Make Yourself Indispensable: Episode 19 w/ Brad Hollingsworth
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Overview
Brad Hollingsworth spent four and a half years as a Marine Corps infantryman, including time in a sniper platoon he wasn't supposed to be in, before an abrupt exit forced him to rebuild from scratch. What followed was a decade-plus career in human performance built entirely on the same principle that kept him in that sniper platoon: make yourself impossible to cut. This episode covers service, identity, the cost of burning your passion into your profession, and why the best thing a veteran can do after getting out is find something that has nothing to do with work.
About Brad Hollingsworth
Brad Hollingsworth is a business owner, fitness industry professional, and United States Marine Corps veteran with more than 16 years of experience in human performance, fitness operations, tactical strength and conditioning, and wellness program management. Throughout his career, he has combined technical expertise in performance training with hands-on leadership, business development, and operational management experience.
Brad is the co-founder of PEAK Athletics, a successful training facility in North Carolina that specialized in athletic development, tactical performance, and strength and conditioning. As a founder and operator, he played a leading role in the planning, financing, development, and day-to-day management of the business, helping grow the organization before ultimately selling his ownership interest when relocating out of state.
His experience also includes serving as a Manager and Personal Trainer at O2 Fitness, Tactical Strength & Conditioning Coach at TOPS Athletics, Assistant Contract Manager for the North Carolina National Guard's Fit 2 Serve Program, and Police Wellness Coordinator for the Tempe Police Department in Arizona, where he developed and managed a comprehensive wellness program supporting the physical and mental health of law enforcement personnel.
A former Marine Corps infantryman with multiple overseas deployments, Brad brings a disciplined, mission-focused approach to leadership and problem solving. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a Master of Science in Population Health Science from Duke University. He also maintains several professional certifications, including Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F).
Outside of his professional career, Brad is an avid outdoorsman and lifelong athlete. His interests include hunting, cave diving, strength training, and exploring remote environments that require physical preparedness, technical skill, and disciplined execution. These pursuits reflect the same values that have guided his professional career: resilience, continuous improvement, calculated risk management, and a commitment to excellence.
Episode Takeaways
Be indispensable — when Brad couldn't be a school-trained sniper, he became the one person in the platoon who could run all the comms. Find the thing no one else can do and own it.
Find work — not a career, not a calling, just the next useful thing you can do better than anyone around you
Don't turn your passion into your profession — Brad burned out his love of fitness by making it his entire job. The thing that saved him became the thing he avoided.
Find something that is not your job — a hobby, an adventure, anything that gives you full presence and zero career pressure
Beware the case of the "I used to" — pick up something you dropped and start doing it again. Not for money. Just because you liked it.
Keep playing — veterans who go all-in on the next mission often forget to keep something in their life that's just theirs
A lower ASVAB score than Brad is still a perfectly valid life choice — some of us just wanted infantry
Cave diving will give you a lower heart rate a hundred feet underwater than standing on land — if you can get past the part where you're inside a rock
