221: He Led Soldiers Before He Coached Champions with Andy Riise

Andy Riise is a Mental Performance & Leadership Coach, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, keynote speaker, podcast host, and best-selling co-author. A West Point graduate and former Army football player, he spent over 20 years leading Soldiers in high-stakes combat environments. His post-military career in athletics spans MLB, NFL, and collegiate athletics, including the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and, most recently, the Chicago Bears. He's also worked in business, healthcare, higher education, and emergency services. Today, Andy's mission is to equip athletes, leaders, and teams with battle-tested systems to perform under pressure and lead with clarity. He and his wife, Katie, have been married for over 23 years and are raising four active teenagers and young adults in Houston, TX. Connect with Andy: Website: www.andyriise.com Linkedin: @andyriise

Episode Summary: Andy Riise spent over 20 years as a West Point graduate and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel leading soldiers in combat. That experience — plus five years working alongside Green Berets and Special Forces units — became the foundation for a second career as a mental performance coach, working with the Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado Rockies. In this episode, Andy joins Lyndsay Dowd to unpack the "4C Model" of mental toughness (confidence, control, commitment, and challenge), explain the difference between mental toughness and mental fitness, and share how the same training systems that help soldiers and elite athletes perform under pressure can help everyday leaders, teams, and families. He also opens up about the personal side of his mission — inspired by his wife, a special education teacher, and his own kids — and previews his upcoming book, Step Into The Arena.

Key Takeaways: Mental toughness can be trained like a physical skill — it's not something you either have or don't. Andy's "4C Model" breaks mental toughness into confidence, control, commitment, and challenge. Confidence starts with self-talk: you're the author, publisher, and consumer of your own story. Control is about emotional regulation — naming your emotions so they work for you, not against you. People move along a bridge from survival, to resilience, to thriving — and everyone shifts along it daily.

Episode Chapters: 00:00 – Cold open & episode preview 01:25 – Meet Andy Riise: West Point grad, combat veteran, mental performance coach 02:00 – Andy's origin story: growing up in Oakdale, CA, and his path through West Point 03:52 – From the battlefield to the Army's resilience program 05:46 – Five years working with Green Berets and Special Forces 06:27 – The leap into pro sports: NFL, then the Colorado Rockies 07:51 – Mental fitness vs. mental toughness: the survival-resilience-thriving bridge 09:38 – Breaking down the 4C Model: confidence, control, commitment, challenge 11:19 – Why "soft skills" should be called "power skills" 12:04 – Coaching corporate leaders to train like athletes 14:59 – Andy's own podcast, Skull Sessions 16:43 – Sponsor break 18:47 – Defining legacy and the "ripple effect" of mastery 20:22 – What's next: his upcoming book, Step Into The Arena 21:12 – Andy's message to listeners: reach out, he's accessible 22:37 – Closing thoughts and sign-off