Ryan Shazier went from NFL stardom to a career-ending injury in a heartbeat. But his transition to the business world was just as painful. In the first ever live recording of Thought Liters, Ryan reveals post-career losses, the bad mentors he trusted, and the brutal reality of his forced pivots.

Prepare for a raw, unfiltered look at the failures that built the man you see today.

You'll hear more about:

-- The Identity Crisis: How Ryan went from "provider to provided for" overnight.

-- The $0 Mistake: The trucking business failure that drained his bank account.

-- Bad Mentors: How to spot the middlemen who will ruin your business, and properly vet mentors instead.

-- The Turnaround: How he applied the lessons of failure to build the Ryan Shazier Fund.

-- Coach Tomlin's Advice: The one principle Ryan uses to lead his team today.

0:00 Intro: From All-Pro to Forced Pivot

2:15 I Felt Adopted by Pittsburgh

6:14 The Reality Check: Money vs. Skill

14:15 Mourning Your Career vs. Mourning Your Business24:22 The Trucking Business Disaster (Full Story)

33:22 How to Build a Foundation the Right Way

45:04 Leadership: The Difference Between the Field & The Office

51:01 Final Advice: Get Uncomfortable

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

Special thanks to Komos for being the beverage partner on this event. Thanks too to Babb, Inc. and VPO for their support.

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Join the flight.

It sounds like a script for a reality TV show: You hire a business consultant to help organize your startup, only to discover he’s actually a high-net-worth investor in disguise, testing you for his next massive deal.

That is exactly what happened to Mike Vindler, CEO of Tronix3D.

In this episode of Thought Liters, we explore how that "undercover billionaire" moment became the catalyst for Tronix3D. Mike takes us from the early days of uncertainty to building an industrial empire that prints in grade-five titanium for aerospace and life-saving medical devices.

We also get the story of the "genius in the garage": Mike’s partner, Jason, who was hand-building 4K monitors for Samsung before the rest of the world caught up—and discuss why 99% of people are using 3D printing completely wrong.

In this episode, we cover:

-- The "Undercover Billionaire": The wild true story of the consultant who hid his wealth to test Mike’s character.

-- The "Genius" Partner: How Mike’s co-founder built tech for Samsung and Palmer Luckey out of his garage.

-- Building the Empire: Why Tronix3D isn’t printing cheap plastic toys, but rather replacing supply chains.

-- Sustainability: How they became the only facility in the US recycling 100% of their powder on-site.

-- The CEO’s Burden: The brutal honesty about what actually keeps a founder awake at night.

00:00 Intro

02:15 From Corporate to "The Real World"

08:40 Why Most People Use 3D Printing Wrong

14:54 The "Genius in the Garage": Meeting Jason

21:04 We Are The Only Ones Doing This (100% Recycling)

26:58 Fixing a Medical Device by Accident

34:37 The "Undercover Billionaire" Consultant Story

40:15 The Hardest Part of Scaling a Manufacturing Business

43:44 The Real Nightmare That Keeps CEOs Awake

47:55 The 3D Printing Buzzkill: Stop Printing Plastic Trash

54:10 The Future: Titanium & Aerospace

58:32 Where to Find Mike

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Thought Liters has been around for a year now. I dumped a buttload of money into it. Here's what happened, what I made, and where I'm doubling down in 2026.

In this video, you'll get a full picture of a content creator's first year of creation. The good, the money, and the future, all in 11 minutes. Let's get it.

You'll also learn:

• The "Occupational Hazard" of drinking on camera
• How I secured the show's first partnership without a massive subscriber base
• The economics of high-production content, and why I spent $24,204 on it

To all who have tuned in during 2025, this will also serve as the year in review for the show. Thanks a bunch, and see you next year!!

00:00 Intro (it's been a year)

00:22 Stats: views and subscriber growth in 2025 for Thought Liters

01:13 The Good from Thought Liters in 2025

02:09 Thought Liters Ship: an IRL event test for the show

02:30 On Tap: Thought Liters live recordings

03:13 The first partnership for the show ("The Six Pack Series"")

04:10 The money: how much Thought Liters made in 2026

04:46 The money: how much I've spent on Thought Liters in 2026 (and why)

06:10 Plug: where the money comes from (how to help)

06:50 The Plans and To Dos for 2026 for Thought Liters

09:07 Closing: Where This Came From, Early Memories, a Thanks, and small advice

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

He helped integrate the Cybertruck. Now, he’s building the machine that will beat gas-powered off-roaders at their own game.

When Polaris refused to sponsor his racing career, Jonathan Powers didn't quit—he decided to become their competition. A former engineer at Honda and Tesla, Jonathan founded Super Powers Mobility (SPM) to prove that the future of off-roading isn't just electric... it's silent, durable, and insanely powerful.

Today, we prove that with a real test drive.

In this episode of Thought Liters, we sip a local flight and discuss:

• Why the Cybertruck is actually an off-road beast (and what he learned from it).
• The "Villain Origin Story" that launched a startup.
• Why hardware startups should launch in Pittsburgh, not Silicon Valley.

Finally, a real life demo in the dirt: watch us take the SPM prototype up a vertical dirt wall.

Connect with Jonathan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancpowers/

PREORDER THE SPM KIT: https://spm.fun/evk

PREORDER THE SPM TURNKEY EPEX: https://spm.fun/epex

00:00 Teaser: Can electric conquer the wild?

01:06 Intro: What is Super Powers Mobility?

02:43 From Dirt Bikes to Formula SAE

07:28 Becoming a Pro Racer (and creating a Villain)

11:37 Learning from Honda & The Tesla Cybertruck

20:10 The "Aha" Moment: Why EVs dominate off-road

24:00 The Strategy: Powertrains & Conversion Kits

30:52 Surviving Stealth Mode & The Launch

33:35 Why Build Hardware in Pittsburgh?

41:51 Advice for Hardware Founders

45:48 THE DEMO: Ripping the Electric UTV

49:19 Final Thoughts & Outro

This episode concludes our Six Pack mini-series with Innovation Works, spotlighting the founders and leaders building Pittsburgh's future.

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

You might think the final frontier is in space, but the technology getting us there is being built right here in Pittsburgh. In this episode of Thought Liters: Mitch Fogelson, founder of Beyond Reach Labs, discusses "physical intelligence", which is the hardware side of robotics often overshadowed by AI.

Mitch breaks down how his company is creating structures that pack flat (like IKEA furniture) but deploy into massive, rigid infrastructure for lunar habitats, solar arrays, and even disaster relief towers on Earth.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why robots need "Physical Intelligence," not just AI.
• How to fit a skyscraper in a backpack (literally).
• Why Taylor Swift’s tour trucks could be reduced by 90%.
• The future of "Space LEGOs" and artificial gravity stations.
• Why Pittsburgh is the champion city for deep tech founders.

00:00 The Final Frontier is in Pittsburgh

01:35 Flight 1

03:17 The "Googly Eyed Robot" that started it all

04:37 Why Japan loves robots (and the West fears them)

06:33 Talking to robots before LLMs existed

09:42 Flight 2

10:17 What is "Physical Intelligence"?

11:45 Artificial gravity & spinning space stations

13:37 Demo: Hoberman spheres & pop-up trusses

18:42 How to fit a space station in a suitcase

23:04 Flight 3

23:28 Disaster relief: Cell towers in backpacks

27:35 COWs (Cell on Wheels) vs. Cheetahs

29:56 Reducing Taylor Swift's 90-truck tour convoy

33:59 Flight 4

34:21 Space LEGOs & Lunar Homes

37:10 Drug discovery & solar energy in space

39:06 Digital Twins: Solving the James Webb problem

41:28 Surviving the "Vomit Comet" (Zero-G Flight)

43:08 Flight 5

43:49 The Founder Mentality: Working backwards

46:27 Why build Deep Tech in Pittsburgh?

49:35 How to avoid "Shiny Object Syndrome"

52:43 Flight 6

53:04 Vision: Becoming the IKEA of space infrastructure

57:31 Final Advice: Be like a duck

59:12 Outro

This episode is part of our Six Pack mini-series with Innovation Works, spotlighting the founders and leaders building Pittsburgh's future.

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Migraine affects 1 in 6 people globally, yet 95% of patients aren’t getting properly diagnosed. In this episode, we explore how AI is finally giving patients weapons to fight the "Migraine Wars."

Sophia Fang is the founder of Peachy Day, a startup using data to help chronic pain sufferers reclaim their lives. Over a flight from the Pittsburgh Juice Company (no adult bevs today, as they can trigger migraine!), we discuss:

-- The shocking shortage of neurologists in the US.

-- How AI can predict chronic pain attacks before they happen.

-- Why "data privacy" in health tech needs a revolution.

-- How painting murals helps Sophia manage the pain of startup life.

00:00 The "Invisible" Crisis: 1 in 6 Americans

01:07 Meet Sophia Fang & The Juice Flight

02:14 A Family Legacy of Chronic Pain

04:29 The "Ice Pick" Month: Hitting Rock Bottom

05:53 The Shocking Lack of Headache Specialists

08:30 Why Build a Tech HQ in Pittsburgh?

10:36 How Peachy Day Uses AI to Predict Pain

14:59 Managing a Startup While in Chronic Pain

17:25 Art as Pain Management (The Muralist Side)

21:55 Is There an End to the "Migraine Wars"?

26:09 The Problem with Big Tech & Health Data

29:32 Advice for Mission-Driven Founders

31:41 The Final Taste Test

This episode is part of our Six Pack mini-series with Innovation Works, spotlighting the founders and leaders building Pittsburgh's future.

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Vote for Adam to be Thought Leader of the Year: https://technical.ly/vote

Globally, we waste a billion tons of food every single year. That's equivalent to 30-40% of the US food supply, and $1 trillion of economic value thrown in the trash.

But what if the solution isn't just about "eating your vegetables," but about treating trash like data?

On this episode of Thought Liters, Adam sits down with Nolan Sulpizio, founder of Clean Plate Innovations, to discuss how he is using machine learning to solve this gluttonous problem.

Over a flight of Pittsburgh’s finest, they pour over:

• The "Butterfly Effect" of throwing away a single burger.
• How a brutal critique at a pitch competition forced a pivot from "gamification" to "data is dollars".
• Why "AI" might just be a buzzword, and how actual Machine Learning differs.
• The future of food waste regulations and corporate responsibility.

00:00 - The 1 Billion Ton Problem

02:46 - The Butterfly Effect of Wasting Food

07:23 - From the "Bee Crisis" to Entrepreneurship

12:26 - Creating a Business in 4 Days (Startup Weekend)

16:58 - The Pitch Competition: "Where's the Money?"

23:28 - The Pivot: Why Data is the New Oil

31:32 - How Clean Plate Technology Actually Works

33:23 - Why He Says "AI" Isn't Real (The Emissions Problem)

39:15 - The Future: $10,000 Fines and Regulations

45:49 - Building a Startup in Pittsburgh

49:49 - Can Tech Solve a Human Problem?

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Vote for Adam to be Thought Leader of the Year: https://technical.ly/vote

Today: Prisoners get 2 hours of outdoor time a day. Kids get less than 7 minutes. How did we get here? And how do we fix it?

In this episode of Thought Liters, Adam Conner shares a flight with Ketaki Desai, CEO of Dashstrom, to break down the crisis of "safetyism" and the loss of play. From the psychological impacts of over-parenting to the science of neuroplasticity, we explore how to rewire the next generation for resilience.

We discuss why kids are more anxious than ever, the "growth mindset" methodology, and why confidence only comes from doing hard things—whether that's on the playground or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

About Dashstrom: Dashstrom builds resilience and confidence in kids through a unique curriculum of physical challenges and empowerment principles.

This episode is part of our Six Pack mini-series with Innovation Works, spotlighting the founders and leaders building Pittsburgh's future.

00:00 Trailer: Prisoners vs. Kids

01:04 The Death of "Go Out and Play"

02:11 Why Parents Became Overprotective (Safetyism)

06:42 The Prisoner Statistic (20x More Playtime)

09:46 Ketaki’s Story: Growing Up Below the Poverty Line

15:40 Neuroplasticity & The Growth Mindset

18:34 The Dashstrom Origin: From "Smoking Pot" to Iron Man

24:18 The "Negative Thoughts" Game

27:58 The Crisis: Suicide Stats & Screen Addiction

32:20 Expanding the Vision to Pittsburgh Schools

37:23 The Summit: Climbing Kilimanjaro at -60°C

41:22 Advice for Founders: Focus on the Shoes

45:45 Outro & Cheers

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.