The Option

Episode 285 - Phil Escott & Melissa Lim

Health/lifestyle consultant, 14-year carnivore and drummer Phil Escott got chronically ill as a vegetarian, and his body revolted with psoriatic arthritis and other autoimmune conditions in 2010, leaving him unable to move without severe pain, let alone drum or exercise, and he had to throw out all his existing “expertise” and start from scratch. Phil’s eventual combination of a carnivore diet with EMF and artificial light avoidance, cold thermogenesis and a range of other health enhancing practices reversed the “incurable” diseases that he suffered from. His book “Arthritis, The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” gained a foreword by Dr. Jack Kruse and has become an Amazon Kindle bestseller and is now available in print. Phil talks from personal experience about contemporary lifestyle and diet choices, disconnects from our ancestral heritage, emotional balancing and the simple but often misunderstood nature of spiritual awakening. He now consults with clients worldwide helping them to reverse their metabolic and autoimmune issues and runs The Big Fat Challenge with Ben Hunt as his main project. His latest book, the "Red Pill Revolution" is awesome. Melissa Lim is a Canadian American Pharmacist and volleyball player/enthusiast. She was inspired by a previous episode with "meat militia" member Phil Escott and leader Dr Bart Kay. Her journey on completely overhauling her diet has had life changing results, from getting rid of Acne she has had since age 9, to an energy level and clarity that is shooting through the roof. The chronological path of paying it forward continues. 02:39 - Melissa's journey to carnivorism, the ailments the journey, the right path, Phils tells his journey of the same that led to his first book 26:23 - Why carnivorism is now a growing culture, not a diet but a species appropriate way of life, how to maintain sources of vitamin C, discussing the notion that athletes "need" carbohydrates or not, the glycemic chart and how to use it 39:33 - Having the difficult discussion with loved ones on the benefits or health changes, perhaps best to lead by example and show the results, first-hand, understanding that the opposition is not monolithic, the division between the stubborn, the willfully ignorant, and how the sales pitch can help people or turn them off 50:01 - Getting rid of foods that are addictive and diminishing your quality of life, who needs this more than most and how to help 1:12:33 - The silly notion of this being a "grift" (the censorship, the loss of reputation, the amount of work being done for free), the perfect "stool" lol, the attack by General Mills on our breakfast index, and why none of it was scientific 1:23:42 - Meds that help and meds that kick the can down the road, the leaky gut, inflammation, HDL and LDL and how people misinterpret it, what you are being told to do, vs the one who has to live with the results (you), plus, what feeds the gut Biome? 1:37:39 - HDL and LDL and how people misinterpret it, seed oils, and throwing away the meat for the sins of the bun, plus, new events, retreats, seminars and getaways

Episode 284 - AVP 2026 (Huntington) Qualifier picks

This episode is about the AVP Huntington Beach, with a concentration on the qualifiers. With only 4 spots available per gender, who's it going to be? 00:27 - Kudos to everyone representing the best in their volleyball region 02:10 - Prediction picks for the men's side 12:21 - Prediction picks for the women's side 22:11 - The main draw, comment section, final thoughts

Episode 283 - Kristen Cruz (Nuss)

Kristen Cruz (Nuss) is an American professional beach volleyball player. A perfect 36-0 her senior year at LSU, she hit the ground running on the pro scene, winning multiple regional tournaments, her first Gold Series in Atlanta, her first FIVB in Australia, the first of many titles on the domestic and international scene, capping it off with her first Olympic appearance at the Paris games. Along with her partner Taryn Brasher, they are, to date, the number one team in the world. This podcast was live where we took live questions, mixed in with our subject matter 02:01 - The past tournaments, the honor system on touch or net calls, what age did you start driving, her upcoming tournament with Lippmann from Germany 09:22 - fan questions: serving strategy as the smaller player, was playing in front of your parents growing up a pressure cooker, how do you break down video (self, opponent), don't over-analyze things about a team that can change from one game to another, plus, what techniques are not up for compromise? 17:45 - favorite country to play in, her type of set preference, when she wants to start a family, personalizing your work, dealing with a loss, when coaches should talk to players post-loss 28:06 - why do some people leave hating the game, an examination of the juniors, college and professional perspective, the importance of letting juniors' players know that a competition club can be a safe zone, plus, the physical and mental adjustment made to prep from college to the pros 38:20 - examples of games where you got blown away the first set and won the next two sets (shared stories), plus, saluting Kamila Tan (injured) and Madison Shields 44:11 - What should AA players be spending more time on in practice and what do most spend too much time working on? Volleyball teams that are joined at the hip who play with other players 52:25 - teams that she looks forward to playing against, plus the spread of women's beach, bicoastal and third coast, letting emotional sleeping tigers, sleep, international teams in the tournament, being fast starter in a league with games to 15, loving the Austin Aces, the idea of the "expansion drafts" 1:03:11 - NOLA talent from the past: Zimmerman, Pete Nuss, Dale Davis, remaining fan questions, married life

Episode 282 - Jeff Samuels

Jeff "el Hefe" Samuels is an American Professional Beach Volleyball Player, Entrepreneur, and Model. He is also a spokesperson for Hyundai. The prosperity he is enjoying in his sport is well-documented. From the AVP, FIVB, NVL, to regional tournament wins, this versatile player is fun to watch, wherever the venue may be. He is currently the founder of "Empact," - designed to bring and grow the sport in communities that are underserved in the sport. 01:43 - FUDS, the electric atmosphere, the fellowship, the hecklers and how it compares to other tournaments that are festive 13:13 - Heckling, and understanding your environment, plus, Dave Shaw is a great MC that understands the set and the setting 25:10 - Jordan Lucas, the commentator, and the two sides to the coin, appreciating the pecking order, the personalities 37:10 - Marcus Koppke, the ultimate teammate, the significant improvements 48:11 - Cracking the code of being in the semis, finals or being the winner 51:45 - "Empact," the idea, the creation the growing force

Episode 281 - Joel Sanchez

Joel Sanchez is an American Volleyball coach. A New York product, he played competitively for club Mocha and was a standout at Lehman College. Once he entered coaching, he hit the ground running, with a "Midas touch" on every single program in which he was involved. From club to college to adult pros, wherever there is success, there he is, with a list entirely too long for the description. To date, he is the program director of Legacy Volleyball Club, where his work won him national director of the year in 2022. 04:19 - Legacy volleyball: the idea, the pioneering, the ascension, providing a place of safeness and escapism. 18:22 - NYC being the pandemic ground zero and how the club survived, catching up on 25 years of playing and coaching (for our "people"), being raised in a culture where taking care is first contact is never an issue. 28:28 - Remembering Guillermo Ramos, the hardest hitter we have ever seen, the invincibility of Bameso in 2004-2005, the "beauty" of Desmond "Shadow" Hamilton 38:31 - Why Omar Vargas was the most important coach in NYC from 1994-2004, the majority or NYC coaches in the 2000's were active players with little guidance trying to figure it out - and did they, ever, about Justin Stack, Dan Skillins, Krishna Daas, Danial Levant 52:26 -Personalizing your work: does it work more for you or against you? Plus, how do you set up an environment where people want to come to practice. 1:06:35 - The golden rule of coaching girls and women vs coaching boys and men, plus the moment we realized players changed and we stayed the same, about Jackie Meadow, why do we need a degree to coach? 1:22:22 - finding ways to coach and eat in the South Bronx, plus, more NYC talk, about Elvis Rodriguez, Mike Salak, Seidu Ajanako 1:30:01 - a coach's wild dream is for a player to say they are a better person because of them, and open letter to Joel Sanchez, thanks to the players who picked up the phone and said "yes."