eats: How Learning to Butcher Meat Builds Confidence, Skill, and Control in all areas of your life! “Confidence doesn’t come from talent — it comes from repetition, patience, and knowing what you’re doing when it matters.” Welcome to 'The Next Level Guy Podcast', a show built around one mission: helping men rebuild themselves from the ground up. We cover 🧩 Identity 🔥 Emotional Mastery ⛓️ Discipline ⚙️ Capability 💪 Physical Mastery 🎯 Purpose and so much more. What if one of the most expensive mistakes you’re making with food has nothing to...
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How Pressure Forces You to Find Your Purpose
The Next Level Guy Show
From Self-Doubt to World Stage: Andy Black on Pressure, Purpose & Progress “What if the people hyping you up are the very reason you’re stuck? You don’t need hype — you need people honest enough to tell you when you can do better.” What does real strength look like when the hype is stripped away? In this episode of The Next Level Guy Podcast, I sit down with elite Scottish strongman and World’s Strongest Man competitor Andy Black to talk about what actually drives long-term progress — in training, performance, and life. Meet Andy Black — elite Scottish strongman and...
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How Champions Build Mental Toughness Under Pressure
The Next Level Guy Show
Michael "The Monster" Todd: Faith, Grit & Finding Your Way Back “Mediocrity disgusts me. Being normal never made sense.” — Michael “The Monster” Todd 🎙️ Meet Michael “The Monster” Todd — world champion arm wrestler, founder of The Monster Factory, and proof that grit, faith, and consistency can turn pain into power. Level Up with the Show-notes at: https://www.nextlevelguy.com/michaelthemonstertodd230/ This isn’t just about arm wrestling — it’s about what it takes to rebuild yourself when life breaks you. Michael “The Monster” Todd has faced shattered bones,...
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#214 Unbreakable: Damien Rider on Resilience, Extreme Challenges & Mental Mastery
Today’s guest is Damien Rider with a focus on Pushing Limits and Building Resilience!
You can listen to the episode and review the amazing show-notes at: https://www.nextlevelguy.com/damienrider214/
Damien Rider is an adventurer, extreme endurance athlete, and world record holder whose feats defy logic and push the boundaries of human performance. Recognized as the Men’s Health Man of the Year and a two-time Australian of the Year nominee, Damien has built himself into one of the world’s fittest endurance athletes—not just for personal achievement, but to inspire and uplift others.
As a life coach and expert in neurophysiology, Damien helps people shift their mindset from problems to solutions, empowering them to build resilience and keep moving forward. His groundbreaking One Breath Meditation technique has helped countless individuals harness focus, calm the mind, and navigate life’s toughest challenges.
Beyond personal achievement, Damien has dedicated himself to humanitarian efforts, using his platform to advocate for men’s health, mental well-being, and positive transformation. His journey has been captured in documentaries aired on National Geographic, and he has taken the stage at TEDx talks across the Asia Pacific and the U.S., sharing his insights on mental strength and perseverance.
Whether he’s tackling grueling endurance challenges, guiding others to unlock their full potential, or speaking on global stages, Damien’s message is clear:
BREATHE. ACCEPT. ADAPT. KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
Some of Damien's amazing accomplishments include:
- Pulled a 2.8 tonne pick-up truck 8 miles solo in 3 hours 30 minutes
- Paddled 480km over 9 days on a Stand Up Paddleboard in Maldives
- Climbed out of a Hot Air Balloon basket, to the top by rope ladder, with no parachute at 10,000 feet, 30% less oxygen, -1 degree temp, 40 kph wind movement
- Skydive off the Top of a Hot Air Balloon 7500 feet above the ground
- Paddling 500 miles for 17 days in shark-infested waters along the Australian Coast
- Skateboarding for 56 days along the entire Route 66 through the scorching Mojave Desert
- Pushing a 3 tonne truck down the Gold Coast highway
- Running a marathon with a mattress on his shoulder with the words “Never lay down, Never give up”, all for his cause
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