What if we told you there was a way to live a healthy lifestyle without sacrificing some of your favorite treats? Thanks to Cristie Besu, that has become a reality. Helping people end the choice between health and delicious, Cristie founded Eat Me Guilt Free . What started as a passion project grew significantly, and she continues to grow today as the demand for her protein-packed, low-carb brownies spreads across the nation. ...
I’m back for a solo episode to celebrate my 5th anniversary in business -- as the Founder & Chief Storyteller of TB Media Group . This special occasion calls for something, well, special….A GIVEAWAY! For the first time ever, I decided to do a giveaway of not one, but two things that my audience has been asking for! In this episode, you’ll find out what they are and how to sign up for them. I’m also taking a moment to reflect on this 5th year in business, a wild 2020 to say the least, and sha...
Heather Geronemus has turned her most devastating life experience into an opportunity to spread awareness of the impact of impaired driving. By day, Heather works as the Director of Corporate Affairs at UKG, Ultimate Kronos Group, and spends her free-time volunteering with many charitable organizations. One closest to her heart is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) , where she is currently the Chair on the National Board of Directors. This month, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, we ...
Every now and again, you just have to have a dance party in your living room. That’s just some of the happiness advice Matt Howard shares in today’s episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories . For Matt, music is always essential. Currently working as the Principal Percussionist with the LA Philharmonic , Matt shares his story on how his path led him to his dream job so quickly. Even during a pandemic when he can’t perform live, Matt still finds a way to bring music into his life – and the l...
John Lewis has been vegan for 15 years. It’s his passion for uplifting others and a healthy lifestyle that catapulted him into his role as an international public speaker, serial entrepreneur , author, film producer . When asked, “What Do You Do?”. His answer is, “What Don’t I Do?”. In today’s episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , John shares his story. From being an overweight teen to watching the health struggles of his mother due to meat and processed foods, all signs guided ...
When was the last time you were vulnerable? According to today’s Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories guest, that vulnerability is going to be your key to success. Coach Hector Peñate, or Coach HP, is an expert at finding happiness, being vulnerable, and getting outside of your comfort zone. After spending years figuring out his own identity, Coach HP learned just how important it was for him to see the silver lining in everything and manifest his happiness. Today, he speaks to professionals, par...
If Jean Paul Laurent’s smile looks familiar, that might be because you’ve seen him at your local grocery store. His smile is one of the handful featured on Lay’s Smiles for Miles of Aisles campaign. The reason – his years of impact on keeping smiles healthy for people around the world. As an award-winning social entrepreneur, Jean Paul makes his difference as the founder and CEO of Unspoken Smiles . They are dedicated to solving the oral health crisis globally, a hardship impacting over 3....
Your host, Tamika Bickham, is back for a solo episode to celebrate, not one but two things to kick off November 2020! This podcast is turning 6 months old! ...and it’s Tamika’s 33rd birthday this week (actually, on Election Day)! Hey, birthdays are always a reason to celebrate, right?! In this episode, she breaks down three reasons WHY she started this video podcast and what she’s learned about people, business, and marketing, over the last six months. Episode 29 is titled 6 Things I’ve Learned ...
Kevin Minter is called “uncle” by his teammates in his NFL locker room. His 8 year career as an NFL linebacker, currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is considered a lifetime in the pro football world. That is in stark contrast to what Kevin jokes “NFL” also stands for -- Not For Long. So, he’s turning his lifelong career and passion into a new business venture as a franchisee and regional developer of The Joint Chiropractic , along with his business partners, Walter Booth Jr. and Murray Holl...
Despite her credentials, Dr. Nzinga Harrison prides herself on being a “regular ol’ person who loves regular ol’ people”. While Nzinga wears many hats, you can find her spending her days as the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Eleanor Health – her outpatient treatment provider she started in 2019. Ever since she was young, Nzinga has had a heart for activism and advocacy, which comes out in her work at Eleanor Health. Her passion falls with people who've had their lives impacted by addict...
Haley Moss is a speaker, educator, scholar, artist, advocate, author, and the first documented openly autistic attorney admitted to the Florida Bar. After making international headlines, Haley uses her voice and story to amplify disability rights each and every day. Haley didn’t always plan to pursue fighting for disability rights, but after discovering the diversified culture and history of people with disabilities, she was drawn to making much-needed progress in this space.
Since 1979, Paula Norris Mestayer, M.Ed., LPC, FAPA has been passionate about mental health and helping people navigate their mental health conditions. It was not until 20 years ago, when she had a breakthrough with her method that she developed the pioneering work she continues to do today. Paula says her groundbreaking development of American protocols for using NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is effective in treating addiction and other brain disorders. In today’s episode of Lift U Up...
In 2013, 23-year-old Cody Byrns was considered dead after he was involved in a tragic car accident. It wasn’t until first responders saw the slightest movement of his hand to rush him to the hospital, where he fought for his life and eventually made a full recovery. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories, Cody shares his story of the accident, his recovery, and the lessons he learned from the experience. As an International Speaker , Bestselling Author , and Nonprofit Founder , C...
JP Aramouni, and his co-founder and Alex Ciklik, are combining water and wellness and creating a new business model. Founders of Blue Space , JP and Alex saw that even though their coastal communities were surrounded by water, the marinas were not reaching their full potential. Through their discovery of the concept of Blue Mind, they launched their business to provide an elevated wellness experience in Miami. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , we sit down with JP to talk a...
Sometimes saying “yes” can open up doors you never thought possible, and for Sam Reynolds it led to finding her purpose in life. A wellness advocate, handstand enthusiast, writer and adventurer- Sam spends her days using yoga to transform lives. Once law school bound, Sam found herself saying yes to experiences that led her to living aboard, trying yoga for the first time, and becoming a wellness leader. While finishing her master’s in international administration at the University of Miami, Sam...
“Have the courage to be bad at something new.” That’s the advice from this week’s podcast guest Asante Cleveland -- a podcast host , speaker, and retired NFL player. He had a 4-year career in the NFL that took him abruptly from the San Francisco 49ers to the New England Patriots, before ending his career with the Chargers, due to an injury. After losing the only career he ever knew, he was left in the midst of an identity crisis. Asante had a tough time, dealing with depression while seeki...
One man’s lifelong weight loss battle turned into the creation of a supportive Facebook community, then a podcast, and monetized content. He’s sharing his health story and detailing how that led to becoming a paid content creator. Jay Casale is a lifelong performer and educator who lost almost 200 pounds after having bariatric surgery in 2018. After struggling with his weight for most of his life, Jay sought out an online community designed for those who were dealing with the same weight loss is...
Dr. Katie Dabrowski is passionate about blending the worlds of injury prevention, training, rehabilitation, and recovery to promote an all-encompassing approach to physical therapy. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , the Old Bull Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation co-founder is changing the game of physical therapy. Truly living her dream, Katie is making it known that anyone can benefit from the help of physical therapy. Her practice combines training and therapy, and focu...
“The love that I have for bodybuilding is big, but it’s not as big as the love I have for competing,” says Alex “Fello” Cambronero. Alex is the ultimate competitor and he will tell you so. He reached the “pinnacle” of his bodybuilding career this year - winning the 2020 Arnold Classic and now preparing for the Olympia, a long way from where he started at just 134 pounds. An avid thrill seeker and athlete, Alex has always strived to be the best. In episode 18 of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Storie...
When Adrian Molina moved to Miami, yoga changed his life. Now, he has found his passion -- using yoga to have the same impact on others. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , Adrian shares his story of becoming a yoga teacher, and how it led him towards the opportunity to make a change in his community. As the founder of Warrior Flow Foundation , Adrian provides access to yoga in underserved communities across South Florida. He is committed to making yoga accessible to more pe...
In this week’s episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , Susie Levan tells the chilling tale of how she and her family nearly lost their lives. One night in 1988, Susie and her new husband returned home to the unimaginable – three gunmen waiting for them in their home. From that moment on, their lives changed forever. Susie was kidnapped along with her young daughter and spent hours held hostage in a trunk, convinced they were not going to survive. What happens next is a harrowing and tra...
“Everybody knew a street pharmacist. Nobody knew a therapist,” is how Jeff Rocker described his upbringing in his South Florida community. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , Jeff very candidly describes how he “lost his way” as a young teen in high school, was kicked off the basketball team, and found himself slipping into deep depression. But as a young man from a Haitian family, he was told to “man up” and that he would “be okay”. His experience talking to a high school c...
When you spend your life training to be a champion, you develop great habits along the way. When that training leads to becoming a professional athlete at the age of 14, the habits you build have the potential to set you up for a lifetime of success. Danielle Mills is a retired professional tennis player turned entrepreneur. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , Danielle shares the events that led to her becoming the founder and CEO of HEADSTRONG , a coaching company created t...
When it comes to making lemonade out of a sour situation, Frankie Telfort proves that embracing the uncomfortable can open up life-changing opportunities. In this episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , Frankie shares his background as a highly sought-after South Florida high school football star whose career ended before his first college game. Disappointed but not broken, he didn’t let that slow him down, and instead built up an impressive resume - NFL coach by age 22, a top trainer a...
Opening a new business comes with challenges of its own, but Carla Joseph and her husband were really put to the test when they started their new restaurant venture weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States -- followed by mandatory stay at home orders. In Episode 12 of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , Carla Joseph joins us to share what it was like to completely change her business plan for BurgerHive , a plant-based restaurant and food truck. After living a plant...
Rosemary Carrera is changing lives of women across South Florida. In Episode 11 of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , we are inspired by Rosemary’s journey from a passionate optometrist and new mom, to breast cancer survivor and nonprofit president - all in the span of 2 years. Rosemary’s organization, 305 Pink Pack , was inspired by her own experiences and women in her community who did not have the support they needed to focus on undergoing cancer treatment. Even now, amid a global pa...
Empowerment is key for our milestone 10th episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories , where we welcome Dr. Lindsey Himmel, DPT, OCS, Cert. MDT as she shares the philosophy behind her physical therapy practice, Align Physical Therapy - designed to empower and equip her patients with the tools to heal themselves. After getting hit by a car on her second day of college and appreciating just how important having a healthy body is, her passion is now focused on keeping her patients active ...
On episode 9 of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories, Jessica Marcarelli demonstrates how well she knows the definition of “pivot”. She has been pivoting since she was a dancer on the sidelines of University of Miami’s football games; during a time in her career when working in an office job then transitioning to a yoga instructor; and her latest pivot, teaching in-person fitness classes and moving them online, forced by the onset of COVID-19. In Staying Strong: Making the Pivot to Online Fitness...
Studies show that people who meditate are more resilient in times of hardship. As Peggy Gaines describes it, when tidal waves of emotion knock you down to the bottom of the ocean, if you have been meditating, you’re the cork, rising back to the surface. For Peggy, that tidal wave was losing her teenage son to brain cancer. Peggy Gaines joins us for an incredibly inspiring and uplifting episode 8 of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories to bring awareness to the power that meditation and Reiki hold...
In March of 2020, all eyes were suddenly on healthcare systems and their nurses, doctors, and staff across the country as we all faced a life-changing experience unlike anything in our lifetimes before...a pandemic. But what does this mean for marketing and communications teams working in our healthcare systems? Tania Leets is a former journalist, a storyteller, and the Senior Communications Specialist for Jackson Health System. On Episode 7 of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories Tania tel...
