Claim OwnershipBuilding the Elite Podcast
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© 2026 Building the Elite Podcast
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The Building the Elite (BTE) podcast discusses all facets of human performance - from physical training to the mental and emotional factors of resilience. Each episode looks at principles drawn from the world of special operations. These concepts help people succeed in the toughest military training courses in the world and can help anyone thrive in chaotic and challenging environments.
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Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon is a trained counselor specializing in the psychology of behavior change, with certifications including motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, DBT, CBT, and trauma counseling. She’s the author of numerous books and accredited nutrition, sleep, stress, and recovery courses. She’s our go-to performance psych for special operations candidates and active operators, and works one-on-one with many of our clients to help them excel in selection and stay men...
Steve House serves as the managing director, coach, and official mascot of Uphill Athlete, which he co-founded in 2016. He lives in a remote and mountainous corner of Austria with his wife and two sons. Steve’s biggest coaching challenge was coaching himself. Which was successful enough for him to be called “The greatest climber of his generation” by none other than Reinhold Messner. He was inspired to write down what he learned and originally recruited two other coaches to help him write Tr...
Dr. David “Wally” Walton is a retired Army Special Forces officer with 25 years of experience in the SF community. His career spans service with the 7th Special Forces Group, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and the Special Warfare Center and School. Dr. Walton’s extensive operational experience includes deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and across Latin America. Since retiring in 2013, he has transitioned into academia, teaching National Security Studies and Executive Leadership. His...
Brad Stulberg is a bestselling author of the new book The Way of Excellence, a performance coach, faculty member at the University of Michigan, and a husband and father. The Way of Excellence comes out tomorrow, and you can pick up a copy at any major bookseller like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible.com, or Bookshop.org. You can learn more about Brad and follow his work at his website, (https://www.bradstulberg.com/) and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradstulberg/
Nick has over 12 years of military experience, including 4 years as an Australian Commando and 6 years as an SAS operator. His operational service included deployments throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including Iraq and East Timor. Since leaving the Army, Nick has established two companies as a founding Director, The Mill Gym and Omni GeoX; as well as a new fitness competition, the Tier 1 Games. Nick has provided risk management, leadership, and elite-level performance consultin...
Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon is a trained counselor specializing in the psychology of behavior change, with certifications in motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, DBT, CBT, and trauma counseling. She’s the author of numerous books and accredited nutrition, sleep, stress, and recovery courses. She is our go-to performance psych, working one-on-one with many of our clients to sharpen the mental and emotional skills needed to handle some of the toughest training courses in the world. I...
SOF selection is a proving ground, where your physical, mental, and emotional raw material will be laid bare, with nothing to hide behind. It's a place where you voluntarily walk into a brutal challenge to find out if who you think you are matches who you are. It's a way of answering a question that few people are willing to ask. Mo Anthoine, a British mountaineer, referred to this as "feeding the rat." Think of the "rat" as that gnawing part of you that needs challenge, ris...
Dr. Daniel Cooper is a human performance and behaviour specialist who focuses on improving individual and team performance in high-pressure, high-consequence environments. He provides a unique perspective that sits at the intersection of real-world experience, academic research, and high-performance development. His experience encompasses over 18 years of service within the Australian Special Operations community, as well as academic studies in physiology, PhD research on performi...
Elias Kfoury was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and immigrated to the United States at an early age in search of a brighter, safer future. After college, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving 21½ years before his medical retirement. Beginning as a Hospital Corpsman supporting the U.S. Marine Corps, he soon entered the Special Operations community as a Deep Sea Diving Medical Technician and completed advanced medical training to support Naval Special Warfare units. Following his service in Little Cr...
If your selection will be held in a hot environment, it’s important to acclimate to the heat before heading out. Any SOF selection will push you to your physical limits, and not being acclimated to the heat can significantly increase your risk of failure. Heat injuries in SOF selection are fairly common, and they can be sneaky. The workload is so intense that even moderately warm, humid days can produce conditions that encourage heat injuries, particularly for people who are coming from...
Matt Stevens transitioned from the U.S. Navy in 2017 after serving for 26 years as a SEAL. Transitioning from the SEAL teams to civilian life brought him to The Honor Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting U.S. Special Operations Forces as they transition from elite military careers into impactful civilian roles. Matt attended The Honor Foundation’s (THF) inaugural East Coast class in the spring of 2016, joined their SOF Advisory Board in the spring of 2017, and then j...
Rima is a medic in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a tactical medicine instructor originally from the United States. She came to Ukraine as an NGO volunteer in 2022 and began medical studies in 2023 before enlisting in 2024. Now, she works on medical evacuations of soldiers from the frontlines and works in stabilization points where they receive casualties and stabilize their injuries for transport to the nearest hospital. Before enlisting, she taught tactical medicine per TCCC standard...
Chris Brennan served for 15 years in the Australian Army, 11 of which were as an operator within the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). He fulfilled multiple team specialist roles, including as a JTAC and Tandem Bundle Master within a Freefall Assault Team, before progressing into leadership roles as a team 2IC and culminating his career as an SASR Team Leader. Chris deployed on multiple occasions and spent two years as a specialist trainer and assessor in the SASR's selection and training...
Philip Andrew Armstrong is a decorated combat veteran, elite-level medic, program manager, and resilience-driven father of four. Raised in the woods by hippies and unable to read until the age of 14, his early life was unconventional, marked by hardship, self-reliance, and grit. Those experiences became the bedrock for a path of resilience that carried him through combat, service on some of the world’s most elite special operations teams, and ultimately, earning a master’s degree from Harvard...
Ben Strahan is a Hotshot Superintendent and wildland firefighter with over 25 years of operational leadership on the fireline. Ben has spent decades in high-risk environments where clarity, discipline, and trust mean survival. His journey through fire has shaped a deeper calling—one that now centers around helping others cultivate resilience, emotional strength, and self-awareness. Through consulting, mentorship, and public speaking, Ben bridges the gap between tactical readiness and inner le...
What makes a hero? It’s easy to point to the dramatic moments in history: the burning tanks and bullet-swept battlefields. This form of heroism is important, but it's not the only form. Heroism also manifests in other ways that impact lives, strengthen our communities, and shape our culture. In this episode, we look beyond the headlines to the everyday acts of heroism that rarely make the news. Through stories of soldiers, first responders, teachers, and ordinary people, we explor...
Alex Potter is a photojournalist, trauma nurse, former wildland firefighter, and co-founder of Global Response Medicine, a humanitarian non-profit bringing emergency medicine to low-resource and high-risk areas. Alex spent her early career photographing conflict in the Middle East, before spending two seasons as a wildland firefighter in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. She then moved to Alaska to pursue a career as an Air Force Combat Rescue Officer and was selected in Phase 2 of...
Mauri DiMeo is an Infantry officer in the US Army currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Military Science (APMS) at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). He attended Ranger, Airborne, SFAS, the SFQC, and the Austrian High Alpine School. Mauri was a platoon leader in the 4th Infantry Division and Rifle Company Commander in the 10th Mountain Division. His career took a turn in the final Robin Sage stage of the SF Q course, which we discuss early in our conversation. The lessons he...
Anthony ‘Harry’ Moffitt retired from the Australian Defence Force after almost 30 years, most of which was spent with Australia’s Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment as a Team Commander and Team Specialist. He completed 11 active service deployments and was wounded in action in 2008. He completed his time with the SAS as their Human Performance Manager. Harry is a registered psychologist and runs a human performance consultancy called Stotan Group, which works with sports teams, th...
Josh Bridges is a former Navy SEAL, with multiple deployments as a member of SEAL Team 3. He’s a competitive CrossFit athlete and has competed in the CrossFit games six times, placing second in the world in 2011. Josh left the Navy to spend more time with his family, and he is now a high-performance coach and entrepreneur. More about Josh: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgesj3/ Website: Josh-bridges.com Timestamps: 00:00:22 Introduction to Josh Bridges 00:00:54 Jos...
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