On episode thirty-three, Jeff and I welcome my dear friend, Chaz Franke.

Chaz has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from McKendree University, and he has a Master of Social Work degree from Saint Louis University (SLU). Chaz received his clinical license in 2009 and now owns his own joint (private practice) in Belleville, IL called Light Source (we’ll get to that in a minute).

Okay. Now that the fancy introduction is out of the way, allow me to get to it.

Chaz is the fucking man!

Plain and simple.

He was around during some pretty infamous “Fucking Pondoff” moments and has a funny way of recalling a lot of the details… which is good… because when you’re hammered drunk during most of these instances you tend to forget some of the juicy details.

I do remember one morning, after inviting myself over to Chaz’s house in Belleville and finishing the rest of my second bottle of whiskey, texting Chaz to see how fucked up I really was… because I thought I remembered him having a three-legged dog.

Turns out he did (and still does) have a three-legged dog!

So that was good news, I felt, as I wasn’t so fucked up that I was seeing things.

Amen!

Side note. Diego is one of the best dogs I have ever met (and drank with)! Chaz reminded me again on the show that I would frequently try and pour Diego a drink, “because he only had three legs”.

Anyway, you guys gotta check out this episode!

It’s funny, it is spiritual as Chaz discusses his life as a Buddhist and how his spirituality basically saved him (I can empathize with that), there’s a lot of brotherly love on this thing (Chaz is a big lover, man… a teddy bear… and fuck, I’m kind of a lover too!), and there are some real aha moments as Chaz describes how trauma affects us as human beings.

When Chaz graduated, his first “big boy job”, as he describes it, was working as a counselor in the meth wing of a prison, where he would basically be in fellowship and facilitate conversations with PEOPLE (that’s key here) that happened to be serving a stint for drug related charges.

Talk about seeing some shit and meeting mother f***ers where they are at.

But that’s what Chaz does.

That’s what Chaz has always done.

Ever since I have known him since the age of 14 when I was trying to smuggle booze in his house.

And now…

Now Chaz has opened his own private practice with a team of therapists that have one of the most unique and endearing approaches to trauma therapy (among other therapies) that I have ever heard or seen of. These folks really are helping so many people, y’all.

So, tune in and hear how he describes their mission!

I promise you it will be captivating!

I also challenge you to listen to Chaz. Don’t just hear the words. Listen to this mother f***er! He’s fucking brilliant and the mission that he and his team are on could vastly improve the quality of your life by getting in the weeds with you to iron out some deep rooted shit that you carry… and they will also remind you that it is “okay to hurt”, that “pain does not play favorites”, and that you are so fucking worth it.

Listen, I’m not trying to tell you what to do (but I kinda am), if you’re suppressing traumatic shit… whether it was long ago or just recently, please listen to this episode and I am praying so fucking hard that you will consider seeking some help to deal with the pain.

And remember that it is o-fucking-kay to do so.

Please.

I’m talking to you.

Thanks, Chaz. Thanks for being a big brother to me and playing a role to get me where I am today. Thanks for coming on the show and thanks for continuing to keep an eye on my bullshit because I realize that I’m still (as my pastor reminds me frequently) a work in progress.

I love you, brother.

Let us pray.

-Chris

*Oh… and don’t worry… Chaz and I touch on the glory days of what was the US Ice Sports Complex in Fairview Heights. And, yes, some names were mentioned. 😉

Find out more at https://pondoff.pinecast.co