The Strength Game

Nick O'Brien
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The Strength Game is a weekly podcast dedicated to discussing all things physical culture with the coaches, athletes, iron enthusiasts, and experts deeply imbedded in the strength game on both sides of the profession; as coaches and as competitive athletes. Hosted by Nick O’Brien, each episode we discuss, rant and dive deep into all things related to strength and conditioning, high performance and training lifestyle. Join us in The Strength Game!

  1. #151 - Erik Hernandez

    5D AGO

    #151 - Erik Hernandez

    Erik Hernandez is the Associate Director of Sports Performance for Olympic Sports at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Hernandez began his tenure with the Tar Heels in August 2010 as intern coach with a year break in that stint where he served as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Tulsa in 2011 working with football and basketball, before returning to UNC as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. He was later promoted to his current title as the associate director of sports performance for Olympic sports in 2019 where he is currently responsible for the men’s lacrosse, men’s golf, women’s golf and volleyball teams. Throughout his time at Chapel Hill, Hernandez has work with several other teams including the women’s lacrosse team during their 2016 and 2022 NCAA Championship seasons. Hernandez cut his teeth in coaching in 2009 as a student intern at Loyola University Chicago, in addition to garnering experience as an intern at Arizona State University in 2010 and Niles North High School.  In addition to his time working with collegiate athletes, Hernandez is the Owner of Hernandez Health and Performance where he has devised the Athlete Within Project; an online coaching program designed for former athletes who want to reconnect with their strength, and non-athletes who are ready to discover their untapped potential.  Hernandez is no stranger to competitive athletics himself, as he is a former shot putter on the Loyola University Chicago track and field team. He continues to stay active himself training to be a healthy role model for his family, athletes and clients. Nowadays he typically is lifting 3-4 times a week, running 1-3 times a week and training Jiu Jitsu 1-2 times a week with this daughter.  Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 14m
  2. #150 - Kristoffer Koerper

    12/16/2025

    #150 - Kristoffer Koerper

    Kristoffer Koerper is the founder of Full Strength Father and co-founder of Built Sports Performance. He is the Director of Facility Design at Samson Equipment, where he leads the design and development of high-performance training facilities for athletic programs nationwide. Full Strength Father is a lifestyle and coaching community dedicated to helping driven, high-performing fathers maximize their physical readiness, lead their families with purpose and integrity, and live with strength in every dimension of life. Founded in 2023, Full Strength Father integrates physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines for men who commit to leading themselves and their families well. Before launching Full Strength Father, Koerper co-founded Built Sports Performance in 2021—a strength and conditioning facility delivering professional-level sports performance resources to Las Cruces, New Mexico. His coaching journey started in 2013, in a one-car garage, training athletes and everyday individuals while still in college. Over the last decade, his passion for coaching and community-building has resulted in a unique blend of high-performance training and personal transformation. A former Division I baseball player, Koerper deferred the 2007 MLB Draft to serve a two-year mission for his church. He later returned to baseball, finishing his collegiate career as a first baseman and outfielder at New Mexico State University. Today, his athletic focus is channeled into training like a champion father—strong, intentional, and fully engaged. Kristoffer is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Precision Nutrition Certified Coach (Pn Level 1). Outside the gym, he enjoys outdoor adventures, and building a strong family culture with his wife and three sons. He is passionate about equipping men with the tools to cultivate strength, resilience, and purpose. Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 16m
  3. #149 - Michael Stegemoeller

    12/02/2025

    #149 - Michael Stegemoeller

    Michael Stegemoeller is an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Joining Pitt in spring 2025, Stegemoeller works directly with the Panthers women’s lacrosse, and swimming & diving programs. He previously worked in a similar role at the University of Cincinnati, where he was responsible for training for the women’s lacrosse, swimming and diving, and track and field’s sprint and hurdle groups since summer 2022. Stegemoeller began his coaching career as performance specialist at Michael Johnson Performance from 2017-2019 after starting as an intern. From there he moved to the collegiate ranks first interning at the University of Houston in 2019 followed by serving as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2020-2021. He then moved on to Texas A&M University where from 2021-2022 he was a professional intern in their sports performance department prior to joining the Bearcats at the University of Cincinnati in 2022, where he was quickly promoted form his fellow position to a full-time assistant sports performance coach the same year.  Stegemoeller is active himself in the weight room and trains 5-6x per week while balancing the rigors of the collegiate coaching schedule. He is an avid lifter and enjoys spending time outside when he is not training in the weight room. He has competed in a half marathon and the Deadlift Party at SummerStrong 18 and continues to train as hard as he can for as long as he can. Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 33m
  4. #148 - Andrew Clayton

    11/18/2025

    #148 - Andrew Clayton

    Andrew Clayton is the founder of First Called Strength & Performance. First Called Strength & Performance is an online coaching and personal training service based in Jacksonville, FL. Clayton started First Called Strength and Performance on a mission to offer more than just run-of-the-mill coaching but change people’s lives through his God given gifts and ultimately help people to feel strong in all areas of life. Clayton has been a personal trainer since 2011 and online coach since 2013. Throughout his career he has trained and compete with some of the world’s top powerlifters and strongmen. In addition to his experience as a coach, gym owner and consultant, Clayton is a former professional strongman, as well as strength and endurance athlete. He began competing in strongman in 2009 and grew in the sport and rankings earning his pro card as a professional strongman in both the 105kg and Open Divisions. Clayton boasts many accolades over the course of his competitive career including earning the title of 105kg World’s Strongest Man in 2017 and again in 2022 after a three year hiatus after a major knee injury. He podiumed every show as a Professional 105kg Strongman competing in all major shows. Has held numerous world and national strongman records as young as 19, was the U25 USAW Nationals 105kg+ runner up in 2017, and competed internationally as a strongman in both the Arnold Pro Circuit and Giants Live. If massive feats of strength weren’t enough, Clayton also competes as an endurance athlete where on the endurance side of things, he has run multiple half and full marathons (some less than 24 hours after a professional level strongman show). He has done sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, open water swims, a 62 mile ultramarathon while weighing close to 260 pounds, and broke the 24 hour ski erg record while competing adapted (no use of legs) in 2020.  Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 45m
  5. #147 - Chad Dunn

    11/04/2025

    #147 - Chad Dunn

    Chad Dunn is the Owner of Move Human Performance Center and Physical Therapy in addition to being a sports performance and exercise specialist specializing in catastrophic injury recovery. Based out of Chandler, AZ, Move Human Performance Center and Physical Therapy was founded in 2017 by Chad and his wife, Jackie. With local community ties, their goal was to help establish a local training and physical therapy clinic where everyone from the inured to the abled are able to reach their physical performance goals and make new goals. Move Human Performance Center offers up to date services and programs for physical therapy, sports medicine, and sports performance from athletes to spinal cord patients and everyone in between. Prior to opening the doors at MOVE, Dunn was an exercise specialist at Rehab Plus Physical therapy for over 20 years.  In addition to his coaching and athlete development responsibilities, Dunn is an inspirational speaker and now author, with the recent release of his book, Mind Over Virtually Everything: 10 Codes to Transform Your Life. A book that shares the 10 codes that fueled his own transformation and now shape the culture at his Move Human Performance Center and Physical Therapy, where elite athletes train side by side with individuals learning to walk again. He also has been a youth counselor, mentor and life coach at Rehab Plus since 2008, working with athletes around the local area, keeping kids active and off the streets or in good homes, engaged in sports, and encouraging them to work hard no matter what life throws at them.  A former BMX racer, skateboarder and extreme athlete, Dunn is active in and out of the weight room, making training more than just a workout, but a lifestyle! Chads hobbies include any extreme sport, playing with his English bulldog, watching people succeed, and hanging out with his wife Jackie and their three kids.  Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 12m
  6. #146 - Jeff Kryglik

    10/21/2025

    #146 - Jeff Kryglik

    Jeff Kryglik is a strength coach and personal trainer as well as founder of Deep Blue Training LLC, which offers personal training in person as well as online program, consultation and coaching. His mission is to teach the sport of strongman to the average gymgoer, prospective competitor and to simply make people better through unconventional methods. Kryglik began working as a local television producer, sports writer and reporter for multiple companies in the Maryland area, after earning his degree at Salisbury University. All while performing his main job at night, during the day he continued to stay involved in his own training before beginning to coach individual athletes during the day, and in 2016 got his first official job in the coaching world at FORZE XXIV Training Gym in White Marsh, MD in 2016 before later becoming an assistant coach at NEVERsate Athletics from 2017-2018. He continued to work with clients, athletes and other strongman competitors until stepping out on his own to coach full-time starting Deep Blue Training in 2023.  Kryglik is a former outside linebacker for the Salisbury University football team. Since his time in college competing has concluded, he has traded training for the gridiron with training for strongman. Kryglik has been competing since 2015, having multiple National competition appearances in the middleweight division. He is the 2019 Maryland’s Strongest Man in the 200lb weight class and has competed at the Official Strongman Games in 2018 in the 90kg weight class as well as qualified for the Arnold XPC Deadlift Championships in 2021. When he is not training for an upcoming competition, he is an avid gamer or you can find him watching all sports. Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 43m
  7. #145 - Tommy LaBriola

    10/07/2025

    #145 - Tommy LaBriola

    Tommy LaBriola is an on-site Human Performance Specialist at O2X Human Performance training tactical athletes. Prior to working with O2X Human Performance in late 2024, LaBriola spent five years as a Minor League strength and conditioning coach with the Toronto Blue Jays. Most recently, he served as the head AAA strength coach and previously worked with the High-A team in Vancouver, British Columbia from 2019-2023. Prior to his time in professional baseball, LaBriola completed a graduate assistantship at Salisbury University from 2017-2019. He got his start coaching in the private sector at Parisi Speed School in 2016 and soon after interned as a sports performance coach at his alma mater, Salisbury University in 2017 before being promoted to a graduate assistant position. In addition, he has also held internship positions at the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 as well as Georgetown University in 2019. A former four-year catcher at Salisbury University, LaBriola made the weight room a staple of his training throughout the season. As a member of the Seagull baseball team, LaBriola was the Conference Player of the Year in 2016 with a .413 batting average, hitting 4 home runs and 55 RBIs. He was a three-time Capital Athletic Conference Champion in 2014, 2016 and 2017, made two NCAA Regionals in 2016, and 2017, as well as two NCAA Division III World Series in 2014 and 2015. He continues to train and is active himself, enjoying spending time outdoors, listening to music, and playing the drums when he is not in the weight room.   Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSamson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Sport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 16m
  8. #144 - Ken Nowicki

    09/23/2025

    #144 - Ken Nowicki

    Ken Nowick is the owner and CEO of Cerberus Strength USA, the American brand of the Scottish company of the same name which strives to provide supportive equipment of the highest possible quality to not only high level athletes in strength sports but also the recreational athlete too.  Attaining a master’s degree in chemical and process engineering, Nowicki not only shifted gears out of a career in oil but simultaneously emigrated from Scotland to the USA to begin a career in sports therapy in 2013. He interned at Teamwork Therapy & Sports Performance while attending school for a certificate in massage therapy at the Massage Therapy Institute of Colorado. While at Teamwork Therapy, he worked with an extensive range of patients from general public suffering from back pain, all the way to World’s Strongest Man winners in an attempt to avoid injury and maximize performance. Things shifted again in 2014 when the Cerberus Strength began releasing small batches of products in the USA. Since that time, Nowicki has been at the helm of Cerberus Strength USA and has seen the company continue to grow year upon year and gain large amounts of exposure within the strength community.  In addition to managing the responsibilities of an owner and CEO of the company, Nowicki is a big presence in the strength sport and strongman community. He has been putting out content through Cerberus Strength in the form of educational articles and videos, as well hosting The Iron Edge Podcast.   Nowicki has been involved with strongman and strength sports as a competitor since 2006 and has competed on some of the biggest stages in professional strongman. Over the course of his career he has traveled internationally, representing his home country within the sport, winning multiple titles and finishing on the podium at some of the biggest events in strongman, to include being crowned Scotland’s Strongest Man 4 times, 2011 UK’s Junior Strongest Man and UK’s Strongest Man runner-up, and finishing 7th at Amateur World Championships in 2012 amongst other accolades. He is still an avid lifter and enjoys snowboarding and hiking when he is not training in the weight room.   Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comSamson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Sport KiltUse Code: TSG at SportKilt.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

    1h 30m
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About

The Strength Game is a weekly podcast dedicated to discussing all things physical culture with the coaches, athletes, iron enthusiasts, and experts deeply imbedded in the strength game on both sides of the profession; as coaches and as competitive athletes. Hosted by Nick O’Brien, each episode we discuss, rant and dive deep into all things related to strength and conditioning, high performance and training lifestyle. Join us in The Strength Game!

Information

  • Creator
    Nick O'Brien
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    152
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 The Strength Game
  • Show Website
    The Strength Game

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