Passport Podcast

Fanny Renoir's childhood was spent wandering amongst Humboldt County's giant redwoods, reading Marcel Proust and chasing rainbows in search of elusive pots of gold.

Fanny attempted to live a conventional life, but the temptation of the hippie movement finally caught up with her in 1971 when she stood on the side of the road with her thumb out to hitchhike around America. Fanny's road and acid trips took her to an ashram in Tuscon, a Pensacola police station, Nashville night clubs and even a short stay at Ken Kesey's Oregon farm.

Setting out looking for signs along the "Hippie Trail" Fanny took the road less traveled in search of enlightenment only to encounter beautiful souls and a few sadistic psychos - she discovered that being on the road could be both happy and harrowing.

Following her dream of being a writer, poet and artist, Fanny eventually made her way to San Francisco's North Beach and soon found a home, literally and figuratively, at the famed Caffe Triest. Thirty-Two years later, she's a neighborhood fixture and can often be found hosting art and music shows, or holding court at the Caffe with a cadre of artistic souls and neighborhood eccentrics.

Despite being in the neighborhood for seven years, our paths would often cross, but only recently did we meet for the very first time. Now, in this episode of the Passport Podcast, Fanny shares her remarkable story with us, and it's truly an enlightening adventure.

Please listen, comment, like and share this episode of the Passport Podcast.

What does it mean to hit rock bottom? If you are down and out how low does one have to go before there is nowhere else to go, but up?

For our guest, Manny Fernandez, his life on the mean streets of the East Bay in-between trips to California's Juvenile Detention Centers led to existing one day to the next without much hope for the future or value for life.

After a violent fight over a girl and getting kicked out of his mom's house for the last time, Manny lands back with his drug dealing step-dad, Mike until one afternoon when the Sheriff's Department busts down the door and hauls Mike away to jail. At just 17 years old, Manny finds himself left to squat alone and to live in fear that a rival gang would hunt him down and take his life and that of his family. The presence of violence, drugs, and crime finally catch up with him after a decade of dysfunction and desperation.

Until one night when Manny takes a walk around the block that changes his life forever. Listen to Part 2 to hear how he turns his life around and puts him on the path to redemption.

Manny's compelling personal narrative touches everyone who hears it, and part 2 provides an inconceivable yet inspiring message of hope and perseverance that may lead you to reevaluate your trials, tribulations, and triumphs along the path of life.

Thanks for Listening and please Like and share this remarkable story.

To Hell and Back, Part-1 features the compelling life story of actor/author Manny Fernandez.

Beginning in the late 1980's To Hell and Back is a wild tale of dysfunction and despair for a young boy as he navigates the poor relationship choices of his mother who divorces from Manny's father and takes up with a string of drug dealers and abusive addicts. These poor decisions expose young Manny to a life of violent crime beyond what most people can even imagine, much less survive to tell about it.

Manny is taught to fight his way violently through life. Incredibly, he is forced to smoke crack cocaine at just 11 years old, and it's all downhill from there with the young Manny dropping out of school at 14. Manny then begins working at fast food jobs to help support the family before he eventually becomes homeless, hitting the streets and becoming an East Bay gang member.

Hear this incredible tale of survival and what it means to exposure to sociopaths, drug addicts and violent criminals starting at just eight years old. Manny takes us on a wild journey of near-death experiences, gunfights, solitary confinement and bruising battles just to stay alive on the mean streets of the East Bay and in California's juvenile detention centers

(Coming Soon) Check out Part-2 where Manny hits rock bottom and turns his life around through an inspiring transformation.

Episode 4 takes us on a virtual tour of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of a longtime resident and current "Bus Monkey" tour guide.

Nick Messinger has called San Francisco home for the past 30 years, and he had a successful career as a TV News Producer. After taking an early retirement from his job and then while facing critical life questions, Nick had an epiphany to become a tour guide on a double-decker tour bus. Little did he know how much his new career would impact his outlook on life.

Host Keith Breitbach gets the inside scoop on what compels someone out of retirement to become a tour guide with an insatiable appetite for San Francisco history and trivia. Messinger takes us from the 1848 Gold Rush to a discussion about current politics, the arrival of Tech workers and skyrocketing real estate prices.

Over the past 30 years, Nick Messinger's journey wound its way across the country to the Mission District then to The Haight and North Beach neighborhoods. His history gets woven with that of the city, and in this podcast, Nick shares his passion and love for San Francisco. It's a compelling and insightful adventure providing a fun perspective of the city and the people who call it home.

A welcome and introduction to the Passport Podcast.

Passport Podcast Episode 2 features a conversation with Bradmundo Breitbach. This show recalls the time host Keith Breitbach and his brother Bradmundo set out on an epic road trip adventure in a car they purchased for $100. The 1993 journey covered more than 6,500 miles of visiting national parks in the U.S. and Canada. Bradmundo also shares how that trip inspired the next adventure of living, working and traveling throughout the United Kingdom including London and Scottland. Bradmundo shares the highs and lows of the journey from landing at Heathrow and managing to find his way in a strange land as a young and inexperienced traveler venturing abroad for the very first time. From riding public transit, staying at youth hostels, pouring pints in pubs to trying his hand at international banking and living the London "rave" scene lifestyle is a whirlwind tour that provides an informative and entertaining travel story.

Episode 1: We meet 19-year-old Sam and Emma at a drum circle on Maui's Little Beach, and they join him for the inaugural podcast to share their adventures of dropping out of college to work at an organic farm while living the Hawaiian island hippie lifestyle.

But there's always more to the story, and the conversation develops into a far-ranging discussion covering everything from nude beaches, breaching whales, winning the battle over depression through yoga, train hopping, flow art and finding your way in this crazy world.