About the show

About us and the Hard Knocks mission

Hosts David Fox and John Fox mid-conversation at the Hard Knocks table

Hey there! It looks like you found our About page.

You’re probably wondering, “Why Hard Knocks? Why another podcast?” Well, let me tell you why.

John and I have encountered so many podcasts, YouTube channels, and books that left us frustrated for the same reason: they focus on extracting quick tips, advice, or brief lessons from guests without digging deeper to uncover the untold stories behind those insights. As soon as a guest shares something interesting, the conversation moves on all too quickly, leaving the deeper narrative unexplored.

While these nuggets of information can be helpful, they’re often stripped of the context (the trials, tribulations, and “hard knocks”) that gives them true meaning. Without these untold stories, advice is commonly misunderstood, discredited, or applied incorrectly by listeners. Worst of all, the advice never gets the chance to become wisdom.

So, we decided to shake things up.

Drawing from our collective experience in interviewing and coaching, we built Hard Knocks with a singular mission: to bring the profound wisdom of our guests directly to you by uncovering their otherwise untold stories, essentially enabling our guests to become mentors to our listeners and offering wisdom reminiscent of a modern-day Ecclesiastes.

How do we do this?

Think of us as wisdom archaeologists. When we hear a piece of wisdom from one of our guests, we don’t just let it end there. That’s when our expedition begins: delving into the experiences that sparked their journey to such insights. And yes, that’s also why our episodes tend to be quite long!

So join us on this journey of uncovering untold stories and true wisdom.

Welcome to Hard Knocks.

Behind the mic

The hosts of Hard Knocks

Because this might be the other reason you came to the About page.

John Fox

John Fox has spent his career on the front lines as a true business developer: creating new sources of revenue, and expanding existing channels for visionary-led companies who provide disruptive products and services that stimulate digital transformation at enterprise customers.

He has a career track record of success recruiting and developing talented marketing teams and aligning all activities, brand, and compelling content to a customer-centric value chain through direct and partner sales channels.

He is also the author of Marketing Playbook: The Definitive Guide to B2B Marketing, endorsed by Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, and Al Ries. The Playbook provides detailed instructions for implementing more than 100 sales-driven B2B marketing strategies.

David Fox

Hey there! Since I don’t have to write a business-focused bio (finally), there’s one thing I have to say: I love stories and aspire to be one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

From practicing improv to learning about music, exploring different mediums, and traveling to see things firsthand, crafting stories and experiences that engage people is at the heart of everything I do.

During the golden era of Flash gaming (for those who remember Newgrounds and Armor Games) I loved experimenting and building games. I even organized a conference!

I’ve been part of the dev team for Google Chrome and helped found projects like the Web Almanac, aiming to help others more easily craft ideal experiences (because so many of them are horrible).

For the past decade, I’ve been a Dungeon/Game Master, weaving tragic and heroic tales and adventures. I love recruiting more people into the hobby and sharing the lessons I’ve learned.