Hard to Kill in Midlife · New Episode Every Tuesday at 5 PM EST
Honest conversations with doctors, researchers, grapplers, and coaches who have figured something out the hard way. For midlife combat athletes who refuse to decline.
David Herrera — @DavidHerrera1119, @thesolarathlete, two-time state champion wrestler, multiple world record powerlifter, and the man actively rewiring a high school wrestling facility with UV, infrared, green light, and 55-degree training temperatures — on why the environment is the drug, what the Russians know about training facilities that American gyms don't, and why every grappling room in the world should be doing this.
Ethan Okunas — @quantum.dietitian, purple belt, author of Quantum Weight Loss and Quantum Nutrition — on why food is fifth on the priority list, deuterium in your food supply, DHA as a quantum molecule, the broken engine analogy for modern health, and why the supplement industry is selling you complexity to avoid the conversation about reconnecting with nature.
Professor Mathew Veiga — @oss_nation_bjj, creator of the Oss Nation BJJ page, co-host of the BJJ Balance podcast, and the funniest man in jiu-jitsu — on going viral as an A3, why the alpha dad is going extinct, keeping the locker room alive in this sport, and what staying dangerous after forty really means when the body is beat up and the mojo is required.
Nathan Siles returns for Part 2 — biophysics researcher, two-time cancer survivor, founder of Biospectral Systems — on resetting testosterone naturally through light, the right way to breathe for longevity, why supplements are a downstream solution to an upstream problem, and the new Biospectral products that are about to change how we think about indoor environments.
Professor Kenny Kim — @KennyKimBJJ, head of Kenny Kim Academy in Marietta, GA, creator of the Mat Made show, author of The Jiu-Jitsu Millionaire, president of the Korean American Jiu-Jitsu Coalition, and curator of the world's largest BJJ gym directory — on building people over champions, the stories jiu-jitsu deserves to tell, and the one thing that governs everything else.
Sean Applegate — @Trapplegate10p, head coach of 10th Planet Atlanta, PGF Twisters coach, 10th Planet black belt — on building one of the most dominant no-gi rooms in the country, min-maxing the meta, why depth of mastery is the most undervalued concept in jiu-jitsu, and choosing to pour into his athletes over chasing ADCC himself.
Brian Edwards — 58-time IBJJF gold medalist, two-time Masters World Champion, three-time Pan Masters World Champion, black belt under Tim Jones, founder of Swamp Fox Jiu-Jitsu, 19 years on the mats, hip replacement at 50, and still competing — on why midlife is your second prime and the only thing worse than not training is overtraining.
Nathan Siles — founder of Biospectral Systems, biophysics researcher, two-time cancer survivor, and one of the most important voices in the ancestral health and light biology space — on why you are already perfect, how light controls everything from testosterone to autophagy, and why health is free while fear is a choice.
Michael Cragholm — retired Marine, Purple Heart recipient, Battle of Fallujah veteran, BJJ black belt, founder of Space Coast Mobile Jiu-Jitsu and creator of Grapple App — on the don't-get-slept-in-front-of-your-family starter pack, the Zach Morris timeout, and why consistency is the most intense thing you can do.
Coach Manny Alonso — professional kickboxer, MMA fighter, 18 years in jiu-jitsu, founder of Maca Martial Arts in Austin, Texas — on the four golden rules, the goldfish grip, why staying on top ages better than anything else, and what it means to build a gym around pure vibe.
Mike Stewart Jr. — founder of Rising Tide Martial Arts, black belt since 2019, lifelong martial artist who opened his school as a white belt and built it into five locations through sixteen years of disciplined, unglamorous, relentless work — on coaching without rolling, sobriety, and what staying dangerous after 40 actually means.
Kodiak Fields — two-time world champion gi and no-gi, Fight Sports Miami, Vagner Rocha Martial Arts regular, BJJ Fanatics instructor, and one of the most thoughtful voices on what it looks like to compete at the highest level while building a real life alongside it — on staying on the mats approaching 50, extreme ownership, and the commitment you owe to yourself.
Gile Huni — founder of BJJ Eastern Europe, creator of Sloth Jiu-Jitsu, author of multiple e-books, developer of the Crocodile Passing instructional, head instructor at Kimura BJJ Serbia, and one of the most aligned voices in the global midlife grappling community — on building a game you can train forever, the natural performance stack that keeps him competing at 46, and why the person who never quits always outlasts the athletic kid who does.
Professor Kevin Figueroa — black belt under Tom Reusing at Gracie Barra Riverside, industrial electrician, competition team coach, grandfather at 44, and one of the most grounded voices on what it actually takes to stay on the mats when life is pulling from every direction.
Dr. Diana Wang and Dr. Kris Martin of Open Mat Physio — physical therapists who are also grapplers — on the real reason midlife BJJ athletes disappear from the gym, the four recovery non-negotiables that actually work, and why intention and sleep are the two words that change everything.
Professor Jay Pages — founder of one of Arizona's premier no-gi academies, BGJ Revolution Carlson Gracie veteran, and one of the most honest voices in the gi vs. no-gi conversation — on the physical cost of over-reliance on the gi, why ecological dynamics is not the debate people think it is, and why fun is the most underrated training principle in jiu-jitsu.
Benjamin Knight Fuchs, RPh — pharmacist, skin chemist, founder of Truth Treatments, and one of the clearest voices in the cellular nutrition space — on why all disease begins at the cell, why staph and MRSA in grapplers trace back to the gut, why your moisturizer is making your skin worse, and why empowerment is the only medicine that matters.
Dr. Anil Bajnath — author of The Longevity Equation, founder of the Institute for Human Optimization, and founder of the American Board of Precision Medicine — on deep molecular phenotyping, why the standard of care is about to change completely, the future of personalized health, and why the ancestral practices we already do are the foundation everything else builds on.
Niklas Gustafson — celiac from birth, 13-time Ironman finisher, co-founder of Natruly, and host of Hungry for Change — on ancestral nutrition as a lived practice, why real food is the most radical act left, the plant milk scam, oxalates nobody talks about, and what four years without alcohol actually changed.
Dr. Lyneil Mitchell returns for part two — on isokinetics as the highest return-on-investment strength tool for midlife athletes, why most training creates maladaptation rather than improvement, the Hebbian principle and how your nervous system is quietly patterning the wrong thing, and what integrity under demand actually means as a new definition of fitness.
Dr. Lyneil Mitchell — two-time Division II All-American wrestler, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Marinovich Systems practitioner, and author of The Strong Angle Way — on the single question that fixes your movement, why your dominant side is costing you power, and the biomechanical blind spots that are quietly ending midlife athletic careers.
Navy diver, BJJ black belt under Gustavo Machado, BJJ Globetrotters coach, and founder of Blue Ring Solutions — William Dorman on suffering as growth, top pressure that nobody escapes, why jiu-jitsu is the best thing for humanity, and staying dangerous long after the body starts objecting.
Kristin Oja DNP — founder of STAT Wellness and the first practice in the nation to put barbells inside a functional medicine model — on the three pillars of longevity, why muscle mass is the most important biomarker you're not tracking, and the root causes most doctors never look for.
Chris Ryan on training smarter past 40, what your liquid diet is silently doing to you, why less is more for midlife athletes, and the one investment that pays compound interest for the rest of your life.
Professor Matt McPeake on earning it the right way, why concepts beat techniques every time, how to stay on the mats past 50, and the one word that explains why jiu-jitsu is the most human thing you can do.
Nahum Vizakis on surviving PTSD, escaping the pharmaceutical fog, plant medicine, the testosterone epidemic, and why resilience is the only word men need right now.
Charles Harriott left corporate America, trained in 50 countries, built a reputation without a world title, and developed some of the most original frameworks in modern jiujitsu. This conversation goes deep on longevity, ego, training culture, and the only metric that actually matters for midlife grapplers.
Dr. Evan Kappler herniated two discs, declined surgery, and spent eight months rebuilding — then built a remote physical therapy practice around helping grapplers do the same. His diagnosis of why midlife practitioners keep breaking down is not what most people expect to hear.
Black belt Steve Hordinski has been on the mats for nearly 30 years and is training better now than ever. His answer to longevity isn't what most people expect — it starts with how you move, not how hard you train.
The Josh Button Podcast is back for 2026, and the first guest of the year is Dustin Lebel — a strength and conditioning coach out of Connecticut who has been on the mats for over two decades, came back to training at 36 after years off due to injury, and now coaches midlife combat athletes online full-time. He is, in his own words, that person. He gets it because he's living it.
