The Backstory Podcast

My guest today is Julie Meltzer, PhD., a Director of Kindergarten to 12 grade and Teacher Education for the Institute for Humane Education.  Alongside this, Julie is a published author, a sought-after speaker, editor and reviewer.  She is “committed to creating schools that truly help students prepare to successfully meet their futures,” and she believes the “best hope for the planet is to educate a generation of solutionaries.”    

My guest today, Nick Goldsmith, is a former British Royal Marine Commando who served his country as an elite soldier for 11 years during which he completed 6 operational deployments in some of the most dangerous environments. In 2018, he was medically discharged from his life on the battlefield, having been diagnosed with complex PTSD. Having initially fallen through the cracks and after hitting rock bottom, Nick finally reached out for help. Craving his new identity, he sought solace from nature and the sense of safety it slowly gave him. He estimated Hidden Valley Bushcraft, a business teaching forest skills, as well as creating the Woodland Warrior Programme which takes military veterans for weekend outdoor activities. Mr Goldsmith has also written a book – “Rewild Your Mind”, which encourages using nature as a guide to a happier and healthier life, a book I am currently devouring.  So, without a further ado, I am honoured and really excited to welcome my guest today, Nick Goldsmith.  

I am delighted to host a special series of podcasts (on the Backstory Podcast) with distinguished guests who are pivotal to “The Base 10 Solutionary Summit of 2024”. The Summit, hosted by Munich International School, represents around 200 young Changemakers and Educators from 20 European Schools, who together look to share solutions for improving systems at differing scales, from local to global levels. At the heart of the Summit is the notion that sustainability is the balance overtime: From 1, to 10, to 100, to 1000.  And so, in today's episode, Will is honoured to talk to Raina Ivanova   Ivanova is a German climate justice activist, focusing on children's rights violations caused by climate change and resulting social inequalities. As a part of the Children vs Climate crisis petition, alongside Greta Thunberg and 14 others, she petitioned 5 countries to drastically reduce carbon emissions. She also took part in the Fridays for Future school strikes. Ivanova is a former member of UNICEF Germany's Youth Council and having graduated from the IB in 2022, now works as an intern at the International youth NGO called “Heirs to Our Ocean” which brings together youth from differing cultural and socio-economic backgrounds to collaborate towards a just, equitable, and empathetic future.  

I am delighted to host a special series of podcasts (on the Backstory Podcast) with distinguished guests who are pivotal to “The Base 10 Solutionary Summit of 2024”. The Summit, hosted by Munich International School, represents around 200 young Changemakers and Educators from 20 European Schools, who together look to share solutions for improving systems at differing scales, from local to global levels. At the heart of the Summit is the notion that sustainability is the balance overtime: From 1, to 10, to 100, to 1000.  And so, in today's episode Will was honoured to talk to Jennifer Brandsberg- Engelmann.   As an international educator teaching children for more than 25 years in the Social Sciences, Jennifer Brandsberg Engelmann is an expert in developing and executing educational strategies, projects, processes, and curricular. Her core focus is to train young people to take action for regenerative societies.  In the Sustainability Action Lab she founded, she works with Student Changemakers with a curriculum she lead developed. She also co/lead authors Economics, Business Management, and Environmental Systems and Societies textbooks, focusing on a sustainability, development, and social enterprise.  

  I am delighted to host a special series of podcasts (on the Backstory Podcast) with distinguished guests who are pivotal to “The Base 10 Solutionary Summit of 2024”. The Summit, hosted by Munich International School, represents around 200 young Changemakers and Educators from 20 European Schools, who together look to share solutions for improving systems at differing scales, from local to global levels. At the heart of the Summit is the notion that sustainability is the balance overtime: From 1, to 10, to 100, to 1000.    In this episode, I was honoured to talk to Matovu Nkoba   Nkoba is a young, socially conscious entrepreneur and founder of Clawest, a company utilizing AI technology to assess water quality and provide clean drinking water solutions.     As a child living in a village in Uganda, his community did not have access to safe water sources. His IB grade 10 Personal Project involved building a well which provided 600 local households with access to safe water. The impact of this endeavour has spurred him on to become a changemaker and he is determined to make a lasting difference. 

In this special one off season of The Backstory Podcast, Will hosts a special series of short podcasts with distinguished guests who are pivotal to “The Base 10 Solutionary Summit of 2024”. The Summit, hosted by Munich International School, represents around 200 young Changemakers and Educators from 20 European Schools, who together look to share solutions for improving systems at differing scales, from local to global levels. At the heart of the Summit is the notion of Base 10 thinking, the idea that education is the balance overtime: From 1, to 10, to 100, to 1000.  In this episode, Will speaks to Craig Vezina. With over 2 decades of experience at the forefront of International education, Mr Vezina is the Co-Founder + CEO of” The Spaceship Academy”, offering world class innovation and sustainability programs for schools, universities, businesses, and organisations. Vezina is also the founder and president of Z-17 Collective and is the leading voice around the power of innovation for a more sustainable future for people and the planet.  

Today, I delve behind the scenes in order to understand the backstory of “The Backstory Podcast” a little more. My guest today is a sound engineer and IT technician, and the man that generously gave his time to teach me about the sound editing processes required in creating a podcast.  My guest, Mr Andrew Smit, worked as an audio engineer for the award winning “The Work Room Audio Post”, Cape town South Africa, where he was part of the team awarded an Emmy for outstanding sound in the series “Black Sails”. He is also known for his work on the 2017 movie Dark Tower, and the 2016 movie, “The Legend of Tarzan”, amongst others we will certainly dive into. Smit then moved to Munich, Germany where he worked freelance as a sound designer and mix engineer and now as an IT technician at Munich International School.  While learning how to edit my podcast episodes under the mentorship of Mr Smit, I soon realised that if a sound engineer does their job correctly, then their role is less noticeable, as the listener gets to experience a smooth, clear, flowing conversation. But, the world of sound engineering is a fascinating one. So, I am thrilled today to partner Mr Smit in front of the microphone to learn more. 

In this episode, Will interviews Dimitri Abold, an actor of stage and screen. Scroll through Netflix and you will see him playing Randall in the American Fantasy Series, Warrior Nun, or over on Amazon in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Series, amongst others. Next month, my guest will be seen on the silver screen, playing Reaper Ash in The Hunger Games: The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes, the prequel to the dystopian Hunger Games record breaking franchise worth almost 3 billion dollars globally.     Today, I am lucky enough to be talking to Dimitri Abold. Born in Jamaica, raised here in Munich Germany, and a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, an actor who is currently experiencing international success. I want to talk to him today about his backstory, and understand how his upbringing has shaped his career to date, and ask what advice he has for young people looking to follow similar dreams.  

In this episode, Will speaks to Dr. Mattias Bosch, who has a rich, academic background.  He studied Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering at TUM and a PhD in Law at LMU, both Munich based universities, and during his German law studies he was a scholar at the University of Washington in Seattle.      Bosch has worked in the intellectual property field since 1993, having begun his doctoral thesis comparing US, European and German patent law related to medical process patents. He was a founding partner of the intellectual property law firm Bosch Jehle in Munich and his practice expanded to focus upon complex patent litigation in the tech industry.      Bosch retired from his law practice in 2020, but his story does not end there.   Realising his career had provided the opportunity to travel the world, he had come to believe that the route to a stronger and more stable society was to encourage the worldwide teaching of dignity.  He enrolled in the Harvard Kennedy School for an Executive Education Certificate in Non-Profit Organisations, and has served as the Executive Coordinator for the charity Global Dignity, since 2021.    Today I find my guest as a fellow of Harvard University's  Advanced Leadership Initiative Cohort of 2023, whose vision is to ‘unleash the potential of experienced leaders to help solve society's most pressing challenges'.  Listen to this episode to learn more about Dr Bosch's route to success. LinkedIN: Dr Matthias Bosch

In this episode, Will speaks to Olivia Heine, an Energetics and Success Coach, a certified Neurolinguistic Programming Practitioner and Hypnotherapist.  Olivia works exclusively with women with the aim of creating holistic success strategies that lead to a more balanced lifestyle.      After graduating from Munich International School, here in Germany,  Olivia moved to Canada where she studied Media Information and Technoculture at the University of Western Ontario.  During this time Olivia showed entrepreneurial spirit writing a blog that specifically focused on decluttering homes, which became her first side business at university.    Listen to this episode to hear how Olivia set off starting her business, as well as the route that brought her to this point.

In this episode, Will speaks to one of the leading Chief Restructuring Officers in Germany, being one of approximately 10 CROs who manage cases with a revenue of 500 million Euros or more, and of these, the only woman in this category.  As a CRO, my guest specializes in overcoming corporate crises, aiming to lead company's safety out of crisis situations and work towards long term and sustainable restructuring and development, with the aim of preserving the history of the company in question.    My guest today is Britta Hübner of Hübner Managament.

In this episode, Will speaks to Herr Oliver Heilmer, the Head of Mini Design at BMW Group in Munich, Germany.   Heilmer grew up in Bavaria, and showed an early passion for car design as a child, which ultimately led him to study Industrial and Automotive design at the University of Applied Sciences in Germany. Soon after graduating, he joined BMW as part of their design team for the BMW 5 series. He then became BMW's head of interior design, followed by a move to Los Angeles, where he took the role of President of Design works. In 2017, Heilmer returned home to Munich as Head of Mini Design. Listen to learn how we can spark our creativity and the importance being creative, with the fascinating Oliver Heilmer.

In this episode, Will sat down and chatted to someone whose career centers around the education of young people. Full of great advice for the younger generations listening, Will is delighted to welcome Mr Timothy Thomas, who is the Head of Munich International School, Germany. Timothy Thomas has been the Head of Munich International School in Germany for the last 8 years. Before joining Munich International, he taught in Dresden, Germany and started his teaching career in Missouri, USA. Listen for inspiring life advice! Socials: Instagram: https://instagram.com/the_backstory_podcast?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_backstory_podcast?_t=8dDEObKBTtD&_r=1

In this episode, Will speaks to Eric Sinclair, the Senior Project Manager at WhiteWater West, ‘the world's largest provider of everything a water park needs'.    Sinclair is now based in Munich at the European Headquarters, where he is involved in Europe's first Endless Surf Park installation as well as waterpark projects in Sweden, Belgium, Italy, France and the UK.  Previous roles have included project managing Epic Waterpark, Grande Prairie Texas, and numerous other projects in Canada and the US.    For the Geographers amongst us, Sinclair has also been part of a bioengineering river rehabilitation project in Malaysia and a sustainable urban development project for the ageing population of Singapore.  As if that isn't enough, he also owned and managed the Cougar Mountain Adventure Resort in Whistler, Canada.  Listen to this episode to find out Eric Sinclair's interesting journey to where he is today!

In this episode, Will kicks off Season 2 as he talks to the Renewable Energy Developer and Financier, Matt McGovern about his route to success. After his PhD in Organisational Development and Organisational Behaviour, his career started in the finance, asset management sector before he moved into the renewable energy sector.  My guest co-founded Cypress Creek Renewables, which became the largest privately held solar developer of utility scale solar projects in the US.  He then went on to co-found Silver Creek Renewables and Aspen Creek Power, developing and financing renewable energy projects and new era sustainability.    This is a key conversation for anyone who believes, as I do, that sustainability should be in the forefront of all we do moving forward.

In this episode, Will chats to an award winning British sport journalist, Ian Stafford. He is the author of 17 published books, and an acclaimed broadcaster having appeared on Grandstand, Sportsnight, BBC Radio 4, and BBC 5 Live. Stafford has launched a number of businesses, the latest of which is “The Sporting Club”, a private networking club for sport. As if this is not enough, Stafford has also... Played football for Everton against Manchester City Been the 12th man for Australia in a one day Cricket International Partnered Sir Steve Redgrave at the Henley Royal Regatta Played golf with Nick Faldo, and Justin Rose Raced with Jenson Button and come head to head with Michael Schumacher at the Race of Champions.

In this episode, Will interviews the highly successful documentary and film director Edward Gorsuch to find out his backstory. Gorsuch began his career at Kevin Costner's production company where he was directly involved in the production of the Oscar winning film, “Dances with Wolves” and also worked on “The Bodyguard”, again starring Costner together with the late Whitney Houston. Gorsuch specialises in non-scripted, factual programmes in the “tough job”, adventure genre. He has produced Discovery Channels' highest rated series, “Gold Rush”, as well as “Dino-Hunters” and “Bionic Builders”. For the History Channel he has produced “Ice Road Truckers” and “Lost Gold of World War 2”. More information on my Instagram: @the_backstory_podcast

In this episode, Will interviews the LA based product sustainability manager for Ocio Leisurewear, Katia Hauser, about the company's mission to “create comfort, uncompromised”. Listen to learn more about what it takes when embarking upon the sustainable fashion industry, from the sourcing of the materials, manufacturing process, localised production line, and what it takes to succeed in business when 90% of startups fail. If you are interested to find out more about Katia and her fashion brand, see the information below! Katia Hauser Instagram: https://instagram.com/katiahauser?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Ocio Leisurewear Instagram: https://instagram.com/ocioleisure?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Ocio Leisurewear website: https://ocioleisure.com/

In the third episode, Will chats to registered clinical scientist, Emily Parry, about the gender gap within careers in STEM, prenatal and foetal genetics, and her inspiring journey to becoming an international expert assessor of international standards for reporting genetics. If you have any further questions in relation to Emily's career to date, please contact me and I will connect you.

In the second episode, Will chats to the founder of the largest sport and music festival, Dodge Woodall, about the entrepreneurial mindset which lead him to the successful creation of numerous businesses throughout his career. Dodge Woodall Instagram: https://instagram.com/dodge.woodall?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Dodge Woodall home website: https://dodgewoodall.com

Welcome to The Backstory Podcast. In the first episode of the series, Will chats to LA based, award winning author, April White (no relation!) about her fascinating route to becoming a successful writer. ----------- Find April on instagram: https://instagram.com/aprilwhitebooks?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Check out The Backstory Podcast: https://instagram.com/the_backstory_podcast?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Welcome to The Backstory Podcast. The show that asks successful individuals how they came to their current career. I ask them to describe the route that shaped their future, to outline any failures that might have been the making of them, and I ask them to share some words of wisdom that might inspire the younger generation.