The Rollercoaster Podcast

I thought it was just a routine procedure, until we got the call that changed everything.

In this episode, I sit down with Danielle and Joey Orr, parents navigating a journey no family should ever have to face. What started as a simple hospital visit quickly turned into something far more serious, leading to a diagnosis that would completely reshape their lives.

Their son Joey has already defied the odds since birth, facing Down syndrome, heart complications, and now childhood leukemia. And yet, his strength will leave you speechless.

We talk about the fear, the unknown, the late-night phone calls, and what it really looks like to fight for your child every single day.

This is a story about resilience, faith, family, and holding on when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

If this story moves you, and you feel called to help, you can support Joey and his family here ❤️

👉 https://gofund.me/bce5c8e48

Watch this. Share this. It matters.

Key Moments:

00:00 It Was Just a Routine Procedure… Then the Call Came

03:12 The Moment You Hear Your Child Has Cancer

10:15 He Didn’t Cry Then They Took Him Away

16:20 Life in the NICU: Fear, Waiting, and No Control

19:45 Raising a Child with Down Syndrome, What No One Tells You

25:00 The Joy in the Chaos, Meet Joey

30:40 The Routine Surgery That Changed Everything

33:50 The Call Every Parent Dreads at Midnight

36:10 Walking Into Oncology And Knowing It Was Cancer

41:05 The 24 Hours That Turned Into a Nightmare

44:20 What It’s Really Like Inside Childhood Cancer Treatment

50:00 The Emotional & Financial Toll No One Sees

56:10 1 in 600 Million: Why Their Marriage Survived

Guest Info:

Instagram: @joeysfightclub (https://www.instagram.com/joeysfightclub?igsh=MWswMnZpMTdmb2V4Yw==)

Facebook: Joey's Fight Club (https://www.facebook.com/share/1ChPdrjH8m/)

Carl Angelo was never supposed to be a rapper.

He grew up in a Filipino immigrant family that came to America chasing stability, sacrifice, and the promise of a better life. Like many first-generation kids, the expectation was clear: follow the safe path, build a career, make the family proud.

But he felt something pulling him in a completely different direction.

In this episode of The Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Carl Angelo as he shares the deeply personal journey behind his music, his viral rap video, and the painful choices that come with chasing a dream no one else around you fully understands.

He opens up about family pressure, identity as a Filipino-American, the struggle between security and passion, and the moment he realized nobody was coming to save him.

This conversation explores courage, sacrifice, and what it really means to choose your own path.

If you’ve ever felt torn between honoring your family and honoring yourself, this episode will hit close to home.

Watch, share, and let me know what resonated with you.

Key Moments:

00:00 The Viral Rap Video That Changed Carl Angelo’s Life

03:12 Telling My Immigrant Parents I Wanted to Be a Rapper

06:18 The Hidden Pressure of Filipino Family Expectations

12:05 The Truth About the American Dream for Immigrants

15:08 Are Poorer Countries Actually Happier?

18:12 How Karaoke Parties Shaped Carl’s Love for Music

21:02 The Moment I Realised I Had a Rap Talent

27:06 Why I Haven’t Gone All-In on Music Yet

33:05 What Happens When You Finally Commit to Your Dream

36:08 Why Social Media Can Change Everything for Artists

42:05 I Became the Person I Needed Growing Up

48:00 The Painful Choice Between Family and My Dream

51:22 Missing My Grandmother’s Final Moments

54:15 When Choosing Yourself Feels Like Betrayal

01:00:48 The Message I Want Filipino Kids to Hear

Guest Info:

Instagram: @‌carlangelomusic (https://www.instagram.com/carlangelomusic/)

YouTube: ‪@carlangelomusic (https://www.youtube.com/@carlangelomusic)

It was supposed to be a routine surgery.

On August 6, 2021, Shantelle Tate kissed her young son goodbye and walked into the hospital expecting to be home the next day. Doctors told her it was a simple procedure they perform all the time.

But something went terribly wrong.

What followed was a medical nightmare that would nearly cost Shantelle her life. A surgical complication led to sepsis, emergency surgery, and a medically induced coma that lasted an entire month. During those 30 days, her family was called in more than once to say goodbye.

In this emotional episode of the Roller Coaster Podcast, I sit down with Shantelle and her husband Brandon Tate as they share both sides of the story, the terrifying moments in the hospital, the fight to survive, and the perspective that changed their lives forever.

This conversation explores survival, faith, trauma recovery, and gratitude for life.

If this story moved you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs hope today.

Key Moments:

00:00 A Routine Surgery That Almost Killed Her

05:32 It’s Just Gas: The Warning Doctors Missed

08:02 She Didn’t Wake Up for a Month

10:21 Trapped Inside a Coma Nightmare

13:50 Learning to Walk Again in the Hospital

16:27 Life After a Month in a Coma

19:42 “You Flatlined Three Times”

24:41 Realizing a Month of Life Was Gone

29:10 The Hard Truth About Friends

35:15 Being Told She Might Not Wake Up

38:18 Why Trauma Changes Everything

43:59 When They Knew She Might Survive

46:18 Her Message to Anyone Fighting to Survive

Guest Info:

IG: @shantelle_b_tate ( https://www.instagram.com/shantelle_b_tate/)

This is going to feel different than anything we’ve done before.

Today, I sit down with Mya-Lisa Ludwig and her 52-year-old brother Adam and what unfolds is one of the most beautiful conversations we’ve had about special needs, caregiving, sibling love, and finding purpose after grief.

Adam lives with Mya, who became his full-time caregiver after the heartbreaking loss of their parents. But this isn’t just a story about autism, dementia, or navigating skilled nursing care. It’s about protection. Patience. Faith. And what happens when a sister decides, I was made for this.

This episode is about unconditional love, resilience after loss, and the sacred responsibility of caregiving. If you’ve walked through grief, supported a special needs sibling, or felt called to care for someone you love, this one will stay with you.

Watch, share, and let me know what hit home.

Key Moments:

00:00 This Is Different Than Anything We’ve Done

03:02 I Became His Protector: The Boxing Glove Moment

08:49 Losing Their Parents & The Burden He Carried

11:04 What Life Looks Like Living With Autism

15:00 The 12-Hour Sleep Schedule That Changed Everything

20:21 The Lunch Routine That Saved His Life

23:05 Caring for Parents With Dementia & Pancreatic Cancer

29:25 The Truth About Being a Full-Time Caregiver

34:28 “I Was Made For This” - A Divine Calling?

38:18 Living With an Angel Every Single Day

44:50 The Best Thing About Adam 

47:40 The Moment That Built His Confidence

52:28 What Makes Him Proud To Be an Uncle

56:41 The One Thing That Still Hurts To Talk About

Guest Info:

IG: @minimamamya (https://www.instagram.com/minimamamya/)

If you looked at her life from the outside, it was perfect.

A brilliant Harvard-trained doctor. Four beautiful children. A marriage built on love. And then, slowly… it wasn’t.

In this episode of The Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Andrea Suchin, caregiver, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Wuggle. For six years, Andrea watched subtle changes in her husband Craig, slowly unravel into something far more devastating. What began as small personality shifts spiraled into financial chaos, misdiagnosis, rage episodes, and ultimately a diagnosis of behavioral frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Craig showed symptoms for nearly six years. For the final four, Andrea became his full-time caregiver, managing medications, protecting their children, advocating when doctors dismissed her concerns, and standing by him until his final breath.

This is a story about dementia, caregiver burnout, anticipatory grief, and the trauma of watching a mental death before a physical one.

But it’s also about purpose.

Andrea shares how survival mode led to the creation of Wuggle, a sleep solution now helping caregivers around the world.

If you’re navigating caregiving, dementia, exhaustion, or profound loss, this conversation is for you.

Watch, share, and join The Rollercoaster Community.

Key Moments:

0:00 The Night I Knew He Was Dying

3:45 Caregiver Surgery… Then Crisis

9:05 The Hospice Call That Never Came

12:40 His Final Words to Me

15:10 Holding Him After His Last Breath

18:05 Relief, Guilt & Grief Collide

24:15 22 Credit Cards & $170K Debt

30:00 The Devastating Diagnosis: FTD

36:00 Caregiver Burnout Nearly Broke Me

39:10 The Sleep Breakthrough That Saved Me

42:30 From Grief to Mission: Creating Wuggle

45:40 The Text That Changed Everything

51:00 Anxiety, Migraines & Better REM

54:20 The Trauma Caregivers Don’t Admit

What happens when the people meant to protect you become the ones you have to run from?

In this raw and deeply personal episode of the Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Willie Wolfgramm to uncover a story of survival that most people wouldn’t make it out of. Willie takes us inside the darkest corners of his past: being thrown down stairs by a drunken stepfather, being chased through a field by a truck, and the crushing weight of a culture that told him showing emotion was a fatal weakness.

We dive deep into the day he lost his mother to cancer at 17 and the decade-long spiral into addiction and homelessness that followed. This conversation is about childhood abuse, grief, the cycle of trauma, and the miracle of finding a path forward when you’ve hit absolute rock bottom.

If you’ve ever felt like you weren’t enough, Willie’s transformation is your wake-up call.

Watch now and share this with someone who needs to feel less alone.

Key Moments:

0:00 I Watched Him Beat My Mother

4:05 The Beliefs I Had to Unlearn

6:40 My Earliest Memory of Abuse

9:04 Running Away to Survive Another Day

11:08 Chased Down by a Truck in a Field

13:59 Contemplating the Road to End the Pain

18:51 Breaking the Cycle with My Own Kids

21:29 How Childhood Trauma Shows Up in Marriage

24:58 Meeting Wayne: What a Real Man Looks Like

28:45 Moving in While My Mom Fought Stage 4 Cancer

32:36 Your Mom Passed Away This Morning

34:54 Walking into a House That Felt Cold

38:09 Just Keep Moving. Don't Show Emotion.

42:49 The Spiral into Drugs and Alcohol

46:03 Finally Loving the Man in the Mirror

Guest Info:

IG: @willie.wolfgramm (https://www.instagram.com/willie.wolfgramm/)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willie-wolfgramm-a95127a4

Nothing prepares you for the moment you realise the person you love is slowly disappearing, even though they’re still right in front of you.

In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Kelly, a mother of six whose life changed when her husband’s undiagnosed progressive multiple sclerosis began showing up not just in his body, but in his mind. Rage. Memory loss. Personality changes. Doctors who couldn’t explain it. And years of being told it was “just a marriage problem.”

Lindsay takes us inside the breaking point, the night she said she was done, the hospital room where everything finally made sense, and the quiet moment at home when she realised she had become a full-time caregiver overnight.

This conversation is about invisible illness, caregiver burnout, faith, resilience, and what it really means to stay when walking away would be easier.

If you’ve ever felt alone in your marriage, your faith, or your fight, this episode will sit with you.

Watch now and share this with someone who needs to feel less alone.

Key Moments:

0:00 When My Husband Suddenly Wasn’t Himself

3:12 The First Sign Something Was Seriously Wrong

6:01 Walking On Eggshells Inside Our Own Home

9:07 The Moment I Thought About Leaving

12:55 Doctors Couldn’t Explain His Rage

16:24 The Hospital Call That Changed Everything

19:58 “Your Husband Has A Broken Brain”

23:41 When MS Explained The Personality Shift

27:18 Becoming A Full-Time Caregiver Overnight

30:47 The Day I Realised I Was Completely Alone

34:26 When Faith Was The Only Thing Left

38:02 Two Years Of Crying Every Single Day

41:55 What Caregiver Burnout Really Looks Like

45:36 Why Assisted Living Saved Our Family

49:12 The Reality Of Loving Someone With MS

52:58 Why I Started Sharing This Online

56:21 The Messages That Proved I Wasn’t Alone

59:44 “Alone Doesn’t Have To Mean Lonely”

Guest Info:

IG: @lewkelly06 (https://www.instagram.com/lewkelly06/)

What if the thing that’s quietly wrecking your life… isn’t your job, your bank account, or your “lack of motivation”, but the fact you’re drifting and nobody’s coming to save you?

In this episode of The Roller Coaster Podcast, I sit down with John Gafford for a conversation that hits different. We talk about the moment you realise your life is being lived on someone else’s terms… and what it actually takes to take back control.

John opens up about leaving the “safe” W2 path, betting on himself with no safety net, and the brutal truth behind radical accountability, the kind that forces you to stop blaming the system and start steering the ship. But we also go deeper: why hustle culture breaks families, why men are lonelier than ever, and the simple check-in text that might save a life.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, numb, or off course… this might be the wake-up call.

Key Moments:

0:00 Life Feels Off… But You Can’t Explain Why

4:40 Fired From Safety, The Day I Bet On Myself

8:00 “Nobody’s Coming to Save You” Reality Check

12:15 You Didn’t Get Lucky, You Created This

16:10 80% Done Is Better Than Perfect

19:30 Stuck In Life? Start With Radical Honesty

23:05 Build A Life You Can Actually See

26:20 The Simple Plan To Escape Debt & Stress

30:00 Turn Big Goals Into Daily Actions

33:40 Why Some People Stay Broke On Purpose

36:55 Stop Asking “What Do You Do?” Ask This Instead

41:00 Cut Surface-Level People From Your Life

43:20 Vegas, Status, And The Illusion Of Success

47:40 Transformation Means Losing Old Habits

51:00 Your Environment Is Quietly Controlling You

55:00 Men Admitting “I Have No Friends”

58:40 The Suicide Story That Shook Us Both

1:02:10 How To Check In On Friends (Systematically)

1:06:05 Radical Accountability Starts Here

Guest Info:

IG: @thejohngafford (https://www.instagram.com/thejohngafford/)

YouTube: @EscapingtheDriftPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@EscapingtheDriftPodcast)

What happens when the gun fires… but you wake up anyway?

In this episode of The Roller Coaster Podcast, I sit down with Nick Rossborough, a former professional fighter who lost his identity, his marriage, and nearly his life. One night, alone on a mountain with a pistol in his hand, Nick made a decision he believed would end the pain. But something happened that shouldn’t be possible. And moments later, a small voice from inside his house changed everything.

Nick takes us inside the darkest night of his life, the divorce, the identity collapse, the silent suffering so many men hide, and the long road back through trauma healing, breathwork, purpose, and learning to love himself again.

This isn’t just a survival story.

It’s a wake-up call.

If you’ve ever felt lost, numb, or ready to give up, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a comment below. You’re not alone.

Key Moments:

0:00 I Put the Gun to My Head

3:07 Divorce, Heartbreak, and the Breaking Point

6:30 “Dad, I Made You Cookies”

9:00 When Losing My Identity Destroyed Me

12:25 Why Men Bottle Pain Until They Explode

15:28 Reading the Bible in a Week While Falling Apart

19:08 Vowing Never to Hit Rock Bottom Again

21:52 Loving Someone When You Can’t Love Yourself

23:55 Breathwork Visions That Changed Everything

27:32 The Oxygen Mask Rule That Rewired My Life

30:46 Here’s How I Escaped Trauma

33:13 The Real Reason Men Reach the Edge

35:35 How Do You Find a Reason to Stay Alive?

38:18 Meeting the Version of Myself I Abandoned

41:07 The Bullet That Killed the Old Me

43:25 Becoming a Man Who Needs No Validation

45:50 Facing Fear Through Plant Medicine

49:48 Why Human Connection Saves Lives

52:06 Love, Empathy, and Healing Without Medication

What do you do when your worst fear comes true… and no one even knows the truth?

In this episode of The Roller Coaster Podcast, I sit down with Adriana Sansam, a mother whose life changed forever when her husband died alone in a hotel room from an accidental overdose. One moment he was on a work trip. The next, she was racing for answers, convinced something was wrong before anyone confirmed it.

Adriana opens up about loving a recovering addict, hiding his addiction from everyone, and the devastating phone call that left her raising three young children alone. But this isn’t just a story about addiction and grief. It’s about breaking the stigma, telling the truth, and turning shame into purpose.

If you’ve been touched by addiction, mental health struggles, loss, or single parenting, this conversation will stay with you.

Listen now. Share this with someone who needs it. And subscribe for more stories that change lives.

Key Moments:

0:00 “I Knew Something Was Wrong”

3:12 Married to a Recovering Addict

6:05 The Phone Call That Confirmed My Fear

9:02 “He’s Dead”, Hearing the Words

12:10 Who He Was Beyond the Addiction

15:08 Understanding the Mind of an Addict

18:04 Explaining His Death to Our 5-Year-Old

21:06 When Shame Turned Into Silence

24:18 The Message That Changed Everything

27:30 Why I Finally Told the Truth

30:12 Did He Have a Reason to Keep Going?

33:40 When the Past Blocks the Future

36:10 “I Don’t Need More, I Need You”

39:05 Speaking to Him After His Death

42:18 A Message to Fathers Battling Addiction

45:30 Watching My Son Look for His Dad

Guest Info:

IG: adrianasansam (https://www.instagram.com/adrianasansam/)