Story Riot

(Henry Phillips and Greg Goldstone Dan Snyder is the Founder and Designer of Corridor, a clothing brand based in New York City. Dan has a fascinating and unique story. While working full time for Homeland Security and later the FBI, he taught himself how to make his own shirts, and then launched his own company - Corridor - working nights and weekends. He now runs the company full time selling his shirts through his own website, as well as 80 retailers throughout 16 countries. We do a deep dive into his story, how he started and built his company, and his creative process.Listen on: iTunes | StitcherLinks to follow Dan and Corridor:Corridor's WebsiteInstagramFacebook

While in College, Alex Radelich and Dalton Lemert started and created Act of Random Kindness, a non-profit where they do random acts of kindness for people around the country. With their home and office being out of an RV, they drive from city to city helping random strangers and making people's day. These guys are a great reminder and proof that so much happiness, fulfillment, and amazing career opportunities can come from simply helping and serving other people. Listen on: iTunes | StitcherAct of Random Kindness Links: WebsiteInstagram 

Margot Leitman is a professional storyteller, comedian, writer and teacher. She's one of the top storytelling performers and coaches in Los Angeles, and is sought after by a wide range of companies, producers, and TV shows that need coaching, guidance, and consulting on how to tell better stories. I discovered Margot through reading one of her recent books, "Long Short Story", which then led me to taking one of her classes (which was awesome). She has a really inspiring story filled with pearls of wisdom and sage advice for anyone pursing a creative career. Listen on: iTunes | StitcherLinks: Margot's WebsiteHer book: Long Story Short

Gillian Zoe Segal is a photographer and author of two books: Getting There: A Book of Mentors and New York Characters. In this interview, she shares how she got into photography and became a published author (when everyone told her she wasn't ready yet),  and how that led to the creation of her two books. In her most recent book, Getting There, she interviewed some of the most distinguished and sought after people in the world, from Warren Buffet to Anderson Cooper, and shares personal essays about their lives. She's a master at getting around gatekeepers and getting in front of the world's most successful people, and we talk about how she does it, the importance of being resilient, and other big lessons she's learned throughout her journey. Listen on: iTunes | StitcherFollow Gillian: TwitterWebsiteOther Links: You Can Meet Anyone You Want. Here's the Formula I UsedGetting There: A Book of MentorsNew York Characters  

Matt Wigham is the Co-founder and CEO of Big Cartel, a company that enables a wide variety of artists to create their own custom online shop and sell their work. Today, Big Cartel has generated over $1 billion in store sales since it launched, and $13 is made every second from one of their artists. Ironically, Matt never intended on Big Cartel becoming the massive company that it is today. Originally, it started out as a side project and hobby, and a way to help support and work with bands. This is a great story about a guy who simply followed his interests, kept creating things, worked hard, was patient, and through that created a company and organization that has helped thousands of people. 

Josh Roush is not only a long time bud of mine, but the Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Movetic, a full service creative agency based in San Diego. Two years ago Josh decided he was going to start his own agency with a friend, and sure enough, the guy has pulled it off. Business is thriving. This of course, makes for a perfect episode of the BUDCAST on Story Riot. Josh and I discuss topics ranging from being on the exec board of our fraternity together in college, to what it's like running his own business, to how the idea of work-life balance seems to largely be a myth. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher Follow Josh and Movetic Here: WebsiteInstagramFacebook Twitter

Jerry Rothwell is an award winning documentary filmmaker and director. He's a master storyteller and artist, who didn't make his first feature length documentary until he was 40 years old. Since then, he's made 6 films including Donor Unknown, Heavy Load, Deep Water, Town of Runners, How To Change The World, and his newest film, Sour Grapes. His films have been nominated and have won awards from major film festivals around the world, and he has an incredible story around how he made it happen. We discuss how his childhood influenced his career and films, how his brush with cancer changed his life, how making films later in his career has helped him, and the importance of getting started, taking action and being patient as you learn over time. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher Follow Jerry Here: WebsiteTwitter 

Zach is the Founder of Live A Great Story - a brand that creates and shares stories, hosts events, and inspires people to make life more interesting. What started as a simple sign Zach spray painted on a wall in San Diego, turned into a brand that has thousands of people all over the world following it, and sharing it's message. We discuss why he dropped out of college, the importance of taking action, and how a powerful phrase and thought can go viral around the world.  Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher Follow Live A Great Story: WebsiteInstagramFacebookYouTube

In this episode of Story Riot, we've got Brian Chase, the drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. If this band isn't ringing any bells, check out some of their hit songs such as "Maps" or "Heads Will Roll." Chances are you'll recognize them. From headlining major festivals around the world, to being nominated for 3 grammys, these guys will go down as one of the greatest rock bands of the 21st century.Born and raised in New York, Brian started taking drum lessons when he was 5 years old, and he's been aggressively pursing his love for music since. We discuss his journey to becoming a drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the importance of community, what it's like being on tour and playing in front of thousands of people, and what he does to get inspiration and stay focused in life. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher How to follow Brian: Twitter / Instagram / Website Yeah Yeah YeahsBeach Creeps 

Ethan Nadelmann is the Founder and Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a powerful non-profit that has been fighting to end the war on drugs. Ethan and his team have played huge roles in most of the major drug policy reform ballet initiatives in the U.S. ranging from medical marijuana and legalization to prison reform. He’s been all over the news and media ranging from The O’Reilly Factor and Colbert Report, to podcasts like the Joe Rogan Experience or his popular Ted Talk. Ethan dives into his personal story, how he got involved in these issues, how he built what is now a massive organization with global reach, and his thoughts and feedback on the drug war, the history behind it, legalization of marijuana, and what the future holds. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher Want more stories like this? Join here to follow the show.  Email Address JOIN Thank you!

Born and raised in a world surrounded by violence, drugs, foster homes and crime - Jimmy pulled himself out of a reality the majority of us wouldn't survive. He realized he had a passion for film in his early 20's, and committed his career and life to becoming a professional actor. Now at 40 years old, it's finally becoming a reality for him. Jimmy's story serves a great reminder that if we're willing to completely commit ourselves to the things we love, we can eventually achieve them. Over the past few years he's had roles in shows ranging from the Walking Dead to House of Cards, and has upcoming guest star roles on two new TV shows - Containment on CW, and Game of Silence on NBC, and will be co-starring in a movie with Nicolas Cage later this year. We discuss how he navigated his way through childhood, getting put in foster homes, how he discovered his passion, what it was like following his dream in his 30's (when all of his friends we're settling down), and the point in his career where he began to see some light at the end of the tunnel.Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher  Follow Jimmy on Instagram, Twitter, IMDb Enjoy This Story? Join here to follow the show.  Email Address JOIN Thank you!

From promoting concerts, to becoming a record executive, to managing the platinum selling rock band Incubus, Steve Rennie (a.k.a Renman) has been working in the music business for over 35 years. Today, he runs Renman Music and Business - a mentoring platform that helps aspiring artists and professionals succeed in today's music business. How we went from booking concerts at Santa Monica Community College and getting turned down from William Morris, to becoming SVP/GM of Epic Records, and managing one of the most successful bands in rock history is a killer story filled with honest, no-bullshit advice on becoming successful, moving through fear, and taking action. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher LINKS:  Check out RenmanMB & Renman UWatch Renman's YouTube Show Follow him on: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

Bill Detamore is the Founder and President of Pork Pie Percussion, one of today’s most innovative, successful, and recognizable drum companies. The vast majority of his drums are costume, hand made, and have been played by some of the greatest drummers and bands around the world ranging from Green Day and Primus to Guns N’ Roses and Bob Dylan. How he arrived at this point is a long story filled with adversity, hard work, sacrifice, and a complete dedication to his craft. In this interview on the Story Riot podcast, Bill reflects on his life and connects the dots, which have led him down this uncommon path of running such an iconic brand. What unfolds is a deep conversation about the importance of finding your passion, how he mastered his craft while working full-time for the government, the sacrifices he’s had to make along the way, how managing the money is the most important aspect of any creative endeavor, and the importance of being willing to take risks, put yourself out there, and deal with failure.Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher Pork Pie Percussion WebsitePork Pie Instagram Want a story every week? Email Address JOIN Thank you!

Robert J. Barnhart is the producer and creator of a new documentary called A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin, which explores helping terminally ill cancer patients who are suffering from end-of-life anxiety with psilocybin. Psilocybin is a psychedelic compound found in mushrooms around the world, and is currently classified as a schedule 1 drug - making unavailable and illegal for anyone to use. Roberts film tells not only the science and history behind the drug, but the story of the patients who go through this treatment, the process, and the benefits they received from it.Robert also sits on the board of the Heffter Institute and MAPS, both of which are working incredibly hard at legalizing a variety of psychedelic drugs for medical use. Listen: iTunes | Stitcher Download: A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Email Address JOIN Thank you!

Nick (far left) is the co-host and creator of Unplanned America - a travel show about 3 Australians who drive across the U.S. with no money, no plan, and limited equipment. Now streaming on Netflix and airing on SBS2 (an Australian network), they've finished 3 seasons and have just begun what seems to be a promising and rewarding career traveling the world and sharing their experiences through a camera. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher

To ensure that this podcast continues to be fun and evolve in the best direction possible, I'm going to start bringing on my good friends and throwing them in the hot seat(s). We will refer to these audio gems as the BUDCAST. Slightly different than my regular episodes - where I try to investigate and capture the stories behind great artists and creative entrepreneurs - the BUDCAST has zero agenda, direction, or purpose, other than to have fun and get my friends involved in something I love. However, I don't say that to devalue any of these guests - including the two gentlemen above. They're friends I have great respect for, and look up to in a number of ways. Both are great artists and entrepreneurs, and both are putting out great work at a relentless pace. All guests on the BUDCAST (and Story Riot for that matter) will meet these basic requirements, to not stray away from the core of this show. John is a Producer, DJ, and Co-Founder of Next Wave and Disco Naps. Chase is the Co-Founder of Buy the Best Drone, and is John's manager. Both also work additional full-time jobs during the week. I still can't figure out how they manage to get it all done. But I tried. Anyway, enjoy this conversation. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher 

"You can always find a job... And I liked the direction I was going with the hotel, but it gets to the point where you can't be yourself. They're like, 'you got to cut your hair, and you go to dress this way, and you got to talk this way.' And that's not me. I'm not going to fake it the rest of my life... I'd rather be myself for the rest of my life, make less money, and feel good about what I'm doing. It never sat right for me." On this episode of the Story Riot Podcast, I chat with David Evanko. After graduating college, with no previous experience in photography, he just started showing up at venues by himself and taking photos. Three years later, he's shot hundreds of bands that have come through the L.A. music scene, making himself well-known, touring with several brands, and getting featured in various magazines. We discuss everything from how and why he got started, to why getting robbed and loosing everything became a huge turning point, and his thoughts on dealing with the inevitable self-doubt that comes with creating anything. Listen on: iTunes | Stitcher LINKS: David's WebsiteInstagram FacebookTumblr