Canadian 400m sprinter Austin Cole sits down to break the myth that sprinting is “just 44 seconds.” We cover the full grind: training blocks, travel and acclimation, funding/sponsorship reality, selection windows, and the mindset it takes to keep winning when you’re “only as fast as your last race.” If you’re an athlete, coach, parent—or just sprint-curious—this episode is a blueprint, not a highlight reel.

What you’ll learn

• How Austin went from hockey to track, then set a 300m school record as a rookie

• What a pro season actually looks like (travel, race volume, recovery)

• Heat & humidity lessons from the Bahamas (acclimation matters… a lot)

• Funding truth: Athletics Canada support, sponsors, and making it pencil

• Mixed/4x400 relay—why it’s strategic, not just “four fast people”

• Practical advice for young athletes (sleep, nutrition, habits over hype)

This week we’re poolside (literally) with Kelvin dodging monkeys in Grenada, arguing about Taylor & Travis, celebrating UBC boys hitting the NFL, and telling an all-timer airline saga. Zero fluff, just real talk and dumb jokes. Tap in.

👍 Like, 💬 comment your favorite moment, and 🔔 subscribe if you’re new.

HOSTS & CREW

Ryan • Lubin • Mark • Kelvin (remote from Grenada)

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Singer–songwriter Eric Kane walks through the rebrand from Cane Incognito to his own name, the personal events behind the new material, and how DIY touring across Western Canada helped him build momentum. We also cover the single “Water My Soul.”

Listen to “Water My Soul”: https://lnk.to/EKwater

Follow Eric: https://www.instagram.com/erickane_/ • https://www.tiktok.com/@erickane_ • https://linktr.ee/erickane

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UmGlgmtPKs&list=PLKaD7O12yUOuV2SyXlhIYKkLKpZIZ97e2&pp=gAQB

About Solo Spotlight:

Conversations with artists and builders—documenting the reps, systems, and risks behind the wins.

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First batch gone in 48 hours. ~400 jars in ~3 months. Then AHS reached out—so Steven paused home production, moved into a commercial kitchen, and kept building.

Drunken Phở’s founder Steven Nguyen breaks down how a family Vietnamese satế (lemongrass chili oil) became a real brand: a 12-jar retail test that sold out in ~3 days and expanded to five stores, scrappy pop-ups (30 jars in 30 minutes; 45 in ~2 hours), and content that actually converts.

What we cover:

• - Satế vs. generic chili oil (and why consistency is hard)
• - Compliance & ops: AHS pause → permits → commercial kitchen
• - Retail: test → sell-through → reorders and cadence
• - Pop-up playbook that moved product fast
• - Content engine when you only have an hour a day

Guest:

Steven Nguyen — Founder, Drunken Phở (Edmonton, AB)

Find them:

www.drunkenpho.ca, Lucky Supermarket locations (AB)

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When Braden Burym left Saskatchewan for steady money in Alberta oil and construction, it felt like a one‑way road to a decent life. Years later, on May 31st, a routine basket move whipped the wrong way and ripped his bicep tendon. Overnight he was injured, medicated, and expendable. HR said there was no work. Bills stacked. Friends went silent. The gym—the last outlet holding the darkness back—was gone.

Four days before eviction, a lawyer called about long‑owed wages from a defunct Saskatoon employer. The cheque paid the rent—and funded a used Sony A7III. With nothing left to lose, Braden started shooting again: small paid gigs, aerials he learned on YouTube, and passion projects on people living on society’s edge. One of those short docs—centered on a man named Bill—caught fire online. Braden realized his niche wasn’t flashy VFX; it was human storytelling.

That portfolio led to real opportunities, including Nitro Cross and Ricky Forbes (Tornado Hunter)—the first time someone with reach picked Braden for his storytelling, not his résumé. 2024 turned into a string of wins: a local band video, event work, and a pipeline of clients across the Prairies. Parallel to the craft was a spiritual shift: instead of numbing pain, he followed the quiet, insistent nudge to do the next good thing. Faith didn’t erase the past; it reframed it as raw material for service.

GUEST BIO

Braden Burym is a Saskatchewan‑born former oil & directional drilling worker turned videographer. After a job‑site injury ended his blue‑collar career, he rebuilt himself behind the lens—documenting overlooked people and prairie stories with a minimalist toolset and maximal empathy. His work ranges from micro‑docs to music videos and motorsports, anchored by a simple motto: do the next good thing.

Local grind meets sports soap opera. We kick off with a killer Edmonton founder story—how Drunken Foe went from mom’s recipe to navigating AHS rules, pH tests, and razor-thin margins—then pivot into the week’s sports drama: Ryan’s Austin Cole debrief, a Canadian teen shaking up tennis, MLB history behind the plate, Jays reality check, the WNBA’s money/growth tension (yes, Caitlin comes up), and the NBA’s never-ending headline factory. We land the plane with a no-fluff chat on the Air Canada mess and what labor showdowns actually mean for real people trying to get to work.

What you’ll hear:

- Edmonton small-biz saga: scaling food without selling your soul

- Austin Cole interview takeaways (and Ryan’s “learning the lingo” moment)

- Tennis & MLB milestones you’ll actually care about

- WNBA growth vs. player pay realities; NBA gossip vs. policy

- Blue Jays pulse check that doesn’t sugar-coat

- Air Canada & unions: the adult conversation

Chef/owner Levi Biddlecombe joins Solo Spotlight to break down the founder grind behind Backstairs Burger: from $13 in the account to lines out the door. We get into the food-truck sprint, the Breakfast TV pop, and how to scale fine-dining technique without losing soul. Real ops, real numbers, real craft—house American cheese, house pickles, “bacon glass,” and the blueprint that actually holds.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The $13 → sold-out arc: momentum, mistakes, and what changed

• The TV break & handling demand without breaking the system

• Scaling craft: what travels in delivery vs. dies on the pass

• Dialing back “too-chefy” prep to keep consistency tight

• Life cost vs. payoff: family, rebuilding, showing up.

GUEST

Levi Biddlecombe — Backstairs Burger (Edmonton)

Website: https://backstairsburger.ca

Instagram (Restaurant): https://instagram.com/backstairsburger

Instagram (Levi): https://instagram.com/cheflevi57

X/Twitter (Levi): https://x.com/cheflevi57

HOST / STUDIO

Ryan — Spare Bedroom Studios

IG: @Spare_bedroom_studios

If this made you hungry—or smarter—hit subscribe, drop a comment, and send it to the friend who always “knows a spot.

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Real-time captions aren’t a magic button—they’re a human sprint. Court reporter & close captioner Elise Eichmüller joins me to demystify how captions actually get to your screen, why humans are the gold standard, and what strong training programs (like NAIT’s) mean for accuracy, accessibility, and justice.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How live captions work (pre-hookup, modem checks, ~3s delay buffer, rapid fix window)

• The skills bar: 225 WPM for 5 minutes at ~95% accuracy—and what that sounds like

• Courtroom realities: one voice at a time, read-backs & daily copy keep the record honest

• Tools & technique: modern software, dictionaries/briefs, and why this isn’t “old-fashioned”

• NAIT program stakes: why strong pipelines + top-of-field instructors matter

• What listeners can do (petition, who to contact, and how to advocate constructively)

GUEST

Elise Eichmüller — Court Reporter & Close Captioner

Petition (support training/captioning): https://www.change.org/p/urge-nait-to-save-captioning-and-court-reporting-program

Where to follow/contact Elise: https://linktr.ee/EliseEichmuller/ @etown_bookworm on instagram

More on professional standards: https://www.ncra.org/home/the-profession/Captioning

HOST / STUDIO

Ryan — Spare Bedroom Studios

IG: @Spare_bedroom_studios

If you care about accuracy, accessibility, and getting the words right, this episode is your “how.”

👍 Like, 💬 comment, and 🔔 subscribe.

Share it with someone who thinks captions come from a magic button. 🎙

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Dr. Farhan Chak joins Solo Spotlight to trace his path from global activism and the book “Nuclear Flashpoint” to teaching and, now, serving his community at the city level. We dig into prevention over performance, why language and dignity matter in public life, and how participation (not posturing) actually fixes things.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Global → local: lessons that translate to safer streets and clearer decisions

• “Prevent problems early” — what that looks like at the municipal level

• Teaching → leadership: classroom tools that work in council chambers

• Participation & dignity: making civic life clearer, not louder

GUEST

Dr. Farhan Chak Website: https://farhanchak.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/fmchak

X/Twitter: https://x.com/fchak

Book: Nuclear Flashpoint (Pluto Press) — https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745346182/nuclear-flashpoint/

HOST / STUDIO Ryan — Spare Bedroom Studios

IG: @Spare_bedroom_studios

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A brutally honest hang with Ryan, Lewis, and Mark: drive-thru war crimes, the eternal green-bubble debate, QR menus that hate you, and a quick autopsy of that Area 51 documentary. Also: festival talk, “bubbles” culture, and a viral relationship mess that had us yelling at our screens. If you’ve ever ordered for a small nation at a drive-thru…this one’s for you.

Watch next: More hot takes, fewer napkins.

Subscribe so you can tell us we’re wrong in real time.

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Business inquiries: [email protected] OR [email protected]

Drop your takes + timestamps for your favorite moment.

Funniest comment gets a shoutout next episode. And please…stop ordering 37 items at the window.

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