This is a very special episode where I had the opportunity to talk with my older brother, Ian and have him on as our first ever podcast guest!

Ian has an is currently a Senior Inside Sales Manager with the International Sports Science Association or better known as ISSA, Ian has a complex background where he began working in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, leveled up to a fitness manager, personal training manager, moved from WI to AZ where he continued his work within a variety of gyms as a personal trainer and eventually began working for ISSA as a sales rep and leveled up to his current position. Along the way Ian has performed at a variety of singing/country music radio contests, taking first place, and also claimed victory at an NPC Men’s Physique show back in 2018. It’s safe to say that Ian has tons of relevant experience in both fitness and music and equally shares a strong passion for metalcore music. Ian is a son, brother, husband, dog dad, and all around great human and I’m blessed to call him my brohter, welcome him to the show!

We discuss a variety of topics including Ian's history performing at open mic nights in college to eventually performing and winning a radio contest. We discuss Ian's guitar playing origins along with early experiences getting into music.

We transition into discussing Ian's background in fitness, where he took first place at an NPC Men's Physique show. We share lots of helpful information along the way.

Lastly, our episode concludes with some fun segments related to music and fitness, providing some potentially hot takes.

Sit back and enjoy!

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Welcome to Season 6 of the Metalcore & Muscle Podcast! In this first episode of season six, we will be discussing the following topics:

• Underrated Radar: In this segment we will be discussing an underrated album, song, or EP from a popular artist. In this episode, we dive into the album, Age of Ignorance by the band, Our Last Night who has risen to fame within the industry for their pop goes punk-style metalcore covers. We will discuss songs, instrumentals, vocals, and more.
• Coaches Corner: This segment continues from season 5 of the pod, where Evan discusses a fitness topic in depth and provides his health coaching insight. For this week, we discuss hybrid training and its rise to popularity within the past few years, attempting to answer the questions, what is hybrid training, why is it so popular, pros, cons, and more.
• Song of the Week: In this segment, we share/highlight a new song recently released and provide some general commentary. This week's song of the week is GOD EATER by Iridum.

Article from episode: https://www.gq.com/story/hybrid-training-3

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Season 5 Episode 30 is live and this is the last episode of season 5 as well as the final episode of the year.

1. Music Segment: This week we are discussing our 2025 selections for comeback artist of 2025, best EP, best album, and best song. We also provide some brief 2025 highlights.
2. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week, we discuss sacrifices and the cost that goes into a great transformation. We also discuss taking a break from caffeine and some of the challenges/feelings in doing so.

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Season 5 Episode 29 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments:

1. Music Segment: This week we are discussing some of the best songs of 2025 that likely went under your radar. Each artist mentioned has under 130k monthly Spotify listeners. Give these songs a listen and add them to your playlist immediately.
2. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week, we feature an exercise showdown, comparing and contrasting some of the most common exercises based on their benefits for hypertrophy (muscle building). We compare barbell bench press, dumbbell press, walking lunges, and much more.
3. Song of the Week: We select a new metalcore song each week to highlight/share with you all. This week's song of the week is "Genesis" by Elwood Stray
4. Exercise of the Week: We select an exercise to highlight, describing the exercise, alternative exercises, muscles targeted, pros & cons, optimal volume, and more. This week we discuss the sled push.

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Season 5 Episode 28 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments:

1. Music Segment: This week we are discussing some of the pros and cons of Spotify Wrapped and we highlight some of our favorite non-workout songs of 2025.
2. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week, we discuss some nutrition-related hacks/tips to help in facilitating a caloric deficit to assist in weight loss.
3. Song of the Week: We select a new metalcore song each week to highlight/share with you all. This week's song of the week is "The Song of the Summer" by AVOID ft. Colorblind
4. Exercise of the Week: We select an exercise to highlight, describing the exercise, alternative exercises, muscles targeted, pros & cons, optimal volume, and more. This week we discuss the gorilla row.

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Season 5 Episode 27 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments:

1. Top 5 Metalcore Workout Songs of 2025: As the year comes to an end over the next month, we are highlighting the top 5 metalcore workout songs released in 2025. We provide our list along with a couple honorable mentions.
2. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week, we discuss majoring in the minors with your fitness & nutrition goals, providing some examples and ways to get the most out of your efforts.
3. Song of the Week: We select a new metalcore song each week to highlight/share with you all. This week's song of the week is "SHADOWS (ine Remix)" by Scro, ine, PhaseOne.
4. Exercise of the Week: We select an exercise to highlight, describing the exercise, alternative exercises, muscles targeted, pros & cons, optimal volume, and more. This week we discuss the seated dumbbell overhead punch.

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Season 5 Episode 26 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments:

1. Sleeper Spotlight: This segment features a spotlight/sharing of an album or song that may have gone under your radar, exploring the overall sound, favorite tracks, instrumentals, vocals, etc. This week's Sleeper Spotlight is on the song I'd Rather Not Say by the band, Boundaries.
2. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week, we discuss different types of cardio training and their pros, cons, programming, etc.
3. Song of the Week: We select a new metalcore song each week to highlight/share with you all. This week's song of the week is "Gasoline (All Rage Still Only Numb)" by Story Of The Year.
4. Exercise of the Week: We select an exercise to highlight, describing the exercise, alternative exercises, muscles targeted, pros & cons, optimal volume, and more. This week we discuss the shoulder shrug exercise.

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Season 5 Episode 25 is live and in this episode continues to follow our new structure (for the most part) including the following segments:

1. AI Generated Music: In this segment, we discuss the emerging trend of AI generated music, including ethical concerns and what metalcore fans can do moving forward.
2. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week, we discuss tips to get prepped for your winter bulk.
3. Song of the Week: We select a new metalcore song each week to highlight/share with you all. This week's song of the week is "The Wounds We Share" by A Sense of Purpose.
4. Exercise of the Week: We select an exercise to highlight, describing the exercise, alternative exercises, muscles targeted, pros & cons, optimal volume, and more. This week we discuss the seated Pallof Press.

Resource: https://artsmart.ai/blog/ai-in-music-industry-statistics/#what-is-the-current-state-of-ai-in-music

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