Measure It at the Source

Max Darsonval spent twelve years in the SEAL teams, most of it as a combat medic, and left on what he calls a 50.01% decision. He’s now founder and CEO of Velocity AI, building a sensor and a coaching app that take velocity-based training - the tool every D1 and pro weight room already has - out of the facility and onto anyone’s barbell. He and Neal get into why 22-week strength programs break the moment real life happens, how drone IMUs turned into a wearable, why the SEAL Future Foundation became customer one, and what the wearable industry has to fix before people stop wearing them. Plus Don Pancho’s in Imperial Beach, the post-BUD/S institution. Key topics * From sponsored big-mountain skier to dishwasher to BUD/S at 17 * Why SEALs build their own medics and what that taught him about the body * Leaving the teams at twelve years on a 50.01% decision * Velocity-based training, and why most lifters have never heard of it * Power equals force times velocity: measuring readiness at the source * Why a 22-week program can’t know what you did yesterday * Drone IMUs, a hideous first PCB, and why you need 200 Hz * $500K, 20 developers, seven months to an MVP * The SEAL Future Foundation as customer one * Data fatigue and why coaching is the next frontier for wearables * San Diego’s wearable cluster: Google, Fitbit, Dexcom, Oura * Don Pancho’s in Imperial Beach and the case for Tacos El Gordo Links & resources * Velocity AI * SEAL Future Foundation * Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval Connect on LinkedIn * Neal Bloom * Max Darsonval This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe