Passion Pod

Greg Lutzka is a professional skateboarder and entrepreneur from Milwaukee, WI. Greg's career has spanned decades and his list of accomplishments goes on and on. His new documentary titled "One Way Ticket" is now available on Amazon and gives a great summary of his career so far.

Greg dropped out of high school and moved to California to chase his dreams of being a pro skateboarder. It didn't take long for that dream to become a reality. Throughout his career Greg had pro models on Illenium, Krooked, Almost, and Darkstar before creating his own line of skateboards that are now sold in Walmart locations worldwide. Greg has had numerous video parts and won nearly every major skateboard contest on the planet throughout his twenties. He was one of the first pro skateboarders to branch out of the skateboard industry and rode for major corporate brands including Toyota, Visa, Rockstar, K-Swiss, and more. Eventually his window as a top pro began to close he turned to entrepreneurship and became even more successful. He now stays busy with his dozens of properties, businesses, his tv show on Fuel TV, and more.

We recorded this episode at Billy Duece's studio in Milwaukee on a recent trip back home for Greg. What was meant to be a one hour visit turned into 3 hours of conversation on and off the mic.

In this episode we discuss his transition into entrepreneurship, investing at a young age, his plans to teach others, his new documentary, top skateboarding moments, the school of life, giving back, how to negotiate with brands, and why it's all worth it.

Amber Pacific is a Seattle based pop punk band that has been performing together since the early 2000's and is currently working on their first album in 10 years. Matt Young (Lead Vocals) sat down with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod after their performance on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

In this episode we discuss how their music has evolved over the years, parenting pre teens, writing new music, an upcoming album, the state of the music industry, and why it's all worth it.

Amber Pacific is a Seattle based pop punk band that has been performing together since the early 2000's and is currently working on their first album in 10 years. Will Nutter (Guitar) and Dango Cellan (Drums) sat down with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod after their performance on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

In this episode we discuss how their music has evolved over the years, writing new music, an upcoming album, the state of the music industry, and why it's all worth it.

Ginuwine recently performed on Friday August 16th in Eau Claire, Wisconsin at Reverb Music Festival 2024. He was kind enough to sit down backstage with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod for a short interview about his experience on stage, his personal music preferences, saying "yes" to things, his journey towards sobriety, and more.

Warren Anderson Mathis, or better known as Bubba Sparxxx recently performed on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Bubba was kind enough to sit down backstage after his performance with Chris Johnson for this episode of the Passion Pod.

In this episode we discuss new music, how he coulda been Eminem, his relationship with Timbaland, flying first class, spending $100,000 last year on DoorDash, biggest regrets, collecting Jordans, spending $600,000 on a music video, and more.

John Vesely aka Secondhand Serenade and his good friend and supporting vocalist/guitarist Will Garrett performed on Saturday August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, WI and were kind enough to sit down backstage after their performance with Passion Pod host Chris Johnson.

In this interview we discuss technical difficulties on stage, how they became friends and bandmates, playing for massive crowds across Asia, most memorable experiences along the way, and more.

Dan Marsala is the lead singer for Story of the Year, and was kind enough to record this interview backstage on the Passion Pod with Chris Johnson before their performance at Reverb Music Festival 2024.

In this interview we discuss which songs are his favorite to perform, juggling parenting and touring, the resurgence of emo music, longevity in the music industry, which rockstars he still fans out on, obscure tee shirts, and more.

Anberlin's own Christian McAlhaney (Guitar) and Deon Rexroat (Bass) sat down with Chris Johnson on the Passion Pod after their performance on Saturday, August 17th at Reverb Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

In this episode we discuss the band's hiatus, switching up their singer to Matty Mullins, creating new music during the pandemic, the current state of the music industry, advice for young musicians, being fully committed to music, staying grounded, and more.

Richie Murphy is the most followed D3 college football player in the country and he plays for the UW Stout Blue Devils and this is his very first podcast interview he has ever done. Richie went viral for the first time when he was only in 5th grade and has been steadily making content and building an audience ever since. He is about to start his final season as a college athlete, but he's already built his various platforms to an obvious career after college.

In this episode we share Richie's life story from posting his first YouTube video he shot in his driveway, to recently signing an NIL deal with Kwik Trip. Richie also offers us a ton of insight behind social media, content creation, strategy, tips, misconceptions, and more.

Kevin Bolger is an Olympic cross country skier for the United States. Kevin grew up skiing in Minocqua, WI where his family is originally from. However for the last decade he has spent the majority of his time living and competing in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia where the sport really thrives. Kevin started skiing in 3rd grade, but didn't start taking it seriously until he was in high school. After graduating he moved to Utah to train full time before making the US national team. Kevin's skills grew more and more until he earned his spot on the United States Olympic team and competed in the Beijing winter Olympics in 2022 where he placed in the world overall.

Kevin's career hasn't been as glorious as some might assume however. Cross country skiing certainly has it's place in the midwest culture, but the sport is still very niche in the United States. That translates to not only a more difficult road to become internationally competitive, but it also makes it much harder for a professional skier like himself to make a sustainable living. In this episode we discuss growing up in the midwest, moving to Norway to ski with his heroes, fundraising to make his career possible, vlogging with his gold medalist girlfriend Maja Dahlqvist, competing in the Olympics during the pandemic, and much more.