2ndLap Podcast

Rob Mattson
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Health & Fitness
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Walking while podcasting. Healthy Living. Gratitude. Lead with Love

  1. Oct 9

    Bite-Sized Chunks: How Jim Malmquist Applies Sales Structure to Life - 2ndLap Podcast with Robbie

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Gramps welcomes Jim Malmquist—a guy he's known for almost 19 years through multiple companies. Jim is now VP of sales in mobile device management, and they dive into what adult friendships actually require: intentionality, effort, and energy.Jim and Robbie worked together at NetMotion back in 2007-ish, and that foundation created a friendship where either one can reach out cold and it feels like they just talked yesterday. That's the goal with adult friendships—they don't maintain themselves.Jim recently got promoted to VP of sales. What he loves most isn't the quota-crushing part—it's the mentoring side. He gets to train young salespeople on how to transact, build relationships, and get things done. Being player-coach was his sweet spot. The spreadsheet-driven, venture-backed side? That frustrated him. Lucky for him, his current company is privately owned by two guys with no outside funding, so the pressure is different—it's about finding the work and getting it done, not hitting 90-day comp plans.He applies sales structure to everything: What's the business issue we're solving? What does success look like? What's the timeframe? Lather, rinse, repeat. Sales teaches you how to structure problems in life, too.Jim's got three boys in the 20s. Grant (26) is in San Diego in sales. His middle son (23) just graduated from San Diego State and moved home. Colin (23) is a junior at Long Beach State. His wife Julie—married almost 30 years—has been torturing him the whole time. They're building an ADU for his mother-in-law (85) in the backyard because she has health issues and they want her close but not in the house.This summer, Jim and his family (minus Grant, who went to Australia instead) took an epic trip to Japan. Tokyo for five days. Then they bullet trained to Nara, did hot springs, a yoga retreat. He free dived for abalone with traditional Japanese women divers—a highlight for him because the abalone season's been closed in Northern California for five years due to population decline.On the health side, Jim gave himself a hard reality check. He had three back surgeries and realized at some point he needed to stop lifting heavy and start stretching. His advice to his younger self: don't ignore that nagging pain. Introduce yoga and stretching early. Pay attention to your body.Jim walks about six miles a day (42 miles a week, taking roughly 90 minutes). He does it alone most days—him and his thoughts. His wife prefers walking separately too. It's their decompression time. They don't walk together 'cause they found they enjoy it more solo. And the dog behaves better.He's got routines: 16:8 intermittent fasting (eats at 2pm), dinner at 6, and a protein shake before bed with fiber and chocolate milk (no sugar, but tastes like dessert). Lights dim at 8:30, phone away at 9. In bed by 10:30, usually asleep by 11. Up naturally around 5:15.On continuous learning: Jim has listened to 258 audiobooks on Audible while walking. Mostly autobiographies. He tells his kids constantly: do something where you're the expert. Be the person people chase. Always be learning. Always be curious.Big goal principle: he shared with his sales team that he'd walked 21,109 miles. "How would you ever do that?" people ask. Same way you hit your quota—bite-sized chunks. One day at a time. Consistency is king.Topics Covered:• Adult friendships and intentionality• VP of sales and loving the mentoring side• Structure in sales and life• Three boys in their 20s• 29-year marriage to Julie• Building an ADU for mother-in-law• Japan trip: Tokyo, Nara, hot springs, free diving• Back surgeries and the pain lesson• Walking 6 miles daily as decompressionSubscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations about friendship, work, family, and the small daily commitments that build a life.A 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  2. Oct 8

    Root Cause Over Symptoms: Laura Tulumbas on Yoga, Reiki, and Health - 2ndLap Podcast with Robbie

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Gramps welcomes Laura Tulumbas—a yoga instructor, reiki healer, and someone he considers family (they share grandchildren, after all).Laura has been teaching yoga for 22-24 years. She started in the NYC restaurant business, lost in the chaos and stress, until yoga became her salve. After 9/11, she went into yoga teacher training and never looked back.From yoga came Ayurveda—the sister science—which teaches the holistic way of "having a body," something the West doesn't really teach. Then came reiki, a form of energy healing that hospitals now recognize helps with recovery and hospital stress. Crystals are tools she uses to sweep residual energy off the body post-treatment.They talk about opening a yoga studio in NYC in 2014. The math is brutal: you'd need to sell an insane number of classes just to pay New York rent. Most yoga studios fail because they're trying to survive on class fees alone. Eventually Laura moved away from NYC to escape the burnout.The conversation shifts to health philosophy. Laura's approach: find the root cause, not just treat symptoms. Western medicine has its place, but if something's out of alignment, you need to dig deeper—diet, exercise, chiropractic, acupuncture, meditation, yoga. Sometimes you need surgery (Laura had a fibroid removed). But pills usually mean more pills, and most people don't want to look at the behavior that created the problem in the first place.Robbie went from 12 prescription medications down to 4—a victory. He now sees a chiropractor as his primary care physician instead of a traditional doctor. They agree: root cause isn't always physical. It can be mental and emotional. Most people resist looking at their behavior because their behavior is what numbs their pain.They end with the power of physical touch: an 8-second hug stimulates oxytocin, the love hormone. But touch needs to come from trust and respect boundaries. For those available to receive it, hugs are a natural high.Laura wants to come back and dig deeper into another conversation.Topics Covered:• Yoga as healing modality• Ayurveda and holistic body knowledge• Reiki and energy healing• Crystals as tools• Opening a yoga studio (economics and burnout)• Root cause vs. symptoms• Western medicine vs. alternative approaches• Behavior change and pain numbing• Chiropractors and chiropractic care• Pills and the pill spiral• Physical touch and oxytocin• Boundaries and trauma• Network chiropracticFollow Laura: @reikiwithlauratulumbas on Instagram | ReikiWithLauraTulumbas.comSubscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations about health, healing, and what actually works.#2ndLap #Laura #Yoga #Reiki #HolisticHealth #RootCause #Wellness #HugAHumanA 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  3. Oct 7

    We're All Kids in Adult Bodies: Finding What Makes You Happy - 2ndLap Podcast with Robbie

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Gramps and Ronnie catch up about travel, sleep, purpose, job searching, and what the government just rebranded AI as.Robbie's closing in on 40,000 tracked miles and still seven and a half months into his job search. Most people fall apart after a month. Ronnie just got back from San Diego, heading to Vegas next. They talk about red-eyes—how Ronnie's military training lets him sleep anywhere, and the trade-off is worth it: getting home early Sunday instead of missing Saturday with his family.Then they dig into what actually makes you happy. Ronnie talks about how "we're all kids in adult bodies." For him, it's tech—it gets him to a place where he can run with cheetahs someday, chase the dreams 8-year-old Ronnie had. For his son, it's monster trucks and race cars. The question: what makes that inner kid happy?Robbie's satisfied where he's at now (where 20-year-old Robbie wanted to be), but now he's asking: what's next? His fear is settling for something that fits the budget, then having something he really wants show up later. Ronnie validates it—everyone deals with this. Job seekers, business owners, people struggling. Being vulnerable and talking about it helps others realize they're not alone.They end with a truth: money is just a tool. Like AI or SI (the government's new term for it at the White House). How do you use it to benefit yourself? Figure out what you gotta do today. Show up. Keep moving.Topics Covered:• 40,000 miles and still tracking• Job searching at 7.5 months• Red-eye flights and military sleep training• What makes the inner kid happy• Tech, purpose, and passion• Setting paths for your kids• Building a company to hire people you believe in• SI vs. AI announcement• Job search fear and settling• Vulnerability and connection• You're not the only one struggling• Money as a tool, not the answerSubscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations that get real and remind you you're not alone.#2ndLap #Ronnie #Purpose #JobSearch #Vulnerability #YoureNotAlone #FindingHappinessA 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  4. Oct 5

    Our Mental State of Mind: Job Hunting, Rejection, and the Knife in Your Back

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Gramps sits down with Ronnie—producer, friend, and the person who gets it—for what is essentially a therapy session about the brutal reality of job hunting in 2026, rejection, and what it does to your mental state.Robbie opens up about something he's been wrestling with: the job search process has become exhausting. What used to be a week from application to offer is now weeks between interview one and interview two. Systems require reformatting resumes. Companies change the rules mid-game. Opportunities fall through at the last minute. It's relentless.He shares a story about a perfect opportunity—a Web3 company that would let him bring his Web2 sales and account management experience into a new space. The company had created an orb: you look into it, it scans your eye, verifies you're human (not a bot), and drops a token. In an AI world, proving humanity matters. Robbie got excited. He saw his future self in that role.Then came the conversation with the hiring manager. Twenty minutes in, they asked him to move to San Francisco. He showed up with data—Texas now has more headquarters than California. Everybody's moving to Texas. He could cover the entire country from Dallas, get anywhere in two and a half hours. He knows people there. The ask made no sense. It was a non-starter. And it broke his heart.But this isn't just about one job. It's about the pattern of speed bumps, the weight of rejection, and how it starts to feel personal even when Robbie knows intellectually it's not.Ronnie meets him there. He had a similar experience last summer selling his house—everything piling on at once. The basement flooded. Problem after problem. Like the universe was piling on. His business partner's wife. A friend who's been searching for years. The market is rough right now, and it's changing. Nobody's dealing with this alone.Ronnie talks about what actually gets killed when you get rejected from a role: it's not just the job. It's the vision. The future version of yourself you already started imagining in that place, solving problems, being part of that story. When that vision is taken away—when it's not your decision—that's what stings.They dig into the difference between chasing a dream and chasing a paycheck. There's an Up in the Air reference: "How much did they pay you to give away your dream?" It cuts. Because in the moment, you're seeing security. You're seeing your mortgage is due. You need groceries. But the dream part—that got smaller.By the end, there's relief. Gratitude. The thing about vulnerability is that you realize you're not the only one. Ronnie's right—plenty of people are dealing with this. The job market is brutal. The system is broken. But knowing you're not alone changes something. It doesn't fix it, but it helps.They end with book recommendations (Dungeon Crawler Carl, book 4) and a reminder to post resources on Instagram and X for people looking for guidance.Topics Covered:• How job hunting has changed (speed, processes, timelines)• Resume formatting and system requirements• Vision and seeing yourself in a future role• When rejection breaks the vision• Job search tied to self-worth• Emotional vs. intellectual understanding• Being a "domesticated wild animal"• Others going through the same thing• The market is rough and changing• Side hustles and small business ownership• Survival and strategy• Vulnerability and connection• You're not the only oneThis episode is for anyone job hunting, anyone who's been rejected, anyone whose identity got tangled up with their career, and anyone who needs to hear they're not alone in this.Subscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for raw, real conversations about what it actually takes to navigate modern life.#2ndLapA 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  5. Sep 16

    Vaguely Specific with Matt: When Conversation Becomes Healing - 2ndLap Podcast with Robbie

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Matt Endsley returns for his third visit—and this time Robbie puts him on the spot: interview for the co-host position. But what unfolds is something deeper: a therapy session disguised as a conversation.Matt walks in carrying a heavy week. His mother just turned 79 and had a total hip replacement on her birthday—the latest in a family tradition of major surgeries timed to birthdays. While recovering at his parents' house, Matt's other sister landed in the hospital facing a potential kidney or liver transplant. It turns out there's a hereditary liver cyst issue running through the family, and Matt is the only one who hasn't investigated. He's chosen ignorance as his coping mechanism.On top of family crisis, Matt endured travel hell. Not one delayed flight—three different planes in one night, each cancelled before takeoff. He missed his dinner, grabbed McDonald's instead, and by the time he could breathe, he'd been on three aircraft that never left the ground. The airline industry's incompetence becomes a running theme: false promises of refunds, no accountability, weather delays that leave passengers defenseless.But before diving into all that, Robbie and Matt establish what they created together: Vaguely Specific Conversations. It's the concept behind how they approach dialogue—getting specific without oversharing, exploring topics with precision. Matt is being considered as co-host potential, and Robbie believes Matt could take the show to a new level.They also dive into ADHD communication styles. Both men have ADHD. Both interrupt—not to be rude, but because their brains process information faster than most people speak. It's a delicate balance: wanting to contribute without cutting people off, needing to be heard while letting others finish. Matt talks about the brain chemistry behind it, the guilt that comes with interrupting, and the challenge of finding that middle ground.Lighter moments surface: they debate "catty-corner" vs. "kitty-corner" for about 7 minutes (it's both, actually). Matt shares the bizarre story of burying a dead crow on his property at his wife's insistence—she loves all animals, feeds them, researches crow funerals (apparently crows mourn their dead). The hole-digging logistics, the box that won't fit, the stone needed to prevent other animals from unearthing it—it's the kind of absurd domestic detail that makes real conversation.By the end, Matt acknowledges this was cathartic. Family crisis, travel frustration, professional uncertainty—he needed to talk it out with someone who gets it. Robbie jokes about sending him a therapy bill, but the reality is: sometimes the best conversations happen when you're dealing with real stuff and someone actually listens.Topics Covered:• Co-host interview and Vaguely Specific Conversations• Mother's hip replacement surgery at 79• Sister's potential organ transplant• Hereditary liver cysts running through the family• Choosing ignorance over medical investigation• Travel nightmare: three cancelled flights in one night• Airline industry frustration and false promises• ADHD communication styles and interrupting• Processing speed and brain chemistry• Catty-corner vs. kitty-corner (the debate nobody asked for)• Burying a dead crow on the property• Crow funerals and mourning behavior• The therapeutic power of real conversation• Family dynamics and humbling experiencesThis is Matt Endsley's third visit. If you've missed the previous conversations, search for "Matt Endsley" or "the guy with the beard" and you'll find them.Subscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations that go deep, stay real, and sometimes solve nothing but help everything.#2ndLap #MattEndsley #VaguelySpecific #Family #Travel #ADHD #RealTalk #ConversationA 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  6. Sep 15

    Brian Edwardo - The AI Arms Race: What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know - 2ndLap Podcast

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Brian returns to break down AI—but not the sanitized version you hear everywhere. This is the real scope of AI's impact: medical, military, business, and the government's secret involvement in controlling it.Robbie opens with a realization from guests: AI isn't just a new technology coming in—it's touching everything. The scope is massive. That's why he brought Brian back: to help older generations understand what's about to hit them and how to prepare.Brian starts with the practical: Shadow AI. Walking into customer meetings, he sees employees using unauthorized AI tools, feeding company data into random platforms, creating security holes nobody knows about. From a compliance angle (HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR), this is a nightmare. But from a functional angle, it's about making life better, faster, more efficient.Then Brian goes deeper. He talks about AI's reach across sectors most people don't consider: medical AI discovering medications in months that would've taken decades. That's not hype—that's transformation. But the military sector? That's where things get serious.He drops a bomb: There's an ongoing AI arms race between the US, China, and Iran. When Claude released Fable 5 and broke all capability benchmarks, the government stepped in and told Anthropic to pull it back. The world didn't know about it, but it happened. And it's not just Claude—Grok, ChatGPT, and others did the same thing.Here's the bigger revelation: No AI company can release a new model without federal government approval first. It's not publicized, but it's happening now. The government is in the workflow, doing quality assurance to ensure enemies don't get access to cutting-edge models. It's purely geopolitical and strategic.Brian also breaks down how the software industry threw decades of rules out the window when AI arrived. Enterprise management practices disappeared overnight. Someone had to step in—and that someone was the government.But it's not all doom. Brian pivots to opportunity. He talks about practical AI tools: ChatGPT and Claude as mainstays. Creating Claude Skills and ChatGPT GPTs (agents) that handle specific tasks. Using Whisper for voice-to-text that's actually good. Building Jarvis-like voice interfaces that do what you tell them.The real game-changer: no-code development is mainstream now. You can build your own CRM, your own Salesforce, your own tools. High-level developers are telling people to do it. The playing field just leveled—small and medium businesses now have access to tools that enterprises used to pay hundreds of millions for.He talks about Viture glasses—augmented reality that creates virtual screens so you don't need monitors. It's stepping toward Minority Report-style interaction where you move things with your hands instead of using a keyboard and mouse.As for the future concerns: unemployment. If 20-40 million people become unemployable because of AI, what happens to the economy? Universal Basic Income gets brought up. But Brian isn't doom and gloom—humans always adapt. We figured out fire. We'll figure this out too.At the end, Brian reflects on working with his wife in the startup. They drive each other crazy, but their opposite personalities make them move forward. You can't do this alone.Topics Covered:• AI's massive scope touching everything• Shadow AI and unauthorized tools in business• Compliance issues: HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR• AI applications: medical, military, business, creativity• The US-China-Iran AI arms race• Claude Fable 5 and government interventionResource Mentioned:AI Daily Brief Podcast (daily updates on AI developments)Subscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations that dig past the hype into what's actually happening with technology.#2ndLap #Brian #AI #ArmRace #Military #Business #FutureOfWork #NoCode #WhisperA 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  7. Sep 14

    Ronnie West - From Boot Camp to Entrepreneur: The Military Mindset - 2ndLap Podcast with Robbie

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Gramps brings on Ronnie—producer, friend, and fellow veteran—to talk about the military. They didn't serve the same branch. They did experience the same culture. And they have stories.They start at MEPS—Military Entrance Processing Station. Both remember the standing. Lots of standing. In line, against walls, hallways. The "hurry up and wait" mentality beaten into you from day one. You're quiet. You're looking at the back of someone's head for hours. You're not becoming best friends. You're being prepared.Ronnie joined the Army in fall 2000. Robbie was Navy fighter jet tech. They both had one advantage over most: their parents had military backgrounds. They knew what was coming. A lot of people didn't. Those people showed up thinking it was like a fitness bootcamp where you graduate lean and mean. They learned different.The ASVAB test determines your MOS—Military Occupational Specialty. Your job. Ronnie didn't go in targeting anything specific. He took the test. He got a score. The military said, "Here's what you can do." He went with it. That open-mindedness, he says, is key. You either accept the assignment and figure it out, or you break.What most people don't expect: the yelling. The verbally abusing. The physical breaking down. The bad food. The running. The throwing up. The constant state of not knowing what's happening next. If you can handle being yelled at without breaking emotionally, if you can run, if you can stay in a plank position for three minutes—you can survive. A lot of people can't.Robbie and Ronnie talk about the people who come in unprepared. Their rug gets pulled out from under them. The gap between expectation and reality is massive. Robbie references John Candy in Stripes—that's not what happens.But here's where it gets interesting: both spent time deployed. Ronnie went to Iraq. Robbie lived in Alaska for years (yes, not an igloo). They're talking about what happens when you get out of your parents' shadow, your spouse's shadow, and go do your own thing. That independence is the real teacher.They dig into what military service actually does to you. It's not just about discipline or fitness. It's about being forced to do things you didn't think you could do. It's about working with people from across the country who become your family. It's about learning that you can adapt to anything.That's why so many veterans become entrepreneurs. The military teaches you: figure it out, make it happen, keep moving. There's no option to quit. You problem-solve under pressure. That mindset translates directly to building businesses.Robbie brings up a question: should everyone go through some form of service—military, Peace Corps, something that exposes you to the world? Ronnie pushes back. Not military necessarily. But traveling. Getting out of your hometown. Seeing how the world actually works. Going to a movie by yourself. That discomfort, that forced independence—that's what creates growth.The conversation becomes about personal development. Don't know what you don't know. Go experience different things. Try things that make you uncomfortable. That first step, that first jump—that's the hardest part. But once you take it, you realize it wasn't as bad as you thought, and you do it again.They end with shout-outs to the bases: Fort Jackson, Fort Bragg, Boot Camp San Diego, Millington Tennessee, Camp Williams Utah. And the final story: brown shoes versus black shoes in the Navy. Brown shoes = air side. Black shoes = ship side. Small details that separate cultures within the same branch.Topics Covered:• Military service: Army vs. Navy experience• Boot camp reality vs. expectations• The "hurry up and wait" mentality• Physical and emotional preparationSubscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations about growth, challenge, and what it takes to actually become someone.A 2026 @GailForceStudios production

  8. Sep 14

    Chris Hart's Truth: A Buyer Isn't Looking to Buy Themselves a Job - 2ndLap Podcast with Robbie

    In this episode of 2ndLap with Robbie, Gramps welcomes Chris Hart—a longtime friend and first-time podcast guest. The two dive into business, friendship, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts beyond yourself.Robbie opens by reinforcing the mission of 2ndLap: "Our mission is to bring you insightful and necessary guests that bring lessons, hacks, and how to optimize our lives for the desired outcome." Chris embodies that mission perfectly.They start with a technical hiccup—a real-world reminder that connection matters more than perfection. It gets sorted quickly, and the conversation flows.Chris and Robbie are both former sales guys in technology. Both recently laid off. But instead of treating layoffs as endings, Chris saw it as an opening. He's building a business consulting firm—helping business owners understand something most of them ignore: your business needs to survive without you.That's the core insight. Chris talks about a truth that terrifies most entrepreneurs: "A buyer isn't looking to buy themselves a job." If your business only works because you're in it every day, it has no value to anyone else. The best businesses are the ones you can step away from. That's what Chris teaches.Robbie asks Chris a pointed question: "Are you helping create culture?" Chris's answer is solid—he talks about the downstream impact, about how building better businesses creates better places to work, which creates better people, which ripples out. It's not abstract; it's concrete.The #1 goal, according to Chris, is always the same: provide for the end customer. Everything else—profit margins, efficiency metrics, growth targets—serves that. Lose sight of the customer, and you've lost the plot.Chris brings deep institutional knowledge. He spent years at IBM and Microsoft—watching those giants grow, learning what works at scale, understanding the difference between good and great. That experience now informs how he helps other businesses think about sustainability and growth.There's a fun thread throughout: Chris and Robbie went to high school together. That's where the 23-year friendship began. And Robbie brings up Lance Armstrong—Chris knew him back then too. It's the kind of detail that grounds the conversation; these aren't strangers, they're men who've watched each other's lives unfold.Now Chris is growing his business with his son. He talks about how rewarding it is to build alongside family, to have your kid invested in your vision. It's not just business; it's legacy.Robbie and Chris are entering what they call the "Jordan Year"—23 years of friendship. It's a milestone that speaks to consistency, trust, and the kind of friendship that actually matters.Chris is a first-time podcaster, and he kills it. No nerves. No awkwardness. Just real conversation between two people who know each other and aren't afraid to dig into hard truths about business, friendship, and what success actually looks like.Topics Covered:• 2ndLap mission statement and purpose• Technical difficulties (and rolling with them)• Sales backgrounds and recent layoffs• Building a business consulting firm• Why your business must survive without you• "A buyer isn't looking to buy themselves a job"• Creating culture through better business• End customer focus as priority #1• IBM and Microsoft experience and lessons• High school friendship and Lance Armstrong connection• Building a business with your son• 23-year friendship milestone• What success actually means• Sustainability over growth-at-all-costsFollow Chris Hart and learn more about his business consulting work.Subscribe to 2ndLap with Robbie for conversations with people who've built something real and know how to talk about it.#2ndLap #ChrisHart #BusinessConsulting #Entrepreneurship #Sales #FamilyBusiness #Building #SustainabilityA 2026  @GailForceStudios  production

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About

Walking while podcasting. Healthy Living. Gratitude. Lead with Love

Information

  • Creator
    Rob Mattson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Rob Mattson
  • Show Website
    2ndLap Podcast