On this episode I chatted with Commissioner Carrie about her journey as a mental health professional and where she sees the state of Oklahoma's mental health in current times. Carrie Slatton-Hodges is the Commissioner for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Prior to her current role, Carrie served 12 years as the Deputy Commissioner for ODMHSAS, overseeing treatment and recovery services through state operated and contracted treatment providers statewide. In th...
Sep 27, 2022•53 min•Ep. 464
On this episode I finally contacted with long term instagram friend Jamie Sinton to talk about her love for Broken Bow and the Hochatown area. Jamie and her family have been visiting there for the past 10 years and out of her passion for social media, travel and photography she decided to help the owners of cabins, local businesses and people grow their business. Bio: Jamie Sinton is from Colleyville, Texas and has been living in Northern Oklahoma with her husband and three boys for the past fou...
Sep 21, 2022•42 min•Ep. 463
On this episode I chatted with Cattleman's GM David Egan about the historic Steakhouse located in OKC's Stockyard City. David has been the GM of Cattleman's for 30 years and tells some fantastic stories about the famous Steakhouse. David started in the restaurant business when he was a young boy, a passion for cooking put him on the front of the local Tulsa newspaper as a teen. His love for food and hospitality grew when he attended Oklahoma State University studying Hotel and Restaurant Managem...
Sep 16, 2022•53 min•Ep. 462
On this episode I chatted with former OU Women's golfers and LPGA Tour player Kendall Dye about her time at OU, on tour traveling the world and now as the President of Betsy Kings charity Golf Fore Africa. Follow Kendall - www.instagram.com/kendall_dye Bio: Kendall was born in Memphis, TN and raised in Edmond, OK. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with a degree in Communications and turned professional in golf after graduation. She held full status on Ladies European Tour in ...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 461
On this episode I chatted with Adam from Theatre Crude. Theatre Crude Fringe Festival has a new roster of performances slated for their fourth annual festival in Oklahoma City, September, 15-24. The performing arts festival will again follow a hybrid in-person and virtual model, with all in-person performances taking place at Jewel Box Theatre at 36th Ave., and Walker Ave., N.W.. Theatre Crude’s 10-day fringe festival will feature 40 in-person performances from 12 multidisciplinary performance g...
Sep 10, 2022•54 min•Ep. 460
On this episode I chatted with President of the Asian District in OKC Mike Hoang. We go through Mike's family history and the importance of preserving the legacy and family history here in Oklahoma City as well as being all inclusive to everyone here in OKC. Bio: Mike Hoang is a Vietnamese-American businessman born and raised in the United States. After the communist take over of South Vietnam, Mike’s father led a perilous expedition of 70 people to escape the country. As refugees in a new world...
Sep 06, 2022•46 min•Ep. 459
On this episode I chatted with Oklahoma photographer Tony Hebert about his business and passion for photography. In specific, night and dark sky photography. Tony who used to be aa police officer with a photography side business suffered a bit of a physical scare. Causing him to leave the force and commit fully to his photography business. His company 319 Photography is extremely unique in everything they do. My favorite being the workshops for customers. Tony and his team take photographers on ...
Sep 01, 2022•37 min•Ep. 458
On this episode I chatted with artist and muralist Carlos Barboza about his rise to fame in the Oklahoma mural scene. Carlos is extremely talented and after listening to this interview you will understand why. Bio Born in San José, Costa Rica, Carlos Barboza has been dedicated to the visual arts from a very early age. Beginning with caricature lessons and a healthy obsession with movies, Carlos's artwork has always been character-driven and inspired by cinematic imagery. From digital illustratio...
Aug 30, 2022•59 min•Ep. 457
On this episode I chatted with social media farming sensation Gatlin Didier or more commonly known as "Farm Stuff with Darrell" Gatlin grew up in western Oklahoma with dreams of being a professional baseball player. But after realizing thats not a possibility he turned to his other passion, acting and being on stage. Like everyone who wants to be a start he headed to California and worked his absolute rear off to further his acting career. As he felt like he was turning a corner, covid hit. Whic...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 456
On this episode I chatted with Karen Orton from Guthrie Oklahoma. Karen and her husband Larry are the owners of Orton House Seasonings. Larry has been making up his own concoction for years and finally after a friend said you should sell this. They bottled it up and went to market. Ortons House Seasonings has been in business for two years. In this short time, they are in 18 stores; on 3 food trucks, online sells in all 50 states. A huge passion for food, family and community. Since recording th...
Aug 23, 2022•49 min•Ep. 455
On this episode I chatted with former SI Swimsuit model Allie about her journey into modeling. From small town girl living in Snyder Oklahoma to traveling the world modeling for the world renowned Sports Illustrated swimsuit magazine. Allie has seen the world and now she has her eyes set on the next phase of her life. Coaching models and one day raising a family out on the farm. Follow Allie here www.instagram.com/allieayers https://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/model/allie-ayers Bio: Allie Ayers Lin...
Aug 19, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 454
On this episode I chatted with 8020's Matt Varughese about his rise to CEO of a Digital agency. based in Canada. We talk about the stereotypes of growing up in an Indian household. The tech space, travel, cars & motorcycles and Matts love for his home city. His favorite shirt reads "Oklahoma vs Everybody" Follow Matt on all platforms www.instagram.com/mattvaru https://twitter.com/mattvaru https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattvarughese/ Bio: I'm a Partner and CEO at 8020, a no-code product studio ...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 453
On this episode I chatted with Piyush Patel about his entrepreneurial journey. Last fall I had the opportunity to tour Piyush's home in OKC and boy is it special. Almost as special as his story and message for you all today. Piyush grew up in El Reno Oklahoma and learned the value of hard work and gratitude from a young age. However, culturally his parents wanted him to become one of three things. To which Piyush did not take to very enthusiastically. So he joined the military to pay for his sch...
Aug 11, 2022•58 min•Ep. 452
On this episode I sat with Chairman Barrett of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. John A. Barrett, Jr. is a native of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and a graduate of Shawnee High School. His Potawatomi name is Keweoge , meaning, “He Leads Them Home.” Chairman Barrett has served as an elected official for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation since 1973 when he was first elected as Vice-Chairman. Tribal Chairman since 1985, Barrett is the eighth generation of his family to serve in elected office for CPN. Under his lea...
Aug 09, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 451
On this episode I chatted with Jared Gallagher about his passion for telling Oklahoma golf stories through www.reddirtgolf.com and professional work as an announcer and broadcaster for high school, college and professional sports here in Oklahoma. Bio: Jared Gallagher is a dedicated professional in the sports industry with more than a decade of experience across all facets of athletic events. Jared got his start in the public address booth during his senior year of high school announcing grade s...
Aug 04, 2022•57 min•Ep. 450
On this episode I chatted with Senior writer at 405 Magazine, Greg Horton. Most people know Greg for his food writing, thats only a snippet of what he writes about and today we get into it all. His extremely interesting past, military, small towns, food, religion you name it. Gregs Story touches it all. We talk about UK food and the diversity in OKC'ss food scene. I hope this episode encourages you to branch out and try some more flavors because OKC pretty much covers every single one of them! F...
Aug 02, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 449
On this episode I chatted with OKC local Pastor Scott Bartlow about his passion and now social media brand Bartlow's BBQ. Scotts social media brand teaches the basics of BBQ across Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok. Taking the viewer on his journey from beginner to now, he's not a professional but a guy with a passion. He uses his platform to share his passion of bringing people together as a Paster now through the shared love of BBQ. His bbq motto is Less hate, More Love, Good BBQ! Videos: Every S...
Jul 29, 2022•50 min•Ep. 448
On this episode I chatted with Sharina Perry about her company Utopia Plastix. There are few times in live where you meet someone that really is changing the whole world. Sharina is on the verge of that change. Sharina grew up in the south and saw firsthand what it meant to be an “African American Woman” before she knew what it meant to be a “Business Woman”. Now as the founder of Utopia Plastix, she is on a mission to make sure “minority business” is something to be infinitely proud of. She con...
Jul 26, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 447
On this episode I chatted with the team at USA BMX in Tulsa Oklahoma about their incredible new facility and HOF museum. We talk about the history of the sport, only recently celebrating 50 years of BMX. Relatively speaking a young sport but with such an impact. Now an Olympic sport and this facility serves as an Olympic training ground for the countries best athletes. As well as a great resource for youth to adult ages. Stem programs through the USA BMX foundation, state of the art gyms, classr...
Jul 22, 2022•45 min•Ep. 446
On this episode I chatted with Nikki Callison about her and her husband's ranch in southern Oklahoma. Nikki grew up on a 2000 acres ranch the only girl of 4 children. Her maiden name is McCoy and if you are familiar with the McCoy name you will know she comes from a very successful family of ranchers and riders. Her parents motto was "Raisin' Kids, Cattle and Quality Horses." Nikki's husband Roger also grew up herding cattle in Oklahoma so when they started dating they dreamed of having a family...
Jul 18, 2022•55 min•Ep. 445
On this episode I chatted with Head of Marketing at Southern Hills Country Club, Reagan Kingsley about his PGA Championship experience. From the moment they got the news to the week of the tournament with FULL ACCESS to the facility. Reagan tells us the great stories and interactions with fans, players, caddies and members as he covered the tournament media on behalf of the members at Southern Hills. Reagan is born and raise in Tulsa Oklahoma, with a passion for photography he worked in the auto...
Jul 15, 2022•45 min•Ep. 444
On this episode we talk Oklahoma music with UCO's Director of Jazz studies Brian Gorrell. Brian W. Gorrell serves as Director of Jazz Studies for the nationally respected program at the University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab in Edmond, Oklahoma. A former member of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra among many other professional accolades, Gorrell also serves as Advisor for UCO’s Master of Music in Jazz Studies and Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance, teaches Applied Saxophone, and directs the award ...
Jul 12, 2022•54 min•Ep. 443
On this episode I chatted with Michael Salazar about their family roofing business, his journey with faith, his love of flying and general outlook on life. Salazar roofing is a household name in the OKC Metro area, headquartered in Yukon right off Route 66. One of the most important lessons from this podcast is the love and ability to help people who are in need. A lot of what Salazar Roofing has done embodies that. Traveling all over the country after natural disasters to aid those in need of h...
Jul 09, 2022•48 min•Ep. 442
On this episode I chatted with car fanatic Andy Nelson about this landscaping business. Which he started purely to buy himself a car. That same goal fuels his passion today. Building his business so he can experience the best cars in the world. To sum it up, Andy is car obsessed. Andy Nelson Landscaping started small in 1995 but has grown over the years into one of the largest landscaping design and build companies in the Greater Oklahoma City Metro area. Andy founded Nelson Lawn Service when he...
Jul 05, 2022•54 min•Ep. 441
On todays episode I chatted with restauranteur and current CEO of Hal Smith Restaurants, Hank Kraft. Hank grew up here in OKC and went to study architecture at OU. While at OU he met and starting working for Hal Smith and quickly found his passion for restaurants. After giving architecture one more year at OU he turned his attention to the restaurant industry and never looked back. Hank tells some fantastic stories about his journey through small to large scale restaurant operations and then bac...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 440
On this episode I chatted with translate patient Ron Black about his experience with OBI that saved his life. Ron grew up in Seattle and joined the navy. After being honorable discharged he found his way to Oklahoma. Arriving in Oklahoma Ron developed a love for hunting joining his already passionate energy for politics he dove into tv broadcasting with his hunting show and found his way onto the radio with his own three hour drive home show. So yes, I was bring judged on my radio interview skil...
Jun 28, 2022•53 min•Ep. 439
On this episode I chatted with Editor in Chief of 405 Magazine Julie Partin. Julie is a dynamic communicator with a diverse background in multimedia journalism and digital marketing. She has over 15 years of experience creating innovative content and a proven track record of using relevant technology to grow communities, causes, and brands. She is currently Editor-in-Chief at 405 Magazine, a lifestyle publication serving central Oklahoma featuring restaurants, events, shopping and culture. Addit...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 438
On this episode I chatted with Lee Allan Smith, formerly known as Mr Oklahoma City. Lee's philosophy "have many friends" Oklahoma native Lee Allan Smith graduated from the University of Oklahoma and began his career in radio and television production as a salesman when he joined Gaylord Broadcasting Company’s WKY Radio/TV. He eventually became president and general manager of KTVY (formerly WKY and currently KFOR) television. Smith produced the Stars and Stripes Show, which was televised nationa...
Jun 21, 2022•42 min•Ep. 437
On this episode I chatted with former NFL player Wes Welker. Wes was born in Oklahoma City on May 1, 1981. He began his football career at Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City and during his Junior year, he helped lead his team to the 2A State Football Championship defeating Tishomingo High School. He was named The Daily Oklahoman All-State Player of the Year and Oklahoma State Player of the Year by USA Today. Out of high school, Welker was offered a scholarship at Texas Tech to play for t...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 436
From a young age, Oklahoma native Rachael Gruntmeir was always extremely creative. By the time she was two, she was able to use scissors and cut straight lines, incidentally leading to many an interesting self-inflicted haircut. As that two year-old, one of Rachael’s favorite activities was to complete her favorite 100 piece Barbie puzzle. By four she learned how to use a sewing machine. She would sit on her mother’s lap because she couldn’t reach the pedal. By the time she entered kindergarten,...
Jun 14, 2022•56 min•Ep. 435
