The Relentless Protocol

Brad Clark
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The Relentless Protocol is a weekly show about becoming the person your circumstances demand, even before you feel ready. Hosted by Brad Clark, founder of Apex Apparel Co, each episode blends raw personal storytelling with real-time entrepreneurship: building discipline, not waiting on motivation, and earning the next day, one decision at a time. Some weeks it is a personal story broken into a principle you can use. Other weeks it is an unscripted look at building Apex Apparel Co, Combat and Chaos, and Last Ride Co in public. All The Way. No Matter What. Earn Every Day.

Episodes

  1. Oct 14

    Episode 007 - Own the Day

    If someone watched only your first hour today, what would they think you're building?Module Four takes the one responsible move from Episode 6 and turns it into a daily rhythm. Brad gets honest about the chaotic, routine-less mornings after his divorce — forgetting things, rushing, and carrying that chaos into the rest of the day — and how Aubrey Marcus's Own the Day, Own Your Life changed the way he looked at the first link in the chain. Then he walks through his real morning, room by room: mineral water, a made bed, a truck loaded the night before, handshakes with his girls, and a gratitude-and-prayer drive before a 911 shift. He connects it back to the Discipline Equation (habits shrink the Comfort denominator), Stephen Covey's first things first, and Admiral William McRaven's make-your-bed idea — you can't control the middle of your day, but you can own the start and the end. Then: the First-Hour Protocol — prep the night before, hydrate first, one task done, people before inbox, and the gratitude drive.Timestamps0:00 Hook: your first hour1:15 Before: mornings with no routine4:39 Why the first hour matters6:30 Brad's shift-day morning8:41 The gratitude drive and prayer10:01 Off days: Harper, cold calls, the workout11:04 Not handed on a silver platter11:26 Restarts are won in ordinary mornings11:43 Idea to routine to habit to default OS13:37 The Discipline Equation and the Comfort denominator15:08 First things first (Stephen Covey)16:05 Make your bed: own the start and the end (Adm. William McRaven)17:38 When you fall off19:53 The First-Hour Protocol: five moves28:15 Your assignment29:00 CloseDaily Protocol (this episode's homework)Tonight, take ten minutes and set tomorrow up — clothes, bag, truck, food. Tomorrow morning, run all five moves, even if it's clumsy: hydrate first, finish one task, connect with your people before your inbox, and on the drive name three wins from yesterday, pray, and set three targets for today.Key lines"Restarts are won in ordinary mornings.""You cannot dictate the middle of your day.""Bookend your day. Own the edges.""The autopilot comes after the effort, not before it."Mentioned in this episodeAubrey Marcus, Own the Day, Own Your Life (https://www.aubreymarcus.com/pages/own-the-day) · Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (https://www.franklincovey.com/books/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people/) · Adm. William H. McRaven, Make Your Bed (https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/admiral-william-h-mcraven/make-your-bed/9781455570232/)The Relentless Protocol is hosted by Brad Clark, founder of Apex Apparel Co. (https://apexyourlife.com)

  2. Sep 30

    Episode 006 - The Fear Of Starting Over

    Episode 006: The Fear of Starting OverThe Relentless Protocol | Show notes v2 | September 24, 2026 Episode descriptionYou don't owe the rest of your life to a decision you made years ago. But starting over can feel like putting everything you've already built on trial. In Episode 6 of The Relentless Protocol, Brad Clark returns to the experience of stepping back from Lieutenant rank while remaining an active 911 medic. The focus is not just identity after a role changes, but the fear that makes changing it so difficult: the years invested, the people affected, and the uncertainty that can remain after a necessary decision. This episode connects identity and Life's Task to a responsible next move. Brad explores how to carry experience forward, distinguish practical risks from the fear of judgment, and begin a new chapter without pretending that income, family, and other commitments disappear. The episode ends with the Carry-Forward Reset: fifteen minutes, one page, and one small, low-stakes action. The goal is not to become fearless before starting; it is to leave evidence that you faced one part of the change. The Daily ProtocolGive yourself fifteen minutes and one page. This is a practical first step, not an instruction to quit a job, end a relationship, or make a major financial commitment. Foundations & InfluencesStephen R. Covey, Be Proactive: Direct effort toward what can be acted on or influenced without pretending every outcome is controllable (FranklinCovey, Habit 1). Our application is to separate an uncertain outcome from the preparation available today.Stephen R. Covey, Begin With the End in Mind: Clarify meaningful outcomes before organizing a plan around them (FranklinCovey, The 7 Habits). Our application is to identify what the new chapter should protect, not only what it should escape.Robert Greene, Mastery: Graham Mann's secondary book notes describe the Life's Task as a path that can turn and apprenticeship as observation, skill acquisition, and experimentation (Mastery notes). This episode uses paraphrases, not verified verbatim book quotations, to explore direction without attachment to one fixed position.Mark Manson, Personal Values: Actions and priorities reveal values, and changing values can unsettle a person's sense of identity (Personal Values). Our application is to examine when avoiding disapproval starts outweighing what we say matters.Aubrey Marcus, Own the Day: Choices within one day influence those that follow (Aubrey Marcus's book page). Our application is to reduce an overwhelming restart to one day's useful action, not to present our exercise as Marcus's method.

  3. Sep 25

    Episode 005 - Direction

    You did the identity work. You know your water. So why are you still standing still? Module Two answers the question Module One left open: now that you know who you are, where do you point it? Brad breaks down Robert Greene's concept of the Life's Task — the early, traceable inclination toward a specific kind of contribution that's buried but never gone. He kills three myths (the lightning-bolt calling, the "one shape forever" trap, and "it's too late"), names the real trap holding most people back — waiting for certainty instead of testing through small, real bets — and gets honest about the uncertain process that became Apex Apparel Co. Then: a four-step framework — audit the inclination, name the direction (not the destination), test with small bets, commit once the signal repeats. Timestamps0:00 Cold open2:16 The Life's Task (Robert Greene)6:13 Myth 1: the lightning-bolt calling8:07 Myth 2: it's not one shape forever8:52 Myth 3: "it's too late"10:28 The real trap: waiting for certainty14:58 Brad's story: leaving the fire service17:21 The first bet — a handful of shirts, no loan19:07 The four-step framework28:21 Daily Protocol: run the audit today Daily Protocol (this episode's homework)Go back through your history — before anyone was paying or grading you — and write down every real inclination you find. Do the same for what you do for free as an adult. The overlap is your signal. Then find one small, real, reversible bet you can place against it this week. Key lines"Direction doesn't get handed to you by thinking harder. It gets generated by acting and then paying attention to the feedback that action gives you back.""Don't confuse a broken container for a broken signal.""The real bet was always smaller than the fear made it look." Mentioned in this episodeMastery by Robert Greene · Mark Manson on values · Aubrey Marcus, Own the Day, Own Your Life The Relentless Protocol is hosted by Brad Clark, founder of Apex Apparel Co.

  4. Jul 22

    Episode 004 - Identity

    Episode 4: Identity — The Relentless Protocol, Module One Episode Description Three episodes in, and it's time to be honest about what this show is actually for. The Relentless Protocol was never meant to just be a build log for Apex Apparel Co — it's a system, a protocol, designed to move you out of the pit (however deep and dark it is for you) and toward your next peak (whatever that looks like for you). Starting with this episode, Brad hands over the actual framework, module by module. Module One: Identity. Identity isn't who you are — it's who you are NOT. Most people build their sense of self out of borrowed material: the job, the relationship, the money, the title. All of it can disappear in a single afternoon. Brad breaks down the water metaphor (always changing shape, never changing what it actually is), shares a gut-check conversation with a firefighter Lieutenant friend who admitted he doesn't know who he is beyond the uniform — and then gets fully honest about his own version of it: his years as a Lieutenant Fire/Medic, why he tolerated a toxic environment far longer than he should have, the months he spent lost after finally walking away, and how that lost stretch is exactly where the water analogy was born. Then he hands you the four-step framework for finding your own water and protecting it while still going all-in on your roles: the strip test, the values audit, the moral compass check, and how to commit fully without losing yourself in the process. Daily Protocol (This Episode's Homework) Run the strip test right now. Take away your job title, your relationship status, the money, the car, the house — every possession. On paper, write down who is still standing when it's all gone. If all you can come up with is a list of roles, that's a real starting point, not a failure. Start your values audit today and keep adding to it over the next week. Key Lines "Identity is not who you are. Identity is who you are not.""When your identity is fused to a role, you will put up with almost anything to keep from having to find out who you are without it.""It felt like losing myself. When your identity is fused to a role, walking away doesn't feel like changing jobs — it feels like erasing yourself.""I still fall into the identity trap sometimes. The difference is now I can step back and reset, because I finally know who the hell I am without the external influences and the pressure.""Identity has to be defined BEFORE the crisis, not during it. You do not get to build a raft while you're already drowning."Mantras Referenced "Your past doesn't define you. What you build after it does.""All the way. No matter what." What's Next Module Two of The Relentless Protocol builds on this foundation — once you know who you are underneath the roles, the next question is what you do with that. Coming soon.   The Relentless Protocol is hosted by Brad Clark, founder of Apex Apparel Co.

  5. Jul 15

    Episode 003 - The Discipline Equation

    Episode 003: The Discipline Equation The Relentless Protocol — with Brad ClarkRuntime: 32:12 EpisodeSummary Discipline isn't a personality trait — it's a math problem. In this episode, Brad breaks down his own formula for what actually makes discipline work: Discipline = Hunger × Structure × Belief ÷ Comfort. Built from four frameworks he's leaned on for years (Eric Thomas on hunger, Jim Rohn on structure, Les Brown on belief, Jordan Peterson on comfort), this episode walks through what each variable actually means, runs it live against a real, currentstruggle at Apex Apparel Co, and closes with the actual daily systems Brad uses to keep all four variables in check — no highlight reel, just the boring stuffthat works. Timestamps ·      0:00 — Cold open: the DisciplineEquation stated in full ·      1:32 — Where this equationactually came from (and why it's a formula, not a list) ·      2:52 — Part 1 begins: breakingdown the four variables ·      3:27 — Hunger: thenon-negotiable want, and why you can't manufacture it from a book ·      5:41 — Structure: the systemthat doesn't ask how you feel ·      7:37 — Belief: refusing theceiling other people hand you (and the difference between belief and denial) ·      9:29 — Comfort: the dragcoefficient on everything else in the equation ·      11:12 — Why it's division, notaddition — the core insight of the whole framework ·      12:11 — Part 2 begins: a real,current Apex Apparel Co build-log update ·      13:54 — Running today's actualstruggles (low conversion, zero reviews) through the equation ·      20:12 — Part 3 begins: the realdaily systems behind each variable ·      22:36 — How Brad handles doubt —from other people, and from himself at 11pm ·      26:01 — The comfort traps thatcome with running an apparel brand (and how to catch them) ·      29:50 — Daily Protocol: find yourweakest variable, and the closing challenge Key Quotes "Discipline isn't one more ingredient stacked on top. It'swhat's left after you've actively subtracted the path of leastresistance." "Denial says 'there's no problem here.' Belief says 'there'sa real problem here, and I still think I can solve it.'" "Comfort rarely announces itself as comfort. It almost alwaysshows up wearing some other name — caution, thoroughness, being responsible,needing more information first." "Nobody sees the five a.m.'s." This Week'sDaily Protocol Identify your weakestvariable right now — Hunger, Structure, Belief, or Comfort — and take oneconcrete action against it today: ·      Weak Hunger? Find the specific, concretereason you started — not the polished interview version. ·      Weak Structure? Build one small, repeatablesystem today, even a five-minute one. ·      Weak Belief? Name the person or voicethat handed you a ceiling, and consciously reject their math. ·      Weak Comfort? Choose the harder versionof exactly one thing today. About ApexApparel Co Apex Apparel Co is a ruggedmotivational apparel brand built across three lines — Apex Core, Combat andChaos, and Last Ride Co — each tied to a different part of Brad's life as amedic, a dad, and a founder. Learn more at apexyourlife.com. Follow The Relentless Protocol New episodes drop weekly. Ifthis one hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear it. All the way. No matter what.

  6. Jul 8

    Episode 002 - Building Apex Apparel Co From Zero

    Show: The Relentless ProtocolHost: Brad ClarkLength: ~18:50 Last week you heard why this show exists. This week, Brad takes you inside how Apex Apparel Co actually got built — the real version, mistakes included. From a mindset coach nudging him to finally act on his purpose at 43 years old, to a childhood truck accident that reshaped his entire sense of identity and worth, to a first product drop that came out "complete trash," this is the honest build log of a brand that almost didn't survive its first four months. Brad breaks down the DTG mistake that nearly ended everything, the December 2023 relaunch that turned it around, and where Apex Apparel Co's three lines — Apex Core, Combat and Chaos, and Last Ride Co — stand today at 38 products strong. 00:00 — Intro: the how behind Apex Apparel Co 01:00 — May 2023, age 43: working with mindset coach Megan Kronen 03:00 — The deeper why: self-worth from within, not your past 04:00 — Hit by a truck at age 9: the accident, turning 10 in traction 06:30 — Coming home changed: weight gain, bullying, Mrs. Husby, Dr. Willard's PVC pipe fix 09:30 — The relentless spirit nobody could see yet 11:00 — The mission behind the brand 12:00 — The first product: three shirts and a hat, and why they turned out horrible 13:15 — The DTG mistake and the moment he wanted to quit 14:15 — The relaunch: heat press, DTF printing, four tightened designs 15:00 — December 2023: the comeback and The Wanderer design 15:45 — Where Apex Apparel Co stands today: three lines explained Apex Core — Earn Every Day Combat and Chaos — the fight for a better tomorrow Last Ride Co — All The Way. No Matter What. 17:30 — 38 products, and the real lesson behind the growth 18:00 — The Daily Protocol: stop cutting corners, just for today 18:30 — Close and next week's tease: The Discipline Equation Earn Every Day All The Way. No Matter What. The past doesn't define you. What you build after it does. If you're in your own "three shirts and a hat" phase right now — building anything from zero — send this episode to one person who needs to hear that the ugly first version isn't the end of the story. https://apexyourlife.com

  7. Jul 1

    Episode 001: Twelve Years: Why I Started The Relentless Protocol

    Before Apex Apparel Co. was a brand, before "All The Way. No Matter What." was a mantra printed on a hoodie, it was a decision made in a superior courtroom by a man who knew exactly what his two little girls deserved — stability, and someone they could always depend on, no matter what. In this first episode of The Relentless Protocol, Brad Clark takes you back to 2012 and 2013, when his marriage ended, and walks through the decision to fight for sole custody of his daughters — then just one and three and a half years old — and the twelve-plus years of showing up since. This is the origin story behind the brand, the mantras, and the show itself. In this episode: Why the story starts with a decision, not a dramatic day Fighting for sole custody in superior court The decision point: becoming relentless — in the fight for his girls, his goals, his discipline, and his mindset Learning it all with no mom to call for advice, after losing her to cancer at 18 — because his girls depended on him figuring it out Becoming a firefighter again in 2018, earning his Lieutenant rank, and becoming a medic Losing the family business in 2015 and his father in 2021 — and carrying his parents' 1987 mindset forward for his own daughters Finishing his degree, earning his real estate license, and walking away from toxic leadership in 2024 Why Apex Apparel Co. exists — and why it now has three lines: Apex Core, Combat and Chaos, and Last Ride Co This week's Daily Protocol: an action step you can do today 00:00 — The number that matters more than any resume line 01:00 — 2012–2013: the marriage that ended 02:00 — Introducing the family — including his older daughter from a previous marriage 03:30 — Deciding to fight for sole custody in superior court 05:00 — His daughters were one and three and a half years old 06:30 — Becoming relentless: the real meaning behind the show's name 09:00 — The decision point: "All The Way. No Matter What." 11:00 — Learning it all with no mom to call for advice 13:00 — 2014: sole custody won 14:30 — What came after: firefighter, Lieutenant, medic 16:30 — Losing the family business (2015) and his father (2021) 19:00 — Degree, real estate license, and walking away from toxic leadership in Feb 2024 21:30 — Why Apex Apparel Co. exists — and its three lines 24:00 — What The Relentless Protocol actually is 25:30 — This week's Daily Protocol 26:30 — Close + next week's preview "All The Way. No Matter What." "There are no handouts, just hard work." "Earn every day." "Your past doesn't define you. What you build after it does." Identify the one person in your life who is depending on you to figure something out, even if you don't feel ready yet. Decide that no matter what, you're going to figure it out for them — or for yourself. Find someone to be brave for. Naming that is the decision point. Episode 2: How Apex Apparel Co. actually got built from zero — the real version, mistakes included. Share this episode with one person who needs to hear that the past doesn't get the final word. Follow/subscribe to catch Episode 2. Visit apexyourlife.com to see the brand this story built. Hosted by Brad Clark. Produced for The Relentless Protocol. Key Timestamps (approximate — adjust once final render length is confirmed)Mantras ReferencedThis Week's Daily Protocol (Action Step)Next Episode PreviewCalls to ActionCredits

  • 7 Episodes

About

The Relentless Protocol is a weekly show about becoming the person your circumstances demand, even before you feel ready. Hosted by Brad Clark, founder of Apex Apparel Co, each episode blends raw personal storytelling with real-time entrepreneurship: building discipline, not waiting on motivation, and earning the next day, one decision at a time. Some weeks it is a personal story broken into a principle you can use. Other weeks it is an unscripted look at building Apex Apparel Co, Combat and Chaos, and Last Ride Co in public. All The Way. No Matter What. Earn Every Day.

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