Destination Different

There are certain people who just make you say, "Holy shit, she makes that look incredibly easy" and Lizzi Connaughton is one of those people.

Lizzi grew up loving art and as the years went by it became more and more apparent that she could make a career out of her creativity. She studied art and philosophy in undergrad before going on to pursue a Masters degree in Architecture and Urban Design. Her studies took her to internships around the globe, including stints in both London and Rome where she explored classical European architecture and urbanism.

When she returned stateside she landed at an architecture firm before taking the leap and deciding to dive into her own artistic pursuits full time. She has since opened an online shop and regularly receives commissions for her work, with big plans to build a business around her broad knowledge base in painting, architecture, and even real estate development.

We talked about everything in this episode from sketching nude models, to traveling with a paint set, to why strip malls are an abomination. 

Lizzi is INSANELY talented and if you want to keep up with what she's doing you can follow her on Instagram at @lizziconnaughton or buy some goodies on her website at lizziconnaughton.com.

And if you're not already, you should be keeping up with us all over the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

Instagram - @destinationdifferent

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"I was in a farmer's market, saw some lady painting watercolors and said to myself 'That doesn't look so hard. I could probably that.'" - Annie Yuen (sort of).

Ok, fine. I'm paraphrasing slightly, but that's pretty much how it all kicked off for Annie with her printmaking company, Olive & Orange. She simply took up a love for painting on a whim and never looked back. 

And while her early years involved a lot of experimenting and getting swept away by a love of the watercolor medium, her more recent work has garnered her attention on the internet and some cold hard cash.

In this episode we talked all about how Annie turned her love of painting into a viable business making prints for customers around the country. We also dove into how she manages both the "art" and "business" side of her world and the power of growing a brand on Instagram. If you're trying to keep up with Annie's work you can follow along on IG @olive.and.orange or purchase her prints on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/oliveandorangeshop

And if you're not already, you should be keeping up with us all over the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

Instagram - @destinationdifferent

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Little bit of a different flavor in this week's episode. My guy Eric Crest was my former athletic trainer at Boston College and after all those years of bandaging my wounds and looking at my nastiness, he somehow still wants to be my friend.

Eric is an incredibly compassionate athletic trainer who has a certain ease with the athletes he works with. 

On this episode we ran through a whole slew of topics from the most gruesome injuries he has encountered, to how he betters himself every day, to the separation between an athlete who is good in college and one who has what it takes to be a pro. 

If you are even the slightest bit of a sports fan, this is a good episode to dig into. A real look behind the scenes at what goes on day-in and day-out to prepare athletes to compete on the field.

Keep up with what Cresty is doing over on IG at @crest_e_85

And if you're not already, you should be keeping up with us all over the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

Instagram - @destinationdifferent

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"You can't make a career playing video games when you grow up." - every mom ever

Wrong. You can if you're Chris Doyle. 

Chris grew up playing basketball at a high level, but when he tore every ligament in his knee in high school he had to channel his attention elsewhere... 

He turned it towards the NBA2K video game. And he was pretty damn good at it.

As gaming continued to become more mainstream, Chris continued to get better and better. He regularly competed in the top ProAm tournaments and ultimately linked up with a team that won a $250,000 cash prize tournament. Shortly after that tournament the NBA decided to launch its own NBA2K league and Chris was drafted in the 2nd round for that inaugural season by the Toronto Raptors. He has since played 2 more seasons, one with the LA Lakers and one with the Minnesota Timberwolves, earning a regular salary as a pro and competing against the best 2K gamers in the world.

In this episode we talked about what it takes to be a professional gamer, the growth of gaming around the world, and some of the wild experiences that come along with being part of the NBA family.

If you want to keep up with what Chris is doing check him out over on Twitter @detoxysgt or on Instagram @cdoyle32.

And if you're trying to hang with me on the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

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First thing I'll say is that this podcast would be a WHOLE lot bigger if I had a British accent...

This week we welcomed to the show Michelle Parry who is an old friend of mine and one of the kindest souls you'll ever meet. Just listening to her talk in this episode will put a smile on your face.

Michelle is the founder of The Rewilding, which is an events and experiences company located in the quaint countryside of Lancaster, England. Up until now, Michelle had spent the bulk of her adult life living in cities around the world. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was at her happiest when she was away from all of the hustle and bustle and could just be with herself in nature.

So she left the hectic city life behind and returned home to work on her family farm. Since then, she has started building out amazing programs on the property from multi-day corporate wellness retreats, to foraging and basket weaving, to supper clubs amongst total strangers. In this episode we got to talk all about the struggles of starting a business during covid, the importance of finding and growing your community, and why we'll start to see more people flock from the city to the country.

Awesome episode. For anyone looking to turn their passion into a job, this is a good one. You can keep up with Michelle over on Instagram @therewildingcommunity and on her website the-rewilding.com.

And if you're trying to hang with me on the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

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If you asked your parents in 8th grade to drop out of school to become a professional snowboarder what do you think they would say...?

Mine probably would have come back with something like, "Not a chance you absolute clown. Now go back up to your room and finish your homework."

But not Scotty Lago's parents. Scotty left formal school in the 8th grade and never looked back. By the time he was 17 he was living the dream as a professional snowboarder. And it wasn't long after that he was collecting hardware at the X Games and Olympics. 

This was an UNREAL interview. We covered a ton of ground. On the snowboarding side, we talked about everything from Scotty's early days learning to board in New Hampshire, to winning Olympic bronze, to then being asked to leave the Olympics by the USOC. On the personal side, we had the chance to chat about his love of hunting, the birth of his first son, and the incredible progress he has made in building and growing his own snowboard brand, Lago Snowboards. 

Great way to start off the new year with this one. If you want to keep up with Scotty, find him over on IG @scottylago or buy yourself a new board from Lago Snowboards.

And if you're trying to hang with me on the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

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Jay Leno. Jimmy Fallon. Vince McMahon. Seth Meyers. Lorne Michaels. All MASSIVE names in the entertainment world.

All guys that Jon Rineman has wrote for.

Jon grew up in the seacoast of New Hampshire (shoutout Winnacunnet), and after dabbling with stand-up comedy in college, found himself getting paid by the joke to write for Jay Leno. He parlayed that work into a 9-year stint writing for Jimmy Fallon (including 2 as his head monologue writer) and 2 more working for Vince McMahon developing storylines for WWE.

The quarantine presented Rineman with the opportunity to move out of the late night world, as he now serves as the Head Writer for a new board game called ASSkills, a game written exclusively by comedians. In this episode we talked all about Jon's rise through the comedic ranks, what makes a good joke, and the time he rocked Lorne Michaels with a door.

If you want to keep up with Jon you can follow him on Twitter @rinemania or on his blog at rinemania.com.

And if you're trying to hang with me on the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

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We've all been there as little kids. Inventing games in our backyard, making up the rules as we go with our friends. But no one actually creates a new game and follows through with turning it into a real sport as an adult...

Except Dominique Soucy.

Dominique is a former professional basketball player from Quebec, Canada. Growing up as an athlete he always was looking for ways to improve his decision-making and the speed at which he played, but there weren't a lot of options for training those skills. As he moved on from his playing career and started coaching basketball, he began developing drills to hone quick instincts and decision making.

A few years and countless iterations later... PurInstinct was born.  

PurInstinct is the combination of a number of sports from basketball to soccer to rugby to hockey to football. It thrives on the concept of no contact, constant movement, and full team involvement. In this episode we talked all about how Dominique developed the rules for PurInstinct, the strong feedback it has received from players so far, and his lofty vision for growing the sport on a global scale.

I HIGHLY recommend you check out the website purinstinct.com and watch some of the game play videos before listening to this episode. And if you want to keep up with Dominique over on Twitter (that's how we got in touch for this podcast!) you can follow him @purinstinct.

And if you're trying to hang with me on the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn 

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If I were to list all of the accomplishment of Elizabeth Beisel in this tiny little description box, I'd run out of space very quickly.

She is a... 

Throw in a couple collegiate national championships, SEC Swimmer of the Year, and just a casual appearance on Survivor, and you could say she has done a decent amount in her 28 years of life.

In this episode we talked about a little bit of everything. Elizabeth's early swim career and what it was like swimming in her first Olympics at the age of 15. We discussed the secrets of the Olympic Village and competing on the biggest stage. But we also covered Elizabeth's life post-swimming with writing a book, going on Survivor, and she even broke news about the latest and greatest in her new career as a broadcaster...