Wade Houston: From Rock Bottom to President of a $100M Company | DSH #1770

Wade Houston’s story isn’t about hype — it’s about mentorship, discipline, leadership, and rebuilding your life from the ground up. In this episode, Wade opens up about hitting rock bottom in his early 20s, getting sober, finding a billionaire mentor, and completely rewiring how he led people, built companies, and defined success. He walks through scaling a functional medicine business from $4M to $12M, becoming President of 10X Health, navigating hypergrowth, acquisitions, leadership mistakes, and ultimately leaving to build his own coaching and consulting empire. This conversation also dives deep into ego, emotional intelligence, stoicism, personal development culture, and why mentorship can compress decades of learning into a few years. If you’re an entrepreneur, leader, or someone rebuilding their life — this episode hits. What You’ll Learn 🧠 Why mentorship compresses decades of trial and error 🔥 How emotional intelligence transforms leadership 📉 How ego quietly destroys culture and growth 📈 How Wade scaled a business 3x in under two years 🧘 Why discipline, meditation, and mindset matter at scale 🤝 How to give feedback without killing morale 🏗️ How personal development culture drives performance 💼 What hypergrowth really feels like inside a company 💥 Why leaving success can feel worse than failure 🚀 How to build a coaching business that attracts buyers Chapters (Timestamps) 0:00 — Why one mentor can save decades of time 1:15 — From addiction, arrests, and chaos to discipline 3:10 — The moment that forced real change 5:18 — Health transformation and functional medicine 7:32 — Scaling Health Gains from $4M to $12M 9:25 — Building culture: mindset, meditation, leadership 10:49 — Becoming President of 10X Health 12:06 — Negotiating comp, equity, and power 15:39 — Leaving 10X and losing identity 35:14 — Building a coaching business that actually converts 🎙️ APPLY OR CONNECT 👉 Apply to be on the podcast: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application 📩 Business inquiries / sponsors: sean@digitalsocialhour.com 👤 GUEST: Wade Houston - https://www.instagram.com/wadehouston/ 💼 SPONSORS QUINCE: https://quince.com/dsh 🥗 Fuel your health with Viome: https://buy.viome.com/SEAN Use code “Sean” at checkout for a discount! 🎧 LISTEN ON 🍏 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 📸 Sean Kelly Instagram: @seanmikekelly ⚠️ DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed by guests on Digital Social Hour are solely those of the individuals appearing on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the host, Sean Kelly, or the Digital Social Hour team. While we encourage open and honest discussions, Sean Kelly is not legally responsible for any statements, claims, or opinions made by guests during the show. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate. The content shared is for entertainment and informational purposes only — it should not be taken as legal, medical, financial, or professional advice. We strive to present accurate and reliable information; however, we make no guarantees regarding its completeness or accuracy. The views expressed are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those of the producers or affiliates of this program. 🔥 Stay tuned for more episodes featuring top creators, founders, and innovators shaping the digital world! Keywords Wade Houston podcast, mentorship for entrepreneurs, leadership mindset, emotional intelligence leadership, stoic mindset business, functional medicine business growth, 10X Health story, Grant Cardone health company, Gary Brecka functional medicine, scaling companies fast, hypergrowth leadership, personal development culture Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.