Creative InSanity

Michael and Kevin Rosmer are brothers, both have been on the podcast before as individuals. Michael is a financial expert and business entrepreneur, known as Offshore Citizen. Kevin Rosmer is the lead singer of Professional Help, and also a filmmaker and actor. This time we bring them together to discuss finances, artist integrity, branding, and why movies are like sex.

From an early age, Sam Reid's profound love for cinema has driven him towards a remarkable career in filmmaking.As an accomplished Director of Photography and editor with over 10 years experience, his talent for visual storytelling and his cooperative spirit have made him a sought-after cinematographer, both in Edmonton and across Alberta.Throughout his career, Sam has left a lasting mark on diverse projects, working with exceptional companies including Paramount, CBC, Global, Junos and others. As the co-owner of Guerrilla Motion Pictures, he has played a pivotal role in creating award-winning films, documentaries, music videos and captivating commercial productions.Shooting with ARRI, Sony, Canon and RED cameras, Sam has created unique and compelling images. He brings his commitment to the craft and collaborative approach to every production.His work can be seen in the third season of the acclaimed Paramount+ series Never Seen Again and the upcoming 8 part documentary series labeled, which he also co-produced.

Lord Michael Rosmer is a true Renascence man. From humble beginnings growing up in rural Canada to Dubai where he now lives half the year and travels across the globe during the other half. He fits the phrase "the secret to the person who is universally interesting is that they are universally interested". From an early age he developed a love of fantasy books from listening to his Grandma read to him. He studied card magic and published numerous books on techniques that he's developed. He has lived in six countries on three continents, is a passionate foodie, an entrepreneur, and an investor who has run over 14 companies. He is well known for his Off-Shore Citizen YouTube Channel which aims to help people who want to live and do business internationally.

Brandon Rhiness is a prolific writer and filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta. He's known for the movies Hot Box and Grotesque. He's also written several comic books including Ghoul Squad and The Boy with a Balloon for a Head, and the horror novel The Man in the Box. Follow him on Instagram here.

Kenny Bhullar is a first-degree blackbelt in tae kwon do, who has fought in MMA and kickboxing, and traveled the world competing in jiujitsu, before coming home and founding the Bravé MMA and Fitness Academy.   Kenny's story is one of discovery and growth through struggle, but also defeat. His love for what he does is contagious and made for an amazing conversation. Find him on Instagram here.

An update for my listeners for where I've been, where I'm at now, and where I'm going with the podcast.

Graham Robinson is a Toronto based illustrator and fine artist whose perspective seems to me rather sane, fascinating, and whole. Much of his artwork maintains a unifying theme around canoes, fish, journeys, and surrealism. It is exceptional. We discuss a great many artsy as well as addiction, becoming a man, exercise, and the role of using your body when it comes to these heady, intellectual pursuits us artists often find ourselves ensconced in. Follow him on IG here.

Emm Gryner is a Canadian singer/songwriter, and now author. Her new book, The Healing Power of Singing, is a delightful journey of 25 steps filled with fascinating insight from her life—from getting a record deal and later ditching the music industry, to single parenting and touring as a singer with the late and great David Bowie. She even collaborated with astronaut Chris Hadfield on his famous cover of “Space Oddity”, the song that made history as the first music video filmed in outer space. I was delighted and honoured to speak with her at length about her life and what she's learned.

Cesar Santos is a world class painter and illustrator, perhaps best known for his incredible ability in portraiture. Born in Cuba and later raised in the United States, he now resides in Italy with his wonderful wife, Valentina. To see his work is to be amazed. His highly instructive and insightful YouTube videos showcase his process and bring his audience along what I consider a most riveting artistic journey. That he has over 150,000 subscribers means I'm not the only one who thinks that. His art is sought after across the globe and his mastery has inspired thousands of artists all over the world. Follow him on Instagram here.

Juliette Fogra is a Brooklyn based illustrator, designer, and maker of fine art. Her artwork is inexplicably profound and strikes a very raw chord with me. She's one of those people who make art that stares back at you. In this conversation we discuss what it takes to actually be an “Artist”, the nature of art, life as art, and we confront many orthodox maxims around creativity in thoughtfully circuitous and reflective ways. Follow Juliette on Instagram.  Check out her website. 

Jax Delisle is a diverse creative, a media entrepreneur, and advocate for small business. She lives in my hometown of Hinton, Alberta, as the head of her company, ‘JD Consulting'. She's also the writer of a well-known recipe blog called “Cooking with Jax” and her recipes have gone viral. We sat down in my studio to discuss marketing and creative work through the lens of a small town, the pitfalls, strengths, and challenges. She shares her experience as a professional in the social media stratosphere and gives tips on how to grow your brand. Follow Jax on Instagram here.

Halee Pierog is a very fine actor currently based in my own small town of Edson, Alberta. She's not only been cast in the lead role for my upcoming music video (“Her Smile”), she has immense talent and diverse experience in both theatre and short film. I found this conversation to be equal parts fascinating and refreshing. We not only talk about the art of acting, channeling emotions, being an introvert, but also about being an actor in Alberta, and all the challenges that come with it. Acting is a difficult career path. I love Halee's perspective and the honesty she brings to this conversation. Follow Halee on Instagram, here. This episode was recorded on May 25th, 2021.

Eric Myers is a New York-based literary agent who has had a long vibrant career in not only books, but film. He has been representing authors for over a decade, but prior to that he worked behind-the-scenes as a publicist for many well-known films including Julie & Julia, Zoolander, Shaft, Fatal Attraction, Regarding Henry, and more. He is also the author of three art-deco books published by St. Martin's Press. As a literary agent, he represents award winners, thrillers, memoirs, young adult fiction, and as a person, his integrity, charm, and style are rarely matched. We talk about his story, the importance of history, what his interactions with authors are like, his literary agent pet peeves, and much more. Learn more about Eric at his website here. This episode was recorded on May 10th, 2021.

Tammy Peterson is an artist based in Ontario well known as the beloved wife of Jordan B. Peterson, a man who is perhaps the western world's most influential intellectual of our time. Tammy's perspective on creativity, sanity, and spirituality is truly insightful and worthy of note. We ruminate on the difference between wanting and needing to make art, on raising children and balancing life around your passion, the role of humility, gratitude, and beauty, and what her recent brush with death has taught her. Follow Tammy Peterson on Instagram here. This episode was recorded on April 18th, 2021.

Ben Wallace is a professional marketer from the UK who works for both Mikhaila and Jordan Peterson—two very well-known public figures. He is also a podcaster (Ben's Learning Lounge), an aspiring comedian, and all-around creative guy. We talk about his personal battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and how he managed to still get his Degree at Lancaster despite it, how he stumbled into being a marketer, and the overall importance of having a life's purpose, among many other topics.

Marta Madison is a fashion illustrator from Sydney, Australia, and tomorrow (May 1st) she launches her new book, "Girl Can Draw". We discuss her experience as a successful commissioned artist, the world of bridal fashion, and what she's learned along the way to keep sane. We relate about the importance of good communication and people skills, which often create more opportunities than even an artist's craft. Her advice for artists trying to make a living from their passion is truly thought-provoking.

Nicole Wolf is an illustrator and fine artist based in Calgary, AB. She's travelled to Syrian refugee camps to live-draw portraits, been tapped by huge clients for character design, mural work, and commercial art, and recently generated an exhibit with journalist Gavin John called “Inside the Fall of CHOP”, which gained international attention. We talk about the pros and cons of working as artists in Alberta, having a real life, whether you need to sacrifice your art career to have a family, and much more.

Krista Van Iderstine is an ADHD Coach and Occupational Therapist based in Calgary, AB. Even if you don't have ADHD, this is a highly informative episode for creative people. We share our own experience as people with ADHD and talk about the disorder in detail, its biological signature, common myths, and strategies for how to thrive with it.

Meredith Bull is a multifaceted artist whose experience ranges from touring in theatre productions to guest starring on Law & Order, plus voice acting and working alongside George Lucas. She's a musical artist and TikTok phenomenon with millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers. We talk about TikTok, what it's like to go viral (multiple times), what she's learned along the way. She also distills wisdom from her friend and mentor, Hopsin, who is a rap artist whose work I've admired for years.

Originally a full-blown artist, Nik Cherwink had a vibrant career in the music industry working at Capitol Records in LA, eventually teaching artists at Icon Collective. He then transitioned into life-coaching next, first working with artists to now coaching men in particular. We talk Identity and how artists seek validation through art, bringing up the question of whether or not being an artist is desirable. His insight is profound and invaluable for anyone needing to step back and see the big picture.

Lindsay Rendleman is more than a fantastic songwriter, she's my friend and collaborator. Fresh off the release of our song "Suspect", we wax creative about it and other things. She brings up the best advice she ever got as a songwriter, which involves balancing bullsh*t and truth precariously. We talk about the importance of having a supportive nest to bring out your creativity, how being in the zone is coping, meditative, and restorative, and why having a certain outcome in mind with your art is terrible.

Daniel Grove is an absurdly talented photographer, design artist, and videographer in San Antonio, Texas. Besides all his creative work, he's a faithful family man and by my surmising---a generous and phenomenal human being. This conversation gets into many creative things and you should honestly just listen. Some topics: how we work with clients as freelancing artists, what a good creative attitude looks like, social media and why sharing is important, and why we're both grateful for our supportive wives.

Kevin Rosmer is a multi-talented and mega diverse artist. From his music project as 'Professional Help' to his work as a filmmaker, actor, and one of my frequent collaborators, Kevin is uniquely qualified as a jack of all trades to talk about creativity. We thematically cling to the issue of "Process" in one way or another and have a very deep discussion about how to love what you do and be yourself, among other subjects.

It's my honour to have had the chance to hangout and freestyle with Edmonton's own Qashus, a divergent and multidisciplined artist whose journey is so similar to mine it's scary. That said, his success and hustle is immense, from making commercials for the Superbowl to putting out rap projects and co-founding the successful '2nd Floor' Podcast. I learned a lot in this conversation. Plus we both rap.

Crystal Bourque (www.crystalbourque.com) returns for Part 2 of our conversation as the dark fantasy author she is. I hope you've all had a great summer---I've been a little busy, but we're back. Today we discuss a story of mine called, "Arthur" which was written to the same prompt as Crystal's from the last episode. More than just a story and feedback, this episode is about how to give and receive good criticism.

Crystal Bourque (www.crystalbourque.com) is a dark fantasy author who is best known for The Book of Eve novels, but has also had many short stories published, including in her own anthology, 'The Last Gardener'. She writes for us an original short story called 'The Bone Setter', which delightfully entertains, and I follow up with some critique. In addition, we talk about how we have both striven for professional educations in the wrong subjects, how a passion can continue to call you throughout your life, and funnily enough, we get into how Crystal might possibly have written the inspiration for an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We examine the difference between books and film, how they inspire differently and how they influence the imagination.

A-F-R-O (All Flows Reach Out) is a rap artist, actor, aspiring director, and screenwriter from California. He has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, was an actor in VH1's 'The Breaks', and has toured the world with the legendary R.A. The Rugged Man. We talk about what it was like to collaborate with each other on my latest single, "Metal ft. A-F-R-O", what Hip-Hop is all about and why we love it. We get into how he became an artist, his passion for film, why his mom disciplined him with a dictionary, and so much more. For being 22 years old, A-F-R-O has a lot of wisdom for every creative to learn from.

This is PART 2 of my conversation with the lovely J.H. Moncrieff, the dark fiction author of over 10 published novels. We launch into my own original story this time, a suspenseful little piece I think you'll enjoy, and J.H. weighs in on it. Then we shift to a very honest talk about having a sense of failure through achievement, the role of being a former journalist and how that influenced J.H. as a writer, and we conclude with a do-not-miss analysis of the Canadian literary scene from her perspective as a genre writer. If you are interested in becoming a popular author in Canada or anywhere, you do not want to miss this incredibly frank and valuable discussion.

J.H. Moncrieff is a dark fiction writer who has over ten books published, multiple short stories, and is most recently a featured expert on Cruise Ship Killers, a new true crime series now airing in the UK. We launch the conversation by talking about the one big thing she did to help catapult her career in genre fiction and how having unchangeable pillars in a creative work can breed ingenuity. Then we dive in. She reads us a new original story, a tantalizing short piece written specially for this podcast. We talk about her tendency to write about characters from other cultures and how teaching writing to international students has influenced not only her creative mind, but her heart. We get into her process as a 'pantser', the muses, and we extract some important lessons for aspiring authors to absorb from her story.

Becky Russell is an incredible visual artist and storyteller, a painter and drawer, but also a great friend to me for many years. We talk about what it was like to be a creative child growing up, we share some memories from our school years and Becky describes her experience going to art school and pursuing her craft. Ultimately we dive deep into a very frank conversation about alcohol, porn addiction, and the impact it has had on us as artists. We also try to leave you with some tools to help if you're struggling with addiction.

Ally Vyner is a brilliant cosplay designer and model. In today's episode we examine some of her artwork in detail, talk about her process, as well as her education in properties and objects. We both explore why we quit our early career plans and pursued creativity, how our faith intersects with our creativity, and we get into the magic of film as mutual inspiration. I also reveal what my next 'Rapification' project is going to be and we discuss the potential prop elements involved, sowing the seeds for possible collaboration. I firmly believe you're going to come out of this conversation feeling more inspired.

Jasmine Crowe is a musical artist based in Los Angeles who won the John Lennon Song of the Year award in 2018 for her track, "Breaking Things". We talk about creativity as therapy, what her musical influences were growing up, the importance of authenticity and sacrifice in music, receiving criticism, the idea of failure, and more. She has another single releasing today called "Can't Find Love", with Nick Mair, and I strongly recommend checking it out! I'm confident that as a creative person you are going to find this conversation valuable, helping to keep you in that sacred zone of creativity.

My first guest is Garrett Davis. He is a multiple times published short story author and a very good friend of mine; one of my best friends, in fact. We have both prepared a short story for this episode based on the same prompt, "Idle hands are a devil's playground," and we haven't discussed it ahead of time. We share our stories and use them as a launchpad into the insights of our process as storytellers. Hopefully this will be some fuel for you to inspire your own creativity.