Tight 5 Talks - The One with Nate Sylvia

Empower Psychedelics is establishing access to therapy programs for first responders and military veterans in North America. Pioneering the use of psychedelics in physical therapy, the team is headquartered at the Health and Technology District in British Columbia, Canada.The founding team hosts decades of knowledge in the cannabis sector (pre-legalization), and exceptional experience in underground psychedelic research. Their flagship physical therapy program "Running on Acid" originally started as a digital art collection inspired by a variety of psychedelic compounds: Running on AcidOther psychedelic artwork is featured on their Opensea profile. The team is fundraising through institutional investors and cryptocurrencies to push boundaries in this emerging field. 

With so much happening in Rugby right now this should have been a 3 part series.  In this one Dan and I put our hands up for world rugby chairman and talk club rugby, pro rugby and how certain rugby unions have lost the plot.

Next up is Nate Sylvia of the San Diego Legion and USA Eagles!  So excited to catch up about upcoming MLR season, Dubai RWC Qualifier and loose head vs tight head

This is a big one!  I can't think of anyone that can vibe more with Tight 5 Sevens than the man, the myth, the legend, Jed Thian.  Jed is the creator of the award winning Alternative Rugby Commentary and Rugby Roundtable in addition to being a full time sports commentator and general icon of social scenes near & far.  If you don't know about these things you really need to give them a watch and listen and no international game is complete with an absolutely unique listening experience of Jed's commentary.  We get to talk a lot about rugby in Asia, club rugby in New Zealand, the down falls of central contracting  and how everyone can benefit and enjoy rugby and its amazing community.  

So good to sit down with Lauren Daly, the founder of Aspire Rugby and former USA Eagle.  I met Lauren 3 years ago in San Diego and like myself she was working hard on this crazy idea of helping people through her platform as an elite player.  Aspire Rugby is an amazing opportunity for any rugby player looking to connect with former national team players and she's employed her friends and team mates to help.  Wether its skills or strength & conditioning Aspire Rugby can help you connect with experts that have been where you're trying to go.  We get to talk about our modest beginnings and how her role as the Director of Rugby for Penn State has been going, what's new and talk about how rugby can solve the worlds problems, one scrum at a time.  If you don't already please follow Lauren and Aspire Rugby on social media and give our talk a listen.  definitely 

Such a great opportunity this week to talk with Kristin "Ham" Zdanczewski, whom is currently an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University Minnesota but use to be an absolute monster for the USA Eagles.  Ham won 26 caps through two world cups, missing out on a third due to a knee injury.  We talked about how equality is and has been going in our inclusive sport and how women have made progress in others.  We offer our fixes to MLR system as it is now and talk about professional women's rugby and it's place in the United States.  Ham shared her story of finding rugby, being a crossover athlete and falling in love with the sport through local, Rep - Side Rugby and eventually playing for her country at a Rugby World Cup.  Thanks to Ham and thanks to our sponsors, The Rugby Exchange, Kinda Fit Kinda Fat, Samurai Sports Wear and Ruckin' Good.  Check out links to them at www.tight5sevens.com !

I'm very excited to share my talks with Ben, who at one point was a Collegiate All-American Wrestler at UC Davis and left the sport for Rugby, where he found a lot of success and later became an All-American as well.  I met Ben while we both played college rugby and both selected to a touring side hosted by what would eventually become the Glendale Raptors (now MLR franchise Colorado Raptors) Coaching staff in Mark Bullock.  The tour was to the Aspen Ruggerfest and it was the last time I thought about doing much else other than rugby.  Since then Ben has gone on create one of the most wonderful programs in existence called, The Rugby Exchange which is a non-profit organization that supports young kids in their rugby adventures through finical assistance and creating equal access for boys & girls so they to can have formative rugby experiences that help create a love for the game.  The Rugby Exchange hosts rugby and non-rugby events to create a community around the sport we know and love.  The cast today is about how programs, clubs and teams can work better together, especially these days, and we share some ideas on how to better yourself, your community and those around you everyday.  

This was a special sit down for me as I've followed the preachings of Ashley Jones for 17 years!  Coach Jones has worked with athletes across 3 professional sports and his CV is too long for this description but it includes The All Blacks, The Wallabies, Scotland National Team, The Crusaders and most recently is sharing his incredible knowledge base with The Houston Sabre Cats in America's Major League Rugby (MLR).  Coach Jones has seen and worked with the best as an S&C coach and his work for NSCA, Pro Basketball in Australia and grass roots rugby is truly legendary.  You'd be hard pressed to find anyone that has the experience level combined with a genuine love of his profession and that love comes out in how open, honest and the insane amount of material he shares with anyone willing to take it on board.  I was absolutely blown away with how much Coach Jones shared with a nobody like myself and he continues to inspire and innovate after nearly 30 years in Strength & Conditioning, Professional Sport and Rugby.  Thanks again to Coach Jones!

Epic talk today with Laurence Christie of the St. Andrews School in South Africa.  Laurence is front rower with a wealth of experience and knowledge and now the Director of Athletic Performance at St. Andrews School in Grahamstown, South Africa..  Having such a professional set up for the power house school boys team Laurence has had opportunities to play and work with Southern Kings (Super Rugby), Ulster Rugby (Northern Ireland) and the Springboks and has an amazing analytical version of scrum coaching. which supplements the old fashion hard work required to be a dominant scrummager.  This is certainly worth a watch as Laurence shares some of his philosophy and programming with us.  It's fantastic to chat with anyone that shares our love of biltong, scrums and rugby and I'd like to thank friend of the show Charlie Purdon for making the connection whilst being marooned in his home country.  Thanks for listening!