Its My Time Podcast

About Its My Time Podcast

People who serve, teach and build, and how they're getting there. On It's My Time, civil engineer Asher Tchoua sits down with parents, teachers, veterans, coaches, martial artists, tradespeople, business owners and artists. Most of them aren't famous. They're the people who show up for others and do the work quietly. Each guest reached a moment when they decided it was their time. Every conversation follows how they're getting there, who helped them, and who they're helping now. New episodes on Thursdays. Find any episode by topic at itsmytimepodcast.com/find-an-episode & follow the show

Publisher

Asher Tchoua

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Oct 2019

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

656 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Not Nice. Kind. | Will Hill on Peace, Faith & Jiu-Jitsu - EP 285

   At 29, Will Hill was in marathon shape, a 12-year Air Force combat controller with the Secret Service and U.S. Marshals both recruiting him. Then routine blood work led to a diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis, an incurable liver disease. One doctor told him to go home and make a life, because he'd be lucky to be alive at 40. He's 56 now, and he calls himself a man at peace. Will and Asher cover a lot of ground in this one: growing up the youngest of five in the mountains of western Virginia, praying through a job he hated, the morning gratitude habit he shares with his wife Nicole, what he learned watching his stoic father finally break, and why letting people help you is a gift to them. Then they get on the mat: why the best men aren't nice but kind, why Will taps more as a black belt than he did as a brown belt, and how the training mentality carries into leadership. Takeaways: • Happiness comes and goes. Peace is something you choose. • Two things: share two things you're grateful for every day, ideally with someone. • Letting people help you is a gift to them. • Get comfortable saying "I don't know," "I was wrong," and "I'm sorry." • You're a volunteer at your job, so your attitude is yours. • When someone gets nasty, try silence, or ask "Are you okay?" Mentioned: Jefferson Fisher, Henry Akins, Matt Jones, Craig Jones, Tiger Academy, Victory Martial Arts. Related: Ep. 282 with Todd Schoenbaum, Ep. 284 with Eric Odem.

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   From Navy Submarines to Jiu-Jitsu: Eric Odem's Story | Ep. 284

   This is the third episode in Asher's series of sit-down interviews with jiu-jitsu teammates and friends from the gym. This one features Eric Odem, who grew up in Decatur, Atlanta in the 1980s and 90s (a teenager during the Olympics), skipped a lot of school, and barely graduated through Phoenix High School in Lawrenceville, an alternative program with a strict attendance policy built for kids struggling to finish. That rocky start led him into the U.S. Navy's nuclear program in Charleston, where he found real aptitude for technical work. Over a 12-year Navy career, Eric served on fast attack submarines in the Middle East, spent time with Special Forces including a boat team stint in the Philippines, and lived four years on an aircraft carrier in Japan, which he compares to living at a truck stop with 6,000 people. While stationed in Japan, he and his family lived through the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, an experience that reshaped how he thinks about resilience and how people hold together in disaster. Eric met his wife during his Navy years, and this year marks their 25th anniversary. After leaving the Navy, they settled briefly in Dothan, Alabama, before moving to Augusta, GA in 2014, where Eric works at Plant Vogtle — the longest either of them has lived anywhere. In his mid-30s he picked up jiu-jitsu after getting thoroughly dominated by a more experienced training partner, and it turned into a discipline that's shaped his approach to trust, vulnerability, and staying physically capable as he ages. He now teaches, which pushed him to understand the why behind techniques rather than just the movements, and he closes the conversation talking about the value of narrow, focused learning over trying to absorb everything at once. A rough start, redirected. Skipping school, an alternative high school for delinquent teens, barely graduating, then finding real purpose and technical aptitude the moment he hit the Navy's nuclear program. Submarine life as total self-reliance. No margin for error, junior mistakes can be fatal, communication is heavily screened, and the crew becomes the whole world for months at a time. Trust and vulnerability on the mats. His sharpest jiu-jitsu insight: letting a training partner hold you in a position where they could genuinely hurt you, and trusting they won't, builds a bond nothing else in life quite matches. Tohoku, 2011. Living through the earthquake with his family in Japan; what it taught him about Japanese resilience and how people hold together when everything falls apart. Aircraft carrier as a floating city. Four years living on a carrier in Japan, described as like living at a truck stop with 6,000 people. Jiu-jitsu at 35. Started after getting dominated by a more experienced partner; became a vehicle for discipline, trust, vulnerability, and staying capable as he ages. Teaching forces understanding. Coaching others pushed him past just knowing the moves into understanding the why behind the technique. Narrow, focused learning. His closing point: progress comes from going deep on one thing at a time, not trying to absorb everything at once. Power and resilience, up close. He ties his work in the nuclear industry to a hard-won appreciation for electricity — sharpened by going 12-14 days without power at home in Augusta after Hurricane Helene. Key Themes

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Signing the Mental Contract: Ben Price on Consistency Over Comfort | Ep 283

   Ben Price — artist, athlete, father of Major, and founder of resale business Southern Stockyard — sits down to talk about walking away from a stable nuclear radiography career at Savannah River Site to chase something less certain. Ben opens up about growing up in Augusta, Georgia, the childhood dreams (firefighter, architect, baseball) he never chased, and how faith eventually pointed him toward martial arts. He and Asher get into what it actually feels like to start jiu-jitsu as a grown man — getting repeatedly beaten by people half your age, training beside your own 12-year-old son, and choosing to stay anyway. Ben also breaks down how he's rebuilding vintage furniture and a 100,000-piece stamp collection into a growing resale business, with a coffee-shop showroom as the long-term dream. In this episode: Why Ben left a stable nuclear industry job to bet on himself Training jiu-jitsu alongside his 12-year-old son at Augusta Jiu-Jitsu Academy Kobe Bryant's "mental contract" and what it means to commit for life, not a season Turning a $12 dresser into a $512 piece — the Southern Stockyard restoration process Why community, not just skill, is what keeps people on the mat

Who has been a guest on Its My Time Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Asher Tchoua
• George Johnson
• Nathaniel Goldston
• Dennis Kimbro
• Azie Tayor Morton

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

108,378

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 75 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

87

Social presence

0

YouTube

82

Engagement

77

Contact Its My Time Podcast

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.