FLA Exposure

Episode #100 -Kev Johnson, Stuart Cooper & Frank Trigg

The 100th!  Such a great episode and a big mark for us, especially during COVID and the shit year that everyone in our industry has had, regardless if anyone watches, we hit 100:)  Had a blast catching up with old friend Stuart Cooper about his journey in the sport and working with Team Envisage owner Kev Johnson on the fantastic pre work out coffee, available soon here in Canada!  Make sure to grab this product on amazon or message me personally to chat about it!  Clean, delicious and gets the job done right!  As well, super honoured to chat with UFC Hall of Famer, Stuntman, Actor and all around bad dude, Mr Frank Trigg!  We spoke alot about movies, acting and the stuff that happens behind the scenes in his new line of work, living in California and the shit that comes with it, how fighting has changed, coming to Nova Scotia and the East Coast while growing up in Rochester and the god damn expense that comes with being a California resident!  So many laughs, great episode that you cannot miss!  Remember to like, share and subscribe!  Enjoy

Episode #99 -Matt Dodge & Joey Torres

Everyone's favourite agent, Matt Dodge joins us to chat about his busy schedule for his athletes in the coming weeks, how impressive the UFC has handled this pandemic along with the local promotions in the US!  The importance of his agency and working with his athletes to ensure everyone is on the same page, happy and part of the Feel Good, Look Good, Fight Good process!  A truly great guy with good intentions, upcoming athletes do get in touch!  Mr Joey Torres, a big part of Dodge Sports and the co owner of The Scrap News popped by to chat about joining Dodge Sports and becoming a sports agent.  What has changed in media today, what makes his brands differently and what he thinks is the future for working with athletes in big brand sports!  A knowledgeable and great conversation!  Thanks for tuning in, enjoy!

Episode #98 - Dejan Kajic, Lyndon Whitlock & Matt MacGrath

Super show full of Canadian talent across the board!  Were talking to three Canadian MMA athletes who put a mark on the sport here in our country!  Starting off with Dejan Kajic, originally from Bosnia & Herzegovina and moving to Canada in the mid 90's to avoid the war, ending up in Vancouver.  As he says, it's like winning the life lottery to end up in Vancouver and our beautiful country of Canada.  A record of 12-7, we spoke about some of the things he could have done differently throughout his career, the goal of reaching the highest level of our sport, past fight issues and why promoters need to understand what roles they play.  Lyndon Whitlock, an athlete who spent alot of time on the East Coast during his fight career competing quite a few times for ECC and Elite 1 along with other promotions in Canada.  Lyndon was a guy I grew up seeing on TV when the sport was taking off in our country.  A stand up guy who always was super entertaining to watch and really made me love this sport!  A motivator, genuine person and a guy that's really helping Parabellum MMA become one of the top gyms in Canada!  Finally, we had the Belt Collector, Mr. Matt MacGrath join us to chat about the early days of MMA in Nova Scotia.  Training with Team Titans and the incredible team they had and the talent that was produced.  We spoke about the big events, why he got into the sport and the success that came with it.  We spoke about his love of his family, the decision to step away from the sport and his new role of training at his beautiful facility in PEI.    A true legend of Canadian MMA and a guy who has done alot for the East Coast Scene!  Thanks to all the guys on the show and everyone that has helped them this far in the career!  Great listen, tonnes of wisdom for up and coming athletes!  Enjoy!

Episode #97 - Jesse Gough & Andrew Keyes

Jesse Gough, coach at ATC MMA in London, Ontario under the guidance of Mark Hominick as well as a black belt under Jake MacKenzie!  We caught up to chat about his recent experience travelling to YAS Island for Fight Island with Jesse Ronson and the amazing win, how they got there and the rollercoaster experience it was right up until the fight happened.  We spoke about why he wasn't supposed to be in this position and the things he overcame to get there, and what experiences helped him along the way.  Fantastic human, great chat!  Andrew Keyes, local bartender and martial artist jumped in to catch up on the local scene and the importance of learning a new sport in that industry, learning to take care of your body and the adjustments it takes in the bar industry to be a sober bartender.  We had some audio issues but got the point across with some great conversation around this issue and what his move to the East Coast from Ontario has been like! Thanks for the patience with the technical glitches in Andrews interview, damn streaming!  Enjoy!

Episode #96 - Shane Monoghan

Shane Monaghan, an Irish native, now living in Windsor, Ontario for the last 6 years who has made the leap into martial arts!  Starting when he moved to Canada for work, he did his research and found himself at MTC, one of the greatest gyms in the country with a group of high level athletes such as the Laramie brothers and Kyle Prepolec!  We spoke about why he started, the confidence it builded and the success he found at amateur as he became a two weight class champion for Prospect FC! Shane shares lots of great wisdom for up and coming amateur fighters, what he thinks about Irish MMA and when he thinks we will get back to running events sometime in Canada.  A great athlete, with a fantastic mind for the sport!  Hope you enjoy and thanks for tuning in!

Episode #95 - Brandon Lee

Another talented prospect out of Montreal jumped on to join us tonight!  Mr Brandon Lee, a talented bantamweight with a tonne of amateur fights popped by to chat about the career, why he's chose it and what it's been like moving clubs from Quebec City to Montreal full time.  We chatted about him overcoming many mental health struggles and why he's determined to be a role model and great influence for up and coming athlete, people and anyone around him.  The team at H20 MMA in Montreal is a very close and tight knit community, led by Richard Ho.  A tight team with a super positive, respected and genuine coach can be a beautiful thing!  Fantastic episode, thanks for tuning in!

Episode #94 - Bobby Poulter & Mat Hinchey

*Please skip between Bobby & Mat's interview as there is a 15 minute technical delay in the podcast!  Our apologies!*
Bobby Poulter, 2-0 as a pro out of Burlington, Ontario.   Moving to the area, at 18 years of age from northern Thunder Bay was nothing easy, alone and with a dream that seemed attainable, here he is.  Hearing about someone following a dream is something that inspires me as well, knowing there is still people out there that do and live the same way I have always done.  Bobby talks to us about the level of Parabellum, fighting on some great promotions close to home and how things have changed for him over the last five fights including a barn burner in his last fight at Prospect FC!  Also joined on this episode by Mat Hinchey out of Fredericton, NB!  A super classy guy, who helped our promotion in our first event and is also around local events doing his part to help out.  A pro bantamweight, with a 1-0 record and also an avid boxer and boxing fan!  We spoke about his last fight in Bermuda, on super short notice and the experience he went through.  We spoke about mentors and who is important to him and how mental health is something that he has dealt with and really uses his music and talents to help other people!  A real down to earth, great and genuine person with a conversation good for the sole!  Thanks for tuning in, enjoy!

Episode #93- Sifu Patrick Marcil & Frederik Dupras

A fantastic, flowing episode with really good conversation!  Sifu Patrick Marcil is a staple name in Canadian MMA, producing high level athletes such as Dave Leduc, Marc Andre Barriault, Julien LeBlanc and more!  Originally starting they main academy in 1994 with good friend Stephane Patenaude, now becoming one of the best gyms in the province of Quebec!  We spoke about the changes in the sport, what his approach to being a coach involved, the positive impact you can have on people and the brutal reality of the fighting scene in Canada right now.  Love picking the brain of coaches that get it, want the scene to prosper and do whatever they can to help it grow, that's the attitude we need.
Frederik Dupras, Pro MMA Bantamweight out of Laval, Quebec also popped by to chat his career.  We spoke about coming off a loss and not fighting since 2018, being a big part of the team at H20 MMA and the influence of Mr Richard Ho has on him.   The importance of nutrition and how it affects him before and after weigh ins, the distractions and how important it is to step back from the sport and do fun things with your friends to get away from the constant grind!  Super fun episode, thanks for tuning in, enjoy!!

Episode #92 - Shane Fishman

One of Canada's most humble and up and coming grapplers joined us to chat about the game, how he's finding himself in it and what's become important to him.  Shane Fishman, originally from Ontario, and now residing and training full time in Dublin, Ireland under professor Darragh O'Connell!  We spoke about moving to Ireland for school, the Euro scene and how hard it is to compete every weekend while working full time.  The politics and how to avoid them in our sport, what is important to him now and where he's eventually looking to go with this sport after school!  Such a genuine, down to earth person who has done alot for our brand!  One of the nicest guys we ever dealt with, up and coming athletes - be more like Shane!  Thanks for listening and enjoy!

Episode #91 - All Female Round Table #1

Christine Royal Fader takes over the hosting duties for the first of it's kind on our platform, the All Female Round Table #1!  Three incredible athletes and woman from the East Coast Combat Sports community joined us to discuss being a female in the combat sports community, the good bad and ugly of how it works and how we as males can learn, embrace and continue to make it a friendly, competitive and fun space for everyone to train.  Melyssa Hutchinson, black belt and owner of Synergy Training Center along with Morgan Milbury, a blue belt out of the Halifax BJJ system joined Christine to discuss!  Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for #2 in the coming weeks!