- Publisher |
- Alberta Podcast Network
- Media Type |
- audio
- Podknife tags |
- Edmonton,
- Interview,
- Society & Culture
- Categories Via RSS |
- Society & Culture
- People |
- Country Of Origin |
- Canada
- Produced In |
- Edmonton, Alberta
- Premiere Date |
- 2017-08-16
- Frequency |
- Periodic
- Explicit |
- Yes
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Submit ReviewWe recorded this episode from Manchester, UK the night before the world premiere of our feature documentary, BISPING.
We will be doing more of these sessions live with our directors and talent in the ScoreG Productions Discord. Make sure to join to take part and ask questions!
Chris Hayden and Doug Workman are retired, long-serving law enforcement officers. Their collective experience is high-end, covering (but not limited to) surveillance, armed robbery, money laundering, crisis and hostage negotiating, major crimes, and homicide.
In 2016 Chris and Doug founded Haywork Secure Driving Service, a secure driving and executive protection service delivered by experienced and highly trained former Law Enforcement, Military and Security Professionals. Their clients run the gambit of Government officials, executives, high net worth individuals, entertainers and professional sports figures.
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My guest this episode is Victor Valimaki. He was the first Edmontonian to fight in the UFC. Back in 2018 Vic and I were supposed to sit down and talk about his fight career, but he was suddenly struck by a serious medical condition, called Neuromyelitis Optica, which threw his life into chaos. Two and a half years later – not to mention 17 MRI's, 7 spinal taps, two lung biopsies, a brain biopsy, and countless other medical procedures – Vic is doing substantially better and I finally got a chance to meet him face-to-face.
Episode Links
Victor Valimaki - Facebook | Fight Stats
My guest today is Ashif Mawji who is making his second appearance on the podcast. Ashif is a tech entrepreneur and investor. Last time we talked about his incredible life story growing up in Kenya, moving to Canada, and starting his first business ventures. This time around we are focusing on his role as Chair of the Edmonton Police Foundation, how the foundation began, and their current projects aimed at making Edmonton a safer and more prosperous community. Through their Community Solutions Accelerator, and the analysis of datasets, EPF is tackling issues of liquor store theft, first responder mental health & wellness, and homelessness.
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Amos Kajner-Nonnekesis the founder of DESIGN, et cetera. – a company whose work explores the activation of under-utilized spaces in the city through placemaking, public art, architecture, and urban design in Edmonton. Most recently, they created the Rainbow Road mural just off of Whyte Ave. In addition to making our city more beautiful and livable for everyone, Amos and his group also work with City Hall and various groups to accommodate Edmonton’s marginalized community through strategic and thoughtful design.
Episode Links
Amos Kajner-Nonnekes | LinkedIn | Twitter
urban-wellness-plan.aspx">Recover: Edmonton
Your Host,
On February 1, 2019, Dale McFee was sworn in as Edmonton’s 23rd Chief of Police for the Edmonton Police Service. He spent 26 years as a police officer in Prince Albert and 9 years as their Chief of Police. He also spent 6 years as the Deputy Minister of Corrections and Policing in the Ministry of Justice for the Saskatchewan government. From 2011 to 2014 he served as President and Past President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. He has previously held the positions of President of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers, and Director of the Canadian Police Association.
Chief McFee and I talk about the killing of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, Edmonton’s vulnerable population, social work, data analysis, leadership and culture, plus so much more. His experience, expertise, and ancillary training give him a great perspective to discuss these issues in a dispassionate and levelheaded way.
Episode Links
Edmonton Police Service | Twitter
Rick Bronson has done it all in the entertainment industry. He's an award-winning comedian, TV Host, Writer, Producer, and the owner of Rick Bronson's 'The Comic Strip' in West Edmonton Mall. In this conversation, with special guest co-host, Derek Stone, Rick hilariously recounts his life as comic on the circuit, with tangents about Jewish Mothers, Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, and what he really thinks about political correctness.
Episode Links
Rick Bronson's The Comic Strip
My guest today is Evan Gallant. Evan’s main gig is marketing, but he is also big in the Edmonton charity scene, working as the Community Director for the Urban Spirits Rotary Club and co-founding HEALYEG, an Edmonton-based non-profit. Evan’s an incredibly social guy. He’s funny, gregarious, and is always the life of the life of the party out in the Edmonton bar scene. However, Evan reached out to me to shed some light on the darker side of this scene. Evan opened up about his mental health struggles, his drug and alcohol abuse, and about it all came crashing down on him last year. Countless people struggle with these issues. Evan and I both know this will resonate with people, and we hope it helps.
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Edmonton Ward 11 City Councillor, Mike Nickel, is a strong advocate for the effective utilization of tax dollars; In other words, he's trying to make your money go farther in government. He brings a lifetime of business experience to City Council, and the passion in which he talks about our city is evident and super inspiring.
Episode Links
Councillor Mike Nickel | Blog | Twitter | Mike Check Podcast
Kris Harvey is a guy a lot of you know and love. He’s a DJ, event promoter, and the owner and creative mind behind Church of John, one of the city’s most unique and vibrant nightlife spots. Kris is an entrepreneur and huge booster for the City of Champions.
Episode Links
Kris Harvey | Instagram
Seat Giant - Promo Code "APN"
Hall of Fame goaltender, Grant Fuhr, joins me on the podcast this week. Anyone who knows hockey knows Grant was a key member of the 1980's Oilers' dynasty, winning 5 Stanley Cups in his 10 seasons with the team. Grant went on to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, and St. Louis Blues, where he had a career resurgence in his mid 30's carrying the team to the second round of the playoffs before disaster (Nick Kypreos) struck, destroying his knee and forcing him to undergo a double ACL and MCL surgery, the first of its kind to that point.
Grant now spends his days on the golf course making the rounds on the pro-am circuit. His magnetic personality has bestowed upon him a diverse group of friends outside the world of hockey including legends like Jim McMahon, Marshall Faulk, and Charles Barkley. We had a chance to talk about the experience of making his documentary, his life after hockey, and some of his thoughts on the NHL today. We, of course, also spent time reminiscing about some of his favourite stories from his playing days.
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Very special episode of the podcast with sharp and successful entrepreneur, Daniel Matishak, and co-hosted by former City of Champions guest and great friend, Derek Stone. This was recorded back in February 2019 when Derek and I played around with the idea of starting a new podcast. Ultimately our schedules didn't allow it, but Derek was kind enough to let me release this under the City of Champions banner. Dan is the founder of Mindable, a marketing optimization company. Dan’s had some incredible experiences like hanging on Necker Island with Richard Branson and attending Formula 1 in Monaco. This is a must listen for any burgeoning entrepreneurs out there!
Episode Link
Daniel Matishak - Instagram | LinkedIn
Telus World of Science Edmonton - Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes
Raj Dhillon is the co-owner of Pivotal Physiotherapy in Edmonton. He is a U of A grad and has been a practicing clinician for over 15 years. I was excited to sit down and record with Raj because he’s got an incredible outlook on life with a very intentional approach to his work, fitness, and family. He’s an inspiring guy who gives back to the community through his mentoring of the next generation of physiotherapists at the U of A and internationally through work abroad in 3rd world countries. As a child of immigrants to Canada, I had to ask Raj his thoughts on the firing of Don Cherry and response blew me away.
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Edmonton Ward 10 City Councillor, Michael Walters, joins me on the podcast this week. One of his Council Initiatives is Energy Transition and Climate Resilience for the city of Edmonton. We had a chance to discuss the city’s pragmatic and thoughtful approach to climate change. Among other things, Councillor Walters also brought a ton of insight to the conversation on homelessness in the city and river valley development.
Episode Links
Councillor Michael Walters | Twitter
It’s been just over 2 years since my brother, Keegan Lowe, joined me on episode 2 of City of Champions, so we had lots to catch up on. Joining Keegan on the episode this time is his childhood best friend, minor hockey teammate, and junior hockey rival, Jaynen Rissling. Jaynen spent last season playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England, redefining the term “non-traditional hockey market”, and this season he’s off to play for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.
Episode Links
Keegan Lowe | Twitter | Instagram
Jaynen Rissling | Instagram
This week I’m pleased to introduce #17 on your Edmonton Eskimos, defensive back, Arjen Colquhoun. Arjen joined the Esks after a fantastic career at Michigan State, and a brief stint with the Dallas Cowboys. Arjen is an energetic and enthusiastic personality, and a key part of our defensive corps. We got into a great discussion about what he wants to do when his playing days are over, and how he hopes to help as many young kids coming up in football as he can.
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Edmonton Ward 3 City Councillor, Jon Dziadyk, brings a diverse wealth of experience to City Hall. Councillor Dziadyk is an author, urban planner, and spent time as an intelligence officer in the Navy. The Councillor and I talked about decision making on City Council, the extreme polarization of people’s political views, the failings of group identities, and we also discussed homelessness and first responders in Edmonton.
Episode Links
Jon Dziadyk | Twitter | Website
Shaun Maslyk is the founder of "The Most Hated F Word", which is a brand dedicated to helping people learn better money habits, spend wisely, invest wisely, and take total control over their finances and life. His website has a ton of useful blog posts with practical advice (see below). Shaun is also hosting an event in Edmonton on September 28th called "Shifting Your Financial Course: A Non-Boring Personal Finance Conference" and has some fantastic guests confirmed already.
Episode Links
"Shifting Your Financial Course" Conference
Dining in Edmonton: Top 10 Places to Eat that Serve Up Great Prices
My guest this week is a current European professional hockey player, former Edmonton Oilers defenceman, and overall awesome guy, Ladislav Smid. I was lucky enough to cross paths with Ladi this summer in Edmonton and fortunate enough to have him agree to come on the podcast. After a decade in the NHL, Ladi moved back to his home country of Czech Republic to wind down his pro hockey career. We talk about his time in the show, playing in Europe (and against Jagr), and his desire to help the young players of today face the challenges of tomorrow.
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Edmonton Ward 4 City Councillor, Aaron Paquette, is a man of many talents, including: author, artist, illustrator, public speaker, goldsmith, and stained glass window builder. He brings a wealth of experience and perspective to city hall, which is a major asset. In this wide ranging conversation we discuss things like reframing divisive issues with a comedic approach, the process of creating art and its subjective nature, social problems we face as a society, and the ways in which we might better approach them. Perhaps most valuably, we spend time discussing his mother, a hero in his eyes who taught him passion for community and what can be accomplished with ingenuity and hard work.
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Mukai Maromo is a former Muay Thai and MMA fighter turned Digital Media Marketer and Event Promoter. Known as the “African Assassin” back in his fighting days, Mukai brings that same level of competitive drive and commitment to his business pursuits. Mukai is absolutely fascinating. We talked about growing up in Zimbabwe, the path that brought him to Edmonton, his fighting days, and the attitude and mindset necessary for success.
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I’m joined by ITU World Triathlon Edmonton’s GM, Stephen Bourdeau, and Director of Marketing & Communications, Lindsay Harrison. They gave me a rundown of this year’s event and, more importantly, we talk about what makes Edmonton the perfect city to host such a global event alongside world-class cities like Abu Dhabi, Bermuda, Yokohama, and Lausanne, just to name a few. The event runs July 21-22, 2019.
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Edmonton Ward 9 City Councillor, Tim Cartmell, is in his first term at City Hall. He’s always been fascinated with the way things work, and why they’re made the way they are. This inquisitive mind led to a career in Engineering where he owned and operated his own business for many years. His passion for giving back led him to volunteer work where he began helping to engineer community culture. Eventually this path led him to City Hall where he is able to help engineer our city, and a better world for tomorrow.
Episode Links
Councillor Tim Cartmell | Twitter | Instagram
Councillor Sarah Hamilton is serving her first term for Ward 5 in Edmonton, and is one of the youngest members on City Council. She mastered in Visual Culture and Critical Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. We talk about life as a City Councillor, as well as her previous political experience with the Democratic Party in Chicago during Obama's re-election campaign in 2012. We also discuss the origin of memes in politics, the Chicago Cubs, and how she applies the principles of Moneyball to political governance.
Episode Links
Councillor Sarah Hamilton | Twitter | Instagram
Ward 1 Councillor, Andrew Knack, is one of Edmonton City Council's younger members. He is doing great things with a number of initiatives in the city including council-city-of-edmonton.aspx">Edmonton Youth Council, NextGen, Transportation Innovation, and engagement.aspx">Public Engagement. With Andrew being the approachable and engaging guy that he is, this was fun conversation.
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Ken Lowe has spent his career in professional sports working as a head athletic therapist. He joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1982 and was a part of 2 Grey Cup championships. In 1989 he moved over to the Edmonton Oilers, winning the Stanley Cup in his first year with the team, which he has been part of for the past 30 years. Kenny is one of only a handful of people who has won both a Grey Cup and Stanley Cup. He has also won Gold, and been a part of multiple outings, with Hockey Canada.
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Ward 8 Councillor, Ben Henderson, is involved in a number of initiatives in Edmonton aimed at preserving and promoting art, culture, and community. The Councillor also plays a big role in Edmonton’s strategy.aspx">WinterCity Strategy, giving him the opportunity to explore and learn from Edmonton's comparable cities around the world. This has also given him an intimate knowledge of the particular unique set of social and environmental challenges our city faces.
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Omar Mosleh is a journalist for MetroStar Edmonton who writes on a variety of important topics, including racism, inner-city issues, and vulnerable populations. Omar has experienced some notoriety of late for an article he wrote exposing some extremist and racist behaviour taking place in Edmonton. We discuss the Canadian Yellow Vest movement, Nationalism, Islamophobia, and why it seems our gut reaction is denial when we hear about extremist behaviour in our own backyard. I appreciate how thoughtful, well-spoken, and engaging a person Omar was to talk with, and he certainly helped me understand a lot.
Episode Notes
Omar Mosleh | Twitter
dont-feel-safe-as-hate-fills-edmontons-streets.html">"Citizens Don't Feel Safe as Hate Fills Edmonton's Streets"
Simon Bennett is best known in Edmonton for his premier health, wellness, and training facilities operating under the Body by Bennett banner. Being the longtime Director of High Performance for the Edmonton Oilers put him on the cutting edge of the performance field. While working with top athletic performers, Simon began to conceptualize a way to deliver the same care and expertise to people outside of the world of professional sports. The culmination of this planning, along with decades of experience, is coming together in his new facility, Archetype, opening August 2019 in Ice District. On the podcast we discuss how the physiological, psychological, and philosophical are sewn together to lead to a high performance lifestyle.
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Edmonton City Councillor, Bev Esslinger, hosted me in her office at City Hall where we got a chance to discuss a wide range of topics relating to her life and her job. We drilled down on specific city topics like the Blatchford development, LRT expansion throughout the city, and the interplay between the municipal and provincial levels of government. We also took the time to get more philosophical and discussed things like women in politics, education, and whether you should be voting out of self interest or the common social good.
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Laval St. Germain is an airline pilot by profession, and an adventure artist by passion. In pursuing his passion he is a mountaineer, endurance athlete, and ocean rower, to name a few. Some of his most stunning achievements include summiting the highest peaks on all 7 continents, completing the fastest ever crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean by solo row boat from mainland North America to mainland Europe, and being the only Canadian, and one of only 200 people in history, to summit Everest without Oxygen. We discuss the mental and physical ingredients necessary to accomplish these feats, and Laval shares a heart-wrenching story about the biggest challenge life has thrown his way when tragedy struck his family.
Episode Links
Laval St. Germain | Twitter | Instagram | Website
Nick Good is a fellow podcaster, writer, and student of the world which is obvious by his wide-ranging interests and esoteric life knowledge. My intention was to dive deep into the world of writing with Nick and talk about his education, his creative process, and common struggles facing artists. We did cover a bit of that in the episode, but got sidetracked on a number of occasions, talking about politics, psychology, social media, and a slew of other topics. Regardless of your interests, there's something here for you!
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This week I dive into the political world of Edmonton and pull my guest from the clutches of City Council. Ward 6 City Councillor Scott McKeen and I had a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from the Councillor’s past life as a journalist, to why he got into politics, current issues facing our city, and we even discuss some of his darker days dealing with mental health and addiction issues. Councillor McKeen's personality and life story stands up as a shining example of what can be accomplished by being a decent, honest, and admittedly flawed human being.
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Emmett Hartfield is the owner and a founding partner of Intelligence House, a real-estate research, marketing, and sales company that collects and compiles the latest data, in order to help developers better understand where the market is going. Emmett and his team are changing the game of residential real estate development through statistical analysis and big data. In the podcast we cover residential development in Edmonton, learning lessons from great cities around the world, current issues Millennials are facing when it comes to owning property, and the vast potential Edmonton has to continue developing into a world-class city. I highly recommend this episode for anyone curious about real estate in Edmonton.
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Mack is a self-proclaimed Edmonton Geek as well as an entrepreneur, software developer, and writer. His two primary passions in life are computer technology and storytelling, which he uses inconjunction to affect positive change in the city of Edmonton through various channels which we talk about in the episode. He is a dedicated community builder, and has given back to Edmonton through thousands of hours of board, committee, and other volunteer work for more than a dozen different organizations.
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Corey Hayes is a philosopher, a poet, a writer, and a lifelong seeker of knowledge. Most nights you can find him in his element, slinging drinks and facilitating good times for all those looking to socialize, hook up, or otherwise escape reality. Corey is a kind and caring soul. Though he can come off as sarcastic and calculated, his heart is pure. This conversation touches a wide array of topics including millennials, the inevitable destruction of the world, and both the pitfalls and saving graces of the bar industry. Corey brings passion and enthusiasm to every interaction so there is something in here for everyone.
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Ashif Mawji is a wildly successful tech entrepreneur and graduate of NAIT’s Computer Systems Technology Program. After multiple successful startups, Ashif's biggest hit came in 2012 when he sold his company, Upside Software, for $22 million. Now working as a venture capitalist, Ashif dedicates a ton of energy to making the city of Edmonton a better place through his philanthropic work with Kids Kottage, Stollery Children’s Hospital, and Edmonton Police Foundation. Ashif's aspirational legacy? To help grow Alberta's burgeoning Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning industry into a viable replacement for our resource dependency.
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This week I thought I could bring a little more culture into the podcast and, hopefully, into your lives, so I brought Edmonton Opera's General Director, Tim Yakimec on the show. Tim began his career with Edmonton Opera as an assistant stage manager 23 years ago and has since worked his way up through the organization. Tim does a great job of walking a beginner like me through the history of the opera, what goes on behind the scenes, and why we, in the city of Edmonton, should care about it. Hope to see everyone at the finale of Hansel and Gretel this Friday, February 8!
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Viet Nguyen is a home-grown, self-made entrepreneurial success story in the music and event promotion industry. If you live in Edmonton, chances are you’ve gone to one of the events that his company, Boodang, has thrown at some point in the last 20 years. Viet also founded the musical act booking app, AGNT, in 2016 and is changing the way business is done between artist and venue. Viet is a guy raising Edmonton’s reputation on the world stage, and enjoying every moment of the process.
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VP, GM, and Director are some of the titles Marty Forbes has held professionally in his 48+ years in radio broadcast. World traveller, grandfather, and philanthropist are among some of the roles he occupies in his personal life which, I would argue, are the ones he should be most proud of. An incumbent in the public service sector, Marty has raised tens of millions for charities and worked with organizations such as the Jerry Forbes Centre, Santas Anonymous, the Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree, Crescendo, and the John Cameron Changing Lives Foundation. In his "retirement", Marty does digital media and marketing consulting through his company, Radiowise. As energetic and enjoyable as they come, Marty Forbes is a force of a nature!
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Longtime radio host and standup comedian, Jim Jerome, joins me on the podcast and gives us a look at the world through his unfiltered lens of sarcasm and snark. In an extraordinarily tender moment, Jim opens up about his past addictions, and how helping others now brings tremendous meaning and reward to his life. He's wonderfully offensive, yet infectiously lovable, and the world needs more like him.
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Derek Stone has a lot of balls in the air, with projects in athletics, oil and gas, and digital media. After many years of hard living, Derek has found his calling as a mental high-performance coach, helping athletes and others reach their full potential, through Stone Performance Academy. With a diverse set of interest, and a wealth of life-experience to draw upon, Derek is as engaging a guy as you'll meet. We cover business, drugs, coaching philosophies, podcasting, and plenty more in this wide-ranging conversation with Coach Derek Stone.
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Today's guest is Tom Gazzola. Tom is best known for his work reporting for the Edmonton Oilers. Since moving on from the organization, Tom has brought his talents to the team at TSN in both producing and reporting capacities. A huge sports fan growing up, he really carved out a path for himself doing something he loves which is something we can all learn from.
Episode Links
Tom's Twitter - @tomgazzola
My guest today is Aaryn Flynn, a man who recognizes the importance of Artificial Intelligence and its potential to turn Edmonton into renowned global tech hub. Aaryn is a U of A grad who began his career as a game developer with the Edmonton-based gaming company, BioWare, producers of the hugely successful gaming franchises Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Aaryn recently made the move to a UK games tech startup by the name of Improbable, and was named GM of the company’s North American division, based right here in Edmonton. Our guy is a huge booster of the city and wants to see it prosper for generations to come which is why he’s involved with initiatives like Edmonton AI and also on the Computer Science Advisory Board at the U of A.
Episode Links
are-alberta.aspx?utm_source=Publicate&utm_medium=embed&utm_content=we-are-alberta-podcast-atb-financial&utm_campaign=October+2018+grid">ATB's We Are Alberta
This episode I brought back to the show a fan favourite from last year, Dean Guedo. If you don’t know Dean, he’s one of the best personal trainers in the city, and he’s got totally badass Spiderman and Venom tattoos. This was as freewheeling an episode as you’re going to get, but there’s some seriously entertaining stuff we talk about. We talk about Dean’s experience podcasting and cover some great advice for anyone thinking about starting their own. We talk about finding your niche in life, and doing what feels good. And, of course, you can’t chat with Dean Guedo without picking his beautiful brain about training.
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I’m thrilled to be joined this week by an absolute gem of a human being! Carmen Choney has had an impressive career in Canadian Country Music, working with some of the industry’s biggest stars. As Tour Manager for Jess Moskaluke and MDM Records, Carmen is the girl who gets shit done. You’ll quickly discover that Carmen has zero filter, but her no-bullshit attitude and genuine kindheartedness, coupled with impeccable organization, has given her staying power in a tough industry, and in my humble opinion, made her one of the most likeable people in the business.
Links
are-alberta.aspx">ATB's We Are Alberta Podcast
Sam Lofstrand is a man of many passions. The slick talker first made his appearance on the podcast last year discussing the art of craft beer. I brought him back onto Season 2 of City of Champions to discuss a passion that devleoped back in Grade 7 when he got his first pair of purple Nike Air Max Plus. At one point owning over 60 pairs of shoes, Sam is a true "Sneakerhead". Sam walks us through the basics of sneaker culture and it's relevance to our lives.
Today I’m pumped to bring Chris Liddle on the podcast. Chris is making a name for himself and doing great things in the personal training industry. He’s also starting his own podcast called the The Lifestyle Chase soon so be sure to keep an eye out for it.
Filmmaker Adam Scorgie is a perfect fit for the City of Champions lineup. He's the best in the documentary filmmaking business, and he got here by consistently being the hardest working guy in the room. His ability to find improbable solutions to impossible situations is why the self-proclaimed creative hustler continues to crush it. Career success aside, Adam is also one of the best guys I know. I’m fortunate to get to work with him every day, and it was an honour to include him on the podcast.
My guest today is an exceptionally lovely and inspiring girl by the name of Patrycia Rzechowka. Diagnosed with MS in 2012, Patrycia has been a mainstay on the MS Bike circuit for the past 7 years and, not just in Edmonton, but throughout various cities in the US as well. Patrycia is a huge believer in the power of the Edmonton community and she’s up to a ton of great things these days around the city. I was really touched by the honesty and vulnerability in her storytelling and I know you will be, too.
Bean Gill is the co-founder and executive director of ReYu Paralysis Recovery Centre and has dedicated her life to leaving a legacy of helping others. The story of how Bean became a paraplegic is as tragic as it is curious. Bean suffered a severe attack of a condition known as transverse myelitis while on a girl’s trip in Las Vegas. Within minutes of this crazy painful attack, she had lost the use of both legs, and the course of her life was altered. Bean has an infectious excitement for life and she shares how she was able to make it through this dark time and how she pushes forward every day on her mission.
Cory Johnn is an Edmonton-based motion and stills photographer and talking to him is going to bring a lot of value to many of you who are starting to get into the content creation game. Cory caught my attention with a piece he shot promoting our city for Edmonton Economic Development. It’s the one narrated by the Eskimos Mike Reilly and if you haven’t seen it yet I highly recommend checking it out before you listen to this episode. You can find it by searching on Youtube the phrase "Edmonton Video Impact 2018" and it’s the first hit. Cory and I had a great chat about getting started in the business, equipment, his creative approach, and we cover a ton of other useful bits of info for up and comers.
My guests this week are General Manager, Stephen Bourdeau, and Social Media and Communications Manager, Christina Collins, from the World Triathlon Series. They join me to talk about the yearly triathlon circuit that brings some of the most elite athletes to top destinations around the world like Abu Dhabi, Bermuda, Hamburg, Australia’s Gold Coast, and Edmonton, Alberta. Being our humble Edmontonian selves, we don’t often recognize our hometown on lists of top cities, but the truth is Edmonton is one of the world’s premiere event hosting destinations. Stephen, Christina, and I talk about why that is, and we get into some interesting insights and philosophies behind the sport of Triathlon and the World Series events.
Today my guest is a bonafide Edmonton celebrity who I’m pumped to have on the show. You’ll recognize Rob Clark from Edmonton Oilers games where he serenades 18,000 fans with the national anthems. You may also recognize Rob from Instagram as @robclarktenor, where he’s taken us through his insane physical transformation over the last year and a half that’s seen him drop 90 pounds and gain a new energy for life. Rob’s such a sweet guy and I had a ton of fun chopping it up with him about fitness, the opera, and his new lease on life.
My guest today is a guy doing exceptional work around the city of Edmonton. Sebastian Barrera is a Chilean-born musician, artist, and community activist. Sebastian is the President of the Parkdale Cromdale Community League and is the creator of a social movement project called CreArt, which is dedicated to providing free, accessible spaces to facilitate art and music based education for individuals who are looking for a positive outlet for self-expression.
Another fantastic guest on the podcast this week and this one is a little different because his scope of work falls far outside any of my areas of expertise. Dr. Pierre Boulanger is a professor and researcher at the University of Alberta in both the departments of Computing Science and Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging. He is also the Director of both the Advanced Man-Machine Interface Laboratory and the SERVIER Virtual Cardiac Centre. One of Dr. Boulanger’s main focus is expanding the capabilities of Telemedicine; that is, allowing doctors to assist, or even operate on, patients from a remote location. We cover a wide array of topics of which I am admittedly undereducated in, but it was a fascinating conversation nonetheless.
This week I was joined by not one, but two, lovely ladies to talk about the role sports plays in the physical and psychological development of kids. Dayna Hyman is the Executive Director of KidSport Edmonton. KidSport is a national not-for-profit organization that provides financial assistance to families to enable kids to participate in organized sports. We were also joined by Dr. Lauren Sulz from the University of Alberta, who is in the middle of a two-year study to understand the extent to which the KidSport funding and participation in school sport successfully supports attendance, grades, attitudes towards school, and wellbeing of students from low-income households.
This week I had the pleasure of meeting a truly thoughtful and engaging guy who reached out to me a couple months ago with an opportunity. Cody Price is the organizer of the Rise Up Challenge which is an obstacle course race. The word "Rise" is in the title of the race because it stands for "Resistance, Integrity, Strength, and Endurance", and is indicative of the race’s founder. 11 years ago Cody was diagnosed with MS. This is his story...
This week I had the chance to sit down with a man whose work has likely found its way into your life, and your stomach, whether you realize it or not. Chris Lachance is the founder of Century Hospitality Group who currently run six restaurants throughout Edmonton. Despite three decades in the hospitality industyr, Chris manages to stay ahead of the game in terms of new trends and tastes. In this podcast we get into some interesting stuff including social change in the hospitality industry, building culture within his organization, and creating the ultimate guest experience. Most importantly, Chris talks about what to do when that experience doesn’t meet expectations.
Very excited to be talking today with former Master Corporal, Chance Burles. Chance is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who is working towards helping other vets deal with issues he has faced since leave the service such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Chance is also the lead organizer for the Edmonton edition of the First Annual Canadian Walk for Veterans happening across Canada, on June 3. Chance opens up an incredible look for us civilians into the life of the military, and some of the major issues veterans face upon their exit of the service.
My guest today is an absolute sweetheart of a girl, Alyssa Schmidt. Alyssa along with her friend, Stephanie Robinson, founded, co-own and operate 4 Points Health and Wellness. The business operates as a community of health and wellness practitioners that provide an array of treatments including acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, nutrition, neurofeedback, personal training, and group training classes.
My guest this week is a man by the name of John Brix, and he has travelled an unusually interesting path in life. John is a former Calgary Police Officer who retired from the force after 13 years and now works as the West Coast Regional Safety Manager for Google. He also travels the continent speaking publicly on a wide range of topics like leadership, PTSD awareness, and risk management, just to name a few. John is a crazy unique guy and with some incredible life experiences that I was lucky enough to have him share with me.
This week I'm joined by Country Star, Brett Kissel. Fresh off the first half of his 2018 tour, Brett has already broken the record for number of tour dates in a year by a Canadian artist in Canada, and he's back on the road after summer. This conversation was an incredible opportunity to get to know the real Brett Kissel, which I was thrilled to discover, is the exact same genuine, humble, and ridiculously likeable guy that he is on stage. Brett and I talk everything from childhood heroes and graduating from high school in style to being a father and life on the road. Listen carefully for the exclusive announcement of a potential genre crossover in the works for Brett!
This week we’re back to a musical guest on the podcast. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Luke Ertman and Jeff Ramsey. These two childhood friends are the leading members of a local band by the name of Fools Tongue. The group recently released their second studio album which is an alternative rock compilation with an epic symphonic rock feel. The three of us got a chance to discuss the band’s creation, the shifting climate of the music industry, and the challenges faced by almost all upstart bands. Luke and Jeff, along with their four other band members, Casia Erica, Josh, and Dave are preparing for their CD release party this April 28 at the Capitol Theatre in Fort Edmonton Park. Check out their website (foolstongue.ca) to hear their jams and to find a link for tickets to their show.
My guest this week is a guy doing fascinating things for the future of our city. Dan Corns is the Founder and CEO of Magnovate Technologies and he’s been in the media recently, urging Don Iveson and Edmonton City Council to pump the breaks on the current LRT expansion plans and reconsider a more efficient and cost-effective solution. Imagine travelling across town in 5 minutes, or jumping between Edmonton and Calgary city centres in under an hour, both completely plausible scenarios as Dan sees it.
Othieno Chi Bey is a Canadian Olympic Sprinter, performance coach, and movement specialist. He is also an entrepreneur, artist, and a ton of other things. As he would say, he’s a doer of many things. This was in all honesty one of the most entertaining and hilarious conversations I’ve had on the podcast. Othieno has all-time charisma and he’s an incredible storyteller.
My guest this week is professional racecar driver, Stefan Rzadzinski. The 25 year old from Edmonton began driving go-karts competitively since 8 years old, and has since raced everything from a Nissan Micra to an F1 rocket ship on wheels. This week’s episode was a little different because we recorded live on Facebook, so the pace and energy may seem a touch more frenetic than usual. Make sure to follow Stefan on Facebook to see the full-length video.
This week I decided to get a history lesson on the film industry in Edmonton, so I went to the to top-authority in town, Josh Miller. Josh is the first ever CEO of the brand new Edmonton Screen Industries Office. The new organization is an updated version of the former Edmonton Film and TV Commission, and their mandate is to help lead Edmonton in becoming a national and international centre for media production excellence. Josh is a man with an extensive background in the film industry and he plans to utilize his wealth of experience and knowledge to enable the success of media producers in our City of Champions.
I’m thrilled about my guest this week. She is a 3x National Champion and two-time Olympian. She is the proud of owner of a Gold, Silver, and Bronze olympic medal. She is Canadian figure skater, Kaetlyn Osmond. I had the pleasure of chatting with Kaetlyn about her Olympic adventures in Korea, a devastating injury that almost ended her career, and how she and other figure skaters toe the line between performing and competing. I’m super grateful to Kaetlyn for making time for me today. She’s been doing the post-Olympic media circuit like crazy, and she heads off to Italy for Worlds in a couple of days. I could tell you what a kind and enjoyable human being she is...or you could just listen and hear for yourself...
My guest this week is a perfect example of the awesome people I get to meet all thanks to hosting The City of Champions. TJ Sadler is the founder of YEG Fitness Magazine and long-time veteran teacher in the public school system. He came across my show and started following me so I followed him back. We exchanged some messages about how cool we thought what the other person was doing and that was that. Several days ago I asked TJ if I could steal an hour of his time to record an episode and without hesitation he said yes. So I go from not knowing this guy 6 months ago, to sitting down and having one of my favourite conversations to date. TJ is a guy, like myself, who hopes to encourage people within the Edmonton community to go out and be a Champion at whatever it is that you do.
This week I’m thrilled to bring you my conversation with the organizer of The World’s Longest Hockey Game, Dr. Brent Saik. Every few year Brent brings together a group of 40 players who have, or have been closely impacted, by cancer, to participate in the 10 day long event. The guys get older, and the game gets longer, but since 2003 the group has raised over $3.4M for cancer research. Brent, having lost both his father and first wife to cancer, has made fundraising an integral part of his life and his efforts have saved an incredible amount of lives. This year the game brought in over $1.2M, bringing the total raised since its inception to $4.6M. Special shoutout to TSN’s Dustin Nielson for his first-place fundraising total of $66,035 this year.
My guest this week is former (hate using that word) Edmonton Eskimo, James Franklin. We were lucky to have James in the City of Champions for three years as he filled the backup quarterback role behind talented vet, Mike Reilly. This offseason James was traded to the Toronto Argonauts and resigned in The Six for two more years. It’s devastating to see a guy like James leave the city. He was a leader on the field, as well as in the community. His magnetic personality and undeniable charm will be missed but I wish him nothing but the best in his career and know big things are ahead for this wonderful human being.
Sahr Saffa is a driven young man accomplishing tremendous things in the Edmonton community. He is the founder of startups Nimbus Creative and Cappsule. An entrepreneur from the get, Sahr saw a unique culture of innovation and collaboration in premiere cities around North America and asked himself why Edmonton shouldn't be able to support an ecosystem like that. Out of that question was born C-Tribe Festival, an event focused on bringing innovation and enlightened thinking to underrepresented communities through art and culture. Sahr and I met for the first time today on the podcast so the format is loosey goosey, but entertaining and inspiring as always.
My guest this week is leadership expert, Lorne Rubis. Lorne is currently the Chief Evangelist of ATB FInancial...and don’t worry, he explains what that is in the episode. Lorne is also the author of The Character Triangle, a how-to manual on building character, having an impact, and inspiring others. Lorne is an incredibly likeable and charismatic guy. Meeting him was especially interesting for me because he taught my mom back in Junior High and it was amazing to get a glimpse back in time at her!
My guest this week is a very well known man around town in Edmonton. Jesse Lipscombe is an actor, producer, musician, entrepreneur, and former elite-level track athlete once on track for the Olympic Games. Most recently, Jesse’s become a household name for his “Make it Awkward” campaign: an anti-discrimination movement that took shape in response to a drive-by racial attack. The efforts of this campaign culminate this weekend, from Feb 1-3, at the Make it Awkward Summit in Edmonton. The MIA Summit 2018 will bring together global leaders championing inclusivity, diversity, and love in order to disrupt the status quo and create lasting societal change. The summit has an incredible lineup of speakers, musicians, and other performers. Do not miss this one. Get all the information at miasummit.com.
Dr. Bob Steadward was named one of the top 125 Albertan's in the last TWO CENTURIES...what else do you need to know to listen??? Ok, fine. He founded the Steadward Centre for Personal and Physical Achievement in 1978 and over the last 40 years has helped changed the lives of tens of thousands of those living with physical impairments. Dr. Steadward is also the founding president of the International Paralympic Committee, an organization that has worked in lock step with the IOC since 1988. Affectionately known as Dr. Bob, this man has made a tremendous positive impact on so many lives and it is quickly evident in our conversation why he is held in such high regard not only as a doctor, but as a human being.
This week I had a chance to speak with a woman who is playing a major part in making Edmonton beautiful. Or rather, exposing just how beautiful our northern gateway city can be. Brittney Punter is the driving force behind the social movement, Yeggers. Brittney founded the Instagram account, which now has 40,000 followers, because she was fed up with hearing how dreary and desolate a city Edmonton is. When she is not starting social movements, Brittney is an artist, photographer, teacher, and world traveller, among many other things. Make sure to check out the page, Yeggers, for breaktaking photos of our City of Champions.
Today I had the sincere pleasure of speaking with Sylvia Soo, a woman of many talents. On Sylvia’s resume you might find artist, actor, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, inspirational speaker, and world traveller...to name a few things. However, what you will not find on there, and what Sylvia has best been known for in the last 8 years, is two-time cancer survivor. This tough chick kicked cancer’s ass twice! And while the fights weren’t easy, Sylvia has grown tremendously and uses her experiences to help others, aiming to leave this world in a better place than she found it.
From the villages of Zimbabwe to the streets of Edmonton, Phillip Matombo has not had an easy path to where he stands today. At 18 years old, half a year left before graduating high school, 5-0 in his amateur boxing career, and with aspirations of joining the Canadian Olympic Boxing team, Phillip has a long and challenging road ahead of him. In this podcast he talks about enduring more turmoil at only 18 years old than most people face in their entire lives, and how he is using that to drive him forward as a champion.
My guest this week is long-time friend and Olympic Bobsleigh hopeful, Alysia Rissling. In five short years, Alysia has grown into one of the top ranked bobsledders in the world. The journey, of course, has not been without its challenges. Alysia describes the dedication and drive it takes to chase an Olympic dream and some of the unexpected twists and turns along the way. It’s been a pleasure watching Alysia pursue the pinnacle of athletic glory and we’re all eager to watch her slide to victory in Pyeongchang.
At 49 professional fights, Jelena finds herself in a precarious position poised to potentially lose her championship title due to a decision by the City of Edmonton to temporarily ban all professional comabtive sports. With the fate of her career resting in the hands of politicians, Jelena is in the midst of an ambitious new business venture that will bring Edmonton its first Boxing Fitness Studio. Backed into a corner, but never one to fold, Jelena forges forward with pure intensity in all that she does.
Podcasts collide! Today I was joined by two of Edmonton's most successful personal trainers, who also happen to run the city's favourite fitness-focused podcast, The Fitness Devil. Andrew and Dean got a chance to break free from their show's normal routine and they certainly relished the opportunity. In addition to providing their typically outstanding fitness advice, we get into some seriously spiritted rants debunking common fitness and nutrition myths. The boys were firing on all cylinders, and the censors took the night off, so this episode is definitely NSFW!
My guest this week is professional boxer, Adam Braidwood. Most of you will recall Adam from his fight in Edmonton this past June that sadly ended Tim Hague’s life. What you may not know is that Adam is a former Edmonton Eskimo first overall pick and does tremendous work with at-risk youth. He also spent two years in jail for various drug and violence charges, kicked a severe opioid addiction cold-turkey, and won the WBU heavyweight title while still living in a halfway-house. Adam is a man who has gone through hell and back on more than a few occasions and lived to tell the tale. His story is one of excruciating lows, but of even greater redemption.
Keltie O'Connor lives one of those lives where she accomplishes so much that it really makes you question whether you should be doing more in your life. To that question she would reply with an emphatic "YES!". Through her hours of video content on fitness, adventure, and fashion Keltie hopes to inform, entertain, and inspire. Her clear message, and it's one that fits perfectly in line with this podcast, is to not be afraid to try new things; and certainly don't be afraid to look foolish doing it. We may try and fail at many things on our journey but, at the end of the day, nobody judges us on what we can't do...it's what we can do that makes us who we are.
Fresh out of the corporate fitness training machine and ready to take on the world, best buds Jordan Pariseau and Tony Nguyen parter up with friend, Cole Robinson, to start their own company. They're experienced, energetic, and eager to crush it with their new business when Cole says the last thing anybody would expect, "what if we trained people for free?". Sounds great...but bills aren't paid with smiles and hugs, right? Wrong. Nearly three years later with several tweaks, countless doubters, and even more success stories, the team at F.R.E.E. Fitness is changing the fitness industry by providing an extreme value arbitrage and building a culture of overdelivering to their clients and friends every step of the way.
In more ancient parts of the world curling is often referred to as "the roaring game" for the sound the stones make while travelling over the surface of the ice. The roots of the sport run deep in history, and they run deep in Kalynn. A third generation curler, you might think she was destined to compete. But to say that would be to take away from the incredible dedication and overwhelming time commitment which has gotten Kalynn get to where she is today. Now, at 29, with several championships under her belt, she sets her sights on qualifying for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games in North Korea.
Once an Oiler, always an Oiler. It was an absolute delight to chat with former Oilers defenceman, Sean Brown. Known for his tough, hard-nosed style on the ice, his off-ice demeanour is anything but that, as his humility and graciousness take over. Sean walks us through the expanse of his hockey career. We talk about getting drafted, and subsequently traded by his favourite childhood team. He reminisces about being slightly star-struck attending training camp with his idols, and how he had a strange request of his teammates. Of course, we get to his life after pro-hockey and discuss shifting priorities and what becomes truly important.
Jamie is one of Canada's most accomplished figure skaters and she shares with us some incredible insight into the world of a professional athlete. What I found most interesting was the attention to detail in the psychogical aspect of her training that really helped her overcome adversity. We also get to relive the infamous 2002 Salt Lake City Gold Medal controversy from Jamie's perspective, and get a behind the scenes look at what else seemed to be working against her and David but would, ultimately, not hold them back.
I was lucky to catch Mitch in the middle of all the hype for his newly launched Kickstarter campaign and music video release. Mitch is brimming with charisma and it shines through in everthing he does from rapping to acting to just merely chatting someone up. His message: amazing things can be accomplished if we simply shift our perspective to one of positivity and love!
Jordan is the charismatic Entertainment Host and Traffic Specialist of CTV Morning Live. We flipped the script and put her at the end of questioning for a change. After an impromptu tangent on politics we talked about her daily adventures injecting fun into the mornings of Edmontonians and what strategies she uses to bring the stories to life. Her traffic advice: always wave when somebody lets you in...or else!
Michael Maxxis is an extraordinarily productive guy but I managed to pin him down for a few minutes on our way to grab lunch. Mike is a filmmaker, director, writer, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and far too many other titles to name. Most importanly, he is a born and bred, proud Edmontonian. Bear with the audio, past six and a half minutes it gets better!
Few companies transcend brand and encapsulate a lifestyle in the way that RVL Apparel does. RVL's founder, Steve Liang, went against the common convention of doing what he was "supposed to do" and instead chased what he actually "wanted to do". The result? A company locally grown, widely loved, and emblamatic of the pillars of success: "Work Hard. Stay Humble." I had the pleasure of sitting down with Steve and his business partners, Tony and Dustin, to catch up with them about where RVL came from and the places it's going.
I have been looking forward to this episode since the start of this podcast! Today I was joined by Fernie Brewing Company rep, #dadvice sage, and all-around solid guy, Sam Lofstrand. We were lucky to also have on friends of the show, Amer Ramic and Don Metz. Sam drops some serious beer knowledge bombs on us as we sample some of Fernie Brewing Co's latest and greatest brews.
The curious case of Kaylor Betts. When the once thriving TNP Fitness abruptly closed its doors this summer shortly after expanding into a new facility, more questions than answers remained. Gossip and speculation ran amok, and Kaylor's public reputation took a hit. But, did you ever stop to ask yourself what may have been going on behind the scenes that would cause a driven and dedicated business owner like Kaylor to do the unthinkable? Check your judgement at the door and hear from Kaylor on his reality, owning his mistakes, and not letting any setbacks keep him from ultimately forging forward.
Today I'm lucky to be joined by Frederick Pels, President and CEO of The Green Room, a chain of marijuana dispensaries across Canada. Fred has done more to push forward the legalization of marijuana than almost any other private citizen, advising the federal government and essentially writing Canadian cannabis legislation. Fred talks about the persisting stigma of the drug, despite the regular use he has witnessed firsthand by many prominent individuals in the community such as doctors, lawyers, and officers. Fred hopes that education and awareness can improve ahead of legalization so that the common misconceptions can be eliminated.
Michael can best be described as a Solo Adventure Specialist. On weekends he disappears into the Rocky Mountains for days at a time with nothing but his backpack, canine companion, and adventurous spirit. When he's not off the grid, Mike is helping others achieve their personal health and fitness goals through his company FitMD. Mike is a fantastic example of the monumentous feats we can acheive by dedicating ourselves to the neverending pursuit of personal growth and self-improvement.
Follow Mike's incredible adventures on his YouTube channel: MountainMike and on Instagram @michaeldietrich.
Bree is the definition of "float like a butterfuly, sting like a bee". She's gracious and kind, yet intensely athletic and competitive. Joga with Bree has allowed countless athletes to continue playing the sports they love by properly strengthening the body and rejuvenating the mind to improve performace and reduce risk of injury. Bree provides valuable insight into proper training, breathing awareness, and coaching as a female in typically male-dominated sports.
Keegan Lowe is a former Edmonton Oil King and Western Hockey League Champion, current prospect of the Edmonton Oilers, and he infamously beat up Vincent Lecavalier...twice...in his first NHL game. Catch him on the ice, and he's bound to leave you worse for wear. Catch him off the ice, and he'll win you over with his cheeky antics and laid back attitude.
Drew Stuve is an assassin in the ring and with a pair of scissors in the barbershop. This 21 year old is currently 3-0 in the amateur circuit and has aspirations of being a pro boxer.
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