Links

- Codecrafters (partner): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Isaac on Instagram: https://instagram.com/isaac11890

- Contact: https://tej.as

Summary

Sitting 8+ hours a day is destroying your biomechanics. Here is how to engineer your way back to health.

In this episode of ConTejas Code, I sit down with professional footballer and CrossFit coach Isaac Akinsete to reverse the physical damage of the developer lifestyle. We dive deep into the anatomy of "tech neck," why stretching isn't enough, and how to trigger the EPOC "afterburn" effect to burn fat while sitting. Whether you have a full gym or zero equipment, Isaac outlines the exact protocols to maximize longevity, fix tight hip flexors, and optimize mental and spiritual health.

In this episode, we cover:

- The Desk Worker Protocol: A complete zero-equipment circuit routine for hypertrophy and cardio.

- Mobility vs. Stretching: Why static stretching won't fix your posture.

- RPE Explained: How to train for fat loss vs. strength without burnout.

- CrossFit vs. Gym: Which is better for the average coder?

- Mind & Spirit: The role of positive self-talk and faith in elite performance.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:04:22 Isaac Akinsete

00:09:10 Mythbusting: Does lifting weights stunt growth in kids?

00:11:52 Am I too old to start working out?

00:14:15 How to find the right workout intensity (RPE Scale)

00:20:55 What sitting for 8+ hours actually does to your body

00:26:08 Mobility vs. Stretching: Why stretching isn't enough

00:30:12 How to fix "Tech Neck" and Hunchback posture

00:42:50 Can you out-exercise a sedentary job?

00:47:11 Do under-desk treadmills and walking pads work?

00:53:36 Designing a workout routine for desk workers

00:55:36 The "Zero Equipment" Home & Hotel Workout

01:04:15 High Intensity Circuit Training & The EPOC Effect

01:11:17 Traditional Gym vs. CrossFit

01:16:05 Rapid Fire Questions

01:22:25 Faith & Fitness: Treating your body like a temple

01:29:53 The psychology of self-talk

01:34:50 Outro

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- Codecrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Become a guest on the podcast: https://forms.gle/wMqBmVhuzL46Ha3P7

- ZurichJS Discount: https://conf.zurichjs.com?utm_source=contejas&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=zurichjs-conf-2026

- Faris on X: https://x.com/farisaziz12

- Faris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farisaziz12/

- ZurichJS: https://zurichjs.com

- SmallPDF: https://smallpdf.com

What does it take to become an Engineering Manager at 21? How do you rebuild your identity when a chronic illness takes away your physical strength? In this episode of ConTejas Code, I sit down with Faris Aziz, a Staff Engineer at Smallpdf and the lead organizer of ZurichJS. At just 25 years old, Faris has lived a career’s worth of highs and lows. From failing his first coding bootcamp module to building a career ladder for a fintech startup, and from ranking as the 2nd fittest CrossFit athlete in Switzerland to being bedridden by an autoimmune condition, Faris shares the mindset required to navigate extreme volatility.

This conversation moves beyond technical skills into the "internal garden"—how emotional regulation, sleep, and nutrition directly impact your ability to lead others. Faris breaks down his philosophy on "Peace of Mind" as the primary metric for promotion, why invisible work builds character, and how to steward authority without intimidation. Whether you are an aspiring manager, a developer looking to level up, or someone navigating a personal setback, this episode offers a blueprint for resilience and professional excellence.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:04:33 Getting into Tech at 19

00:08:12 Failing (and Surviving) Bootcamp

00:11:00 Building a CrossFit App During Lockdown

00:13:38 Getting Hired Without Writing Code

00:18:49 Accidental Managers: Leading at 21

00:22:19 Choosing a Pre-seed Startup Over High Salary

00:28:53 Red Flags in Leadership

00:33:41 Tending the Garden: Balancing Work & ZurichJS

00:42:51 Health Crisis: From Top Athlete to Bedridden

00:48:51 Emotional Regulation & Bio-Hacking

00:59:36 Mindset: Gratitude vs. Bitterness

01:07:44 Invisible Work & Building Character

01:11:18 How to Get Promoted: Giving Peace of Mind

01:17:28 Confidence vs. Arrogance

01:21:42 Owning Mistakes Confidently

01:25:38 Stewarding Authority (The Kent C. Dodds Example)

01:28:06 Don't Just Be an Engineer: Solve Business Problems

01:35:02 Managing "Diva" 10x Engineers

01:40:12 Organizing the First ZurichJS

01:46:30 Outro

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- Codecrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Clerk: https://clerk.com

- Auth0: https://auth0.com

- Arctic (OAuth Library): https://arctic.js.org

- Lucia (Session Library): https://lucia-auth.com

Why do we still use passwords in 2026? In this episode of ConTejas Code, we tear down the complex world of digital identity. From the horror story of getting hacked at a hookah bar to the mathematical elegance of public-key cryptography, we cover how the internet knows who you actually are.

Let's break down the history of web authentication, explain why "logging in" is so much harder than it looks, and demystify the new standard taking over the web: Passkeys (WebAuthn). Whether you are a developer looking for an implementation playbook or just curious why your banking app requires a fingerprint, this deep dive explains the difference between Identity, Identifiers, and Credentials—and why you should stop rolling your own auth immediately.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to ConTejas Code

00:01:06 Sponsor: CodeCrafters

00:01:42 Why Authentication Matters (High Stakes vs. Low Stakes)

00:07:30 Storytime: Getting Hacked at a Shisha Bar

00:19:48 The Vocabulary: Identity, Identifiers, and Credentials

00:27:45 The Three Factors (Something You Know, Have, Are)

00:34:28 Real World Analogies: House Keys, Speak-easies, and Hotel Cards

00:41:10 A History of Web Auth: From Basic Auth to the "Social Login" Mess

00:49:15 Authentication vs. Authorization vs. Accounting

00:57:00 The Problem with Passwords & MFA Fatigue

01:00:40 How Passkeys Work: Public Key Cryptography Explained

01:07:00 Under the Hood: WebAuthn, FIDO2, and The "Ceremonies"

01:13:40 Synced vs. Device-Bound Passkeys

01:16:30 The Playbook: How to Design Auth for SaaS, Mobile, and B2B

01:21:00 The Golden Rule: Don't Roll Your Own Crypto

01:23:00 Libraries & Tools You Should Use (Clerk, Auth0, Arctic)

01:28:40 The Minimum Viable Security Checklist

01:32:30 The Future of Passwordless Identity

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- Codecrafters: https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Why We Sleep: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144316

- Matthew Walker's Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1aIVAabjRjnmiouX0zCzF3

- Sleep latency paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33865376/#:~:text=Oral%20magnesium%20supplementation%20for%20insomnia,insomnia%20symptoms%20in%20older%20adults

- Glycine for sleep: https://glowable.com.au/blogs/news/glycine-the-calming-nutrient-for-soothing-anxiety?srsltid=AfmBOor_YWMUUsqdS9AJjfSJLQb1F0CSEKrbw-0AhjCVkXCcHdjPGtWq#:~:text=of%20Pharmacological%20Sciences%20found%20that,often%20closely%20linked%20to%20anxiety

- Dr. Andy Galpin's podcast: https://performpodcast.com/

- Detachment paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19592515/#:~:text=Results%3A%20%20Higher%20PEAT%20scores,of%20depression%20and%20negative%20affect

- Quantified Scientist: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheQuantifiedScientist

In this episode, we learn how to engineer better health outcomes for ourselves to live fitter and healthier than ever before drawing on the latest research.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:05:24 Episode Outline

00:12:08 Sleep Architecture: Deep and REM

00:24:17 How to Sleep Well

00:34:31 My Routine with Sleep

00:39:25 Using Temperature to Sleep Well

00:41:55 Eating before Bed

00:45:14 Getting more Deep Sleep and REM Sleep

00:52:49 How to Eat Well

00:56:05 How to Lose Fat

01:02:35 How to Gain Muscle

01:07:47 Vices: Alcohol, Nicotine, etc.

01:10:28 Loneliness and Social Connection

01:18:34 How to Develop Quality Social Connections

01:25:54 Maximizing Productivity and Work/Life Balance

01:33:36 Psychological Detachment

01:36:33 Dealing with Getting Sick

01:42:08 How to Avoid Jetlag and Travel Well

01:46:14 Heart Rate Variability: Managing Stress and Recovery

01:50:53 Conclusion

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- CodeCrafters (partner): https://tej.as/CodeCrafters

- Pratim on X: https://x.com/bhosalepratim

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_

Summary

In this conversation, we explore the journey from backend development to becoming a Google Developer Expert in Golang. We discuss the significance of microservices architecture, the importance of search technologies, and the development of Cargo Chat, a tool for searching codebases.

Pratim shares insights on building effective search pipelines, Matryoshka embedding models, and the integration of hypothetical documents in search processes. The conversation concludes with a discussion on a mental health journaling app that connects personal reflections with religious texts for encouragement.

Chapters

00:00 Pratim Bhosale

02:19 Introduction

05:16 The Shift to Backend Development and Golang

08:16 Becoming a Google Developer Expert

11:20 Understanding Microservices Architecture

14:19 Building Innovative Tools: Cargo Chat

17:12 Search Technologies and Their Applications

20:15 The Search Pipeline and Embedding Models

29:49 Building a Vector Database

33:13 Local First Movement and Security

34:14 Understanding Hyde: Hypothetical Document Embeddings

36:48 Matryoshka Embedding Models

41:59 The Search Problem in AI

43:57 Developing a Mental Health App

48:02 Comparing Approaches to Vector Search

52:56 Developer Experience and Product Growth

01:02:52 Understanding Developer Experience Levers

01:04:32 Making API Products Click

01:07:40 The Role of Developer Advocacy

01:11:06 Navigating Career Paths in Tech

01:13:58 Finding Your Niche in Developer Relations

01:20:18 Work-Life Balance and Avoiding Burnout

01:24:01 The Importance of Mentorship

01:27:07 Emerging Technologies and Trends

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- CodeCrafters (partner): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- WebAssembly on Kubernetes: https://www.cncf.io/blog/2024/03/12/webassembly-on-kubernetes-from-containers-to-wasm-part-01/

- Shivay on X: https://x.com/howdevelop

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_

Summary

In this podcast episode, Shivay Lamba and I discuss the integration of WebAssembly with AI and machine learning, exploring its implications for developers. We dive into the benefits of running machine learning models in the browser, the significance of edge computing, and the performance advantages of WebAssembly over traditional serverless architectures. The conversation also touches on emerging hardware solutions for AI inference and the importance of accessibility in software development. Shivay shares insights on how developers can leverage these technologies to build efficient and privacy-focused applications.

Chapters

00:00 Shivay Lamba

03:02 Introduction and Background

06:02 WebAssembly and AI Integration

08:47 Machine Learning on the Edge

11:43 Privacy and Data Security in AI

15:00 Quantization and Model Optimization

17:52 Tools for Running AI Models in the Browser

32:13 Understanding TensorFlow.js and Its Architecture

37:58 Custom Operations and Model Compatibility

41:56 Overcoming Limitations in JavaScript ML Workloads

46:00 Demos and Practical Applications of TensorFlow.js

54:22 Server-Side AI Inference with WebAssembly

01:02:42 Building AI Inference APIs with WebAssembly

01:04:39 WebAssembly and Machine Learning Inference

01:10:56 Summarizing the Benefits of WebAssembly for Developers

01:15:43 Learning Curve for Developers in Machine Learning

01:21:10 Hardware Considerations for WebAssembly and AI

01:27:35 Comparing Inference Speeds of AI Models

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- Codecrafters (Partner): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_

- Mary Thengvall, The Business Value of Developer Relations: https://develocity.io/measuring-devrel-success-effective-metrics-for-impact/#:~:text=In%20a%20talk%20given%20at,5

- Matthew Revell, “What is Developer Relations?”: https://developerrelations.com/guides/what-is-developer-relations/#:~:text=Most%20companies%20invest%20in%20DevRel,because%20they%20want%20to%20affect

- Quinton Wall, Does Developer Relations Belong Under Marketing or Engineering?: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/does-developer-relations-belong-under-marketing-engineering-wall-z9gic#:~:text=For%20early%20stage%20companies%2C%20Developer,the%20detriment%20of%20developer%20experience

- Mike Stowe, A Brief History Of Developer Relations Programs: https://influitive.com/blog/brief-history-developer-relations-programs-developer-communities/#:~:text=When%20I%20joined%20Constant%20Contact,across%20one%20of%20these%20companies

- R. Scott, Developer Relations: A Growth Engine from Day One: https://www.delltechnologiescapital.com/resources/devrel-day-one#:~:text=%E2%80%8DDeveloper%20Relations%20is%20at%20its,%E2%80%9D

- Matt Bernier, The intersection of DevRel and Product Management: https://developerrelations.com/talks/intersection-dev-rel-product-management/#:~:text=The%20Barbican%2C%20London%2C%20UK

- Develocity.io, Measuring DevRel Success: Effective Metrics for Impact: https://develocity.io/measuring-devrel-success-effective-metrics-for-impact/#:~:text=impact%20on%20user%20engagement%20and,2

- Jake Prins, 10 Ways to Build a Developer Community: https://www.apideck.com/blog/ten-ways-to-build-a-developer-community#:~:text=in,seminar%2C%20or%20webinar

- Francine Hardaway, DevRel: Marketing, Product Management, or Neither?: https://medium.com/influence-marketing-council/devrel-marketing-product-management-or-neither-77d6c4666f7f#:~:text=Most%20developer%20relations%20programs%20wrestle,sourced%20by%20DevRel%20are%20invaluable

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:28 The Core Thesis of DevRel

00:12:41 History of DevRel: From Apple in the 80s to Today

00:19:08 The Value of DevRel & Success Stories (Stripe, MongoDB)

00:25:08 The Critical Role of the Feedback Loop

00:27:03 The Danger of Ignoring DevRel Feedback

00:34:33 Where DevRel Sits: Marketing vs. Product & Engineering

00:37:22 The Gold Standard: A Product Engineer with a Megaphone

00:49:37 Measuring DevRel Success: Beyond Vanity Metrics

00:52:00 Key Metrics: Community, Satisfaction, & Monthly Active Developers (MAD)

01:01:31 Practical DevRel: How to Build Community

01:03:37 Practical DevRel: Content Strategy & "Carving the Turkey"

01:06:50 Practical DevRel: Improving the Onboarding Experience

01:11:00 Practical DevRel: Events, Public Speaking & Internal Advocacy

01:17:20 Start of Q&A with Africa's DevRel Community

01:18:02 Defining AI Engineering vs. Machine Learning

01:20:01 Defining DevRel: It's High-Quality Customer Relations

01:26:32 Q&A: Is Developer Experience (DX) the same as User Experience (UX)?

01:29:14 Q&A: How AI is Changing UX/DX with Model Context Protocol (MCP)

01:35:32 Q&A: Biggest Opportunities for DevRel in AI

01:38:25 Q&A: Necessary Skills for AI DevRel (Communication is #1)

01:44:22 Q&A: Where to Find Developers for New Niche Tools

01:48:08 Q&A: What's Most Exciting in Tech Right Now?

01:53:22 Q&A: Advice for New Developers in the AI Era (Build and Ship!)

01:58:00 Q&A: How to Balance Technical Work with Community Management

02:00:57 Q&A: How to Form Meaningful Professional Relationships

02:05:56 Conclusion

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links

- CodeCrafters (partner): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Dev on X: https://x.com/devagrawal09

- Xolvio: https://xolv.io/

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_

Previous Episodes

- Taylor Desseyn

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6GpkHNlZw

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xN7YeNpkCf4qJ3kUkVVuh

- Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/taylor-desseyn-how-to-build-a-genuine-high-quality-network/id1731855333?i=1000684664112

- Event Sourcing

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtmPTigdpos

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/32dmiUBZclkXNWT1YcUJHr

- Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/event-sourced-architecture-a-deep-dive/id1731855333?i=1000696976876

Summary

We discuss the journey of becoming a notable developer, the importance of intentional networking, and the role of content creation in building a professional presence. Dev shares insights from his experiences in DevRel, the challenges of the industry, and the significance of event sourcing in modern applications.

We then discuss the intricacies of event sourcing, exploring its implications for software architecture, performance, and testing. The discussion highlights the importance of projections, caching, and the separation of command and query responsibilities (CQRS) in building efficient applications. Real-world applications, such as Git and Redux, are examined as examples of event sourcing in practice.

Finally, we explore Solid.js and its comparison with React, focusing on fine-grained reactivity, the challenges of adopting new frameworks, and the evolution of web development practices. They explore the unique features of Solid.js, including its compiler and async signals, while discussing the broader implications for developers transitioning between frameworks. The conversation also touches on the importance of full stack development and the mindset required to excel in the field.

Chapters

00:00:00 Dev Agrawal

00:04:16 Becoming Notable in Tech

00:14:24 Intentional Networking and Building a Presence

00:24:27 The Role of Content Creation

00:34:29 DevRel Insights and Career Transitions

00:44:05 Understanding Event Sourcing

00:43:37 Caching and Performance in Event Sourcing

00:48:42 Real-World Applications of Event Sourcing

00:51:31 Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) Explained

00:54:24 Event Sourcing in UI State Management

00:57:25 Overcoming Resistance to Event Sourcing

01:00:22 The Challenges of Transitioning to Event Sourcing

01:04:34 Storing Events and Schema Management

01:07:16 Testing with Event Sourcing

01:08:51 Introduction to Solid.js and Its Advantages

01:13:12 Understanding Fine-Grained Reactivity

01:15:06 Challenges in Replacing React

01:16:30 The Unique Model of Solid.js

01:18:22 The Catch-22 of Learning React

01:19:52 Comparing Fine-Grained Reactivity in Solid and React

01:23:50 The Role of Solid's Compiler

01:25:57 Exploring Solid.js 2.0 and Async Signals

01:28:55 Server-Side Rendering and Async Signals

01:35:08 Partial Pre-Rendering and Edge Workers

01:37:41 Becoming a Full Stack Developer

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