What does it take to run across the Sahara Desert, survive federal prison, maintain 33 years of sobriety — and come home to be a full-time caretaker for the person you love? Charlie Engle has lived all of it.

In this episode, Kenny sits down with ultramarathon legend, New York Times bestselling author, and charity: water ambassador Charlie Engle for one of the most raw, real, and inspiring conversations we've ever had on the show.

In this episode:

• Why being a caretaker for his wife for 10+ years has been harder than any race or prison sentence
• How running 4,600 miles across the Sahara Desert changed his relationship with suffering
• The truth about what federal prison is actually like — and why the system isn't built to rehabilitate anyone
• How 33 years of sobriety shaped his identity, discipline, and drive
• His upcoming charity: water expedition and why he keeps chasing the next impossible goal
• The mindset shift that took him from always asking "what's next?" to learning to live in the present moment
• Why owning your narrative is everything — and what happens when you let others tell your story

Charlie's story isn't just about physical endurance. It's about what it means to keep moving forward when life strips everything away — and why the only compass that matters is the one inside you.

CONNECT:
Follow Charlie: @charlieengle
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

What if you could get all the energy of a pre-workout or energy drink — without the bloat, the bubbles, or the $6 price tag? Richard Mumby, CEO of Wip Energy, is betting the answer fits in the palm of your hand.

In this episode of the Strong New York Podcast, host Kenny Santucci sits down with Richard to break down why Wip's clean caffeine pouches are disrupting a multi-billion dollar industry — and why 85% of Americans who already consume caffeine daily are ready for something smarter.

In this episode, we cover:
- Why energy drinks are losing ground to caffeine pouches — and what makes the pouch delivery system so effective
- The truth about caffeine: how much is too much, and why it's one of the most studied and beneficial ingredients in the world
- How Wip went from a 2-year stealth formulation phase to hitting 10,000+ retail doors (Wawa, Murphy's, Quick Trip, and more)
- The CEO's journey from Wall Street finance to leading a next-gen consumer brand
- Why your mindset matters as much as your macros — and the powerful lesson Richard learned watching his 83-year-old father give himself a pep talk
- The untapped consumer: why Wip isn't just for gym-goers, but for everyone hustling through a demanding day

Plus: Richard and Kenny talk about the upcoming Strong New York event (September 26th at The Glass House), influencer marketing strategy, festival season, and what's next for Wip.

CONNECT:
Follow Richard: @rpmumby
Follow Wip Energy: @wipenergy
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

This week, Kenny sits down with Jake Steinfeld — the man who literally invented the personal training industry.

Jake opens up about losing his home in the LA Palisades fire, why he still trains at 4:15am every single day, turning down Nike before they created "Just Do It," and the anonymous poem that shaped his entire life philosophy from age 14.

From posing with the Village People to doing stunt work as The Incredible Hulk, from Cold Calls in Hollywood to building a fitness empire seen in 90+ countries — this episode is a masterclass in betting on yourself when nobody else will.

In This Episode:

• How Jake created personal training as a profession (there was no blueprint)
• The steroid decision at 19 that changed everything
• Losing his home in the Palisades fire & what he grabbed on the way out
• Why he turned down Nike's offer to buy "Don't Quit"
• GLP-1s, fitness culture, and what the industry gets wrong
• The mindset behind never missing a workout — ever
• Body by Jake Radio & what's coming next

CONNECT:
Follow Jake: @bodybyjake
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

This week Kenny Santucci sits down with Jake Heyen — the fitness industry analyst and founder of Wellworthy who blew up on Instagram by delivering no-BS, news-style breakdowns of the brands, events, and trends shaping health and fitness culture.

Jake shares the full story: from studying finance and statistics in college, to building a workout subscription platform during COVID, to joining Playbook as Director of Operations — and ultimately growing one of the most trusted voices in the fitness media space.

In this episode, we get into:

• How Jake built his audience from zero with a completely different content style
• Why he almost quit before realizing it was actually working
• The brands he thinks are absolutely crushing it right now
• His take on the biggest fitness trends: community gyms, HYROX-style events, home health tech, and the rise of strength culture for women
• Why he turned down every podcast — until this one

Whether you're a fitness entrepreneur, creator, or just obsessed with the industry, this episode is packed with real insight from someone who's been behind the curtain.

CONNECT:
Follow Jake: @jakeheyen
Follow Kenny: @kennysantucci
Follow Strong New York: @strongnewyork

This episode is sponsored by Celsius, the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance. by visiting marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

On this special bonus episode of the Strong New York Podcast, Kenny sits down with Christian Angermayer, founder of the Enhanced Games — a new global sports competition that recently made its debut in Las Vegas, where elite athletes pushed the limits of human performance and are openly encouraged to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision.

Christian is a billionaire biotech investor and one of the loudest voices advocating for the future of human performance and psychedelic medicine. In this episode, we get into ALL of it:
- How one dinner conversation in 2014 completely changed his life — and may have changed the world — after his first psychedelic experience
- The truth about performance-enhancing drugs, medical supervision, and why athletes deserve the right to compete enhanced
- Why the Enhanced Games is paying athletes MORE than they've ever made — and what that says about the broken Olympic model
- The real science behind peptides, hormone therapy, and what "enhancement" actually means
- The truth about money, purpose, and why the narrative that rich people are evil is destroying society
- The double standard that NOBODY in the media is talking about in the wake of the Enhanced Games

Christian doesn't hold back. This is one of the most thought-provoking conversations we've had on the podcast.

The Rock played this man in a major motion picture — and after watching this episode, you'll understand why.

Mark Kerr is a Division I National Champion, 2x ADCC Champion, and 2x UFC Heavyweight Champion who helped define what it meant to be a professional mixed martial artist before anyone even knew what that looked like. But behind the accolades was a story most people never saw coming.

In this raw and unforgettable episode, Mark sits down with us to talk about:

• What it felt like when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was cast to play him
• How he helped create the standard for what a professional MMA fighter looks and acts like
• The training methods he pioneered 25 years ago — heart rate-based conditioning, functional training — that the sport has only recently caught up to
• The injuries, pain management, and how it all spiraled into addiction
• The night the cameras went down, and he was found unresponsive — lips blue, barely breathing — and brought back with Narcan
• Why vulnerability is the most alpha thing a man can do
• His mission to prepare and mentor the next generation

This one hits different. Whether you're a fight fan, someone in recovery, or just somebody who needs to hear that one thing doesn't define you — this episode is for you.

This episode is sponsored by Celsius. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!
This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Visit marekhealth.com and use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

What does it actually take to build a consumer brand from scratch — bootstrapped, broke, and selling something nobody wanted to talk about?

On this week's episode, Sam Nebel, Co-Founder of Goodwipes, sits down with Kenny to share the unfiltered 13-year journey of turning a Ziploc bag full of wipes at Florida State tailgates into the fastest-growing flushable wipe brand in the country, now on shelves at Walmart, Target, and Kroger.

In this episode:

• Why Sam turned down a $1M acquisition offer (when they were already doing $1M+ in sales)
• The credit card hacks, merchant cash advances, and "sharky" financing tricks that kept them alive early on
• How a rebrand done entirely in-house launched them into retail dominance
• The Olipop collab, Wet January campaign, and why going all-in on partnerships actually works
• What 13 years of an "accordion body" and entrepreneurial grind taught Sam about mental health and staying in the game

If you think overnight success is real, this episode will change your mind.

Follow Goodwipes: @goodwipes on all platforms | Available at Walmart, Target, Amazon & Kroger

This episode is sponsored by Celsius. Visit @celsiusofficial on Instagram to see all of their new flavors!
This episode is sponsored by Marek Health. Visit marekhealth.com and use code KENNY at checkout for 10% Marek Diagnostics, Supplements and the Marek Health Guided Optimization signup.

00:00 Podcast Welcome Sponsors

00:29 Goodwipes Intro Bathroom Talk

01:57 Origin Story Frat House

02:41 Long Road to Growth

04:50 Rebrand Packaging Strategy

06:59 Manufacturing Testing Basics

10:04 Bootstrapping Rough Years

12:01 Funding Retail Scale Up

16:58 Field Marketing DNA

19:14 Taboo to Mainstream IBS

21:03 Collabs Ollipop Influencers

24:26 Making Partnerships Work

25:13 Breakthrough Moments

26:15 Retail Wins Momentum

27:21 Lowest Point Fundraising

29:13 High School Dreams

31:30 Health Wellness Journey

33:18 Humor Brand Voice

35:06 Design Creative Control

36:44 Defining Success Goals

38:40 Flushability Eco Testing

41:14 Celebrity Fans Samples

42:21 Walmart Exclusives Bentonville

43:40 AI Tools Not Replacements

46:59 Next Year Plans Events

47:48 Festival Dream Wrap Up

48:46 Where To Find Good Wipes

49:16 Final Thanks Outro

To Watch The Show: https://www.youtube.com/@strongnewyork
To Connect with Kenny Santucci: https://www.instagram.com/kennysantucci/
To Connect with Strong New York: https://www.instagram.com/strongnewyork/

What do you do when MrBeast hands you a $5,000,000 check?

This week on Strong New York Podcast, Kenny Santucci sits down with Tyler Lucas, the winner of Beast Games Season 2, an active-duty Air Force pilot, former Penn State football player, and Titan Games finalist. Tyler shares the unfiltered story behind one of the largest cash prizes in entertainment history, what MrBeast is actually like behind the cameras, and the surprisingly disciplined first move he made the moment he got the money.

We get into:

• What it's really like competing on Beast Games (and how the money gets paid)
• Why he says MrBeast is the real deal — even when the internet says otherwise
• The Titan Games "production fail" that cost him a win
• Growing up overseas in a military family and playing QB at Penn State during the scandal era
• The misconceptions civilians have about the military
• Why he's giving back to veterans with his winnings
• Raising kids who won't grow up entitled — even with millions in the bank

Whether you're chasing a dream, climbing out of adversity, or just love a great story about a regular guy who hit the lottery the hard way, this one's for you. Crack open a Celsius and lift it up.

Chapters:
0:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:48 Beast Games and TV Mishaps

02:26 Landing Titan Games

05:22 Penn State Athlete Path

06:30 Choosing Penn State

08:08 Penn State Scandal Fallout

10:58 Parenting and Safety Fears

12:48 Why Air Force

13:37 Military Misconceptions

17:15 Drone Pilot Career

19:12 Discipline and Service Values

21:31 Gen Z Fame and Work Ethic

25:33 Titan Games Money and Cast

26:28 Athletes And Winners

26:55 Rock Versus MrBeast

27:55 Social Strategy To Win

28:44 Why Beast Prizes Huge

31:20 Getting Paid On Show

31:45 MrBeast Character And Hate

34:11 Handling Online Criticism

35:18 First Moves With Money

37:01 Purpose And Paying Forward

41:55 Adversity And Parenting

44:28 Work Ethic Creates Value

46:53 Whats Next And Follow Up

51:49 Final Thanks And Where To Find

To connect with Tyler Lucas: https://www.instagram.com/twlucas13/

This episode is sponsored by Celsius
Visit https://www.instagram.com/celsiusofficial/ to see all the new flavors!

This episode is sponsored by Marek Health
Visit https://marekhealth.sjv.io/QY6j03 or use code KENNY at https://marekhealth.com/home for $299 off an initial assessment or 10% off your blood panels