On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz about her dedication to pole dancing. She had her first lesson seven years ago, and quickly fell in love with the sport. Now she’s at the pole studio four days a week.

We'll talk about what the pole means to her, why she intends to keep doing it for the remainder of her life, and how it makes her feel. Plus, we'll hear about the gear involved, like the heels that make her go from 5'4" to about 6 foot even, her favorite music to pole dance to, and so much more!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Chuck Loesch about his longtime love of the barbershop quartet. Chuck was introduced to the singing style years ago, as a student at New Braunfels High School (which, we discovered during our conversation, we attended at the same time, though we never knew each other back then). After taking a break from barbershop for a quarter century or so, he rediscovered his love for the genre in 2016 and hasn’t looked back since.

We'll talk about Chuck's barbershop journey, why he loves this style of music and heavy metal, what competing means to him and what this is all doing for his heart and soul. And we'll get to hear Chuck performing with his quartet in the KUT live music studio!

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Fran Rush about her nearly lifelong love of choral singing. Her connection to the art form began in 1950s Chicago, where she started singing in her school's choral group. She continued singing through college, then took a break for a couple of decades while raising a family. Then, in Austin, she re-embraced her love of group singing and never looked back again.

We'll talk about her early fascination with choral singing, what it does for her body and spirit, why she never plans to stop. We'll also hear a bits of an actual recording of her 1950s high school group, and take a listen to one of Fran's rehearsals for Chorus Austin.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Beth Rowan about her love of dragon boat racing. She took up the sport several years ago as a sort of physical therapy; dragon boat racing has been done in China for millennia but it's only in the past few decades that it's been realized to be excellent exercise for breast cancer survivors. 

Beth is a member of Paddlers With a Purpose, Austin's first dragon boat team made up entirely of breast cancer survivors. She joined the team for the exercise but was surprised to discover how much she fell in love with the sport and her teammates.

We'll talk about what the sport means to her, what it's like to compete with other survivors, what she does with all her medals, and more!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Jean Nelson about her nearly lifelong love of glass blowing. Her fascination began at age 10, but four decades went by before she was able to begin learning the art form. Now it’s her passion. I met Jean at Austin’s Ghost Pepper Glass, where she gave me a glass blowing demonstration while me making a lovely pair of drinking glasses.

We'll talk about her early fascination with glass blowing, why she had to wait so long to start doing it herself, and what it means to her now.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we're talking with two members of the Austin Pen Club about their shared love of collecting, writing with, and just talking about pens, especially fountain pens.

Craig Bond and Cindy Miller both fell in love with fountain pens over a decade ago, and we'll talk with both of the about their fountain pen origin stories, why they love these pens more than others, what it means to be a member of the pen club, and much more! They'll tell us where they go to look for pens (and we'll visit one of Cindy's favorite shops with her), why the Dallas Pen Show is a big deal, and how they try to spread the love of fountain pens with the initiated. And we'll get a cameo appearance from the founder of the club herself!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Becky James about her love of upcycling greeting cards. While downsizing to a smaller home after retirement, Becky realized she had dozens of old cards and stumbled upon a new hobby -- determined to keep those cards out of a landfill, she started turning them into new and improved cards and gift tags, giving them a second life. She's since expanded to work with cards from friends, relatives, and strangers, and now sells her cards at small shops and craft fairs (but she's not really in it for the money).

We'll hear about about what this hobby does for her creatively, about the unexpectedly emotional journey one can go on while looking through a lifetime's worth of greeting cards, we'll hear the verb 'piddle' more than I have in years, and so much more!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Theresa Bond Zelazny about her love of what she calls guerrilla art. That's her term for the hobby she developed a few years ago, which involves creating small pieces of art and distributing them in random places for strangers to find. She's put dozens of artworks around Austin, Texas, and also spread a few on her travels, taking them as far away as Spain.

We'll hear about about her lifelong love of art, when and why she decided to get some formal training, what prompted her to start sharing her art with the world in this unusual way, and what it all means to her. Plus we'll hear about Ben Bond's Museum of Plunder and Relics, the small business her father ran which was some kind of mix between museum and barn-full-of-stuff.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with Justin Kizzart about his love of sumo wrestling. Justin discovered the sport about a decade ago while visiting Japan with his then-girlfriend (now wife), who hails from Osaka. Justin had trained in other martial arts in the past, but he unexpectedly fell hard for sumo and it became his primary passion.

Now, ten years later, he runs his own sumo club (Dark Circle Sumo in Austin) and coaches Team USA in international competitions -- and all this is while still working a day job. 

We'll hear about how he fell in love with the sport, how it's connected him with his in-laws, what his hopes are for the future of sumo in America, and what it all means to him. This interview was recorded just before Justin and Team USA headed to Thailand for the 2025 World Sumo Championships, and if you stick around until the end, you'll get an update from Justin on how thing went. Don't google it. It's more fun to hear Justin tell you.

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org

On this episode of This Is My Thing, we’re talking with James Hughes about his nearly lifelong love of miniatures gaming. He discovered the hobby as a kid and has been an avid fan ever since. It's, in a way, three hobbies in one -- it's a collection, it's a creative outlet (because James hand paints all of his miniatures) and, of course, a game.

We'll hear about how he fell in love with miniatures, what the hobby and community means to him, which celebrities are rumored to be fellow gamers, how he deals with his Pile of Shame (also known as the Lead Mountain) and much more!

This is My Thing is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast by making a donation at supportthispodcast.org