KossTalk

In a continuation from the last episode, Blake Murphy, Managing Editor of Raptors Republic, we covered a variety of topics including the rise and origin story of Shams Charania; Summer League takeaways; fighting the cyclical feelings of a season and finding new things to improve on in his craft. We then did a Raptors deep dive covering questions such as: how would he have handled the offseason if he was GM; favourite Raptor of all time; Bruno Caboclo vs OG Anunoby; how does Jonas Valanciunas fit in the modern NBA; how the Raptors' culture 'reset' and a couple of other questions. Then to close out the interview, Blake answered Greg's question and asked one of his own for the next guest! Plus a little Kendrick Lamar concert talk at the end! Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode. All ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening!

Blake Murphy, Freelance Writer and Managing Editor of Raptors Republic, came on the podcast for an extra long interview. So long, in fact, it had to be split into two episodes. This episode will focus on Blakes career arc and writing, while the second episode will be a more general NBA and Raptors discussion. Topics that were discussed in this episode include: his start in writing; how an opportunity at theScore led to him focusing his efforts in basketball; the advantages the NBA has in marketing their stars compared to other sports; how players become more comfortable interacting with the media; the process he used to become an established NBA writer; his fandom of wrestling; the role of social media; and the personal struggle of balancing of breaking news vs having good analysis on the news. Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode. All ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening!

Greg Wyshynski, Editor of Yahoo Sports Puck Daddy Blog and co-host of the Marek vs Wyshynski and Puck Soup podcasts, came on the KossTalk podcast ahead of the Puck Talks event in Toronto to talk about his career. As a person who has been in the industry for over a decade, we went over a number of topics including his writing style; what makes a good writer; the homogenous nature of the majority of coverage of the sport; the state of the industry; how it has evolved since he entered; his two podcasts and what goes into finding chemistry with his cohosts; the culture of the locker room and the inability for hockey players to be unique; and his two books. Before we closed out we went into some NHL questions including the Devils season outlook, the Edmonton controversy he sparked with his 'happy' comments, and the Olympics. We closed out the episode with Greg answering Jon's question from last week and then asked one of his own for the next guest! Apologies for the audio not being up to par with the rest of the episodes. Sometimes you have to make due if the guest is worth it, and Greg was. Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode. All ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening!

Jon Corbin, Executive Producer and Founder of Corbin Visual, was kind enough to hop on the podcast to talk all things his company is getting into. We dove into topics including how he got into video production; his drone videos that blew up across Canada; his work with VR and the future of the technology; what it's like dealing with emerging technologies; and much more. He also gave great business advice about staying ahead of the curve and being passionate about your profession. We closed the episode out with Jon not totally getting Robbie's question from last week, but he gave it his best shot, then provided his own question for next weeks guest. Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode. All ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening!

KossTalk Host Evan Kossman took questions from you the audience. The questions could be about life, sports, business, and whatever else you had questions about! Questions included: how committed is he to the podcast (1:00), who is your dream interview (3:20), in what ways can younger generations balance life goals and steady careers (4:25), is the NBA more marketable than the NFL (5:45), is automation a threat to the service industry (7:15), would you rather fight 100 toddlers or one 100 ft toddlers (7:45), and how does cord-cutting effect advertising (8:50). If you'd like to have your question answered in a future episode, feel free to send your questions in on Twitter, Facebook or via email and we'll try to get to them the next time we open the mailbag! Every episode of the podcast is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode. All ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening!

A person with enough titles that would rival that of Daenerys Targaryen, Robbie Goldfarb came on the podcast this week to go into detail about each step of his career path. The episode started with a conversation about their shared experiences within the Computer Science program at Western University. It then led to a discussion about Robbie's entrepreneurial pursuits with highlights being the CEO and Founder of Brevada. The story finished off with a discussion about his current position as Product Manager at Top Hat, a company making a strong push into the textbook marketplace. The episode closes out with Robbie answering Mike Belkin's question from last week, and leaves us with a question of his own for the next!

This week we were honoured by the presence of Mike Belkin, a former professional tennis player, and an inductee of the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame. Mike and I discussed his career arc, how the game has evolved, and his legendary matches going against tennis icons like Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith, among others. We also went into detail being the first person in tennis to use his patented two-handed backhand. We closed it out with a brief discussion on the current Canadian tennis landscape. Finally, Mike answered Zev's question from last week, and asked one of his own for the next guest!

This week on the podcast, Zev Skolnik came on to talk about his time at Ivey Business School and about his job as an IT consultant for Infotech. We also took a deep dive on his passion project, impediment, which is his stage name jokingly named after his lisp. Zev then tackles Steve's question from last week, and asks one of his own for the next guest!

This weeks guest is Steve Tsimikalis, Principal and Co-Founder of Toronto Prep School. We discussed the decision to open TPS in the heart of the recession in 2009; the 3 categories of teachers; preparing students with the right skill sets; private school versus public school; not wanting to treat the school like a business; and much more. Steve also gave some business lessons he learned along the way, including cool stories about the drive of successful people like Jeff Hunt and John Tavares. We closed out the episode with Steve answering the Babsocks guys' question from the last episode and asking one for the next guest! Plus the giveaway results!

Jake Mednick and Thomas McCole, the creators of Babsocks, came on the podcast to talk all things Babsocks. With a pair of socks that embodied a fan base, we discussed the origin of the business; the learning curve of going into business; their various product lines; the 'misprint' collector's items; and how you follow up such a successful first product. We even got a special question from James Mirtle, editor-in-chief of the Athletic. The guys closed out the episode by answering the question from last weeks guest (me) and asked a question to the next guest! The episode concludes with a giveaway of a Home-and-Away pack of Babsocks, courtesy of Babsocks. A $35 value! Listen for details. 0:50 - Origin of the Business. 3:48 - Who drew Babcock? 4:57 - Any concerns about clearance? 6:11 - The product development process 9:22 - Molson World Cup Babsocks. 11:41 - Involvement with camh. 13:14 - Any new products in development? 15:55 - Question from James Mirtle. 16:49 - Leafs Talk. 19:40 - Question from last guest + Question for next one! 21:48 - BABSOCKS GIVEAWAY!!