This week, Gunnar and Jen are joined by Don Saladino and Ed Coan in Nashville for a mentorship weekend. Don and Eddy are two of the most respected names in strength and fitness, brought together for a coaching combine built on connection over content. Don talks candidly about his 27 years in the industry, the brutal early days of chasing clients with fliers and answering machines, and the deal he still offers every young coach who calls him: work a real gym job for 18 months, then he'll mentor you for free. Nobody's ever taken him up on it.
Eddy opens up about the training system that made him the most decorated powerlifter in history — reverse-engineering every number from his goal lift backward, writing down every rep for over three decades, and never changing a program that was already working. The conversation turns into a masterclass in patience, authenticity, and why real coaching expertise can't be faked, no matter how good someone looks on social media. They also dig into mentorship itself: who shaped each of them, what it means to actually invest in another coach instead of just answering DMs, and why connection, not algorithms, is still what builds a career that lasts.
Whether you're a coach trying to figure out how to stand out in a saturated industry or just want to hear how two legends think about longevity, this one's full of hard-earned wisdom from two guys who've done it the long way.
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About Don:
Don Saladino is a wellness industry leader and coach known for helping individuals build strength and longevity through sustainable training. Since launching his career in 1999, he has become one of the most trusted voices in fitness, combining practical training strategies with an approach centered on consistency. His philosophy is rooted in the belief that stacking small wins through daily “micro-momentum” leads to lasting transformation.
Today, Saladino leads a global fitness community through the Don Saladino App, which delivers strength-focused training to users in more than 100 countries. The platform offers dozens of programs for every fitness level. Whether someone is stepping into fitness for the first time or rebuilding after years away, Saladino’s mission is to serve as a trusted coach who makes strength and longevity achievable for every stage of life.
About Eddy:
Widely regarded as the greatest powerlifter in the history of the sport, Ed Coan has set over 70 world records across his career and remains the benchmark by which elite strength is measured. Coan began lifting in a friend's basement before high school, training on makeshift equipment with no squat rack, no bench, and no deadlift platform — just the will to get stronger. By 16, lifting barely 150 pounds, he was already putting up numbers that outpaced men twice his size.
Competing primarily in the 220-pound weight class, Coan went on to total more weight than any lifter in history regardless of class, posting a career-best total of 2,462 pounds (squat, bench, and deadlift combined) while weighing just 220 pounds.
Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)
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