Dr. Layne Norton

Sam Dutney is a former school director of sport and rowing coach who now runs Top Crew Academy, an online coaching service for rowers. He joins James Smith to talk about fatherhood, fear and quitting a secure school job to go full time, how a $20,000 side hustle month showed it could be a real business, and what he has learned about social media, email and sales calls while growing towards seven figures. They also compare rowing, jiu-jitsu and rugby on pacing, fitness and mindset. A practical listen for coaches and anyone thinking about turning a side hustle into a full-time online coaching business. In this episode: ◼️ Why he left school sport leadership to build an online coaching business around being home for his kids ◼️ How a $20,000 side hustle month, then James's gun to the head advice, took him from about $5,000 a month to seven figure pace ◼️ Why a warm-up should follow a ramp protocol and prime your VO2 kinetics so less lactate builds early ◼️ Why many mindset problems in sport are really fitness problems ◼️ How he grows on social media by answering client questions, posting seven reels a week and keeping a 10,000 person email list warm 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Top Crew Academy - https://www.topcrewacademy.com.au/ Follow Sam on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/p/DcRs8Q9E5PO/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:17 From Rower to School Director of Sport 02:59 Why He Left School Rowing 05:18 Starting Online Coaching as a Side Hustle 07:04 Quitting the School Job 07:56 Gun to the Head and the Move to Full Time 10:42 Why Going All In Beats the Fear 13:45 Staff, Revenue and a New Kind of Stress 17:48 Online Coaching Is Closer to Business Coaching 19:02 Why a Business Network Matters 24:49 James's Rowing Story 28:51 Why Rowing Overvalues Height 32:07 Pacing Mistakes in Running and Rowing 35:04 Pacing in Jiu-Jitsu and CrossFit 37:32 Warm-Ups and VO2 Kinetics 39:54 Testing Energy Systems and Fixing Bottlenecks 45:02 Rugby in New Zealand and Why Fitness Wins 47:28 Mindset Problems That Are Really Fitness Problems 48:46 Held in Mount by a Black Belt 51:27 The Race Where the Tactics Almost Worked 55:52 What Works on Social Media 59:11 Why People Care About Your Content 1:03:43 Pro Bono Content and Repetition 1:06:58 Email as Extra Nurture 1:08:32 Growing on LinkedIn 1:11:00 Sales Calls and an 80% Close Rate 1:12:49 Email Lists and Sales Pages 1:15:31 Where to Find Sam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian Ozbek joins James Smith to talk about the harsh realities of training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and why most grapplers struggle to earn money. They cover fighting heavyweights, judo versus jiu-jitsu rules, why judo conditioning is so brutal, the Olympic qualification paradox and the training injuries that often go unaddressed. A grounded look at competitive grappling for anyone who wants to understand the sport, the commitment it takes and what the industry really looks like today. Why you must compete more, and the gap between gym training and competition. 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Follow Christian on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thewizardofozbek/?hl=en Get Chris's instructional - https://bjjfanatics.com/products/feet-finder-foot-sweeps-by-christian-ozbek Chapters: 00:00 From Street Confrontation to the Mat 1:08 The Balding to Takedown Ratio 1:57 Humbled by a Seven-Year-Old 3:16 Judo vs Jiu-Jitsu Rules 4:41 Why Judo Conditioning is Brutal 6:11 The Olympic Qualification Paradox 8:11 The Dangers of High-Level Judo 9:52 The Anatomy of a Training Injury 13:38 The Spectator Effect in Training 17:45 The Disconnect Between Gym and Comp 22:01 Why You Must Compete More 25:49 The Low-Calorie Grappler Strategy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ollie Marchon joins James Smith for a business masterclass on what it really takes to build a fitness brand in the UK right now. A former professional rugby player turned coach, Ollie started out cold calling leisure centre members and training clients in a converted cattle shed. Ten years later he runs Marchon across four verticals: in-person gyms, an online training app, a sports nutrition range and a growing community of hybrid athletes. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Check out Marchon - https://marchon-global.com/ Follow Ollie on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/olliemarchon/?hl=en Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:28 How Ollie Built Marchon 02:29 How Covid Accelerated the Online Business 03:57 Spotting the Gap in Sports Nutrition 05:28 Building a Brand Nobody Has a Bad Word About 06:32 Bricks and Mortar or Online First? 08:32 Why Every Coach Should Coach in Person First 09:59 From Failed Rugby Career to Freelance PT 11:48 Starting a Gym in a Cattle Shed 12:40 The Small Group Training Model 13:59 Why You’re Always Being Watched on the Gym Floor 14:26 Scaling From One Gym to Two 16:18 The Hires Nobody Tells You About 17:27 Where the Opportunity Is in Fitness Now 19:53 Why Hyrox Affiliates Won’t Last 20:23 James Gets Humbled at CrossFit 22:55 Will GLP-1s Bring a New Wave of Gym Members? 25:06 The Barry’s-Style Strength Gym Model 26:38 Personal Training Is a Luxury Most Can’t Afford 27:55 Why One-to-One Sessions Go Stale 29:51 Jiu-Jitsu Clubs Are the New Health Clubs 32:44 The Real Cost of Running a Gym 34:20 The £200K Business Rates Bill 36:29 Why We Should Want Businesses to Make Money 38:28 Break Even Jumped From 180 to 250 Members 39:48 Why Investors Won’t Fund Bricks and Mortar 40:34 What Happens When Gyms Close 42:39 The Economics of a Jiu-Jitsu Gym 45:38 Building the Marchon Training App 48:56 Price Testing and the Profit Squeeze 51:08 Training as a Customer Acquisition Tool 52:48 Why Online Coaching Is a Lifestyle Business 54:38 Neutonic Pouches and Paid Ads 55:34 James’s Lockdown Slump 56:48 Launching the Marchon Nutrition Range 59:20 Hiring Celtic’s Head of Nutrition 1:01:30 Bootstrapping vs Raising Money 1:03:47 Marchon’s Best Seller: Workout Fuel 1:05:44 Why You Shouldn’t Fear Carbs Before Training 1:07:58 Rituals, Cues and Building Habits 1:09:16 The Protein Price Crisis 1:10:52 Protein Shakes and GLP-1s 1:13:38 GLP-1s as a Business Performance Aid 1:16:46 Why Food Is More Enjoyable on GLP-1s 1:17:49 The Hungry Months Behind Every Abs Photo 1:19:43 James’s Prescription Travel Stack 1:20:41 How Easy Is It to Get GLP-1s? 1:21:53 The Highest Leverage Play in Weight Loss 1:24:08 The Full Marchon Product Range 1:26:58 Marchon’s Top Five Sellers 1:27:56 Do You Actually Need Electrolytes? 1:30:11 Lessons in Impatience From Necker Island 1:33:17 Expensive Mistakes and Finding Your Hero Products 1:35:38 Every Business Is Personal Training Full Circle 1:37:11 Why Ollie Brought In a COO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olly Staniland joins James Smith to break down what actually makes a YouTube video work. Olly works on James's YouTube channel and, like James, studied under Ed Lawrence. They go through real thumbnails and analytics from James's channel, why one video with 80,000 views made nothing while another with 60,000 made thousands, how Matt Armstrong and Carwow built huge channels by repeating one format, and the status games that drive what people click and buy. 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business 🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com Olly Staniland's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ollystaniland Olly Staniland On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/olly_staniland/ He explains: ◼️ Why you should package the title and thumbnail before you film ◼️ How to steal winning title formats from other niches ◼️ Why more views doesn't always mean more revenue ◼️ The split-testing rules that stop your metrics misleading you ◼️ Why long-form viewers trust you more than short-form followers Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:32 What Makes a Good YouTube Video? 02:46 Package First, Then Film 06:01 The Big Mistake Creators Make on YouTube 07:34 Stealing Titles From Other Niches 11:53 What Is YouTube Actually For? 15:38 Why You Can't Pivot a Big Channel 16:05 Views vs Revenue on the Business Channel 21:11 Split Testing and Misleading Metrics 24:11 Long Form vs Short Form Trust 26:07 Ed Lawrence and the $1,000 Phone Call 31:32 Who Actually Watches YouTube 33:48 Why End Screens Matter 35:39 How YouTube Made James a Better Business Owner 37:35 Scripting vs Riffing 40:31 AI Slop and Copied Scripts 42:00 Dial-Up, The Pirate Bay and LimeWire 44:56 Why Nobody Writes Their Own Emails 46:23 Should You Pay Someone to Run Your Channel? 47:15 Building an Offer for the Boys 54:16 Launch It Before You Build It 55:18 Why Transformation Videos Work 58:13 Matt Armstrong's Car-Build Empire 01:02:35 Raffling the Cars 01:06:48 The AdSense Maths 01:08:37 Carwow's Same-Video-Forever Format 01:11:08 The Status Games We All Play 01:15:47 What Status Has to Do With What We Buy 01:19:51 From Top Lad at Uni to the Real World 01:23:30 Status and Health 01:24:36 Tough Love for Starting a Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ross Edgley joins James Smith for a reunion years in the making. Ross is the ultramarathon sea swimmer who swam around Great Britain and then the whole coast of Iceland. Ahead of his new book How To Hero, he opens up about losing his dad, waking up in hospital after failed swims, and being told doctors had never seen blood work like his on a living person. He also explains the brain science of why some people keep going when everything hurts and others tap out. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Ross Edgley's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@RossEdgley Ross Edgley On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rossedgley/ He explains: ◼️ The part of your brain that decides whether you grit it out or quit ◼️ Why purpose has to outweigh pain if you want to finish hard things ◼️ How your reward system crashes when results don't show up ◼️ Why running on anger and self-talk burns out over long efforts ◼️ What Viking berserkers and Icelandic sagas teach us about heroism Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:41 Reunion and Ross's Biggest Night Out 02:24 How Becoming a Dad Changes Everything 06:50 Why People Aren't Having Kids Anymore 09:29 Does Family Switch Off Your Stress Response? 11:17 Loch Ness, Lake Trasimeno and Waking Up in Hospital 14:15 Swimming Through 12 Hours of Darkness 14:45 Why Iceland Produces So Many Physical Freaks 17:32 CrossFit Champions, Vikings and Eddie Hall 19:46 Water Polo: One of the Hardest Sports on Earth 23:57 Getting Crushed by Roger Gracie 27:41 The Brain Region Behind Grit or Quit 29:53 Everyone Is Scared Before They Compete 32:52 Arousal, Warm-Ups and Competing Your Own Way 33:43 Berserkers and the Viking Battle Frenzy 36:37 Nasal Breathing and Building CO2 Tolerance 39:21 When Training Past Your Body's Alarms Goes Wrong 42:23 James Freezing His Sperm Before Tour 43:03 Losing His Dad and the Myth of Sisyphus 48:03 Khabib, Grief and Finding a Reason to Get Up 50:37 How Jiu-Jitsu Gave James's Training Purpose 52:40 Swimming on the Spot for Four Hours in Iceland 55:43 Why Feedback Keeps People Going 58:39 Everyone Needs a Cheerleader 01:00:20 Why Ross Would Never Step Into a Cage 01:02:39 Goggins, Gratitude and Ross's Shadow Self 01:05:55 James Trains to Ruin Other People's Days 01:07:39 Are All High Achievers Psychopaths? 01:08:43 Thor, Odin and Why Heroes Aren't Pretty 01:10:43 Building Your Ego, Then Destroying It 01:12:05 A Million Followers and Feeling Nothing 01:13:42 The $50,000 Vegas Trip 01:15:48 Ross's Ayahuasca Experience in the Amazon 01:23:07 James's First Time on Ketamine 01:29:06 Hating Therapy and Low Testosterone 01:29:45 How Amazon Tribes Worked Out Ayahuasca 01:31:02 Icelandic Folklore and Living With Nature 01:32:19 James's Mushroom Trip and Duty to the Flame 01:39:29 How Psychedelics Led James to Fatherhood 01:42:58 When Psychedelics Go Wrong 01:45:43 Modafinil, Clenbuterol and Two Weeks in Barcelona 01:47:39 Fuelling the World's Longest Non-Stop River Swim 01:49:38 GLP-1s, Digestion and Losing Muscle at Sea 01:52:59 Getting Destroyed by a Competitive Eater 01:55:25 James's Boring Meal Prep Strategy 01:57:47 Hernias, Snapped MCLs and Getting Older 02:01:40 Stem Cells and Extending Your Career 02:05:18 Do Peptides Actually Work? 02:08:03 Should England Rugby Use Hype Videos? 02:12:49 Mike Tyson's Stare 02:14:03 Training With Volkanovsky and Tom Aspinall 02:17:05 How To Hero Release Date Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices