The Expansion Project Archives

The Expansion Project – Chad DeGroot Interview

August 25, 2015

For the latest Podcast from The Expansion Project, Fat Tony caught up with, Chad DeGroot to talk riding and his business life. Chad is one of the wildest guys we know and he stays damn busy while still crushing it on a bike. Take it all in!

“My guest today is one of the most influential BMX riders of all time and entrepreneur extraordinaire Chad DeGroot. He is one of those people who has had so much going on for so long that picking and choosing what to cover in a one hour interview was super difficult.

On the entrepreneurial side, he’s owned two different skateparks that had a huge impact on the BMX scene in Florida. He’s put on numerous events and competitions, and currently owns a BMX company and bike shop.

On top of all that, he is a husband and father of two kids. The list goes on and on. If you’re a fan of BMX, you definitely do not want to miss this episode, and if you’re not into BMX, I think you’ll still get plenty out of it, so check it out!”

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The Expansion Project – Terry Adams

June 20, 2015

The Expansion Project released their latest podcast featuring an interview with Terry Adams where he talks a little bit about Flatland and a lot about some of this business ventures outside of BMX. It’s definitely interesting to hear this stuff because we really didn’t know much about his life outside of BMX. Hit the play button and listen in.

“On this episode I got on FaceTime with one of my closest friends, Terry Adams.

Terry is a professional flatland BMX rider who grew up about an hour away from me, but even though we lived so close to each other our whole lives and were both into BMX, we didn’t really connect and become friends until early 2006 after I had graduated college.

Since then I’ve done countless photo and videos shoots with Terry all around the U.S. and traveled all over the world with him to various BMX contests and events.

Terry Adams making his dream of riding on water come true during a special Red Bull project. (Photo by Fat – April 2013)

Terry was homeschooled and dyslexic and began competing on the professional level at the age of 16. He has since won an X Games gold medal and numerous other competitions all around the globe. He’s been featured on the cover of and in the pages of all of the major BMX magazines around the word, and has won two Number One Rider Awards (NORA Cup) from Ride BMX Magazine. He’s also had a Flick Trix toy bike that was modeled after his personal bike.

Terry is currently one of (if not the only) flatland BMX riders in the United States that is making a living off his sponsors and endorsements. He’s a self-promotion and marketing machine that has figured out a way to present himself as a “BMX rider”, and not just a “flatland rider”.

Terry has a documentary about his life called “Dreams”, which is fitting because he bases a lot of his life off of his dreams and ambitions, setting goals, and bringing them all to fruition.

In the past few years Terry has gotten really into real estate investing, and now that he has formed an investment company with a business partner they are killing it! They are acquiring properties left and right with big plans to keep expanding very quickly.

In our conversation Terry and I talked about his money mindset, his obsession with setting and achieving goals, and some of the success he’s experienced with creating the life he dreams of.

We also talked a lot about how his mindset has changed over the years and allowed him to do bigger things with his life, career, and bank account.

I wanted this to be one of my first interviews with The Expansion Project, but our busy schedules just never lined up until now. With Terry as one of my closest friends I am beyond thrilled to share this conversation with the world!

Questions I Asked:
– Where did your financial journey start?
– Why did you pick real estate to start with in your investing career?
– What were the beginning steps for you to learn about real estate?
– How do you manage your money?
– Where does your motivation come from in business and investing?
– How do you focus and put so much energy into so many different things at such a high level? (Riding, investing, your family, etc.?)
– Do you have a favorite quote, or do you have a favorite piece of advice someone has given you?”

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The Expansion Project – TJ Lavin Interview

June 3, 2015

The next episode of The Expansion Project is now online. This time around Fat Tony caught up with TJ Lavin to talk BMX and business. Hit play and listen in!

“On this episode I got to talk to TJ Lavin. TJ is a former professional BMX rider who has two X Games gold medals and was very influential in the BMX scene in the 90s.

In October 2010 he crashed at the Dew Tour in his hometown of Las Vegas and went into a coma. After he made it out of the coma he had to relearn a lot of the basic human functions like how to walk, talk, and count.

Even with monumental the setback he has hosted 17 seasons of MTV’s “The Challenge” (formerly “Real World Road Rules Challenge”). He’s also a very talented musician who has been playing the piano for many years, and he’s a dedicated and loving husband and father.

On top of all that he’s a savvy businessman and investor, which, if you’re familiar with this show at all, you know that’s what was most interested in talking about.

In our conversation I got to ask TJ all about his different investments over the years—which there have been a lot of. He told me about some of the good deals, and some of the bad ones, too.

One thing that surfaced during our conversation was his intense desire to help other people. TJ is actually working on becoming a firefighter, but not because he needs a job or the money—he’s doing it because he genuinely wants to help people and be a part of a community of like-minded people, which that says a lot about his character.

I was a huge TJ Lavin fan before I got to interview him, and I’m an even bigger fan now. He left a very big impression on me, and you’re going to learn a lot from this episode.

Some Questions I Asked:
– Do you still ride BMX?
– Why do you wake up so early?
– Did you ever have “regular” job?
– Were you interested in money, investing, and entrepreneurship at an early age?
– What happened to that strip club you said you were going to invest in?
– Where do your income streams come from?
– Have you had any mentors throughout your life?
– When do you get hit by ideas or inspiration?
– Do you have a favorite quote? ” – The Expansion Project

The Expansion Project – Dave Mirra Interview

April 28, 2015

Fat Tony dropped the latest podcast interview for The Expansion Project and it’s with the one and only Dave Mirra! Hit play to listen in on this interview because there’s a TON of ground covered from his BMX career on up through what he’s getting into these days!

“The words “legend” and “icon” get thrown around pretty casually these days, and as much as I think the terms are overused my guest this week undeniably fits both of them… I had the chance to talk to none other than Dave Mirra.

Even if you’ve never ridden BMX or don’t know much about it, there’s a good chance you’ve still heard Dave’s name before. When it comes to BMX riders, he’s the closest thing there is to a “household name”.

The list of Dave’s accolades could go on for days, but here’s a small snippet of what’s he’s accomplished in his 41 years…

– He has won 14 X Games gold medals.
– He’s competed in both BMX and rally car racing at X Games.
– He was the first BMX rider to ever do a double backflip. (2000.)
– He has won the Toyota Grand Prix celebrity race. (2007)
– He has had multiple books written about him.
– He has hosted TV shows like MTV’s Real World Road Rules Challenge.
– He has had video games named and designed after him on various gaming platforms.
– He trained for competed in an EllisMania boxing match against motocross rider Brian Deegan.
– He co-founded a BMX bike company.
– He recently made the transition from BMX to endurance sports and has raced in triathlons and Ironmans.
– He and a team of three others won a RAAM (Race Across America) where they pedaled more than 3,000 miles from California to Maryland in just under five and a half days.

…and as the list goes on it doesn’t look like Dave is slowing down any time soon. He is a true elite athlete and a fierce competitor, but he is also a savvy investor, and on top of that he’s a great guy, a husband, and a father of two.

In this episode I had so much to ask this childhood hero of mine that I opted to skip the Chime In segment and just keep the interview rolling. I didn’t want to waste any time, and I wanted to get as much out of this conversation as possible.

The interview is focused on two main topics—athletics and finance. I got to ask Dave about how he currently trains, eats, and recovers while focusing on triathlons, and I picked his brain about how he is wired for success when it comes to competition, whether that be BMX, endurance sports, racing cars, boxing, or anything else he sets his mind to.

As the highest paid BMX rider in the history of the sport, Dave was able to shed some light on the financial success he’s experienced and gave some great insight in to how he’s learned to save and manage his money and what he has invested in over the years. He even threw out some mind-blowing figures about some of his largest endorsements.

It my extreme honor and pleasure to present to you, the Dave Mirra interview. ”

The Expansion Project Podcast – Now On Youtube

April 22, 2015

The other week, Fat Tony launched The Expansion Project podcasts where he interviews a handful of riders. The interviews started out on iTunes, now they’re on Youtube. We have all the BMX interviews that have been done featuring Daniel Dhers, Ben Hucke, Dustin Grice, Jamie Bestwick and Mike Spinner. These interviews are pretty interesting and you can learn a lot about each of these guys. The Mike Spinner one touches on his Twitter blowout that he had last week that I’m sure a bunch of you are wondering about. Check out all the interviews after the jump.

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