About Us

Meet my son Aidan, a Zoomer who will graduate from high school in 2023. Now of course I’m biased, but I think the kid’s a bit of a prodigy, just like his old man. He must be wicked smart because he aces his classes despite not studying enough as far as I’m concerned. I’m also impressed with his broad range of interests. He’s a Star Wars geek but also works out with me almost every day. The boy does love his video games but is also a certified lifeguard. He’s on the water polo team but also loves to solve complex math problems.  He’s also on the board of his school’s Model UN club. He’s loyal and dedicated to a really cool group of friends. He can be a bit moody, but then again, that’s synonymous with being a teenager. Not surprisingly, the boy loves a good debate, which was the genesis of his Podcast. Depite all his great qualities, as you’ll hear, I still kick his butt most of the time when we get into a heated argument. Most importantly, Aidan is kind, generous, funny, sensitive, confident, full of integrity, and his smile lights up a room. I love him dearly, and there’s nothing in my life I’m more proud of than being his father.

Meet my dad, Ash, a Gen-X’er who recently turned old every year for as long as I can remember. My dad has been massively successful throughout his life, but he’s modest and down to earth. He keeps it real. What you see is what you get with him. I love to hang out with him, and all my friends think he’s super cool. His life resume is as eclectic as it is impressive, and somehow, he manages to juggle a ridiculous amount of stuff in his life. He’s been an executive at some of the most prestigious companies in the world (he’s currently a CMO); he sits on multiple Boards, he’s a Clinical Psychologist; he wrote a book on Happiness; he manages his men’s basketball league; he works out regularly; he does this podcast with me; and still manages to rub my mom’s feet on the couch almost every night. Most importantly, he pushes me to be a better person, preaches for me to have a growth mindset, and constantly reminds me that it all comes down to my character.

What does a podcast trying to bridge the generational divide between Gen-X and Gen-Z need? A Millennial that grew up in a household where discussions were one-sided and parenting styles were ‘traditional’ – but still, she took every chance she had to push back and break those cycles.

Offering a unique perspective to the content and feel of Hold Me Back, Gabriela is no stranger to the varying opinions and points of view in this world. As a Social Media Professional, it has been her joy in life to absorb as many stories as she can, try to understand them through a different lens, and share her own perspective on different topics.

On top of being the Social Media lead for Hold Me Back, she also is the Social Media Specialist for TAG – The Aspen Group. In her free time she loves to cook, listen to Van Morrison and ABBA, and read suspense novels. Her favorite movie trilogy is Lord of the Rings, and will die on the hill that is ‘Samwise Gamgee is the main character of the story’.

Somebody’s got to make Aidan & Ash sound good. Who better than a Millennial who finds himself agreeing with Aidan in half the episodes and Ash in the other half. Max has been on the organic journey from podcast listener to podcast host to podcast producer to running his own podcast production business. He’s nearing 200 episodes hosting the Wild Business Growth Podcast (hear a very thought-provoking Gen-X’er in Episode 137) and has interviewed everyone from WordPress Co-Founder Matt Mullenweg to Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson.

In his free time, he’s a Cleveland and Indiana University sports nut whose favorite thing in the world is traveling around the world with his fiancée, Dana. He has a true love for dad jokes (aka Ash Jokes) and is an asset to any trivia team thanks to random knowledge from editing podcasts of all genres.