“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or work hours. It’s about relationships.”
– Jim Kouzes
I am excited about this one- it’s just you and I and we are diving into the essentials of leadership! These are 10 fundamental starting points to being a successful leader that are simple, straight forward, and applicable to ANY leadership role: business, family, sports, mentorships, etc. Good leaders are needed more than ever, on every level. Let’s join together, take some personal responsibility and level up (as a human and a leader). Believe it or not, everyone is an influencer aka leader and someone, somewhere is looking up to you and is inspired by your decisions. The more we can authentically connect, create, and lead, the more positive impact we’ll have collectively- moving this world forward in the right direction!
This one is a video, so be sure to check us out on You Tube!
Highlights:
Leadership. Communication, connection, impact. Trust, honesty, encouragement, and accountability. Giving and receiving feedback for continuous improvement. Working as a successful induvial to build a better team. Humanizing leadership and a new approach to heartfelt camaraderie. How you do something is how you do everything. Life skills for the future, for all.
SEASONED MARKETING MANAGEMENT & BRAND DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL CULTURE MARKETING | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP | STRATEGIC PLANNING Highly skilled and passion-driven professional with demonstrated success and progressive growth in leading fundraising efforts, organizing and managing large-scale events, as well as acquiring artists while scaling large and small events. Champion at human relations, fashion & creative, organization management, and relationship management. Instrumental in managing strategic partnerships, marketing, and branding efforts, identifying culture marketing opportunities, developing potential culture activations, and leading activation strategy. Success in designing and launching marketing campaigns leading to increased audience growth rate by 15%. Excel at identifying regional artists and opinion leaders to boost culture plans, executing culture marketing business plans, managing event ticketing plans, achieving media outcomes and building high-performing teams.
Former D1 athlete, CrossFit Games Athlete, and current podcaster, Turmeric & Tequila™.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
We can plan all we want, but the reality is that we have very little control over what happens in our lives. You need to show up in life with intention and be willing to roll with the waves as the path lays itself out for us and do want you can to keep your feet on the ground, steady and ready. It doesn’t always make sense until time passes and we can reflect, but this ultimately teaches us to trust the process. Tough Stuff! I am excited to welcome a process trusting pro, Meagan O’Nan, to the T&T mic! Meagan is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and vulnerable storytelling expert… because she has lived it! Meagan shares her journey of breakdown, breakthrough, and how it’s all adding up right on time to what she is leaning into now, impact. This is an awesome convo for anyone who is in the thick of it and wondering how it all adds up. Meagan’s resilience is powerful inspiration that began in youth sports. It’s funny how we get the life skills we need for the journey along the way… get motivated by Megan’s story and be ready for your next big move!
This one is a video, so be sure to check us out on You Tube!
Highlights:
Hanging on and letting go. Showing up with intention and then just trusting the process. Resilience, life skills from youth and collegiate sports. People who come in our lives for a reason, season, or lifetime. Team work on and off the field. Core values and doing you. Spirit, energy, and the company you keep. Humanizing the brand, leadership, and authentically connecting at all levels.
171. When The Struggle Paves The Path Forward
Meagan O’Nan:
Meagan O’Nan is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and vulnerable storytelling expert. She is the author of the award-winning book, “Creating Your Heaven on Earth,” and “Courage: Agreeing to Disagree Is Not Enough.” Meagan has spoken to thousands of people at live events since 2008. Meagan is passionate about creating deeper connections through speaking, workshops, and through her executive speaker coaching. Her approach is unique in that she uses storytelling as a way to overcome differences and generate healing. For the last decade, she has been a significant voice for the LGBTQ community in Mississippi.
“We are all human beings and deserve to be treated as such. No matter who you are or where you come from, we can get on board and help each other rise together.”
-Ean Thomas Tafoya
Denver is moving and shaking in several arenas and the upcoming mayoral election is no exception! We have 17 candidates, the largest field in over 40 years, covering a wide range of issues and missions, thus I am excited to welcome one of the standouts, Ean Thomas Tafoya, to the T&T mic. Tafoya is one of the younger options, but has been in the public service game for over 20 years and is a born and raised Denverite. He has a people-powered campaign, as a Fair Elections Candidate. “I’ve worked for three branches of local government. I’ve worked at all three levels of American government. I brought people together to pass more than a dozen laws that have impacted the people of Denver when our leaders have failed. I believe that we do need to call everyone together.” Tafoya stated at recent debate at Regis University.
Tafoya is an educator, nonprofit leader, and deeply passionate about the environment. In this convo, we get to know Ean the human as he shares his mission and passion points as well as the struggles and challenges with the process as a whole. The transparency is refreshing and so is his personal connection to this earth and the importance he puts on his family and heritage. With the April 4th election nearing- get to know the mayoral candidates, as politicians AND people… our future depends on it! Best of luck, Ean!
This one is a video, so be sure to check us out on You Tube!
Highlights:
The environment. The unhoused. Coming together and reconnecting with this earth. Self-care and personal responsibility. The business, fundraising, and fair election candidates. Community issues and local impact. Following your heart to your true calling. Family, fashion, creativity, and gracefully disrupting traditional systems and expectations.
170. Denver Mayoral Candidate: Ean Thomas Tafoya
Ean Thomas Tafoya:
Ean Thomas Tafoya, educator, nonprofit leader, and promoter of the arts, is a fourth-generation Denverite who has spent his life in public service. Throughout his career, he has worked for three branches of local government, served on dozens of community boards, and led many successful ballot initiatives. He is a proud civil rights and environmental justice leader and is currently serving as Co-chair of the Colorado Environmental Justice Action Task Force. Tafoya’s career as a public servant honors his heritage of preserving and caring for the land and the people.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
– Mother Teresa
I am excited to welcome #FITFAM to the T&T mic, Aaron Brill and Manny Menendez. I have trained for years with Aaron and was excited to learn that he was bringing CrossFit in a unique way to his then day job, as a police officer. Arron was inspired by an experience through a friend that experienced deep changes because of the fitness modality- so he decided to introduce CrossFit and its principles to the other “insiders” and Lions’ Pride Fitness was born. Lions’ Pride Fitness is a CrossFit Community for those in or returning from incarceration. With over 5 years of experience in building CrossFit programs inside prison, they wanted to continue that community success outside. Arron was lucky enough to cross paths with Army Combat Veteran, Manny Menendez, who he brought on board to help guide the Lions’ Pride Fitness process. Arron and Manny share their passion for fitness, community, and questioning a better way regarding re-entrance into mainstream society- regardless of where you are coming from. We all know antiquated systems need change, but what a refreshing approach to take things into your own hands and contribute where you can. This is a great convo about shifting perspectives and providing space for growth and change. What a world we would have if we all could do more of that!
This one is a video, so be sure to check us out on You Tube!
Highlights:
CrossFit and incarceration. Community, commitment, and working towards something larger. Perspective and opportunity. Systems and approach. Mindset of what we CAN do. Viewing people up close to lose your own bias. Humanizing leadership and meeting people where they are at. Taking existing skills and applying them to a legal game. Opportunity, hope, and evolution.
169. Incarceration To CrossFit
Aaron Brill
Aaron is 25-year veteran of law enforcement (retired Feb ’21), with the last 22 on Denver PD. Aaron spent 12 years as a patrol cop, and 8 as an Academy Instructor where he found and fell in love with CrossFit, and 5 years as a patrol sergeant. He is a Co-founder of two non-profits aimed at bringing the whole person wellness of CrossFit to the justice system involved population. He is a proud husband of an amazing woman and Dad of two littles (6 year old daughter and 4 year old son).
Manny Menendez
SSG, USA(Ret.) B.A.S. CF-L1
Lead Program Coordinator
Veterans Healing Veterans from The Inside Out
My name is Manny Menendez I am a US Army Combat Veteran. After multiple deployments and injuries, I was medically retired from the service in 2013. I went on to earn my bachelor’s degree after the service. Shortly thereafter I found myself incarcerated at Sterling Correctional Facility; this is where I found CrossFit. Aaron at the time was the president of the CrossFit program inside the prison and we helped establish/build the program at sterling. To this day I’m thankful for the work Aaron has done behind the wall and paving the way for CrossFit to be a part of that unique environment. Thanks to his work I was able to earn my CF-L1 behind bars. CrossFit has helped me make some foundational changes in my life and given me that structure, discipline, Comradery that I fell far away from during my transition out of the service. Now I am very passionate about helping those in prison and reentering the community through CrossFit and working out. I currently work as the lead program coordinator for veterans healing veterans, we are the largest organization advocating for the almost 200,000 justice involved veterans. We run a curriculum, which is based on narration therapy where we go in and help our nations forgot about hero’s process some of their trauma so they are not finding themselves in these same positions. I have a very unique journey, but am truly blessed to have gone through it all, because now I have found my purpose/life’s work and that is invaluable to me. Thank you for your time. I look forward to the future and continuing this amazing work we are doing, truly impacting lives and making better human beings.
Lions’ Pride Fitness:
Mission: We exist to bring the full person wellness of CrossFit combined with peer and community mentorship to the Justice System Involved (JSI) population.
Vision: We see a world where the community supports people in the ‘justice system involved’ population and offer their time, talents and treasures in the success of those people.
Training Expertise: With years of success and experience in this field, we can help bring the components of a successful program to your area. We have refined the process through in person application and have seen first-hand what works and what doesn’t.
Where we apply CrossFit: We see 3 areas in the justice system to apply CrossFit to help break the cycle: Courts, Corrections, Reintegration including probation/parole. We apply what we’ve seen work into the unique needs of each.
· Courts: Diversion into CrossFit Community Centers and Affiliates as part of a comprehensive alternative to jail/prison
· Corrections: We have a proven model for peer lead, Staff and community supported CrossFit Behind Bar(bell)s
· Reintegration: Access to a global network of CrossFit Affiliates and a developing mentor support system
