My First Season

This is first in a series that I am calling, "Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things”. My guest today is the incredible Sarah Williams from England. Sarah Williams is an author, vlogger, motivational speaker, marathoner and ultra runner. Sarah is also the host and creator of the two time award winning “Tough Girl Podcast”, a podcast where she interviews inspirational female explorers, adventurers, athletes and everyday women who have overcome great challenges. Her podcast is listened to in 174 countries around the world and has passed one million downloads. I invited her to talk about her podcast and also her many other achievements. The one I was most excited to talk to Sarah about primarily was that she ran the Marathon des Sables in 2016. Often described as “the toughest footrace in the world”, the Marathon des Sables is a race comprised of 6 stages over 7 days in the unforgiving Saharan desert and is the equivalent to running a marathon a day for 6 days straight in the extreme temperatures of the Sahara desert. The following year in 2017, she thru hiked the Appalachian Trail solo and unsupported (2,190 miles) in 100 days. We will talk about her many other accomplishments, as well as being the founder of her company, Tough Girl Challenges, which is all about motivating and inspiring women and girls to get fit, active, travel, explore and to encourage women and girls to have big dreams and to step outside their comfort zone. Please follow Sarah Williams on all social media below and please subscribe to her wonderful YouTube channel, which has many awesome videos of her adventures that we talked about on the podcast. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SarahWilliamsToughGirlChallenges

https://www.instagram.com/toughgirlchallenges/

https://www.toughgirlchallenges.com/

https://twitter.com/_tough_girl?lang=en

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Tough101/

I had the supreme pleasure of working with my next guest at Club Med Columbus Isle during the 1999/2000 season, but his journey began as a Landsports G.O. at Club Med Les Almadies in Senegal back in 1996. Please help me welcome Laurent “Tarzan” Fraix-Burnet! Born in Bordeaux, France, Tarzan left his home country at 18 to serve in the medical branch of the French army stationed in Senegal. His path to Club Med opened up thanks to his uncle, who did business with Serge Trigano. For this interview, I caught up with Tarzan in Guadeloupe, where he has lived for the past decade. We had a fantastic time laughing through his stories, including the origin of his famous nickname and where he learned the infamous crazy sign "Jessica" that he used to tease me with at Columbus Isle. We wrap up the episode discussing his current venture as the owner and operator of Tarzan Excursion Guadeloupe. If you are planning a trip to the island, be sure to look him up.  **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  

Please take a moment to visit his website, Tarzan Excursion Guadeloupe, and please follow him on Instagram @tarzan_excursion_guadeloupe

Agence d'excursion en Guadeloupe – Tarzan Excursions

Instagram:

Tarzan Excursion Guadeloupe (@tarzan_excursion_guadeloupe) • Instagram photos and videos

My guest today and I met during his first season in Club Med Paradise Island in 2002/2003 where he was a Tennis G.O. Please help me welcome someone who was born in Montreal, but also raised in France and Monaco (we will get into that), Fabrice! Fabrice started learning tennis at a very young age and later on became an instructor, as well as earning an MBA from HEC Montreal and then working in finance before he started working at Club Med. Fabrice shares an amusing Cyrano de Bergerac-esque story and another equally amusing story about being a newly minted MBA student wanting to share his advice on event planning with the resort manager, Angie. Fabrice only had one season in Club Med, but is grateful for the experience he had and the friends he met that he still stays in contact with today.

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest today and I worked together at Club Med Paradise Island in 2002 and 2003, where he served as Head of the Tennis team. I first met him back in 1997 at Columbus Isle, just as he was heading off to his very first season at Club Med Paradise Island as a Tennis G.O. I still remember meeting him at the bar in Columbus Isle that night. When he told me he was a Tennis G.O., I couldn’t help but laugh. (You’ll understand exactly why as soon as the episode starts — and if you know this guy, you already know.) Before Club Med, he was teaching tennis in New York and Connecticut. What followed was nearly a decade of unforgettable stories across the villages, stories I won’t spoil here. He’s also the co-founder and COO/CEO of Rossland Beer Company, an award-winning craft brewery in the stunning mountain town of Rossland, British Columbia. We’ll save the full story of how he built the brewery for the end of the episode. So everyone, please help me give a warm welcome from beautiful British Columbia, Petri Raito! Make sure to check out his website and follow Rossland Beer Company on Instagram at @rosslandbeerco. **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  

Rossland Beer Company

Instagram

My guest today and I met during our first season together in Club Med Turks & Caicos in Summer of 1994. I was at the end of my season and she was starting her 94/95 season as a Boutique G.O. From California, please help me welcome Melissa Cuevas-McIntyre! Melissa has a very vivid account of her first season in Turks & Caicos and she shares her experience with us in great detail, including her favorite JoJo story, getting Padi certified, brushes with minor celebrities, two-cheek kissing Europeans, how to small-talk like a pro at lunch and her favorite Crazy Sign, Crocodile Rock (ugh). Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

I met today’s guest at Club Med Paradise Island in 2002–2003, where she was the resort photographer. But her Club Med story began years earlier, when she arrived at Club Med Copper Mountain in Colorado on vacation in March 1995. Before long, the Chef de Village, Carlos Castro, recruited her to become a Bar G.O. and the rest, as they say, is history. Originally from New York City and now living her best life in Mexico, today’s guest’s first official Club Med contract was at Club Med Sonora Bay in the summer of 1999. As a native New Yorker, Paula has plenty of classic New York GM stories and hilariously memorable guest questions to share, and they are absolutely priceless. Today, Paula is the owner and operator of Casa Preciosa, a pair of beautiful beachfront rental casitas located in Chuburná Puerto, about 35 minutes from Mérida, Mexico. If you're planning a trip to the Yucatán Peninsula, be sure to check them out using the link below. Please join me in welcoming to the podcast, Paula Fishman! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  

Beach Rental | Chuburná | Casa Preciosa

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Paradise Island in 2002/2003. His first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in Winter of 1999 as a Tennis G.O. From Montreal (yahoo!) please help me welcome, Peter Anthony! Peter started to learn tennis at age 12 and eventually became a ranked competitive junior tennis player in the province of Quebec. He was teaching tennis in Montreal when a fellow tennis pro told him about Club Med. He gave Peter G.A.’s number and the rest is history. Even though it was Peter’s first season, he quickly caught on that he joined one of the most stacked G.O. teams talent-wise, of the late 90’s. Just to give you an idea, Moïses Aykanat was the CDV, Cookie the Chief of Animation, Kiko was the Chief of Sports, Flo was the animator and Monika from Brazil was the choreographer. At Circus you had Mac and Caius and Simon Sez was Landsports, to name just a few. Peter discusses his first season in depth and we also touch on the season we met in Paradise Island. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today is from Vancouver and we worked together in Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek in Martinique during the 1998/1999 season, which was her first season as an Aerobics G.O. She arrived at the village in November 1998 while it was undergoing a labor dispute. Everyone, please help me give a warm welcome to Cherine! Cherine gives a detailed account of her first season and what it was like starting her Club Med career in such a difficult and challenging time, that was the labor dispute. Before Club Med, Cherine was a member of the UBC All Star Team (Cheerleading) and was on the NBA Vancouver Grizzlies Stunt & Acrobatic Team and she even got a bronze medal in the Canadian National Aerobics Competition (CNAC) in 1998. Today she is a member of the Mom Bop Band, which is 90’s-style pop music suited for moms, dads, parents and kids alike (please check them out on Instagram @mombopband and their YouTube channel Mom Bop). Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClyIcQ91S8q_zFHEOYymv0Q

https://www.instagram.com/mombopband/

My guest today hails from the Garden State and is the author of the book “Sex, Surf and Sunburn-My Life Inside Club Med”. His first season was in Club Med Turks & Caicos in the Summer of 1999 as a Scuba G.O. Please help me welcome to the podcast, V.J. “Padre” Mochel! V.J. recounts how he went to Club Med twice as a G.M and that is where he got bit by the Scuba bug. He did not have an interview or audition when he was hired and sent to Turks (I know, right?!). V.J. shares his favorite JoJo the dolphin story and what it was like being the permanent guest host of the foam party in Turks & Caicos and how that came about. There is much more discussed in this episode, so please give a listen and when you get the chance, please check out V.J.’s books below in the links provided. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/vj-mochel/sex-surf-and-sunburn/ebook/product-1k8eepky.html?page=1&pageSize=4

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/vj-mochel/after-the-party/ebook/product-1vkzzpy7.html?fbclid=IwAR2JSsZpj-Q6ptAfVlLpcIcOE9_QOqnaUjWBlab9jxXtzeWRLzYW3PO2_po&page=1&pageSize=4

I’m very excited about my next guest, as he’s the first person on the show who worked for Club Med back in the 1970s. Originally from Montreal, when he applied to Club Med, he was sent straight to Europe for his very first season (I know, right?!). He started at Club Med Porto Petro in Majorca, Spain, in 1978 as a Sailing G.O. Everyone, please welcome Tim Purcell! Tim completed about eight seasons with Club Med, and incredibly, in just his second season, he helped open the village of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Over the years, he also worked in Cancún, Playa Blanca, Mauritius, and Nouméa, just to name a few. We dive into all these experiences and more, and I hope you enjoy the episode! (Originally aired on September 20, 2021). **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.