"Mastery vs. Familiarity" ft. Benji Bear | Founder of Covidopoly and Benji Bear Photography

"Find Your Balance" ft. Lee Rutledge a.k.a Kakuyon a.k.a thomTide | Artist/Producer

On episode 35, I have a very special #CreativeConversation with one of my nearest and dearest OG pals, Lee Rutledge. Lee is actually the creator of this podcast's theme music, but he's more commonly known as an up-and-coming artist/producer who actually goes by two different monikers: Kakuyon and thomTide which are both derived from his two middle names, Kakuyon and Thomas. Raised in New Jersey and currently based in San Diego, Lee became serious about creating music in high school due to inspiration from other creatives he met as a member of the track team. One of these creatives, Shotta Spence, is now a close friend, frequent collaborator, and also a former P&P guest [https://www.polandpals.live/you-only-need-to-prove-your-supporters-right-ft-shotta-spence-rapper-and-fashion-designer/]. Initially solely focused on producing, Lee decided to start writing lyrics to his own beats and it resulted in the release of his debut album, "Now Go And Flourish [https://open.spotify.com/album/0j6iDT3nc4gH1H4kBu0TIr]" which was later followed up by his collaborative E.P., "Castling: Sky [https://open.spotify.com/album/52x41ntml0EWGqrmpxERNN]". While planning his next project, he realized that his vision wouldn't tie in well with the Kakuyon style/branding, so he decided to create a whole new alter ego as thomTide. This led to the release of his episodic album/playlist/series, "Seasons [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0JUtjJeVzVhRRIhvL6TnNp?si=450391864da0430c]" where he released 1 song every 2 weeks for a year straight! In this episode, we discuss: · how music was always in his bones (5:44) · the making of "thomTide" (23:41) · wanting to quit as a creative (31:20) · the effect of Computer Science on his creative process (41:53) · why being comfortable is a struggle (51:54) LISTEN TO KAKUYON [https://open.spotify.com/artist/256Ali73Vwxggm4o4yq78F] LISTEN TO THOMTIDE [https://open.spotify.com/artist/3xwe0s3hib7jaZQDg1fOrt] SONGS REFERENCED IN INTRO: * Bag on a Bag - Shotta Spence ft. Kakuyon [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5lSqQ6pmHs] * twentySuns - thomTide [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUofhGSE4c8] WATCH ON YOUTUBE [https://youtu.be/LyeltQjYUCg] READ NEWSLETTER [https://polandpals.live/read] FOLLOW POL AND PALS [https://www.instagram.com/polandpals/] FOLLOW POL [https://bit.ly/ponyboypol-pod]

"Find A Mentor" ft. Julie Verhage-Greenberg | Co-Founder of Fintech Today

In episode 31, I have a #CreativeConversation with my pal, Julie Verhage-Greenberg [https://twitter.com/julieverhage]. She's the co-founder of Fintech Today [https://fintechtoday.co/], a community and content company focused on the Fintech startup ecosystem. She's also the host of Fintech Today's podcast, Tux Time [https://www.podpage.com/tux-time-by-fintech-today/], which some have said is one of the best, if not THE BEST-PRODUCED podcast of our time. In this episode, Julie talks about: ● Being the first in her family to attend college (3:11) ● How Journalism Works (9:56) ● Pros and cons of founding a company with somebody drastically different from her (19:05) ● Eloping with her husband during peak pandemic (40:00) ● The importance of finding a mentor (51:44) FOLLOW JULIE https://twitter.com/julieverhage [https://twitter.com/julieverhage] CHECK OUT FINTECH TODAY https://fintechtoday.co/ [https://fintechtoday.co/] LISTEN TO TUX TIME https://www.podpage.com/tux-time-by-fintech-today/ [https://www.podpage.com/tux-time-by-fintech-today/] WATCH ON YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfxTXF27HvCqWKNtgXcRXg [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfxTXF27HvCqWKNtgXcRXg] READ NEWSLETTER https://polandpals.live/read [https://polandpals.live/read] FOLLOW POL AND PALS https://polandpals.live/ [https://polandpals.live/] FOLLOW POL https://bit.ly/ponyboypol-pod [https://bit.ly/ponyboypol-pod]

"Live Your Life Without The Expectations Of Others" Ft. Kamil McFadden | Actor/Producer/Poet

Living a happy and successful life means not limiting yourself to what others think or what is currently happening in today's society. Going beyond expectations offers a straight path in becoming bigger than your goals. In episode 31, I have a #CreativeConversation with my pal, Kamil McFadden, an actor who's most notably known for his role as Ernie in Disney's K.C. Undercover. His acting credits also include Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Grown Ups 2, and Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors. In this episode, Kamil talks about: · His mother's impact on his life and career (12:50) · COVID-19 takeaways and shift to video poetry (14:54) · What it takes to live without expectations (26:00) · The acronym of SERVE (32:29) · Most memorable auditions and acting roles (50:15) · Passion for photography and other hobbies (55:05) ���LINKS��� ·FOLLOW KAMIL [https://www.instagram.com/kamil_mcfadden/] ·WATCH KAMIL'S FIRST POEM COME TO LIFE: "LUV N ALL DA MAGIC" [https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLSsTj_AFr4/] · WATCH EPISODE ·READ NEWSLETTER [https://read.polandpals.live/p/episode31] ·FOLLOW POL AND PALS [https://polandpals.live/] ·FOLLOW POL [https://bit.ly/ponyboypol-pod]

"Don't Say No To Yourself" ft. Nikita Redkar | Comedian, Actor, Screenwriter

On episode 30, I have a #CreativeConversation with my pal, Nikita Redkar, who is a stand-up comedian, actor, and screenwriter. She has been a standup comedian for 5+ years with notable accolades such as a semifinalist for the 2019 Funniest Person in Austin. She also wrote and acted in her debut web series, "Paranormal Disruption" and is currently studying for her Master's in film at the Met Film School in London. In this episode, we discuss: * the impact/non-impact of growing up in multiple places (Austin, (Singapore, Germany, etc...) (3:04) * how she got into stand-up (11:26) * writing her first-ever web series with no prior knowledge of screenwriting/producing (21:56) * using comedy to detail her struggles with mental health (34:23) * if it's necessary to address her sexuality in her comedy (42:03) * her words of advice (59:31) 🔗LINKS🔗 * FOLLOW NIKITA [https://linktr.ee/nikitadumptruck] * WATCH PARANORMAL DISRUPTION [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GsiR5SZQRU] * WATCH EPISODE [https://youtu.be/LiEwv89Yh40] * READ NEWSLETTER [https://read.polandpals.live/p/episode30] * FOLLOW POL AND PALS [https://polandpals.live/] * FOLLOW POL [https://bit.ly/ponyboypol-pod]

"Mastery vs. Familiarity" ft. Benji Bear | Founder of Covidopoly and Benji Bear Photography

On episode 29, I have a #CreativeConversation with my pal, Benji Bear [https://www.instagram.com/srrygoldilocks/?hl=en], Founder of Covidopoly [https://www.covidopoly.io/]: an online multiplayer card game (based off Monopoly Deal) that's been played over 1 MILLION times and in 150+ Countries! Benji is also the founder of Benji Bear Photography [https://www.instagram.com/benji_bear_photography/], and his work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, Newsweek, and the Detroit Free Press. In this episode, Benji talks about: - why he's currently in Alaska (1:36) - why the Empire State Building was lit up just for him (5:34) - why he didn't continue pursuing pre-med (22:03) - how Covidopoly came to be (27:42) - why he hasn't quit his job at Youtube (42:46) - how his family has influenced him (54:45) - his words of advice (59:31) 🔗LINKS🔗 * FOLLOW BENJI [https://www.instagram.com/srrygoldilocks/?hl=en] * BENJI BEAR PHOTOGRAPHY [https://www.instagram.com/benji_bear_photography/] * COVIDOPOLY [https://www.covidopoly.io/] * TRAVEL BEAR PHOTOS [https://bit.ly/travelbearphotos] * WATCH EPISODE [https://youtu.be/LiEwv89Yh40] * READ NEWSLETTER [https://read.polandpals.live/p/episode29] * FOLLOW POL AND PALS [https://polandpals.live/] * FOLLOW POL [https://bit.ly/ponyboypol-pod]