Into The Current

Jeff Hilimire has found his purpose. As the CEO of @dragonarmy, author, father, and entrepreneur, Jeff @jeffhilimire is constantly working to better himself and those around him. He sat down with Vertical River to talk about his work, his home life, and what it means to find your purpose. Join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent #ATLcreators #VerticalRiverProductions #ConsciousCapitalism #SustainableBusiness #GreenBusiness #findyourpurpose #dragonarmy

Hannah Palmer joins us this week for Into The Current. Hannah Palmeris a talented author, urban planner, and works closely with Finding the Flint. Hannah tells Kendrick and Eric about her memoir Flight Path, which is about Harstfield-Jackson taking over her hometown. As an urban planner and conservationist, she also shares her predictions of what Atlanta will look like after the pandemic, and why water is so important to our city. Join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent #ATLcreators #VerticalRiverProductions #SustainableBusiness #GreenBusiness #ATLauthors #findingtheflint #flintriver

As a sports broadcaster, Bryan Salmond @bryannews3lv is the only black man currently on TV in Las Vegas. In Episode #11 of ITC, Bryan and Vertical River's founders Eric & Kendrick have an honest discussion about race and sports and what it takes to make it in sports journalism. This conversation spans 20 years of Bryan's career while also focusing on the history-defining moment in professional sports right now. This is a can't miss episode! Follow the link in our bio to join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent #VerticalRiverProductions #ATLcreators #LasVegasSports #SportsBroadcasting #BlackLivesMatter #SportsBusiness #SportsJournalism #CNNSIalumni

Dave Beck, managing partner of Foundry 45, spoke with Vertical River in May to discuss his company's work with Virtual Reality and its place in the business world. Dave shares his background and how he got started with VR, the difference between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, and his thoughts on the future of his industry. Join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent #ATLcreators #VerticalRiverProductions #ConsciousCapitalism #SustainableBusiness #VirtualReality

Dosed App @dosedapp is a cannabis calculator app designed to make it easier to infuse while cooking. Chef Trice @dredheadchef187 and Tami sat down with Into The Current to discuss launching this app in the middle of a pandemic, the job opportunities involved in the cannabis industry, and their thoughts on legalization. Join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent #ATLcreators #VerticalRiverProductions #ConsciousCapitalism #SustainableBusiness #GreenBusiness #CannabisInfusion #Cookingwithcannabis

Dustin Watts, President of Terrapin Beer Company - @terrapinbeerco, sat down with Into The Current back on May 12 to discuss his company's response to the pandemic as well as Dustin's vast experiences with craft beer. Throughout Episode #8, Dustin discusses Terrapin's sustainability efforts, Terrapin's relationship with pro-sports, and his efforts to protect his employees in a pandemic. Dustin provides insight into the world of craft beer and shares his thoughts on protecting the planet with Terrapin's new Terraprint sustainability initiative. Join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent

#EnvironmentalJustice #ATLcreators #SustainableATL #Sustainability #GreenBusiness #GreenIsGood #ConsciousCapitalism #VerticalRiverProductions #TerrapinTerraprint #SolarBrewedBeer

In May, we spoke with MaKara Rumley, CEO of the Hummingbird Firm, about bridging the digital divide during COVID-19. Recently we invited MaKara back to talk about the movement for racial and social justice and equality in America. Episode 7 of Into The Current combines these two conversations with MaKara, and she discusses the current fight for racial and social justice, her professional insight on the importance of community engagement, how businesses can communicate with different communities digitally, her experience advocating for environmental justice, and the possible outcomes of children seeing their parents work from home. Join us and jump #IntoTheCurrent #HummingbirdFirm #RacialJustice #SocialJustice #BlackLivesMatter #ShareTheMic #EnvironmentalJustice #ATLcreators #SustainableATL #Sustainability #GreenBusiness #GreenIsGood #ConsciousCapitalism #VerticalRiverProductions

When protestors took to the streets of the ATL on Friday, May 29, Sharif grabbed his camera, jumped on his bike, and headed down to capture the protests through his lens. In this episode, we talked to Sharif about that experience and about getting arrested on Monday, June 1 while photographing the protests after the imposed curfew. Sharif also spent several weeks in Cairo and Tahrir Square photographing the Egyptian revolution of 2011 as a photojournalist for the newspaper Al-Shorouk. His photographs and stories from Tahrir are powerful and changed Eric's worldview, so it was an honor to get Sharif on the podcast. Eric met Sharif in 2003 when they were both a LOT younger. Back then they worked together for a rabble-rousing outdoor recreation, gear, and travel magazine with a bunch of super-active outdoor enthusiasts and really smart folks. They've traveled the USA together, shared an apartment in the ATL for a time, and seen and done some wild things from coast to coast. Sharif, his brother Ezz-Eldin and their family were the first people to show Eric what Islam is and teach him about Muslim and Egyptian culture. Sharif grew up in Atlanta and has been a commercial photographer, community activist, and active member of Atlanta's urban cycling community for a long time. This interview was recorded on Tuesday, June 9. 2020.

Rory Welsh is the Co-Athletic Director and Head Coach of the boys varsity basketball team at Langston Hughes High School in Fulton County, Georgia - about 20 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. Since Rory took over the Panther's varsity boys team nearly ten years ago they've won back-to-back 6A state championships (2017 & 2018) and he was named Georgia Athletic Association 6A Coach of the Year and Region 5 Coach of the Year. Rory puts his heart, head, and soul into teaching and coaching at Langston Hughes and took some time to share his life experiences and thoughts on racial and social justice and helping educate young people with us. Please give it a listen and share it if you like what you hear.

*Interview recorded on Tuesday 6/9/2020

DJ Mars helped us launch "Into The Current" around 5-6 weeks ago and a lot has changed since then so we invited him to come back and share his thoughts on social and racial justice, equality, being the father of a young black man in times of crisis, and a lot more. We appreciate Mars sharing his experiences with us, including being a call a n***** for the first time while on his way to a neighborhood swimming pool when he was in the first grade. Mars had some powerful things to say so please listen, thanks. This interview was recorded on Thursday, June 11, 2020.