Only One In The Room

Producer and writer Tony Spatafora has a wicked sense of humor and a heart of gold. Known for Socket, Dish it Out!, and The Lees of Los Angeles. Tony Spatafora is The Only Fifty Year-Old Gay Father In The Room.

Instagram: @tonyspats

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays and Scott Talks now released on Wednesdays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine packing up your family for a Thanksgiving trip to Mauritius, Africa and deciding to stay and make it your home? Today’s guest, Lucia Brawley and her husband did just that, joining a number of Americans who are moving to The Motherland.

Lucia is a co-founder and the Chief Creative Officer of AMP Global Technologies and executive producer of the two-time Interactive Emmy finalist, "Take Back the Mic: The World Cup of Hip Hop," and “The Mic: Africa." She worked as an actress alongside talents like Viola Davis and Angela Bassett, and for world-class directors, including Oliver Stone and Barry Levinson. She was a political organizer for the Obama presidential campaigns, growing a team of 4 volunteers into 2,000 members and helping Obama win his congressional district by the largest margin in the California primary. A vocal advocate for arts education and other social justice issues, she is a regular contributor to national outlets including CNN.com and the HuffPo, and earned a place atop CNN.com's "Most Popular Op-Eds." Lucia is a graduate of Harvard with a Master's in Acting from the Yale School of Drama. She and her husband are proud parents to two vibrant little girls, ages 7 and 9.

Instagram @takebackthemic 

 Twitter: @luciabrawley & @takebackthemic 

www.takebackthemic.com 

 www.amp.it 

 Register To Vote! https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote 

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays and Scott Talks now released on Wednesdays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Ever Gonzalez right after the show.

Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday.

Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more.

You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www.theonlyonepod.com

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if, after crossing the US border with your mother, you joined the Mormon church and began to reject the clichés associated with immigrants, deciding that handouts were not for you and with hard work, anything was possible for anyone.

Ever Gonzalez, podcaster, and founder of Outlier HQ media and events company, found that his morals and principals were better aligned with more traditional values.

But what if one day there was a cultural reckoning and everywhere you looked people were marching and calling for change? Would you stop and question the conservative ideology that was being publicly challenged? Or would you assure yourself that everyone was getting what they deserved.

More From Ever Gonzalez:

Visit Outlier HQ

Read his articles on Medium.com

Finding Ever Gonzalez:

Join the Outlier Podcast Festival Facebook Group

Instagram: @_evergonzalez & @outlierhq

Twitter: @_evergonzalez

Be sure not to miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday.

If you'd like to ask a question for either the Dear Laura segment or of an upcoming guest on Now Normal, be sure to join our Facebook Group .

You can also DM us on instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website www.theonlyonepod.com.

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins such as live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

Don't miss our bonus after show Scott Talks, where co-host and producer Scott Slaughter (aka Hon) briefly chops it up with our guest immediately after the interview.

*If you know someone who might be feeling like they're the "Only One" be sure to share this or one of our other unique episodes with them. Also be sure to subscribe, comment and review us on iTunes!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May of this year, TMZ reported on a new trend sweeping the California, Salon speakeasies. Folks in the hair biz started secretly taking clients despite the states Stay At Home Order. Stylists see their regular customers for their normal appointments, all while keeping the appearance that the shop is closed, just like a speakeasy during prohibition. Other barbers and stylists began secretly making housecalls to their clients, doing hair in backyards, kitchens and basements. The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology apparently caught wind of these practices, and sent an email threatening to pull the licenses of anyone who was busted disobeying state orders. My friend Kristin Kilian Lobos is a stylist in the San Francisco Bay area. Since the shutdown began, Kris has been vocal about staying home and staying safe.  

Cis Gender- sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex/genitalia (Oxford Dictionary) 

 Check out the Live Your Dream Scholarship

 Instagram @kaykaylobos

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays and Scott Talks now released on Wednesdays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Simone Reyes right after the show.

Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday.

Be sure to join our Facebook Group for the most up-to-date info on guests, episodes and more.

You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www.theonlyonepod.com

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Food is the way we connect in our society. You can’t celebrate a holiday or a birth, mourn a loved one or make a business deal without communing over a meal - and for many a meal is incomplete without meat or dairy.

Simone Reyes, author, avid animal rights activist, vegan, animal rescuer, music and TV executive and country music artist, knew that going vegan while working at Def Jam Records in the 90’s would be a lonely venture. But she felt compelled to follow her conscience and help others see the damage they were doing to themselves and to the planet by continuing to eat meat.

But what if one day, decades after making the lifestyle choice that set you apart from your friends and family, you felt called to a career in country music. A venture that departed so severely from your hip-hop roots that even your closest friends questioned your decision? Would you decide that being a vegan was hard enough and leave your dream alone? Or would you pick up your cowboy hat and let the doubters call you crazy?

Finding Simone Reyes:

Twitter: @simonereyes

Instagram: @simonereyes & @simonereyesmusic

Be sure not to miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday.

If you'd like to ask a question for either the Dear Laura segment or of an upcoming guest on Now Normal, be sure to join our Facebook Group .

You can also DM us on instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website www.theonlyonepod.com.

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins such as live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

Don't miss our bonus after show Scott Talks, where co-host and producer Scott Slaughter (aka Hon) briefly chops it up with our guest immediately after the interview.

*If you know someone who might be feeling like they're the "Only One" be sure to share this or one of our other unique episodes with them. Also be sure to subscribe, comment and review us on iTunes!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Black and brown girls don’t see black ballerinas in the world’s most prestigious troupes, they don’t know that dancing is something that’s possible for them. A career in professional ballet is already a long shot for MOST girls, but the odds are even more stacked against Black girls who rarely, if ever, see prima ballerinas of color succeed. So when my dear friend Riva Lombardi told us about 16-year old Imani Lindsay, who is one of the only Black dancers at the National Ballet School of Canada, where she has trained for many years and currently lives in residence, we jumped at the chance to interview her.

National Ballet School https://www.nbs-enb.ca/en/home 

Instagram: @imani_lindsay 

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays and Scott Talks now released on Wednesdays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friday March 13, 2020 - That was the date of my last in-person workout at my gym, Arena Fitness Training Center in Encino. On March 17, the world as we knew it went into freefall, and all gyms, not just mine, would shut their doors in accordance with Governor Newsom’s orders - some of them for good. By mid May, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, if we continued to flatten the curve, gyms, barbershops and salons might be allowed to reopen in July - provided that they made some pretty expensive (and major) accommodations. Most gym owners went to work, putting everything in place with a July 6 reopening planned. Joe Garcia and Jonathan Aluzas made those accommodations and were allowed to reopen as scheduled, only to be shut down again on Monday, July 13. Last week, Scott and I received an email from Jonathan with the subject line: Things are tough, we need your help.

Jonathan Aluzas and Joe Garcia are the owners of Arena Fitness, a full service personal training and nutrition coaching studio, with a focus beyond exercise and nutrition to include a holistic approach to overall wellness that includes healthy habit and lifestyle coaching. 

Visit Arena Fitness: https://www.arenafitness.com

Instagram: @arenafitnesstrainingcenter

Facebook: Arena Fitness Training Center

Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays and Scott Talks now released on Wednesdays by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Join our Only One In The Room Facebook Group if you'd like to ask a question of any of our upcoming guests for this series. 

Also visit the website www.theonlyonepod.com for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Slaughter co-host and producer of The Only One In The Room has a short and casual, yet deep conversation with our guest Antonio Harvey right after the show.

Don't miss our new Now Normal series releasing every Thursday.

If you'd like to ask a question on the Dear Laura segment or of an upcoming guest on Now Normal be sure to join our Facebook Group.

You can also DM us on Instagram @theonlyoneintheroom or email us via the website at www.theonlyonepod.com

Also visit the website for the latest from our host Laura Cathcart Robbins like live events, appearances, featured articles and more.

We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices