Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

Episode 085: Drew Dinkmeyer, “Welly-Maker” Charity Water Organizer

Drew Dinkmeyer is one of the most respected experts in the fantasy sports industry. Along with Mike Leone, they co-founded DailyRoto, which is one of the most accurate and comprehensive research sites for fantasy sports. In 2013, at the age of 31, Dinkmeyer left his job as a financial investment analyst behind to become one of just a handful of fantasy sports professionals. In December of 2014, he won a million dollars in a football contest on Draftkings. 

In 2017, Drew was named the “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) for his work as the organizer of the Welly-Maker.  The Welly-Maker ultimately raised over $40,000 and provided clean water solutions for more than 1,300 people. In 2018, Drew launched Welly-Maker 2.0 and pledged to match up to $40,000.

“Dinkpiece”, as he is known in the fantasy world, earned an Ivy league degree in Psychological and Brain Studies (which means he is really smart) from Dartmouth University. Drew also played Division I Tennis – where he is 2nd all-time in wins. He worked for Morgan Stanley as a an investment analyst. He has been featured in both Maxim and the Wall Street Journal, as well as being interviewed by NPR. 

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • His passion for sports
  • Advice for starting to play fantasy sports
  • The need for clean water in third-world countries
  • Why he started the “Welly-Maker”

[Read more…]

Episode 057: Motivational Speaker Tony Gaskins, Jr.

Tony Gaskins Jr. is a motivational speaker, author, and life coach who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.  Tony built his brand from scratch to where he now has more than 1 million followers on social media. At 22, he became an author. At 23, he became a husband and father. At 25, he started his first company, Soul Writers LLC. At 25, he also got himself on globally televised shows to tell a portion of his story. Tony decided to turn his pain into purpose and live a life of service. Raised in the church and being the son of a pastor, there was something about service that stuck with Tony.

 

Tony made his fair share of mistakes like most young men from areas like where he grew up. Many of his childhood friends are serving life sentences in prison. Although Tony was introduced to the street life between the ages of 18–23, he finally found his way. At 23, he allowed love to change his life. His wife was unwilling to be with a man who wouldn’t live up to his full potential. That tough love pushed Tony to be more and to do more.

By combining all of his passions Tony became an author, life coach, and speaker.  In 2015 Tony began working with an NBA team as the team life coach.   Tony also became the life coach for several college teams. His message comes from his mess. He believes that we all are coaches because we’ve all learned lessons that can help someone else. Operating in his gifts also took him around the world as a highly sought- after speaker. Tony has spoken in two other continents and over 10 different countries and counting. Tony was able to accomplish these feats by the tender age of 31.

He doesn’t believe in boxes. “Don’t put me in a box until I’m going in the ground,” he says. He covers a wide range of topics in the areas of life, love, and business. He’s written several books on those subjects with his latest work being The Dream Chaser published by Wiley and available everywhere books are sold.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • His appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show
  • How his background helped shape who he is now
  • Writing books to help people
  • Working with and connecting with NBA players 

[Read more…]

Episode 045: Sports Spectrum Host Jason Romano

Jason Romano is the host and producer of the Sports Spectrum podcast where he interviews athletes, coaches, and other personalities on the intersection of sports and faith. He is also a speaker, author, media consultant and church leader with 20 years of professional broadcasting experience on the regional and network level. For 17 years, Jason was a Senior Manager and Producer at ESPN. He has created and produced content for shows such as SportsCenter, Monday Night Football, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Sunday NFL Countdown, College Gameday, MLB’s All Star Game. During his time at ESPN, Jason produced content for ESPN Radio, helped lead and grow the talent booking department, building relationships with the biggest names in sports as well as creating and managing the NFL on ESPN’s social media channels, growing them to over 6 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Jason has spoken to thousands of people at conferences, colleges, companies and churches. He’s a big advocate of social media, having built up large followings both for ESPN’s social feeds as well as his own personal brand. Jason’s first book, “Live to Forgive” was published in January of 2018.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • The amazing guests that he has had on his Sports Spectrum podcast
  • Why it is so hard to forgive others and why we need to forgive
  • Who is on Jason’s bucket list for future podcast guests
  • His experiences and 17 years at ESPN

[Read more…]

Episode 029: Fantasy Football Expert Adam Levitan

Adam Levitan is a fantasy football expert that helps thousands of casual and serious players each week. He is a DraftKings analyst. Along with Fantasy Football Millionaire Maker Winners, Peter Jennings and Al Zeidenfeld, they co-host The Daily Fantasy Football Edge pod. Levitan is also an analyst and writer for Fantasy Labs. He is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writer Association award winner. In 2015, PlayingLegal.com named Levitan as one of the Top-50 Influential People in Daily Fantasy Sports. Not only does he have a loyal following of people wanting fantasy sports advice but he also provides entertaining answers to listener questions each week on his “solo pod” fantasy edge podcast.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • Advice for individuals wanting to play fantasy football
  • Playing a tennis match against a frying pan-wielding tennis pro.
  • How to handle trolls or criticism on social media
  • What motivated him to get into better shape this year

[Read more…]

Episode 026: ESPN.com Fantasy Football Senior Editor Keith Lipscomb

Keith Lipscomb has been at ESPN.com for 20 years. He is currently the Senior Editor for Fantasy Football. He has served many roles through the years, including editor, writer, on-air talent and podcast host for the ESPN Fantasy editorial team. He works closely with the Fantasy Focus Football 06010 podcast that is hosted by Matthew Berry, Field Yates, and Stephania Bell. This podcast is regularly listed among Apple’s Top-100 most downloaded podcasts. Keith has been an editor for Sports Nation and one of ESPN’s NBA researchers. He writes an article every year prior to the NCAA Tournament that outlines all the information that you need to know for completing your March Madness brackets. He was a star baseball player and communications major at Hiram (OH) College prior to going into journalism full-time.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

  • Being a Cleveland sports fan
  • The path to getting hired by ESPN
  • Best NCAA Tournament memories
  • How to succeed at a job for the long-term
  • What it is like to work with Matthew Berry, the top personality in all of fantasy sports

[Read more…]

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