You've heard the phrase "off the beaten path" before, but our guest has made it his life motto. With 5 Guinness World Records under his belt and a handful of near-death experiences, Ash Dykes is no stranger to taking the scenic route around the world. He's spent time in the Amazon Rainforest, walked 4,000 miles along the Yangtze River in China, and his next adventure is only just about to begin. Project 6, as he's calling it, will begin in the Congo, one of the wildest places on earth—and he's spending a month there.

But before we dive into the explorer's world, we have to know where he came from. How did the young lad from North Wales find his way to some of nature's most incredible, and dangerous, places on earth? Ash gives Shannon a first-hand look into what life was like as a kid, the movies that inspired him to lead a life of adventure, and what his family thinks of the life he lives.

You need to stick around to the end, where we ask Ash questions beyond the travel, where he reveals the last time he cried in a story that will stick with you long after the interview is over. It's time for an adventure, and it starts now, on this week's episode of Sons & Daughters.

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Brian Patrick Flynn spent years working in TV before HGTV ever knew his name. There was a stretch when he was making $6 an hour, had his car repossessed and eventually moved back into his parents’ guest bedroom in Fort Lauderdale because he couldn’t afford rent. Meanwhile, old high school classmates were finishing grad school and years into their careers. It was a pretty humbling place to be, but it also ended up putting Brian on the path to Surprised by Design and, eventually, a 16-year run designing for HGTV, including HGTV Dream Home and Urban Oasis.

On this episode of Sons & Daughters, Shannon Spake sits down with someone she actually went to high school with. They were in the same grade, grew up in the same rough corner of South Florida and went to a school where riots in the hallways and asbestos removal crews were just part of the experience. Somehow, they both found their way into careers neither of them probably could have pictured back then. Brian became one of HGTV’s most recognizable design names and founded Flynn Side Out Productions, while Shannon built her career in sports and broadcasting.

Brian also talks about a part of his story he hasn’t really opened up about publicly before. He spent years hiding who he was and says he didn’t fully feel like himself until he was 27, the same year he met his now-husband, Hollis.

It’s a conversation about where they came from, how they got out and all the things that happened along the way that neither of them could have seen coming.

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Scott Hanson has hosted NFL RedZone for almost two decades, 17 seasons in and about to start his 18th. But before he became the guy narrating chaos on your TV every Sunday, he got rejected from his dream school twice, made $15,000 a year at his first TV job, and hit a breaking point at 25 that changed the entire direction of his life.

In this episode of Sons and Daughters, Scott opens up about getting rejected from Syracuse’s Newhouse School twice, then walking on to the football team just to force his way back in the door. He talks about his first job in Traverse City, Michigan, where he made so little money he couldn’t afford a washer and dryer. He gets into the perfectionism that still keeps him up at night over stats no one else even notices, even 30 years into his career. And he talks about the moment at 25 when his life quietly fell apart, and the phone call to a high school football coach that changed everything, down to the exact minute.

If you know Scott Hanson as the voice of NFL RedZone, this conversation shows the version of him nobody sees on TV: the rejections, the sacrifices, and the moment that changed the direction of his life.

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Six months before the crash that would end his driving career, Darrell Gwynn chose a charity for his sponsor to support and personally put the decal on his race car. He had no idea that, less than a year later, that same organization would help save his life.

A Top Fuel legend with 18 Top Fuel wins, 28 NHRA national event victories, nine Top Fuel records and a place among the 50 greatest drivers in NHRA history, Darrell Gwynn’s story starts long before the trophies.

On this episode of Sons & Daughters, we go back to the beginning. Darrell talks about learning to drive his dad Jerry’s ill-handling dragster at just seven years old, road trips to questionable tracks across the South, and the father-son partnership that meant Jerry was there for every single one of Darrell’s runs down the quarter mile.

We get into Darrell’s incredible 1990 season, which was shaping up to be his championship year, the exhibition run in England that changed everything, and the unbelievable chain of events that unfolded while Darrell was still in the hospital.

But this story doesn’t end with the crash.

Darrell opens up about finding a new purpose outside the driver’s seat, the second act he built for himself, and the people who helped him get there. He also shares the story behind his new photo book, Fortunate Son: My Life in Photos, releasing September 4.

This is a story about drag racing, but at its heart, it’s about a father and son, an unimaginable turning point, and finding a way forward when the life you knew changes forever.

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Colin Cowherd knew he wanted to be a sportscaster at 7 years old.

Growing up in Grayland, Washington, population 847, Colin’s mom gave him a tape recorder, and he started taking it to Mariners, Seahawks and Washington Huskies games to practice calling the action. That childhood obsession eventually became a career that took him from an AMC Pacer and a baseball convention in San Diego to the Radio Hall of Fame and, eventually, building The Volume, the media company he owns today.

On this episode of Sons & Daughters, Colin talks about the moments that shaped his career, including advice from a stranger at a casino bar that he still remembers 40 years later, leaving ESPN, his biggest fear on the air, and why being unprepared scared him more than being wrong.

He also opens up about his health scare, his approach to hiring, and what he’d tell the 7-year-old kid who first picked up that tape recorder.

It’s a conversation about knowing what you want early, staying ready when the opportunity comes, and building something that’s truly your own.

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Leah Pruett’s racing career is full of moments that started with a little bit of fear, a lot of uncertainty, and a decision to say yes anyway.

When Leah posted that she was stepping away from racing to finish school, someone commented and offered her a ride in a Pro Mod. She was terrified, but said yes. That one unexpected opportunity helped put her on a path to the NHRA’s Top Fuel ranks.

Years later, burnout forced Leah to step back and reevaluate everything. Her crew chiefs and sponsors needed a change, and she did too. What could have been the end of one chapter instead became part of the story behind Tony Stewart Racing Nitro.

Leah gets candid about becoming a mom, what it was like to step away from the car, and the importance of having a plan for when she was ready to come back. She also opens up about Tony Stewart’s role throughout it all and how he supported her without ever making her feel like she had to choose between racing and starting a family.

Host Shannon Spake sits down with 13-time Top Fuel winner and 19-time NHRA race winner Leah Pruett for a conversation about burnout, motherhood, ambition, and the unexpected moments that can completely change the direction of your life.

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Some names are synonymous with generational talent all across sports — Griffey, Earnhardt, Curry — and there's no denying that our guest today belongs in that elite list. Brittany Force comes from a line of racers and continues to blaze paths throughout her career, following in the footsteps of her father, John Force.

Recently, the first female to break the 340mph barrier has stepped away from racing to pursue starting a family. She discusses the difficulties of making the decision with Shannon, and how it's different from how men in the sport balance both their career and being a father. Being a mother of twins, Shannon provides insight into how being a mother in the sports industry is a superpower.

What we learn about Brittany is that, though her father is the legendary John Force, her dreams were not always to be a racer. She actually started racing much later than most do, after chasing the dream of wanting to be an English teacher ... talk about a complete 180. 

So how does Brittany Force, a sister, daughter, and wife, go from wanting to work in a school setting to setting speed records? That's what we aim to learn today on Sons & Daughters.

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In sports, we often see the athletes as heroes, titans, and giants amongst regular people -- especially in the case of 7'0" Kentucky Basketball standout and former NBA player, Willie Cauley-Stein. But what we don't often see is the adversity that all these men and women face off the court, field, or track. And Willie's story is no different.

The path that brought Willie from high school football star to becoming a basketball standout may have looked like climbing a mountain to some, but there was a secret shadow lurking on the trail he was blazing. 

Willie recently publicly opened up about his battle with drug addiction and why he felt now was the time to be vulnerable about his past. Shannon Spake, who once covered Kentucky's Men's Basketball team where she met our guest, dives into his story of rising to the pressure of one of the greatest sports institutions in college athletics, his sobriety story, and the last words his grandma spoke to him that changed his life for good.

How did Willie Cauley-Stein, a kid from a town of less than 800, become a basketball phenom, and with a heart to match his stature? Find out with us on today's episode of Sons & Daughters.

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Mitch Covington’s path to Monster Energy was anything but traditional.

Before becoming the Chief Partnership Officer behind deals with athletes like Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, Rob Gronkowski, Ronda Rousey, and Kurt Busch, Mitch was chasing a dream of becoming an Air Force fighter pilot, rebuilding after failure, and eventually finding his way into the world of motorsports.

On this episode of Sons and Daughters, Mitch shares the unbelievable stories behind his journey: the mistake that ended his pilot career, becoming an accidental motocross dad, helping build Monster Energy’s racing empire, jumping into the ocean to save a phone with Michael Jordan’s number, and how Monster made history with its groundbreaking Big 12 naming rights deal.

It’s a story about taking unexpected turns, turning setbacks into opportunities, and how a kid from Vernon, Alabama became one of the most influential people in sports marketing.

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Before Maddi Gordon became one of NHRA's fastest-rising stars, she watched her dad survive one of the scariest crashes of his career. That moment changed everything.

Maddi joins Shannon Spake to share the story behind her journey from working on her family's Funny Car as a crew member to winning in Top Fuel. She talks about the crash that delayed her own racing career, how her family discovered what caused it, and why those lessons made the entire class safer. She also shares how COVID unexpectedly changed the direction of her life, why she never believed Top Fuel was actually possible, and what it meant when Ron Capps called with an opportunity she never saw coming.

From wrenching on race cars with her sister to becoming one of the newest faces of NHRA, Maddi's story is about far more than driving fast. It's about family, hard work, earning every opportunity, and proving that the path to the driver's seat isn't always a straight line.

If you're a fan of NHRA, drag racing, motorsports, or stories about perseverance, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

For more content head to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@sonsanddaughterspod

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