
Fired Up! – Lisa Ann
Welcome to Fired Up! This is a new podcast by Matt Ritter and Alex Weber. The guys will be interviewing individuals who have risen from extreme turmoil to succeed at the highest levels. You’ll hear their stories of grit and determination as they walk you through what it took them to become top performers in their fields. This week’s episode is with Lisa Ann, an amazing individual who went from the adult film industry to THE fantasy football guru.
Highlights:
- Why it’s important to plan your own demise.
- The importance of limiting your goals and making shortlists.
- Start looking at life as an adventure.
- How and why you should be an HOA president.
- What it takes to be the Lebron James of your industry.
- Lisa’s life-changing court case.
- Accepting failure is what brings you to your next win.
The Takeaway: Doing things to make other people’s lives more comfortable will fulfill you more than anything you are doing to make yours more comfortable.
Websites:
Lisa on Sirius: https://www.siriusxm.ca/hosts/lisa-ann/
Lisa on Twitter: http://twitter.com/@thereallisaann
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Twitter:
@mattritter1
@IamAlexWeber
Fired Up! – Bonus Episode
Fired Up! Season 2 is coming soon. The guys will be interviewing some huge guests, including a Startup Millionaire, a huge TV Producer and the biggest Adult film Star on the planet. Stay Tuned! In the meantime here’s Matt and Alex telling their stories about getting fired from corporate america and moving to LA to pursue a career in entertainment.
Highlights:
- Matt used to work for the largest law firm in the world.
- After subsequent weeks of partying and slacking off at work, Matt fell asleep one morning under his desk at work. His boss found him with 2 different shoes on and knew he had been out drinking. This was during a meeting where the firm was closing a Billion dollar deal.
- After billing for about ¼ of the hours his colleagues were billing for, Matt’s managers asked him what he wanted to do with his life. They offered him 4 months severance to go find a new gig.
- After trying to caddie, Alex got fired on the first day after he couldn’t find his golfers ball.
- Alex played a big prank at work, got caught and got fired. It ended up being the best thing that happened to him.
The Takeaway: You have to take the leap into what you want to do. The longer you put it off the harder it will be. It takes courage, but in the end you won’t regret trying to pursue your dreams.
Websites:
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Fired Up! ? Jon Rudnitsky – Episode 05
This week on the podcast the guys interview Jon Rudnitsky. Jon is most known for his stint on Saturday night live from 2015-2016. Jon is a great comedic actor known for his parodies and improv skills. In this episode you’ll hear Jon’s story and how he struggled through dead end jobs and hustled for many years doing stand up, before getting a couple big breaks. After eventually getting hired on Saturday Night Live he was fired a year later. This is his story.
Highlights:
- Jon was fired from Saturday Night Live after his first year.
- Without a team of writers, Jon struggled to come up with bits and sketches.
- Feeling isolated and worrying about his performance, Jon got the news that he was being let go for his second year.
- Being fired was the best thing that happened. It opened up the doors to new opportunities.
- Jon never had any doubts about pursuing comedy and acting.
- After being fired Jon moved to LA and landed a role in a movie 2 days later.
The Takeaway: You have to have irrational confidence when pursuing your passion/dreams.
Websites:
Jon Rudnitsky: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4339544/
Cascade Media: https://cascademedia.com/
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Fired Up! ? Kelly Roach – Episode 03
This week on the podcast is Kelly Roach. Kelly runs an online coaching business where she helps entrepreneurs become leaders, impact the world and grow their profits. In this episode Kelly will walk you through how to overcome self-doubt, learn how to pivot when things don’t go as expected.
Highlights:
- Set backs can teach you valuable lessons about where/what you should really be doing.
- Explore opportunities and jobs. Get out of your comfort zone and try things. Figure out where your head and your heart are.
- When you stop learning and growing you start dying.
- Doubt is constant and consistence. You just get better and pushing past it.
- A tight and strategic approach to time management is essential for success in life and business.
- Assess and reflect in a non-emotional way.
The Takeaway: 30 productive and meaningful hours at your job each week produces a bigger impact than 80 wasted hours.
Websites:
Kelly Roach: https://kellyroachcoaching.com/
Cascade Media: https://cascademedia.com/
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Fired Up! ? Leigh Steinberg – Episode 02
Leigh Steinberg is one of the greatest sports agents of all time. Director Cameron Crow shadowed Leigh for a year and loosely based the movie Jerry McGuire off him. Steinberg has represented over 300 athletes’ in football, baseball, basketball, boxing and Olympic Sports. Although he’s achieved great things, it wasn’t always easy for Leigh. In this episode you’ll hear how Leigh got his start and how he battled addiction, divorce and bankruptcy. After reaching rock bottom he rebounded and was able to rebuild his career and family life.
Highlights:
- When Leigh began his career, agents didn’t have the right to represent players, most athletes’ represented themselves.
- Steven Barkowski, a first round Quarterback pick, asked Leigh to represent him. Leigh ended up getting him the largest rookie contract in NFL history.
- Leigh was a mastermind behind branding players.
- After writing best selling books, being involved in a series of sports movies, Leigh grew his practice and raised hundreds of millions for charity.
- When Leigh’s father died of cancer, his son was diagnosed with an eye disease and he got divorced, he began drinking.
- Seven years of continuous sobriety.
- Priorities: Sober first, great father second, build a business third.
- 6 out of 7 of Leigh’s first years in his career, he represented first round picks in the NFL. At one point he had half the starting quarterbacks in the NFL on his client roster.
The Takeaway: To accomplish great things one must have an inner belief in themselves and then a vision; an ability to anticipate tomorrow and see a world that doesn’t exist today.
Quote: “At the end of life when you cut away all the minutia, all that will matter is the quality of relationships you had, the richness of your friendships and what you were able to give back to the world.”
Websites:
Leigh Steinberg: http://www.steinbergsports.com/about/
Cascade Media: https://cascademedia.com/
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Fired Up! ? JP Sears – Episode 04
In this episode Matt and Alex interview JP Sears. JP is an author, life coach and Internet comedian. He is known for parodying “hippie topics” such as veganism and gluten-free diets. JP’s story starts when he left high school as a lost, young and insecure man. It wasn’t till his 30’s when he began to realize his purpose through comedy.
Highlights:
- JP started out on a “typical path”. However, a few months into college he dropped out.
- Young, insecure and a college dropout, JP was lost and had an unknown future ahead of him.
- It wasn’t until his early 30’s that JP got into comedy and started to realize his purpose.
- If you don’t get out of your comfort zone, you’ll live in a coffin for the rest of your life.
- You won’t know what life has in store for you until you quit your job and pursue your passion.
- Balance risk taking with responsibility.
- Don’t quit your job today. Go explore and find your passion then start working in that field on the side.
- Whoever’s attracted to your light will find you.
The Takeaway: You have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Slowly start trying new things and find what it is you love in life. Allow yourself to accept challenges that may lead to opportunity.
Quote: “The more we allow ourselves to feel insecure and embrace it, the more we’re inherently secure with our insecurity.”
Websites:
JP Sears: https://awakenwithjp.com/
Cascade Media: https://cascademedia.com/
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Fired Up! ? Thom Shea – Episode 01
Welcome to Fired Up! This is a new podcast by Matt Ritter and Alex Weber. The guys will be interviewing individuals who have risen from extreme turmoil to succeed at the highest levels. You’ll hear their stories of grit and determination as they walk you through what it took them to become top performers in their fields. This week’s episode is with Thom Shea, an award winning Navy Seal, Author and founder of the podcast “Unbreakable”.
Highlights:
- Thom flunked out of WestPoint and failed Navy Seals training four times.
- As a sniper, Thom first experienced combat in Kosovo. He was 29 years old.
- A big part of SEALS training is preparing for things going bad.
- Thom grew up around American War Hero’s.
- After flunking out of WestPoint, Thom got advice to go live the life he’d dreamed of, becoming a Navy Seal.
- Navy Seals are known as a group of “misfits” who have a passion for really difficult situations. It’s comprised of the most unique individuals in the armed forces.
- Seals Hell Week is comprised of extreme mental and physical tests designed to destroy your mental spirit and break you down physically. They freeze you, confuse you and keep pushing you physically with little to no sleep.
- Thom’s philosophy for success: Honor your word and test it often.
- On combat missions Thom would learn things in battle, write them down and send them in letters to his kids.
The Takeaway: Quitting is easy when you’re stuck in a life you’re not passionate about. That’s why it’s important to follow your dreams. It’s harder to quit when you love and believe in what you’re doing.
Websites:
Thom Shea: http://adamantinealliance.com/thom-shea/
Cascade Media: https://cascademedia.com/
Matt Ritter: http://mattrittercomedy.com/
Alex Weber: https://www.imalexweber.com/
Twitter:
@mattritter1
@IamAlexWeber
Stay tuned!


A New York native, Alex has created, produced, and starred in projects for Television, Feature, and Digital Entertainment. Watch Alex on Comedy Central's hit series, TOSH.0, with Daniel Tosh and Carrot Top. Alex is currently the digital host for NBC's hit show, American Ninja Warrior. Alex has been a regular on Will Ferrell's Comedy site, FunnyOrDie.com, alongside Ray Romano and Don Cheadle, as well as working with Comedians from Adam Sandler's troupe, and CollegeHumor.com. Alex has starred in Commercial Campaigns and National Commercials, late night sketches on The Tonight Show, and hosting on the Red Carpet for MasterCard's GRAMMY campaign. Alex set a first-ever World Record by Video Chatting 24/7 for 14 days straight and broadcasting it LIVE to the globe (NoHangUps.tv). Alex also created & directed the feature length Documentary COMMITTED on America's fastest growing sport, Lacrosse. Alex is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania where he was a starter for their Division 1 Lacrosse team in The Ivy League, earning Academic All-America Honors. In his first LA years, Alex was Head Coach of Harvard Westlake's Lacrosse program, and in his first year the team won the Greater LA Championship for the first time in school history. Alex earned U.S. Lacrosse High School Coach of the Year.





Matt Ritter recently traded big law for the big stage. He graduated from the University Pennsylvania Law School and worked as a corporate lawyer at both Kirkland and Ellis and Mayer Brown before leaving the law to pursue a career in entertainment.
Matt's voice can be heard both behind the camera as well as in front, center stage. Behind the camera, Matt is a TV producer on various shows including A&E's "Duck Dynasty" (highest rated unscripted show in the history of cable television) and "Fat N' Furious" (Discovery Channel). He is also the co-creator of the television series “Chained to My Ex” which premiered on MSNBC recently to rave reviews. Matt is a host of multiple shows on AfterBuzz TV and has been a guest commentator on various programs (CBS News, Fox News “On the Record”, NBC, MTV.com, ComedyTime TV, and Askmen.com), has guest hosted (Sirius XM “Raw Dog” Comedy) and is a writer for various publications (Readers Digest, US Weekly (Fashion Police), Crushable, Post Grad Problems, Above the Law, and Bitter Lawyer). Matt can also be seen in front of large audiences regularly performing at the Hollywood Improv, the Comedy Store and the Gotham Comedy Club and touring with his troupe of former lawyers called the "Comedians at Law." His standup has been featured on “Man Up Standup” on the Maverick channel and has recently participated in the Big Sky Comedy Festival, the Ventura Harbor Comedy Festival and the New York Underground Comedy Festival. Matt has also starred in a national Sears commercial and a digital series about the law called the Bottom Rung that won multiple awards at the LA Web Festival. He recently contributed to a book about the Obama presidency that will be release in May by Harper Collins, and worked on a large ad campaign for Captain Morgan.




Matt Ritter and Alex Weber talk with leaders from all walks of life who have dealt with some sort of turmoil and rebounded to succeed at the highest levels. These unique individuals who have had success in array of areas of their life, through blazing their own, non-traditional path. They all have one thing in common, they got "FiredUp!" Some of our recent guests include: a Saturday Night Live cast member, Leigh Steinberg (the real life Jerry McGuire), and a number of business leaders, artists and professional athletes.