Chase Chewning - Getting Medically Discharged & Starting Ever Forward Radio

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What is going on, everyone? Kasey Adams here.

Welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. On today's episode, we have Chase chewing on the show. If you don't know Chase Chewing, I met him about a year ago at the Military Influencer conference in Washington, D.C. and he is a Virginia native and army veteran. Living a life of wellness has always been a part of him since growing up eating fresh food from his grandparents garden, playing baseball throughout school, and enjoying time in the mountains surrounding his family's southwest Virginia home. After six years of active duty, Chase was medically discharged from the military due to a string of injuries that ultimately required him to have bilateral reconstructive hip surgeries after learning how to walk again twice, exercise as medicine and healthy lifestyle modifications became his passion. Before we dive into the episode, please make sure you share this episode with a friend and enjoy today's podcast with Chase Chewing. Today's podcast is brought to you by Viral Style. Viral style is an Inc. 5000 company that provides a concrete solution for individuals who are looking to start an apparel brand, including clothing, accessories or decor. Instead of wasting thousands of dollars in upfront costs, Viral Style can have you up and running for free. Viral Style is a platform for anyone, including marketers, artists, musicians and influencers. To learn more about Viral style, go to www.viral style.com and become a seller today. Again, go to www.viral Style.com to learn more. Now let's get into the show.

All right, what is going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today we have my man Chase chewing on the show. Thanks so much for coming on the show, man.

My honor, man.

Thanks for having me so well, first off, we're here at your place in la. First off, I appreciate you allowing me to record here, but Virginia's got to.

Look out for its own, man.

Of course.

Welcome, anytime, 100%.

And last week I was on your show. Now you're coming on mine. I'm super pumped about it, man. But I want to ask you. We're both from Virginia. You have a podcast. I have a podcast. And one of the things you told me last week about the name of your podcast operation, Podcast, and your company, I want to ask you, where did podcasting come into your life? And how did you get involved in the industry?

Oh, man, that's like Chase 3.0. There was, you know, so many versions of my life, personal identities, personal. Personal projects and passions. But honestly, once, like, podcasting found me, I feel it completely transformed everything. Yep. I was living in D.C. at the time. I was working full time as a. As a health coach, and I managed this wellness department for a doctor's office, this clinical medical practice. And in dc, man, if you've ever been.

Yep, absolutely.

Traffic is not ideal. And so I would have this horrendous commute every day, minimum 45 minutes, sometimes up to two and a half hours. And so someone recommended a podcast, say, hey, Chase, you're into, like, fitness, right? You would probably like this podcast. And like most people, even now, but definitely back then 2015, I was like, what the hell is a podcast? I had no idea.

Yep.

And so I started listening to this content, and not only did it help my time pass, but I would show up to my job. I would listen to health, fitness, wellness shows, and I would show up to my job way better. It was like immediate conference, immediate expo, immediate, like, book, and I could immediately help my people better. And so then it was just, I started listening, listening, listening. And then one day I was like, maybe, maybe I'll try this. Yeah, maybe I'll give it a whirl.

And that led you to Ever Forward Radio?

Yeah.

Where did the name came from? I know that you've told me before, but it's. It's a deep purpose that I want to start with because I know it's important to you.

Yeah, it started here. It's my tattoo. I've had it on my license plate since I was like, 15 years now, I guess. And before that, it was just this mantra that my father said his entire life growing up to me and my brother and my sister and my family and our community. And unfortunately, it was something that we had to witness him not only say, but live and. And be this kind of final example. He was diagnosed terminal when I was 18, 19. I passed away when I was 19. I had just left after high school. I just joined the military, kind of following in his footsteps. And ever forward became this thing, not only that we heard, but even in his sickness, in his dying days, he was just, you know what? No matter what, we just have to keep moving forward. We have to set the example. We have to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. And so it was just the most obvious thing, the obvious brand, the obvious name. When I wanted to do the podcast, you know, I. I kind of. It helped me a lot in my personal life at the time as well, to, like, tether to that thing.

Yeah. You attached to it.

Yeah, it was. It was a darkness for me, honestly. It was a horrible, horrible time in my life. A lot of trauma and anxiety and just, you know, significant loss. My dad was my best friend.

Yeah.

And it just allowed me to heal. And. And also, it was just a dope name.

Yeah, I love it.

And it was so perfect for what I was trying to talk about. And it's all things, you know, personal development, fitness, nutrition, wellness. Just how can we get better as humans, you know?

Yeah, no, I love that. I want to ask you a personal question on that. How did you get through that, man? Because that's, for me, is. I look at it as one of my biggest fears, losing a. Losing a parent, someone you love. And if this is too personal, like, let me know. But this is something that I can't imagine personally, and I'm sure the listeners today, they would love to hear your opinion on that and your perspective.

I mean, like anybody, I think that goes through grief or loses a parent, a friend, a loved one. Grief is a very, very weird animal. It's a. It's a. It's a beast. It has a very, very ugly head, usually. And the issue with it is, usually we think we're through it, you know, or we can suppress it down and move on. But it. And I'm speaking personally, it's a trauma. And trauma is something that very rarely goes away on our timeline. And so for about a decade after my dad passed, I just stuffed it down, stuffed it down, stuffed it down. I went back to the military. I. I had to go back to, you know, putting literally the mission first. And then once I got out, I. I realized that I wasn't through it. And so as much as I tried to get through it on my own, my body, my physical and emotional self was just like, nah, nah, nah, man. We. We still got some stuff to work Through. And it began to manifest in ptsd. It began to manifest in anxiety attacks and began to manifest like, I couldn't go to a movie. And if there was a death scene where somebody passed away, I. I would have a. A panic attack. I would have to leave. I swerved my car off the road so many times when I would hear a song that my dad and I used to, like, jam out to. And so I guess what I'm trying to say is I ran from it for a long time. Yeah. And only until I finally turned and, like, faced it. And not as a way of, like, you know, come on. Like, I wasn't trying to battle it. It was just. I finally recognized that if I'm gonna get through this and if I'm gonna control this, instead of it controlling my life, I have to learn to be present with it. I have to learn to sit with it and just figure out a way to kind of just adapt my life around it. And. And that's what I did. And then it just became my everything, you know, I adopted my whole brand and whole purpose.

I love that, man. Talk to me about the military. What was your experience there? How long were you serving, and what did you learn from that experience?

What didn't I learn? I learned that I hate running. I learned that the military makes you really good at running. Yeah. And it was. It was a cool kind of legacy thing for me. Like I said, my dad was in the army, like, every generation, my family has served. And it was just something that was meaningful. And I was like 17 at the time. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was like, college is maybe an option, but it was. It was a lot of fun. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It taught me so much about myself. It taught me physical strength, mental fortitude. It taught me camaraderie. It taught me team building, leadership. I wanted to stick it out and go the full 20.

Yeah.

Life had other plans for me. I got injured pretty significantly about four, four and a half years in, and then eventually wound up getting medically dischar. Charge.

Yeah.

But, yeah, six years, man. From. From 17 to 24.

Wow.

Was very formidable. And I attribute so much of, like, who I am now. Yeah, totally, man. To that. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

I love that. The injury. What was that injury specifically?

Well, we. I don't know how PG the show is. I could show you on the.

Hey, it's up to you, man.

I've got from, like the top of My knee up to, like, the top of my glute. They. I had to have both my femurs completely reconstructed.

Reconstructive.

Yeah. So a surgical dislocation removal shaping of femur. So from about here to here, I got scars on this side, on that side. It was a war game for deployment training. And I was leading an ambush against the fake enemy at the time. And last thing I remember is I popped up. I was leading the attack. And just as fast as I popped out or popped up, I was down. I was, like, blacking out, screaming. Pain tore my hamstring. Suffered significant trauma injuries to my hips. Like I said, My L4, L5 vertebrae of. Kind of went one way. The rest of my body tried to go another way. And I got medevacked out and. Yeah. Ultimately led to bilateral reconstructive surgery. Both my hips. I was a patient in and out of hospital bed rest rehab for about a year and a half, you know. I know. I know you feel me on that, man.

Dude, that's insane. I didn't know it was that severe.

Yeah.

So when you say pop out like you said during this drill, what. What did that look like?

So I was behind, like, a berm, you know?

Yeah.

That was leading a lane. We're in, like, the desert, you know, area of Texas. Just like you training environment. Like, we're going to be over there. And like, the. The convoy was coming through a bunch of vehicles and. Yeah, people. And then I was leading my team. I was just behind a berm. Had. You know, we've been out there for days. I was in all my body armor. I've been living off four hours of sleep and just dehydrated and just at my max. And I just. I popped up, led the attack. And as soon as I went over this berm, that's literally I blacked out. Last thing I remember, just popping up, moving, and then being on the ground again and having the medic over top of me, like, calling the medevac.

Wow.

I thought I got shot. Seriously?

Yeah. What. How did the injury happen? Was it just you moved a certain way and. Because it sounds like you popped up and then what went wrong is what I'm trying to say.

I mean, like, a combination of things. I mean, knowing what I know now, the human body, like, I was severely malnourished. I was dehydrated. I had minimal sleep. I had about 80 pounds of gear on me. And. And honestly, man, like, my head. My mindset at the time was not right. I was just living in a Very toxic mindset. And I was. Because I was going through the grief and the trauma of my father.

Yeah.

Long story short, man, I actually was trying to volunteer for deployments because I didn't really care to live anymore.

Wow.

And it was just, you know, I was doing whatever I could to. To. To be deployed and to put myself in harm's way. And so I mean that I think. I know. I firmly believe that your. Your emotions and your psyche play a significant role in the physiological manifestation. And so just all the things were stacked against me, man. And so I literally just popped up. And as fast as I moved, my body was like, so it's just wrong direction, wrong speed, wrong temperature, wrong everything.

So. So then you're medevaced out and you're. You said you're in and out of the hospital for about a year or so.

Year. Almost a year and a half. Like the last 15 months or so of my enlistment, I was either in the hospital going through surgeries, rehabilitating at home, on bed rest. Bedridden. Yeah. And then how to rehab. Physical therapy, pool therapy. I had no job, no purpose. Literally, my only purpose in life, my only mission in the army at that time was to just. Just to heal to a point to where I could stand up again. I had to learn how to walk again.

Yeah.

And then once I was load bearing, they went back and did the other side. So it was just like, get better, get better, get better. And then now we're gonna start all over again.

Wow. So when that happened and you're going through surgeries, did you know that was it with. When it comes to the military or what was the transitional period from saying, hey, can I go back? Do I want to go back? Am I physically capable? Or was it just done?

You know, I had hope, okay. Because I enjoyed the military a lot. I was, you know, I could retire at 37, so it was really cool. So I. I wanted to kind of get to a point to where maybe they just reclass me, give me a different job, give me some kind of waiver. But it just wasn't in the cards. Especially after they did. My left hip was the second one. And once they did that surgery at home, actually just. I was kind of like this. I was just propped up.

Yeah.

I was on the couch. And then I just moved ever so the wrong way. Wound up re injuring it tore retort my labrum, set me back really bad. And then, yeah, I was just, you know, like, hey, sergeant tuning. Yeah, it's not in your cards, man. You're definitely going to be not only medically discharged, but like the rating. And my disability at the time was so severe they gave me like full medical retirement.

Wow. So what's what happened after that? And real quick too, like I can relate so much of that because being like we talked about on your show, in a neck brace, not necessarily as severe as that, but in a neck brace for six months. Not the military, but in football. Get injured, can't go back. It's sort of I go through a. Reshaping my identity. Yeah. And you attach to something else and you find yourself doing new things that you're not used to. What was that for you? When you're figuring out who you are about to become and your identity is stripped away from you, where did you start spending your time once you started to recover and things were starting to get better and what did the that period of time look like?

At home, man.

Straight at home.

I was, I left that medical.

And real quick, are you in Virginia during this or where were you?

I was stationed in a medical hold unit in, outside of San Antonio, Texas.

Okay.

And. But then when I was med boarded out. Yeah, man. I, I threw my wheelchair up on the roof of my. At a SUV at the time and drove back to Virginia, went to Richmond.

Yep.

And. And was kind of just chilling there for a little bit. And about three weeks later, actually not a whole lot of downtime, I enrolled in school, went to vcu and my rehabilitation was getting to a point to where I wanted to take more ownership of it. I wasn't going to accept this identity, you know, yanking out that the military, hey, you're not worthy. Hey, you're not a soldier. Hey, you're physically useless. And so I wanted to like become more empowered. And so I enrolled in their exercise science program. I literally was on my cane hobbling around, had my mom help me register for classes and tour. And I was like, no. Like I refuse to accept this. And so I took it upon myself to study it at that collegiate level and then became so much more educated that I could then apply and train my own self. And then it became my career.

Yeah, I love that, man. And speaking on Virginia, I'd love for you to tell the listeners today not only how we met, because we met an event, it was military related Military influencer conference. And that's how we met initially. And I think it's so cool to have that perspective of like when you say vcu, I know exactly what you're talking about. I know exactly the city and the feel and the vibe, it's super cool. Because you don't really. Yeah. Shout out to rva. Like, you don't get that a lot, especially coming from a small town in Virginia. But when you're back in Virginia, what brought you to la?

Eventually, man, I had been back and forth so much, and like I said, I then went to school and then began to work in the health and wellness fitness world. I was a health coach, I was a trainer. I was a lot of different things. And I mean, you know, LA just California has a calling for a lot of people. And so I was back and forth, going to a lot of conferences and had a lot of friends out here and. And so it was just, you know, kind of like, I wonder.

Yeah.

And then I met my wife actually, at vcu. She was in their nursing program and she flat out, once we started getting serious, she's like, chase, I love you, but I want to move to California. I want to move to la. And not on board with that's gonna be a problem. I was like, all right.

Hey, that was the sign.

So, you know, all for a girl, really, basically. But yeah, so about two years ago, literally next week will be two years exactly.

Okay.

And she is a nurse, like I said. She got accepted to USC for their nurse practitioner program. It was a great opportunity for her to continue her education. I had just left my job about 10 months prior, you know, going full time with my health coaching, full time with my podcast, and for what I do as an entrepreneur, but also in the health and wellness world, Louisiana was just an easy yes.

Yeah, yeah. So health and wellness podcasting, you decided to go full time. What was that transition like? Because a lot of people, that's the transition that they never make because they're scared and they let the self doubt get in the way or the opinions of others. So when did you decide to do that? And. Yeah, talk to me about that.

It was like this nagging thing for. Honestly, the year before I left, it was one of those things to where I just began to show up to my job. And I absolutely loved my job. I loved what I did. I love the patients and the clients that I worked with. And also I managed a team of like eight to nine other people. And I love that aspect, but the business, the corporation, the. The higher ups just began to kind of like suck that drive out.

Yeah.

And so once I kind of felt that I'm being severely overworked and undervalued to the point of like, it's causing me severe stress, in my life, in my relationships. I'll never forget this one day. I pulled in, sat in my car, and just stared at the building. And I looked at my. My client list for the day, and I love these people. I was like, I don't want to go in. So I had this resentment for the job, that it was my dream job, and I loved what I did, but I was like, I don't care. Like, not that I don't care, but, like, I just don't want to go in there.

Yeah.

Because the more I go in there, it's sucking, like, the value and the fun and the fulfillment out of this for me. So then I realized that, like, it's not fair to me. It's not fair to my people. So I put things in motion and gave myself a pretty aggressive goal. 90 days. I was like, chase. Like, that's when I first started monetizing my podcast. I was like, figure out how to make money, man. So I started monetizing my podcast. I started taking my own coaching clients. I started training people in our apartment gym. Yeah. I started doing anything I could. I was like, look, for 90 days, you've got to match your salary.

Yeah.

And so I actually did it in less than two.

Wow.

Two months. Instead of, like the 90 days. And then I gave my 30 day notice and December 2017 said goodbye and. Terrified. Terrified. But, you know, once I showed myself that capable, when I. Exactly. I decided to do something and when I could do it, there's all the confidence. That was all the momentum and the traction I needed.

I love that. And I think a question for a lot of podcasters is how. What's the best way to make money with a podcast?

I think, how much time you got, man?

We go on and on.

A whole masterclass.

Yeah. Because I think a lot of podcasters, it's, you know, they're. And I always tell people, hey, like, starting a podcast is very beneficial to your brand and networking. That's the main reason I do it. And there's. There's, you know, comes back tenfold. But when it comes to actually monetizing a podcast, what would you recommend for podcasters and how did you start off?

So I'll answer it in reverse. Like, how I started off was I just literally looked around my apartment at the time back in D.C. and I was like, what do I love? What am I using? What are these products? And again, I'm in the health and wellness world, and I was like, what am I using that benefits me and that. I'm talking about anyways, and it was this, this health product, this like microgreens product. And I just straight up found their email on their website, hit them up. I was like, hey, here's who I am. Here's my job, here's my show here, here's my, you know, analytics. Would you be interested in partnering? And then I waited and was terrified. And two, three days later, they're like, we'd love to. I was like, oh, all I have to do is ask. So that would be definitely step number one. That's how I got started. And so look around, find the products, the services, the things you love, and just reach out. Odds are they've got some ambassador program, online or affiliate program. Just reach out and ask. The worst thing they're going to do is say no or not right now.

Yeah.

Secondly, I would say affiliates are a great way to go. So many brands that you already love or things that you can go research, it's literally as simple as signing up online or sliding into the DMS and then just getting a link and then share it out. Other than that, I would say really the best way I found is for your own personal brand and your own personal products or services. And my coaching and consulting, whether that's for, you know, the health coaching I was doing a lot more of. And now I've, I coach other coaches and, you know, I consult for other podcasters. They come to me and so like every episode is my own testament is my own know, like and trust factor. And people listen, whether it's one episode or 100. Eventually my highest paying clients, my longest term clients have all come to me with no sales call, no, you know, hey, swipe up here. No, like, you know, get on my type form.

Yeah.

And it was just like, I want to work with you. How do I make it happen? I've been listening to you for 10 episodes. 100 episodes. I like you. I trust you. I want to kind of follow in your footsteps a little bit. And so personal brand is huge. Like the best thing you can do is focus on trying to monetize it through your own way.

Yep. When did you start your personal brand? Social media content. Putting valuable. Just videos and pieces of content out there because I know you have such a great presence on there. But everyone has a starting point where they decided to do that and a lot of people never do.

I probably started playing around with it in like 2003. Third, like 13. My brother at the time was doing the same thing. He became really obsessed with fitness and working out and powerlifting and we became friends with another fitness youtuber who moved to Richmond actually at the time, Shout Out Nick Wright.

Okay.

And he was like, yo, I think Max, like, I think you should pick up a camera and do it. You got to. He's, like, hilarious. He's wacky, he's quirky. He makes good candy now.

Yeah.

You know, and so. So once Max started doing it, him and I, we all did same friend circle, we all train together. And it was just like, well, all right, well, if you're doing it, I'll do it kind of thing. So I started using Instagram and Snapchat. Beyond just, you know, stupid or what I was eating, stuff like that. It was more intentional. Then I started vlogging, got my own camera, made a YouTube channel, and I just started. I had fun with it first, and I didn't use it for the angle or the perspective of, how can I use this to make me money? How can I use this to get something out of it? It was, here's an outlet for my creativity, here's an outlet for me as a person, and then whatever will happen, will happen. So it was about 2013, and over the years, of course, I got more serious with it and really, really niche down with the podcast stuff and probably Instagram.

Love that with podcasting. What's your vision long term as a podcaster? Because I know we both have these conversations of the industry is changing every day. There's so many big things happening in the podcast space with Spotify or Apple or whatever it is. But what's your vision long term as a podcaster?

My vision is like, I flat out, I want to change the industry. I want to, over the years, through various businesses, through being an entrepreneur, working for other people, through travel, through expos, through YouTube, Instagram, all these things, I honestly just feel like this platform is what every creative is looking for. We're all looking for a way to get out of our. What's in our head and in our hearts, have it translated in a way that is effectively communicated to the right person or persons so that on the other end, you know, maybe they're a client or maybe they're a raving fan, but also so that we can meet, like, the right people, the right guests, the right people can find the right people. Because then when that happens, man, so, so much more beyond just, yeah, a sponsor ad or whatever, so much more beyond that is waiting for us in this industry. And, like, it has just lit me up. It has given me so much fulfillment. And when I see people do that as well. Like, I love seeing people thrive like you, man. I love seeing you. I just like doing this. Yeah. I mean, when. When you act out of that intention, when you act out of that goal and perspective, I just personally think you can't go wrong or the odds of you going wrong or not creating something good or beneficial to the world is very, very low. And so I want to help facilitate that for other people. The podcasting platform has been it for me. It's growing in terms of, you know, this year alone, we finally just reached over a million shows. Yeah, but everybody thinks that's a big deal. But no, like, look, that is a tiny drop in the bucket of all the other subscribers and followers.

Yeah.

Every other platform, absolutely. We have come leaps and bounds over the years, but we have a long way to go. And knowing what I know and my experience in the last four years, just, I just want to. I want to help others reach even just a close amount of fulfillment that this has given me. It takes time, it takes commitment. But honestly, if you can just handle those two, then it's only a matter of time before, like, just so many cool things open up for you.

Absolutely. What's your advice to someone starting a show today? What is the three step blueprint, in your opinion, that podcasters must do to start off on the right track?

I. I will make a bold statement of, like, get rid of the concept. Think that you have to create a show and it has to have thousands, tens of thousands of downloads. I think that's been a somewhat false narrative in terms of how people define success for their show. So when you do that, you're never going to be chase shooting, you're never going to be Casey Adams, you're never going to be Joe Rogan, you're never going to be whoever guy is, maybe over there has a podcast, you are you. So the sooner we can get out of comparison syndrome of I will be successful when, I will have a successful podcast when. And just like I was saying earlier, just create what is in your head and in your heart and the right people will find it and the right opportunities will come. So get. Get that out of your head to seriously just hit record. If you've got an iPhone, if you've got the headset mics, if you've got a studio, whatever it is, wherever you are, whatever you have access to, just hit record. You will find your voice, I promise you.

Yeah, and it's funny enough I know that recently I actually just got all, all of my new podcast equipment from you and what are we talking about? This is the this Rodecaster Procaster Pro.

Audio Technica BT something headset.

Yeah, yeah. And so I just recently for everyone listening, upgraded my entire podcast set up and I started shure microphone. Yeah.

Yep, yep.

I started the show with $100 blue Yeti microphone. And actually the first episode was on my AirPods, which was terrible because of Bluetooth and all that sort of stuff.

We were just talking about.

Yeah, I, I not didn't care about the quality, but I was just so obsessed with putting it out there, getting something going and going with that momentum.

Right.

Like the quality can always become better, but you can't, you know, just wait for it to be perfect.

Exactly.

And then go.

Got to take imperfect action.

Absolutely, absolutely.

So I would say probably number three. Number three tip is one thing that definitely saved me is getting ahead. So stop comparing yourself. Just hit record and batch. If you can stay at least two weeks ahead, your life is going to be so less stressful. Yeah. Like reschedules or just life happening. Just very, very high level tips like don't, don't wait for the right time. There never will be the right time. I think you hit the nail on the head, man. You can, you can always improve the quality later. Yeah, with a grain of salt. Nowadays, like, because podcasting is becoming more, you know, widely accepted and known, you do need to kind of make priority your audio quality. But for the first almost two years, I used a $65 microphone. I was even using it the wrong way. But what you can do is like if you've got a $50 mic or your iPhone, just go into a really, really small room, like your closet. Make sure you got carpet soft things around you. You can make a $50 microphone sound like a $300 microphone just by being in your walk in closet.

Really?

Yeah, totally.

I love that. And for clients that are starting a show, when it comes to getting more downloads, obviously everyone wants those one day. But is there any tactics or strategies that you've used? Because everyone wants to know, like how do I get on the top charts, on podcasting, on itunes, on Spotify, and you've cracked the code there. But what are some tips for potentially doing those things? And obviously it's a different strategy for everyone and there are some strategies that can't be replicated. Right. Right timing, right place, right guess, whatever it is. But for you, how have you gone about getting more downloads and getting your show more exposure at the end of the day?

Yeah, really good question that people should not overlook and Honestly, you should be everywhere depending on your host site, and that's what generates your RSS feed. Certain ones will do more. Others will require you to kind of go hunting to get your show out there. You never know where your audience and or your client is going to find you. So be Everywhere. Be on SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Castbox, Apple, Google. Be everywhere. And again, the right host site will set you up for success and make it very easy for your show to be everywhere all the time. Beyond that, social promo has been kind of a hit or miss for me. Again, you never know where somebody's gonna find you. So, you know, even if it's just a simple writing a text on your IG story and putting it out will work. You don't need. You don't need to go full and elaborate. It's like video or an audiogram. They're great and fun. What I use now for sure. But again, have touch points everywhere you are. If you have a digital footprint, digital touch point anywhere, social, email, wherever, share. But don't just copy and paste the exact same thing everywhere. Each platform has, like, a unique perspective, so you need to honor the platform. So for podcasting audio, you need to have good audio. For Twitter, you need to monitor the characters. For Instagram, it needs to be visual. So honor the platform, but be everywhere. Honestly, man, and there's a little bit of time and money invested into this, for sure, but this year, the biggest jump I've seen for me is I did a big overhaul with my website and really made a bigger focus on sharing, even elongating my show notes. I. I would dare say that they're SEO driven. I don't have an SEO guy or I'm not spending some, you know, my own time to, yeah, search the exact keywords and things, but just elaborating on the show and making longer show notes and getting more specific with the title and stuff, putting it on the website in about a week. It was about triple the return in traffic.

Wow.

Yeah, very. Because again, you never know where someone's gonna find you. They're searching for these topics, searching for these things. They've never heard of Casey before, but they look for, you know, you know, how to be a young entrepreneur or, you know, recovering from an injury. And they find that on a podcast. They find your podcast.

Yeah. What platform do you listen to podcasts on, man?

I've been kind of waffling lately.

Okay.

I mean, I would always say it was Apple podcasts just because iPhone it was easy, but I gotta say, my Spotify has been just now they have video.

Yeah. You saw that with Joe Rogans. I checked that out. The milestones one.

Yeah.

I was like, this is. Feels like YouTube.

They. They made the claim that they're coming for YouTube.

Yeah, absolutely.

I love what they're doing.

Was that the first video podcast they did was on Joe Rogan's. Right.

I've seen it before. Joe Rogan, they were like beta testing some other shows. And so I saw like one my wife listens to all the time. It's called the Morning Toast. Two Sisters, kind of like just like, you know, E News, basically, but for millennials. And I saw it on there first, but I know Joe Rogan is one of the big first announcements they made with it. Honestly, for them, it's just. I think they stole the show and sharing and shareability. With one touch. I can copy a link, I can share to Instagram, post to Twitter, Apple. Yeah, you can copy a link and go wherever.

Yeah. It's so whack. Yeah.

I mean, come on, come on, come on, get it together.

Literally.

Yeah. Spotify, it's literally just boop. Post story.

Yep. And one of the tricks that I've seen too, is, for example, if I tag you and I'm sharing our Spotify podcast link and it's on my Instagram story and I tag you, if you share that post, you automatically share the Spotify podcast.

Exactly. Yeah.

And because I had Rick Ross did that and I saw my downloads go through the roof because I. I shared it via Spotify and he could click on the top left corner on his Instagram story is 11 million followers. And I'm like, I'm never not going to do that because you don't have to have them copy the link and do the swipe up. And it just makes life so much easier. So I would recommend that personally. But outside of that, what podcasts do you listen to? And I always ask this question because I think as a podcaster and as an individual, sometimes I don't listen to interview shows. Sometimes I do. But I have some of my favorites are more so like business, financial news. One of them being like Robin Hood snacks.

Oh, yeah.

What is your. What is your favorite show and what do you listen to?

As a podcaster, I'm a little bit out of the whole. Like I said, I'm no longer like Health Coach Chase. I mean, health and wellness is still a big part of my life. And so one of the shows that I still listen to for insight is still that Very first show that someone recommended to me years ago.

Oh, wow.

Shout out. Sean Stevenson. He hosts the model health show. Just dude, his voice. Oh my God, it's butter. It's just so soothing. And he is just. He makes. He makes good living. Very easy to do.

Okay.

But also very backed in research and science. And so the model health show for sure. My homies over at Mind Pump, I love all their stuff. They're, you know, very fitness and lifestyle related, but they're just real. No, no bs. Love those guys. And then, yeah, lately I've been kind of rotating in. Not very regularly, but more like money, entrepreneurship stuff, you know, Ed Mylett, Chris Harder. I love really anything that NPR puts out. How I built this.

Those are good.

Yeah, Honestly, it's just like whatever I'm thinking of. That's the beauty of podcasting now. Whatever I'm interested in right now, today, or I'm curious about, instead of honestly going to like YouTube or Google, like, I go to a podcast platform and I search, you know, how I make my money go further in 2020 or COVID 19 stats. There's a podcast out there for. Yeah. And so, yeah, I just go to Spotify, I go to Apple, like, search for what I want. Apple podcast is actually becoming. I think they're like the third or fourth. I think the third now highest search engine machine.

Very cool. I saw that they just recently added something about their search features. I'm not sure exactly what it was. I screenshotted it. But that being said, podcasting in 2020, how have you seen it change? Especially with COVID when it comes to not only downloads, but I went through a phase where I did 90 interviews or 60 to 90 interviews on Zoom. Right. And I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for Covid and everyone being home and not traveling. And I saw a huge spike in downloads because I was putting out so many frequent episodes and it was easy to do interviews, which the year before 2019, I was trying to do a lot of in person stuff just based off the fact that I wanted to meet the guest. But what have you seen this year in your podcast and how have you transitioned?

Yeah, it's a strong question. It's been like this, honestly, because I feel like with COVID like so many things in the world in the first beginning, couple days or couple weeks, it was just. It was like pandemonium. Like the world is ending or what's gonna happen and then things kind of stabilize and you get into a groove and. And then, and then Again, peaks and valleys.

Yeah.

So, I mean, same way, you know, for me, from like March until really August, I had to go back to All Online 2019. For me, I switched. I was exclusively in person. I wanted to add the show, I wanted to add the relationship. I then would do two interviews a day, but I would be with people for like four or five, six hours. It was the BS and small talk beforehand, but it was getting to know people.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So that's what I really had to pivot on was I recognized the power in that and I recognized what I love most about this platform, again, is the relationship building and going back to remote. I lost a little bit of that. So I had to kind of get more creative. So I had to spend more time engaging with that person before and after, you know, following up with them, an email, text. And because I knew that it was more than just, hey, what are we going to talk about for the next 30, 60 minutes? It was like, who are you? How can I help? You know, how can we come together on stuff? Or how can I connect the dots for other people? It's truly like the relationship building platform. So I had to kind of spend a little bit more time before and after. Had to really get creative in terms of the content. Yeah. Because there's only so many ways you can make a zoom window look pretty.

Yeah.

So, you know, you know, my production team, shout out Nutsio, man, he's gotten incredible, incredibly creative with, you know, making something that isn't as aesthetic.

Yeah.

Look incredible.

Totally.

So I would say in a. The biggest way, I would say it has really lit a fire under me and my content in terms of creativity. It has really forced me to get more creative and problem solve in a different way that I don't think I would have had otherwise.

I love that I want to talk about daily habits. Every time I watch your Instagram story, you're talking about some of these products that you use or the socks that are compressions.

Yeah, man.

And it's always fascinating to me. I'm drawn in and it's something that you do so well. But thank you. What, what is your daily routine? What are things that are like non negotiables for you that you tend to do every day?

Non negotiables definitely are bookends for me. How I start my day and how I end my day. Morning routine and evening routine. Number one, above everything else for me is sleep. So I have a hard, like, you know, cutoff time, screen time, bedtime, like bedtime ritual. So that I can get quality sleep because I found over the years when my sleep is dialed in, everything else just is way more successful. Okay, so morning routine is, you know, I, I honestly, about a year ago, year and a half, I stopped setting alarms. I really honor that, my natural circadian rhythm. So really I go to bed the same time, I wake up at the same time pretty much every time, usually between like 6:37am Okay. I kind of just naturally wake up and I'm not groggy, I'm totally rest. I wake up and I'm just like, whoa, let's go.

Yeah, I'm ready to go.

So it's waking up on time consistently, as much as possible. Then I immediately, I have this literally sitting on my nightstand or another 32 ounce water bottle. I just wake up, pound water. And then I go to the sun as soon as possible. So whether that's just going up to the roof here or taking my dog for a walk, get sunlight immediately to get some vitamin D to reset my circadian rhythm to just get grounded a little bit. And then I reach for what I call, I go health. I have some micro greens, super greens powder that I use. I use a couple different mushroom elixirs for immune boosters, adaptogens, focus power, some collagen. I have a little cocktail, morning cocktail that just is feeding my body on a cellular level. And really the biggest thing I could say is I honor the morning time for me. For me, the soonest I will ever schedule anything, of course, you know, emergency here and there is like, is 10am okay? Because I wake up and I need those first three, four hours to just take care of me.

Yep.

So whether that's, you know, all of that and then I maybe do a workout or yoga or just, you know, do nothing, at least know I've taken care of myself. And then just getting really, really hyper vigilant with my time time blocking. You know, certain days are, you know, podcast days, coaching days, phone call days, marketing days, and then just, you know, checking in throughout the day. But really for me it's bookends. It's morning ritual and evening ritual.

I love that. Has that changed over the years or.

Sort of, kinda.

Okay.

Predominantly I've always really been like a sleep focused person. The last like one to two years it's been even more kind of strict. But yeah, always for years. I've always been pretty much an early riser. Definitely probably have the military to thank for that. But always big water drinker. I've always focused on like cellular health, you know, Just fueling my body, fueling my mind. Right. So that I've got like the foundation set so that I can be the best chase that I can be.

I love that, man. What's been your experience with living in la? I told you earlier, I'm going to be moving to LA shortly. This is something that I'm excited about, about and it's something that I've been looking forward to. But what would your be, what would your advice be for someone moving to la and how have, how has living out here helped you and what have you learned from that?

Man? I'm, I love new environments, I love moving. My family and friends always make fun of me. They're like, you know, it's been a year, you're moving again. So I, I, I thrive off of environment.

Yeah.

Again, probably the military. You know, I change bases, you know, every one, two years.

Yeah.

I'm, I'm always looking for just what's, what else is out there.

Yeah.

Not to say that I'm not happy where I am, but just I love getting the most out of the situation and let me go on to see what else life has to offer. East coast to here, D.C. to hear, Virginia to hear was like the biggest wake up call of my life, man. I had been back and forth a lot like, I think you have to totally. But once you live here, it's different. It took me straight up 8 to 10 months for me to just finally be like, oh, I don't know, like, it's just a totally different vibe, totally different people, totally different way of life. Just daily interaction with people, getting your coffee or walking on the sidewalk. I wasn't quite sure if I was like, yo, this is it, I love it kind of thing.

Okay.

But I always had the trade off to kind of answer the other part of your question was it has treated me so well since moving here. Like I said, we predominantly came from my wife for school, but for what I'm doing here in the podcast and this world, it has just been transformational.

Totally.

It takes a little bit of time to meet the right people. But again, I took that as a challenge, you know, like 2020. Got to get more creative.

Yeah.

I, I'm challenged now to find the right people, to connect with the right people. Because there's so many different pockets of people and, and energy and vibes and professions and all the things and I didn't really connect with a lot of them. Yep. So I had to kind of take it upon myself to, to make more of the effort. There's some great people here. There are some not so great people here. Yeah. It took me a long time to just fully adjust, but honestly, like, LA's home now. Yeah. Yeah.

How do you go about booking guests on your show? I know everyone has their strategies and we've talked about mine on your show, but how do you go about booking guests on your show? How selective are you and what does that process look like?

I wouldn't really say. I would like to say or like to think that I'm not really selective. Of course, I get, I'm sure, you know, the same way everyday emails, DMs, you know, a lot of people request requesting to come on or like third party services. Hey, we got a great guest for you.

Yeah.

And I look at all of them. I have an assistant now. She's been with me for like two years. Shout out Josie. She does an incredible job of kind of like filtering through some people. Like, she knows. As I've gotten better with my message, as I've gotten better with what I want this platform to be, I've gotten better with the types of conversations and the types of people that I want on and. And she gets that as well. So we have a little bit of a vetting process, but, man, I mean, last week I had an episode that go live that went live with someone who's got 1.4 million followers on Instagram. But I've also, like, I have sought out and like, yo, we got to get this guy who's got like, you know, 700 followers.

Totally.

I. It takes time, but all good things in life take time. So, like, I'll research the person. Like, I don't care you got zero or all the followers. What's the story for me throughout my years of living and becoming, I would like to think a better person and just choosing to show up every day. The practice of living a life ever forward, heightened attention, awareness into my fitness, nutrition mindset. I look for that in other people. And I firmly believe that most people have a really great story. And there's something in your story that I'm going to learn from. And if we can record it and share it with the world, a lot of other people are going to feel the same way.

And.

And again, I go back to what it did for me in the beginning. I would listen in my car, I would listen in the gym, I would listen. And it helped me immensely. Like in my professional life, in my personal life, just looking up new ideas and research and books, I was like, everybody needs to know. So Yeah, I mean a little bit of a filtration process, but not super picky. But I need, just need to make sure. I hate to say this, but it's got to be the right fit.

Yeah, for sure. That totally makes sense. A couple more questions before we wrap up and I think one of them is what would be your advice to your younger self, 20 years old, looking back just along your entrepreneur journey, but just life overall? I think that's a super important thing to say here because you've had many experiences from being in the military to losing your father, to having a very successful show in business and you've been all over the country. You know, we can both come from Virginia now you live in la and it's a unique perspective that to get. But what would your advice be to your younger self moving forward?

You may not like the journey, you may not like the ride, but everything is important, everything plays a role, especially at 20 years old. I mean, for me it was a little bit different. I was already two years into working as a soldier, working in the military, but as a 20 year old in general, I think that's a universal human thing. Yeah, like you think you know everything, you're coming of age or you feel invincible, but yeah, like maintain that confidence, but also accept the fact that you're going to change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but the change is inevitable and change is a very, very good thing. And I wish I would have recognized that everything along the way, it didn't have to just be like, oh, this has to be successful or it's a failure or this is the right person or the wrong person, but just, just show up, show up. Usually if you can just show up, shut up and sit down, show up at the right time, the right place, then there's, there's a lesson in there and it's very important for you to like, maybe you don't get it right then and there, but just be aware enough to, to know that there is one there and then, you know, mull on it later.

Yep, I love that Last question before we wrap up and that is about your show. Ever Forward Radio. What are you excited about? And do you have a dream guest that you want to have on the show and if so, who is it?

I'm so excited for the future of this show. Like every episode, every guest just honestly teaches me so much more. Like whether it's a technicality with the equipment.

Yeah.

Interview style. So I mean you include it, man. Seriously, every guest I have is just incredible. And it just. I know that the next one's gonna be better. Next one's gonna be better. So I'm really excited just to see where the platform, the industry goes, and I want to go along with it. Dream guest for me, honestly, Ryan Holiday, he is my favorite living author. He. I. I met him actually. Not far. I went to one of his recent book release. Well, it's like a year ago now. He. He writes all my favorite books. I'm a big stoic philosopher enthusiast. I read his book, the Daily Stoic every day for the past, like, four years.

Really?

Yeah, it's that first thing I post up every day on Social.

Okay.

It's been the first thing.

Got it.

For years. Yeah. Ego is the enemy. I love that book. Yeah. All. That's all him. I actually have a email thread every couple months. I'll kind of, like, follow up. I have an email thread with Ryan going back to, like, 2017.

Okay.

So he's one. He's very elusive, and I know this isn't just me. He's super diligent with his time and his writing, and he's a family man. So, yeah, Ryan Holiday, for sure. Maybe you're listening. I love Austin, Texas. I'll come to the ranch 100.

Well, cool. Chase, I just want to say thank you so much for coming on the show today and everyone listening. Make sure you check out Chase and what he's doing. Listen to his podcast. It's phenomenal. I was on the show recently, and now we did this on mine. So I really appreciate you coming on, man.

Va. Let's go. Thank you, guys.

All right, guys, talk to you soon.

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