Peak performance and mental resilience can help you succeed—but can also keep you stuck.

Business coach Peter Boolkah joins Brian to unpack the Hamster Wheel Trap: when discipline, hard work and taking responsibility make a business depend entirely on its owner.

Drawing on more than 20 years of coaching and his book, 'Your Business Sucks', Peter explains how high performers can build a business that works without sacrificing their life.

What does it actually take to become physically and mentally tough and have modern athletes overcomplicated performance?

In this episode of the NO BS Performance Podcast, Brian sits down with Jake Shannon, founder of Scientific Wrestling, creator of the Macebell and long-time student of legendary British Catch Wrestling coach Billy Robinson.

Jake shares the old-school lessons that shaped his approach to strength, conditioning and resilience including Billy Robinson’s brutally simple philosophy: “Do it again.”

They explore why conditioning matters more than looking strong, the difference between gym strength and usable strength, whether athletes have become too dependent on data, and why repetition still beats constantly chasing new exercises, hacks and shortcuts.

Jake also opens up about surviving cancer as a teenager, overcoming a difficult childhood, dealing with career-changing injuries and how those experiences shaped his attitude towards discomfort and performance.

They also discuss:

• Why conditioning can decide performance under pressure

• What old-school wrestlers understood about functional strength

• The origins of the Macebell and why grip strength matters

• Mental toughness vs motivation

• Why bodyweight training is still hugely effective

• Data vs instinct in modern athletes

• Why training with people better than you accelerates improvement

• The importance of letting young people earn success

• How sporting principles transfer into business and entrepreneurship

This isn't about motivational quotes or making training unnecessarily brutal.

It's about building a body and mindset that can actually perform when things get hard.

No shortcuts. No hype. No BS.

Why do capable people make catastrophic mistakes under pressure and why does one error snowball into several?

In this episode of the NO BS Performance Podcast, Brian Stokes sits down with international Grand Prix dressage rider Silvia Rizzo to explore the psychological cascade that derails elite athletes when pressure rises.

Drawing on Silvia's elite sport experience and Brian's background in the Royal Marines and emergency services, they uncover the real mechanics of performance breakdown and reveal the mental resilience strategies that separate athletes who fold from those who execute under extreme conditions.

What does elite athlete mindset actually look like when you're tired, under pressure, and things aren't going your way?

Former professional cricketer and high-performance coach Jim Allenby joins Brian on the NO BS Performance Podcast for a straight-talking conversation about what separates talented people from those who can perform consistently at the highest level.

After 15+ years and 400 professional games, Jim now coaches elite international athletes. Discover the unglamorous reality of peak performance and the specific mental resilience strategies that matter when it counts most.

How do elite athletes perform under pressure when fatigue, doubt and discomfort kick in?

Grey Cup-winning coach, Jaime Elizondo joins Brian to explore mental toughness, resilience, confidence and the preparation required to perform when it really matters.

Drawing on 25 years in professional and college football, Jaime explains why motivation isn't enough, how to train decision-making under pressure, and why preparation creates genuine confidence.

From professional football and Royal Marines training to HYROX and endurance sport, the principle is simple: you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training.

What separates elite performers from hardworking burnouts?

Alan Lazaros, Founder of Next Level University, learned the hard way: after a near-fatal car accident forced him to rebuild, he discovered that discipline, not motivation is what drives real results.

In this episode, Brian and Alan unpack the mental toughness strategies, peak performance mindset shifts, and the systems that separate people who achieve their goals from those stuck grinding.

Performance coaching for neurodivergent athletes often gets overlooked, but ADHD can be a massive advantage in human performance.

In this episode, Ania Hulsman reveals how elite athletes with ADHD leverage their unique neurology for peak performance in endurance sports and HYROX.

Discover the training strategies, mental resilience tactics, and performance coaching breakthroughs that transform ADHD from a barrier into a competitive edge. Real talk on mindset, race-day execution, and building systems that work with your brain.

Mindset and mental resilience are non-negotiable for elite athletes, until they work against you.

In this episode, Brian explores how high performers' disciplined mindset can trap them in stress patterns, and why nervous system regulation is the missing piece most performance coaches ignore.

Kristin Rivas, a brain-based hypnotherapist and TEDx speaker, shares her breakdown-to-breakthrough story: losing her sister, years of unresolved stress pushing through as "grit," and the complete health collapse that forced her to rewire.

Discover why willpower alone isn't enough and how to align your nervous system with your peak performance goals.