Direct Elimination Podcast
Direct Elimination Podcast
Podcast Description
Where champions take off the mask.Hosted by elite fencers Ari Simmons and Stephen Ewart, Direct Elimination brings you raw, honest conversations with top performers in sports, business and life. Each episode dives deep into what it really takes to pursue your passion with purpose. No fluff. Just the moments, mindsets, and choices that shape a life in pursuit of something bigger.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as sports performance, personal growth, and the journey of overcoming adversity. Episodes feature in-depth conversations about topics like learning from failure, mindset shifts, and personal origin stories, with specific examples including Bryce Louie's experiences at the Senior Fencing World Championships and unique relationships that shape an athlete's journey.
The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts.
Hosted by Ari Simmons and Stephen Ewart, two elite U.S. fencers chasing Olympic dreams, Direct Elimination goes beyond the strip to uncover the stories, ups and downs that shape athletes. Each episode brings you conversations with fencers, Olympians, and sports leaders who share the mental battles, personal growth, and cultural shifts behind their journeys.
This isn’t just a fencing podcast. It’s about resilience, mindset, and purpose. Whether you’re an athlete, a fan of Olympic sports, or simply someone chasing excellence in life, you’ll find stories here that resonate.
🎙️ Topics we explore:
The mindset of world-class athletes
Failure, resilience, and comeback stories
NCAA & Olympic fencing insights
The role of social media, culture, and community in sports
Why athletes do what they do — and what keeps them fighting
📌 Subscribe for episodes that deliver real talk, laughs, and lessons — straight from the fencing strip to your headphones.
Colin Campbell wrote the Direct Elimination theme song on sticky notes during construction breaks — and he's a Notre Dame fencing champion.
The Fencing Podcast of All Fencing Podcasts.
In this episode, you'll discover:
• How Colin wrote, performed, and produced the Direct Elimination theme song — including the bossa nova chord progression, fencing-inspired lyrics, and his stacked harmony technique
• The concrete parallels between competitive fencing and the arts: adaptability, attack planning, committing fully, and performing under pressure
• Colin's journey from age-10 fencer in Washington D.C. through a Senior World Cup appearance, to being on Notre Dame NCAA and ACC championship winning teams, and into Juilliard and professional performance
• How his short film 'The Sharp Way Out,' shot at a former Staten Island correctional facility, and his theatrical adaptations are building toward a serious acting and filmmaking career
Colin Campbell is a multi-instrumentalist, actor, and filmmaker currently studying at Juilliard. He's also a decorated competitive fencer who won ACC and NCAA championships with Notre Dame — and the person behind the theme song you've been hearing at the top of every episode.
Here's our question for you: What's a skill from your sport that showed up somewhere completely unexpected in your creative or professional life? Drop it in the comments.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00:00 – Intro
00:00:36 – Welcoming Colin Campbell
00:03:11 – The Story Behind the Direct Elimination Theme Song
00:04:15 – Colin's Musical Origins
00:09:21 – Fencing Roots: Starting at Age 10 in Washington D.C.
00:19:36 – Going All-In on the Arts at Notre Dame
00:21:25 – Early Filmmaking with Teammates
00:27:46 – Colin's Competitive Fencing Career
00:30:55 – Coaching at Sheridan Fencing Academy
00:34:04 – How Fencing Parallels Music, Acting, and Artistic Discipline
00:47:37 – Flow State, Authenticity, and Performing Under Pressure
00:53:26 – The Sharp Way Out
01:03:55 – Upcoming Projects and Continuing to Weave Fencing Into Art
01:06:47 – One Light Answers
01:14:07 – Closing Reflections and Live Performance of the Theme Song
💬 BEST QUOTES
”I will always know from fencing the ability to just adapt to things being thrown at you and taking accountability for your mistake in just a split second.”
”Fencing taught me how to understand the way that I moved, my body and my vessel and focusing on carrying through my plan.. and having an attack plan.”
”When you're an adult all the fun may seem like it's behind you. No it's not. You can find it, and you can create it with people that are your pals.”
”I wrote these lyrics down because I wanted to implement fencing, and I knew that I could do that because I know the sport”
🔗 CONNECT WITH COLIN
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campbelltunes/?hl=en
Thank you for listening!
🔗 Connect with Us
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple: https://link.me/directelimination
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directelimination/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@directeliminationpodcast
📺 Subscribe for more episodes: youtube.com/@DirectElimination
Prieur USA
Website: https://www.prieurusa.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prieur_usa/
Disclaimer
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