Getting Under The Skin

What happens when the questions that once got you arrested become the foundation of your life's work?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Bryce Hoffman, bestselling author and the only civilian ever to complete the U.S. Army's Red Team Leader Program. As founder of Red Team Thinking, he helps organizations like Google, Salesforce, and the U.S. Marine Corps challenge assumptions and make sharper decisions.Together, they explore:- How radical idealism evolves into disciplined critical thinking- Why ego is the enemy of great leadership- Failure as a feature, not a flaw- What it really means to stop pushing the riverThis conversation is about learning to ask the tough questions, and having the courage to listen to the answers._____________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUPrK1EksczxTm35F_GeUASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What happens when the parts of you that were silenced begin to speak again?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with award-winning podcaster, empowerment coach, and author Michelle Lamoureux, creator of The Good Life podcast and author of Design a Life You Love.Michelle reflects on the formative experiences that shaped her: being “othered” as a child, surviving a near abduction, and wearing a scoliosis brace for six years — and how those moments cultivated empathy, resilience, and a drive to create safe spaces for women to reclaim their voice.Together, they explore:• Reclaiming your voice after silence• How early experiences shape identity and empathy• Success as the courage to try• Motherhood, safety, and raising a daughter with agency• Designing a life with intentionThis conversation examines what it means to design a life with intention, expand beyond inherited limitations, and stay human in an increasingly AI-driven world.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What does leadership look like when certainty falls away?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Yoseph Ayele, Ethiopian-born entrepreneur and founder of LAVA, for a wide-ranging conversation about talent, ego, purpose, and the courage to not know. From growing up in Ethiopia to building across borders, Yoseph reflects on what happens when control loosens and attention shifts toward listening, humility, and service.Moving between leadership, inequality, and self-awareness, this conversation explores talent as energy, not status, contradiction as a source of truth, and why learning to let go may be one of the most important leadership practices of our time.In this episode, we explore:• What talent really is and how it develops• Ego, humility, and self-awareness in leadership• Inequality, access, and reframing prosperity• Letting go of control and certainty• Purpose as service rather than achievement• Parenting, legacy, and what we pass forward_____________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What matters when fear enters your life through the people you love most?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Airrion Copeland, a filmmaker, writer, and nonprofit leader, for a raw conversation about fatherhood, fear, and the moments that change how you see everything. After a near-death experience involving his young son, Airrion reflects on what breaks open when control disappears and what’s revealed in its place.From early trauma and storytelling to compassion, uncertainty, and raising children in an unpredictable world, this conversation explores suffering as a teacher, purpose as service, and why letting go of certainty may be the only honest way forward.In this episode, we explore:• Fatherhood and fear• Near-death experiences and wake-up calls• Suffering as a teacher• Letting go of certainty and control• Purpose as service• Raising children in an uncertain future_____________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com

What if progress isn't about moving faster, but about remembering what's sacred in what we build?In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Andy Tudhope, a technologist, writer, and builder, for a wide ranging conversation about code, consciousness, and community.Andy reflects on formative experiences with violence, near death, and ego dissolution, and how those moments shaped his relationship with love, presence, and meaning. From Zen and Sufism to poetry, programming, and rethinking money as a communal habit rather than a fixed truth, this conversation explores sincerity, humility, and what it means to live inside the question rather than rush toward answers.In this episode, we explore:• Progress beyond speed and scale• Death, presence, and love as practice• Language, silence, and meaning• Code, money, and trust• Why better questions matter more than certainty_____________________________________________________________________Listen GUTS:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GSiahH3NYTiFKZ4mIGQnJ?si=fce013635cfa4947Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-under-the-skin/id1821276933Follow GUTS:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/Subscribe for updates: topazadizes.com #GUTSPodcast #ConsciousTechnology #Philosophy #MeaningAndPurpose #RethinkingProgress

Belief is easy when you’re understood. Conviction is what remains when you’re not.In this episode of GUTS, host Topaz Adizes sits down with Charlie Goldsmith, Healer and Explorer, for an honest conversation about healing, belief, and what it means to follow a calling that challenges how people understand reality.Charlie shares the moment at eighteen when he first realized he could heal someone and the fear, disbelief, and isolation that followed. From family disapproval and years of having to prove himself, to being studied by major institutions and working to create pathways for others like him, this conversation explores resilience, empathy, and the cost of trusting your inner knowing.In this episode, we explore:• Discovering a gift no one believes in• Healing, chronic pain, and the placebo question• Family disapproval and self trust• Trauma, empathy, and purpose• Why not everything real needs explanation______________________________________________________________________________🌐 Subscribe for updateshttps://topazadizes.com👉 Follow us on social media:Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/guts.podcast/TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@guts.podcastLinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/topazadizes/