Passion Pod

In this episode of Passion Pod, we sit down with Ali Sultan, a stand-up comedian and writer based in New York City who's taken the comedy world by storm. With appearances on Comedy Central and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ali's comedy specials and albums have reached millions of viewers worldwide. Born in Yemen and raised in Ethiopia before moving to Minnesota at 15, Ali shares his incredible journey from discovering stand-up comedy on late-night TV to performing globally. We dive into his roots in Minneapolis, his ties to Eau Claire, and how his first open mic experience sparked his passion for comedy. Ali opens up about performing clean sets, playing quirky characters at college parties, and the importance of creating art for the right reasons. Whether you're a comedy fan or simply looking for inspiration, this episode is packed with laughs, heartfelt moments, and plenty of wisdom. Tune in for an unforgettable conversation with one of comedy's rising stars!

Trevor Newlin is a Los Angeles based suit actor most notable for his role as the Xenomorph in Alien Romulus. Trevor first discovered his love for theatre while still in high school growing up in Texas. After graduating he went to college for theatre before eventually attending film school in Los Angeles. His initial goal was to get into voice acting, but while he was still in school his professor recommended that he consider suit acting instead due to his unusually tall (6 foot 7 inches) and slender build. Peaking his curiosity Trevor reached out to the legendary suit actor Doug Jones through a simple DM on Instagram and miraculously Doug responded and agreed to a meeting that turned into a conversation lasting over 3 hours long. Taking Doug's advice Trevor found himself meeting make up artists and participating in Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Things snowballed from there and he has since acted in international ad campaigns for Amazon, been featured in trailers for American Horror Story, wore a Wookie suit in Disney's Mandalorian 2, became a monster in Smile 2, and played his most iconic role of the Xenomorph in Alien Romulus. In this episode we discuss a shared love for thePackers, hosting a podcast during the pandemic, meeting the team at Legacy Effects, becoming the Amazon Yeti, working on the set of Star Wars, taking arguably the most iconic creature role ever for Alien Romulus, and much more.

Jarvis Lawson is a Milwaukee based photographer who has worked with dozens of organizations over the years including Alaska Airlines, Jordan Brand, Stella Artois, My Helsinki, Under Armour, Vice, and Visit California. Everything started for Jarvis when he came across a skyline photo online that was shot with an iPhone. An android user at the time, Jarvis said up his money and knew he had to get an iPhone for himself. He immediately poured himself into photography driving to Chicago every day he could to take photos of abandoned buildings, skylines, gritty alleyways, puddles, and anything else that caught his eye. People quickly took notice and he began to build a following on Instagram using the hashtag #iphoneonly . He was even a featured photographer that Instagram itself interviewed and promoted. After about a year of shooting exclusively with his iPhone his mom bought him his first DLSR. From there both his skills and his career truly blossomed. His first big break came when he was hired by Visit California to hit the road and capture the beauty of Northern California's parks and mountains. Not long after that he found himself shooting photos for My Helsinki to help promote tourism to Finland. Jarvis has travelled the world shooting photos for many large organizations, but he has also done extensive work in the the product photography and portrait space for massively successful brands like Under Armour, Jordan Brand, Stella Artois, and more. In this episode we discuss Jarvis's photography journey from his humble iPhone beginnings to capturing cycling trip in the Czech Republic, and so much more. He also opens up about how he built his career and gives a ton of valuable insight and advice that any photographer, or creative in general, could benefit from.

Xavier Abdullahi is a rock climbing influencer and coach based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Xavier discovered his love for climbing in college and never looked back. In fact he dropped out of college so that he could spend all his time climbing. He never planned to be an influencer either, but when he saw a small brand offering chalk bags in exchange for posting content he made his @daddyxclimbs account on Instagram and within a few months was 15,000+ followers. He never pretended to be an elite climber, instead he made uplifting and relatable content to bring smiles to the faces of whoever was watching. It wasn't long before other brands started taking notice. With the help of a couple of sponsors, and his local climbing gym offering him a part time job, he was able to start climbing nearly every day. In the episode we discuss his rough childhood in Minneapolis, his mom marrying someone she met on Yahoo chat, moving out of the city, discovering his love for the outdoors, experiencing racism, being awarded scholarships, getting hired by The North Face to create content, being awarded over $5,000 worth of ice climbing gear, becoming friends with the legendary Mt. Everest climber Dom Mullins, flying to Washington to create content for Zig Zag Climbing, building real relationships online, dealing with burnout, best climbing movies, dream places to go climbing, and so much more.

Blake Eason is a news anchor for WISN News based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Blake grew up in the small town of Warner Robbins, Georgia and is a self proclaimed "theatre kid for life". After graduating high school Blake moved to the big city of Atlanta to begin his journey in media with an internship at The Bert Show. His original dream was to host a game show, but when the pandemic shut down Los Angeles he decided to give local news a try. His first journalism job came with WRBL News in Columbus, Georgia before moving up the ranks and securing an anchor role with WKRN TV in Nashville, Tennessee. After a couple of years as a morning anchor in Nashville he recently accepted a job as the 5pm and 10pm news anchor at WISN News in Milwaukee. In this interview we discuss the hectic schedule of a new reporter, hosting the championship parade for the Atlanta Braves, learning from his idol Ryan Seacrest, intentionally losing his southern accent, separating personal beliefs to share unbiased news, public speaking advice, viral TikTok moments, favorite rappers, and much more.

Richie Burke and Bre Barnett are the hosts and faces behind Milwaukee Uncut, Milwaukee's alternative media source for news, interviews, skits, guides, and more. You've likely seen their faces on social media as their videos have reached millions of views and their social media platforms have skyrocketed over the last year. What most people don't know is the story of how they got there. In this episode we discuss the origin story of Milwaukee Uncut, early entrepreneurship mistakes, proposing on social media, going viral at tailgate parties, Giannis Antetokounmpo showing up at their studio, favorite guests they've had, giving back to the community, and much more.

Timmy Bishop aka Timmy the Dreamer is on a mission to be the first person ever to give motivational speeches to kids at schools in all 50 states. Timmy grew up in the Twin Cities playing basketball obsessively until he came to the realization in high school that at 5 foot 8 his dreams of playing in the NBA weren't realistic and decided to go to college for business like so many others. While attending UW Madison his mental health slowly got worse and worse as the reality of what his life after school would look like started to set in. He knew he didn't want to be working in an office staring at a computer screen the rest of his life, but he didn't know what to do about it. As his internship came to an end he had a meeting with his boss Dave that changed everything. He expressed to Dave his longing to build something he was proud of, his dream of traveling the world, and his desire to help people. Dave listened and told Timmy "You can't do that. It's time for you to grow up." After that Timmy knew he had to make a change. He wrote up a contract with himself promising to chase his dreams and signed it. the following 3 years were a whirlwind that's honestly hard to believe. In search of a mentor he met Charlie Rocket and joined his team traveling the country making dreams come true. Through the power of social media they reached over a billion views, changed thousands of lives, donated millions of dollars, worked with countless celebrities including Oprah, MGK, Aloe Blacc, Gary Vee, Steve Harvey, and many more. Timmy felt that he had found the secret and won the video game of life, until he got the worst phone call of his life. His close friend Chris, who was also one of the major investors behind what they were doing had tragically died at the age of only 33. It was a wake up call that Timmy didn't know he needed. While he had lived his dreams over those few years, he also neglected his family, his relationships, his mental health, and more. He knew he could no longer work 7 days a week with Charlie and the rest of the team and moved back in with his parents in Minnesota while he figured out his next move. Since then he has laid the groundwork for Dreamer State University. He's become a youth keynote speaker traveling the country in a van inspiring kids to listen to their hearts and pursue the lives they've always dreamed of. He's already impacted thousands of kids, but he's still just getting started.

DJ Willie Wonka is a Minneapolis based music producer and DJ for underground rap legend Prof. Willie grew up in Chicago before moving to Minneapolis to attend college at the U of M and earned a degree in Applied Economics. Once he started making beats in his dorm room using a stolen computer program from Limewire his life was never the same. After graduating he worked regular jobs including being a manager at Enterprise Rent a Car and was even a bill collector for a while. All throughout that time he never stopped making making music and chasing his dream to be a music producer. One day an idea came to him that changed everything. He searched online and found a list of "Top 10 rappers in Minnesota" and sent them all his Soundcloud page through Twitter with all his beats for them to listen to. Prof liked what he heard and 6 months later their first collaboration song "President" released. It's been over a decade since then and Willie's role has evolved from producing songs once in a while to being Prof's full time DJ. Willie also contributes heavily to the creative direction for a lot of Prof's music videos, tour sets, social media content, and more. In this episode we discuss his journey towards a full time career in music, becoming Prof's DJ by accident, favorite music producers, industry lessons he's learned, drinking habits on tour, hanging out with Redman, and much more.

Nate Vomhof is a Milwaukee based drone photographer/videographer who's also a full time pharmacist. Nate first picked up a camera when he spent 6 weeks on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico as part of his rotations as a pharmacist fresh out of school. His passion for capturing architecture and nature grew and after moving to Milwaukee hit a bit of a roadblock. He started to struggle with finding ways to capture the city in unique ways when so many other incredible photographers have shot all the same landmarks. His roommate had a drone, but was attaching a GoPro to it to get a different perspective. Once drones started coming out with their own cameras Nate knew he needed his own. In 2018 he got his first drone and the rest was history. Since then Nate has become a Milwaukee celebrity with his photos/videos reaching millions of views through not just his Instagram (@natevomhof 25.6k followers) , but from all the major clients he has worked with including Top Chef, Harley Davidson, Visit Milwaukee, The Brewers, and many more.

Dexter Patterson aka Wiscobirder is a professor at UW Madison and the co founder of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin. Dexter has always loved nature and birds, but they really didn't become a focus in his life until 2010 when he saw a video of an osprey catching a fish and it blew his mind. Most people know Dexter as a bird enthusiast, but what a lot of people don't know is that he also played a major role in the Wisconsin hip hop scene long before he discovered his passion for birds. In this episode we discuss dropping out of college, starting a rap crew, building a music scene, working factory jobs, getting laid off during the pandemic, going back to school as a parent working full time, becoming a professor, starting the BIPOC Wisconsin Birding Club with his academic advisor, writing his first book, diversity in the birding community, accessibility to green spaces, obscure bird facts, how to look at life, building a life based around your passions, and much more.

Ber is a independent music artist originally from Minnesota. Her parents had her in music programs from a young age and by the time she was in high school she was playing cover songs on her guitar at the open mic nights at the local Irish pub. After graduating she took a gap year and found herself in Norway learning about music, but also about life. Shortly after she was studying music at a university in the UK with dreams of becoming a songwriter. When her visa expired she decided to leave everything behind and move to Minneapolis and started writing songs while living in her uncle's basement. With her only friends in the music world being back in the UK, she spent most of her time writing songs with people over Zoom calls either early in the morning or late at night. It was one of those songs that ended up changing her life forever. After her song Meant To Be that she wrote and recorded with her friend Charlie Oriain went viral on TikTok opportunities opened up for her in a big way. In fact, her first ever show was performing at the iconic SXSW festival in Austin, TX. Shortly after she was asked to open for Tom Odell for his "the monsters tour" and found herself performing for thousands of new fans every night. Since then she has headlined her own tours around the world, but one thing hasn't changed. She's still just making music with her friends. In this episode we discuss studying music in Europe, the Minnesota music scene, befriending her favorite band, exploring different genre's of music, finding ways to laugh through the pain, getting signed to a record label, touring the world performing music, the ebbs and flows of being a full time musician, performing a sold out show at First Ave, her friendship with fellow Minnesota music artist Landon Conrath and much more.

Aaron Mader aka Lazerbeak is a Minneapolis based music producer and the CEO of Doomtree Records . His music career spans a quarter of a century and has amounted to producing over 600 songs that are all available to stream on Spotify anywhere in the world. Lazerbeak is mostly known as a hip hop music producer, but he actually got his start by playing the guitar as a kid. In fact his high school band was so successful that they got signed by a label and were touring before they even graduated. At that point, he thought he was going to be a rockstar. Life happens though, and instead of being a rich and famous rockstar he found himself working at a movie theater and borrowing money from his mom to buy a beat machine from Guitar Center so that he could make rap music with his friends. Those friends eventually became Doomtree and changed the culture of hip hop music in the Midwest forever. Lazerbeak has had a long career full of highs and lows, but still manages to make a living from music to this day. In this episode we discuss his experience making Lizzo's first album, forming Doomtree with his friends, working for free, producing a song for Doja Cat in 3 hours, making albums for each of his 3 kids, running a record label from his living room, delivering pizzas until he was 30, his new solo album that's coming this Spring, and much more.

Bryan Munar is a musical theatre actor who currently plays the role of Orpheus in the National Tour of Hadestown. We recorded this episode at The Pablo Center before their performance on Thursday, January 23rd. Bryan was on the "regular" path for success in America. He graduated from college, moved to San Fransisco, and got a desk job making the most money he ever made in his life. The only problem was that it didn't make him happy. After a couple of years working at his desk he told me his "soul felt rotten" and that he knew something had to change. He began taking acting classes and got involved with his local theatre. As his skill progressed so did the opportunities that came his way. Then one fateful day he got laid off from his job and the choice of where to take his life became clear. He got a job as a server at a sushi restaurant and worked his butt off pursuing his dream to become a full time actor. It took years of auditioning and being turned down before he was offered his current role of Orpheus on the National Tour of Hadestown, but he finally made his dreams come true. In this episode we discuss the challenges of tour life, developing relationships with cast members, being real on social media, peanut M&Ms, personal and professional development, being an independent music artist, making music videos with friends, and much more.

Mitch Wachtendonk aka "mawdoods" is a mixed media artist based in Green Bay, Wisconsin known for his unique approach to creating art from recycled shoe boxes. This "Kixed Media" approach began with simple ink doodles on the tops of shoe boxes and has evolved into something that really has to be seen to be believed. Mitch has worked with huge companies including Spotify and Nike, but still spends the majority of his time creating work in his small studio after he gets home from his 9-5 day job. In this episode we discuss the origins of his shoebox art, doing commission work for huge brands, inspiring kids to create, valuing your work, investing in your craft, loving what you do, learning how to become a pro, favorite sneakers, thinking outside the box, and much more.

Ike Wynter is a true environmentalist known for creating one of a kind art pieces exclusively using wood found on the side of the road and in dumpsters. Not only is all the wood he uses found, but he also doesn't paint, stain, or alter the color of the wood he uses in any way. Over the last year his art has been featured on NBC, CBS, The Today Show, and more. He's worked with the NHL, MLB, NBA, Crayola, the New York Stock Exchange, Mike Tyson, and countless others. Ike has lived a very full life from touring the country with his band, to making dreams come true with the Dream Machine Foundation, to becoming a full time woodworking artist, and more. Despite how incredible his life looks like from the outside, he's battled with serious mental health struggles and speaks openly about his experience to help others feel less alone. In this episode we discuss connecting with fans through music, meeting his heroes, building a multi million dollar junk removal business, dropping everything and moving to California for a dream job opportunity, battling depression, creating meaningful connections, making art with purpose, and much more.

Darnell "Speedy" Artis is an official member of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters who wears the number 3. He's known as the "fastest man on Earth" for his incredible dribbling abilities, but is also revered for his amazing accuracy as a long range shooter. Darnell made the Globetrotters team right after he graduated from Gywnedd Mercy University in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. After a short stint playing professionally in Brazil, and leading the country in scoring I might add, he decided that he wanted to focus on his career as a Harlem Globetrotter. Speedy has played 9 seasons with the Globetrotters and slowly worked his way up the ranks within the organization to his current place as a team leader, 3rd quarter showmen, court general, and PR representative. He even has his official jersey for sale at all their games as well as online. In this episode we discuss his life as a Harlem Globetrotter, traveling to over 40 countries around the world to play basketball, inspiring kids, donating hundreds of turkeys for Thanksgiving in his community, his coaching business Underdawgs Basketball, creating Lonnie Young Summer League basketball in his hometown, learning how to be a sidekick, being ready for opportunities when they present themselves, responding to every DM he gets, and much more.

Tommy Vext is a platinum selling singer songwriter that first rose to fame for his iconic cover of the Cranberries mega hit song Zombie with his former band Bad Wolves. Tommy left the band in January of 2021 and has since toured internationally with the band Ill Nino and has also released 2 cover albums and 2 solo albums on his own. Tommy's life and career has had plenty of controversial moments, but you can't deny the fact that he has always stayed true to himself and helped countless people through both his music and his philanthropy. In this episode we discuss sober living, becoming an independent artist, surrounding yourself with the right people, writing honest music, being vulnerable with others, overcoming adversity, giving back, and much more.

Grace Reiter is a content creator, actress, and comedian from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Grace was a guest on the show back in the Spring of 2022, but she had so much fun that she decided to come back for a round two. A lot has happened since our first interview. She's acted in her first feature film, performed for Saturday Night Live, joined the team at American High, graced the red carpet with Chelsea Peretti, and much more. Still only 23 years old, she's just getting started...

Aaron Hoffman, aka "SonReal", is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He took the music world by storm in 2013 when the music video for his song Everywhere We Go went viral on YouTube. His name became known internationally almost over night and within weeks he was signing a deal with a major record label in Los Angeles. The music video currently sits at over 44 million views, but his success certainly didn't stop there. SonReal's earlier albums consisted mostly of rap songs, but as his career evolved so did his sound. In 2017 he released his first acoustic song "My Friend" which had initially underwhelming results across streaming platforms. However, as his career grew and he released more acoustic/folk music his audience continued to grow and to this day "My Friend" has become one of his biggest hits. Throughout his career SonReal has bent genres and released songs that could be considered, folk, rap, hip-hop, pop, and more. Feeling the urge to write more rap music again, he created his first primarily rap album in years titled "All Things Aside" which released August 16th, 2024. We first met and recorded an interview back in March of 2023. Since then we have both seen our careers grow and felt compelled to record this follow up interview the day after his show in St. Paul, Minnesota during his latest North American tour. In this episode we discuss his latest album, performing on stage, writing new music, choosing to become an independent artist, collaborating with friends, staying true to your vision, not being too precious, connecting with fans, and much more.

Matt Ramage aka "that cross eyed Packers guy" is a content creator based in the Green Bay area. Matt went viral on Vine years ago and has consistently made content ever since growing his audience to hundreds of thousands across all the social media platforms. A lifelong Packers fan, he found his niche with fellow Green Bay fans when he started a Packers meme page. As fans started noticing, so did players like Tom Crabtree, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, and more. After connecting with Ha Ha Clinton Dix on Twitter he started making content with him online. Then, when Matt started his podcast, The Matt Ramage Show, Ha Ha Clinton Dix drove to Matt's house to be the first ever guest and record it in person. From there Matt's show and online presence continued to grow and so did his relationship with the team. Since then he's had about a dozen players on as guests, gotten sponsored by midwest brands including Kwik Trip, and even was the celebrity umpire for the Packers annual fundraiser softball game. Don't say anything about him nearly crying when Aaron Rodgers yelled at him for making the wrong call though! In this episode we discuss favorite Packers moments, life lessons from players, getting signed to an agency, interviewing Charlie Berens, making clothes he actually wants to wear, getting roasted online, playing to your strengths, and much more.

Brooke Brighton is a tv meteorologist for Spectrum News Wisconsin & Kansas City. Brooke grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago with parents that both worked in tv media. Weather has been an interest of hers since staring up at the clouds as a child.She attended college at Ohio State University before finding internships at ABC 7 Chicago and NBC 4 Columbus. After she graduated she worked her way up from smaller roles in smaller markets to being one of the top meteorologists in the midwest on a major tv network station in Milwaukee. In this episode we discuss what schooling/qualifications you need to become a meteorologist, being a first round draft pick, building a brand new station, moving to where the job is, working at 2am, handling weather emergencies, growing with social media, a quickly evolving industry, combatting misinformation, spreading positivity, and much more.

Jacob Paul Herring, more commonly known by his stage name BabyJake, is a music artist, writer, and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. BabyJake's first big break came when his song Cigarettes on Patios released in the winter of 2019. Shortly after, he was signed to Republic Records was expected to be the next mainstream star. Just before he was supposed to go on his first major international tour, the pandemic hit and everything fell apart. His support from the record label fell away, he blew most of his money, he partied way too much, and got severely ill for almost 2 years. BabyJake has since left Republic Records, and Los Angeles, to become an independent artist living and making music in Nashville. Over the last few years he has been steadily putting out new music and developing as both an artist and a person. His sound has went from indie rap, to pop, to 70's rock, to alternative rock and more. His latest album titled Beautiful Blue Collar Boy is available to stream on all platforms. It showcases his diverse music styles and brings a raw emotion that stands out in today's music. We recorded this interview backstage before his recent performance on Friday, October 25th at 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this episode we discuss how his music developed, healthy addictions, learning from past mistakes, how to grow a core fanbase, performing live, finding yourself, life goals, music industry misconceptions, new music, touring on a budget, and much more.

Dalton Hessel is a 2nd grade teacher, content creator, writer, podcaster, and "Up North" enthusiast based in the small town of Hayward, Wisconsin. Dalton grew up in Hayward before earning his teaching degree at UWEC. While he enjoyed his time in Eau Claire, he always knew he wanted to end up back in his hometown. Inspired by the popular sitcom Boy Meets World, Dalton wanted to become a real life Mr. Feeny. He secured his first teaching job in the fall of 2019 and got to teach for about 5 months before the pandemic shut down everything. Dalton had to adapt, and with his computer skills became a leader among his teaching team as they adjusted to virtual learning. Since then he has published 4 books, started his Northern Nerd brand, built an audience of over 100,000 followers across his social media platforms, got married, became a father, and more. In this episode we discuss small town life, having boundaries, best places to camp, writing poetry, going viral, the responsibilities of teachers, organizing events, building community, juggling passions, and much more.

Khary is an independent music artist whose sound is a unique blend of alternative hip-hop and rock. After spending 5 years living and building his music career in Los Angeles he has recently moved back to his home state of Rhode Island. Khary and his good friend Abhi the Nomad recently released a 6 song EP together titled Icarus. Abhi announced his farewell tour and Khary took to the road with him to travel the country and spread their music. We recorded this interview backstage before his performance at the Fine Line in Minneapolis on October 6th, 2024. In this episode we discuss musical inspirations, getting back into skateboarding, his friendship with Abhi, performing for himself first, favorite anime shows, living in a recording studio, an upcoming full length album, his new EP with Abhi the Nomad, and much more.

Zane Statz is a multi talented artist based in Green Bay, WI. Most people have seen his work at, or around, the Packers stadium Lambeau Field. Many refer to him as the unofficial artist of the Green Bay Packers due to how much of his work so far has been dedicated to the Packers in one shape or another. His first big project was a one day mural job when he painted the Packers Fence, a 70 feet wide by 6 feet tall fence located just across the street from Lambeau Field. Every year since he has repainted the fence with a new Packers design, but that's not all. So far he has painted custom cleats for a dozen of the Packers players that have been worn in nationally televised games, created a whole clothing line, painted dozens of other murals throughout the midwest, and more. We recorded this episode outside in Zane's backyard, but unfortunately the sun chose to get right in our faces during parts of this interview. Still, we had a great time discussing how he came to Green Bay, his love of street art, other favorite artists of his, how to get hired for mural work, painting custom cleats, his experience on the Cripescast with Charlie Berens, using AI to schedule his time, painting a mural with 500 other people, and much more.

Dustin Nickerson is a stand up comedian, podcaster, and family man originally from Washington that now resides in San Diego, California. Dustin has steadily built a name for himself in the comedy world over the last handful of years and now travels the world performing nearly every weekend all year long. He was kind enough to let me record this episode with him in his hotel room during his recent trip to Appleton, Wisconsin. In this interview we discuss juggling family life and travel, building a career "brick by brick", his favorite Nate Bargatze story, late night appearances, viral social media moments, his lifelong memory at Red Rocks, genres of stand up comedy, personal branding and more.

Wayne Hoffman is one of the most successful mind readers and illusionists in the world and also a good friend and past guest of the Passion Pod (Episode 42). I first met Wayne when we recorded an interview in his home back in the winter of 2021. We immediately hit it off and still to this day his episode is one of my all time favorites. We since have kept in touch and remained friends. He recently was on a tour and performing in Wisconsin. He reached out to me to see how far away I was and if I wanted to get together and catch up. It was a little over a 3 hour drive to go see him, but we were able to make it work and decided it would be a good excuse to record a follow up episode while we were at it. I highly recommend listening to our first interview as we reference quite a bit during this one. In this interview we discuss his new tv show he's pitching, his newfound love of motivational speaking, the benefits of traveling the world, collecting no's, impactful mindset shifts, finding mentors, getting out of your own way, and much more. When I say on this show that I end up becoming friends with a lot of the guests I really do mean it and you can see it in this interview. Thanks for watching!

Nur-D and DJ Hayes performed on Friday August 16th at Reverb Music Festival 2024 in Eau Claire, WI. Nur-D and DJ Hayes were the first performers to arrive at the venue and were kind enough to sit down backstage for this interview before they took the stage to get the whole weekend started. In this interview we discuss how they first met, the difference between a producer and beat maker, why having a good DJ matters, walking with integrity, performing at Sound Set, working at call centers, opening a recording studio, influencers vs. performers, and much more.

DJ Strizzo grew up and started his career in Tampa, Florida and is now touring the world with platinum selling artist Bubba Sparxxx. Strizzo spent a decade working in radio building his fanbase and catalogue of official remixes he produced. As he got booked to perform in bigger and bigger clubs, he also went on tour as a DJ for bigger and bigger artists around the country. In this interview we discuss making the Olympic trials as a hurdler in college, playing around with turntables for the first time, how he met Bubba Sparxxx, his musical influences, missing the old Kanye West, club hits vs. radio hits, getting official remixes with rock legends like Def Leppard, and much more.

Bekah Worley is an illustration artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota best know for her bright and colorful folk art paintings. Bekah was a late bloomer in the art world, but over the last few years she has found her own voice and grown an audience to over 100,000 followers on Instagram. What started with printing on tote bags that she sold at markets has grown into her full time career. Bekah was kind enough to let us record this inside her new art studio in Uptown. In this interview we discuss how she got her start, getting her first big commission, how she blew up on social media, why affordable art is so important, which other artists inspire her, how to make a living as an artist, and much more.

Jared Schutz aka Wisco Dive Bar Reviews is a dive bar enthusiast from Spring Valley, WI. It all started with a simple question. How many bars are there in Wisconsin? After a quick google search Jared found the answer to be in the thousands and so the journey began. He recorded his first review video in January of 2022 and since has amassed an audience of over 50,000 followers on Instagram, over 60,000 on Facebook, and over 90,000 followers on TikTok. His mission is to bring more eyes, ears, and business to locally owned bars around the state. In this episode we discuss what makes diver bars so great, entrepreneurship, juggling multiple jobs, getting his own vodka brand, the community of Wisconsin influencers, spreading positivity, designing his own clothing, and much more.

Greg Lutzka is a professional skateboarder and entrepreneur from Milwaukee, WI. Greg's career has spanned decades and his list of accomplishments goes on and on. His new documentary titled "One Way Ticket" is now available on Amazon and gives a great summary of his career so far. Greg dropped out of high school and moved to California to chase his dreams of being a pro skateboarder. It didn't take long for that dream to become a reality. Throughout his career Greg had pro models on Illenium, Krooked, Almost, and Darkstar before creating his own line of skateboards that are now sold in Walmart locations worldwide. Greg has had numerous video parts and won nearly every major skateboard contest on the planet throughout his twenties. He was one of the first pro skateboarders to branch out of the skateboard industry and rode for major corporate brands including Toyota, Visa, Rockstar, K-Swiss, and more. Eventually his window as a top pro began to close he turned to entrepreneurship and became even more successful. He now stays busy with his dozens of properties, businesses, his tv show on Fuel TV, and more. We recorded this episode at Billy Duece's studio in Milwaukee on a recent trip back home for Greg. What was meant to be a one hour visit turned into 3 hours of conversation on and off the mic. In this episode we discuss his transition into entrepreneurship, investing at a young age, his plans to teach others, his new documentary, top skateboarding moments, the school of life, giving back, how to negotiate with brands, and why it's all worth it.

Amber Pacific is a Seattle based pop punk band that has been performing together since the early 2000's and is currently working on their first album in 10 years. Matt Young (Lead Vocals) sat down with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod after their performance on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In this episode we discuss how their music has evolved over the years, parenting pre teens, writing new music, an upcoming album, the state of the music industry, and why it's all worth it.

Amber Pacific is a Seattle based pop punk band that has been performing together since the early 2000's and is currently working on their first album in 10 years. Will Nutter (Guitar) and Josh "Dango" Cellen (Drums) sat down with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod after their performance on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In this episode we discuss how their music has evolved over the years, writing new music, an upcoming album, the state of the music industry, and why it's all worth it.

Ginuwine recently performed on Friday August 16th in Eau Claire, Wisconsin at Reverb Music Festival 2024. He was kind enough to sit down backstage with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod for a short interview about his experience on stage, his personal music preferences, saying "yes" to things, his journey towards sobriety, and more.

Warren Anderson Mathis, or better known as Bubba Sparxxx recently performed on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Bubba was kind enough to sit down backstage after his performance with Chris Johnson for this episode of the Passion Pod. In this episode we discuss new music, how he coulda been Eminem, his relationship with Timbaland, flying first class, spending $100,000 last year on DoorDash, biggest regrets, collecting Jordans, spending $600,000 on a music video, and more.

John Vesely aka Secondhand Serenade and his good friend and supporting vocalist/guitarist Will Garrett performed on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, WI and were kind enough to sit down backstage after their performance with Passion Pod host Chris Johnson. In this interview we discuss technical difficulties on stage, how they became friends and bandmates, playing for massive crowds across Asia, most memorable experiences along the way, and more.

Dan Marsala is the lead singer for Story of the Year, and was kind enough to record this interview backstage on the Passion Pod with Chris Johnson before their performance at Reverb Music Festival 2024. In this interview we discuss which songs are his favorite to perform, juggling parenting and touring, the resurgence of emo music, longevity in the music industry, which rockstars he still fans out on, obscure tee shirts, and more.

Anberlin's own Christian McAlhaney (Guitar) and Deon Rexroat (Bass) sat down with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod after their performance on Saturday, August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In this episode we discuss the band's hiatus, switching up their singer to Matty Mullins, creating new music during the pandemic, the current state of the music industry, advice for young musicians, being fully committed to music, staying grounded, and more.

Richie Murphy is the most followed D3 college football player in the country and he plays for the UW Stout Blue Devils and this is his very first podcast interview he has ever done. Richie went viral for the first time when he was only in 5th grade and has been steadily making content and building an audience ever since. He is about to start his final season as a college athlete, but he's already built his various platforms to an obvious career after college. In this episode we share Richie's life story from posting his first YouTube video he shot in his driveway, to recently signing an NIL deal with Kwik Trip. Richie also offers us a ton of insight behind social media, content creation, strategy, tips, misconceptions, and more.

Kevin Bolger is an Olympic cross country skier for the United States. Kevin grew up skiing in Minocqua, WI where his family is originally from. However for the last decade he has spent the majority of his time living and competing in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia where the sport really thrives. Kevin started skiing in 3rd grade, but didn't start taking it seriously until he was in high school. After graduating he moved to Utah to train full time before making the US national team. Kevin's skills grew more and more until he earned his spot on the United States Olympic team and competed in the Beijing winter Olympics in 2022 where he placed in the world overall. Kevin's career hasn't been as glorious as some might assume however. Cross country skiing certainly has it's place in the midwest culture, but the sport is still very niche in the United States. That translates to not only a more difficult road to become internationally competitive, but it also makes it much harder for a professional skier like himself to make a sustainable living. In this episode we discuss growing up in the midwest, moving to Norway to ski with his heroes, fundraising to make his career possible, vlogging with his gold medalist girlfriend Maja Dahlqvist, competing in the Olympics during the pandemic, and much more.

Beth Stelling is a stand up comedian and tv writer based in Los Angeles, CA. Beth grew up in Dayton, Ohio before attending college and pursuing comedy and theatre in Chicago. After spending 4 years establishing herself in Chicago she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of a career in comedy. Since then she has built an incredible career for herself as a touring stand up comedian numerous appearances on major networks including full comedy specials on both HBO and Netflix. She also has an extensive list of acting roles under her belt as well as writing credits for numerous tv shows including Crashing, Strange Planet, and even Rick & Morty. Beth performed for the first time in Eau Claire, WI at The Plus on June 9th for Clear Water Comedy and was gracious enough to let me interview her backstage before her performance. In this episode we discuss California living, how her life changed after her comedy special on Netflix came out, learning from past mistakes, what it really looks like to write for tv shows, how she creates her comedy specials, what to expect when you see her perform live, and much more.

Kathy Wright is the Director of Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, WI. Kathy has worked in the music festival industry with Country Jam and others for decades and has endless stories to share. The owners of Country Jam bought a beautiful new property a few years ago and had the idea to create a whole new music festival to share the space in the summer and so Reverb Music Festival was born with 2023 being it's first year. It's 2024 and Reverb is back and better than ever. While the festival was only a one day event last year, this year it has been expanded to two days and includes a whole new genre. Friday August 16th will features the best in throwback hip hop including Pelly, Ka Lia Universe, Bubba Sparxxx, Mike Jones, Trick Daddy, Yung Joc, Twista, Ginuwine, and T.I.. Saturday August 17th will feature another great year of emo/pop punk bands including Amber Pacific, Emery, Secondhand Serenade, Anberlin, Hawthorne Heights, Story of the Year, and Yellowcard. In this episode we discuss what goes on behind the scenes to make music festivals possible, stories for Reverb 2023, why 2024 will be even better, what music festivals bring to a community, why live music is so important, and much more.

Emily Carriveau is a content creator based in her hometown of Delano, MN. Emily is a stay at home mother of 3 boys who has had a lifelong obsession with crafting, garage sales, and fashion. When her sons wanted to get on social media she made her own accounts to "spy" on them, but quickly found that sharing her life online was not only fun, but also a career. Over the last several years Emily has become the Midwest Mom of the internet (@smalltownme) and has gained over a million followers across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Emily and her mom drove all the way out to Eau Claire, WI to record her first ever podcast interview on the Passion Pod. In this episode we discuss small town living, being a stay at home mom, her online origin story, finding ways to give back, going viral online, where she gets all her ideas, hiding gift cards around town, her tv show dreams, and so much more.

JamesG aka @jamesmakesmusic is a semi professional Heelyer and music artist/producer based in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. James has been making music under the moniker of JamesG since 2012, but it wasn't until he started posted videos of himself doing tricks wearing his Heelys in 2020 that his career started to take off. As his videos started going viral online his music found more success as well. These days James is self employed and living the Heelyer dream filming new tricks and making new music all the time. In this episode we discuss the origin of his online persona, how he navigates the challenges of a life without consistent income, finding the right sponsors, the development of his music career, his music and life inspirations, and much more.

Lucas Beaufort is a French artist that travels and creates all over the world. Lucas started creating art at the age of 27 when he gave his brother a drawing for Christmas and his life has never been the same since. It's been 15 years since that first drawing and now Lucas has built an incredible career and life for himself. He paints murals, designs products, makes documentaries, and even published a book. Lucas grew up skateboarding and his love for the culture has been a huge inspiration in his work and opened the door for him to work and create with countless pro skateboarders, skate companies, and other legends in the industry. Although he doesn't limit his work to only the skate world, his passion for skateboarding shines through in everything he does. This episode is truly a special one and was years in the making. Tune in and get inspired to chase your dreams.

Emma Dalenberg is a Minneapolis, Minnesota based stand up comedian. Emma grew up in a trailer park in Winona, Minnesota before moving to Minneapolis to attend college. Emma got her start in stand up comedy while she was still a student and a server at an Applebees. One open mic night was all it took for her to find a new obsession. Since then Emma has been steadily performing and building a career for herself. We recorded this interview in her apartment in Minneapolis shortly after she got back from her European tour "American Cream". In this episode we discuss growing up in a trailer park, dealing with knee surgeries, experimenting with drugs, graduating from college, moving to Europe, making money illegally as a comedian, getting deported from Germany, going viral on social media, why we aren't so different after all, and what makes it all worth it.

Ed Bieber aka Ed The Diver is a Wisconsin based scuba diver, environmentalist, and content creator based in Marinette, WI. Ed has been an angler all his life and one day got fed up with losing his fishing lures and decided to jump in after them. He quickly realized that when recovering his own lures that there were countless more lures to be found in the same spots. As his interest and mission became more serious he got scuba certified and began diving in lakes and rivers all over the midwest not only to recover lures, but to clean up our waterways from all the trash and lost treasures beneath the surface. Tune in and hear a story like none other.