Stories from the Center of the Universe

Edouard “Edy” Asmar works with Paul and this episode took two tries due to a bad storm which cut out communications the first time they tried to chat. Edy was born in Washington, DC and says he is “a DC guy through and through”. He has a great deal of exposure to different cultures mostly due to travel opportunities because of his mom’s work. He lived in Ecuador for the first 3-4 years of his life and continued to travel with her throughout his childhood. He and Paul discussed his favorite place he visited as well as his favorite thing to visit in certain countries. They discussed Edy’s view on academics, his likes and dislikes and how some kids didn’t like the fact that he didn’t study for standardized tests - which he did extremely well on. He only applied to Stanford and Cambridge for college. He ended up attending Stanford, but told an interesting story about the application process at Cambridge. They finished by talking about his mom and dad and his girlfriend, JJ.

Magnus Nordenman joins the podcast courtesy of former guest, John Watts (Episode #50). Magnus is from Sweden and lived there until he was 18 when he came to the United States to go to The Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. He told Paul about previous visits to Virginia, but it was a different and very unique reason that led him to VMI. They talked about his experience at VMI and how it is a grind more than a sprint. They also discussed what he studied and after a short stint doing humanitarian work, how he ended up in another Lexington (University of Kentucky) to get his masters. Magnus is an author and he and Paul talked about his book which Magnus knows quite a bit about due to his dad’s profession.  They also discussed the current war between Ukraine and Russia and then finished by talking about Magnus’ family (wife Rita, daughter Kate and son Bengt) and Star Wars.

Dave Tribble knows Paul’s dad Larry (Ep. #9) and he joins Paul on the podcast. Dave is from the Richmond area and after his U.S. Army service was completed, he and his wife settled in Hanover, Virginia.  Dave talked about growing up, a long list of jobs he held as a young man and a car accident that changed his life. Dave is a United States Army Veteran and he and Paul talked extensively about his time in Vietnam. Dave came home in 1970 and had a hard time finding and keeping a job. His father-in-law got him an apprentice position in the electrical field and that led to a lifelong career with Dave eventually owning his own company. Paul and Dave talked about his likes and dislikes of running a company, why he likes central Virginia and he also told Paul about a “lawyer” joke that he told Larry a while back. They finished by talking about his family and his favorite hobby. Dave’s wife is Betty and they have three sons (Kevin, Dave Jr. and Cory) and he and Betty have nine grandchildren. He and Paul then talked about golf … how much he loves it, some good stories and the life lessons it teaches you. 

This episode was recorded not too long after Memorial Day. In memory and deep appreciation of Dave's friends lost too soon and for all those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

David Chappell knows Paul’s parents Brenda (Ep. #46) and Larry (Ep. #9) and he joins Paul for this episode. David moved around a bit due to his Dad’s job as a Methodist minister, but his family settled in Ashland and that is where he grew up. David told Paul that he was just an okay student and about a series of events that changed his attitude towards school … which in turn changed his life. After graduating Patrick Henry HS, David said he couldn’t get in to any colleges and said it was only because of his dad’s new job as a professor at Randolph-Macon that he got in there. Between doing very well at RMC and a job with one of Hanover’s most famous people, David decided to go to law school and become a lawyer. He is currently an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney and they discussed the path that has him prosecuting rather than defending people who are charged with crimes. David spent some time talking about the effect that Covid-19 has had on his life and his continuing battle with the virus. He also told Paul about his early love for professional wrestling and how that has led to a life long passion for the sport. That passion has seen him and business partner develop a website that has led to the two of them getting a very unique accolade for what David refers to as a “labor of love.”

National Champion and National Player of the Year Buzz Anthony joins Paul on the podcast. Paul first told Buzz a story about when he attended the NCAA Elite 8 game this year and Buzz in turn told Paul what his given name is and why he is called Buzz. Buzz is from Annapolis, Md., his parents (Belinda and Don - they have other names as well) were both athletes and his two main sports growing up were soccer and basketball. Paul gave Buzz some choices and asked him which was his favorite thing to do on the basketball court.  Buzz answered and then spoke about the way he always trained for the next level, his respect for the game and what his purpose is every time he steps on the court. The discussed Buzz’s recruitment process and the reasons he chose RMC. One of the main reasons was Coach Josh Merkel (Episode 154.) They talked about Buzz’s RMC career as a player, a leader and how he holds a distinction that has never been accomplished in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Buzz reminisced about the 2022 ODAC and National Championships and he told Paul where his future may lead him. They finished by talking about his wife Becca, their journey and an upcoming milestone for the both of them.

Josh Merkel is the head coach of the Men’s RMC Basketball team who are the current Division III National Champions. We connected with Josh through Pedro Arruza (Episode 99) and he joins us to talk about his journey and RMC basketball. Josh is from Walkersville, MD, is the oldest of nine kids and he grew up on a farm. He spoke about his mom and dad and learning about having a passion for life from his mom and hard work from his dad. Josh knew at about age 15 that he wanted to coach basketball. He played college basketball at D3 Salisbury and told Paul how many NCAA tournaments he made as a player and as a coach. Josh and Paul discussed where he coached, who he learned from and some of his fondest memories from high school through being a head coach today. Josh talked a lot about this year‘s RMC basketball team. He spoke about national player of the year, Buzz Anthony, and their relationship. He also told Paul how he has the best forward in D3 in Miles Mallory and about some of the other impact players that brought home RMC‘s first ever national championship. Josh talked about the Randolph Macon community, the town of Ashland and his family. He shared how awesome his wife Morgan is and how they have found a rhythm managing careers and their three young sons. He finished by telling a great story about his oldest son Mason and how Mason did a little coaching at the ODAC tournament one year.

Ellen Zavian joins the podcast because she knows and works with Andrew Ting (Episode 40). Ellen is from Maywood, NJ and spent her summers at the Jersey Shore. Ellen went to the University of Maryland and then to American University where she earned her law degree. She was friends with several UMD football players and interned at the NFL Player’s Association while studying at American. She had intended on a career in International Law, but ended up in Sports Law and was the first female attorney/agent in the NFL. She represented many NFL players including a Super Bowl MVP. She has also represented many other professional athletes and was on a committee to get break dancing in the 2024 Olympics. She currently teaches various classes in the Business and Law schools at George Washington University. They finished by talking about how her family has a business in New York and about her husband and son.

Paul has Matt Williams on this episode due to a connection Matt has with Boomer Muth (Episode 77). Matt and Boomer are in a band together (Acoustic Underground) and Paul and Matt talked about music and Matt being a bass guitarist. Matt was born in Delaware and grew up in Wilmington and Cincinnati, Ohio. He played baseball growing up, was a baseball fan and he got to attend many Phillies and Reds games in his youth. He made his way to Virginia when he attended the College of William and Mary. After college, Matt got a job in advertising in Philadelphia. After a couple of years, he moved down to Richmond and took a job with The Martin Agency. He discussed his journey at Martin which ended up with him being the CEO for his last five years of his tenure. He told the story of two very famous and successful advertising campaigns for one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. as well as the ups and downs of being the CEO of a company. Paul and Matt finished by talking about what he is doing now and about his wife Betsy and their two sons, Patrick and Ethan.

Chris Rutherford is a friend of occasional co-host Kevin and joins Paul and Kevin for this episode. Chris was born in Richmond, moved to Philadelphia with his mom when he was one and then came back to Richmond in 5th grade. Chris has fond memories of Philly because of sports, the snow, the community pool and mainly because of family. They discussed Chris’ favorite pro sports teams and there is one outlier that was a surprise. Chris’ time in Philly also was his introduction to music which has since played a huge and integral part in his life. He’s been singing in bands for 25+ years and he talked to Paul and Kevin about the process of writing songs. They discussed how he worked as a welder which included working on parts of nuclear subs and having a piece on display in Richmond. The three of them talked about Chris’ family, wife Ginger, daughters Lexi and Kaley and son Sammy.  They finished by discussing Chris’ fondest memories of Kevin which included an unintentional insult and a couple of different times on the golf course.

Paul takes the podcast mobile for Episode 150 and interviewed Bobby Malone at the Rivah. Bobby grew up in Chesterfield and rode motorbikes and played sports growing up. He said he wasn’t big on school, but it allowed him to play sports and he explained why football was his favorite. Bobby also told Paul about a crazy injury he suffered playing baseball. After high school, Bobby had a successful career at Reynolds Metals and then decided to leave and go into real estate. Bobby has been coming to the Rivah for almost thirty years.  He and Paul talked about the Rivah, why Bobby loves it so much and Bobby even told Paul a couple of examples of the interesting wildlife that he has seen over the years. They discussed crabbing, fishing and how Bobby gardens oysters … some of which Paul gets to eat! Bobby told Paul some of the secrets about crabbing and fishing on the Rappahannock and dropped a couple of life lessons during the episode as well.  Finally, they talked about Bobby’s wife, Carolyn, and their blended family which includes seven grandchildren.