Chaos on the Strip, a CyrusofChaos Podcast

Today's interview is with Leonie Ebert, the 2022 senior European champion. A few years ago a devastating injury required Leonie to take time off and get surgery. After years of patience and rehab she was finally healthy enough to come back and in her second tournament since her return she was able to make a top 8. Hear her full story here! A full video version of this podcast can be found on my Patreon account:Leonie Ebert's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/leonieeebert/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Today I interview Momo Bertini, the defending junior world champion from Italy who just got his first senior world cup medal in the Salt Lake World Cup last weekend. We discuss how he was able to overcome his anxiety after a few disappointing seasons to be able to perform well, how he comes from a family of high level athletes, and various fencing topics in general. A full video version of this podcast can be found on my Patreon account:Momo Bertini's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/cosimo_bertini/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

In the 6th episode of season 2 of Chaos on the Strip, I talk to Alexander Massialas about his career. At the beginning of the 2024-2025 season Alexander made the surprising decision to become the head coach of the Stanford Fencing team while also continuing his personal competitive career. This has paid off well for him as he has won several FIE events since then, including his third Challenge International de Paris. We discuss all of that and more in this interview.Alex Massialas's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/amassialas/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Season 2 Episode 5 of Chaos on the Strip is the second BREAKOUT RESULT podcast of 2026. Entering the Fujairah Epee World Cup as the 59th seed, Conrad came out of nowhere to win the entire tournament. His journey started in foil where he won a few junior world cup medals in both individuals and teams, then after retiring from foil in 2019 decided to give epee a try. We discuss how bringing his unique foil skills into epee has really helped him BREAKOUT!Conrad Kongstad's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/remi.grrg/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Episode 4 of season 2 of Chaos on the Strip features Remi Garrigue, this year's surprise men's sabre European Champion. We discuss his dark horse performance at Euros in detail, his training and his mentality, and where his chaotic dinosaur scream came from.Remi Garrigue's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/remi.grrg/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Episode 3 of season 2 of Chaos on the Strip features Michi Battiston, recent winner of the Orleans Grand Prix, the biggest sabre event of the regular season. With three 15-14 wins learn about her strategy for staying calm under pressure, what her training situation is like, how she got started in the sport, and much more! Michela Battiston's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/michi_battiston/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

In the second episode of season two of Chaos On The Strip I talk to Jerome Guth, the current national sabre coach of Japan. During his time in Japan he has coached Emura Misaki to two World Championships titles, coached the women's team to an Olympic Bronze medal, and has coached his athletes in both genders to many more world cup, grand prix, and Asian Championship medals. Jerome has had an interesting path getting to Japan: after growing up fencing in France and deciding to quit fencing to go to school in America he randomly started coaching on the Penn State team before opening up a club in America then moving to Japan to become the national sabre coach there. As such his has a very multi-national perspective which makes him very interesting to talk to! Enjoy!Follow Jerome on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/jrmgth/Support me on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

We open season 2 of Chaos on the Strip with Alex Tofalides, the first ever Cypriot Olympic fencer who just published his book "Fighting For Your Dream". In this interview we discuss his career and the contents of his book. Enjoy!Order Alex's book here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-your-Dream-resilience-performing/dp/1068564423Follow Alex Tofalides on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alextofalides/Find the rest of this interview on Patreon:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Episode 24 of Chaos on the Strip is an interview of me, the creator, by Olympic Foil, another popular combat creator! He had a poll to collect questions on his Instagram pageOlympic Foil's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/olympicfoil/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Episode 23 of Chaos on the Strip features Ryan Choi, recently crowned men's foil Asian Champion and World Champion and current world number 1. Find out how he has been so consistent recently, why he almost quit earlier this season, and how he worked through the disappointment of not qualifying for the Olympics. Ryan Choi's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ryanchoiiiii?igsh=YmxpOWg3eTB0YTUySupport me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

In episode 22 of Chaos on the Strip we talk to Cheung Ka Long, winner of the last two individual Olympic titles and the 2024 overall world cup winner about how he got started in the sport, his mentality during comebacks, how he keeps up his motivation, and much more!Cheung Ka Long's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/cheungkalonggggg/Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

In the last episode of Chaos on the Strip I interviewed Olga Kharlan. I said in that episode that I wanted to ask her a lot of questions about her career but that there was something more important that we needed to discuss: the war in Ukraine. In this episode she and I discuss all of the other aspects of her career from how it all began to her absolutely insane Olympic Qualification season this year!Follow Olga on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/olgakharlan/Support me on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

Today's episode of Chaos on the strip is a bit unusual: I interviewed Olga about her experiences with the war in Ukraine two years ago but due to complicated circumstances that led to major changes in my life immediately after we recorded, I completely forgot about the interview until she and I discussed the topic of Sofia Velikaya a few days ago. Recently Sofia Velikaya, a successful Russian fencer and captain in the Russian army, decided to run for a position on the FIE's Athlete Commission representing Russia despite not being eligible for multiple reasons. Olga and I decided this was a good time to remind everyone why the Russians are currently not allowed to represent their country.Follow Olga on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/olgakharlan/Support me on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In episode 19 of Chaos on the Strip we have recent junior world champion and current top 16 senior fencer Biko Tolba on! Not only has Biko won junior World Championships, he has also been to the Olympics, has won two senior world cup bronze medals, and is currently the number one ranked junior in the world. We discuss his transition from juniors to seniors and how having a foot in America, Egypt, and Italy has affected his fencing.Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

Lawyer Elijah Granet joins us to discuss the legal ramifications of the letters that USA Fencing was sent by Ted Cruz (threatening USFA's NGB status) and by Marjorie Taylor Greene (requesting an appearance by Chairman Damien Lefeldt) to discuss this issue.Support me on Patreon here:https://www.patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

In episode 17 of Chaos on the Strip I interview Red Sullivan who talks about the protest that Stephanie Turner made against her in the Cherry Blossom open. We also discuss the issue of trans athletes in sports more broadly and if you listen to the end I will provide a little insider information about what is happening with this issue in the USOPC...Patreon Link: https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

In episode 16 of Chaos on the Strip we have singer/songwriter Em Beihold on! In addition to being an All-American fencer at UCSD, Em has written several hit singles such as Numb Little Bug, Groundhog Day, and City of Angels. Listen to her thoughts on how fencing as affected her singing career, what it's like being on tour, opening for the Jonas Brothers, and much much more!Support me on Patreon here:https://patreon.com/CyrusofChaos

On episode 15 of Chaos on the Strip I check in with Bryce Louie. We talk about his breakout results in Tunis, where he got silver in individual, and about his first NAC win in Charlotte. We also discuss his social media presence as well as give some advice to any aspiring content creators!Follow Bryce on Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/bryce.louie/Support me on Patreon here:https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

Lee Kiefer and I discuss a variety of topics, from how she got started in fencing to how to deal with stress. Check out the new business she and her husband started here: https://www.km-fencing.com/ Check out Lee's Instagram profile here: https://www.instagram.com/leetothekiefer Support me on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

At 15 years old, Jaelyn Liu won the recent senior world cup in Hong Kong which is beyond impressive. Today we talk to Jaelyn to learn about how exactly that happened. Enjoy! https://www.instagram.com/jaebaenogae_/

Today we talk to Olympic Champion Daniele Garozzo about his career in the sport from start to finish. Unfortunately Dani announced his retirement a few months before the Paris Olympic games due to a heart condition. In this conversation we discuss how he deals with the pressure of competition, how he got so good at infighting, and where he thinks foil is going! https://www.instagram.com/daniele_garozzo92/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In episode 11 of Chaos on the Strip I talk to Wonder TwinsDavid Sosnov and Jaimie Cook who are currently the #2 and #3 juniors in the world and who have both recently broken into the top levels of the senior circuit. We discuss how two fencers with unorthodox fencing styles from the UK managed to get to such a high level, the effect they have each had on each other, what it's like for Jaimie to be coached by his dad, and much more! https://www.instagram.com/jaimie_cook_/ https://www.instagram.com/david.sosnov/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

Episode 10 of Chaos on the Strip does not have a guest. In this episode I discuss my role in preventing bout manipulation at the Olympics and how I got invited to speak in the French Senate at the international MotivAction whistleblowing convention. In the podcast at various points I mention a link for where to report questionable behavior: https://report.whistleb.com/fr/alerte-fdsf https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In this episode of Chaos on the Strip we check in with Jean-Philippe Patrice. Since I last checked in with him he got married, went to the Olympics (and came back with a bronze medal), and won his first senior FIE event. We discuss his result in Orleans and ideas for how to make fencing more watchable and exciting. https://www.instagram.com/jppatrice/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In this episode of Chaos on the Strip I am joined by Damien Lehfeldt, recently elected chairman of the board of USA Fencing. We discuss the USA sabre investigation, next steps for combatting corruption in fencing, and Super Smash Bros Melee. Enjoy! https://www.instagram.com/thefencingcoach/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! On today's episode of Chaos on the Strip we talk to Virgin Islands Olympian in foil and cadet world champion silver medalist in epee, Kruz Schembri, about how he balances training in two different weapons. Kruz has managed to achieve a top 10 rating in the world in both junior men's epee and junior men's foil while training in an area that isn't exactly known as a fencing hot spot. Very impressive! https://www.instagram.com/kruz.schembri/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

This week we check in with Radu Nitu about how his move to America is going and how he got his first senior individual medal: a silver medal in Oran! https://www.instagram.com/_radunitu_/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In the fifth episode of Chaos on the Strip, Spanish fencer recently switched to representing America, joins me to discuss the individual results of the men's epee world cup in Bern with a lot of fencing-related tangents during the conversation. Enjoy! https://www.instagram.com/calderonator/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

For the fourth episode of Chaos on the Strip I am joined by Eleanor Harvey (Canada's first ever Olympic fencing medalist) and her coach Alex Martin (Canadian women's foil national coach). We discuss Eleanor's experience at the Olympics, how she got to where she is today, and the Canadian training situation. https://www.instagram.com/eleamorgue/ https://www.instagram.com/alex.c.martin/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In the third episode of Chaos on the Strip, Hungarian Olympic Bronze Medalist and current world #4 Eszter Muhari joins me to discuss the individual results of the women's epee world cup in Fujairah. https://www.instagram.com/esztermuharii/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In the second episode of Chaos on the Strip, I talk to Otto Drakenberg, Swedish Olympian, and presidential candidate of the FIE about his platform for president and what his vision is for the future of fencing. https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos

In the first episode of Chaos on the Strip, three time German Olympian Matyas Szabo joins me to discuss the individual and team results of the men's sabre world cup in Oran, Algeria. https://www.instagram.com/matyasszabo/ https://www.patreon.com/c/CyrusofChaos