Podcast
Elevation Nation
Hosted by Sam Panitch & Parker Yablon · 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.
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Bounce back like Messi | Fortitude in 15
3w ago00:14:01Tap to summarizeArgentina 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.
Transcribe →Plan the Work, Work the Plan | Entrepreneurs Grant & Will Cohen
3w ago00:59:53Tap to summarizeElevators 250/251: Grant and Will Cohen are brothers, operators, and co-founders of Rising Ventures Group. Grant spent nearly a decade at Amazon building his leadership chops in warehousing and supply chain before making the jump to entrepreneurship. Will became a CEO at 25 years old, transformed a metals recycling company into a certified B Corp that donated 200,000 pieces of technology to communities in need — then sold it and kept going. Together, they acquired Quality Warehouse & Distribution, a 50-year-old logistics business serving the New York and New Jersey port region, and are building it into the foundation of their family office.In this episode: Grant and Will talk about what it actually looks like to be hands-on operators in an unsexy industry — and why that's the whole point. We get into Will's wild first week as CEO with $15K in the bank and payroll due on Friday, Grant's "it's time" moment watching entrepreneurs build culture inside Amazon, and why the baby boomer succession gap is one of the biggest opportunities for the next generation of business owners. They also share the mental mottos that drive how they lead — at work and at home.
Transcribe →That's a Wrap on the Tour | Fortitude in 15
Jun 2500:17:59Tap to summarizeSam 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.
Transcribe →1K miles in 3 days | Fortitude in 15
Jun 1700:14:45Tap to summarizeSam and Parker are officially in the thick of the summer tour: ~1k miles, three days, and fourteen hours behind the wheel. Before they hit the road, they get into what these long hauls really do to your head and how they stay sharp without driving each other crazy. Plus some rapid fire and fire questions to kick the whole thing off.
Transcribe →Digital Dorito Problem | Fortitude in 15
Jun 1100:17:47Tap to summarizeSam and Parker came across a warning from author Cal Newport: our ability to think deeply is eroding, and almost nobody is talking about it. If a TikTok is just a digital Dorito and AI is writing, speaking, and problem-solving for us, what happens to the most important muscle we have? The guys get into why deep thinking is the one thing AI can't replace, plus simple ways to start exercising your brain again.
Transcribe →Trust the Detour | Food Creator and Founder of Shabbat Club Morgan Raum
Jun 900:43:56Tap to summarizeElevator 249: Morgan Raum is a New York-based food media creator, community builder, and the founder of Shabbat Club — a Jewish dining series bringing young adults together over food at Jewish-owned restaurants and bars across NYC and beyond. She's also the creator behind ToooMuchFoood, where she's been sharing her love of food for over 12 years across Instagram and TikTok.In this episode: Morgan shares how getting laid off from her dream job as a food journalist at People Magazine became the catalyst for building something entirely her own. We talk about the power of food as a community connector, what it really takes to build an audience from scratch, and how Shabbat Club became a home for Jewish young professionals who never quite felt like they fit into traditional Jewish spaces.
Transcribe →Jalen Brunson, Knicks, and the magic in the work | Fortitude in 15
Jun 400:17:25Tap to summarizeThe Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time this century, and Sam has a front row seat to the story. He grew up playing high school ball with Jalen Brunson, and he shares what it was like watching a kid who wasn't the biggest or the most talented outwork everyone in the room. From the goals taped to his bedroom wall to the mantra that shaped his entire career, we dig into the mindset that took Brunson from second round pick to the NBA finals.
Transcribe →I Didn't Choose This Life, But I'm Living It to the Fullest | Motivational Speaker Joe DiMeo
Jun 200:42:02Tap to summarizeElevator 248: Joseph DiMeo is a motivational speaker from New Jersey. In July 2018, at 20 years old, he fell asleep at the wheel on the drive home from a shift he picked up for overtime. The accident left him with 80% burns, burnt eyelids, and amputated fingers. After waking from a three-and-a-half month coma, Joe went on to become the first successful face and double hand transplant recipient in the world.In this podcast: Joe takes us back to the moment he woke up from that coma and the first thing he asked about was his rims. We talk about how humor became a survival tool, what it actually felt like to hear his diagnosis at 5am through a haze of painkillers, and how he's built a full life — traveling the world, chasing good food, and showing up every single day with two mental mottos that say everything about who he is.
Transcribe →Calm before the storm | Fortitude in 15
May 2800:16:02Tap to summarizeParker and Sam are days away from the busiest month in Elevation Nation history - a summer speaking tour across five states, multiple camps, and a whole lot of time in a rental car together.Parker's pumped. Sam's a little tired. And somewhere in between those two feelings is the real conversation: how do you stay present when everything is moving at once? The guys get honest about anxiety, perspective, and why sometimes the suck is exactly where you need to be.
Transcribe →Helping Others Gives Us Purpose | Global Philanthropist Bill Villafranco
May 2600:49:18Tap to summarizeBill Villafranco is a trustee of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that has distributed over $100 million in grants supporting women in the arts, medical research, underprivileged youth, and humanitarian initiatives around the world. He also serves as Executive Director of myFace, a nonprofit supporting individuals with craniofacial differences, and brings decades of experience from his career in wealth management.In this podcast: Bill takes us inside the nursing school he helped build in Thailand that has now graduated over 550 young women out of trafficking and poverty. He opens up about losing his son at birth at 28 years old, the 15 years it took him to make sense of that grief, and how the question "why not me?" became the through-line for the people he now surrounds himself with. We dig into legacy-driven giving, intergenerational mentorship, and why young people are starving for the kind of perspective only someone older than them can offer.
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