My Friends Are Amazing

Joe is a high school student, community theatre actor and is an avid indie folk listener. He is also the host of "real oj with Fake Celebrities" a comedy improv podcast. 

Bob Butterworth is a web developer, designer, and tech nerd living in the western suburbs of Chicago. During the day he works for TechPro, a local technology company, and has co-founded Crazy Quail Target Systems and lifestyle brand Chubby Tactical. In July of 2017, he transformed his life through a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting, losing nearly 100lbs in the process. At night he enjoys playing board games, learning guitar, 3D printing, home automation and spending time with his amazing Wife, Andi. They are expecting their first child due in August and are excited to be parents and meet their new baby girl. Check out his blog at http://productivitytomorrow.com and his two side hustles at https://crazyquail.com/ and http://www.chubbytactical.com/ 

Patrick is a lifelong creative, proud father, lucky husband and dedicated community leader.  He is the owner of Waveform LLC located in Batavia, IL and at Waveform Patrick can be found on any given day producing an album, designing promotional materials or editing video you might also find him with a guitar in his hand performing for crowds or just for himself. 

Check out Steve's amazing art at http://clevengerart.com  Steve Clevenger is a project manager, production manager and approximately 47 other things at a small ad agency. When he occasionally comes up for air, he'd rather be sculpting, drawing or painting. Steve is currently taking himself "back to school" to focus on some fundamentals, hone underdeveloped skills, and hopefully flex some new artistic muscle. Steve is a liberal with a conservative past, an atheist that was once a born-again evangelical, and briefly a Franciscan Seminarian. And he absolutely cannot believe how old he is and yet still isn't really sure what he wants to be when he grows up. Most importantly, of course, he's been great friends with Bob Baty-Barr for well over twenty years. 

Kris Deminick is the owner of This Electrified Life Coaching.   She is also a fitness instructor, writer, and speaker. From physical burnout, a disillusioned advertising career, extreme self-doubt, and recovery from an eating disorder, Kris has overhauled her life and jumped off the deep end. She has the vision to make self-help sexy and see people all over the world ignite their unique spark and burn it bright. Kris is electrically energetic yet deeply soulful as she guides her clients to surrender the "shoulds", create the "coulds", and back themselves all the way. She believes that fear of failure, expectations, perfectionism, and comparisonitis stop us from owning our unique brand of energy. By using techniques of Mindfulness, gratitude and Self Belief she encourages her clients to break the mould and admit (and accept!) that they are awesome.

Keith is a Purpose driven SCI Survivor searching for a Cure!   His mission is to make enough noise to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. He is a Friendly person that loves the Umbraco CMS and the Umbraco Community!   Umbraco changed my life!!!  #h5yr,   Keith is a Strong believer of Faith and Family!!! And he is a Twin!!! Yes, there is an exact copy of Keith walking this beautiful earth by and Amazing Mother!!!    Keith says that he can’t sleep, so he does Web Development, Information Technology, Network Engineering, Marketing, Video Production, Ethical Hacking, Photography – he Pimps out Honda Elements,  love Music, Farming, Beer and Food!   He is the Chief Creative Director of IT Media Studio,  and is the CEO of Cure Not Care and Hub’s Beer!!   Learn more at http://curenotcare.org

Well, tonight I put myself on the hot seat! Honestly, this was a combination of a celebration of over 1,000 listens so far - also, I had planned on a recap episode after 10 episodes anyway... AND I screwed up again and didn't have a guest. On this episode of the podcast, I open up a bit about why I am doing the podcast and some other projects I am working on... also, I do a little recap of each episode so far... kinda like a highlight reel. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have enjoyed it so far.

Bran is a 19-year-old college sophomore studying gender studies at Mount Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts. They are non-binary and trans, and are interested in activism and social justice. In their free time, they enjoy knitting, sewing, and reading as many books as they can carry home from the library. Bran has known the Baty-Barrs since before birth, and grew up with the kids through childhood, martial arts, and marching band. 

Owen is an 18-year-old high school graduate who is a second-degree black-belt, crew member on a sailboat for 2 summers, two-year member of the blue stars world class drum and bugle corps color guard, and works 3 jobs teaching at 2 high schools and making coffee.   Bob was incredibly lucky to secure him as a last minute guest on the show, My Friends Are Amazing, due to Owens incredibly busy schedule.

Josh and I covered everything from sleeping in a hammock to being a sound engineer for large touring bands... Josh is a college Junior and is studying music business at Elmhurst College. He has always had a love for music and has recently discovered a love for the outdoors. In his free time, he likes to listen to music and spend time with people. He is employed as a Barista and a sound engineer in his hometown of Batavia IL... oh yeah... and he is my oldest son.

What is there left to be said about John Coulter that history books will not reveal to us? In a world of gray and black John Coulter is a bright red tassel. He lives by the ancient Tibetan philosophy,”don’t start none won’t be none.”  He is an Eagle Scout, a 4th° black belt, a 30-year truck driver, a standup comic, a loving and devoted husband and friend, and one time in Tasmania, he punched Russel Crowe in the face. The conundrum that is John COULTER is simply unraveled by the phrase, “let’s get a beer.” Congratulations to everyone that has the pleasure of meeting him. 

Lillian is a 16 year old Gymnast, high school student, volunteer, coach and barista – when she isn't doing all those things, she does her best to try to take time for herself... oh, yeah, and she is my daughter :)

Chris Lowe grew up in the middle-class suburbs of Northwest Chicago, a product of a loving interracial couple. He was fortunate enough to attend a private Lutheran grade school and a college prep Jesuit high school. He graduated with a degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois and married his college sweetheart, Jill, shortly thereafter. The couple focused on their careers for the next decade, moving 5 times and living in 3 different states.   Deciding to settle down to start a family, the couple moved to Batavia in 2002 and Chris started his own consulting business. Their first child, Quintin, was born in 2005, and their daughter, Addison, followed shortly thereafter. Chris decided to close his business and focus on his family, becoming a stay-at-home father. Organizing playdates and volunteering at school led to involvement in the PTO and other community organizations. Following his passion for family, community, and politics, he committed himself to serving his community and was elected to a seat on the Batavia Public Schools’ Board of Education in 2015.  Today, he spends most of his time running his household, chauffeuring his kids to practices and games, and volunteering. When life allows, he enjoys reading, writing, and playing board games with friends and family. 

Erica saves her pennies to travel the world, see new things, experience new cultures, hike new terrain, meet new people, and understand new perspectives. It makes her uncomfortable and she loves it. Aside from traveling, she’s obsessed with podcasts, plant-based eating, craft cocktails, being out in nature, and making things from scratch.  To fund her travels and various hobbies, Erica owns and operates her own company, Studio RedDesigns, where she works as a UX / UI consultant partnering with companies, agencies, and developers all over the world to craft digital solutions that align business goals with user goals to achieve results. She's a co-founder of Skrift — an online Umbraco community magazine, a 2016 Umbraco MVP winner, and a certified Umbraco Expert, and a huge advocate for decreasing the gender gap in the tech industry. 

Kevin Giszewski is a computer nerd living the quiet life of a husband and father in Midwest America.  He enjoys long walks off short piers when things go incredibly wrong while coding.  When not over-engineering code, Kevin enjoys making short videos on YouTube, American sports and binge-watching streamed content.  Kevin occasionally skips 'deployment Fridays' and spoils his kids with roller-skating night. 

Wife, fur baby mom, friend, caretaker, artist. I've been married for 16 years to my best friend and have 2 cats (Nelix in Misty). My husband and I love to throw parties for our friends. I care for my aging mother who is an artist, as well, and has suffered 2 strokes over the last 5 years. I am a tech junkie and love to explore new technologies. An Adobe Fan girl from way back :) I am the Manager, of Brand and Design for the Segal Group’s Inhouse Design. I have worked there for 25 years (half my life!) I am also in charge of branding at Maestros Classic a Beard Care Company from my hometown of Bristol, Pa. Working out is the way I balance my life. I am a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, I currently participate in Pole Fitness, Row Fit, and Walking. I love to watch wrestling, boxing, and MMA. A HUGE super fan of THE ROCK. I am an artist at heart and a lover of architecture, structure, and vintage. Be sure to follow Sunday on Instagram @cuzitssunday and on twitter @pplschamp

My special guest for episode 2 of the podcast is my amazing friend, Kevin Long! Kevin has done a TON of amazing things in his life... here are just a few. Kevin worked for the U.S Government, he ran his own strategic communications firm and worked with the department of defense, he has media trained foreign officials, college and professional athletes and even the US Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team. He has successfully built and launched two social media monitoring platforms and first and foremost, he is a great Dad. Check out the episode to learn more about Kevin.

For my first episode, my guest is the amazing Andrew Barta! This little snippet is from his instagram bio:"I believe uncomfortable situations enable growth. Not interested in a 9-5, proving you can make a living working from anywhere on your schedule…  mountains emoji, beers emoji, palm tree emoji." 

Just a quick say 'hi' and test for the various feeds, etc. I will announce the first guest as soon as I find one!