Tom Rowland Podcast

Mike Holland is the creator of the MINDBODY Energy Movement — a daily practice that blends movement, breathwork, and mindset into a simple system you can do anywhere, with zero equipment. In just 8 months, Mike went from posting on a personal account to building an audience of nearly 900,000 people, all around one mission: help people take control of their health and live life on their own terms.

In this conversation, we talk about why movement is medicine, why breath is the bridge between mind and body, and how discipline compounds the same way money does — one small decision at a time. We also get into what Mike’s doing with ManyChat, why he wasn’t charging anyone while it was blowing up, and how he’s building an app to turn this into a real community.

Some of the moments I found most meaningful in this conversation were:


The simplest reframe that changes everything: you don’t have to do it — you get to do it.


Why breathwork can unlock performance (and how it keeps you calm even when your heart rate is high).


Movement + rhythm = clarity — the way your brain settles when your body gets in sync.


“What you consume is what you become.” Not just food — information, people, and energy.


The real goal isn’t followers. It’s a million people taking ownership of their health.

📘 Free Resources:
🎁 Saltwater Knot Guide → https://bit.ly/3UnAeIP
🎙️ Tom Rowland Podcast → https://bit.ly/3O4lgn0
📺 Subscribe for More Unfiltered Conversations → https://www.youtube.com/saltwaterexperience?sub_confirmation=1

📱 Follow the Show:
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/saltwater_experience/
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@saltwaterexperience
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/tvswe

#MindBodyEnergyMovement #Breathwork #Discipline #Mindset #MovementIsMedicine #TomRowlandPodcast #SaltwaterExperience

Fish Like Mike — is a former PE teacher and varsity hockey coach from Buffalo, New York who built a massive audience by doing what he genuinely loves: getting outside, learning the woods, and telling the story like a buddy would. He started fishing in high school with a cheap kayak and a GoPro duct-taped to a hockey stick… and years later, he made the big call to step away from a “safe” career to go all-in on content, travel, and the freedom to fish on a Tuesday when nobody’s around.

In this conversation, we get into the real stuff: the grind of teaching + coaching + building content on weekends, the moment he knew it was time to rip the band-aid off, why Instagram views don’t pay like people think, and why those “little creeks” in New York might be one of the most underrated fisheries in the country.

Some of the moments I found most meaningful in this conversation were:


How he built his entire audience with almost no “fancy” gear — just consistency, curiosity, and telling the truth on camera.


The mindset shift from “posting videos” to “building a business” — and why reputation matters more than follower count.


The possum video lesson: when your face is on camera and you teach like a friend, people stick around.


Great Lakes tributaries that can give you a 5-pound smallmouth and a 30-inch “steelhead” in the same day.


Leaving teaching wasn’t about money — it was about freedom, time, and not waiting until retirement to live the life.

📘 Free Resources:
🎁 Saltwater Knot Guide → https://bit.ly/3UnAeIP
🎙️ Tom Rowland Podcast → https://bit.ly/3O4lgn0

📺 Subscribe for More Unfiltered Conversations
→ https://www.youtube.com/saltwaterexperience?sub_confirmation=1

📱 Follow the Show:
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/saltwater_experience/
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@saltwaterexperience
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/tvswe

#FishLikeMike #Fishing #GreatLakesFishing #Steelhead #SmallmouthBass #TomRowlandPodcast

As saltwater anglers, we've all dealt with the ugly reality of bottom paint. You spend six figures on a beautiful boat, only to have someone slap what looks like an "ugly wig" on the hull. Then you're paying divers constantly to scrape it clean, dealing with toxic chemicals leaching into our fishing waters, and repeating this expensive, environmentally damaging cycle every single year.

But what if I told you there's a game-changing technology that could eliminate bottom paint forever while actually protecting our marine environment? That's exactly what Dan Dillon from Aquaphobix has developed, and it's unlike anything I've seen in 30+ years of saltwater fishing.

All of my other socials can be found here :

https://linktr.ee/TomRowlandPodcast

The Tom Rowland Podcast is presented by Star brite!

Clean and protect with Star brite, a leading manufacturer of appearance, maintenance, and performance chemicals and accessories, serving the marine, RV, automotive, powersports, hardware, and home care industries for over 50 years. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and with its manufacturing plant in Montgomery, AL, the company produces "Made In The USA" products, including its flagship ethanol fuel treatment, Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment.

https://bit.ly/48tNW0y

Sam Root is a content creator in the fishing industry and a key part of the team at Pure Fishing — one of the biggest fishing companies on the planet. We go way back (forums, early DSLR days, the first years of Saltwater Experience), and in this conversation we get into what’s actually changed in fishing media… and what hasn’t.

We talk about the death of gatekeeping, why attention spans are getting weird (3 seconds or 3 hours), why polished “commercial-looking” videos often underperform, how AI is already changing photo/video work, and the wild travel stories that remind you fishing is fishing — whether you’re in the Everglades or 30 hours from the nearest runway.

Some of the moments I found most meaningful in this conversation were:


The gatekeeping is gone — and that’s a blessing and a whole new kind of grind.


High-end production can actually hurt performance because people can smell an ad in half a second.


New product hype sells… until it doesn’t — credibility is what carries the long game.


AI is powerful, but the “soulless” stuff gets blocked fast (and I’m with him on that).


The Everglades might be the best “short trip” fishing on earth — but the sharks have changed the whole release game.

00:00 Introduction + “Apollo Beach Sam”
02:05 How we first met (forums, early show days)
06:10 Gatekeeping is dead — and what replaced it
10:35 3 seconds vs 3 hours (attention span whiplash)
14:10 How Sam ended up at Pure Fishing (and what he does)
18:15 What actually sells product now (and why “polished” can flop)
23:40 YouTube/shorts vs longform — and how channels get confused
28:55 Travel fishing: Indonesia, Seychelles, Amazon, Argentina
37:40 The “sketchy mothership” story (28 hours back in a storm)
41:30 Weirdest food: sea turtle eggs + coconut crabs
46:10 AI in fishing content (Nano Banana + photo fixes)
52:15 Sharks in the Everglades/Keys — what’s happening?
58:05 Rapid fire: best, worst, strangest, bucket list
01:02:10 Where to find Sam + closing

🔗 Visit Sam Root’s Website – [custom link]
🔗 Connect With Sam Root:
Instagram → @scssam (search “Sam Root / ROOT”)

📘 Free Resources:
🎁 Saltwater Knot Guide → https://bit.ly/3UnAeIP
🎙️ Tom Rowland Podcast → https://bit.ly/3O4lgn0
📺 Subscribe for More Unfiltered Conversations → https://www.youtube.com/saltwaterexperience?sub_confirmation=1

📱 Follow the Show:
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/saltwater_experience/
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@saltwaterexperience
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/tvswe

#SamRoot #PureFishing #FishingContent #SocialMediaMarketing #SaltwaterExperience #EvergladesFishing #GT #FlyFishing #AIEditing

When I started the Tom Rowland Podcast, I never imagined we’d hit this milestone… and definitely not with a lineup like this.

To celebrate 1,000 episodes, we put together a best-of conversation reel featuring some of the most impactful guests to ever sit down with me:


Bill Dance – The legend himself. We talk about joy, longevity, and why fishing is still fun after a lifetime on the water.


Michael Chandler – UFC superstar. Discipline, doubt, and what it really means to bet on yourself when the lights are brightest.


Monte Burke – Author of Lords of the Fly. The obsession, history, and culture behind chasing truly giant fish.


Michael Waddell – “Bone Collector.” Family, faith, hunting culture, and how to stay grounded when the cameras turn on.


Chris Fischer – Founder of OCEARCH. Great white sharks, conservation, and why wild places still matter.

These aren’t just highlight clips. They’re the moments that stuck with me long after we stopped recording – the stories, one-liners, and mindset shifts that changed how I think about fishing, work, family, and life.


The real Bill Dance behind the bloopers and the TV fame


How Michael Chandler turns fear into fuel before he walks into the Octagon


Why Monte Burke thinks certain anglers cross the line from “interested” to “obsessed”


Michael Waddell’s take on raising kids, building a brand, and still loving the hunt


How Chris Fischer and OCEARCH are using science and storytelling to protect the ocean

If you’ve listened since the early days: thank you. If you’re new here: this is a great place to start.

🎣 Subscribe for more conversations about fishing, adventure, mindset, and becoming harder to kill in every area of life.
👍 Drop a comment and tell me: Which guest has impacted you the most over 1000 episodes?

In this 1000th episode, you’ll hear: