Starting Over Strong: David Lewis on Career Pivots and Personal Renewal

Hi, everybody. This episode of Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy, I have with us Dave. Dave Lewis or David Lewis. Are you going by Dave? You know what? My friends and family, people I've known for a long time call me David. And so Dave's kind of my radio, tv, broadcasting, media name, so I'm fine with either. We're friends. We're family now, so you can go with David. That's right, I can go with David. I've been calling you David. So there you go. So I

know David from. From work. We both work at a local television station, KOLO. TV in Reno. We both got there the same time. And as I was thinking through the kind of the. What I like to do on this podcast is talk about life pivots and life changes a lot. That's part of it is. And. And also just living healthy and making decisions that are healthy, moving forward with health, wealth, wisdom, all those kind of things, but especially when life doesn't necessarily go as planned.

And right now, David and I, I found out, are both giving talks in August about that pivots and transitions. So I'm doing one on August 6th with the Creator's Conference Mini Monthly. It's a brand new thing in Reno for creatives. And I'm calling it the Painful Pivot to the Powerful Pivot.. I like that. That's great title. Thanks. Whoa. Well, we came up with that on the fly. I tell you what, I just sat down, met her for. For wine. We

didn't do coffee, we did wine. And all of a sudden we had a whole conference set up. And, you know, so the title was Wine Inspired. The title probably was Wine Inspired. Right. Probably shouldn't say that. Well, and then David is giving a talk at the National Automobil Museum. I don't you think the. The automobile museum here in Reno is national? What do you think? Do you think they just add that on for fun? Hey, I'm stuck in there. I'm not gonna let you.

It's such a cool place. I was looking at that. I'm like, is this the only. Is this the only automobile museum in. The US in the nation is what it is. I think it is very, very cool. No, I think it's super, super cool. And they do such a good job of doing events. So yours is called. Okay, you tell me the name you are. It's never too late to start over. You're enough. It's never too late to start over. Is that right? Yeah. Mine was not wine inspired. Well, shoot,

yeah. Maybe I could have done better, you know, with it. If you would have had a glass of wine, maybe they'll do that. I've. I know I've been to events there with wine, so you never know. You could, you could, you could let them know about that. So that's on August 12th. August 12th at 6? That's correct. Both at 6. So here we go. We'll see how we do. Are you nervous to give your speech? I saw how they described what that talk is going to be about. I said, man, I better be

good. They made it sound like, you know, it's must see, appointment, speechy speak. So I got to be there and I got to get bring my A game. So I got a lot of work to do. Yeah. Okay, well, I'm going to let you talk now. Tell us about. I want you to just kind of tell us about what got you to be a morning anchor in Reno, Nevada, and what led up to it. So you didn't start in. In news on television? No. You want to go from the beginning? Oh, go from the beginning. Yeah. . Okay. So I was a

top 40 disc jockey. My first job. And we're going back a little bit. I won't say the year, but Madonna's Like a VIrgin was a new album when that. And I was making $5 and 50 cents an hour to work in the middle of the night playing the hits and using that DJ voice, talking like this. I'm puking like a DJ would at that time. And so I followed that path, went to full time there in San Bernardino, California. Then that journey went from there to San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and the Bay Area

for a dozen years in top 40. And then the last station I was at switched formats, which was pretty common. And so when they do that, everybody gets fired. And you got to figure out what you're going to do with your life. So I looked for DJ jobs. There weren't any available in the Bay Area. And I thought about a dream I'd always had about being a sports announcer doing play by play and put together. Right. That's a massive pivot. You Know, maybe I changed the

title of mine. And in basketball you pivot as well, you know, with the ball. But that was a, that was a career pivot. And I put together a deal, broadcasting deal at Santa Clara. So I found the radio station, sold the time, sold myself, and was able to get myself on as a play by play announcer at the age of 32. I'd never done it before doing college basketball. So I went from playing rap music to doing March Madness in the span of seven months, which,

that's a big career move, pretty cool. And then simultaneously I got a job in radio in San Francisco doing news. And after a year of doing part time, I got named the full time evening sports anchor in KCBS in San Francisco. So that began around 21 years where I became a journalist at that point. And so, and this is still radio. It's still radio. It starts to evolve into television because KPIX, Channel 5 is the CBS

affiliate. So in 2010 I was named a part time sports anchor on the television station, making demos over a few months and they finally gave me a shot to do that. And then during that time I'd been doing some television play by play in sports. So I worked for Comcast doing the game of the week from Fresno to Chico. That evolved into college basketball at St. Mary's on television, I did arena football for the Saber Cats, San Jose

Sabercats. That eventually led me to Sacramento State doing football and television. And you know, that had been my path. Also an actor during that time, but I thought I was going to be doing play by play, that would be the thing I would do most. I was still doing radio up until 2022 and then my job got reduced to part time. I was doing news because Covid knocked out a lot of sports. So I got moved to news

and, and that was actually, that was a big change. There was a pivot that I never thought that I would like, but it helped me because I became a news person because there were no events during COVID So they found something for me to do. And I worked nationally for iHeartRadio, did sports in Boston, remotely, New York City, Washington.

And so I became a news person at that time until I decided I wasn't going to work part time because play by play and acting in movies, a lot of that was on weekends. And so I bet on myself I'm not doing that part time job. And it took a while, but I, I saw this job in Reno on Indeed.com Shout out to Indeed. And I was not looking to do full Time television at that point, especially doing full time news. But I just as a lark, just filled out the application. My best friend was here and

was just split up with my wife. So that'll be another thing we circle back to. And I needed to be very sure I was running to something rather than from something. And I really connected with the news director really well. Then I became really interested. I go, I think I might like this. And then I had a zoom call with the co anchor. I was watching her online. I really liked her, this

woman named Rebecca Kitchen. And I thought she was really good. And so he goes, I don't care if he says it's okay that I like you, but you guys have to like each other. It's not going to work. So we did a zoom call for 45 minutes hour. And I don't recall talking about the show all that much, but we talked a lot about life and getting to know each other and basically she disconnected that call and gave me a thumbs up. And then we negotiated over the course of another month or two and

it just felt right. Scary though, very scary. Which I know will be a part of this conversation. Yeah. Taking a big lump in my throat and then. Packing my car and then going for it. Yeah. Packing my car and starting a new life up here. So the people have been incredible. The audience is embraced. Our show, my staff has been so helpful. Not just the staff that works with our show, but people in our building and making friends in the community.

It's been a real blessing. So that's a year and a half ago I came. Yeah. And I think we arrived in Reno right about the same time. So it's as an, you know, and running to something and not away from something. That's. You've said that a couple times and we've talked and I think that's such a, probably a real important part of transition is sometimes when you have to make a transition, you really are running away from something or you're pushed out of something or you

don't have a choice. And instead of like just sitting there and feeling like this is terrifying and circling, spiraling down about how you don't have a choice. There is that, you know, there's that mental pivot, don't you think? Oh, no doubt about it. And that that was the, the determining factor before I said yes was making sure I was clear on that. Because, you know, if you're running from something, your, your demons eventually catch you, you know, your, your

fears or insecurities, the stuff you never dealt with. All that, you know, and it'll eventually grab you from behind. But I was pretty clear that this was the right thing, the right place, and I was running to something that was going to eventually be special. And it's taken a while. I mean, I came here, we were distant number two in the market. Now we're number one in mornings, which is, I think I can say freaking on your podcast, right? Freaking awesome. I didn't cross the line.

But. No, that's so great. And, and I've seen your segments, so they're so, you know, they're. Some of them are so fun, you know, and I love that you're bringing some really fun stuff into television because. And you, you're a creative, you know, in the acting, but also you've chosen careers that are pseudo creative. They kind of have that mix of business and creative, which is. I kind of have done that also. And it, I think it works because

Rebecca is a real journalist. You know, she grew up in the field, fourth generation Nevadan, and, you know, she wants to know about how the fire started and get a mug shot of the suspect and all that down and dirty journalism stuff. Your reporter, she's a reporter at heart. And I come in from more of a sports and entertainment, you know, background. So I like human interest stories. I want to find out what makes people different, but also what makes people just like us

that, that people can relate to. So the, the features I do are a lot of human interest things, and I think it gives our show a balance that, you know, gives some. Some nuance that's different. What's been some of the most fun interviews you've done since you've been here? Are you talking about the one I had the crush on the most or. Yeah, start with that one. I don't even know which one it is because there's like, I feel like. I don't even know why I volunteered that one, man.

I'll come back to that one. All right, so you're gonna come back to. That one I really liked was this gentleman, 70 years old, and he lives out in this Verdi area, Somerset, and he's riding from Canada to Mexico on a bike to over 2,000 miles for a friend of his that passed away from multiple sclerosis. And he's not a guy, a Tour de France guy. He's just a regular, you know, do like you and me riding a bike. So he trained, he hired a trainer

to learn how to do it. And so he's on this journey now. I sent him a couple of Texts. I go, how you doing? And I. He said, I fell. He fell from in Seattle. So he showed me, you know, pictures of his body all scraped up and wondering if he continue. Now. This was a couple days ago. I said, I need to find out if he's still doing it.

But I did tell him. I go, hey, whether you do it, whether you finish or not, I'm not about, like, only the guy that finished in first place, you know, to me, like, getting in the race for a lot of us, you know, like, this conversation on life is the victory. So, you know, if you get yourself to San Luis Obispo and you can't do it anymore, you got to come back to Reno. Your health. He's dizzy. He's not

sleeping well. I go, I'm gonna have you on the show no matter what. You're gonna sit next to me on that set to talk about this experience. So I love, you know, and why people do things, you know, what makes them similar to us, what makes them different. You know, I think that's, you know, the human condition. Something that drives me. Yeah, for sure. Oh, oh, comedian. I'll circle back to the crush, but the comedian.

The comedian Justin Ruppel, who was on America's Got Talent, and he shared his dream about headlining in Vegas. He's been doing this for now, like, 18, 19 years. But he talks about how vivid it is, like, what kind of car he's driving and what he's eating. This double, double animal style from in and out, and he's got a donut in one hand. He's driving down the strip, and he's Caesar. As me sees his name up, you know, on the marquee tonight, Justin Ruppel. And he. And

he's. So I'm picking up these life lessons on visualization, and. And so he's become a friend, you know, away from the show. Hey, we do. I want to do good tv, but, you know, I want to learn something that could gravitate and. And, you know, take into my own life. And we're sharing our own life lessons. He'd become a friend, you know, over the course of a couple TV visits. Yeah, that's. I mean, the power of visualization, I think, is something

I definitely don't use enough for. Sure. Yeah. Instead of just having this kind of goal. More money, more than that, but. But not the steps you have to take and what it feels like. And some of that Tony Robbins stuff, you know, to really visualize and see it, to make it true. So I got myself thinking about, hey, My own goals. What about, you know, what do I want to do? And really making it real in my

head. And I've heard that from a lot of different, I don't know, thought leaders about how the visualization, like, it's not just seeing it, it's feeling the emotions of it and kind of feeling what it's going to be like to do that. So I just wanted, I don't know, I gotta do that more. I'm putting a check in my check box right there to go do that more. Yeah, it was something. When I hear

he's like, oh my gosh, that's right. You know, a little mental note to self and we swap some text like, hey, let's, let's get on the phone and talk about life. I invited him to my talk that I'm doing next month. He goes, hey, if I can go, I'll fly up and go. So he lives in la, so it would mean a lot to have him there. Yeah, I'm coming.

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, that's going to be so exciting. You know, the night, the day I was talking to you and you said that you were, you're, you're making notes on your talk every night, you know, to kind of get it together. I was like, oh, I haven't even started that. And then that night I had a nightmare that I was just like on a TED Talk stage, just winging it. Oh yeah. Just back and forth, getting some talk from the, from the audience. I'm like,

so, yeah, I have to buckle down. I think that was. And I'm still a play by play announcer at heart and I think I'm good at it. But the fear of sucking and not being prepared is like, drives me. So I'll have like a million notes and 90, 80% of it I never use. But it's always there for me just in case. Just in case there's that dead time or a guy twist his ankle and I know, you know, that he was 13, all American, whatever, whatever it is to have that stuff ready to go. So for that talk,

I'm going to be prepared with video. I'm not going to go up there with notes, but I'm going to have this mind map worked out. You know, how I go from one thing to another. You know they're going to have video to play for me at certain points to keep it interesting. Yeah, I don't know if, heck, I'd bore myself talking for 40, 45 minutes without video. No or no. I know my family members, you know, I don't know how much they can take of me talking, you know? So anyway,

I'm gonna have it compelling. There'll be some music. I'm gonna dance in there too. I've been working nice. I'll tell just you and your audience. No one else knows to be. But between you and me. Okay. Is Saturday Night Fever John Travolta. He does. He takes the floor. Tony Monero takes the floor. You should be dancing with the Bee Gees. Okay, I'm gonna have that routine down. To the T. Nice. Yes, nice. That'll be how I come on stage. Well, that's impressive because you also

just had hip surgery. Yeah, that's a part of it. Like, hey, what can you do? It's never too late to learn that. Tony Monero. Three months after hip surgery. Yeah, three months after hip surgery. So, yeah, going back to kind of just. Well, let me ask you this first. Before we go back to some of all the transition stuff. TV or radio, what do you feel like are the differences in those two fields? Well, radio is much more

spontaneous. With the television show, there's so many moving pieces and there's elements of it where we can be spontaneous. But it all revolves around having a director know what we're doing, having the video coming up at the right time, producers that are wondering, you know, what's going to be next. So it's kind of structured, but not truly improv. Creating a basketball game, I don't know how it's going to end. I don't know how every play is going to happen. I don't know how any play is going

to happen. So it's purely. It's living in the moment all the time. And that is so invigorating. Doing radio scripts and news is the same as television, you know, Although I don't have to get up at 2 o' clock in the morning and put on makeup, you know? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I could. I could wear this and be good. And quite often I would wear worse than this. But. But it. The structure of it, news and television, I rely on more people on tv, I just need to turn on

the microphone and radio. And if I suck, it's because I suck. It's not because I can blame some intern or producer or a director that played the wrong thing. So it's all on you. And I like that. I like having that responsibility. I embrace it. And, you know, you. If it's good, it's because you were good. If it sucks, it's because you suck. And in TV it doesn't happen without everybody. So no, it's. Yeah, I mean, I've got a great co anchor

and I think the best weather person in the market. Lindsey's unbelievable. We've got three producers, one editor, a director, two reporters and a camera person. And if even one of those people come up short, everybody can see it on tv. And so we all got to be in, we all got to be locked in. We all got to be doing it. So I make sure before those producers leave every day, I thank them. I said, if you ever leave without me thinking you, you come back

and they do a U turn. Say, man, you didn't show me any gratitude today, dog. And because it's critical, it's critical. So I enjoy TV because I didn't think I was do. I could do it, especially later in life like this. And all the things that you, this negative self talk that we'll get into, you know, you're too old to do it. You're not good looking enough, you know, not experienced enough. All these things that we talk ourselves out of even trying and you know,

you know, just getting over it and believing. I had a news director that believed I can do it. I had people in San Francisco that believed I can do it without experience. Despite that little voice on your shoulder, just slap that thing around and knowing what it is and what it isn't, you know, and that's, you know, someone else's wounding is someone else's pain, is someone

else's bullying, whatever it is. And then once you're able to understand what it is and what it isn't, then you can hopefully make some choices that empower you and maybe empower others. Right. And I would in some ways, you know, I'm. I do the sales and commercial side. I've never talked about that on the podcast. And you know, KOLO gave me a chance too to get out here to live near my son. And this is where I wanted to live. And I combined that

whole on camera stuff with sales stuff. And I think at some point you just, you. Someone gives you a chance to. It's a new industry for me in a way. I've done sales and I've done media, but putting it together was a new thing. So that's. It's nice when someone just gives you a shot and there's good people there. In life, you know, here by the self made, this self made, that bottom line is like someone's got to say yes. You know, someone's

got to say yes to your idea, your business Idea. Your job application, your asking for a date, whatever. Someone's got to say yes. And, you know, without that, it doesn't happen. So I'm grateful for all the people along the way that that says yes, including that program director that saw something in me doing radio at $5 and 50 cents an hour, because without that, all the chain reaction of everything else doesn't happen. Then the next thing. And the

next thing. Yeah. Have you noticed a difference in fans from radio to tv? I imagine you get noticed more on tv, of course, because it's video. Oh, absolutely. I mean, in. In radio, you get noticed from making public appearances. So in the 90s, you know, I did a lot of high schools and nightclubs and car dealers and things like that. So those people recognize you, and then they're coming out to see you. So they haven't

recognized you. They only recognize your voice, and then they get to meet you in person. Yeah. You know, here, everywhere we go, you know, Rebecca and I will see somebody that, hey, aren't you, you know, give you a little side look, whether it's the gym or whatever. And it's, you know, you hope they like you, but. But you do get noticed because

it's. Because it's a visual medium. Yeah. And then sometimes, because I've witnessed this, when we went to that one concert with Amy, the Amy Grant concert that you had tickets to, and that you interviewed her, may or may not be your crush. I'm just gonna say, I'll come back. Not gonna admit anything, but, you know, there was a lady who stopped you and said, you know, this is the best show, and I watch you all the time, and you're the best in the market, and I love you the

most. I'm. I'm paraphrasing, obviously, but, yeah, she was. That's a quote. She was a fan. That's not an exact quote. No, I think that was an exact quote. That's actually an exact quote. An exact quote is what that is. But the community here is just great. I mean, the. For sure. A couple months into our show, I discovered the very first show, which was January 14th of 2024. And I was completely new to this, and I remember watching, oh, my God, I suck. And so I. I went to our news director

and I said, hey, thank you for sticking. It's now six months into it, I go, hey, I want to thank you, because I saw that first show, and I wasn't very good. And he. He says, hey, dude, it's just about putting in the reps. You know, I. I've seen what you can do and other medium is just, you know, learning the skills of this thing and the repetitions, just like learning how to play guitar or, you know, any skill. Surfing, golf, you know, it's just practicing and

getting better with the reps. So I used to be a snob thinking about, hey, you can either do it or you can't do it. You know, whether it's actor or tv, you're, you're talented or you're not talented, but it is about putting in the reps. And so, you know, now we got a year and a half of

reps under our belts together. You know, we're still learning, we're still a work in progress with, you know, when someone takes over this, this part of the show or, you know, making eye contact in certain moments when we're off camera, which no one can see, you know, it's, it's a work in progress constantly. And we're always trying to get better. Yeah, yeah, well, and doing a great job. But there is something I think about. You know, life

teaches you how to, how to stay in humility, right? Oh, gosh, yeah. No, life keeps you humble. Yeah. When you think you got it, got it going on, you know, something will hit you when you least expect it. So I thought, I thought before I came up here, I had it made because I had done three films that had won awards. One of them I co wrote San Francisco Film Festival and multiple play by play gigs and volunteering and just feeling like, hey, I'm

a good person. And then as October of 2018, and I remember the exact day, but it was in that month. And I, I told my wife, hey, I, I don't know where all this is coming because it's so many different directions, but they were all good. Everything was good. And I said, I think I'm becoming the man I want to be. Yeah, it's gonna do great. This would be a great story to tell on Mary Meyer's podcast someday. And then a month later, she said she wanted a divorce. So,

you know, oh, goodness, that. And I thought, man, I thought I'd describe someone that was pretty cool right there. But, you know, the bottom line is there's never a breakup that's 100 0. It doesn't have to be 50 50, but it doesn't have to be 100 0. And you know, bottom line, all that cool stuff I was doing by myself, so I wasn't tuned into the relationship that should have mattered the most. You know, I'm an empty nesting parent. At that point. So I'm doing stuff that just gets me off, and I

love doing. I'm trying to get good at everything. But as parents that pour all their energy into their kids, you know, you. When they're gone, you either have an opportunity to get, you know, a lot closer, the kids are gone, or you splinter. And, you know, that's the direction we, you know, headed. And you always have to accept those consequences for those things. So I thought I was doing some great stuff, but I was doing it on my own.

That's tough. Well, let's dive into the tough stuff, because you opened the door to that. So. And I have also divorced. My divorce was longer ago, so I lose track. I think maybe nine years ago, but, you know, there's nothing after. I think we were together over. Well, we were together over two decades, maybe 23, 24 years. So I know you were married for. Shoot, Mary. Our divorce was final four days shy of our 30th anniversary. Yeah. So that's painful.

That's painful. Like, you couldn't get to the 30. There's no way. Hey, you're close to the third. No, sorry. Not that it had been awesome at 30, you know, but it just sucks more that it didn't get to 30. Yeah. And it's an interesting thing. I don't even know what there. What kind of words there is to put into that, that you made it for decades. And then, you know, then you're like, this is not. Our experiences, I think, were way different.

But. Yeah, but. So, like, just let's focus, like, because we don't want to get too negative about talking about the ins and outs of a divorce. It's not negative. It's not. I mean, she's someone, like, I'll tell her I told the story because it's all good. But we talk about four times a week, you know, we. She's become a better friend, you know, now you kind of see things a little bit differently. But, you know, she's someone that. When I had my hip surgery,

the first call I had was from her. You know, that's good. I have some success on the show. First call, I guess, from her. Oh, good. So, you know, she's a great friend and a huge advocate. I saw her this last weekend at a party down in Southern California, hanging out. So some people kind of roll their eyes, like, what are you doing? But we spent all those years together, and we're grandparents, so let's make it

a good thing. Yeah. So what are the. Some of the things that you did to kind of get through divorce that you feel like are healthy. Like, we probably do some things that maybe aren't healthy, too, which is part of the deal, but. Well, the. The health part of it is huge. And I got into exercise when I was 19 years old. Kind of an escape. I mean, you transform your body and you feel good and all those things, and you try to look good on a tank top, but I. I just felt good doing it. So I just. You

know, when my. When I'm bummed out or when I get stressed before my kids say, hey, why don't you just go to the gym, dad? Get out of here. So I really worked on my health, you know, just kind of losing myself in it. We have some addiction history in our family, and if you're going to be addicted to something, working out, it's pretty good. So better than other choices. Heck, yeah. So I can see people visualizing that. God, you look incredible. Your life must be falling apart. It must be a mess.

Yeah, get nice, good abs there. You want to do some therapy, but that's been a healthy thing. And then I think for anybody that might be sad is if you can give to something else. You know, it's hard to feel bad and have that pity party if you're creating value for other people. So, you know, I worked with Parkinson's disease patients, special needs adults, and, you know, making a difference in someone's life, that's a great therapeutic tool for anyone that's

dealing with some kind of sadness or changes. Hey, what can I give to you? You know, homeless ministry I worked with, and I just thought, hey, you know, it's not all about. I mean, my life is all about me. But if I can create some value to someone else, you feel good about it, and I'd recommend that. Yeah, maybe that, you know, they're working out. Not everyone's going to be into. I mean, I think it's a good thing, but I think anybody can give to someone else, you know,

create value for someone else. Yeah, well. And hope everyone should be able to exercise at some point. Oh, I know. But as far as, like, being maniacal about it, you know. Yeah, that's a little bit maniacal working out, but movement, I don't. Yeah, it gets the endorphins moving. So movements, the medicine, you know, that's. Yeah, like, that's. That's good advice. You. You move and you give back so you're not thinking about yourself. That seems really solid.

There was some. Some Tony Robbins thing I remember years and years ago, and he said that your physiology helps determine how you feel. You know, so if you looked up on the sky, you looked up at the ceiling, you had this big, sh. Type grin. I don't know if I can say the word on your podcast, but you're. But you're eating it. And if you smile while you're doing it, you know, it's impossible to feel bad. I challenge you to feel

lousy or sad by looking up and smiling at the ceiling. So it shows that, you know, controlling how you move your body, like, impacts, you know, how you feel about things. So imagine being able to switch that instantly by. Yeah. How you move, how you. How you smile, what your posture is like. That's a pretty good tip. Yeah, Posture is huge. You know,

I. You know, it's interesting. I was so depressed one Sunday, and I. There was not a real reason why, and I went and I put my hands in the dirt of my son's house to pull some weeds. And like that, I felt better. But there's supposed to be a thing about that ridiculous hands in dirt that's ridiculous. Like. Like that. Hands in dirt. No, it's true. Listen, listen, listen, listen.

There is something to it. I don't know, but just connecting, I think. Connecting. I mean, sunshine, movement, connecting to the ground, connecting to other humans, skipping all these things. It seems like at a. Endorphin releases, it's a. It's a feeling of accomplishment to get rid of weeds. I like that. No, it's. It. There's science in it. It's just science. We've not heard very often, but I listen to all that geeky stuff, so I listen to

geekier stuff and. And look at videos of planting a garden because I don't do it. So I'm. There's that. The hands in the dirt, you know, could have been a mic drop to end the show, but I'm not going to let it. I'm not going to let it end that way. Not gonna let it. No. You're not gonna let that end the show. No. That's just an aside I have. You know, it's my. It's the quirky side, you can call it, but one day you're gonna see something come across the newsfeed about

how just having your hands in dirt is. I'll bring a little bit on the set. You know, if I'm stressed out between the A block and the B, I can just put my hands in the side. Yeah, yeah, I have some. Have some next to me. Yeah, that was Not. That was not an aside that was supposed to be in this podcast at all. This is just free now. I'm not charging extra to anyone for that little tidbit. That's a joke. Okay, back to you. That took us so far off. Okay, we're gonna go back to the things that help.

So you. Okay. So going back to Dave. David did a major transition, life transition from moving to California to Reno, Nevada, from doing a lot of things that were, you know, not news to doing full time news on camera, finalizing a divorce and having a hip surgery. That's all happened in the last year. That's a lot of stuff, David. Yes, a lot of stuff. It is. It is a lot of stuff. So that's kind of still standing. You're still standing. What was it like? What about the part of moving

to a different city in a different state? Like what. What kept you sane in that part of it or was what was hard in it? Either one. Well, I never left California for anything, you know, professionally. I visited other states, but I never worked or lived anywhere else. So that part was unsettling. The no state taxes is settling, but picking up your life. You know, I, I drove a pier by myself and was crying for four hours. So I didn't, you know, make that move, you know, with full of

energy and saying, yeah, I'm doing this. It was, it was unnerving, you know, until I took the mic, you know, that first day and everyone else made me feel good about it. It's. Yeah, yeah, it's. Change is scary, especially when you've had this comfort zone. I lived in my same house for 23 years, transformed it, remodeled it, it became my place, that I made it perfect. And to spend the last few years making it perfect and having to leave it was

as hard as anything. Yeah. You know, then the year before that, lost two dogs in the span of six weeks. So that was traumatic. But, you know, you just, you know, faith is a part of it. You know, I'm. I never attended church until my late 20s and I'm certainly flawed, but it's a part of the whole thing to know that if I go someplace and I'm alone, I know I'm not. And that's, you know, a big part of this whole thing.

Yeah, that's beautiful. Well, and I appreciate about you that you're very, you're not positive because you're just ignore the emotions of the, the hard stuff, you know, you're willing to kind of feel it. I feel, you know, you feel it and Then you move through it is what I see you doing. I've kind of watched here and there in the last year and a half. And then also you had a grandson born a big year and a half, hasn't it? Yeah, well, the. The

whole. The whole being enough, being good enough, that kind of came full circle, full circle with my grandson because my son called me in February of 24 saying that he was going to have a boy. And they had the name. He said, are you ready? I go, yeah, this is David Archer. What do you think? I told him I. I couldn't tell him what I thought because his parents would just. There's no manual for it. So you do the best you can. You make errors. You know, sometimes the

punishment's too strict or not enough or you didn't communicate this. You're not a good role model in this area. And in that moment, I knew I'd been enough. And so all these games you play with yourself over the years, hey, if I do this, you know I'm going to feel good. If I make more money, I'll do this. Or if I have this kind of a car or this type of relationship. But, you know, it all does come from within. So when he. When he told me that, it

meant everything. And I played that on television with Rebecca. We played that part where he told me that and I told the story. I'm crying there on the chair because it's. It's one of the best days of my life. There's something I. Cause I, you know, I moved to Reno. You know this because I have a grandchild. I've not said that on the back podcast either. But there's something that's. It's like becoming a parent for the first time.

You know, getting married, leaving the house, going to college, getting married, having your first child, and then, you know, having the grandchild is like, I don't know, the earth gets shinier, don't you think? Oh, gosh, my day could be horrible. And then we FaceTime every week. And when I just see the smile, I mean, there's. There's nothing at the station that could ruin my day. There's no debt that I have to pay or anything else. Nothing matters. I go to bed with my heart full

after interacting. So his birthday is August 1st, so I'm going back to Tennessee in a couple weeks, and I can't wait. It's going to be awesome. You have to pry that guy out of my hands, because it's. It's the best. Yeah, there is something so beautiful about that and settling, you know, with a lot of life transition. But, you know, I think in some ways it's like life. Life hands a lot of

transition, and it's. Even if everything goes kind of the way you want it to and you hope it will, you're still going to deal with a lot of transition. And it can catch us off guard and then send us spiraling, I think, and into a lot of negative, you know, you know, negative. Not just negative talk, but negative thought patterns that are hard to. To shake. And, and then if there's any traumatic. If it, if it's traumatic in any ways, then

it can get locked in even worse. So that's part of the reason I like to talk about these things because, you know, I would like people to know they're not alone. They're not the only one that's dealt with that. And I think you, you are an inspiring voice in terms of you feel it, you're not like, not feeling it, but you're rolling with it and in a good direction. Yeah. I don't think you can put a, a timetable like, hey, I'm going to do this by like, you just know when it's right. I mean,

you can want to make these changes. I mean, I kind of referring to like, the personal stuff like dating and things like that. Like, I don't have a personal go. I want to have a, you know, great girlfriend by this time. This time. Because then you, then you make choices that are bogus. Like you just do something just to do something, and it

happens when it's meant to happen. You have to be ready for it. You have to prepare yourself, make yourself better and, you know, have your, your personal boxes all checked off, but just trying to, you know, do something because you. And you might not be ready for it or you make the wrong choice. You know, I think that's a recipe for disaster. Yeah, that's. That seems like. That seems good, like, good advice. Yeah, no, I've had some experiences.

You know, we don't have enough time on the podcast, but things like that. It's just when it's. When it's. When it's right, it's right, you know, and it's not. It's not. Yeah. Well, I can understand that. So let me ask you this. So you both with. I know yours kind of overlap the divorce and moving to a new city, and sometimes those things do overlap and come together, like where there's just a lot of transition at once. But what did you, what did you do just to kind of find

community in either. In either way, post divorce or then moving. Like, how has that been? Like, what action steps? You think things were helpful? Well, I mean, some of the stuff we already touched on to do something, you know, for other people. So I have some I, I see on a regular basis here that I can help with exercise and chores and, and things like that. It's just good to feel like you're bringing some value to the world. And we all need a circle of people that you can trust, that are

not judgmental, that you can lean on. So some of my best friends are my actor friends because we. I've been told this too. Like, the more you practice acting these roles, you have more empathy for other people. Because we're not supposed to judge our characters. We're supposed to rationalize and accept what they are, not say, that's a bad person or this isn't it. We, Everyone does stuff because they think it's right. And so the more you do that, you can deal with people differently

and have empathy. So, like, like a lot of my best friends are actors, you know, they, they, whether they've experienced exactly what I have or not, you know, they. They can imagine or tap into it and be empathetic and be that shoulder to cry on, which I've had, or just someone to chat with. Yeah, that's very true. Because acting, you. You really have to go inward to find. Find that place where it's authentic to you. Otherwise, you can see it

on, in your eyes that it's not authentic. So that's really good. See, that's a good little actor tip too. For everybody who's wanting to do acting or just wants to do life better. Do not judge the character. Do not judge the character or the characters in your life. Yeah. And then everyone, also, everyone's thoughts on the world, it's right to them, you know, So I don't have a right to tell someone, hey, it's, you know, BS that you feel this way or, you know, get over it.

Everyone's experience is authentic to them. So I learned that from a therapist, a friend of mine. So if you can do that, you know, when they talk to you, hey, it makes sense that you feel this way. It makes sense that this causes you to react in this way, because it does to them. And, and so maybe you want to reframe it and be able to channel that in a different direction, but everyone's feelings are appropriate to them. Yeah, that's true.

True that. So I never tell someone that they're stupid for feeling that, because it's not, you know, does that mean, like, my way is the only way that world should be viewed and it's not. So if you can take yourself away from that and you can be much more accepting, you know, we should just. Throw those into, you know, political arguments on Facebook, see how it works. I stay away from that. I've had too many family arguments with anything referring to politics on Facebook. I know,

that's why it's a joke. But it's, I agree. It's, it's, it's really hard, I think, especially with the world where we keep hearing what we agree with. That's how algorithms work. And so then we become more and more convinced of what we know. So I had that talk with my last guest about that and about schemas. We develop these mindsets, right? Our schemas about what's good, what's bad, based on just, you know, our experience in life. And those can be based on things that are not accurate,

biased, not fully developed. They're kind of knee jerk reaction stuff. So becoming aware of them, which I think is what you're talking about, just, just kind of becoming aware of what our own thoughts are and then having some empathy for other people in different situations. Hey, I mean, I've had to play a serial killer, so I don't know about you. That's very believable. That is very believable. It's totally my archetype. So, I mean, if you didn't have. To dig deep for that one.

That one was right at the surface. So that one was super easy. But, you know, I had actually had. This is an incredible experience. I had someone, the lady at the returns at the Amazon counter at Whole Foods, she's like, I know you. I'm like, I don't think you do. She's like, I've seen you in something. I'm like, I kind of doubt it. But, you know, because I've done shows, but I've not, I've not done that many shows. But then she, she, she treated, she was treating me

like I was an A lister. But she watches the ID channel and I have a lot of shows on the ID channel. Okay. I think that is the first time that I have someone that I didn't know is like, she lost her mind. She didn't take a picture with me. I mean, she's. Yeah, that was an experience, but that's what made me think of it. That had to feel good. Snapped was my, you know, serial

killer moment. Good times. Do you think, do you think acting has affected your television and radio or is radio and television affected your acting? Do you think those are, do they think, how do they pair together? I think all those experiences, that's where my news director kind of saw this coming from. Was that the, the radio helped with the spontaneity, the sports help with spontaneity to be in the moment. Being on camera helped with being on camera.

Yeah, the acting helped me be more comfortable. I don't think we're acting on TV doing the news because we're just doing the news and we're, we're just delivering it. You know, stuff that's sad or disturbing, you know, sometimes it's hard to mask that. So I can't be just like a straight faced robot, you know, all the time. But I think it just helps being more

authentic. You know, I'm too old to give many blanks anymore, so I just want to go and do it so I don't get too rattled by mistakes or, or things that happen on the show. Live TV is going to catch it all. So, yeah, like I said, you know, someone that's newer and they're going to be more nervous or uptight and I just, you know, stuff happens and you just, you just roll with it. So I think, you know, I've been in broadcasting for 40 years, so,

man. You must be old. That's jokes. It's jokes. It's jokes. Like I said, Madonna, you know, like a version was a new album, you know. Oh, gosh. And so I think it does help with the, the learning curve of, of this, you know, I, I don't need to do it for 10 years before I get good at it because I've done broadcasting for 40 years. There's things that apply some skill sets that you'll make that curve a little bit, you know, steeper. And if they thought it would take me 10 years to get good at it,

they wouldn't have hired me. So. Yeah, yeah. So I do think some of the things translate in life. So, you know, like I said, the play by play, the, the DJing, all of it comes together, you know, for where we're at today. Yeah, definitely a very inspirational talk in there for sure. Transitioning in a career and in life 38 years into your career is not for the faint of heart. No, you, you are definitely just hit it out of the ballpark in my opinion. Bless your heart. Yeah, bless

my heart. No, no, I appreciate the nice words. And you mentioned 38 years. And, and I'll use the word crush loosely because she might watch this, but Debbie Gibson is my favorite interview I've ever done. And I interviewed artists as a dj, so, you know, going back to talking to Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul and the artists of that era, Michael Bolton, I was in a bar with Tupac Shakur and interviewed Biggie Smalls. That was all awesome. And. But. And I played. And I played Debbie Gibson as a dj.

So when she came to town a month or so ago, we did a zoom call. And I'm just going to do four or five minutes of TV, but we're talking for 20 minutes. I'm going to take the best part out of that and put it on there. And I mentioned that at the beginning of the conversation. I go, this is extra cool for me because, you know, I want to do good TV and I want to promote your show, but I played your stuff when you were a kid. This is awesome. And so. And I knew everything about her life.

I knew that she. I had overcome Lyme disease. I knew her mother passing. I knew she had some financial challenges. But anyway, over this conversation, we became friends because it wasn't an interview. We were just talking, and there was commonalities. We had some old school radio, and I knew about her life, and she was asking me about my thing, and it's never too late for her because she's 54 years old, coming back to sing, and there's just these life parallels. So when

the interview ended, I said, hey, I'm gonna go to your show. And, you know, hopefully I can, you know, see in person, because we're zooming like this. She goes, well, you. You are. I go, what do you mean? She goes, I'm gonna give you the number of my manager. You tell him I told you to call, okay? So I sent him a text and say, hey, you know, Debbie said, you know, I could go backstage. And he says, yeah, you know, she told me. So on the night of the show, he couldn't make it, but

he put me in touch with somebody else. And then he says, hey, I'm going to call you in a little bit. So I'm sitting in the show and opening Axon, and I get a call from this number I don't recognize, a little town in Missouri. And. But this might be something, you know, it's not. Doesn't look like spam to me. So I pick it up and. Hello. This Dave? Yeah, yeah, this is Derek, Debbie's assistant. Where are you sitting? Well, I'm in the fourth row. I got black Shorts, red T

shirt, okay, I'm coming to get you. And this wasn't the meet and greet. The meet and greets after the show with all the other VIP lanyard people. Oh, my God, he's coming to get me. So he whisked me back there. And she comes knock on the trailer. She comes out to see me. We had like, we had such a great talk. We hug. She brings her dog out. I knew she was a dog mom. I go, hey, like you even more because I know you're a dog mom. So. And then she went on to

put this tour de force performance on afterwards. So I just see all these life parallels and she's a nice person and was willing to share her life. It wasn't I ask, you answer, I ask. And I've got this list of questions because those interviews suck, but if you can have a conversation with somebody. So it was totally real. You know, like I said, we come from the same generation. We've had some, some similar experiences. And so I use the word crush, but I just think she's a good

person. And yeah, like I said, I saw root for people like that that I like. Super talented, but I can tell there's a great soul there. And you gravitate to people like that. Yeah. And don't you just. You like the ones, the famous people to be pseudo famous, Totally famous. You want them all to be good people. Oh, yeah. It's so much more fun when you know they're good people. Oh, she's the best. Hey, and I want maybe your audience. Maybe she sees

your podcast. Debbie, I'm inviting you to my speech, August 12, National Auto Museum in Reno. I'll get you backstage to my show. Perfect. Well, I'm going to be there, so maybe she's going to be there too. There's a bunch of people from town are going to be there. You bet. It's get the whole station out. I'm excited about it because I am too. When I. When I met with the director of the auto museum a few months ago, we were just talking life

and I knew some of the people that had spoken before. And he says, you got a great story. I said, well, you know, someday I'll tell it here. And then over the last few months, we were talking more about it and then, okay, let's lock in the date. So now I'm committed. I can't back out. It's on the website. People are buying tickets and the way they sold, I go, I gotta be good. I better be good. So there's a lot of work to do, but it's going to be a journey on not

just career, but on life. And that voice, that voice that takes away our power, you know, you're not smart enough, you're not good enough, you're too tall, too short, too fat, all those things. A voice that, you know, every now and then I still hear, but just knowing what it is and what it isn't and, and then some people need to feel good about where they are. They don't need to worry about like we're talking about these changes and pivots and all that, which is awesome. You know, people need

to do that. But some people need to feel good about who they are. You know, like they, they, they're, they're already a great mom, they're already great husband and a great parent, they're already good in their careers. And they don't need to feel like they're comparing themselves to them person next door. If I only had

a car like that, if I only could drop 10 more pounds. Hey, I want people to love themselves, so I want to hit that sweet spot for everybody, whether they need to feel good about where they are and if we want to make some changes. And that way everybody wins that day. Yeah, that's beautiful. Being in the moment. Well, being in the moment is part of healing too, in my, in my opinion. I think, you know, like, I loved going on walks and I was going through the worst of it in the, in the woods.

Because you're lost in the moment, you know. Yeah. And be happy in the moment. I, I'll think about when you, what you just said there. Being happy in the moment, putting on makeup at 2:00 in the morning. I'm saying I'm in the moment, man. And Mary would be proud right now. Now you're full of it. I am. I've never thought that. I've never thought that at 2 o' clock in the morning. I remember when you first told me that you're getting up at

2 o' clock in the morning. And I'm like, I'm just. I was, it was peculiar to me in some ways because I'm like, well, he must have been doing this forever. Like, why are they talking about this? But like, that's, no, this is. That maybe that's the hardest part of this transition is getting up at 2 in the morning. It does sound horrible. Oh, no. I don't care who hears this. That part sucks because it's, it impacts your social life, you know, because you go to bed at 8 o' clock to pull it

off. So I can't stay up at all. And even on the weekend I'm tired because my body's conditioned. And before I took the job, I wanted to see if I could do it. Like, yeah, yeah, I can come Reno and be on TV and we'll be number one. But like, can you get up at 2 o'? Clock? So I did get up at 2, you know, in the Bay Area to see if I could. All right. And so after I did it for a week, I go, okay, I can do this. Now long term, that would be like the one thing.

Like, hey, we're successful, we do a good show. But can I physically do this for years and years and years? And that would be the one thing that I weigh. Long term, not today. Right now I'm living in the moment, putting on the makeup at 2. But later on it'd be the physical toll. And you know, can I get myself to feel physically good at 2 in the morning? You know, without that cup of coffee and the nap, the mandatory 90 minute nap every day? Yeah, that's huge. I don't even know

like that. That sounds really, really rough. I'm not gonna lie. It's. But I'd rather do that than I would not want to be on the 11 o' clock news. That. Because then you're up to working till mid. So you never go out at night ever. So you never have dinner with anybody ever, except on the weekend. And, and then you're always up till 1 o' clock in the morning from work. So it's not like you're out having fun and walk like you're, you've been on a computer and you've been doing TV then. So I, I'd

rather do the morning if I can get my body right. I could stay up a little bit. I can live a little bit. I can. I go to Taco Tuesdays, you know, go out and do that. Yeah, I'm gonna go to an Aces game next week, stay for a couple innings because I get to throw out the first pitch on Tuesday. So I'll stay up till 9:00. Clock on Tuesday, the 22nd. Okay, well. So, but anyway, I'd rather do this the early morning than working late at night because that would be brutal. Last

question. Are you doing any acting still here in Reno? Not in Reno. My. I don't know if I can because like the station controls like what I can do. It's never come up in a conversation. So I can't do Like a local commercial.

And I think there's probably a credibility component too. You know, if I'm some smart alec waiter, you know, throwing water at somebody and I'm on the news, you know, I think there's kind of this weird visual of that I can do sports in the market, on the radio, but I can't do TV because it's. There's definitely a conflict there. So my acting's in the Bay Area. I've got an agent in the city, so I audition for stuff there. Audition for a commercial. I had one I auditioned for. I thought I had a

shot to get at the All Star break for the NBA. Didn't get it. But, you know, it's. It's a numbers thing. And as an actor, we're supposed to be conditioned to say having a good audition is the job. You know, if you can feel good about that, booking the gig is just gravy. But it's doing good work in your audition. So I want to carve out time to do more classes and that'll be the next thing I do because there's a couple of great coaches I have in LA that are top notch. So you

got to keep working the craft. The reps I get on TV I think are helpful in a different way. It does make me a better actor because I'm just. I'm working on camera every single day. Every single day. So I think there is some crossover. But. But all my acting is in the Bay Area. I think comfort in front of the camera is pretty huge because that's the thing I think that throws a lot

of actors right away is just, you know, or people in general. You know, if I have a business owner come in and do a commercial or an interview and I put them in front of the camera, it's. The camera itself is intimidating. Yeah. And you lose some personality. So. And like, that would be helpful. And then the one thing I know you had to wrap it up in a second. You have a. Do you have a time limit? Like you have to throw me off by a certain time? No, I was just going to throw you

off just because. I'm kidding, just jokes. No, one thing. We're in about an hour. I try to keep it in about an hour, but. But this is so compelling. We're going over. Yeah, it is. No, one thing, besides the being comfortable on camera is like being able to listen. And that's why I want to do it not just on tv but in life. Because people I know people can relate to this is, you know, you're hearing me, but are you listening? So I'm waiting for Mary to

be done talking so I can say what I'm going to say. So but if you're a great communicator, which is what I aspire, that's what Lindsey Matherly Lee is the best she hears, and she's responding authentically. She's not waiting for me to be done talking so she can say her thing. She hears me and she responds to that. And she's asking, like, did I do anything exciting over the weekend? And then I'll tell her, and then I'll say, what about you? It's not just, how are you? Fine.

Like, we're talking. And if I can get that in my personal life, like, master that, then you really have something. And if I get up, master that on tv, which is harder to do because that is set up to have you talk. I talk. You talk. I talk. Is your turn to talk. And if you get yourself to where we're hearing and listening, oh, that's where the magic happens. And when Reverend Rebecca and I are really good, that's what we're doing. Like, we're hearing each other and

listening. And so that's why I aspire to every day, not just on the show, but in life. Yeah. Listening is the key, isn't it? I think it's if you want to be better in business, listen better in relationship lessons, listen better in acting, listen better in friendships, listen. That is a key to. To a whole lot of stuff. What'd you say? Like what? I don't know what you said. I was waiting for you to finish talking so I could talk. I don't know what you just said, even. No, but you're right.

And that's a lesson from actors, too, is like, not waiting for you to finish your line so I can say my line. I'm hearing you and responding authentically. Yeah. Yeah. It's such a good thing. And the improv piece of it, too. I'm sure that all the. All the play by play. And that must translate a little bit to improving, don't you think? In scenes? I'd hope so. No, I believe it to be true. Yeah. One day we're gonna do a scene, David. Oh, yes, yes. And now

a couple. The way that the business is set up, agents embrace that stuff. You know, doing your own things instead of sitting around waiting to, you know, get this audition every. You can make your own stuff. Man, the iPhones are so good. That looks so good. You can lava their mic or just have the Camera phone, pick it up and create your own stuff and then show it off to people. Yeah, for sure. It's a little bit what I'm doing right now. Only

this is a podcast and not comedy. But, you know, I did some. I did some comedy stuff way back in the day when I first kind of started with a friend who is an actor. So whenever we'd help each other with auditions, we do something super fun. And when I moved from Nashville to Atlanta, then that stopped. But he is doing so well. Like, his career has taken off like crazy. But

I have to say, he. He messaged me his. And shot me his new reel the other day, and I'm like, man, I miss those silly little videos all the time. Yeah, yeah. He had a scene with Robert De Niro. So, like, he's like, he's. He's. I mean, his. His reel is very. Yeah. Win record. I'm gonna give him a shout out. Go check it out. Okay. But, yeah. Well, David, thank you for your time. I'm so excited to hear your speech. David Lewis giving keynote speech.

Speeches, Speeches. It's easy for you to say. It's a great opportunity. I'm really excited about it. So for the folks in Reno, hope to put on a good show for you. Yeah. All right. All right, well, more to come tomorrow at 5am news and getting up at. 2 and putting on makeup. So besides catching you on KOLO tv, because you can. You can go to the website and catch them on the news. If you're not in Reno, you can go to the app, the KOLO News app, and catch them.

And also, what. Any other socials you have at Dave Lewis on TV down there? Yeah, I mean, I put some other stuff, like, you know, some highlight, you know, show highlights. But right now I'm putting more of our stuff on the Good Morning Reno page. Being selfless, I'm more concerned about, you know, building our show. So we have a Facebook page. Good morning, Reno. Instagram, Good morning, Reno. And then,

you know, Dave Lewis on the air, I think it's. Yeah. On the air and on tv, I think it's Dave Lewis on TV for one of them. And then I also have that on Facebook as well. Awesome. All right, well, thanks, Dave. I appreciate your time, Mary. I enjoyed the visit. You crushed this. Oh, crushed it. Thanks. All right, you have a good night, and I will see you tomorrow. I'll see you at the office, baby.