Welcome to EP 016 of the CVD podcast with Sierra Parr!I like to describe Sierra as the queen of authenticity because she is who is she through and through, especially online. In a world full of highlight reels on social media, Sierra makes a huge effort to share moments of her real life and to "make the sour sweet" (tagline of her Lemon Soul brand 🤙🏼).What does that mean? Yes, she still shares the highlight reels. But if she stays at home and eats a whole bag of chips instead of going to the ...

Welcome to EP 015 of the CVD Podcast with Hakeem Subair! 🙌🏼This guy is a warrior! He is one of the most genuine and hardworking people I know!Hakeem is the CEO and Founder of 1 Million Teachers (1MT), a company that empowers teachers in sub-Saharan Africa to be the best they can be, so they can provide the highest quality education possible to children from Kindergarten to Grade 12.Hakeem says that he and his team members have been through hell and back multiple times trying to address this w...

Happy Sunday everybody!Totally unplanned and spontaneous episode today.I've been struggling to accept where I am lately. There I said it! Lol sometimes it's difficult to say that and you just need to blurt it out!I've had a tough time over the last several months building a morning routine and sticking to a morning routine. I've gone through little spurts (even 2-3 months) where I am consistently getting up between 5 and 5:30am, get in a workout (mostly strength building yoga), read 10 p...

Welcome to EP 014 of the CVD podcast with Sarah Acerbo! 🙌🏼Within a few minutes of meeting Sarah a couple months ago, we were talking about personal development haha and BOOM! Instant friends. There's more to life than working and dying and I absolutely love meeting and connecting with people that are determined to push themselves so they can find out who they really are and what they want out of life.Sarah is a bodybuilder and a fitness & performance coach, and she is all about unleashing...

Welcome to Episode 013 of the CVD podcast! 🙂KC Cordova is a close friend and one of my favourite people on the planet because of how authentic he really is.He is a performer, an artist, a singer, a marketing professional, and a gay man from the Philippines. He takes so much pride (pun intended) in who he is and is unapologetically himself, but it's taken a lot for him to get to this point.In this episode, KC talks about growing up in the Philippines and how he struggled with the culture, as g...

Welcome to Episode 012 of the CVD podcast!WOW! This one is intense... and dark, and eye opening, and hopeful, and so many other things. In this episode, my friend Curtis Doyle takes us through his experience with drug addiction and recovery. From the first time he tried a Percocet in 2014 to overdosing on Fentanyl and dying for 3 minutes in 2020, and EVERYTHING in between.Curtis really takes you into the world of what a human being dealing with this disease really faces. From the choices he m...

When talking about Comfort Via Discomfort, many people ask me... "yoo, what's with the lobster!?" 🦞Is it because you live in Boston?Is it because it's your favourite animal?Is it because you love to eat lobster? The third question is my niece's favourite one to ask 😂I chose a lobster as the logo for CVD because of the way lobsters grow. Their little mushy bodies grow and grow and grow until they push so hard against their hard shell that they get extremely uncomfortable.Then, the lobster...

Welcome to Episode 011 of the CVD podcast with Liseth Velez.This episode was originally going to be released on Monday, but in the US, that day was Memorial Day. Having served in both the Army and United States Air Force, Liseth is a veteran and after talking about it, we decided that Monday should just be a day to remember and honor those that have fought and fallen for their country.So, here we are, two days later with this incredible episode.After serving for 8 years, Liseth went into liqu...

Yes, I attempted suicide in 2013. Since then, intentionally getting outside of my comfort zone and learning how to be vulnerable have completely changed my mindset and have saved my life. It's now my mission to normalize conversations that we don't have in public and to help others embrace discomfort and vulnerability so they can live their best life.Here's what happened.In 2013, I had no idea how to deal with the daily stresses of life. I didn't talk to anybody about any of the struggles I w...

Welcome to Episode 010 of the CVD podcast with Haley Rusan.Haley is dating my younger brother and she is fucking awesome. She is one of the most authentic people I know and she loves to go against the grain.She is a lifestyle and wedding photographer that brings BIG ENERGY to the table. She also really loves and appreciates raw, naked beauty and wants to start shouting boudoir. She’s great at what she does and is always looking for opportunities to learn so she can reach a new level.You can f...