DJ Strizzo grew up and started his career in Tampa, Florida and is now touring the world with platinum selling artist Bubba Sparxxx. Strizzo spent a decade working in radio building his fanbase and catalogue of official remixes he produced. As he got booked to perform in bigger and bigger clubs, he also went on tour as a DJ for bigger and bigger artists around the country.

In this interview we discuss making the Olympic trials as a hurdler in college, playing around with turntables for the first time, how he met Bubba Sparxxx, his musical influences, missing the old Kanye West, club hits vs. radio hits, getting official remixes with rock legends like Def Leppard, and much more.

Bekah Worley is an illustration artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota best know for her bright and colorful folk art paintings. Bekah was a late bloomer in the art world, but over the last few years she has found her own voice and grown an audience to over 100,000 followers on Instagram. What started with printing on tote bags that she sold at markets has grown into her full time career. Bekah was kind enough to let us record this inside her new art studio in Uptown.

In this interview we discuss how she got her start, getting her first big commission, how she blew up on social media, why affordable art is so important, which other artists inspire her, how to make a living as an artist, and much more.

Jared Schutz aka Wisco Dive Bar Reviews is a dive bar enthusiast from Spring Valley, WI. It all started with a simple question. How many bars are there in Wisconsin? After a quick google search Jared found the answer to be in the thousands and so the journey began. He recorded his first review video in January of 2022 and since has amassed an audience of over 50,000 followers on Instagram, over 60,000 on Facebook, and over 90,000 followers on TikTok. His mission is to bring more eyes, ears, and business to locally owned bars around the state.

In this episode we discuss what makes diver bars so great, entrepreneurship, juggling multiple jobs, getting his own vodka brand, the community of Wisconsin influencers, spreading positivity, designing his own clothing, and much more.

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.