The Obsessed Podcast

Eric Ylitalo is passionate about hockey. He really enjoys playing, including playing in the historic world of Minnesota backyard hockey rinks. He played high school hockey in Minnesota and played for a short stint in the NAHL shortly after high school. After taking 3-4 years off he reentered the world of hockey and played for another 3 years in a combination of the ECHL, SPHL, and some time playing hockey overseas.

Brian Torola is a mechanical engineer. He’s another guy who doesn’t necessarily have an obsession, but is someone I’ve always appreciated. I wanted to bring him on mainly just to pick his brain. A few of the topics we discussed are his brief section hike on the Appalachian trail, people watching, studying social behavior, how much of what we do is rational or irrational, and more.

(Explicit) Seth Waters is the owner of the Dark Waters Fly Shop and Guide Service. Through happenstance he also became the pastor at his church. His fly-fishing videos on his YouTube channel, Dark Waters, are unbelievable.

Kyle Maki's growing passion involves the world of adventure, hiking, and mountain climbing. He just returned from a solo trip in Alaska's mountains, his second solo Alaska trip.

(Explicit) Travis Kunze is a student in his masters program for Psychology. He intends to continue on for his doctorate in this field and working within the world of bringing awareness, reducing, and preventing human trafficking. Lucas Gindl is a month away from graduating from Chiropractic school. His initial school interest was in psychology. In this episode we have somewhat of a psychology round table, which mostly consisted of me picking these two intelligent guys brain's. Note: a few brief moments the microphone for Lucas cut out. They were kept in for clarity.

Troy Kinnunen is a student at Western Michigan's College of Aviation where he is pursuing a degree in Aviation Flight Science. He currently has his private pilot's license and is finishing up his instrument rating. As part of this degree, he will obtain his commercial pilots license. He also served in the Marines from 2014-2019. 

On today's episode I reflect on the first year of the podcast. Also included are some snapshots and moments from each episode since the last time I did this.

Brent Halonen is a cofounder and head of A.I. at Steelhead Technologies, a software that is built for manufacturing job site optimization. Brent is also a founder and lead scientist at Laurium Labs.

Michael Steber was a basketball coach and middle school principle for many years. Prior to his role as principle he was a PE teacher. Currently he is working with Bridges Copper Country, a Portage Health Foundation initiative that will help the local community grow and prosper through personal growth.

Pam and Steve Hecht are super passionate rock, agate, gem, and mineral pickers and collectors. Their knowledge of this world is unreal. They are also the owners of Miners Cafe in Laurium, Michigan.