Jeff Gigante has built some of Tampa Bay’s most recognized restaurants, but his path began with a failed pizzeria, a canceled acting job and a $40,000 debt he had no idea how to repay.

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. S. Irfan Ali sits down with Jeff, founder of Next Level Brands, to explore the failures, risks and personal experiences that shaped his approach to entrepreneurship and hospitality.

Jeff shares how he went from studying theater and pursuing acting in New York to helping transform Tampa’s restaurant scene. He explains why storytelling sits at the center of hospitality, how his team hires for attitude over experience and why every restaurant carries a responsibility to create meaningful memories for its guests.

The conversation also examines one of the defining moments of Jeff’s career. When COVID-19 shut down businesses across Florida, his team urged him to close. Jeff chose to reinvent the restaurant instead. He launched takeout, fed first responders and found a creative way to solve Tampa’s toilet paper shortage. The campaign generated national attention and helped lay the foundation for Next Level Brands.

Jeff and Dr. Ali also discuss imposter syndrome, charitable giving, the hidden cost of success and the mindset that allows leaders to move through fear. Jeff shares how training with Wim Hof changed his understanding of human capability and why he views pressure as a privilege.

This conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to build a company, lead during a crisis and create a life grounded in relationships and purpose.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• How Jeff moved from acting into the restaurant industry
• Why his first pizzeria failed after only a few months
• How he overcame fear while opening his first Tampa restaurant
• Why Next Level Brands hires for attitude and personality
• How company culture influences the guest experience
• What “pressure is a privilege” means to Jeff
• How Wim Hof training changed his view of personal limits
• Why Jeff refused to close his restaurant during COVID
• How a toilet paper promotion generated national attention
• Why failure has played a larger role in his life than success
• How charitable work changed his understanding of leadership
• Why relationships ultimately define a meaningful life

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:31 Jeff Gigante’s lifelong ambition
• 01:03 Elevating Tampa Bay’s restaurant scene
• 02:15 From theater student to restaurant entrepreneur
• 04:24 Opening a pizzeria while still in college
• 06:06 Borrowing $30,000 to start the business
• 07:08 A crisis two weeks before opening
• 08:16 The first major challenge Jeff overcame
• 09:00 Why the restaurant failed
• 10:00 Choosing between acting and hospitality
• 11:18 Booking a role on a soap opera
• 11:43 The show gets canceled
• 12:17 Jeff decides to pursue restaurants
• 13:21 Seeing Tampa’s potential early
• 15:05 Pitching a New York restaurateur on Tampa
• 17:45 Feeling terrified while starting the business
• 19:00 Reframing fear as excitement and readiness
• 20:38 Imposter syndrome at a 400-seat restaurant
• 22:00 Connecting business with community service
• 23:00 Meeting WWE superstar Titus O’Neil
• 25:13 Activating your heart instead of writing a check
• 27:00 Building a culture around human experience
• 28:17 How Next Level Brands approaches culture
• 29:28 Hiring for attitude over experience
• 30:34 Growing to more than 700 employees
• 31:00 The personal cost of success
• 32:42 Why pressure is a privilege
• 34:16 Meditation, breathwork and cold plunging
• 35:00 Training with Wim Hof in Poland
• 36:00 Discovering the mind’s hidden capacity
• 37:27 Building a legacy for your children
• 39:19 How Jeff’s restaurant survived COVID
• 41:11 Refusing to close the business
• 42:00 Feeding first responders
• 42:46 Solving Tampa’s toilet paper shortage
• 43:50 The campaign that went viral
• 44:06 National media attention and reinvention
• 44:55 Protecting employees during the shutdown
• 46:47 Why leaders must lead during a crisis
• 48:25 Remaining a student of life
• 50:32 Jeff’s advice to young entrepreneurs
• 51:16 Why failure matters more than success
• 52:48 Measuring life through relationships
• 54:16 Defining the responsibility of hospitality
• 55:00 Creating “laid-back luxury”
• 56:38 Honoring every guest’s decision
• 58:04 What’s next for Next Level Brands
• 01:00:00 Friends are strangers we haven’t met

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. S. Irfan Ali sits down with Glenn Permuy, former national COO of Boys & Girls Clubs, for a powerful conversation about purpose, service, mentorship, and the life-changing impact of creating safe spaces for young people.

Glenn shares how the Boys Club became a safe place for him as a child, how he began leading others at just 12 years old, and why his life’s work became centered on helping young people find direction, confidence, and hope.

The conversation explores what it means to truly listen, how mentorship can change the course of a young person’s life, and why success often comes from patience, trust, discipline, and showing up when people need you most.

Glenn also reflects on the lessons he learned from failure, the young people who shaped his own growth, and the importance of building systems that support kids long after one conversation ends.

This episode is for anyone who believes leadership is about impact, service, and helping others see a future they may not yet see for themselves.

What You’ll Learn

• How Glenn Permuy found his purpose through the Boys & Girls Clubs
• Why safe spaces can change the direction of a young person’s life
• How listening can be more powerful than giving advice
• Why mentorship requires patience, trust, and consistency
• How setbacks, grief, and disappointment can deepen resilience

Chapters

• 00:00 Welcome to Fractured But Fearless
• 01:20 Glenn Permuy on finding his purpose
• 02:21 Why the Boys Club became a safe place
• 04:10 Starting at the club as a young child
• 05:08 Learning leadership at 12 years old
• 06:40 How coaching became a path to impact
• 08:18 Why young people trusted Glenn with their struggles
• 10:00 The power of patience and listening
• 11:37 Listening versus hearing
• 12:57 Why mentorship can’t be cookie cutter
• 13:20 Working with young people through the court system
• 15:44 Building systems that create lasting change
• 18:26 How Glenn handled disappointment and failure
• 19:59 The lesson Carmen taught him about helping others
• 23:05 Leroy’s story and the power of belief
• 28:37 How to keep going through burnout and setbacks
• 32:21 Why giving back becomes the turning point
• 34:16 The people who shaped Glenn’s values
• 37:51 Discipline, adaptability, and service
• 41:00 Choosing impact over recognition

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open

Dr. Nyla Hazratjee is a gastroenterologist, filmmaker, producer, storyteller, mother, and creative force who refuses to fit into one box.

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. S. Irfan Ali sits down with Dr. Hazratjee for a powerful conversation about identity, medicine, Muslim womanhood, filmmaking, creativity, and the courage it takes to tell stories that challenge expectations.

Dr. Hazratjee opens up about being a Pakistani American Muslim physician, navigating imposter syndrome, and building a creative life while working in medicine. She explains why she’s drawn to complicated characters, why vulnerability matters in storytelling, and why Muslim women deserve to be portrayed as full human beings with ambition, mistakes, desire, faith, struggle, and agency.

The conversation also explores her journey into film, the challenges of funding stories that don’t fit easy categories, the parallels between medicine and art, and how she balances family, career, creativity, and fear.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt boxed in by culture, profession, identity, family expectations, or fear.

What You’ll Learn:

• • How Dr. Nyla Hazratjee balances life as a physician, filmmaker, mother, and storyteller.
• • Why Muslim women deserve more complex, honest representation on screen.
• • How imposter syndrome shows up in medicine, creativity, and culture.
• • Why the best stories often come from vulnerability, discomfort, and the things people don’t say.
• • How taking creative risks can help you reclaim parts of yourself you once put “on the shelf.”

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Nyla Hazratjee
• 01:24 Being a physician, filmmaker, mother, and storyteller
• 02:00 Work ethic, creativity, and feeling like there’s more to do
• 03:14 Identity, culture, and the pressure to fit in
• 04:01 Why Dr. Hazratjee sees herself as multifaceted
• 06:21 Purpose, imposter syndrome, and being a woman in medicine
• 07:26 Belonging in every room
• 08:17 Why vulnerability reveals our shared humanity
• 09:36 Portraying Muslim women as full human beings
• 11:02 Finding space within culture, religion, and tradition
• 12:20 Boundaries, assertiveness, and creativity
• 13:20 Why storytelling is such a difficult medium
• 14:27 The challenge of funding authentic stories
• 15:39 American Fabric and the politics of hijab
• 17:05 Dealing with criticism and disappointment
• 18:13 Writing controversial stories with personal stakes
• 20:11 The real consequences of creative risk
• 21:15 Risk-benefit analysis in life and art
• 21:43 Why complicated characters matter
• 23:20 Starting a second creative career
• 24:14 Taking old dreams off the shelf
• 25:13 The hidden stories behind success
• 27:03 The connection between medicine and storytelling
• 27:44 Why Did Farida Die?
• 28:55 Systems, patients, bias, and human complexity
• 30:17 Finding the story people aren’t telling
• 31:32 Dr. Hazratjee’s creative process
• 33:14 The power of the things we don’t say
• 34:03 Telling stories that feel scary
• 36:26 Dr. Hazratjee’s path into entertainment
• 37:00 Medical school, culture shock, and early media work
• 39:23 The COVID moment that sparked her screenwriting journey
• 40:48 Asking for support at home
• 42:00 What people reveal when money is involved
• 43:10 Overcoming imposter syndrome
• 44:28 Keeping life scary
• 46:17 Final thoughts: a message in a bottle

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open

What does leadership reveal about a person once pressure, failure, and power enter the room?

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. S. Irfan Ali sits down with Bridgette Bello, a longtime Tampa Bay executive, founder, and leadership voice who has spent decades working closely with CEOs, business owners, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.

Bridgette shares what she has learned from sitting across from hundreds of leaders, including the difference between power and influence, why adversity shapes so many successful executives, and how relationships and reputation can help break a fall when life forces you to rebuild.

She also opens up about trust, betrayal, being the only woman in the room, the loneliness that comes with leadership, and why she believes people need to talk more honestly about failure, silence, purpose, and the “isolation tax” leaders often carry.

This conversation is a thoughtful look at what happens behind the scenes of success, and why real leadership is measured less by titles and more by trust, authenticity, service, and the willingness to keep learning.

If you’re a founder, executive, entrepreneur, or anyone rebuilding after a difficult season, this episode offers a grounded reminder that purpose, relationships, and courage still matter.

What You’ll Learn

• How Bridgette Bello defines the difference between power and influence.
• Why some leaders become more grounded through success, while others lose themselves.
• How adversity shapes many CEOs, founders, and business owners.
• Why rebuilding after failure can hurt your ego, identity, and sense of control.
• The role faith, family, reputation, and relationships play during hard seasons.
• Why trust is central to leadership, and why broken trust rarely looks the same again.
• How women still face real barriers in executive rooms and boardroom conversations.
• Why leaders need spaces where they can speak honestly about loneliness and isolation.
• How Bridgette’s new venture, The Executive Collective, aims to transfer leadership knowledge across generations.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Bridgette Bello
• 01:54 Power vs. influence in leadership
• 03:36 What building something does to a person
• 05:37 Learning again after thinking you already knew
• 06:27 Finding purpose through leadership
• 08:43 Rebuilding after failure and disappointment
• 10:15 The isolation tax of leadership
• 11:09 Why relationships can break your fall
• 12:10 Why trust is everything
• 13:03 Getting comfortable with change
• 15:00 One foot in front of the other
• 15:53 How adversity shapes great leaders
• 18:02 Why strong leaders give back
• 19:41 Women in leadership and the seat at the table
• 23:36 What drives Bridgette every day
• 25:00 Working with people you don’t like
• 27:38 Authenticity behind closed doors29:11 Trusting people after betrayal
• 31:35 Learning to trust but verify
• 33:00 How leaders handle anger and stress
• 34:20 Family, cooking, and shutting off the noise
• 37:02 What’s next for Bridgette Bello
• 37:43 The Executive Collective
• 39:47 Final thoughts on purpose-driven leadership

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open

Ashley Butler’s story didn’t start in a boardroom. It started with responsibility, resourcefulness, and a belief planted early in life: you are not your circumstances.

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. S. Irfan Ali sits down with Ashley Butler, Chief Visionary Officer of Ice Cold Air, for a powerful conversation about resilience, entrepreneurship, service, leadership, and the hidden cost of building something from the ground up.

Ashley shares how childhood lessons, family influence, early financial pressure, and a relentless commitment to learning helped shape her path from helping her family as a young teenager to becoming a franchise owner and eventually leading the entire company. Ashley opens up about the people who shaped her, the mentors who challenged her, the financial losses that tested her, and the leadership lessons that came from serving customers and building people.

She also talks honestly about the loneliness of leadership, the importance of having a personal board of advisors, and why staying humble, coachable, and service-driven matters at every stage of success.

This is a conversation about becoming unstoppable, even when the road is anything but easy.

What You'll Learn:

• The childhood lessons that shaped Ashley’s mindset
• Why “you are not your circumstances” became a guiding belief
• How community, structure, and family helped build her resilience
• The early entrepreneurial drive that led her to Ice Cold Air
• How Ashley became a franchise owner in 2006
• The financial setbacks and hard decisions behind business growth
• Why service became the foundation of her leadership style
• The emotional weight of leading people
• How therapy, mentors, forums, and trusted advisors helped her grow
• Why every leader needs a board of advisors
• What it really means to be unstoppable

Timestamps

• 00:00 Ashley Butler joins Fractured But Fearless
• 01:12 Connecting with Ashley’s 13-year-old self
• 02:30 “You are not your circumstances”
• 04:35 Learning responsibility at a young age
• 07:14 Reality, structure, and growing up fast
• 10:23 How community shaped Ashley’s resilience
• 12:49 The skills hidden inside survival
• 14:47 Finding resources in your community
• 18:32 Don’t envy abundance, study it
• 20:15 How entrepreneurship found Ashley
• 21:00 The chance meeting that led to Ice Cold Air
• 23:21 Becoming a franchise owner in 2006
• 24:26 Setbacks, resilience, and business losses
• 30:08 The private pressure entrepreneurs carry
• 31:24 When is enough, enough?
• 33:34 The humanity of leadership
• 35:06 Becoming unstoppable
• 35:42 From franchise owner to company leader
• 36:57 Building trust through transparency and service
• 39:10 Creating a culture of learning
• 40:39 Lending confidence to others
• 42:38 Leading from the trenches
• 44:05 Why leaders need trusted peer groups
• 45:03 Therapy, structure, and self-awareness
• 46:00 Building your personal board of advisors

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. Ali sits down with retired healthcare executive MIke Schultz for a candid conversation about what real leadership looks like inside complex healthcare systems.

Mike reflects on his career leading teams, building culture, scaling hospitals, navigating COVID, and learning why leadership can’t revolve around ego or control. He shares why great leaders bring people into the vision, set clear expectations, create accountability, and build trust before crisis arrives.

Dr. Ali and Mike also explore the tension between compassion and accountability, the danger of autocratic leadership, the importance of emotional intelligence, and why strategy only matters when it can actually be executed.

Their conversation is a powerful reminder that healthcare leadership is about more than numbers, titles, or boardroom decisions. It’s about people, purpose, and the moral compass behind every choice.

What You’ll learn:

• How leadership changes when it becomes bigger than you
• Why healthcare leaders need both compassion and accountability
• How culture gets built through presence, trust, and consistency
• What COVID revealed about crisis leadership
• Why strategy must connect vision to operations
• How leaders can let go of control without losing accountability
• Why the way you reach a goal matters as much as the goal itself

Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction to MIke Schultz
• 02:10 What Healthcare Leadership Really Means
• 05:30 Leadership Is a Learned Skill
• 08:15 The Ego Trap in Leadership
• 11:40 Finding Purpose in the Work
• 15:20 Bringing People Into the Vision
• 18:45 Leading the Top 20, Middle 60, and Bottom 20
• 23:30 Building Culture Through Presence
• 28:00 Emotional Intelligence and Reading the Room
• 32:10 Leading Through COVID
• 37:45 Protecting the Team During Crisis
• 42:00 Innovation Under Pressure
• 46:20 Why Leaders Need Self-Awareness
• 50:00 Letting Go of Control
• 54:15 Learning From Failure
• 58:20 Celebrating Real Wins
• 1:02:00 Compassion and Accountability
• 1:07:30 Strategy as the Bridge Between Vision and Operations
• 1:12:00 Why Execution Matters
• 1:16:00 The Moral Compass of Leadership
• 1:19:00 Final Reflections

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open

Fractured but Fearless is a podcast about the side of leadership most people never see.

Host Dr. Irfan Ali came to America with $1,700, cleaned carpets at night, and attended medical school during the day. Through discipline, resilience, and a willingness to take risks, he went on to build one of the largest privately held physician groups in West Florida.

In each episode, Dr. Ali sits down with founders, physicians, entrepreneurs, artists, and executives for honest conversations about the failures that shaped them, the losses that forced them to grow, and the turning points that changed everything.

These are stories about what happens behind the success, when no one is watching and quitting feels easier.

Because every leader gets fractured. The fearless ones keep going.

What does it do to a person to witness human suffering over and over again?

In this episode of Fractured But Fearless, Dr. S. Irfan Ali sits down with CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti to explore the emotional weight of reporting from the frontlines of tragedy and what happens when the story becomes personal.

Jonathan has spent over two decades covering disasters, conflict, and resilience across the globe. But during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, he wasn’t just reporting the story. He was living it.

This conversation goes beyond journalism. It dives into humanity, resilience, and the quiet moments that shape who we become after everything falls apart.

Jonathan's book, Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild, is now available wherever books are sold.

What You’ll Learn

• • What repeated exposure to tragedy does to the human mind
• • The moment that changed how Jonathan approaches storytelling
• • Why empathy matters more than getting the story
• • The reality of system failure during disasters
• • How small decisions can change someone’s life forever
• • What separates people who recover from those who stay stuck
• • Why being present matters more than being right

Timestamps

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:30 The moment that changed everything
• 05:30 The emotional toll of witnessing tragedy
• 09:50 Stories that never leave you
• 12:00 The wildfire rescue that changed his life
• 16:45 Choosing to act vs staying detached
• 21:00 System failure during disasters
• 25:00 “Where are the firefighters?” moment
• 30:00 Why he chooses to be in the field
• 37:00 The loneliness of knowing the full story
• 42:00 How to cope with emotional weight
• 49:00 What resilience actually looks like
• 55:00 What helps people move forward after loss
• 01:01:00 Final thoughts

Mentioned in this episode:

Fractured But Fearless - Cold Open