Podcast
The Bader Show
Mark Bader and friends interview the biggest names in the sport of wrestling. Hear from your favorite wrestlers and coaches about their experiences in life through the sport. Become inspired, entertained and amused by the wide variety of guests that come onto the show every week.
- Wrestling chart
- #92
- Episodes
- 255
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 57 min
- On air since
- 2020
- Latest episode
- 2 weeks ago
Episodes
255 episodes, newest first
-
1 hr 20 min
Jordan Burroughs- Past, Present & Future | The Bader Show (Ep. 500)
Show notes
7x World/Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs joins the show to talk about his illustrious career, where is it at today and what the future may hold. 1:00 - Real American Freestyle 8:10 - Coach Burroughs and All I See Is Gold Academy 10:50 - Advice for wrestling parents 15:20 - The coach/dad relationship with his kids 18:50 - Would JB consider the Iowa job when it opens up? 22:20 - Jordan watches his first ever Flo interview. What a difference! 28:40 - Jordan got that dawg in him. Great old story 30:30 - When was Jordan at his physical peak? 32:10 - Rio 2016 Olympics, a spiritual awakening 41:30 - Winning again in 2017 44:15 - 2024 Worlds, Jordan’s final Worlds 51:15 - Being the most recognizable face at Worlds vs 2011 53:30 - The next generation is successful so much sooner 55:55 - Bo Bassett and social media. Winning is not enough 1:00:00 - Fan Questions 1:06:50 - Jordan’s all-time favorite wrestlers 1:10:00 - Wins and whoopins #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
49 min
James Green: NEB-->VT-->USAW-->NEB-->VT | The Bader Show (Ep. 499)
Show notes
James is now an 8x World Team member and will wrestle in his 8th World Championships later this month. He also recently took a coaching job on staff at Virginia Tech.
1:00 - James first experience at VT was during COVID
3:50 - James coached at USA Wrestling for a year
7:30 - Thinking “I still got it” after retirement
9:45 - Partial hip replacement
12:45 - Back to Nebraska and competing
15:15 - VT comes knocking
21:45 - James didn’t think he would make it at Nebraska initially
23:20 - VT is in a strong position today
25:15 - Bo Bassett, teammates and coach/athlete relationship
27:15 - Feeling much better at 74kg than 70kg and especially 65kg
31:40 - Mark Manning and Peyton Robb will be coaching and training partner for Worlds
32:40 - Changes in freestyle wrestling since 2015
35:10 - Experience is on his side going into 8th World Championships
37:50 - All-time favorite wrestler
39:00 - Great story of why JB is such a dawg
42:30 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow
#SeniorWorlds
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
59 min
Chance Marsteller Beats World Champion | The Bader Show (Ep. 498)
Show notes
Chance Marsteller just beat returning World Champion Georgio Kougioumtsidis at RAF, awakening him from what he called a "slumber".
0:30 - Real American Freestyle
2:40 - Georgios Kougioumtsidis, World Champ, RAF opponent
9:45 - Getting into & out of a slumber. Enjo y it.
12:35 - When we enjoy it, gas tank goes up
15:00 - “You saved my life, Chance”
17:00 - The winning 4 pt move
19:20 - Split second decision making in matches
20:30 - Rib injury against Levi Haines
24:00 - Chance’s Golden Wolf RTC. Today, and the vision.
30:40 - The Treigning Lab
32:45 - Steller Trained
38:45 - Aaron Seidel, World Champ
43:00 - Real Woods vs Aaron Seidel
45:10 - Fan questions
52:10 - Chance’s all-time favorite wrestler
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 12 min
Yianni Diakomihalis | The Bader Show (Ep. 497)
Show notes
Yianni won 4 NCAA titles at Cornell and a Senior World silver to go along with his two cadet golds. He's recently joined the staff at Cornell as an assistant coach.
0:45 - Running his first clinic at VHS with a big brace
2:50 - Approach to coaching
4:10 - Being coached vs having a feel for positions
7:15 - Coaching vs being coached
10:45 - Working on the mental/emotional, relationship side
14:10 - Garage home practices as a kid
16:25 - Practices at Cornell
17:30 - Hip injury
20:10 - Might Yianni compete again?
27:30 - Reflecting on his career
30:00 - Has Yianni experienced burnout?
35:00 - NCAA vs World Championships - The experience
43:15 - Final X 2025 vs PJ Duke, health episode
53:00 - Coach chuzz
53:40 - The increasing number of young elite kids
56:25 - Real Woods vs Bo Bassett
58:50 - Fan questions
1:03:00 - Working with RTC and Vito
1:05:20 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 9 min
Aeoden Sinclair | The Bader Show (Ep. 496)
Show notes
Aeoden Sinclair recently won a U20 World Title, after finishing 3rd at the NCAAs as a freshman.
0:30 - Becoming a world champ
1:10 - Believing he could be a world champ
2:50 - Comebacks were new for Aeoden at Worlds
4:30 - College wrestling is so hard, an advantage for hard matches
10:00 - Watching world semifinals and finals comebacks
20:30 - U20 Team Champions!
23:00 - Uniqueness of world championships
24:45 - Naked sauna, spa and the thai massage
34:00 - NCAA, RAF, USA, UWW
37:00 - Aeoden’s thoughts on his freshman year
38:00 - Aeoden considers NCAA loss to Ferrari as an upset
41:00 - Take time off the mat? Nah, just have fun
45:10 - Book reports for wrestling practice at AWA
55:00 - Fan questions
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
53 min
Aaron Seidel | The Bader Show (Ep. 495)
Show notes
Aaron Seidel was third at NCAAs as a true freshman for Virginia Tech and recently won a U20 World Championship in dominant fashion. 0:30 - Savage Seidel 2:00 - Making a big jump this year 3:20 - Intro to wrestling and getting hooked 5:15 - Being from PA and getting good on top 7:00 - Never won states before high school 9:20 - Chasing Jax Forrest going for his fourth state title 11:20 - Chance Marsteller, being intimidated 15:15 - Deciding to wrestle in college and Virginia Tech 18:30 - Broken hand before first college competition 25:00 - Wrecking everyone at Midlands, his first competition 28:20 - Jax Forrest and NCAAs 31:30 - Watching and attending NCAAs 35:00 - Enjoying 3rd place and freestyle season 36:30 - Winning U20 World Championship 40:45 - Bo Bassett, now a teammate 42:30 - James Green, coach and competitor 43:30 - Fan questions 46:10 - All-time favorite wrestler 47:00 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 8 min
Jason Nolf Interest Level In 2028 Olympic Run | The Bader Show (Ep. 494)
Show notes
Nolf recently beat Evan Wick at RAF, avenging a loss from a year ago. We dig in about a potential Olympic run but I wouldn't hold your breathe. He's coaching a wrestling club and using that experience to fuel and shape his business, Athlete's Ocean.
1:00 - Putting jiu jitsu to the side
6:00 - Wrestling in RAF 1 with 3 days of training
11:00 - Bo Nickal and timing
13:30 - Training evolution for RAF
18:40 - Nolf’s unique entrances at RAF
21:15 - Rematch vs Wick
27:30 - Any chance at Olympic run?
34:45 - The older you get, the less you train
38:55 - Texas wrestling culture vs Pennsylvania
42:45 - Nolf Wrestling Academy
44:15 - Ocean Team Spaces
46:40 - Building his product around his needs
48:00 - Questions from friends
50:15 - Nolf tore his knee in match 1 against Dake in Olympic Trials
1:00:00 - How does Nolf use AI?
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 41 min
Tyler Meisinger | The Bader Show (Ep. 493)
Show notes
FloWrestling's Tyler Meisinger joins the show to talk about growing up in southern California, getting into wrestling, how he developed his passion for video and growth as a wrestler at the University of Michigan.
00:00 - Arm wrestling
03:25 - Growing up by the beach
04:48 - Finding wrestling
06:53 - The first practice & shark bait
10:13 - Taekwondo helped with wrestling
13:25 - Going all-in on wrestling
17:58 - Growing up in the YouTube era
24:41 - High school success and setbacks
28:26 - The driver's license goal: Winning a CIF title to earn his license
32:16 - The senior year breakthrough: Placing at the California state tournament.
37:11 - The road to Division 1, Michigan
40:43 - Freshman year at Michigan - sink or swim
43:46 - Developing video skills at Michigan
49:54 - Inspiration from the NCAA floor
51:11 - Earning the starting spot at Michigan
57:24 - The 2020 Big Ten Tournament
1:04:14 - The COVID-19 shutdown
1:08:43 - Post-college career, pre Flo
1:12:22 - The Michigan documentary
1:15:20 - Joining FloWrestling
1:21:55 - Favorite projects at Flo
1:28:49 - How Tyler uses AI for video editing, his all-time favorite wrestler, and his biggest "wins and whoopins."
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
52 min
Drake Ayala From Iowa To Iowa State | The Bader Show (Ep. 492)
Show notes
Drake Ayala was a 2x NCAA finalist and 3x NCAA All-American for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He recently accepted an assistant coaching position at Iowa State.
1:00 - How healthy was Drake this season?
2:00 - The Freshman Fab Four (Jax, Davino, Blaze, Seidel)
4:10 - Last year wasn’t completely smooth for Drake and Hawkeyes
8:00 - Drake’s 2026 NCAAs11:00 - Iowa’s 2026 NCAAs13:30 - View of Iowa State as a Hawkeye
15:00 - Iowa - Iowa State rivalry
19:50 - Dealing with a tough year
22:50 - What were his plans for after graduation?
24:45 - How did Iowa State come about?
29:00 - Reactions from Iowa fans
31:45 - Being integrated at Iowa State
32:30 - Difference or similarities between Iowa and Iowa State
36:00 - Learning as a coach
40:20 - Questions from fans
44:30 - How does Drake use AI?
45:45 - Drake’s All-time favorite wrestler
47:20 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 2 min
Meyer Shapiro From Cornell To Nebraska | The Bader Show (Ep. 491)
Show notes
Meyer Shapiro is transferring from Cornell to Nebraska after becoming a 3x All-American for Cornell. He joins the show to talk about his physical health, mental health and new home with the Huskers. 0:30 - Meyer is home in Maryland 1:35 - Health update 2:35 - Sitting out first semester 5:50 - 3 years and still no NCAA title 8:00 - The 2025 health scare 11:25 - Hurt neck, time off the mat 14:15 - Back on the mat 17:55 - Finishing 8th place at NCAAs 20:30 - Confidence & pressure 23:30 - Leaving Cornell for Nebraska 27:20 - Taking a Redshirt 30:20 - Open tournaments, freestyle? 33:30 - What will Meyer miss about Cornell? 35:45 - 157lbs and 74kg 37:00 - Questions from fans 39:20 - Build your own character 45:15 - Thinking about wrestling 48:20 - Wrestling Antrell Taylor 51:25 - Artificial intelligence 53:20 - Touring Meyer Farms, sauna and wrestling room #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 7 min
Amit Elor | The Bader Show (Ep. 490)
Show notes
In May of 2025 Amit Elor wrestled in and won the World Team Trials while she was unknowingly pregnant. She stayed active and worked out the entire pregnancy. In May of 2026, about three and a half months after giving birth, Elor once again wrestled in and won the World Team Trials.
She will compete in the World Championships this fall looking to earn her fourth World/Olympic gold medal. She joins The Bader Show to share her incredible journey.
0:45 - Baby update
1:35 - Finding out she was pregnant
4:05 - Amit wrestled at 2025 WTT while unknowingly pregnant
7:50 - Amit wrestled until 38 weeks pregnant
11:15 - A little too much working out sometimes
13:30 - Doctor’s advice
16:20 - Challenging parts of the pregnancy
21:00 - Giving birth
24:35 - Back to the gym three days later
28:10 - On the mat 2 weeks postpartum!
30:10 - Considering US Open and wrestling at WTT
34:07 - Not as strong this time
37:30 - What to do w baby during World Championships & training camps
41:10 - Pressure from competition is still there
42:30 - 2028? 2032?
44:45 - Content creator extraordinaire
49:00 - Pregnancy food cravings
54:45 - Fan questions
57:25 - How does Amit use AI?
58:45 - Wins and whoopins
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 7 min
Trent Hidlay: Final X. Wedding. World Championships. | The Bader Show (Ep. 489)
Show notes
Defending World Champion Trent Hidlay joins the show after a special Final X wrestle-off against his good friend Mike Macchiavello. Now Trent has his sights set on chasing a second consecutive World Title. 0:00 Intro 0:40 Why Trent Hidlay Missed Final X 2:27 Choosing Between Wrestling & His Wedding 6:21 Mike Macchiavello's Impact On His Career 10:19 The Brutal NC State Practice Battles 15:01 Preparing To Wrestle Your Best Friend 17:20 Was It Awkward Wrestling Mike? 20:37 Final X Win & Wedding Week 23:04 Watching Final X During His Wedding 24:03 Honeymoon In Santorini 25:38 RAF Match Preview 27:29 Thoughts On Snyder vs Sadulaev 29:24 Does Winning Really Make You Happy? 32:51 Hayden Hidlay Returns To NC State 36:46 Nobody Saw This At The World Championships 39:24 The Moment He Almost Gave Up In The World Finals 42:12 Celebrating A World Title In Croatia 43:29 Learning To Fight Through Doubt 45:46 Is Trent More Confident Now? 46:06 Life After Becoming World Champion #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
37 min
Wyatt Hendrickson | The Bader Show (Ep. 488)
Show notes
Wyatt Hendrickson beat World Bronze medalist Mason Parris in two straight matches at Final X to make his second straight World Team. He will represent Team USA at the World Championships later this year. 0:30 - This summer will be different from last summer 2:00 - Wrestling Mason Parris at the Ranking Series tournament 4:15 - Wyatt’s thoughts on Final X matches 5:00 - Wyatt almost got pinned 6:30 - Challenges, reviews & new rules 12:45 - Rewatching a scramble against Parris 14:40 - Extra wrestling at the end of match 2 17:00 - Teammates losing and locker room tone 20:00 - Teammates keeping Wyatt accountable 23:50 - Learned a lot wrestling Bahrain and getting pinned 26:00 - Picturing wrestling Zare 27:30 - Wyatt vs Gable? 28:50 - Sweat it out (Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma) 31:40 - Artificial Intelligence, how does Wyatt use it? 34:00 - The final word - Live the Word #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
1 hr 8 min
Jon Kozak | The Bader Show (Ep. 487)
Show notes
Get to know the story behind FloWrestling's international guru, Jon Kozak. 0:50 - Backstory, sports nut & wrestling 7:00 - Relationship with dad and wrestling 9:45 - Wrestling success 12:35 - Broke his leg in a match 18:30 - Felt good about the end of wrestling career 19:00 - Church, Bible college 22:00 - College baseball 24:30 - Jon became a pastor, started a church 26:30 - Became a huge MMA fan 28:15 - JB success brought Kozak back to wrestling 31:30 - The Yarygin FloFilm 33:33 - Starting to create wrestling content 39:30 - Started doing rankings for Flo 42:10 - Final X talk 56:25 - Kozak’s all-time favorite wrestler 57:00 - How does Kozak use AI? 59:00 - Wins and whoopins #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
48 min
Enock Francois & Kevin Jack | The Bader Show (Ep. 486)
Show notes
IMG Academy is one of the most prestigious schools in the country and specializes in sports. They have started a wrestling program and Director of wrestling, Enock Francois and head coach Kevin Jack join the show to talk about their school, the vision and the future. 0:45 - What is IMG Academy? 3:15 - Sports education institution 5:45 - IMG is starting a wrestling program 8:15 - Why was Enock sold, immediately? 9:50 - Wanting to reflect a D1 program 11:00 - Head coach Kevin Jack 13:00 - Director of wrestling / Athletic director for wrestling 17:00 - What will IMG’s competition schedule look like? 21:30 - How are they putting a team together? 23:00 - The financial component with tuition, financial aid 27:30 - Five years down the road 30:00 - Enock learning under Rob Koll, thinking outside the box 35:00 - New ways to be creative at IMG 40:20 - Creating something and building trust from scratch 41:30 - They will be competing next season 43:30 - The final word #TheBaderShow IMG Wrestling questionnaire: https://forms.imgacademy.com/view.php... IMG Wrestling Camps: https://shop.imgacademy.com/pages/boo...
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
54 min
Mike Macchiavello | The Bader Show (Ep. 485)
Show notes
Mike Macchiavello won his third US Open title and is headed back to Final X for the second time. He will face returning World Champion and friend, Trent Hidlay, whose wedding he will attend this summer. 0:50 - Why the headgear in freestyle? 2:00 - The young guys are so tough and hungry 4:30 - Internal emotions tied to wrestling 8:20 - How Macch and Trent Hidlay became friends 11:00 - Trent was Macch’s Final X training partner in 2023 11:30 - Feeling Trent improve over time 13:40 - Realizing Trent could be an opponent 14:30 - “See you at Final X” - they joked 19:00 - Emotionally preparing to wrestle a friend 21:00 - Macch and Trent wrestled in Zagreb this past February 27:00 - Gameplanning for Trent Hidlay 28:30 - Trent and Macch talk lately? 31:15 - Wedding talk, when’s the Final X wrestle-off? 33:40 - Watching Trent win a World title last year! 38:00 - How does Macch use artificial intelligence? 41:45 - Who is Macch’s all-time favorite wrestler? 44:35 - Wins and whoopins 48:06 - Macch will be on staff at West Point 49:15 - Macch looks like Jorge Masvidal 51:45 - Macch’s final word #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
47 min
What Happened At Tarleton State? Grant Leeth | The Bader Show (Ep. 484)
Show notes
Grant Leeth helped start the club wrestling program at Tarleton State in Stephenville, TX with the understanding they would be working toward becoming division 1. This week some statements came out that seemed contrary. Grant joins the show to give his perspective on the situation.
0:55 - Starting a wrestling program at Tarleton State
3:25 - Check all the boxes
4:40 - Raising money
6:25 - Allan Rogers, the big donor
7:00 - Wrestling facility
8:15 - The vision and ribbon cutting ceremony
10:10 - The coaching situation
12:50 - Highlights and success on the mat
14:25 - Communication with the administration
18:00 - Preparing to support D1 programs for 5 years
19:15 - Need a D1 conference
22:45 - Time for kids to find a new home
23:00 - False rumors that wrestling is completely done at Tarleton
24:15 - Leeth no longer wanted to be part of the program
25:30 - Could Tarleton women’s program become D1 soon?
28:40 - Need more fundraising
29:35 - Nothing in writing
31:00 - Was it ever real?
32:55 - What’s next for Grant Leeth?
35:10 - How could Leeth have handled things differently?
37:55 - It truly seemed like D1 was going to happen
39:15 - The emotions of Grant Leeth right now
43:25 - Grant Leeth’s final word #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
57 min
Bo Bassett | The Bader Show (Ep. 483)
Show notes
Bo Bassett just won the US Open at 65kg in both the U20 and senior divisions. He is already on the U23 world team and looks to make it on the U20 and senior teams as well.
Bo is committed to wrestle at Virginia Tech and will move there this summer and prepare to be in the line up for the Hokies next year at 141 or 149.
0:50 - Junior Hodge Trophy Winner
1:45 - Wrestling two brackets at US Open
4:15 - Iowa, wait no, Virginia Tech
9:45 - Breaking down wrestling 2 brackets at US Open
13:30 - Bo vs Aden Valencia (Match breakdown)
24:00 - Final X & U20 best of three
29:00 - Challenges Real Woods presents
33:30 - Jax Forrest
36:00 - Rest and recovery
38:00 - Near-term and mid-term future for Bo
40:15 - 141 or 149 at Virginia Tech
41:45 - Reaching beyond wrestling
43:50 - Sweat it out (5 questions to make Bo sweat)
49:10 - How does Bo use AI?
50:30 - All-time favorite wrestler
51:10 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
27 min
Ben Askren & Donny Pritzlaff | The Bader Show (Ep. 482)
Show notes
Ben Askren and Donny Pritzlaff had a contentious rivalry back in 2007 and 2008. The two have gone on to become successful coaches, Askren with his AWA academies and Pritzlaff as head coach at Columbia University. The two join the show to talk through their past as competitors and share knowledge as coaches. In the end we see two former rivals become friends. 1:00 - Ben the content creator praised Donny the coach 1:35 - Ben watching Donny’s college career 3:00 - Donny learning who Ben was 4:05 - The mishap when Ben was recruited to Wisconsin 5:45 - Donny on Ben’s college career 7:45 - What it was like wrestling Donny 9:00 - What it feels like to wrestle Ben 9:50 - Warming up with the clinch pushouts everyday for a year 12:30 - Was it personal? 15:00 - Askren wants to know Pritzlaff’s coaching secrets 16:00 - Competitor vs paper boy 20:30 - Askren’s take on belief and confidence 22:20 - Don’t teach moves, put them in positions & figure it out 24:45 - Ben & Donny are now friends! #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
57 min
Pac 12 Realignment | The Bader Show (Ep. 481)
Show notes
Recent college wrestling conference realignment has seen a rebirth of the Pac 12 as several teams leave the Big 12 to join the Pac 12. Chris Pendleton and Neil Erisman, head coahces at Oregon State and Little Rock have been a part of the Pac 12 for some time now. SDSU leaves the Big 12 for the Pac 12 and Nate Engel is the director of strategy for Pac 12 wrestling. The four wrestling minds join the show to share their excitement for the opportunities that lie ahead. 1:05 - The role of college conferences 2:00 - Chris Pendleton on Pac 12 changes since 2014 3:25 - How football and money has impacted college conferences 4:30 - Pac 12 experience for Little Rock 6:00 - SDSU experience in the Big 12 and why they are leaving 9:55 - Having voting rights in the conference 13:00 - When, how and why this conference alignment got going 17:15 - We need to be proactive instead of reactive 20:30 - Coming together and think outside the box 21:30 - What happens to the Big 12? 27:30 - How important conference championships can be for Mid Major schools 30:30 - Shifting more toward dual meets 36:15 - Having options and throwing all ideas out there 40:45 - Importance of collaboration 42:45 - Pendleton’s closing words 44:20 - Ability to host conference championships 48:15 - Damion Hahn’s perspective shift after leaving Minnesota 51:15 - Damion Hahn on the late great J Rob and how innovative he was in wrestling #TheBaderShow
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wrestling lists
More Wrestling shows picked out from the charts
More in Wrestling
Placed highest on Apple Podcasts' Wrestling chart right now