Take Your Work (Not Yourself) Seriously: Episode 23 w/ Hunter Schurrer
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Overview
Hunter Schurrer spent over a decade coaching Green Berets at 1st Special Forces Group before helping build UHP — Unlock Human Potential — in Northwest Arkansas. He never wore a uniform, but the unit ripped a weightlifting platform out of the ground to send him off when he left.
This episode covers identity after service, empowering people to be the subject matter experts on themselves, why coaches need to send it too, and what happens when you finally find the thing that shuts your brain off.
About Hunter Schurrer
Hunter Schurrer brings over 20 years of coaching and leadership experience across special operations, collegiate athletics, and the private sector.
As Senior Vice President of Academic Strategy and Innovation at UHP, he oversees the development of both students and staff through a human-first approach rooted in movement, mindset, and mission.
Before UHP, Hunter spent more than a decade as a human performance specialist with 1st Special Forces Group. Though never in uniform, his time with Special Operations shaped his purpose: to serve those who serve. He played a key role in building the Army’s Special Forces human performance program, where the SOF Truth of “humans are more important than hardware” guided the work.
Hunter began his career in collegiate athletics at the University of Wyoming and the University of Virginia, where he earned his master’s in exercise physiology. A former national champion and All-American in track and field, he brings both competitive experience and a coach’s eye for long-term development.
Hunter is a proud husband, father, and believer in building strong people for life, not just sport.
Episode Takeaways
Take your work seriously and not yourself — the cliche that is actually a practice, and one of the hardest things to do consistently
Trust yourself and send it — you've been through harder. The room you're walking into is not as intimidating as you think. Just go.
You are the subject matter expert on yourself — coaches, programs, and certifications are tools. Nobody knows you better than you.
We didn't empower them enough — Hunter's honest reflection on what the best human performance programs still get wrong. The extra 10% is in knowing the individual.
Without the why they won't try — if you don't understand the why of the person in front of you, you'll miss the mark no matter how good the program is
Find the thing that shuts your brain off — snowboarding did it for Hunter. Cave diving did it for Brad. Mountain biking does it for Nate. Find yours and protect it.
It takes what it takes — stop setting a ceiling before you start. Figure out what it takes as you go.
Coaches have coaches — Hunter had a call with his coach the day before this episode. Model what you prescribe.
You are either an energy add or an energy suck — there is no neutral. Even neutral energy spread across one more body is a net negative per person.
Don't go gently into that good night — veterans have more in them than they probably know. Own it.
Hire for character, train for skill — emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills are the hardest things to develop. Select for them first.
Open-ended workouts build more than fitness — not knowing what's coming trains the mental muscle that matters most when the environment gets a vote
Episode Links
Unlock Human Potential (University of Health & Performance and Ignite America) — uhp.com
Soldiers to Sidelines — www.soldierstosidelines.org
Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl
Building the Elite — Craig Weller and Jonathan Pope
