Episodes
505
Latest episode
Aug 2026
Language
EN
Elevation Nation is a movement to shape resilient leaders by elevating mental fortitude. Join Sam Panitch and Parker Yablon each week as they sit down with a new Elevator: a bold thinker, creator, or leader who’s using mental fortitude to overcome adversity, lead with purpose, and make an impact. From entrepreneurs and pro athletes to musicians, wellness experts, and changemakers, Elevators come from all walks of life - but they all have one thing in common: mental fortitude that helps them thrive in the real world.
Eighty percent of Gen Z say they've felt lonely in the past year, despite being the most digitally connected generation ever. Sam and Parker dig into why more connection hasn't meant less loneliness, and how comfort zones, phones, and false assumptions about what strangers will think people stuck.
Elevator no. 247: Eric Zalewski is the c-founder of Acru, a social fitness app built to track and share every workout, from lifts to classes to runs. A former S1 basketball player at Northwestern, Eric walked on to the team as a manager and earned his spot on the court through relentless preparation. He's spent the past two-plus years coaching fitness in NYC on top of his finance day job, and outside of work he's chasing marathons, HYROX race, hooping, golfing, and slowly leveling up his cooking beyond chicken and rice.In the Elevation Nation Podcast: Eric breaks down the mindset that got him from team manager to walk-on, why anybody can lead regardless of title, and how he channels a "more to give" mentality into everything from fitness coaching to endurance training. We get into the power of a portfolio life, why the hardest goals are the ones worth chasing, and Sam makes a bet he may come to regret.
Elevator 254: Brian Helfman is the founder and Chief Experience Officer at Third Nature, where he runs adult summer camp retreats, leadership trainings, and community experiences designed to help people reconnect with their authentic selves. He's also a longtime volunteer and now part-time staff member with Experience Camps, running adult grief camps for people who lost a parent young.In this podcast: we dive into how his father's death at 55 completely rewired Brian's relationship to work and time, why 93% of Americans spend their lives indoors and what that's costing us, the accidental path from CBS ad sales to ski instructor to building Third Nature, and his mental motto Memento Mori — remembering you will die as a way to actually live.
Sam and Parker break down 21-year-old PGA Tour winner Jackson Koivun, who beat Scottie Scheffler at the 3M Open with three words written on his glove: confidence, trust, dominate. The guys talk mental mottos, where theirs live, and why the physical reminder matters. They close with rapid-fire Overrated/Underrated on pre-performance routines, from visualization to meditation to journaling.
Sam and Parker celebrate hitting 500 episodes, then dive into David Goggins re-enlisting in the Air Force at 51 to finish the Pararescue training he quit at 19. The guys break down the mixed public reaction and why they're firmly on Team Goggins.They close out with a Mount Rushmore of legendary quitters-turned-comebacks: Jordan, Steve Jobs, Brian May, and a surprise entry that has nothing to do with sports or business.
Sam and Parker break down what makes Noah Kahan an honorary elevator — from writing songs alone in his Vermont attic during COVID to selling out four nights at Fenway Park. His Netflix documentary shows the self-doubt never really left, he just learned to use it. Plus, a game of Real or Fake Noah Kahan lyrics that Sam almost sweeps.
Elevator no. 253: Tony Polcari, better known as Tony P in DC, is a content creator and broadcaster with millions of views built on cooking videos, fit checks, and week-in-the-life vlogs. After chasing the "checked boxes" through accounting at KPMG and strategy consulting, a nudge from his boss after a breakup sent him down the content path, and within months a side hobby became a full-blown brand. Now he's chasing the broadcasting dream he gave up on in college, from Fox appearances to a Food Network digital series.In this podcast: Tony opens up about the mental health struggles behind his relentless positivity, including a suicide attempt in high school and the weight of an internet audience where some people love you and some mock your existence. We talk about why men need permission to be open, what happened to being a gentleman, and why the DMs saying "your videos got me through" are what keep him going. Plus his mental motto, straight out of Rounders: don't run from who you are. Run toward it.
Argentina was down 2-0 to Egypt with 15 minutes left. Messi had just missed a penalty kick in front of the entire world. Then he scored the game-tying goal and Argentina came back to win.Sam and Parker break down what separates the best of the best: how fast they bounce back from failure. Then they test a new format with rapid fire fortitude questions and a blind ranking of soccer legends you'd want on a five-day silent retreat.
Sam and Parker are back from a week off, and it exposed something neither of them expected. A TikTok video they came across on anhedonia - the idea that we've lost the ability to feel pleasure without a dopamine hit - sparked a conversation about rest, numbness, and why doing nothing feels so hard. They dig into the difference between nothing and numbing, why people at camp light up once their phones disappear, and whether real stillness is a skill we've quietly lost.
Sam and Parker are back from the road, and the first-ever Elevate Your Mindset tour is officially in the books. They recap three weeks, nine camps, and fifteen-plus gigs across five states, from elevating in Chicago to a campfire session in the Berkshires to dodging a tornado on the way to New Hampshire. The guys reflect on the new mentors, the lasting friendships, and the momentum they're carrying into whatever comes next.
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