Houston Hustle Podcast

Charles and Paige Ward

Welcome to Houston Hustle - The podcast that spotlights the movers, the makers, and the doers shaping the city we love. Each week, we sit down with Houston's top entrepreneurs to talk who they are, how they built it, the principles that drive them, and what success means beyond the highlight reel. This is real hustle. Real Stories. Real Houston.

  1. 3d ago

    From Rock Bottom to the Surface of the Lake: Christina DiNoto’s Generation Zen Yoga Journey

    What happens when the thing that helps you heal becomes the foundation for something bigger? This week on Houston Hustle, Dr. Paige and Dr. Charlie sit down with Christina DiNoto, founder of Generation Zen Yoga, to talk about a journey shaped by loss, reinvention, resilience, and one very unexpected path to entrepreneurship. After experiencing devastating personal losses, struggling with alcohol, and searching for a way to quiet her mind, Christina found yoga. What started as a tool for healing eventually became a calling. But her road to building Generation Zen was anything but smooth. Serious back injuries sidelined her for months, forcing her to rebuild physically, rethink her business, and decide whether she was willing to try one more time. She did. Today, Christina is bringing a completely different kind of yoga experience to Houston, including beginner-friendly stand-up paddleboard yoga on the water in The Woodlands. Her vision goes beyond workouts. She is building a community where people can connect, try something new, and discover what they are capable of. We talk about entrepreneurship, sobriety, starting over, recovering from setbacks, the surprising challenge of yoga on a paddleboard, and why sometimes the detours become the story. This is a conversation about refusing to let the hardest chapters have the final word. Real hustle. Real stories. Real Houston. Connect with Christina at: https://www.instagram.com/generation.zen.yoga/ Host Contact: https://www.championforestchiro.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ppfc_championforest/

    From Rock Bottom to the Surface of the Lake: Christina DiNoto’s Generation Zen Yoga Journey
  2. Oct 2

    Stop Eating Less: Sarah Krebs on Building Elevated Macros, Fueling Your Body & Redefining Results

    What if the reason you’re not getting the results you want isn’t because you’re eating too much... but because you’re not fueling your body enough? On this episode of Houston Hustle, Dr. Paige Ward and Dr. Charlie Ward sit down with Sarah Krebs, co-founder of Elevated Macros, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, fitness, nutrition, and building a body and business that can actually last. Sarah’s passion for nutrition started with her own journey. After years of experimenting with different diets, training styles, and approaches to food, she became fascinated with understanding how the body actually responds to nutrition and exercise. That passion eventually led to Elevated Macros, an online nutrition and fitness coaching company serving clients across the country and around the world. We talk about one of the biggest mistakes Sarah sees in fitness: constantly eating less while training harder. Sarah explains why building the body you want often requires properly fueling it first, why extreme restriction can backfire, and why the number on the scale tells only a tiny part of the story. We also dive into the business behind Elevated Macros, including building a company with partners who have complementary strengths, creating an online coaching experience, navigating social media marketing, struggling with lead quality, and figuring out how to grow without losing the personal connection that makes coaching effective. And because this is Houston Hustle, we get into Sarah’s life beyond business too, including her love of travel, adventure, hiking to places most people will never see, and the mindset that keeps her looking for the next challenge. In this episode: • Why eating less isn’t always the answer to fat loss • The problem with extreme diets and eliminating entire food groups • Why muscle building and body composition matter more than simply losing weight • How Sarah uses macros and individualized coaching with her clients • Why the scale should be a data point, not a measure of success • The realities of building a fitness and nutrition business • Social media, lead generation, and the struggle to find the right clients • How Sarah and her partners divide responsibilities based on their strengths • Nutrition and training for high-performing women • Balancing business, fitness, travel, and real life • Why sustainable results require more than just “calories in, calories out” Sarah also shares an important reminder for anyone who has allowed a number on the scale to determine whether they’re succeeding: progress can show up in your clothes, photos, strength, sleep, energy, performance, and overall body composition long before the scale gives you the validation you’re looking for. If you’re an entrepreneur building something of your own, someone who has spent years bouncing from diet to diet, or you simply want a healthier relationship with food, fitness, and your body, this conversation is for you. Connect with Sarah & Elevated Macros: Find Elevated Macros on Instagram and Facebook and DM “COACH” to learn more about their nutrition and fitness coaching. https://www.elevatedmacros.com/ 🎙️ Houston Hustle celebrates the movers, makers, and doers shaping Houston. Real hustle. Real stories. Real Houston. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone building their own dream. Host contact: https://www.championforestchiro.com/

    Stop Eating Less: Sarah Krebs on Building Elevated Macros, Fueling Your Body & Redefining Results
  3. Sep 25

    80,000-Lb Trees, Million-Dollar Backyards & a 150-Person Business

    Matthew Hogue doesn't just landscape yards. He's building outdoor experiences, a powerhouse team, and one of Houston's largest design-build landscape firms. In this episode of Houston Hustle, Paige and Charlie sit down with Matthew Hogue, founder and CEO of Hogue Landscape Services, to hear how he went from learning the business from the ground up to launching his own company and growing it from just three people to more than 150 employees in seven years. Matthew gets candid about the parts of entrepreneurship that don't make the highlight reel: hiring the wrong people, learning how to lead instead of simply manage, building a culture of accountability, navigating explosive growth during COVID, and figuring out how to take care of the people who helped build the company. We also get into how he's using AI to run and analyze his business, why social media helped make a tiny startup look like a major player, and his vision of eventually giving employees an ownership stake in the company. And then there are the projects. An 80,000-pound tree transported through Houston with a police escort. A hot tub with actual fire dancing over the water. Million-dollar outdoor spaces. Matthew shares what happens when clients bring big ideas, big properties, and sometimes very big budgets. But underneath all of it is a simple philosophy: build it right, take care of your people, never stop adapting, and don't race to the bottom. This is Houston entrepreneurship at its best: big ideas, calculated risks, a little bit of crazy, and a whole lot of hustle. Find Matthew at: https://www.hoguels.com/ https://www.instagram.com/hoguelandscape/ Host contact: https://www.championforestchiro.com/

    80,000-Lb Trees, Million-Dollar Backyards & a 150-Person Business
  4. Sep 18

    Have Your Brick: Raphael Ortega on Struggle, Success & Raising Resilient Kids

    After more than a decade in the courtroom, Raphael Ortega thought he understood what it meant to advocate for people. Then a car accident put him on the other side of the equation. In this episode of Houston Hustle, Paige and Charlie sit down with Raphael Ortega, attorney and co-founder of Diamond Injury Law, to talk about his journey from New York to Texas, his years as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, and the personal experience that ultimately pushed him into personal injury law. Raphael shares why being injured himself completely changed his perspective on insurance companies and the client experience, why he's building a boutique firm centered around trust and personal relationships, and why being willing to litigate matters when choosing an attorney. But this conversation goes far beyond law. We talk entrepreneurship, authenticity, fatherhood, raising resilient kids, learning to delegate, the sacrifices behind success, and why Raphael literally keeps a brick in his car as a reminder of one of the hardest seasons of his life. It's a conversation about building something the right way, showing up for the people who depend on you, and remembering that success isn't just about what you accomplish. It's about the kind of person you become along the way. Find Raphael at: https://diamondlawtexas.com/ https://www.instagram.com/diamondinjurylaw/ Host contact: https://www.championforestchiro.com/

    Have Your Brick: Raphael Ortega on Struggle, Success & Raising Resilient Kids
  5. Jun 5

    Somatic Healing, Boundaries, and Business Growth with Dr. Danielle Griffin

    In this episode of Houston Hustle, Dr. Paige and Dr. Charles Ward sit down with Dr. Danielle Griffin, founder of Good Life Coaching by Danielle, to talk about burnout, stress, nervous system regulation, and what it really takes to create balance in a high-achieving life. After navigating postpartum depression, grief, overwhelming stress, and the pressures of career and family life, Dr. Danielle discovered somatic exercises and mindset work that completely changed her health and perspective. What started as personal healing evolved into a growing business helping busy professionals regulate stress, set boundaries, and reconnect with themselves. They discuss: • How stress manifests physically in the body • The challenges high achievers face with delegation and work-life balance • Somatic exercises and practical nervous system tools • Breaking limiting beliefs and overcoming burnout • Writing a book series and building a purpose-driven business • Why accessibility and simplicity matter in wellness If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, or busy professional feeling overwhelmed, this episode is packed with relatable insights and practical takeaways to help you slow down, reset, and thrive. 🎧 Listen now and discover how healing your nervous system could change the way you work and live. Find Dr Griffin at: https://www.drdaniellegriff.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drdaniellegriff/ Aslo on TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn Host contact: https://www.championforestchiro.com/

    Somatic Healing, Boundaries, and Business Growth with Dr. Danielle Griffin
  6. May 29

    The Science of Comfortable Heels | Dr. Steffie Tompson’s Entrepreneur Journey

    What if the problem was never your feet… but the shoes themselves? In this episode of Houston Hustle, Dr. Paige Ward and Dr. Charlie Ward sit down with neuroscientist turned entrepreneur Dr. Steffie Tompson, founder of Steffies Shoes, to unpack the story behind a revolutionary footwear brand changing the way women experience heels. After years of walking Baylor College of Medicine’s massive campus in painful heels, Dr. Steff realized women everywhere were silently accepting discomfort as normal. Instead of settling, she took a bandsaw to a pair of heels in a prosthetics lab, exposed the steel and rigid plastic hidden inside, and asked a game-changing question: Why are women’s shoes designed this way in the first place? What followed was the creation of a footwear company built on neuroscience, biomechanics, and innovation — blending beauty with true comfort. This episode dives deep into: • The hidden cognitive toll of discomfort and “micro stressors” • Entrepreneurship after academia • Learning marketing and e-commerce from scratch • The reality of building a startup as a mom • Why modern business owners must constantly adapt • The journey to getting Steffie's Shoes into Nordstrom • Designing products that genuinely improve people’s lives It’s an inspiring conversation about innovation, resilience, and solving problems the world has normalized for far too long. If you’re an entrepreneur, creator, founder, or someone chasing a vision nobody else fully understands yet — this episode is for you. 🎧 Listen now to hear how one Houston entrepreneur is disrupting an entire industry… one step at a time. Find Dr Steff at: https://steffies.us/ https://www.instagram.com/shopsteffies/ Host contact: https://www.championforestchiro.com/

    The Science of Comfortable Heels | Dr. Steffie Tompson’s Entrepreneur Journey

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to Houston Hustle - The podcast that spotlights the movers, the makers, and the doers shaping the city we love. Each week, we sit down with Houston's top entrepreneurs to talk who they are, how they built it, the principles that drive them, and what success means beyond the highlight reel. This is real hustle. Real Stories. Real Houston.