Chocolate Croissants

The pastry show rolls on!  *Recorded Dec 30, 2020*

We picked back up in 2020 as a direct result to quarantine in March.  This led to weekly chats throughout most of the year with some of our favorite people working in music, pro wrestling, food, science, and more. After a couple months away, we check in (without a plan) for our own New Year's celebration chat.

We start by deconstructing Unnecessary Conversations, @JordanBeatwell's absurdist weekly IG Live series. This leads to a broader conversation about the ways in which we are always trying to become more like ourselves. We explore earlier professional experiences in which we each felt like we had to dress a certain way, hide aspects of our personalities, or take someone else's advice, in our attempts to succeed.

We ask about Matt's drum-off video production with his Jeep Trackhawk, and why it was fully embraced by Periphery. He also shares about the v-neck and baseball cap look that took on a life of its own.

Justin has adapted to a new professional role this year as a licensed dietician and he shares about the ways in which he has been able to maintain his sense of identity with integrity, as he serves some of our most vulnerable community members.

We finish with 2020 reflections and the big lessons we learned throughout a difficult, unprecedented year that presented setbacks, opportunities, loss, achievements, heartbreaks, dreams fulfilled, and everything else that makes life what it is.

Until we do this again, we hope you have a meaningful 2021 and look forward to connecting with you in our private Facebook group!

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

@chocolatepod

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

Caleb Shomo has spent his adult life on the road as a musician. Now he's stuck at home...being a musician. The Beartooth frontman joins Matt and Jordan from his home studio to chat about adapting this year, rediscovering his passion for music production, some philosophy on making the most of our time here, and much more, some of which is documented in the bullet points below!

• Writing an album's worth of new music

• What he learned from Slipknot

• Caleb and Matt meeting on Warped Tour

• Touring with Every Time I Die

• Relationship building in the music business

• The "presence" of golf

• Thoughts on performing again

• Difficulties adapting to the pandemic

• Designing a long-term career in music

• Moving to LA to work with John Feldmann

• Creating culture on the road

• "Picking people" in business

• Learning to negotiate and sticking to his vision

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

@chocolatepod

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@calebshomo

Brandan Fokken is a man of integrity, vision, and values. He also eats more peanut butter than you.

Brandan joins Matt, Jordan, and Justin from his Fokken Nuts office for an inspiring chat on the power of generosity. Brandan knows who he is and what he desires to be, and it's these traits that define his brand of peanut butter. He shares how this informs how the company expresses itself and interacts with others in the world. We cover a lot more, and some of the topics are listed next...WITH BULLET POINTSSSS:

• Eating a jar of peanut butter a day

• His humble beginnings and peanut butter origin story

• The "first step" in launching Fokken Nuts

• Your brand is more than your logo

• Advice from a key mentor

• Joy in giving gifts

• Matt's suggested peanut butter flavor in development

• The value in over-delivering

• A Fokken offer for CC members in our Facebook Group

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

@chocolatepod

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@brandanfokken

Neil Westfall keeps moving. Although much of his ADTR plans were put on hold, including a North American tour with Slipknot, he has quickly built a thriving, music-based Twitch community (and the computer to support it), and is close to launching a restaurant with his wife, Mary.

Neil joins Matt, Jordan, and Justin from Orlando, Florida, in his beautifully lit and professionally shot studio. Get ready for the bullet points, baybeeee!!!

• The importance and evolution of ADTR's live production

• If the band is considering live concert streams

• How the band strategically invested in themselves early on

• Understanding the strengths of each member to make the whole stronger

• The importance of community building on Twitch and for bands

• Providing fans access and experiences he desired from his favorite musicians

• His passion for building computers

• Taking advantage of our time during the pandemic

• Meeting his wife on tour with blink-182

• The process of opening a new vegan-based restaurant with his wife

• Similarities between bands and restaurants

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

@chocolatepod

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@neilwestfall44

Brian Tsao is #NotYourTypicalChef. He's beaten Bobby Flay, built a music studio in his NYC home, and streams weekly on Twitch.

Chef Brian joins Matt, Jordan, (and eventually) Justin in a fun chat that somehow devolves into THE GREAT CHEESE DEBATE! There's more too:

• Creating the menu for his new sandwich shop 

• The joy of cooking at home

• His love for teaching others how to cook

• How everyone can improve their home cooking

• His FAVORITE meal to eat

Connect with Chef Brian:

Twitch

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

Instagram:

@chocolatepod

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@chefbriantsao

ChocolateCroissants.com

Plini joins Matt and Jordan from his home in Sydney, Australia. He leads a band in his namesake and is a REALLY GOOD guitar player and a NICE guy too! Watch out…a bullet point list is coming up:

• Updates on the next Plini record

• Stories of Plini and Periphery on tour

• Albums vs Singles

• Halloween in Australia

• Haunted hayrides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

• Marketing new music in a global pandemic

• Taking “play” seriously

• Innovating as a professional creative

• Coffee in Australia

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

@chocolatepod

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@plini

Jordan dates on FaceTime, Matt has gone all in on contrast therapy, and Justin built himself a sauna. What does it mean to "feel good" and how does this inform daily routines? Matt and Justin chat about ice baths and Jordan offers a theory on deprivation float tanks which seems to go nowhere so he pivots to riffing on VH1's Love and Hip Hop. Please be kind to yourself!

@chocolatecroissantspodcast

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

Chardelle Moore is a lightworker.

She infuses light and spirit into every person or creative project she encounters. She shares her gifts as an artist, motivational speaker, and founder of the multimedia and communications company, Motivational Moore.

Chardelle spent five years on air at FOX45 Baltimore, working in the same building that houses Ring of Honor Wrestling. In March 2019, Jordan was consulting a wrestler who was featured on the show Chardelle hosted and willed into existence, BMORE Lifestyle. Even though this podcast was on hiatus, Jordan knew Chardelle needed to be a guest.

Chardelle joins Jordan and Justin from her home in Washington D.C. for perhaps our most lively and uplifting episode yet. They explore human potential from different perspectives, including its shadow side of fear. This is a conversation about personal power, freedom, expression, creativity, connection and so much more.

Come ride Chardelle's wave with us. It's a testament to the miracle of simply being human.

Motivational Moore

"Self Love Is A Beautiful Journey" music video

Chardelle on YouTube

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

We want to connect with you! Join our private, supportive Facebook group full of creatives from around the world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/chocolatecroissants/ or search "Chocolate Croissants" in Groups.

Instagram:

@chocolatecroissantspodcast

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@chardellemoore

ChocolateCroissants.com

Wai Ting is a professional, professional wrestling podcaster.

Wai is the owner, operator, and host of Post Wrestling with his partner and friend, John Pollock.

Jordan has been a listener and supporter of theirs for the better part of a decade. (He claims to have only strived for a leadership position at Ring of Honor Wrestling in hopes of one day being a guest on the Post Wrestling Christmas Show.) Jordan, Matt, and Justin dig into a wide-ranging chat with Wai from his home studio in Toronto, Ontario.

Here are some of the topics they cover in a classic bullet point format:

• His experience of being let go from The Fight Network and launching Post Wrestling

• His process of choosing a university major and career path

• Navigating important issues such as racism and sexual harassment within pro wrestling 

• The foundations of transparency and community that helped build Post Wrestling

• What it means to be a "risk taker" in career and life

• Responding to criticism and trolling as a content creator

• Balancing projected income and passion when making career decisions

• The benefits of naps

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

We want to connect with you! Join our private, supportive Facebook group full of creatives from around the world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/chocolatecroissants/ or search "Chocolate Croissants" in Groups.

Instagram:

@chocolatecroissantspodcast

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@wai0937

ChocolateCroissants.com

Greg Kelley is the subject of Showtime's 5-part documentary "Outcry," owner and operator of Tomahawk Targets, and a world-class athlete and football player.

Greg joins Matt, Jordan, and Justin from Texas for one of their most powerful conversations. This served as a reunion of sorts for Greg and Justin who first met at the Onnit Academy in Austin.

Some of the topics the guys cover with Greg in this deeply personal and revealing chat include:

• What it means to be the "hardest worker in the room"

• How he maintained physical, mental, spiritual, and nutritional health in prison

• Dealing with public perception

• The necessity of discipline, motivation, and routine in accomplishing goals

• Developing positive self talk

• What helps him deal with anxiety

• The evolution of faith and religion in his life

• The origin and rapid growth of Tomahawk Targets

You can look at our faces while listening to this conversation! https://www.youtube.com/chocolatecroissants

We want to connect with you! Join our private, supportive Facebook group full of creatives from around the world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/chocolatecroissants/ or search "Chocolate Croissants" in Groups.

Instagram:

@chocolatecroissantspodcast

@mattperiphery

@jordanbeatwell

@justinblakegoodman

@grkelley2